Standing on the top of the mountain, overlooking the mountain opposite, a winding road is embedded in the sunny side of the mountain, and finally disappears on the other side of the ridge, if you don't understand what the "sheep intestine" is, just look at the road, and that road is marching a long army at the moment, tanks, armored vehicles, cars, motorcycles,

"This place, the road is really difficult to walk, fortunately we had the foresight to build this road, otherwise, we really wouldn't be able to cross these mountains now."

Zhang Guoping threw the telescope to the adjutant, and then sighed to the several staff officers standing beside him.

"However, at the current pace of the troops' march, we are still at least one day behind the battle plan."

One of the staff officers nodded, then took a military map from the other staff officer, held it in his hand, and studied it with Zhang Guoping for a few minutes until a communications soldier arrived.

"Report to the commander, I just received a telegram from the General Staff, ordering our department to rush to Kunhin before dark tomorrow, this is the full text of the order."

After receiving the transcript of the telegram presented by the communications soldier, Zhang Guoping's brows furrowed, and he did not speak for a long time.

"The current speed of the march is still too slow, pass the order, push those broken down vehicles into the valley, widen the road, urge the troops to speed up, and be sure to arrive at Kunxin within the specified time!"

After making up his mind, Zhang Guoping immediately issued an order, and this order was immediately resolutely carried out, and a few minutes later, on the opposite hillside, you could see the broken down car pushed down the valley by the soldiers from the side of the road, this scene was spectacular, but it also made the staff officers feel distressed and unbearable.

"The old doesn't go, the new doesn't come! Occupy Myanmar, are you afraid that there will be no new cars? Mandalay has been captured, and a lot of British trucks are waiting for us to receive! ”

Zhang Guoping's words cheered up the staff officers, but even he himself was deeply skeptical about this, because according to yesterday's military briefing, the Chinese Air Force had already carried out a successful air raid on Mandalay, and in the next few days, the high-intensity air raid on Mandalay would continue, so when the Chinese Army troops swept down to capture Mandalay, how many British army supplies were still available in the city really needed to be put a big question mark.

However, in order to hurry up and arrive at the destination on time, Zhang Guoping can only abandon the broken down vehicles that block the road, this highway is a simple highway, a one-way street, as long as a truck breaks down, the vehicles behind him do not want to speed up, originally Zhang Guoping also expected the car soldiers to repair those broken down cars, but now the General Staff vetoed his request to slow down the march, then he can only bite the head to lift those broken down vehicles down the valley.

The troops are not rich, and now it is not as good as the era when the cavalry was rampant, Zhang Guoping is now the commander of the First Army and the commander of the Northern Burma Theater, he personally commands an armored division, the degree of mechanization is very high, and correspondingly, the maintenance cost of the troops is also very high, the cost of the troops is worth several cavalry divisions, and now the vehicles that the officers and soldiers push down the valley are the blood in Commander Zhang's heart.

"Phew! When Rangoon was occupied, Lao Tzu wanted to loot the British. ”

Zhang Guoping made up his mind viciously, and when he was turning his mind, he suddenly heard the roar of an aircraft engine in the sky, looked up at the sky, and saw two fighter planes flying from the northeast, and the staff officer took a telescope to carefully observe, and confirmed that it was the "Falcon B" fighters of the Chinese Air Force, and with them circling overhead, this armored division would not have to worry about being attacked from the air.

"It's still comfortable for them, they don't have to climb mountains and mountains, they don't have to fight with locusts in the jungle, and they can fly to Mandalay after such a meal."

Zhang Guoping's words are somewhat exaggerated, but it is not too outrageous, this way, the armored troops have suffered a lot, this tropical plateau operation, is really not the best armored troops, therefore, the armored division is not the vanguard of the troops, the forward is a mountain division, they are half a day ahead of Zhang Guoping's armored division, and now I am afraid that they are almost in Kunxin.

The march into northern Burma, the Chinese army is divided into two routes, one route crosses the border through Nankan in the north, and the other route crosses the border at Taluo in the south, and after the north road exits the pass, it goes straight to Lashio, threatening Mandalay from the north, and the south road will occupy Kunxin after leaving the pass, and then go around in a circle from the south to outflank Mandalay from the south.

This armored division under the personal command of Zhang Guoping is the main force responsible for cutting off the southern return route of the British army in Mandalay, once it arrives at Kunxin, the troops will rest for a while, and then go straight to Taunggyi along a road built by the British, and then detour to the southwest to occupy the important city of Ringanqiang on the banks of the Irrawaddy River, then, even if this "Mandalay pocket" is tied up, and considering that there is no decent road or railway between Mandalay and India, then the tens of thousands of British troops in Mandalay basically have no way to escape, the rest of the matter is to strike north and south and eat it in one bite.

This is a bold strategic plan, the key to which is to see the speed of the armored assault, to cut off the main route of the British army's southward retreat to Yangon before the British army can react, and once the British army in Mandalay is completely annihilated, then the southern part of Burma will become even more empty, and the future march will be an armed march, and the "liberation" of Burma is just around the corner.

However, the plan is always too optimistic, and after Zhang Guoping led the armored troops to the Shan Plateau, he really understood what it means to be "unable to do it with strength", in the face of nature's miraculous workmanship, human strength is small after all, the air force can run around in the sky, but the army can only rub forward step by step on this rugged mountain road, which is fortunate because the British air force is weak, otherwise, this strategic march is a disaster, any enemy bomber formation over, it is possible to bend this nine bendsThe "strategic highway" turned into a purgatory of fire, leaving the armored troops in disgrace.

The ruggedness of the road is only one aspect, northern Myanmar is a mountainous area, and now it is the cool season in Burma, the temperature difference between day and night is large, marching in this weather is also a considerable test for the physical fitness of the officers and soldiers, but this season also has benefits, that is, there is very little rainfall, which reduces the difficulty of marching, and compared with the rainy season, the temperature in Myanmar is basically "relatively cool".

It was noon, and when the temperature was high, Zhang Guoping was hot and anxious, full of sweat, holding a towel in his hand at all times, wiping the sweat off his face and forehead from time to time, and the combat uniform on his body was also soaked with sweat.

"Commander, it's time to eat."

The adjutant brought a lunch box, filled with things poured out of the canned box, salted pork, corned beef, and a few pieces of military compressed biscuits, this was lunch, and now the army was on the march, and there was no time to open fire, whether it was a private or a commander, this was a general.

After Zhang Guoping took the lunch, he threw the towel to the adjutant, picked up the lunch box, picked up the chopsticks, and ate his lunch within a few minutes, then took the towel, wiped his sweat, and wiped his mouth.

"The order goes down, and the troops rest for fifteen minutes and eat. It's hot on this day, it's still the cool season, and I really want to eat a bowl of cold skin. ”

After a few words, Zhang Guoping put a towel around his neck, and then drove down the mountain with the staff team, got on a partial three-wheeled motorcycle, and rushed to the front of the army.

Fifteen minutes was enough for Zhang Guoping to walk in the middle of the troops, and then this long queue began to roll forward again, and in the traffic, this motorcycle team also walked quite hard, and by the time they arrived at the reconnaissance unit in front, it was already more than two o'clock in the afternoon, and the reconnaissance unit had just connected with a national guerrilla unit in northern Burma, and brought Zhang Guoping several guerrilla "liaisons" to the guerrillas.

One of the "liaisons" sent by this guerrilla group of Karen tribes had undergone rigorous training for five years in a secret training camp and was fluent in Chinese, who also acted as an interpreter.

According to these liaison officers, the mountain division that was walking in front refused to allow them to join the attack column, and threw this "burden" to the armored troops behind, asking Zhang Guoping to contain them.

Hearing the real intention of the other party, Zhang Guoping was a little helpless, this way, he was very sheltered a group of similar guerrillas, all left to the rear guard troops, in his opinion, these guerrillas combat effectiveness is really not very good, small fights are okay, if you really participate in the frontal attack, that is the role of dragging the legs, from the heart, he would rather throw these people to the side of the road.

However, it cannot be thrown, this is what the General Staff has specially advised, all Burmese guerrillas who are willing to participate in the attack on the British army, the Chinese troops "will all take in", and once the number of these guerrillas reaches a certain number, they will immediately be reorganized into regular troops and used to take over the central power in Myanmar after the war, this consideration is indeed far-reaching, but this is not something Zhang Guoping is willing to consider, he is a professional soldier, and fighting a war is his first job, not to be a politician and organize a puppet government.

After finally arranging the "incorporation" of this guerrilla force in northern Burma, Zhang Guoping had time to study the key points of reconnaissance with the reconnaissance battalion commander in the next step.

"Command the troops, keep the pace of the march. Then I sent a telegram to the General Staff to report that our department had accelerated its march and would definitely be able to reach Kunxin before dark tomorrow. ”

Zhang Guoping issued a new order, and at the same time he received a new notice, just as he was leading his troops to advance the Irrawaddy line of the river, the British government had officially announced the severance of all diplomatic relations with China, and the Chinese government had taken the same diplomatic steps.

There is no doubt that in the current military situation, according to international diplomatic practice, the severance of diplomatic relations is followed by a declaration of war, which means that China and Britain are about to officially become belligerents.

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