The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Chapter 384 Landing (4)

In the ports of Bago and Yangon, the command center was still bustling with activity.

The map table was filled with small flags of various colors, and telegrams were handed out one after another by the radio operator. The radio kept clicking, and the ringing of the telephone could be heard from time to time.

The air was filled with the mixed smell of strong tea, coffee, sweat and ink.

"At 6:17 local time, a breakthrough was achieved at Red Beach."

Zhang Guangjun spoke slowly but steadily. Despite his short stature, his face was filled with the joy of victory.

Zhang Chi raised his head, his eyes lit up, and nodded slightly: "Continue."

"At 6:33, the Marines that landed on Red Beach took control of the causeway. More than 20 amphibious tanks and two Spitfire Shermans that landed on Green Beach drove in along the causeway. The fierce firepower helped the troops completely open up the situation."

"At 6:49, Colonel Zhang Xinchao, commander of the 1st Marine Regiment, established a command post on Green Beach. The Naval Engineering Battalion began constructing a pontoon dock on Green Beach to attempt to unload supplies and follow-up troops."

Zhang Chi smiled and said, "It seems that our landing operation went even more smoothly than planned."

Zhang Guangjun paused, closing the briefing folder in his hand. "The breakthroughs at Green Beach and Red Beach went smoothly. Colonel Zhang Xinchao reports that the troops are further controlling the port facilities. The preliminary casualties are currently nineteen killed and forty-six injured."

"Nineteen..." Zhang Chi repeated softly, leaning back in his chair, his hands folded on his abdomen. His expression was a bit complicated for a moment, and it was hard to tell whether it was relief or deep worry.

He knew in his heart that this was a great fortune.

During the previous battle at Pegu, the Marines had only conducted amphibious assaults across rivers, which were minor skirmishes at best.

This was the first time that the Anmin Army had truly carried out a large-scale amphibious landing. Nearly 10,000 troops were put on the table at once. This was the first time that the Anmin Army had carried out a large-scale amphibious landing operation. Even with the White Eagle Advisory Group, a good teacher who taught him almost hand-in-hand, he was still worried to death.

"Looks like those 1000 body bags we prepared were unnecessary," Zhang Chi said, taking a sip from his teacup. The bitter taste made him frown. "Now it seems that as long as we're fully prepared and our plan isn't exposed, we can still execute an amphibious operation effectively."

As soon as Zhang Chi said this, all the naval generals and staff in the command center puffed out their chests with pride.

Zhang Guangjun nodded and added, "General Stevenson has also been informed of this news. He was also surprised and said that we are doing much better than when they carried out Operation Overlord a few months ago."

Zhang Chi grinned. "That's incomparable. Even though the Nazis misjudged things, they still deployed several divisions in Normandy, and the beachheads were all permanently fortified. This time, we mainly took advantage of the Japanese being unprepared and undermanned. We were lucky."

"By the way, we've only talked about Red Beach and Green Beach, but what about Blue Beach?"

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere in the conference room suddenly became slightly tense.

Zhang Guangjun paused, his face darkening, and said with some embarrassment, "The only major casualties occurred at Blue Beach."

He stood up straighter and spoke in a serious tone. "According to reports from the front, the Japanese have deployed at least four heavy artillery pieces with a caliber of 100mm or more at Blue Beach. They've been so well camouflaged that they've even fooled our aerial reconnaissance."

"Those Japanese artillery pieces remained hidden until the landing began, then opened fire. One shell struck a fully loaded landing craft, causing it to explode and catch fire. A second lieutenant platoon leader and more than ten Marines on board were killed, and many others were injured."

Zhang Chi nodded slowly, his expression unchanged, but he tapped the armrest of the chair twice with his left index finger.

"What about that Japanese artillery position? Has it been taken care of?"

"It's been dealt with," Zhang Guangjun replied immediately. "Ground observers coordinated with the Air Force. A squadron of F4Us launched a sustained bombardment of the Japanese artillery positions. Combined with the naval gunfire, the Japanese only managed to fire a few rounds. Colonel Zhang Xinchao reported that the position was completely destroyed. Only the wreckage of the artillery and the corpses of the Japanese remained at the scene."

"That's good."

Zhang Chi exhaled lightly, pondered for a moment, and then said lightly:

"Tell Zhang Xinchao that war is inevitable. Let him command with peace of mind and don't blame himself. I won't blame him."

From the moment he planned this amphibious landing, Zhang Chi had been prepared for heavy casualties. After all, a strong army is forged through fire and steel, and the casualties of a few dozen men were minor, so what could he blame?

"In general, as we judged before the war, the Japanese were completely unprepared for our large-scale amphibious landing, and the defense of the beachhead at Kuala Lumpur Port (not Kuala Lumpur City) was very weak..." Zhang Guangjun began to summarize.

Zhang Chi stood up, walked to the map, and stared at the line representing the highway from Kuala Lumpur Port to Kuala Lumpur City:

"This battle has only just begun. With less than a hundred casualties, we've secured a secure landing site. We've already won the crucial first step."

Zhang Guangjun followed and said, "The Japanese still underestimated us and the industrial capacity of the White Eagle. They mobilized hundreds of landing craft of all sizes in just a few weeks. That old Japanese, Kenji Doihara, certainly couldn't have imagined it."

Zhang Chi did not answer, but picked up a small red flag and firmly planted it on the city of Kuala Lumpur.

"Send a message to Qi Quan, telling him to hold on to the 4-plus Japanese soldiers on the front lines. Don't let them have a chance to retreat. Tell him this is a death order, and there can be no compromise!"

-----

"Nani, did the People's Security Army really carry out a large-scale landing?"

Due to the strong electromagnetic interference from electronic warfare aircraft in the sky above the landing area, when Kenji Doihara received the exact news, the Yukikaze had already run dozens of nautical miles away. At this time, the Ananmen Army had already controlled the port facilities of Kuala Lumpur Port and began to lift the M4 Sherman and M24 Chaffee tanks ashore.

When Kenji Doihara first received the news, his face was full of disbelief. After all, an amphibious landing was not something that could be done casually. He knew that the Anmin Army had some amphibious light tanks and several destroyers.

But a large-scale landing requires too much equipment, machinery, and ships. Even the Japanese themselves have difficulty in conducting amphibious operations. Now it is said that an emerging force like the Anmin Army can cross hundreds of nautical miles and carry out amphibious landings. Isn't this a fantasy?

It's better to believe that he is the illegitimate son of Emperor Taisho...

Unfortunately, after repeated confirmation, Kenji Doihara had to admit that the Arabian Nights had come true!

As soon as Kenji Doihara took a look at the location of Kuala Lumpur Port on the map, his eyes went dark.

It’s over, the dragon is going to be slaughtered.