In the rainy season of 1944, the Burmese eyebrow seedlings were humid and muggy. The headquarters of the Japanese 33rd Army was holding a military meeting, and like the air outside, it was suffocating.

Commander Honda Masaki paced back and forth in front of the sand table with a blue face, and the long silence made his subordinates dare not say much, only to follow the commander's footsteps with their eyes open.

In the Pacific theater, the Japanese base camp had long since turned its attention to Burma. In view of Burma's special strategic position and the importance of its war guidance, the "Showa 18 Imperial Army's Operational Guidelines for the Southwest Direction" pointed out: "The focus of defense will be on the Burmese side and important resource points", and "the important places to be secured by the Burmese side are: west of the Nu River, Myitkyina, and ...... Kamain"

To this end, in 1943, the Burma Front of the Japanese Southern Army was established, and the strength of the Burma Front was increased, and the 28th and 33rd armies were added.

At the end of April 1944, the 33rd Army of the Japanese Army was formed, and Honda Masato took office. As soon as he took office, he was helplessly faced with the attack of the Chinese army in India from the Hukang River valley in northern Burma and the all-out counteroffensive launched by the Chinese expeditionary force to western Yunnan.

The battlefield in northern Burma was in shambles, the 18th Division was defeated and retreated in the Hukang River Valley, Sun Liren's new 38th Division and the new 22nd Division successfully flanked Gamai, the Sino-US mixed assault force had reached Myitkyina, and in western Yunnan, Wei Lihuang's troops bowed left and right, and attacked in an all-round way. Neither the Nu River nor the Gaoligong Mountains were able to stop the expeditionary force's cold offensive.

After the end of the battles of Kursk and Kuah in 1943, the Axis powers lost the initiative on the battlefield, and in order to reverse the unfavorable situation, Germany asked the Japanese army to launch an offensive in India to disrupt the deployment of the Allied forces and gain the opportunity to turn the tide of the war again. In order to disperse the attack of the American forces in the south, the Japanese army headquarters issued the Imphal battle plan codenamed "U" on January 7, 1944 with the order of "Continental Finger No. 1776". The Japanese offensive mission was the 15th Army of the Burmese Front, commanded by Lieutenant General Mutaguchi Yoshiya, known as the "Little Tojo", and under the jurisdiction of the 15th, 31st and 33rd Divisions. The British garrison in the Imphal and Kohima areas was the 14th Army under the command of General Slim, which commanded the 4th, 15th and 33rd armies.

Imphal is a border city in eastern India on the border with Myanmar, on the main route from Chittagong (present-day Bangladesh) to Assam in eastern India. The city is surrounded by the Manipur Mountains, and on the outskirts of the city is the Imphal Plain, which is 40 miles long and 20 miles wide. Since the British retreated from Burma, the British have built Imphal into a huge military and logistical supply base. The plains are dotted with barracks, hospitals, armouries, ammunition depots, and munitions depots.

The Japanese army participating in the battle was the 15th Army (commander was Lieutenant General Mutaguchi Ryoya, under the jurisdiction of the 15th, 31st, and 33rd divisions, a total of 85,000 men), supported by the 5th Pilot Division. The main forces of the Allied forces involved in the battle were the 4th and 33rd armies of the British 14th Army (commanded by Lieutenant General William Slim), and the Chinese troops fought in tandem.

Honda is overwhelmed and struggling to cope. He was shocked to hear the news that the 15th Commander, Mutaguchi, had been defeated at the Imphal battlefield. The arrogant Mu Taguchi Lian regarded himself as tall and contemptuous, and his bloody iron hooves brutally trampled on the Lugou Bridge, seized Shanghai, and slaughtered Nanjing, committing heinous crimes against the Chinese people. This diabolical imperial soldier commanded 3 divisions and 1 "Indian National Army", with a total strength of nearly 100,000 men. And these troops of nearly 100,000 people lost most of their personnel in the first battle of Imphal alone.

For Mutaguchi's failure, Honda Masasai only felt a sense of panic at this time.

Most of the hopes of the Japanese Southern Army were pinned on the battle of Imphal, but as a result, it was completely lost, and it had to immediately adjust its deployment and shift its focus to western Yunnan. Decision: Shrink all fronts in northern Burma and switch to the defensive. Actively organize a counteroffensive along the western Yunnan route to cut off the Sino-Indian highway.

According to the order of the Japanese Southern Army, the Burmese Front drew up a "plan to break the battle". The main points are: 1. It was decided to take an offensive in the area on the west bank of the Nu River, to secure the passage of the vicinity, and to destroy and block the attempts to communicate with India and China on the ground in this regard. To this end, the main forces of the 2nd Division were reinforced to the 33rd Army. 2. Withdraw from the Hukang front and stop the enemy in the area north of Indo. The 53rd Division retreated one by one towards the vicinity of Indo. The 33rd Army retreated from the Hukang area and quickly turned in the direction of Yunnan. III. Evacuation of the Imphal Front......

Honda did not dare to slack off, and immediately worked out the battle plan of the 33rd Army in accordance with the orders of the Burmese Front: Gather the main force around Mangshi, and after destroying the main force of the Yunnan Expeditionary Force in Longling, go out to the line of the Nu River, and cut off the communication route between India and China while rescuing the garrisons of Lameng and Tengyue.

Specific Operational Deployment:

1. The 56th Division maintained its current posture and prepared for the next offensive while holding the Yunnan Expeditionary Force.

2. The 2nd Division assembled around Nankanche, built fortifications, deceived the Allies with a feint, and after the main force was concentrated, it jumped into Mangshi by night to prepare for the next offensive with the 56th Division.

3. The 18th Division retreated to the vicinity of Indo, and the main force concentrated in the direction of Nankan along the road from Jessa to Bhamo to Nankan, and the other division concentrated in the direction of Nankan through Mandalay and Lashio, alternating the garrison near Nankan with the 2nd Division and cutting off the India-China line.

Fourth, use a part of the 2nd Division to ensure the vicinity of Ba Mo and cover the transfer of the 18th Division.

5. Strive to secure Myitkyina for a long time and cut off the communication between the Indian Expeditionary Force and the Yunnan Expeditionary Force.

6. The 56th Division and the 2nd Division hurriedly completed their preparations and began to attack the area around Longling as quickly as possible.

7. After breaking the main force of the expeditionary force around Longling, they rushed to the vicinity of Lameng in one fell swoop, rescuing the Lameng garrison, Tengyue garrison, and Pingga garrison.

8. Straighten out the rear of the Myitkyina Railway as soon as possible, form a key point in the Lashio-Manbeile railway line, strengthen the Lashio-Sinvie-Wan-Mangshi line, and repair bridges to ensure that the logistical supply problem is fully resolved.

9. Build fortified fortifications around Wan Town and Nankan in preparation for battle.

10. Appropriately strengthen the garrison of the Memit side.

In this plan, Longling is the focus. As long as the Longling Tomb is kept, the "broken battle plan" can be guaranteed.

Honda Masako solemnly announced loudly: In order to ensure the "war break plan", it is necessary to stick to the defense line in western Yunnan, and not a single hill in Longling can be lost! In order to strengthen his command, his own headquarters also commanded from the front, and the army headquarters quickly advanced from Meimiao to Xinwei, which was close to Yunnan.

Commander Sakaguchi saw the murderous aura in his eyes, and he quickly put his legs together and returned a standard military salute. Honda Masasai looked at Sakaguchi with satisfaction, and called his chief of staff to Sakaguchi: "Let my chief of staff, Masao Watanabe, sneak to Longling and compete with Chen Mingren of the expeditionary force." ”

The three Japanese officers laughed wildly, and with Xiaobao Zhongtaro as a lieutenant, they were naturally defeated by Song Xilian's right-hand man Chen Mingren, and when this chief of staff came, he was an opponent.