Chapter 28

  When I received the order to attack again on the 2nd day, I directly said: "The troops are outside, and military orders have their exceptions! Just send it out like this."

  "Yes."

  On the third day, I received it again and said: "I guarantee that I can capture Pune, annihilate the enemy's 4th Division. If the task is not completed, I will go directly to the military court."

  After that, there was no more order to rush into battle. On this day, a piece of good news also came that the highway built in the rear had been fully opened to traffic, and from then on, the logistics of my front-line troops were directly guaranteed, and a large number of ammunition and living materials were constantly transported in.

  On October 14, the commander of the 53rd regiment, Pan, came to me and reported some unexpected good news. He said: "We found a local Tibetan who told us that there is a small road from north to south directly between Debu and Kandra. It is said that this road was discovered by an Englishman named Bailey, so it is also called the 'Bailey Road'."

  "I said: 'Great, point it out on the map and let me see where it is?'"

  Commander Pan pointed out the approximate location to me and said: "This road is very difficult to walk, it takes a lot of time, and it's not suitable for large-scale troops to pass through."

  I nodded and thought for a moment before asking: "Can it be done through a group?"

  Commander Pan said: "I estimate that about 2,000 people can still make it."

  I said: "Not estimate, must be!"

  "Alright, you can pass through," said Commander Pan, gritting his teeth, "but heavy weapons are not allowed."

  I bowed my head in contemplation, and after about a minute or so, I looked up and said: "Let's have the meeting."

  2 hours later, I briefed the situation at the meeting and said: "Last time we met, I didn't agree to start a war. Now the timing is fully ripe, so I order the 53rd Regiment to dispatch the 1st and 2nd Battalions as an encircling force. You must arrive between Depu and Kandar within 7 days, cut off their retreat! Don't let the 58th Brigade of Kandar's 4th Division reinforce, nor can you let the troops from Selah and Depu withdraw to Kandar to merge with them. The 53rd Regiment must hold on until our forces arrive, do you understand, Colonel Pan!"

  "Got it, mission accomplished!"

  I nodded and continued: "The 84th Division will depart on the 6th, that is, November 20th, early in the morning, and attack from the side of Mong Kok. The attack time is set after the 53rd Regiment arrives at the blocking position. Your unit should quickly occupy Mong Kok, then rush to the enemy's 11th Brigade behind Tsim Sha Tsui, and finally attack Depot Hill."

  "Yes!"

  I said again: "The 142nd Division will immediately dispatch troops after the 84th Division's attack begins, and head straight to Zela via the Dawang-Sela Highway. Since the enemy's 11th Brigade is stationed between Zela and Debu, your unit will cooperate with the 84th Division to take out the brigade after capturing Zela, and then head straight to Debu to meet up with the 53rd Regiment."

  "Yes."

  "The rest of the 201st Division served as a reserve force, and their task was simply to take over the positions along the way."

  "Haha!"

  After the meeting, I held back Commander Pan and reminded him: "Your task is very heavy, after the forced march, you will have to build a position immediately and fight, and bear the attack of two batches of enemies in front and behind. You must be careful!"

  "Rest assured, Commander! The 53rd Regiment will surely complete its mission beautifully."

  "Well. I will speed up the attack of the 84th and 142nd divisions, to alleviate your pressure."

  "Understood, sir."

  "After returning, gather the troops and set off! Also, report your location on the road at any time"

  "That's it, let's go."

  "Alright, let's go." I patted Old Pan on the shoulder. I kept watching Old Pan's figure until it disappeared from sight.

  On the evening of November 14, Pan Cheng gathered the troops of the 1st and 2nd battalions and said: "Comrades, I have received orders from the division commander to have our 53rd regiment penetrate deep into the enemy's rear, encircle and cut off their reinforcements from Kandala on the periphery, and also prevent the surrounded enemies from retreating. Our mission is very important. The division commander has entrusted us with this arduous task because he believes in us, the 53rd regiment. We must not let him down, comrades! Do you have confidence in completing the task?"

  "Yes." The warriors replied loudly.

  "Alright! Our squad is the Iron Wall Squad, a name given by Chairman Mao himself. We must not betray this title and we will not let Chairman down, right?!"

  "Yes."

  "What is our slogan?"

  "We will win every battle, and we must win the first one."

  "Alright, let's go."

  Soon, the warriors departed in an orderly manner under a series of commands. Commander Pan said to the political commissar and the 3rd battalion commander who stayed behind: "I'm leaving, you just stay at home and wait for our good news."

  "Be careful on your way." The political commissar said.

  "Why did you make 3rd Battalion stay behind?" said the commander of the 3rd Battalion.

  "This is what our superiors mean, execute the order, no more words, I'm leaving." After finishing speaking, Captain Pan immediately joined the troops and set off as well.

  Under the guidance of local Tibetans, the 53rd Regiment soon set foot on this road leading to Kandeh, known as "Baili Xiaodao" by locals. The Baili Xiaodao road was rugged and slippery, extremely difficult to traverse, and it wasn't until dawn that they had covered less than 15 miles. Pan Cheng said to the Chief of Staff Xue Fei: "Old Xue, it seems we'll have to spend six days on this road."

  Xue Fei wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Yes."

  Pan Cheng said: "Fortunately, we've been practicing with heavy loads all along!"

  Xue Fei said: "Yes! Otherwise, our superiors wouldn't have let us complete this task."

  Pan Cheng suddenly smiled and said: "Old Xue, do you still remember what our master said back then?"

  Xue Fei smiled and replied: "Of course, our superiors said that 'at the very least, our 53rd division is the best at running and rapid marching!' Haha!"

  Pan Cheng smiled and said, "It seems that our training was not in vain, haha." After finishing speaking, he turned his head to the soldiers passing by beside him and said, "Hurry up, pay attention to the road, don't twist your feet, be careful of safety."

  Xue Fei said: "Let's keep going too."

  "Alright."

  Wangjiao is located on the road from Dawang to Zela, 10 miles away from Zela's left side, and forms a horn with Zela. In order to smoothly occupy Zela, Wangjiao must also be captured, so I arranged for the 84th and 142nd Divisions to attack both places at the same time. The 84th Division hid in a place 2 miles away from Wangjiao on the afternoon of November 20, waiting for orders from superiors. Within just 2 hours, they solved two batches of Xizang scouts, and the division commander was worried about exposing himself, while also anxiously waiting for the attack order. By 10 o'clock in the evening, more than 12,000 people had waited for over 8 hours without eating a single meal, all waiting for the attack command. At this time, the front-line troops returned to report: "The enemy at Wangjiao has come out, with several thousand people!" Commander Pang Weiguo was shocked and said: "Isn't there only two battalions in Wangjiao?" The front line reported again: "The enemy is getting closer!" Commander Pang Weiguo thought: Should we fight or not? Time waits for no man! He gritted his teeth and said: "Order the troops to launch a full-scale attack, let's go!"

  In fact, this unit was the 11th Brigade of Western Yunnan, which was temporarily pulled out by Commander Cauldron to prepare for a surprise attack on Dawang. He didn't know that our army had already arrived with two divisions of reinforcements. He still hoped that the 11th Brigade could bring him a victory and boost morale. When the 11th Brigade of Western Yunnan left Wengjiao, it was subjected to fierce attacks not far away.

  "Boom!" "Boom!" "Dadada..." "Bang bang!" For a time, the Western Army was beaten to the point of being overturned and fell down in pieces. The commander of the 11th Brigade of the Western Army, Xi Shaoer, immediately shouted: "Counterattack immediately, open fire quickly!" As soon as the words fell, a shell exploded not far from him, "Boom!" After the smoke cleared, Xi Shaoer and his deputy officers were all lying on the ground motionless. At this time, Commander Pang Weiguo did not know that the enemy commander had been killed, he ordered the entire division to charge forward, shouting: "A narrow road meets a brave warrior."

  "Ding ding ding da da..." A loud bugle call sounded, "Charge!" The warriors shouted as they charged forward. The Western Garrison was already stunned, their commander had been blown to death, and they could only fight individually, but those who opened fire were quickly killed. As the number of deaths grew, the Western Garrison finally collapsed, and the soldiers fled in a swarm. At this time, the 11th Brigade of the Western Garrison had lost its formation, the regimental commander couldn't find the battalion commander, and the battalion commander couldn't find the company commander - it was complete chaos. When the commander of the Wangjiao position arrived at his own position, he only saw the soldiers of the 11th Brigade fleeing towards them, a vast black mass! He immediately thought of something with terror and shouted: "Don't let them escape here, let them go to the highway!" But his voice was quickly drowned out by the battlefield's shouts and gunfire, and his position was soon overrun by the retreating soldiers. The soldiers on the position were also infected and joined the fleeing troops. One hour later, Wangjiao was smoothly occupied by our army, and the 84th Division left one battalion to clean up the battlefield while the rest did not stop and rushed towards Se La.