On March 8, the Japanese soldiers occupied Rangoon without bloodshed, but what the Japanese army never expected was that the British did not burn down important facilities in Rangoon, but actually left a large number of war materials in Rangoon. The millions of tons of supplies piled up on the docks alone made the Japanese soldiers hardly believe their eyes, thinking that they had seen it wrong. When the commander of the Japanese 15th Army, Iida Shojiro, heard that the British army had abandoned Rangoon on his own initiative, and immediately ordered the military headquarters to move to Rangoon. Later, at Mawlamyine Airport, Commander Shojiro Iida led the generals to board a plane and fly directly to Yangon.

The planes soar through the sky, with the rippling blue waters below and the blue sky and white clouds above, reflecting each other. At this time, Iida Shojiro was in a very happy mood, and he couldn't believe that the battle situation was good. The 33rd Division and the 55th Division under his command took the lead first and beat the British army.

He felt that his luck was too good, and the two second-rate divisions actually achieved such a result. "Your Excellency, I heard that the Chinese army has entered Burma in a big way, this is a strong opponent, and we are short of troops." The chief of staff of the Japanese army clamoured. "Don't worry, the 71st Division will soon arrive in Thailand, and we have taken the initiative at present, and the Chinese army is on an expedition, is it difficult for us to deal with a tired division?"

Shojiro Iida continued: "We are like a fish in water in Burma, and with the strong support of the Burmese people, our combat strength will be greatly strengthened. The British army was on the verge of collapse, and the Chinese expeditionary force, although it was elite, was fighting in Burma. Don't the Chinese advocate the right time and place, and now luck is on our side. "Your Excellency, Rangoon has arrived!" A subordinate reported that the transport plane had begun to circle Yangon. "A beautiful city, beckoning to us, I love this southern city!" Shojiro Iida was high-spirited and triumphant

The location of the headquarters of the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Lashio is shrouded in the atmosphere of a great war. On this day, Bai Chongxi and Ouyang Jian went to the military airport to greet the guests. A transport plane landed at the airport, and after the transport plane came to a standstill, General Stilwell's tall body stepped off the plane, followed by his entourage. Due to the contempt of the British for the Chinese army, the expeditionary force could not enter Burma at the best time to set up defenses, and the British army was so vulnerable, causing the war situation in Burma to be eroded. For this reason, President Roosevelt of the United States telegraphed to Chiang Lao and suggested that General Stilwell should serve as the chief of staff of the expeditionary force to facilitate communication and joint operations between the British army.

Roosevelt spoke, and Lao Jiang couldn't help but give face. Stilwell was not familiar with Bai Chongxi, and after Ouyang Jian introduced him, the two sides exchanged greetings and drove to the headquarters. At noon, Ouyang Jian set up a banquet for Stilwell to wash the dust. The wine and food were put on the table, Ouyang Jian took out Moutai and a bottle of French red wine and said, "General Stilwell, do you like to drink white wine or red wine?" "If you follow the customs, I will drink liquor." "It seems that General Stilwell has adapted to life in China."

Ouyang Jian acted as a translator while talking. Ouyang Jian poured the wine himself, then raised his glass and said, "General Stilwell!" On behalf of all the officers and men of the Expeditionary Force, Commander Bai and I would like to thank General Stilwell for accepting the order. Under the command of General Stilwell, the expeditionary force must have won a brilliant victory. "Ouyang Jian must lift Stilwell, he knows in his heart that Stilwell's two brushes, commanding operations is the level of a major, but he must give him face. In the future, Myanmar's initiatives and even domestic initiatives will be inseparable from Stilwell's full support.

Maybe it's the stimulation of alcohol; Maybe it was because of the comfort of the sycophancy, Stilwell said with a red face: "General Ouyang, Mr. Zhou accompanied me around Jiangxi, and your party's military enterprises shocked me, which greatly surprised me. In particular, the strategic location of your party's Xiaoshan Air Base is very important, which is equivalent to stucking the throat of the Japanese army. If a bomber group is deployed at the Xiaoshan base, it will not only pose a direct threat to Shanghai, but will also play a tremendous role in blockading the Taiwan Strait and bombing Taiwan. In addition, the communist airborne troops have already been formed, which is simply incredible. ”

"At present, the US military only has this plan, and your party's airborne troops are in the front, I can hardly believe that this is true." Ouyang Jian translated to Bai Chongxi, "Airborne troops? Bai Chongxi exclaimed. Brother Bai, this is a new unit, let's talk about it later! Ouyang Jian continued: "General Stilwell, if the US bomber group can be stationed at the Xiaoshan base and then seize air supremacy, we can launch a large-scale counterattack operation, and what we need now is air supremacy." ”

"General Ouyang, in my report to the US Congress, I talked in detail about the situation of your department. I judge that after the completion of your country's northwest transportation line, the US military's aviation units will definitely be stationed at the Xiaoshan base. I have already sent back the photos of the Xiaoshan base to the United States, and I guarantee that the US bomber group will be stationed at the Xiaoshan base next year at the latest. "Thank you, General Stilwell, for your help."

Stilwell's face darkened and he said bluntly: "The British have disappointed us too much, Rangoon is occupied by the Japanese army, and the various units of the expeditionary force have not been able to reach the front line for a long time, and the next step can only be a decisive battle against the Japanese army on the Tonggu front, tomorrow I will go to Mandela and discuss with General Alexander." ”

Tonggu, since the 200th division arrived here, this small city suddenly became lively. After the replenishment regiment was ordered to start the operation, a large number of military supplies, including trucks and even mule and horse carts, were pulled to Tonggu. Two 105-mm howitzers and four mountain guns were also picked up. The replenishment regiment used the trucks of the whole division to carry back as much as possible what the British had abandoned.

In the headquarters of the British Army, the commander of the British Army ridiculed after listening to the report of his subordinates: "The Chinese army is poor, and everything it sees is a good thing." No wonder the Chinese army has been defeated repeatedly. ”

"The Chinese army is in this state, how to resist the attack of the Japanese army!" "You don't have to worry about this, it's better than nothing to have the Chinese army here. The division commander called us and told us to be ready to retreat secretly at any time. When the British army commander was proud, he thought that there was a pair of eyes that were already staring at them, and every move could not escape Dai Anlan's eyes.

"Report to the division commander, the British army has not moved, and there is no sign of escape." The commander of the guard company reported. "You're going to send someone to kill the British, especially at night." If the British army wants to escape, Dai Anlan can't stop it, but this British army has 6 cannons that must be left behind, and ammunition must be left. ”

On March 16, at the Tiger Pass Bridge, the 1st Division of the Burmese Army was retreating north through the bridge. At this time, the cavalry regiment of the 200th Division, led by the regiment commander Lin Chengxi, covered the retreat of the Burmese army on the side of the bridge.

The officers of the Burmese army are all British, and their tall bodies are very conspicuous. The morale of the Burmese was very low after successive defeats, and there were frequent cases of Burmese soldiers fleeing along the way. The Burmese army is well armed and equipped, but through the decadent faces of the Burmese soldiers, it can be seen that this is a combat-neutral force, a collapsed army.

After the Japanese commander Shojiro Iida arrived in Yangon, most of the Japanese 71st Division also arrived in Yangon. After carefully studying the military situation, he ordered his troops to be divided into three routes: the Japanese 33rd Division attacked and advanced along the Irrawaddy River, the Japanese 55th Division attacked and advanced along the Mandalay Avenue and the railway line, and the Japanese 71st Division attacked and advanced in the direction of Leikaug. Because the Japanese 55th Division had a remarkable record in the early war, and the British army that had destroyed the Guula could not find the north, the officers and men of the Japanese 55th Division had high morale and were like a bamboo.

On this day, the 55th Wing of the 143rd Division of the Japanese Army, and its two brigades pursued to the Huguan Bridge. At this time, the Burmese army had already passed the bridge, and the regiment commander Lin Chengxi ordered the cavalry regiment to hide. Soon, two brigades of soldiers of the Japanese army were riding in trucks, swaggering and seeming as if no one was in a no-man's land. They don't seem to be fighting, they're touristing. In the eyes of the Japanese army, the British army was already a lamb to the slaughter, a snack on the plate. The Japanese trucks arrived at the bridgehead and did not hesitate to get on the bridge. The Japanese soldiers were not aware of the danger at all, did they not know that death was waiting for them.

When several Japanese trucks were concentrated on the bridge, the regiment commander Lin Chengxi ordered the detonation. With a violent explosion, the bridge immediately broke in two, and several trucks overturned into the river. Before the smoke of the explosion cleared, the ambushed cavalry regiment opened heavy fire. Japanese soldiers on several trucks crossing the bridge were the first to be hit. The violent rain of bullets swept through, **, and rockets smashed, and several trucks crossing the bridge were immediately blown up, and more than half of the Japanese soldiers on the trucks were killed and injured before they could react.

The truck that fell into the river, under the violent impact, the Japanese soldiers suffered heavy casualties, and those who did not die immediately became live targets. When the explosion sounded, the Japanese convoy behind was not mentally prepared, and the trucks were huddled. The mortar detachment of the cavalry regiment seized the opportunity to shell the Japanese convoy, and the rocket launcher group also fired rockets against the Japanese convoy. Rockets are against tanks, and cars are like papier-mâché boxes. The air of the explosion rose, and the Japanese army was in disarray.

A few hours later, the regiment commander Lin Chengxi gathered his troops on the north side of the bridge, and a subordinate reported: "Report to the regiment commander, the enemy fled to the woods on both sides, whether to attack!" "We can't fall in love with war, and our next task is to reconnoiter the enemy's situation and block the Japanese army step by step. The troops were dispersed in company units. "The cavalry regiment immediately formed several formations and retreated in the direction of Tonggu. During the battle, the Japanese army lost dozens of trucks and suffered about 700 casualties. And the cavalry regiment suffered only a few dozen casualties.

Takeuchi Kuan, commander of the 55th Division of the Japanese Army, was shocked to hear that the two brigades in front of him had been attacked head-on by a Chinese unit and had lost more than 700 people and many trucks. The main force of the Japanese division rushed to the south side of the bridge, and saw a messy battlefield with the corpses of Japanese soldiers everywhere, and Takeuchi became more and more angry. Since entering Burma for continuous battles, the subordinate has not lost so many men and horses, and the scene in front of him is simply a great shame. If Takeuchi had calmed down a little, he might have been able to avoid even greater losses. Perhaps the results achieved in the early battle against the British made his mind dizzy.

When the Japanese brigade arrived at the Huguan Bridge, the Japanese engineer wing was erecting a pontoon bridge. The Japanese sappers were very efficient, and the pontoon bridge was built in less than half a day. Takeuchi immediately ordered the troops to move on. The 55th Division belongs to the second-rate troops, with a total strength of 23,000 people. Subordinate: 112, 143, 144 Infantry Wings. 55th Artillery Wing, Engineer Wing, Cavalry Brigade, Baggage Wing. It stands to reason that his cavalry brigade should have rushed to the front, but the Japanese infantry was so meritorious that they took the lead in captured trucks.

The first battle was successful, and the news soon reached the headquarters of the Lashio Expeditionary Force. When everyone was elated, Commander Bai Chongxi said: "Brother Ouyang, winning the first battle is very important to improve the morale of my expeditionary force. I have sent a telegram to Dai Anlan to commend Lin Chengxi and all the officers and men of the cavalry regiment for their heroic battles. "Brother Bai, I wonder how Alexander and Stilwell felt when they heard this. I expect Stilwell to be back from Mandalay soon. Ouyang Jian said with a smile.

Ouyang Jian continued: "Brother Bai, you and I will temporarily divide the labor, I will command the front-line operations, and you will be responsible for dealing with Stilwell." The president called us to be sure to respect General Stilwell, which is very famous, and to put it bluntly, we are not absolutely obedient to Stilwell's command. But don't object to his initiative. It is very important for General Stilwell to maintain a good relationship, and as for how the front-line troops will fight, please rest assured. ”