afterglow

Chapter 539: A contentious battle situation; free wheel? The teaching wheel!

Just like southerners cannot understand the severe cold that freezes three feet outside the customs without personal experience, the Ming army did not expect that the scorching heat in the Indu region would be so terrible. Even the soldiers from Guangdong underestimated this kind of heat in the 30s and 40s. The power of high temperatures.

The cooling oil and wind oil essence that were very effective in the past have no effect now, but the Huoxiang Zhengqi Water still has some effect.

Tens of thousands of soldiers suffered from heat stroke and dehydration, and the engines of hundreds of trucks, armored vehicles, and tanks burned out due to overheating.

In addition to the common malaria, dysentery, cholera, and dengue fever, parasitic diseases such as giardiasis, visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar), and others have become widespread.

从6月28日迄今8月10日，因为自然环境导致的非战斗减员多达3.7万人，其中由于中暑的热射病而不治身亡的官兵竟有201人，军衔最高者是一名炮兵中校。

Despite the difficulties and a lackluster series of battles, the Ming and Southern armies broke through the Ganges-Brahmaputra defense line across the board.

The retreat of the British Commonwealth troops after the defense line collapsed was a mess. It was clear that air superiority had not been lost. Only a small number of Ming army aircraft bombed the retreating British troops, but it still caused serious chaos.

The Ming Army artillery officers riding on the service school aircraft could see destroyed or abandoned weapons and equipment all over the mountains and plains, and wisps of black smoke towering into the clouds.

A long line of prisoners was escorted eastward, while at the same time, a long line of Ming army troops marched westward.

In August, the Ming Army's logistics department also planned to send out 8 tons of supplies, and as of the beginning of the month, 2.6 tons had been successfully dispatched.

Because Burma was not the target of the upper echelons of the Ming Dynasty last year, it was undoubtedly a hard job to lead troops in such a barren, poverty-stricken, and plague-ridden place, and few generals were willing to go there.

This reminded the British of the tragic situation in Burma last year - enemies were everywhere and pursued fiercely. The British Indian Army and the British Burmese Army retreated steadily under the continuous offensives and were defeated. Hundreds of troops were routed from east to west. The kilometers of jungle are littered with corpses, which will turn into unknown bones after decay.

The Ming army was exhausted due to the bad environment, and the British army was not much better. Both sides were crying miserably. This was an interesting situation.

The General Staff Office of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion could not understand his plan, because although the telegrams sent back from the front line kept complaining, judging from the paper data, there should still be sufficient stamina. How could it be said that it was the end of the war?

Feeling deeply that the battle was difficult and that his remaining strength had been exhausted, and that capturing Calcutta had become unrealistic, Mei Chaoyin decided to end the ongoing third offensive.

When the war first broke out last year, the Ming army, which was focused on conquering Southeast Asia, did not intervene in the Myanmar region. The troops stationed in Yunnan only defended the border along the border. At that time, the people who fought hardest and most energetically were the Annamites.

Many dismounted infantry units that had no vehicles to sit in also took advantage of the captured Austin trucks and Bedford trucks. Those humble Bren gun trucks were the most sought-after trophies. It was a common barter standard among the Ming army. It's two trucks for one Bren.

Mei Chaoyin is fifty-one years old and is a native of Fenzhou Prefecture. His father was an officer in the northwest and became a major in the garrison camp. He can be said to come from a military family. Mei Chaoyin graduated from Sunchon Military Academy and is a typical example of a serious person who has been promoted from the grassroots level.

"Another important gain is that we have a better understanding of the enemy's offensive habits and fighting methods, and it has highlighted our deficiencies - training and weapons, which will greatly accelerate our improvement. What I want to clarify is that despite the tactical difficulties we encountered There have been setbacks, but overall it is correct and we are confident of defending Indus."

However, as the Army gave up its plan to quell Australia for immediate success, the main direction of attack was shifted to the South Asian subcontinent. The Indu Corps was subsequently established on the basis of the Eighth Army. In view of the fact that it was untimely to "airdrop" a new general, Mei Chao In this way, Yin became the first commander of the Indu Corps.

After that, the Ming army stopped attacking on the northern front and stayed put. The two sides launched a tug-of-war on the southern front-east of Calcutta that continues to this day.

This makes the gentlemen in London extremely angry. If this continues, the enemy will invade the sacred land of the British Empire and steal the empire's most shining gems.

Commander-in-Chief, a high-ranking military position with unparalleled status in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty, cannot be held by many people. It can be said that Mei Chaoyin is lucky to be in charge of an entire corps.

The group army responsible for conquering the South Asian subcontinent is called the Indo Corps, which was upgraded from the original Eighth Army. The highest commander is Lieutenant General Mei Chaoyin, the commander of the army.

"This battle was valuable. It proved that our deployment was effective. We consumed the enemy's troops and ammunition and delayed their rapid offensive - at least we had enough time to strengthen the Baharampur area. defense line, and now they have stopped attacking.”

Facing accountability from London, Admiral Archibald Wavell bit the bullet and gave a tactful reply:

It was not until Singapore was captured and the Malayan War ended that the Ming army began to participate in the war in Burma, and its military strength increased from one or two divisions to the current 100,000.

In June, the Ming Army shipped a total of 6.27 tons of various materials by sea throughout the month. Due to attacks by British aircraft and submarines, Chittagong Port actually received 5.1 tons for delivery.

In July, the Ming army sent 8.4 tons of various supplies, and Chittagong received 7.03 tons.

Some soldiers deliberately held up banners while taking photos, with words such as "Thank you, Prime Minister, for the reward" and "Thank you so much for sending me a car thousands of miles away".

In theory, there is not only surplus, but there should be a lot of surplus.

Cheng Han and Mei Chaoyin exchanged more than ten messages over the past few days, and had a heated debate about whether to continue the battle.

"What do you think of Zhou Taizhao?"

"What do I think? If you ask me, you shouldn't go to Indu to fight in the summer. Just stay along the Yajiang River."

After several ups and downs, it took two days and one night for Zhou Changfeng's transport plane to land at Gaoqiao Airport in Gyeonggi Province.

The Army Officer of the Governor's Mansion who came to greet him was still the seemingly amiable Fan Ming from before. On the way to the Governor's Mansion, the two discussed the war situation in the direction of Indu.

Fan Ming said regretfully: "If we stop now, all our efforts will be wasted. There are signs that the enemy in front of us is about to be unable to hold on any longer. The enemy's defense line on the southern front is crumbling. If the air force then launches a vigorous attack to intercept the enemy's reinforcements coming from the railway, , there is still a chance of winning this battle.”

"You can't be greedy. You must have the courage to stop when you say stop and stop losses in time." Zhou Changfeng said calmly: "Two months ago, I suggested not to rush to fight, but to stand firm first, and wait for autumn and winter before taking the initiative to attack. Summer will be there. Fighting is simply asking for trouble, and that's the reality."

The topic just froze, and the car suddenly became quiet.

Zhou Changfeng turned to look out the window, wanting to observe the changes among the people in the past few months. To his relief, it finally looked like wartime. Although the staff at the gas station were still so leisurely, reading newspapers, chatting, and nibbling melons, a conspicuous sign was hung on the public notice board that read: With the "ticket purchase limit", the prices of No. 56, No. 66, and No. 70 gasoline sold increased slightly, returning to levels similar to those before the war.

Obviously the rationing system has finally been implemented, but there seems to be no drop in the living standards of the citizens?
Men still ride bicycles and take trams to and from work as always.

The women in Yingtianfu, the capital, still dress fashionably and elegantly, only slightly slower than those in Shanghai. They wear exquisite pointed-toe high-heeled shoes, thin viscose fiber skirts, high-end silk blouses...

However, as an important strategic material, nylon-nylon stockings are indeed rarer than before.

After a long time, Zhou Changfeng was the first to break the silence.

"I heard that the navy is going to start building merchant ships that are urgently built during wartime? How is the progress?"

Fan Ming hesitated for a few seconds and then said thoughtfully: "I don't know much about the navy, but I heard that they were holding a summary meeting a few days ago. I guess the results will be announced soon."

After the outbreak of the war, as the Consultative Council successively passed the Basic Combat Readiness Act and the Armed Forces Expansion Act, the construction plan of civilian ships began to be gradually managed by the Ming Navy.

As of the beginning of the 1940s, less than 10% of the merchant ship construction plans could be decided by private enterprises on their own, while the rest were left to the navy's arrangements.

The total tonnage of merchant ships of 10 million tons seems to be rich, but it is still insufficient for the Ming Dynasty, whose front lines span two oceans, and the actual shipping capacity has never been sufficient.

In response, the Ming Navy cautiously expanded the scope of civilian ship recruitment while launching a wartime merchant ship construction plan.

It is definitely inappropriate to requisition merchant ships wholesale, which will have a serious negative impact on economic construction - in fact, since the outbreak of the war, the growth rate of Ming's industrial output has accelerated.

The output of important industrial products such as steel, aluminum, coal, sulfuric acid, etc. are all jumping, and private market sentiment is even more enthusiastic. Various stocks are soaring with one victory after another.

Is this an overdraft for the future or a suitable stimulus? It’s not known yet.

According to the shipbuilding standards and specifications revised by the Ming Dynasty Shipbuilding Industry Association in the 37th year of Zhichang, the Navy and the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Shipbuilding Industry Group organized a team to design wartime merchant ships.

Transport ships in the context of war emphasize the unification of material specifications, efficient construction processes, and simplicity of machinery and equipment, thereby shortening the construction cycle and increasing output.

On August 8, the Navy released the design and construction plan for wartime merchant ships. There were a total of one high-speed troop carrier, three types of cargo ships, and one type of oil tanker.

Since the war went smoothly, everyone was very optimistic about the upcoming situation. Therefore, these wartime merchant ships were designed to be able to continue to be used after the war, and quality was not sacrificed in pursuit of output.

Wartime quick-build merchant ships have their own serial numbers according to different types, as follows: "Xin" represents a troop ship, "Ren" represents a cargo ship, and "Gui" represents an oil tanker.

4200. The Xin-IV fast-building high-speed troop carrier has an empty weight of 112 tons, a length of 14 meters, and a width of 1.04 meters. It is driven by four oil-coal mixed-fired boilers and two steam turbines, with an output of 20.5 horsepower and a maximum speed of 6000 knots. The range is nautical miles.

Compared with slow cargo ships, which generally have a speed of only 10 knots, it is crucial for this high-speed troop carrier to be able to follow a fleet operating at a cruising speed of 14 knots.

6600. The Ren-132 quick-build freighter has an empty weight of 17 tons, a length of 3300 meters, and a width of 12.3 meters. It is driven by three coal-fired water tube boilers and a triple-expansion steam engine, with a maximum power of 12500 horsepower, a maximum speed of knots, and a cruising range of nautical miles.

This kind of cargo ship will undoubtedly be the backbone of maritime transportation. It can load 8000 tons of materials and also comes with two 5-ton cranes and a 15-ton crane.

2070. The Ren-87 quick-build freighter has an empty weight of 13 tons, a length of 1600 meters, and a width of 12 meters. It is driven by two coal-fired water tube boilers and a triple-expansion steam engine, with a maximum power of 4200 horsepower, a maximum speed of knots, and a cruising range of nautical miles.

This kind of cargo ship is smaller, but it has a lifting stern door carefully designed by Jiangzhe Shipbuilding Group, which is very suitable for transporting vehicles.

Fourth, the Renyi-type rapid construction cargo ship has an empty weight of 980 tons, a length of 67 meters, and a width of 9.6 meters. It is driven by a diesel engine with a maximum power of 1200 horsepower, a speed of 13.4 knots, and a cruising range of 4000 nautical miles.

This kind of small freighter was mainly used by the people of the Ming Dynasty to transport various miscellaneous bulk cargoes between major coastal cities on the mainland and Ryukyu, Japan, Annan, and North Korea.

Fifth, the Ren-5300 quick-build freighter has an empty weight of 119 tons, a length of 16 meters and a width of 3300 meters. The power configuration is the same as that of the Renliu type, driven by three coal-fired boilers and a triple-expansion steam engine, with a maximum power of 13 horsepower, a maximum speed of 7000 knots, and a cruising range of nautical miles.

This kind of freighter is quite special. It is designed entirely to transport iron ore and copper ore to the mainland of Ming Dynasty. It has a semi-automatic large-scale suspended excavator to assist in loading and unloading the ore in the ship's warehouse.

149. Guijiu oil tanker, 20.4 meters long, 9700 meters wide, with an empty weight of 6300 tons, driven by three oil-coal mixed-fired boilers and two triple-expansion steam engines, with a maximum power of 13 horsepower, a maximum speed of 11500 knots, and a cruising range of nautical miles.

These large oil tankers bear heavy responsibilities. The precious crude oil extracted from the Borneo Oil Field and Palembang Oil Field will be transported to the mainland of Ming Dynasty and refueled into the continuously running war machine.

The above three categories and five small wartime quick-build merchant ships only add up to 722 ships in the preliminary construction draft (excluding the Ren-23 small freighter), followed by an additional ships, which are planned to be completed within one year.

However, whether these merchant ships should have a general name has become the focus of internal disputes. The entangled name is largely due to the influence of Zhou.

As early as the beginning of this year, when he attended the banquet of the dignitaries, he often talked nonsense while eating and drinking, and he also bet with many people that the Americans would later label the mass-built merchant ships "Freedom." and "Victory", so in response, it is also appropriate for our wartime mass-produced merchant ship to be called the Big Paddle Wheel.

At that time, some people disagreed, and they felt that this was not a comparison at all.

If the Americans want to use these merchant ships to bring freedom and victory, then they might as well name it "civilization."

As expected, it turned out to be the case - the EC2-S-C1 merchant ship was really called a free ship, so many people thought of the chat at the banquet where the wine was over and the food was over.

(End of this chapter)