Hong Kong Island: From a small stall to a global supplier

How can one forge a more resilient quality without undergoing the trials of water and fire?

The Shan State Army, which needs to be tested and grow, doesn't need any external forces; they just want to conquer the Burmese army through their own efforts!

Of course, it doesn't matter whether they themselves think that way.

A simple bamboo basket filled with wet mud, combined with a dug individual soldier's pit, covered with wood and then the bamboo basket was completed, and a machine gun bunker was formed.

That night, more than a dozen machine gun bunkers sprang up from three sides of the East Camp, scattered and irregularly distributed. While they didn't completely block the East Camp's chances of breaking out, they were close enough.

What's most infuriating is that there are always potholes or missing logs on the road, so at least the Mazda Jeep is definitely not going anywhere.

Upon receiving the report from the sentry, Chinnyu hurriedly climbed the watchtower in the camp, scanned the area outside with his binoculars, and immediately turned pale.

"Luo Xinghan, I curse your ancestors for eight generations!"

"You bastard born of a wild boar, if you're so capable, why don't you attack head-on? Digging holes is no skill at all!" Chinniu jumped up and down in anger. "You stinking rat, you twisted maggot!"

Chinny cursed out every curse word he could think of before finally descending the watchtower, utterly exhausted.

Finished!

In the following days, the Shan State Army did not continue its offensive. Instead, following Chen Yuanchao's orders, it began to evacuate residents near the three Burmese army camps to the north, creating a battlefield space more than 200 meters long.

Kengtung is not a modern city; the residents live in bungalows. In fact, not many people evacuated, but the north still appears very chaotic and crowded.

There are too few managers at our disposal.

……

"What the hell is Luo Xinghan doing? Why isn't he attacking yet?!"

Reiman stood on the watchtower, looking outside with his brows furrowed into a deep frown, feeling extremely anxious. "Are you waiting for your mother? Aren't you afraid that the reinforcements from Dongzhi will come and crush you like ants?"

He wasn't too worried about the blame for losing the largest city in East Shan State; what he feared was that after leaving the established camp, they wouldn't be able to defeat Rohing Han's army. He was waiting for the Shan State Allied Forces to attack, waiting for them to crash and bruise on their own defensive lines and lose their fighting spirit.

But he didn't expect that this bastard was just cleaning up the battlefield, which made Ruiman feel more and more pressured. Could it be that Luo Xinghan had some heavy weapons that could easily break through the camp's defenses?
impossible!

No, we can't wait any longer. Ryman came down from the watchtower and immediately ordered his men to go out and scout towards Taunggyi.

"What? The road has been dug up? They've set up a defensive line on the road and the hills next to it?" Ryman looked at the disheveled scouts, his mind going blank.

He wants to trap us!

"What right does he have?!" Reman's face was full of disbelief.

"General, could it be that he still intends to besiege the point and attack reinforcements?" Ding Angmin asked with some doubt.

"Does he...do he have that ability?" Reiman was unwilling to believe that Luo Xinghan had that ability, but the course of the situation clearly indicated that this was the only explanation.

“Luo Xinghan may not be there, but there’s still Peng Jiasheng and Zhang Qifu,” Ding Angminwu said anxiously.

Reman's expression kept changing.

"General, we can't wait any longer. He will definitely continue to build fortifications. Once he finishes them completely, it will be impossible for us to break through!"

"Damn it, you make it sound so easy! Break through, you're the striker!" Reman yelled.

Ding Angmin immediately lowered his head; he dared not.

“General, in any case, we should concentrate our forces to deal with Luo Xinghan first. There are only 600 men in the camp, which is too few,” his deputy and cousin Ruiqing said in a low voice.

“Yes, General, we need to rendezvous with the people from the Western Camp,” Ding Angminwu immediately added.

Ruiman took a deep breath. "Alright, contact the Western Camp immediately and tell them to break through to our side with all their might. If Luo Xinghan tries to stop us, we will meet them on the way and attack them from both sides."

"General, also let the East Camp break out," Ding Angminwu said softly.

Ruiman narrowed his eyes and immediately understood what Ding Angminwu meant.

Even if they can't break through, they can still distract Luo Xinghan. That kid is really insidious.

"Go and make the contact."

Luo Xinghan cut the landline telephone line, but the radio station was still able to make contact.

The Burmese military's communication technology is outdated, and Lo Hsin Han's is even more so. With such a disparate situation, there's no possibility of their communications being compromised...

In the early morning, before the sun had risen, Jingdong was shrouded in a thin mist, and visibility was not very good.

Many gaps were quietly made in the fences of the east and west camps. Burmese soldiers, with many grenades hanging from their waists, crouched down and charged like wild monkeys toward the machine gun bunker more than 40 meters away.

It's only 40 meters. An ordinary person could sprint at full speed for about 7 seconds. Even though Chen Yuanchao had Luo Xinghan's men build a chevaux-de-frise with bamboo as a barrier, the sentries on duty were not as focused as our army. In those few seconds, the Burmese army really managed to get away with it.

Even the best tactics depend on the people involved.

Several Burmese soldiers rushed to the vicinity of the machine gun bunker but hesitated for a moment; rushing too close and throwing grenades would blow themselves up...

The Shan State Army isn't stupid; they were just a few seconds slow to realize what was happening. Once they did, they immediately cried out in alarm and opened fire.

The Burmese soldiers who rushed out almost simultaneously pulled the pins on their grenades and threw them toward the firing ports of the machine gun bunker.

"Da da da"

"Da da da"

The grenade still needed 5 seconds to explode, but the bullets fired first went straight for it.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

A panicked mind, a tense heart, and trembling hands meant that most of the grenades I threw landed outside the firing port. Luckily, I threw enough to make one or two manage to get inside...

The sound of the grenade explosion instantly woke up the entire Kengtung. The West and South Camps, which were a step behind, had no choice but to take advantage of the Shan State Army's confusion and immediately start fighting.

Gunshots and explosions rang out simultaneously across most of the city at that moment.

"Go! Go! Go!" The Burmese officer, lying on the ground, shouted to the soldiers around him as they charged forward.

The entire battlefield was filled with chaotic gunfire, occasionally punctuated by the sound of grenade explosions.

There were hardly any tractors, let alone armored vehicles to support the advance.

At that critical juncture in 83, the entire country of Myanmar had only about 150 armored vehicles and fewer than 20 operational tanks.

The area within 20 meters of the camp is a military restricted zone, originally intended for safety and without any cover. However, it has now become a death zone. Several waves of attacks have left behind only thirty-odd corpses, and the front line has not advanced at all.

Chinnyu paced anxiously back and forth in the room, occasionally peering out the window, hoping the messenger would bring good news, but all he got in return was another defeat.

"No, this won't work!"

"Throw sandbags out as cover, dig holes in the ground, and if that doesn't work, blast them out with grenades. No matter what, get out of here!"

The order was sent out, but the people at the front were dumbfounded. Throw your mother's sandbags! How are you going to throw anything over ten kilograms?!
However, when faced with life and death, people can always muster a pitiful bit of wisdom; sandbags won't work, but a bamboo basket filled with soil can be rolled out...

There were also many tin barrels in the military camp that were used to store gasoline and diesel fuel. When filled with soil, they could be rolled out to serve as cover.

One Burmese soldier lay on the ground, pushing and shoving with his hands and shoulders, while another used a metal bucket as cover, firing wildly at the Shan State Army forces hidden in corners, windows, and trenches.

Upon seeing this, the Shan State Army unleashed a barrage of fire towards the metal barrels, "Puff," "Puff," "Puff," "Puff"...

Dust billowed around the metal barrel, but the Burmese soldiers hiding behind it with their heads covered were completely unharmed; even the full-power 7.62mm rounds couldn't penetrate it.

Seven or eight tin barrels rolled out from the gap in the fence, instantly creating cover along the 50-meter-long defensive line.

Not everyone in the Burmese army camp was just standing by and watching. The Burmese soldiers in the watchtowers, machine gun bunkers, and trenches also opened fire. In addition, the Burmese soldiers who rolled out bamboo baskets full of soil and took the opportunity to rush out with sandbags on their backs really pushed the battlefield forward slowly.

"Holy crap! What is that?!" When they arrived at the observation point near the front line in a jeep, Chen Yuanchao, Hai Wanyang, and the others were all stunned by what they saw.

"What the hell is this? A metal armored barrel?"

"Throw a grenade!"

"It's lost! It's lost!"

"Boom" "Boom" "Boom"

Throwing a few grenades up there, if they land in front of the tin bucket, they're useless, but if they land them behind or to the side, they can kill the Burmese soldiers.

"it is good!"

Chen Yuanchao and the others watched the excitement, but as soon as their cheers subsided, more people rushed out of the Burmese army camp under the cover of suppressed fire, and quickly filled in the gaps using the iron barrels as cover.

"Wow, you know what, you really have to admit, this thing is actually a bit of a problem on smooth roads."

Hai Li wiped his mouth, then suddenly slapped the ground. "Idiot! You said to level the road and throw stones! A few stones would have stopped it!"

"That's right!" He immediately sent someone to relay the message, but by the time the messenger ran up, it was too late. The metal bucket didn't actually roll 20 meters; the last few meters were just a matter of two big strides.

Hand grenades can also be thrown directly into the trenches. Based on combat experience in World War II, in such situations, bayonet fighting is more effective than shooting.

As the battle line advanced into the residential area, the Shan State Army lost most of its advantage. Fortunately, there were two defensive lines, one in front and one behind, and houses for cover. Both sides were incompetent; the Burmese soldiers with strong fighting spirit were now mostly dead...

The battle line has once again reached a stalemate, with the Burmese army and the Shan State Army locked in a tug-of-war, sometimes breaking through and sometimes being driven back.

Chen Yuanchao and his team rushed back to the operations command center. As soon as they entered, Luo Xinghan asked anxiously, "Chief Advisor Chen, what do you think we should do now?"

"What can we do? You have 3000 men, while they only managed to break through with a little over 1000. Don't tell me you can't win?"

Luo Xinghan's lips twitched, but he forced a smile. "Our forces are somewhat scattered. We need to set up defensive lines on the outer perimeter to prevent them from escaping, and we also need to set up defensive lines on the north side to prevent them from using feints to the east and attacks from the west. Now, the soldiers sandwiched between the three camps in the east, west, and south are being attacked from three sides... You know that, right?"

Chen Yuanchao immediately understood which of his men lacked a firm fighting spirit and were in a state of confusion.

No matter how good the battle lines or how good the equipment, if the fighting spirit is lost, it's like the Nationalist army back then; the first thought when the bugle sounded was to turn around and run away.

Realizing the problem was useless, Chen Yuanchao couldn't solve it.

The Shan State Army has no 'core' program and its will is certainly weak.

The so-called 'autonomy' is empty. Most of the chieftains of various ethnic groups in Shan State are Han Chinese. The three major forces, namely Peng Jiasheng's Burmese government, Luo Xinghan's Shan State Revolutionary Army, and Zhang Qifu's Mong Tai Army, are all dominated by Han Chinese. The vast majority of the lower classes only want to eat and dress warmly and do not care who is in charge. There is no autonomy at all.

Perhaps the arrival of the big boss Wang Yaotang could solve the problem; all Chen Yuanchao can do now is fight.

Standing before the rather rudimentary map, Chen Yuanchao thought for a moment, “It’s better to break one finger than to injure all ten. Winning more battles will naturally boost the soldiers’ confidence. Choose one of the three camps.”

"Eastern Camp!" Luo Xinghan said decisively. "We didn't manage to take it last time, so keeping it around is a thorn in our side."

Chen Yuanchao didn't care. "We'll leave a passage for the West Camp to rendezvous, but we can't just ignore it. We'll lay minefields with grenades and landmines along the road near the South Camp, and leave a few machine gun bunkers so they can see the hope of breaking through and rendezvous. This can be considered as leaving one side open while surrounding the other three."

"Don't launch a strong attack on the Eastern Camp. Give them some space and let them see hope of regrouping. First, lure everyone out of the camp, and then..."

"Good, good, good!" Luo Xinghan and Peng Jiasheng applauded loudly.

As expected of someone from the hometown, he devised a complete set of tactics based on the actual situation in a short period of time, in contrast to his advisors.

Bah! No wonder they were so easily driven out back then, despite having superior manpower and weaponry and occupying most of the territory…

waste!

……

As the order was passed down, the troops blocking the western and southern camps were gradually withdrawn.

Ruiman quickly sensed that the pace of the attack was gradually accelerating, and the same news came from the Western Camp.

"Damn it, I thought Luo was some big shot, but he's just this good!" Ryman slammed his fist on the table in delight. "I knew something was wrong. A bunch of bandits were dominating our regular army, their firepower was even stronger than ours, but they're just for show!"

Ding Angmin frowned deeply. "No, where is his mortar?"

The South Camp didn't go all out just now; they didn't use RPGs, recoilless rifles, or mortars, and only deployed half of their troops, just to guard against Luo Xinghan's 'artillery'.

It's been an hour since I started calling, and it still hasn't made a single sound.

"Do you think artillery shells come from nowhere? Even bullets have to be used sparingly. Doesn't he have any reserves left for later? Yangon won't stand by and watch him betray us. An operation to wipe him out is imperative!" Rui Man sneered. Mortar launchers are nothing special; the Burmese army has plenty. They left behind a lot when Yingjun left, and later acquired many more from Annam. But what good are launchers alone? What about the shells?

This thing seems to have little technical content, and most third-tier factories in China can produce it, but what is the real situation?
Currently, only five countries in Asia are capable of producing it: the Soviet Union, China, India, Israel, and South Korea.

The quality of the Indian artillery shells was also quite appalling; they killed more of their own people than the enemy's...

These words made Ding Angmin and Wu both convinced and furious. Damn it, so all that spare shells were thrown at their own heads!

Luo Xinghan of the trenches!

Not long after, Ruiqing rushed in excitedly and said, "The intensity of the gunfire outside is decreasing. It seems that Luo Xinghan's firepower is not keeping up."

really!

"Now that the pig feeder is out of steam, it's our turn to take action. Push our mortars up and increase the firepower!" Reiman shouted.

Soon, the sound of mortar explosions rang out first on the western front. These things are so useful in urban warfare that they can easily and accurately eliminate enemies behind buildings. This is something that hand grenades cannot replace, not even 40mm mortars.

The Western Camp had already sensed the increasing speed of the advance, and upon hearing the sound of mortars, they immediately realized that their opportunity had arrived.

The two remaining tractors, with their rear trailers removed and iron frames with steel plates attached to the front and sides, became a bankrupt version of armored vehicles. Two machine gunners sat on the side wheels and charged out menacingly.

Infantry-tank coordination: infantry clears the way in front, while tanks carrying RPGs and mortars follow behind.

The Western Camp spared no expense in preparing a way to open the passage!

(Only found Indian-style tractor modifications, as shown in the picture:)
No matter how unreliable this thing may seem, it can provide tremendous psychological encouragement to the Burmese army soldiers and put a lot of psychological pressure on the Shan State Army.

The 7.62mm intermediate round made a loud clanging sound when it hit the steel plate. The steel plate rattled around in the slot, absorbing a lot of the impact, but it was still severely deformed and bulged. In many places, the bullet was exposed, but it did stop the bullet!

The tractor driver ducked nervously, but didn't let go of the accelerator. After realizing he was alright, he cheered. The machine gunner popped up and opened fire, immediately forcing the Allied gunners to retreat.

The Burmese soldiers behind the tractor suddenly rushed out and charged forward, yelling.

In the trenches at the street corner, Shan State Army soldiers took advantage of a lull in the fire to get up and throw grenades. The grenades flew less than half the distance before landing on the ground. The machine gunners turned their guns and opened fire, pushing the men back down once again.

Taking down these beggar-like armored vehicles is actually quite simple: play dead in the trenches and wait for the armored vehicle to get close so you can take it down with you. But clearly, the Shan State Army doesn't have that kind of spirit of sacrifice.

Two tractors and armored vehicles pushed side by side across two streets, just as the Burmese troops in the western camp were in high spirits.

"Tu tu tu tu——"

"Tu tu tu tu——"

"Dangdangdang..."

"Uh……"

The machine gun bunker a few dozen meters to the side suddenly opened fire, unleashing a barrage of 7.62mm full-power rounds. Whether it was due to metal fatigue or simply because the steel plate couldn't withstand the full-power rounds, the machine gunner was hit in the chest and fell backward.

The machine gunner and the infantry accompanying the vehicle immediately turned their guns and opened fire, raising clouds of smoke around the machine gun bunker, but to no avail. The machine gun fire killed two Burmese soldiers on the spot, and the tires of the tractor were blown out by bullets. The tractor veered off course, throwing another machine gunner off.

The tractor driver remained seated, sweating profusely as he floored the accelerator, the tractor veering precariously across the intersection. But the infantry behind him were unlucky; without cover, seven or eight were instantly mowed down.

"Boom!" "Boom!"

"Boom!" "Boom!"

Two mortar shells were fired. One landed squarely on the wooden house next to it, while the other blasted the ground next to it, sending dirt flying everywhere. A small portion of the makeshift machine gun bunker collapsed.

The machine guns stopped!

A cheer erupted from the Burmese army, and a dozen men rushed across the street to catch up with the armored vehicle, while another squad of 10 men charged toward the machine gun bunker.

As they approached to within about 20 meters, seven or eight gun barrels stealthily emerged from the wooden houses on both sides, and began to fire, "Bang, bang!"

"Da da da"

Under crossfire, six men were shot and knocked down, while the remaining four screamed in terror and turned to run away.

Before they could even escape back to their unit, gunfire erupted again from inside the machine gun bunker, "Rat-a-tat-tat—"

With the gun barrel leveled and the street used as a reference, the gun swept straight across, and four people fell to the ground one after another, convulsing as the dirt road beneath them was stained red with blood.

Two Allied soldiers jumped into the trench, crouched low, and rushed to the back of the machine gun bunker. Inside, there were bamboo baskets filled with wet soil. Soon, the machine gun bunker was reinforced even more, with three rows of bamboo baskets, making it more than 1.5 meters thick. Now, not to mention 60mm mortars, even 82mm mortars would be useless.

After firing seven or eight cannon shots without success against the machine gun bunker, the West and South Camps immediately gave up.

With limited shells, the soldiers below are suffering as they cross the line of fire!

At the same time, at Dongdaying.

Chin Nyu clearly heard the sound of artillery fire coming from the west of the city, and combined with the reports from the front that the battle line was advancing at an accelerated pace, he immediately understood what was happening.

"The guy surnamed Luo is running out of firepower and has no staying power. Lord Reman has stepped up his efforts and come to my rescue. I knew Lord Reman wouldn't abandon me!"

"Damn it, my chance to break out has come!"

"Drive the tractors up here and give the whole army a push!"

"Go, go, go!"

At a single command, the 200 men who had been left in the main camp to secure the rear were immediately mobilized, taking all their belongings and charging forward. Chinnyu sat in his Mazda Jeep, making all the necessary preparations.

The moment the passage opens, he must appear before Lord Rehman and offer his loyalty! (End of Chapter)