Chapter 226: Fighting hard is useless

The invading Japanese army tried to pursue the British troops who had withdrawn to India into Burma.

On 26 April, the 15th Army issued a pursuit order to the 33rd Division: "Cut off the enemy's retreat near Bamo and Jesha with a single force, and at the same time capture and destroy the enemy in the Moneva and Ripple areas with the main force."

After the British army crossed the Irrawaddy River to the west, the route of retreat was along the east bank of the Chindun River, along Monevaou---Garivat to Assam, India.

On the night of 30 April, the Japanese preemptively occupied it

Moneva, blocking the retreat of the British army. The 1st Anglo-Burmese Divisions of Alexander and Slim recaptured Moneva. The Anglo-Indian 17th Division took a shortcut and advanced towards Yeu, with the 7th Armored Brigade each sending one division to support two divisions.

May 2nd. The demoralized Anglo-Burmese 1st Division, supported by more than 10 tanks, captured 6 artillery pieces, 2 tanks, and 158 automobiles, and the attack on Moneva failed.

15/4. The Japanese army occupies Butalin. On the same day, the 15th Army ordered the 33rd Division "to quickly pursue the fugitive troops along the area of the Chindun River to the Tamanti side while continuing to carry out its original mission, and to cut off the enemy's retreat at the main crossing points of the river." From now on. Solve the task of cutting off the retreat route near Jiesha and Bamo. The advance party of the 33rd Division occupied Yew on 6 May, and on 7 May joined forces with the 56th Division northward from Ripple. Then they swept in 4 ways and pursued the British army.

After the main force of the British army reached Ruiqin on the east bank of the Tiedun River on May 5, it sent Gurkha soldiers to block the vanguard of the Japanese army + to ferry the main force to the west bank in 5 days and 5 nights. May 10th. The Japanese advance broke through the British rear and broke into the Gariva Gorge, and Slim ordered the Gurkha soldiers to fight to block it. The troops who crossed the river at the end of the year discarded all their heavy equipment and moved back lightly.

In the last battle of Gariva, the British army left 1,200 factories, 2,000 cars, 110 combat vehicles, and more than 40 artillery pieces.

May 16th. The British advance force finally staggered to the town of Davout in Assam. In the end, a total of 12,000 officers and soldiers arrived in India. More than 13,000 British, Indian, Burmese, and Gurkha soldiers were killed during the 100-mile (1,450-kilometer) retreat, and more than 750,000 refugees died during the retreat. Despite this, Alexander reported upwards on 17 May that his army had passed without incident, and that the retreat was due to his and Slim's calm command that prevented a catastrophe from turning into total annihilation. It seems that this is another "Dunkirk miracle" he has created in Asia after two years. When Alexander relinquished command on 20 May, he promised in vagation: "Of course we will seize Burma, which is part of the British Empire."

Churchill also praised Alexander: "This was his first experience of conducting independently, and although it was a complete failure, he showed skill, composure and fruitfulness in this command."

These qualities later made him the first-class military leader of the Allies. ”

But Alexander never returned to Burma after that, because he was afraid.

On the other hand, the 6th Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, which was fighting on the Eastern Front, was forced to abandon Leilie on April 24

After the enemy, under the tail pursuit of the enemy.

On 25 April, Gan Lichu, commander of the 6th Army, received a telegram from the Staff Corps near Mengyu, about 150 kilometers northeast of Rerem: "The 6th Army should henceforth take Jingdong as the rear, control the 93rd Division and the 49th Division, reorganize its combat strength, and open up the battle situation."

On 30 April, he received another telegram from Luo Zhuoying at 9 o'clock on the same day: "The enemy has trapped us at 14 o'clock on the 29th, and the 200th Division is now in the vicinity of Ha Bang, under the command of the army commander, and moves to Jingdong."

Gan Li Chu then ordered: "The army should take Jingdong as the goal, and each unit should be under their own cover." Move forward to new areas. The army headquarters moved to Jingdong on foot on May 2. ”

The units of the 6th Army acted in accordance with the orders of the previous one on 4 May. The 200th Division had another task and was ordered not to be under the command of the 6th Army. China, Myanmar, Laos

In order to cut off the retreat route of the 6th Army, the Japanese army and the Thai puppet army on the border continued to use small units to pretend to disturb the border since 5 May. They were all repulsed by Liu Guanlong's detachment and the 93rd Division, which were originally stationed in this area.

May 8 only. The commander of the Gan Lichu Army arrived in Jingdong, the main force of the 49th Division reached Dagao west of Jingdong, and the vanguard of the 55th Division reached Monset. The headquarters of the 93rd Division, which was originally stationed in Dagao, handed over defense to the 49th Division on the 10th and moved to Jingdong on foot. The Japanese army and the Thai puppet army continued to attack day after day, and the strength gradually increased, and the units of the 6th Army maintained a standoff with the enemy.

On 15 May, the 6th Army received a telegram order from the Chongqing Military Commission at 8 o'clock on the 12th: "It is hereby decided that the main force of the 6th Army will remain in the Jingdong area, continue the original mission, and temporarily organize the 55th Division to return to Simao and Ning."

Erh (north of the car) finishing. ”

Gan Lichu believed that the 6th Army was already in a predicament of being attacked on three sides, and the enemy was outnumbered. The terrain around Jingdong was flat, which was not conducive to defense, and it was difficult to communicate with the headquarters of the expeditionary force at that time, so he directly telegraphed to Chiang Kai-shek and Chief of Staff He Yingqin to make a statement, and was allowed to "abandon Jingdong. Retreat into southern Yunnan to consolidate the border. After Fu Ganli was first ordered, he covered behind the 93rd Division, the 49th Division withdrew to Nanqiao, the 55th Division and Liu Guanlong's detachment were temporarily withdrawn to Cheli, and the military headquarters was withdrawn to Fohai. The 93rd Division was eventually withdrawn to Taluo and served as a garrison on the Sino-Burmese border for a long time.

The expeditionary force of tens of thousands was completely encircled in Burma, and India became the only way to retreat.

The center of gravity of the Burmese battlefield was along the Yangman Railway in the middle, where both sides committed their main forces. The Chinese expeditionary force was forced to abandon the Battle of Pingmana on the eastern and western fronts, and was also in a passive position on the central route.

Stilwell and Luo Zhuoying blindly proposed to prepare for the Battle of Mandalay, not to strengthen the defense of Lashio, and to believe the British army's demands, so that the main force of the expeditionary force was south of Mandalay. The area north of Pingmanna is rejected in the east and west. Not only did they fail to get out of the passive situation, but they lost their rear bases, and their retreats were cut off.

The main forces of the Japanese 18th and 5th Divisions, with heavy artillery, chariots, and air force, began to storm the positions of the Chinese Expeditionary Force at Pingmanna from 18 April. 5th Army

The 96th Division relied on the positions originally prepared for the battle in the Pingmanna area to hold back the enemy's troops for 8 days.

Although there was a huge disparity in the strength of the enemy and us, and the terrain from the north of Pingmanna to Huangbei was flat and open, and there was a lack of natural barriers that could be used, the 96th Division was vigorous and commanded properly.

It still dealt a serious blow to the Japanese army, the whole division suffered heavy casualties, and the commander of Ling Zemin's regiment died, but he was never defeated by the superior enemy army.

Lin Wei, commander of the General Staff Corps, praised: "The division's combat achievements and command skills are impressive. At the same time, he lamented the precious time gained as a result of the bitter battle (8 days), which our main army had not used to cover the retreat, nor to break the enemy on the other side. The blood of the war was sprinkled in the wilderness, and it did not have any effect on the overall situation of the war. ”

The battle plan drawn up by the Japanese 15th Army on April 20 demanded: "After the 18th Division enters the area east of Yongmidin, it will advance straight to Mandalay and cut off the retreat of the enemy's main force; The 55th Division advanced from the western side of Yeonmidin to the southwest of Mandalay, and annihilated the enemy's main force on the Irrawaddy River. ”

On the 24th, the Japanese 18th Division captured Yangmi, and on the 25th, it captured Huangbei.

The headquarters of the 15th Army advanced to the back of the scoop on the 25th. The 96th Division of the Chinese Expeditionary Force blocked the attack step by step, and took the initiative to move after inflicting considerable casualties on the enemy. On the 26th, the enemy's 18th Division attacked Tayang with a column force.

The 96th Division relied on house-based fortifications to hold back the enemy, and the enemy flanked with tanks and infantry brigades, and fought until dusk, when the 96th Division scattered away from Taze. The vanguard of the enemy's 18th Division suffered heavy casualties in the continuous fighting. Extremely tired, the division commander, Lieutenant General Che Yangguchi Ryoya, changed the pursuit team and attached artillery to continue the northward advance.