Nanjing, the headquarters of the army.

The commander of the Fifth Army Corps of the Central China Front, Lieutenant General Tokyuergong Tsukihiko, walked into Okamura Ningji's office with a solemn expression, and immediately retracted his feet and said, "Okamura-kun, Yangon Airport...... Lost. ”

Okamura Ninji was stunned when he heard this, and immediately put down the wolf in his hand and sighed: "Alas, what should come is still coming after all." ”

Higashijueriyasu also sighed, and said with regret: "Tojo-kun and Teramiuchi-kun are too stubborn and self-serving, and Okamura-kun has obviously called to warn them, but they have turned a deaf ear, resulting in today's disaster, so the prospect of the battle of Mandalay has suddenly become unassuming." ”

"Pu Shuo is confused?" Okamura Ninji shook his head and said, "Your Highness, you are too optimistic. ”

"How?" Dongjuer Palace said awe-inspiringly, "Could it be that the situation in the Battle of Mandalay will take a sharp turn for the worse because of this?" ”

"It's not just that the battle of Mandalay will take a turn for the worse!" Okamura Ninji said quietly, "The entire Fifteenth Army on the Burmese battlefield is already in jeopardy. ”

"Okamura-kun." Dongjuer Palace Tsukihiko frowned, "It doesn't seem that the situation in Mandalay has reached such a point, right?" ”

After that, Donggyur Palace Tsugahiko strode to the north wall and brushed the ground and pulled out the curtains, then picked up the command pole and said to the map of Myanmar posted on the wall: "Okamura-kun, please see, although the Yangon airport has been lost, it will take at least half a month for the Allies to airlift enough troops to completely occupy Yangon, Bago and Mawlamyine. ”

"With this half a month as a buffer, the main force of the 15th Army Corps in Mandalay will be enough to retreat to the vicinity of Rangoon, and the other three divisions of Java, Luzon and Indochina can almost enter the Siamese-Burma border, even if these three divisions cannot recapture Yangon, it is always no problem to take the 15th Army back to Siam, right?"

"No problem!?" Okamura Ninji's eyes suddenly burst into two clusters of essence, and he said in a deep voice, "It's a big problem!" ”

Hearing this, Dongjuer Palace Tsuruhiko was awe-inspiring, and immediately bowed his head and said: "My stupidity, please ask Okamura-kun to teach me." ”

Okamura Ninji strode to the map, pointed to the railway line from Mandalay to Yangon, and said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, don't forget, the U.S. Air Force has completely seized air supremacy in the Burma battlefield, and their bombers will be able to easily blow up the railways, roads, and bridges between Mandalay and Yangon, which will cause great difficulties for the imperial army to march." ”

"To make matters worse, most of the road from Mandalay to Rangoon is an open plain, where it is impossible to march during the day, even at night, and during the day, and it is difficult to conceal during the day, not forgetting that there is a rift in Burma's relationship with the Empire, which is likely to be exploited by the Allies."

"If the Fifteenth Army retreats south to Rangoon, the Allies don't even need to send ground troops, the air force alone can completely destroy all the heavy equipment, and kill and wound a large number of the fighters of the Fifteenth Army Corps, and when they withdraw to the vicinity of Rangoon, the Allies only need to send even one infantry division, which will be enough to take them in."

Higashijueriyaki was awe-inspiring when he heard this, but when he thought about it, Okamura Ninji's speculation was really reasonable.

"What's more......" Okamura Ninji took a breath and continued, "The main force of the Chinese Expeditionary Force in the Mandalay battlefield will never be stagnant, if the 15th Army retreats, they will definitely chase and kill, if it really comes at that time, there will be interception in front, there will be chasing soldiers in the back, and there will be planes bombing indiscriminately in the sky, how can the 15th Army be lucky?" ”

Dongjuer Palace Tsugahiko pondered for a moment, and then said: "So, what about holding on to the place?" ”

Okamura Ninji said: "After the loss of Yangon, the logistics supply line of the 15th Army has been cut off, and in this case, holding on to the spot can only be a dead end. ”

"It's not okay to defend it, it's not appropriate to retreat, is it possible for the Fifteenth Army Corps to really break the jade collectively?"

"Your Highness, this is a matter that the Southern Army and the temple should consider, so we don't have to bother more."

"Your Excellency, maybe you should really think about how to command the Fifteenth Army Corps out of danger." Okamura Ninji's voice fell, and Lieutenant General Tengda Tomo, chief of staff of the Central China Front, suddenly strode in, and immediately suddenly retracted his feet and stood upright, bowing his head to Okamura Ninji and Higashikuernomiya Tsusahiko respectively.

"Tengtian-kun, what do you mean by that?" Higashijueriyaki asked.

Teng Tian Tomokaku suddenly handed the telegram in his hand to Okamura Ninji and said, "Your Excellency General, this is an urgent telegram just issued by Your Excellency Terauchi, and he asks you to give urgent tactical guidance to the 15th Army Corps in order to defuse the unfavorable situation on the Burmese battlefield. ”

………… Mandalay, Command of the Chinese Expeditionary Force.

As Yue Weihan expected, when the news of the loss of Yangon airport reached Mandalay, the 31st, 55th, and 56th Divisions of the Guards really stepped up their offensive, but the Chinese Expeditionary Force, which had been psychologically prepared for this, also gave the most stubborn resistance, and the two sides fought fiercely for a whole day, and the situation remained deadlocked.

In the war room, Yue Weihan was convening the commanders of each division to discuss the battle situation.

Dai Anlan said: "After the airborne regiment seized the Yangon airport, the momentum of the Mandalay battlefield has been completely reversed, and now the morale of our officers and soldiers is high, and the little devils will inevitably be a little discouraged. ”

Luo Youlun looked at Yue Weihan, smiled and said: "With the current situation in Mandalay, it is indeed impossible for the little devil to fight quickly, and if he insists on waiting for help, it can only be a dead end. ”

"Who knows what those two old devils will choose?" Chen Mianyue didn't have a good airway.

Lu Guozhuan pursed his lips and quipped: "If I were an old devil in the temple, I would directly order all the devil soldiers of the Southern Army to lay down their arms and surrender, and there would be no need to fight this battle." ”

Everyone burst into laughter, and the atmosphere seemed relaxed and lively.

Yue Weihan sat quietly in the corner, without the slightest intention of joining the discussion, in fact, he liked the current atmosphere very much, which reminded him of the former Baoshan Division, and before he knew it, the senior officers of the Chinese Expeditionary Force had accepted him as the commander-in-chief from their hearts, and also accepted Li Yulong as an "outsider".

"I guess...... The little devil will definitely go to the Shan Plateau and withdraw to Siam! Liao Yaoxiang said suddenly.

Yue Weihan's heart suddenly moved when he heard this, Liao Yaoxiang's opinion coincided with his, Yue Weihan also believed that the army would retreat to Siam through the Shan Plateau, and even if the army did not leave the Shan Plateau, Yue Weihan would try his best to force them to go, because the dense jungle of the Shan Plateau was essentially no different from the jungle of the Savage Mountains in northern Myanmar.

In the history of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, once paid a heavy price in the Savage Mountain, more than 40,000 people entered the jungle, but in the end only less than 6,000 people came out alive, the deep jungle of the Hukang River Valley, lying everywhere The Chinese expeditionary officers and soldiers of the white bones, the situation and the scene can not be described by two words?

Of course, Yue Weihan would not allow such a tragedy to happen again!

Yue Weihan not only did not allow such a tragedy to happen to the Chinese Expeditionary Force again, but he also tried his best to transfer such a tragedy to the little devil, yes, Yue Weihan just wanted to force the little devil to go to the Savage Mountain, he just wanted to use the primeval jungle of the Shan Plateau to devour the 100,000 elites of the 15th Army of the Yue Army!

If the 15th Army of the Yue Army really embarked on this road of no return, then 100,000 people entered the mountain, and finally 20,000 people could go out alive It would be time to burn high incense, and Yue Weihan had already calculated the next step, even if 20,000 people really walked out of the Shan Plateau alive, Yue Weihan would never let them return to Yueben alive.

………… Nanjing, the headquarters of the army.

After receiving a telegram from Shouichi Terauchi, Okamura Ninji quickly stepped into the role.

Although Okamura Ninji has a lot of dissatisfaction with a high-ranking general like Terauchi Shouichi in his heart, but when it comes to the interests of the empire and the life and death of the imperial army, he will never be sloppy, Okamura Ninji has never been a person who does not care about the overall situation, for him, the interests of the empire are above all else.

"Retreating south to Yangon or holding on to it for help is a dead end." Okamura Ningji stared at the map for a long time, suddenly raised his command rod and drew a straight line on the map, and then said in a deep voice, "If the 15th Army wants to break through, there is only one way to go, go east to the Shan State Plateau, cross Taunggyi and Salween rivers, and retreat from Chiang Mai to Siam!" ”

"Upper Shan State Plateau?" "Okamura-kun, the Shan Plateau is full of dense primeval jungles, and there is no way to go in many places, not to mention crossing the Saarman River, if you really want to take this road, all the heavy equipment of the 15th Army Corps, including all the heavy artillery of the Guards Division, must be thrown away." ”

"If the heavy equipment is thrown away, the munitions supply department can still find a way to replenish it, and it can even be captured from the allies, but if the 100,000 veterans of the 15th Army Corps are collectively broken, the empire may be difficult to replenish." Okamura Ninji said in a deep voice, "Especially the more than 40,000 officers and soldiers of the Guards Division, they are simply irreplaceable elites in a hundred battles. ”

Teng Tianzhi nodded and agreed: "The primeval jungle of the Shan Plateau is indeed a great test for the imperial army, but on the other hand, the dense jungle can also cause great obstacles to the bombing and pursuit of the Allied forces, and with the cover of the primeval jungle on the Shan Plateau, the Fifteenth Army will be able to march calmly." ”

Okamura Ninji nodded, and said: "Moreover, the two infantry divisions of the Kingdom of Siam are also deployed near Chiang Mai, and they can be ordered to enter the Shan State Plateau to meet the 15th Army Corps at that time, and the King of Siam [***] is far more familiar with the primeval forests of Southeast Asia than the imperial army, and with them leading the way, it should not be a problem to get out of the jungle." ”

Okamura Ninji obviously underestimated the threat of the Burmese jungle, but this is also normal, although this old devil has excellent strategic vision, but he has never been to Myanmar after all, and he has not crossed over from the afterlife, in this respect he is incomparable with Yue Weihan, Yue Weihan is a traverser, he has a clear understanding of the lethality of the Burmese jungle.

"There's one more thing to note." Okamura Ninji said, "Bangkok's air defense must be strengthened, beware of the repetition of Yue Weihan's old tricks, and send airborne troops to attack Bangkok's airport again!" After saying this, Okamura Ninji said, "If the Chinese Airborne Forces capture the Bangkok airport during the retreat of the Fifteenth Army, and then send follow-up troops to quickly seize the major cities of the Kingdom of Siam, then even if Amaterasu Okami descends, I am afraid that the Fifteenth Army will not be able to save it." ”

Teng Tian Zhishen thought and said: "Your Excellency the General is far-sighted, my admiration." ”

"Soldiers are fast, but late will change." Okamura Ninji waved his hand, and said to Tengtian Zhi again, "Tengtian-kun, hurry up and telegraph our suggestion to the Southern Army Headquarters." ”

"Hello." Teng Tianzhi bowed his head suddenly, and then walked away with his saber on his shoulder.

………… Saigon, Southern Army Command.

This morning, the Yangon garrison division launched six attacks on the Yangon airport, but all ended in failure, just after noon, the Allied transport planes landed at the Yangon airport in a steady stream, in addition to a large amount of ammunition supplies, but also airlifted a regiment of the squadron, so far, the complete loss of Yangon has entered the countdown.

Shojiro Iida has already made a seppuku, and Shouichi Terauchi has just taken over the command of the 15th Army.

In the sound of hurried footsteps, Lieutenant General Luotian, chief of staff of the Southern Army, had already walked into Terauchi Shouichi's office, and immediately suddenly retracted his feet and said: "Your Excellency, Your Excellency Okamura is in a hurry!" ”

Terauchi Shouichi got up, snatched the telegram from Luotian's attacker, and hurriedly read it, Terauchi Shouichi attacked Luotian without thinking: "Order, the fifteenth army immediately retreats east to the Shan State Plateau!" The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also requested to urgently send a telegram to Siamese Prime Minister Manphibun ordering the two Siamese divisions in Chiang Mai to quickly move westward to the Shan State Plateau to meet the 15th Army Corps. ”

"Hello." Luo Tian Feng bowed his head suddenly, and immediately took the order away.

………… Amarabra, the front command of the army.

Amarabula is located less than 10 kilometers south of Mandalay, in order to command the battle of Mandalay nearby, the army set up a front-line headquarters in Amarabula, with Lieutenant General Nishimura Takuma, commander of the Guards Division, concurrently serving as the front-line commander-in-chief.

There was only one topic on the agenda: what should the Mandalay army do?

At this moment, Nishimura's mood can not be described as depressed? Seeing that Mandalay was about to be taken, and seeing that the stubborn resistance of the squadron was about to be completely annihilated, but who would have thought that the Yangon airport was suddenly lost, and in an instant, the entire Myanmar war situation came to a 180-degree reversal.

Although Nishimura and his ilk have little strategic vision, they still have basic tactical analysis skills.

With the loss of Yangon airport, the Japanese army near Mandalay has been in a difficult situation without any suspense.

Now, it is impossible for the army to win the Battle of Mandalay, and how can a lone army that has lost its logistical support win a large-scale strategic decisive battle? Even holding on to the aid has become a luxury, without logistical support, and without air support, what to hold onto, what to wait for? Just half a month's ammunition reserves and rations?

At the meeting, Nishimura Takuma discussed with the commanders of the other three divisions for a long time, but could not reach an agreement, at this moment, the order of the Southern Army Headquarters arrived, Nishimura Takuma immediately ordered that the 55th and 56th divisions each leave a wing to block, and then blow up all the artillery and tanks, and then burn all the tanks, and the whole army withdrew lightly to the Shan State Plateau.

(To be continued)