Chapter 22 meets General Du Yuming

Zhao Xiaochun took some roasted wolf meat and sent it to the wounded. On the way, he met the correspondent of the head of the Zhao regiment, and the correspondent trotted all the way and asked, "Sister, have you seen the head of the Zhao regiment?" "Head Zhao is over there", Zhao Xiaochun pointed to the direction where Head Zhao was staying. It turned out that Chief Du Yuming was here.

Du Yuming is a famous anti-Japanese general, a lieutenant general of the National Revolutionary Army, and a backbone of the Whampoa department. He was born on November 28, 1904 in Dujiawan, Lujia, East District, Mizhi County, Shaanxi. In June 1924, he entered the first phase of study at the Whampoa Military Academy, and after graduation, he first emerged in the National Revolutionary Army's Eastern Crusade against Chen Jiongming, and successively served as the deputy platoon commander of the Military Academy Teaching Corps, the lieutenant and company commander of the Wuhan Branch School Cadet Corps, the squadron leader of the Central Army Military Academy, the battalion commander and regiment commander of the 2nd Division, the brigade commander and deputy division commander of the 25th Division of the 17th Army, and participated in the Northern Expedition, the Great Wall Anti-Japanese War, and the Songhu Anti-Japanese War. In November 1939, he served as the commander of the 5th Army, led his troops to participate in the Battle of Guinan, commanded the Kunlun Pass in Guinan to fight against Japan, and inflicted heavy losses on the 5th Division of the Japanese Army, known as the "Steel Army". In March 1942, he served as the deputy commander of the 1st Route of the Chinese Expeditionary Force and the commander of the 5th Army, and led his troops to participate in the Yunnan-Burma war against Japan.

At this time, General Du had completely lost the demeanor he had when he first entered Burma to fight, with a scruffy beard, high cheekbones, and deep-set eyes, and the Burmese battlefield made him in a dilemma, especially this retreat into the primeval forest of Savage Mountain.

On April 13, 1942, the British army asked the Chinese army to take over the Anglo-Burmese army's western defense area, in an attempt to withdraw from the war, Stilwell and Luo Zhuoying redeployed the battle plan to prepare for the battle in Mandalay, and ordered the Fifth Army and the 66th Army to be distributed on the 300-kilometer-long Ping (Manna) Man (Dele) Highway. Du Yuming believed that such a dispersed force would be broken by the enemy, and repeatedly stated the importance of Tangji, advocating either retreating to Tangji and holding the gate in front of Lashio; Either he fought in Pingmanna and opposed the unprepared Battle of Mandalay, but it was not accepted by Shi and Luo, and Du had to obey and give up Tangji. As a result, the Japanese army re-occupied Tangji and took Lashio directly, cutting off the rear of the main Chinese army assembled in Mandalay for a major battle from the southwest, and the Fifth Army in Mandalay had to retreat to the west bank of the Irrawaddy River. Since then, the expeditionary force has embarked on a crushing defeat.

During this period, Stilwell left his troops and fled to India alone, and ordered all his troops to retreat to Onzao into India, but at this time Chiang Kai-shek ordered his troops to retreat to Myitkyina and Pianma. Two completely contradictory orders once again put Du Yuming in a painful choice. In fact, as early as when the expeditionary force began to fight in Burma, this was a headache for Du Yuming. On March 1, 1942, Chiang Kai-shek personally went to Lashio, Burma, and commanded the expeditionary force to enter Burma. When confronted with this order to "put General Stilwell under his command," Du Yuming personally asked Chiang Kai-shek: "What should you do if Stilwell's order does not conform to your decision?" Chiang Kai-shek said, "You send a telegram to me for instructions." "Du was determined to follow Chiang Kai-shek's orders and retreat to the border. Sun Liren led the new 38th Division to retreat westward to India, and was later organized as the Army Garrison in India.

General Du Yuming held Zhao Xiaodong's hand tightly and did not speak much, all the words were superfluous at this time. He asked the guards to send half a bag of white noodles, but in fact, the headquarters only had this bag of flour left, and half of it was evenly distributed at this time, which shows General Du's love for Zhao Xiaodong.

Du Yuming also had some remorse in his heart, but as a front-line commander, it was not appropriate to confess too much at this time. He knew that entering the Savage Mountain would be a more difficult battle than fighting bayonets on the battlefield. The facts also proved his hunch. With the retreat of Savage Mountain, the number of troops attrition far exceeded the attrition of previous battles.

Before leaving, General Du gave a small bronze pistol to Commander Zhao, and said later: "You have to use your brains more, get out of the Savage Mountain, and withdraw to the motherland, it is all up to you." Regiment Commander Zhao took the pistol and saluted: "We will never live up to General Du's high hopes." After saying this, he actually didn't have much confidence in his heart, so he stayed where he was and watched General Du Yuming quietly. At this time, the scholar-like Qi Lian Commander suddenly cried like a child.

Next Chapter Preview: Chapter 23 Types of Grasshoppers