North of Dangyang, in the dark night of heavy rain, more than 300 people from the Lieyan Special Warfare Brigade were marching in the rain under the cover of night.
Although the weapons and equipment of the Flame Special Forces Brigade are much more sophisticated than those of conventional troops, only a small number of officers and soldiers have captured Japanese raincoats, and most of the officers and soldiers have already stolen them.
Now Chongqing has re-established the Sixth War Zone, with Chen Cheng concurrently serving as the commander-in-chief of the war zone. Yang Ling and his troops, who came from the Sulu War Zone, have also been temporarily placed under the command of the Sixth War Zone.
The battle on the front line of Yichang is still continuing, but most of the defense lines have entered the confrontation stage. Both sides have deployed heavy troops on the front line of Yichang, and no one can do anything to the other.
Therefore, Chen Cheng, the commander of the Sixth War Zone, decided to send troops to harass and attack the enemy's rear in order to put pressure on the enemy.
Peng Shan, commander of the 18th Army, recommended Yang Ling and his team to the Lieyan Special Forces Brigade to the theater commander Chen Cheng, but Chen Cheng had doubts about Yang Ling and his team's combat effectiveness.
Therefore, sending them deep behind enemy lines to carry out the mission of rescuing prisoners of war was a test for the Japanese and a test for Yang Ling and the others.
Now, of the more than one hundred brothers Yang Ling and others brought over from the Sulu War Zone, only about thirty of them survived after repeated battles. However, each of them is a life-stealing king of hell on the battlefield and is a veritable elite veteran.
And their Flame Special Warfare Brigade absorbed some new members on the battlefield, and added some troops to them during the battle.
Now the Lieyan Special Forces Brigade commanded by Yang Ling is no longer just a group of people brought from the Sulu War Zone, but a force with hundreds of people.
While resting in the small mountain village, Yang Ling reorganized the Lieyan Special Warfare Brigade under his command.
In accordance with the special operations organization, Yang Ling reorganized the Flame Special Operations Brigade under his command into three squadrons.
Among them, Grizzly Bear, Zhang Tie and Sun Liangcheng were appointed as squadron leaders of three flame squadrons, with each squadron having more than 100 people and no more than 200 people.
Each squadron is subordinate to several flame squads, which are further divided into flame combat groups, fully equipped with enemy reconnaissance, demolition, sniper, engineer, medical, assault, etc.
It can be said that the current Flame Special Warfare Brigade has not been weakened by several bloody battles. Instead, it is expanding in size due to the continuous replenishment of fresh blood.
The officers and soldiers recruited are all veterans who have fought against the Japanese. The combat effectiveness of their Lieyan Special Forces Brigade has not decreased but has increased.
This time Yang Ling and others were on a mission to rescue prisoners of war. During the Battle of Zaoyi, many Chinese officers and soldiers were captured by the Japanese because they ran out of ammunition and food.
Under the instigation and lobbying of traitors, some officers and soldiers took off their Chinese uniforms and became puppet soldiers who helped the tyrants.
However, there are still about a thousand captured officers and soldiers who are determined not to surrender to the Japanese, and are now being held intensively in the newly built prisoner of war camp in Dangyang.
After the Battle of Zaoyi, most of the troops of the Japanese 11th Army had withdrawn to the original garrison area. Because the Dangyang area was a newly occupied area, the Japanese 18th Mixed Brigade was stationed there.
The Japanese's mixed brigades are independent combat units. Compared with divisions with large military strength, the mixed brigades are also organized to meet the needs of war changes.
Mixed brigades generally have only two or three brigades, equipped with various combat units such as artillery, engineers, and cavalry. They are suitable for mountain operations and operations in complex environments because they are more flexible than large divisions.
The 18th Mixed Brigade has all kinds of combat units under its command. It is one of the elite troops newly formed by the Japanese. This time it was transferred to the Dangyang front line and placed behind the 13th Division, which is enough to show how elite they are.
This time Yang Ling and the others had to rescue thousands of captured officers and soldiers from the Japanese 18th Mixed Brigade, which can be said to be a great pressure.
Although it is said that there will be a guerrilla force remaining behind enemy lines to cooperate with them, but if their rescue fails, the Japanese are very likely to kill these captured officers and soldiers due to their ferocious character.
This time, Yang Ling not only left the injured officers and soldiers who had not yet recovered to recuperate in the small mountain village, but also brought out all the officers and soldiers of the Lieyan Special Warfare Brigade who were capable of fighting. It could be said that they were mobilized in full force.
At this moment, under the cover of torrential rain and darkness, they were very close to the camp where the Japanese held prisoners of war. It was a temporary prisoner of war camp. According to intelligence, there was about a squadron of Japanese guards.
"Chief Yang, the rain is too heavy. The river in front has swollen and the bridge has been washed away. Should we find a place to hide from the rain and wait until daybreak to find a place to cross the river?"
Heavy rain made the night march of the Lieyan Special Warfare Brigade very difficult. The brothers were all wet, but the squadron leader Sun Liangcheng who was walking in front turned back and reported a new situation.
It has now entered the rainy season in the Yangtze River Basin. Although Yang Ling and the others had considered everything before, they did not expect to encounter such a heavy rain, which undoubtedly brought some difficulties to their rescue.
"Let the brothers rest where they are, and put the alert fifty meters away."
When Yang Ling heard that the bridge in front of him had been destroyed by the rising water, he couldn't help but frowned. After wiping the rain from his forehead, he prepared to go and see the situation for himself.
"Rest where you are. The Third Flame Team is responsible for guarding, fifty meters away."
The officers' whispered orders came from the darkness, and the marching team suddenly stopped.
Yang Ling followed squadron leader Sun Liangcheng to the front of the team, and the roaring sound of the rushing river was deafening.
In the darkness, Yang Ling discovered that only some traces of the original bridge here were left, and the main part of the bridge had been washed away.
"Sir, how about I send someone to search upstream and downstream to see if there are other bridges?"
The members of the Lieyan Special Warfare Brigade only carried a map and were not very familiar with this place. For them, they were now operating in an unfamiliar area.
"The time agreed between us and the guerrillas is to meet up at five o'clock. We have already been delayed a lot of time on the road. We don't have time to find another place to cross the river."
In this era of limited communication, if the guerrillas cannot wait for them, they may change their plans and withdraw.
It will be even more difficult for Yang Ling and others who are unfamiliar with the place to rescue the officers and soldiers in the prisoner of war camp. Once the mission fails, an unknown fate awaits the officers and soldiers in the prisoner of war camp.
"Go find the rope and find some brothers who are good at water."
Yang Ling stared at the surging river in the darkness, and after thinking about it, decided to risk crossing the river.
"yes!"
Although squadron leader Sun Liangcheng thinks this method is too risky, there is no other way now but to try it first.
Soon, Sun Liangcheng found several ropes of more than ten meters, which were equipped by the scouts. Several brothers who were good at water were also found.
"I need you to take the rope to the other side and find a place to tie it firmly. But I want to make it clear that we don't know the depth of the river. The current is very fast. Your life may be in danger after you enter the water. I won't force you to do so.
.”
"Sir, let me do it. I am good at water." As soon as Yang Ling finished speaking, a brother stood up.
Yang Ling patted his shoulder and said, "Okay!"
The brothers worked hard to tie several ropes around this brother's waist, and then there were more than 20 brothers on the other side, who would pull him back if something went wrong.
After the brother took a deep breath, he slowly slid down the water with ropes tied around his body, entered the swollen river, and tried to swim to the other side of the river.