The 165th Regiment of the 55th Division, which defended Toshiba, used a regiment to deal with the onslaught of a wing of the Japanese army, and the officers and men stubbornly defended. After a day of fierce fighting, the regiment suffered two-thirds of its casualties and was forced to withdraw from Toshiba, and the remnants retreated in the direction of Laika, and Toshiba was occupied by the Japanese. The day after Toshiba was occupied by the Japanese army, the vanguard of the Japanese 56th Division launched an attack on Moltke, and on the same day, the Japanese defeated the 164th Regiment of the 55th Division to capture Moltke, and on the second day, the Japanese defeated the 163rd Regiment of the 55th Division to capture Legoul, and the 163rd Regiment withdrew to the headquarters of the 6th Army. The Japanese army successively captured Toshiba, Moltke, and Loikaw, and the eastern front suddenly opened the doorway, especially the passage from Loikaw to Lashio will be unimpeded.

The 6th Army on the Eastern Route has 3 main divisions, why is it so vulnerable? Originally, the strategy of the Japanese army was to carry out the Battle of Mandalay, and when the conditions and time were ripe, they would capture the key points of Lashio, and then capture Bamo and Myitkyina, completely cut off the connection between the expeditionary force and the country, and then concentrate the main force to completely annihilate the main force of the first-line expeditionary force in Mandalay. Now that the loophole was finally revealed, the Japanese command ordered the 56th Division to quickly break through the Moltke and Leigu defense lines, and seize the strategic points of Lashio along the road from Leigu to Lashio.

Although the 6th Army on the Eastern Front had 3 main divisions, the area of the Eastern Route was so vast that the 6th Army was extremely scattered. The 6th Division of the 93rd Army was located in Kyungdong and served as the defense in the direction of Chiang Rai, Thailand. In this direction, there was a brigade of the 71st Division of the Japanese Army and 4 divisions of the Thai Army, so the 93rd Division was dragged by the Japanese army and could not move at all, in fact, this division no longer existed. Is it difficult that there is a problem with the deployment of the expeditionary force, isn't it? The point is that the British army was defeated on the Western Front that led to this situation.

Originally, there were 4 main divisions on the east road to defend, and there would be no problem with more than 30,000 troops. According to the deployment of Sun Liren's 38th Division as a mobile unit, it was intended to strengthen the defense of the eastern road. Now the 38th Division has been transferred to the West Road to deal with the Japanese 33rd Division and rescue the garbage British army, resulting in a serious shortage of troops on the East Road. In addition, the 6th Division of the 49th Army was located in Mengdong, which was 200 kilometers from Jingdong. Mengdong is 200 kilometers away from Leigu, and the three divisions are separated by 400 kilometers, while the 55th and 49th divisions have to shoulder nearly 300 kilometers of defensive line.

The key is that the three main regiments of the 55th Division of the 6th Army were divided into three parts, with the 165th Regiment stationed in Taunggyi, the 164th Regiment stationed in Moltke, and the 163rd Regiment stationed in Leigmu, the location of the rear military headquarters of the Legu Auxiliary Defense. The dispersion of forces has led to a significant decline in combat effectiveness. On the other hand, the 56th Division of the Japanese Army was strong and strong. How can the 55th Division, with two regiments, withstand the attack of the Japanese 56th Division. When the Japanese army attacked Legaku, a regiment of the 49th Division was ordered to travel from 200 kilometers away to support, but it was too late, and the Japanese army had already broken through the Legu defense line and went straight to Leigmu.

The 56th Division of the Japanese Army did not care at all about the two regiments of Chinese troops that were crippled behind them, but drove straight in. After discovering the holes in the Chinese army's defenses, the Japanese army decisively ordered the 71st Division to take Toshiba, and the 56th Division to capture the strategic points of Legu and Legim to attack Lashio. The general disposition of the Japanese army was as follows: a fierce and resolute assault by each corps, pressing the enemy towards the Irrawaddy River and annihilating it. First, it was decided to cut off the enemy's retreat on the Lashio side with a corps, and at the same time to advance to Mandalay with the main force along the Yangmidin, Mandalay Highway and the Irrawaddy River area, encircle the two flanks of the enemy's main force, and press towards the Irrawaddy River to annihilate it.

Second, the 56th Division attacked Lashio along the area of the Leika, Laika, and Lashio roads to cut off the enemy's retreat. Second, the 71st Division was ordered to capture Toshiba, ensure the logistics and supply safety of the 56th Division, and outflank Mandalay from the east. Third, the 18th Division entered the area east of Yangmidin and made a surprise advance in the direction of Mandalay, cutting off the enemy's main retreat and capturing and annihilating it. Fourth, after the 55th Division entered the western flank of Yangmidin, it advanced southwest of Mandalay and pressed the enemy's main force to the Irrawaddy River.

Fifth, the 33rd Division advanced to Mandalay through the vicinity of Minjian and annihilated the enemy's main force. The current situation is completely in accordance with the deployment of the Japanese army, and the situation of the war is gradually deteriorating. At the military headquarters of the 5th Army, Du Yuming's face was grim and silent. "It was reported that the 599th Regiment of the 200th Division rushed to the aid of Taunggyi, but it was too late, and Taunggyi was captured by the Japanese. Immediately the 599th Regiment launched an attack, due to the disparity in strength, the ineffective attack, and the obstruction of the attack, the commander of the 200th Division, Dai Anlan, asked the main force of the division to support quickly! Du Yuming didn't dare to make decisions without permission: "Report to the headquarters immediately!" ”

Soon the headquarters called, clearly demanding that the main force of the 200th Division not move, and ordered the 599th Regiment of the 200th Division to take Toshiba. Du Yuming almost didn't dare to believe his eyes when he received the telegram, "Army commander, the 599th Regiment is facing a Japanese wing holding on, and it is impossible to take Taunggyi. Stilwell is a blind command, it is difficult for General Ouyang, Commander Bai is resigned to it and can't see it! "The chief of staff is in a hurry.

"Report, Deputy Commander Ouyang sent a secret telegram and ordered the 599th Regiment to feint to attack Dongzhi!" "Commander, what does General Ouyang mean by this, the situation is so critical that Toshiba doesn't want it?" After an interval of less than an hour, Ouyang Jian sent a secret message.

"I guess Commander Bai, General Ouyang, and Stilwell have a conflict. Ordered Dai Anlan to instruct the 599th Regiment to feint to attack Taunggyi! Du Yuming didn't know what Ouyang Jian was interesting, the current situation in the east was in danger, and the key points of Dongzhi must be recaptured, threatening the rear transportation line of the 56th Division and forcing it to retreat. However, General Ouyang actually ordered a feint attack on Taunggyi, which made Du Yuming realize that the battle situation was even more dangerous.

Du Yuming judged that there was a conflict in the headquarters and only half guessed correctly, it was Bai Chongxi and Stilwell who quarreled, and Bai Chongxi urged the main force of the 200th Division to quickly go to Taunggyi to recapture the key points, but Stilwell disagreed. "General Bai, the 200th Division can't move, and although the 56th Division of the Japanese Army has broken through the fortified defensive line, I don't think the Japanese army will drive straight in. The purpose of the Japanese army is still the main force of our army in Mandalay, and we cannot properly go to the Japanese army. "The stubborn Stilwell was very resolute, and the main direction of the Japanese attack was Mandalay." General Stilwell, if the Japanese 56th Division goes to danger and goes straight to Lashio and cuts off the transportation line of our expeditionary force, our army will fall into a catastrophe. ”

"General Bai filtered, although Lashio only has one regiment of the 28th Division, but Lashio has the chariot regiment of the 5th Army, and the main force of the 28th Division can return to Lashio at any time in Jiaomei. Moreover, the 55th Division could continue to intercept the Japanese army in the front, and the 49th Division could rush to help, and the Japanese army would not dare to take risks. "Stilwell is still stubborn." General Stilwell, I am opposed to your deployment, and I will report to the President immediately. Bai Chongxi snorted angrily and went to the telegraph room to send a report.

Ouyang Jian did not participate in the dispute, nor did he comment. Seeing that Bai Chongxi had gone to the telegraph room, Stilwell shrugged his shoulders at Ouyang Jian and walked over. At this time, a combat staff officer hurriedly walked in and muttered a few words in Ouyang Jian's ear. Ouyang Jian immediately stood up and said, "General Stilwell, Alexander has escaped, and his special train has already left the station!" Stilwell was stunned when he heard this. Master Li! "Here!" Li Zhipeng, commander of the guard unit directly under the headquarters, ran over. "Take your guard and immediately follow me to the station." "Yes!"

After a while, Ouyang Jian took a car and led the guard troops to the station. The soldiers of the guard unit jumped out of the car to quickly take control of the station, and Ouyang Jian came to the platform to find that there were two more military trains loaded with tanks and artillery. Ouyang Jian was waiting for this time, which meant that the result he wanted was for Alexander to escape. "Division Commander Li, order the British army to stop loading!" After a while, a British brigade commander came to Ouyang Jian, and when he saw that Ouyang Jian's rank was bigger than him, he raised his hand and saluted.

"General, why are you preventing us from loading the car!" "According to the order of the Expeditionary Force Command, these tanks and artillery stay, and you can take a car and go." When the British brigade commander heard this, he did not dare to slack off, and immediately ran to the station duty room. After a while, the British brigade commander ran back and said: "Report to the general, Commander Alexander is on the train and cannot be contacted." I could not carry it out without the order of Commander Alexander. "You now have two choices, one is to take your people on the train and leave, and the other is that the Japanese are approaching and stay with us to defend Mandalay."

Ouyang Jian didn't pay any attention to the British brigade commander again, and walked straight to the station dispatch room. The British brigade commander hesitated for a few seconds, then ordered all the remaining troops to get on the train, and the station attendant saw a Chinese general walking in and hurriedly stepped forward, "Excuse me, how many more military trains are there?" "Report to the general, there are two more military trains, and we will be here in 2 hours!" "Zhang Zhipeng!" "Here!" "Leave a company to continue to control the station, and all the military trains that arrive will be released, and all weapons, ammunition, and military supplies will be seized." Ouyang Jian took a few steps and continued: "Senior Commander Zhang, after you finish explaining, go back to the headquarters immediately!" At this moment, a smile appeared on the corner of Ouyang Jian's mouth, in his eyes, the British army no longer existed, let them retreat safely!

At this moment, Bai Chongxi came back from the telegraph room, his face was extremely ugly. And Stilwell has not yet relented about Alexander's unauthorized escape, "General Stilwell, this is a telegram from the president!" Stilwell took the telegram with some doubts, only to see that the telegram read: 'The situation is very critical, Lashio should be dealt with urgently, in case Lashio cannot hold it, then the 5th Army and the 66th Army can use Ba Mo and Myitkyina as the rear.' Stilwell's eyes lit up when he saw the telegram.

"General Bai, the Japanese army has not yet captured Reim, and it is inconclusive whether to attack Lashio, I think that with the current strength of our expeditionary force, it is completely possible to fight in Mandalay and ensure that northern Myanmar is not lost." "General Stilwell, you are naïve. If Lashio is captured by the Japanese, the rear transport lines of our expeditionary force will be cut off. And the line of Ba Mo and Myitkyina belongs to the vacuum zone, and the Japanese army will not be stupid and can't even see this! ”

"General Bai, even if the Japanese army captures Lashio, it will be alone in the depths. At present, I have a large amount of military supplies in Mandalay, which can meet the needs of a month's worth of operations without any problems. If we crush the enemy head-on, the Japanese will withdraw even if they capture Lashio. Bai Chongxi thought that he had misheard, and such idiotic words could come out of Stilwell's mouth. Bai Chongxi was speechless for a while, and his face turned pale with anger.

"If the Japanese army captures Lashio, all the officers and men of our expeditionary force will fall into death!" With the words, Ouyang Jian strode in.