Chapter 61

  At 4 am, Old Xing paced back and forth, anxiously saying: "Why hasn't the battle ended yet? Dawn is approaching!"

  At 4:36, the staff officer rushed in and said: "Report! The enemy's 5th Division has opened a gap in the 53rd Regiment, and the 53rd Regiment is currently filling the gap."

  "Bastard! Tell Hong Jinwei that he is the commander of the 53rd Regiment, and he is the No.1 troop of our 7th Army, don't let him tarnish the name of our 7th Army."

  "Yes."

  At 58 minutes, "Report, Commander, Colonel Hong has sacrificed himself, but the gap has been filled! Before his sacrifice, Colonel Hong asked someone to tell the commander that 'he didn't let the commander down in the dark, and he didn't make the commanding officer lose face!"

  "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!"

  At 5:12, Jonathan ordered the planes to take off and bomb the enemy positions, allowing the 53rd Division to break out of the encirclement. At this time, the deputy officer rushed in and said: "Commander, the 53rd Division is finished, just now the 53rd Division sent a telegram saying..."

  "What did you say?"

  "Surrender your arms and you will not be killed; prisoners will be treated with kindness."

  "Son of a bitch!" Jonathan exploded in a rage.

  Chief of Staff Wilson reminded him on the side: "Let's let the 3rd and 5th Divisions hurry up and withdraw, get on the ship and withdraw!"

  "Quick, get them out of there! Order the fleet to provide gunfire support!"

  "Yes."

  At 6:43, the enemy's 3rd and 5th Divisions retreated with great difficulty, being tightly bitten by the 40th, 7th and 107th Armies. Now they were finally not far from the fleet. Major General York and his 3rd Division let out a long sigh of relief when they saw the warships, and now he saw the warships as so pleasing to the eye, so familiar, he shouted: "Get me on board immediately, set sail immediately after boarding."

  "Sir, but our 3rd battalion hasn't arrived yet, they're still holding off the enemy in the rear! Should we wait for them to arrive?"

  "No way, you go give orders quickly!"

  "Yes."

  When the main forces of their 3rd and 5th Divisions had boarded the ships and set sail, they saw their own rearguard troops rushing to the coast, waving their hands and shouting: "Stop the boat, stop the boat!!!"

  However, the ship did not stop, because 100 meters away from them, a large number of Longwei army had already arrived. The soldiers on the boat watched as their comrades on the beach were captured one by one, some looked on in despair and wept silently, others crossed themselves and prayed to God, while others remained silent. General York whispered: "Sorry, if I wait for you, none of us will make it out, good luck!"

  On August 6, 2064, at 7:00 a.m., the Western Zuo Province's Southern Line came to an end. The enemy's 53rd Division was completely annihilated, with the division commander and deputy division commanders among others being captured. The enemy's 3rd and 5th Divisions were heavily damaged, with over 9,000 enemy troops killed, more than 6,000 captured, and 5 enemy warships sunk. Our army suffered over 3,000 casualties, including the death of Comrade Hong Jinwei, commander of the 53rd Regiment, and the serious injury of Deputy Commander Mo Shaojun of the 40th Army. When the news reached the Military Commission, they were overjoyed. The Chairman exclaimed: "Good, good!" The Old General excitedly said: "Well done, well done!" Lin Gang calmly said after learning about it: "Not bad."

  At this time, I was informed of the sacrifice of Hong Tuanzhang and was speechless for a long time. After a good while, he said: "Old partner has left us again." Everyone was sad and didn't speak.

  I also said: "After the war is over, I want to set up a martyrs' cemetery in Xilong. In the future, all comrades who have sacrificed will be buried there! And I also want to build a monument in Jidagang to commemorate those soldiers and civilians who died in battle!"

  Director Zhang said first: "I agree! We can't forget these comrades and masses who sacrificed for the country, for the people. They are all heroes!"

  I nodded and shouted loudly: "They are all heroes!"

  "They're all heroes!"

  "After a while, I ordered: 'Order the 7th Army to defend in place and closely monitor the Green Army. The 40th Army will rest at Aizur, and the 107th Army will immediately set out for Sirguli after clearing the battlefield.'"

  "Yes."

  Deputy Commander Xu Feng asked: "Not waiting for the 11th Army and the 63rd Division to arrive?"

  I said: "Let the 107th Army pass through and gather for orders." I asked again: "What's the situation with Commander Yao now?"

  Chief of Staff Zhou replied, "The 27th Army has now entered the urban area of Barnibad, and the 13th Army has also occupied Ambala. It is estimated that the road to New Delhi can be opened up by tonight at the latest."

  I nodded and said: "Well, when will the 11th Army and the 63rd Division arrive?"

  Deputy Commander Xu replied: "At the earliest, it will be tomorrow night."

  "I said in a businesslike tone: 'Shall we launch a general attack tomorrow night?'"

  Chief of Staff Zhou said: "I think it's possible, I estimate that New Delhi is already in chaos."

  Director Zhang said: "Of course, they are already fighting at their doorstep, how can they not be in a mess?"

  Old Wu rarely said a joke: "It seems that their exile government in London is about to start work."

  "Haha!"

  "Report, Military Commission's urgent telegram."

  "Think."

  "Yes, the Military Commission orders: Commander Tang Ning should seize the current favorable opportunity to launch a counterattack against the enemy in the west of Xili Guli without waiting for reinforcements. Strive to defeat the enemy before the arrival of British reinforcements."

  I listened to the result of the telegram and read it again, immediately ordering: "Tell Daviel to order him to arrive in Siriguri tonight, tomorrow night at 0:25, launch a general attack with the 25th Army, and let Yi Qiang, the commander of the 25th Army, take full command as the frontline commander. Require them to end the battle before noon tomorrow. If the enemy retreats, they can dispatch troops to pursue them in moderation if conditions permit. Pay special attention to the enemy's troop movements and prevent enemy reinforcements from arriving."

  "Yes."

  After a while, the staff officer came in to report: "Commander, the 40th Army has just sent an urgent telegram saying that Comrade Mo Shaojun, Deputy Commander of the 40th Army, was seriously injured and has just sacrificed himself!"

  I was stunned, and Chief of Staff Xu roared: "What? Old Mo!!!!!!!!!". After finishing speaking, tears burst out. The entire command center was immersed in a painful atmosphere, and I sadly said: "Another good comrade has left." Comrade Mo Shaojun is the highest-ranking general officer who has made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and party since the start of the war, at the age of 48.

  I said: "Report to the Central Committee immediately, I request that Comrade Mo Shaojun be awarded the title of First-Class National Hero, and this will also be sent out."

  "Yes."

  I watched the staff officer leave, then said: "I have another request, that is to take over all the families of comrades who sacrificed and were injured, and let our military region and Xizhou Province support them."

  Once this request was agreed upon, I immediately had the Political Department send someone to compile a list of the names of the fallen and wounded, and then sent someone to bring them over one by one. If there were any issues, they would report back immediately. After handling these matters, I sighed and said: "I can only do this much to comfort the spirits of the martyrs in heaven!"

  Lao Xu said emotionally: "Commander, you are a true commander."