The main Anglo-Burmese forces and the Chinese Second Army engaged in a series of fierce battles on the northern outskirts of Mandalay, but the outlying areas had a large number of jungles and mountains, and the role of heavy weapons was limited, but the strong automatic fire of the Chinese infantry caused heavy casualties to the Anglo-Burmese troops.

The British Empire naturally doesn't care how many Ah San die, anyway, India has Ah San, and the fierce fighting has made the British army continue to mobilize troops to gather in Mandalay, which also causes the emptiness along the coast of Myanmar.

Originally, the British army thought that there was a great danger on the line of the Salween River, and the defense of tens of thousands of troops, that is, hundreds of thousands of troops, would not want to cross the thunder pool. However, the British never expected that the Ninth Army of the Third Army of the Chinese Wehrmacht would successfully cross the Salween River, although they heard that the Chinese seemed to have tanks that could move on the water like ships, but they could not believe that the steel beasts of several tons, or even more than ten tons, had any way to float on the water, according to the British estimates, it was that the Chinese had already prepared an underwater bridge in that river, or even that the water in that place was shallow.

However, they now had to believe that a telegram from the front line of the Salween River said that the Chinese tanks had indeed driven directly across the Salween River, and that they had ropes behind the ropes, and that behind the ropes there were chains, and that a ferrinet pontoon bridge was quickly formed. But the price was too great, the Salween River was lost, and the Chinese Third Route Army swept through southern Burma and attacked northward, hitting near Naypyidaw in just one day.

At the Anglo-Burmese Army Headquarters in Mandalay, Admiral Dannatt's face was extremely ugly. The situation changed beyond his expectations.

Major General Staff Officer Olife said with some impetuosity: "Commander, after the Chinese outflanked our army, it is obvious that they want to encircle our army with the Chinese army in the north, and their strategic intention has basically been clear, that is, they want to encircle and annihilate our more than 400,000 troops in Mandalay. ”

Dannatt sneered: "Want to eat us, daydreaming, the Chinese have not yet grown this good tooth." ”

Olife said solemnly: "Although I think the same way, there is no doubt that the situation is very unfavorable for our army. The loss of southern Burma means that the supply lines of our army are cut off, and there are not enough supplies. We were unable to meet the scheduled schedule. We had planned a counteroffensive from Mandalay. Directly penetrate into Chinese territory, capture Tengchong and Baoshan, cut off the supply line of the First Route Army of the Chinese attack on Assam, and cooperate with the Assam Front to encircle and annihilate the Chinese First Route Army. However, the resistance of the Chinese Second Route Army was very stubborn. We fought with them for more than a week. Still fighting. I think that our army cannot give full play to its superiority, and it is impossible to realize the plan to defeat the Chinese Second Route Army in a short time, so it is better to switch from offensive to defensive. Mobilize the main force to the south to recover southern Burma and reopen the supply line. ”

Admiral Dannatt sighed and said, "No one expected that the war would break out like this, and the Chinese had already planned it." Looking at their southward offensive, it was simply smooth and invulnerable. The main forces of the French in the Far East were basically completely annihilated, the Americans were also defeated, and I don't think the 500,000 American troops will last a few days before they are completely finished, and only us are left. You're right, Olive, we should put safety first, because apart from us, the coalition forces have basically no resistance in the Far East, and we are the 'jewel in the crown of the Queen of England' - the barrier of India, we must exist, we must defend here. ”

"It can't be that bad, Commander," said Olive. There were also quite a few Dutch troops in the Dutch East Indies. ”

Dannatt scoffed and said, "Just those wastes are worthy of fighting the Chinese?" I'm afraid that before I see the Chinese, I have already run away. In the past, we, no, the entire Western world despised the Chinese, and so did I. But we are fighting the Chinese here, and the so-called Second Route Army of China to the north of us is actually China's Second Group Army, and a group army in China has less than 150,000 people, but we have more than 400,000 people but cannot defeat them, do you still think that the Chinese have low combat effectiveness? That's really a joke, and it not only insults the Chinese, but also insults ourselves. ”

Olife said bitterly: "Yes, Commander, you are right. If the Chinese are waste, then aren't we all waste? Although our troops are composed of Indians, judging from the battle situation, the combat effectiveness of the main force of the Chinese defense force may be a little worse than that of our local elite. Security first is necessary, and the southward counteroffensive to ensure supplies is to ensure security, and it must be done before the Chinese Third Army fully reaches southern Burma. ”

Dannert nodded in approval, and at this time, a staff officer quickly rushed into the office of the command Dannat and shouted: "Commander, the Chinese in the north suddenly launched a full-scale onslaught, in the east and west, they respectively drew one or two elite divisions to attack, not only sent a large number of air force bombing, but also the attacking force had a large number of tanks, we could not resist, the Monywa on the western front was asking for help, and the Chinese attacked the county town with only one attack." ”

"What ?!?" Both Dannat and Olivee were taken aback and exclaimed, "How is this possible? "For so many days, they and the Chinese Second Route Army have been inseparable, and they can be described as evenly matched, and the repeated battles for many positions can prove this.

The two of them could no longer stay in the office, and immediately came to the command hall, and in a short period of time, the telegram asking for help had already flown like snowflakes, where was the east and west fronts, it was simply a full-scale attack by the Chinese Second Route Army, which made their hearts sink to the bottom.

What does this mean? It shows that the Chinese were not serious before, or deliberately did this, in order to attract them, entangle them, and let the main forces of the Anglo-Burmese army concentrate in Mandalay, waiting for the Chinese Third Route Army to explode their chrysanthemums. Now that the Chinese Third Route Army has captured southern Burma, the Chinese Second Route Army has finally bared its fangs, which is so hideous and terrifying that people feel desperate.

China's Third Route Army is only a group army of less than 150,000 people, and against him, a front army of more than 400,000 people still dares to divide troops to attack? It can be seen how rampant and confident the other side is, and they treat their British and Burmese front as chickens and dogs.

"Damn Chinese, it is too much to humiliate my Anglo-Burmese army like this, hateful!" Admiral Dannatt gritted his teeth and howled in a hideous voice. With such a posture of the Chinese Second Route Army, where do you still take him in your eyes, you simply treat him as a fart.

Olife said anxiously: "Commander, the situation is critical now, and it is definitely us who will suffer losses if we fight with the Chinese." The Chinese Third Route Army had just captured southern Burma and could not block all routes. Look here. He pointed to the map.

"Ren Anqiang?" Dannat could tell at a glance that it was nothing more than a rural village.

Oliver said, "Yes, this is it. This small place should not have been on the map, but in recent years, Shell has been exploring here, and it has been confirmed that there is a large oil field here, so a certain transportation system has been built here. We can quickly send troops to control Ringanqiang, turn southwest along the Bay of Bengal, and jump out of the Chinese encirclement. ”

Dannat flashed a glimmer of light, and immediately said, "Good! Immediately send one division, no, three divisions to control Ringanqiang. ”

"Yes!" ――

The command hall of the Nanjing Ministry of National Defense was still intertwined with the sounds of telegrams and telephones that seemed to be eternal and unchanging, and although they were still tense and busy, the faces of the staff officers and communications soldiers had become excited and relaxed, far from being the tense and serious at the beginning of the war.

The dense flags on the huge sand table in the center of the command hall have completely changed from before, and the areas east of Myanmar in the Indochina Peninsula have basically been planted with red flags, and there are only a few islands left in the Philippines, and there are many places in Borneo, the Malay Peninsula, and Sumatra.

In Mandalay, central Myanmar, red flags are planted on almost all sides, and with Mandalay as the center, there are dense blue rice flags.

"There is only one gap left in the southwest." Li Bufan nodded, he was still quite satisfied with the overall situation, and immediately said to Li Huashan, the chief of staff, "Telegraph to the Third Route Army, since it is a closed door and a dog, you have to close the door tightly and block it for me!" ”

Li Huashan replied: "Yes, commander-in-chief." I immediately ordered the Third Route Army to take Ringanqiang in the shortest possible time at all costs. ”

"Ren Anqiang?" Wu Di was taken aback and stared at that position.

Li Bufan was surprised: "Do you know this place? It's just a village, and it's not named on the map. ”

Wu Di shouted, "How could I not know about this. This is a good place, there is a large oil field, it should be said that it is the largest oil field in the Indochina Peninsula at present. As long as we take this place and develop the oil fields, then there will be no need to transport oil from the front line. ”

Li Bufan knows that Wu Di, a place name that the traveler can remember, must have something special, you must know that Wu Di is the 25th world, and the place names that have been recorded after hundreds of years have undoubtedly left a strong mark in history. He later learned that in the future history of World War II, the Chinese Expeditionary Force rescued the British army in this counteroffensive and achieved a great victory, but the British took revenge and left the Chinese Expeditionary Force as cannon fodder for them.

Of course, Li Bufan didn't know at this time, but he was overjoyed to know that there was a big oil field in this place. You must know that there is not much oil developed in China now, only Jianghan Oilfield, Zhongyuan Oilfield and Shengli Oilfield, with an annual oil output of less than 3 million tons. However, with the outbreak of the war, the air force and navy were frequently dispatched, and a large number of cars kept transporting supplies to the front line, and the lack of fuel was certain, so there was a plan for the First Route Army to capture Assam, because Dibrueger had an oil field with an annual output of 300,000 tons.

"It's so good, it must be taken!" (To be continued......)