HCB Chapter 232: The Japanese soldier's code name on the radio is "Chicken"
Chapter 232: The Japanese soldier's code name on the radio is "Chicken"
During World War II, technology developed rapidly.
At a time when the White Eagle Army and the People's Army had already used M3 half-track vehicles or Dodge trucks equipped with high-power radios and additional batteries as command and communication vehicles (the author said in the picture at the end of the chapter), long-distance radio communications could be carried out at any time through the huge antenna erected on the top of the vehicle.
The Japanese's radio communication capabilities were not significantly different from when the war began.
In order to conduct radio communications across tens or hundreds of kilometers, the Japanese communication soldiers must first use bamboo poles to erect a tall Yagi antenna in an open area, and then install a huge high-power radio station and battery.
Then, a communications soldier with good physical strength would ride a bicycle hard, pulling the generator shaft to rotate and charge the battery. (For cars, the engine would start and the accompanying generator would charge the battery.)
If you encounter a Japanese army that treats you better, you can use a gasoline generator to charge your bicycle, saving you the trouble of riding a bicycle.
However, no matter what, if the Japanese want to send messages over long distances, they need to prepare for a long time.
Therefore, the 114th Infantry Regiment, which was attacked by air raids and Lynx vehicles in succession, spent a lot of time preparing to send a message, and only had time to leave a sentence "My unit is under air raid..." before it was completely wiped out.
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On the other side, inside the Mandalay Command Center, the air was as heavy as if a huge stone weighing a thousand pounds was pressing down on it.
Contact with the 114th Infantry Regiment, which was sent north to reinforce them, had been lost for an hour.
General Tanaka Shinichi, the hastily appointed Chief of Staff of the Pegu Front, sat at a map table, the veins on his forehead bulging with anxiety.
His eyes were fixed on the red dotted line marking the 114th Regiment's marching route, as if he could catch their whereabouts from the empty air with just one more glance.
However, no new news came back from the end of this line.
"Damn it." Tanaka Shinichi suddenly grabbed the red and blue pencils on the table and threw them hard on the map.
Now the 2nd Guards Division and the 72nd Independent Mixed Brigade are separated and surrounded on the front line, and the situation is critical.
A total of five battalions of the Pegu 2nd Independent Garrison Brigade were stationed on the defense line between Mandalay and Lashio.
As the 55th Division stationed in Lashio was beaten by the left-wing group of the Anmin Army, these five battalions could not move easily.
As for Tanaka Shinichi, at this moment, apart from his old unit, the 18th Division, he only had more than 2 puppet troops left to help maintain public order.
Shinichi Tanaka looked at the several thick blue arrows on the map that represented the attack direction of the Anmin Army, and was extremely anxious at the moment.
He knew very well that if the 114th Regiment failed in its mission, the front-line troops would not be able to retreat to Mandalay but would be completely annihilated, and Mandalay would be left without any protection.
The consequences of losing Mandalay were not only a strategic failure, but also a huge political disaster that he and the commander of the Pegu Front, Heitaro Kimura, could not bear.
A catastrophic cauldron.
"If it weren't for that madman Mutaguchi Ren'ya..." Tanaka cursed softly, his words filled with hatred and helplessness.
Mutaguchi's arrogant face appeared in front of his eyes.
That guy insisted on launching the Battle of Imphal, and mobilized all the elite troops that were supposed to protect the Pegu area.
Now, Mutaguchi was commended by the headquarters for his brief victory in the Sindhu battlefield. Even Boss's Sindhu Independence Army gave him three divisions of Indian puppet troops to help him show off his power.
Thinking of this, Tanaka Shinichi clenched his fists tighter, and his knuckles turned white from the force.
Mutaguchi Renya became the hero who conquered Sindhu. Will he take the blame for the loss of the big city?
This is not okay.
Just as he was getting impatient, the door of the headquarters was suddenly pushed open, and a communications staff officer ran in sweating profusely, standing at attention and saluting:
"General, we have intercepted the enemy's radio signal!"
Tanaka Shinichi suddenly looked up, and his eyes, which had originally seemed a little cloudy due to fatigue, immediately lit up with a glimmer of light.
"Oh?" He raised his eyebrows, stood up, and said with a hint of anticipation, "Take me there immediately."
Since we can't contact the 114th, let's listen to what the enemy is saying on the channel.
The staff officer nodded and led Tanaka Shinichi quickly to the telecommunications room next door.
It was a large room, faintly scented with sweat and the peculiar smell of electronic equipment.
The lights on the radio equipment flickered slightly, and it seemed to be breathing nervously.
Tanaka faced his subordinates who stood up to greet him, walked quickly to the table and put on headphones.
He picked up the headphones and immediately heard a voice speaking in Dry Language. However, due to the poor quality of the radio's semiconductors, the sound was not only distorted, but there was also a lot of noise in the background, making the voice seem extremely vague.
Tanaka Shinichi frowned, and his subordinates immediately adjusted the radio knob and finally captured a relatively clear signal.
Thanks to his good Qian culture education, Tanaka Shinichi listened carefully and understood most of it.
"The Great Raven (Scout Battalion) reports to the Nest (Headquarters), we have finished our meal (battle) in Canteen No. 4 (Highway Battlefield), overturned four turtles (tanks), and slaughtered over 2000 chickens (Japanese). Over."
Canteen? Turtle? Chicken?
Shinichi Tanaka's mind was full of doubts. Am I learning Qian language correctly?
What's that on the radio?
He looked at the other communication staff for help. They were holding headsets in their hands and shaking their heads in confusion.
Tanaka Shinichi had no choice but to continue focusing on the headphones in his hand. Soon after a rustling sound, another voice came from the headphones:
"Nest received. Good job. Did you capture the sheep (prisoner)? Over."
Then there was a few seconds of rustling sound.
"Big Raven, no sheep caught. Repeat, no sheep caught. There are about 1000 chickens running around. Do we need to eat the leftovers (pursuing the fleeing soldiers)? Over."
"Nest received, overruled. Proceed immediately to the next mess hall. Repeat, proceed immediately to the next mess hall. Leave the task of eating the leftovers to the East Barn Owl (Motorized Regiment 1) and the Vultures (Fighter Group). Over."
"Big Raven, get it. Leave immediately. Call over."
Then there was an endless rustling sound, and Tanaka Shinichi knew that the call was over.
The key contents of the communication were all in code. Tanaka Shinichi took off his headphones, glanced coldly at the communications staff standing beside him, and said in a low voice:
"'Canteen'? 'Turtle'? 'Chicken'? Did you get what I meant?"
An elderly communications officer said tentatively:
"General, could 'canteen' be the enemy's code for the battlefield, and 'turtle' might refer to our tanks? As for 'chicken'..."
"You mean they are insulting the warriors of the Locust Army." Tanaka Shinichi slammed the table and stood up. His voice was low but full of murderous intent due to his anger.