. Chapter 1117 Chase all the way

I am afraid that the front-line combat units of the Japanese army will not look at them with a straight eye, and they will not let them charge into battle unless they have to do so, and there is no Japanese commander who is bent on making meritorious contributions who is willing to command these old bearded soldiers, but this heavy task falls on the head of Major General Koizumi, chief of the general staff of Japan's Southeast Asian dispatch army.

I don't know if it was His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief who punished him in disguise, or because of his own stupidity, and the price he should pay, anyway, Koizumi, with a feeling of unhappiness, came to command these 70,000 or 80,000 troops who were contemptuously called "rabble" by the front-line combat troops, and Koizumi rushed to the assembly place of the follow-up troops.

Koizumi would have felt a headache from the military appearance and discipline of these soldiers, and he had just finished conveying Commander-in-Chief Ito's order, and the dozen or so commanders had not discussed any tactics and mutual cooperation, and as for the firepower allocation, artillery preparation, and so on, all of them were omitted, and the commanders shouted wildly, and these bearded Japanese soldiers rushed forward like a swarm.

Chief of General Staff Koizumi, who was in charge of Commander-in-Chief Ito, was stunned and complained bitterly when he commanded the front-line combat units with precise tactical arrangements, a well-structured order of attack, and adequate artillery preparations.

He groaned in pain, and hurriedly ordered the two artillery wings, which were only equipped with mortars and Type 92 infantry guns, to immediately provide artillery support.

What made Chief of General Staff Koizumi even more unexpected was that these Japanese soldiers of the second-line troops and the baggage units fought a battle, and although their individual tactics were not good, they were all fierce and cruel, ruthless and ruthless, with a bloodthirsty murderous aura, howling like wolves, rushing into the pile of fleeing British, with bayonets and grenades, and more than 60,000 British and Burmese soldiers fell to the ground screaming and falling to the ground in more than two hours of hard work.

That kind of bloody scene, so that the command post to observe the battlefield, Major General Koizumi, could not help but fight a cold war, this is a group of soldiers, a group of hungry wolves, wounded and fallen to the ground British and Burmese soldiers, they did not let go, a few bayonets, according to the body stabbed, the blade into the body "flutter" sound, endless, valley, full of British and Burmese soldiers before the death of the screams.

Not only did the bayonet stab the British and Burmese soldiers to death, but also cut off the left ear of the corpse and stuffed it into the backpack triumphantly, there were many Japanese soldiers who looked over forty years old, carrying a bloody head in their hands and the other hand, searching for belongings on the corpse, what watches, gold teeth, gold rings, and even lighters became trophies.

Later, Koizumi heard that this was a kind of gambling game between Japanese soldiers, and the number of left ears of the Anglo-Burmese soldiers was used to determine the number of left ears of the Anglo-Burmese soldiers in a squadron, and the bet was 2,000 yen, and to cut off the head of an officer above the rank of major of the Anglo-Burmese Army.

Koizumi's eyes straightened when he saw it, just such a group of soldiers who did not pay attention to tactics and had no artillery preparation, rushed forward in a disorderly manner, and ended the battle in more than two hours with more than two hours, and their own casualties were less than 6,000 people, which is really incredible?

Koizumi's admiration for Commander Ito was like a surging river, endless, and Koizumi immediately telegraphed the news of the victory of the Libao Grand Canyon and the annihilation of more than 60,000 Anglo-Burmese troops to Commander-in-Chief Ito, and Ito's reply was very simple, "Koizumi-kun, the follow-up troops must not make too many stops in the Libao Grand Canyon, and immediately go north." ”

Koizumi pondered this matter for a long time before he could taste a little taste, and he dared to love His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, who had already seen the shape of the battlefield, and the British, who had been cut off from retreat again, had completely lost the will to fight, and could no longer fight, and it was a good job to let the second-line troops and baggage troops undertake the task of attacking.

The soldiers of the Imperial Army of the Great Japanese Empire, who have no ambition to make meritorious contributions, look at the elite front-line troops, winning many battles, and their eyes are not on fire. It just so happened that this anger held in his heart was used by Commander-in-Chief Ito in the battle of annihilation in the Libao Grand Canyon, with chaos against chaos, front-line troops, not delaying the pursuit of the main force of the British, and the remaining miscellaneous troops also came in handy.

Later, Koizumi talked about this incident to other officers, and he was full of praise for Commander-in-Chief Ito, and summed it up in one sentence: "Use soldiers like gods!" "In fact, if the more than 60,000 British and Burmese troops who were surrounded by the second time did not mess up, took advantage of the opportunity of the main force of the Japanese army to pursue northward, and took advantage of the favorable terrain of the Libao Grand Canyon, they might not be able to break through the massacre of the Japanese army's baggage and second-line troops.

Breaking out of the encirclement, taking the opposite direction, and going to Mandalay, it will also be a way to live, even if the whole army is wiped out in the end, it can fight out 20,000 or 30,000 Japanese soldiers, which is better than being slaughtered like a chicken, and no one is spared, however, there are not so many things in the world, and the British have paid the lives of more than 60,000 soldiers, achieving the famous reputation of Ito Yanzaburo, the commander-in-chief of the Japanese Southeast Asian Dispatch Army, and also leaving a bloody memory for the British.

Compared with the more than 60,000 compatriots who were annihilated in the Libao Grand Canyon, the British troops who rushed all the way to Myitkyina were not much better, in the sky, Japanese planes circled in groups, deadly bombs, rained down, all roads and bridges were blown up by Japanese planes, and the rivers along the way became a sad place for British soldiers.

The retreat route of the British troops stretched for nearly 100 kilometers from end to end, not only chaotic, but also without order and order, and the Japanese planes, as long as they cruised back and forth along this route, bullets and bombs did not miss the time, all the way to fireworks, all the way to the explosion, on both sides of the road, the corpses of the British and Burmese soldiers were scattered, and in the Libao Grand Canyon, the British troops who had lost all their artillery, tanks and trucks were helplessly bombed and strafed by the Japanese planes.

Looking at the wide river in front of him, only a few broken bridges with lonely piers, and on the beach on the shore, the large crater blown up by the bombs dropped by the Japanese planes was still emitting wisps of white smoke, Francis looked around, and there was no joy in his heart to highlight the encirclement, he was sure that the troops that were cut off from retreat were more than lucky.

The fierce sound of gunfire was heard in the distance, and the Japanese pursued it closely, like biting a sugar cane, biting the troops dragging behind, and eating them in one bite, and the remaining 200,000 troops, without the formation and confusion of the command system, everyone only cared about fleeing for their lives, and Francis could not even find a formed unit even if he wanted to organize a decent blockade.

The bridge has been completely blown up by Japanese planes, and there are more and more soldiers gathered on the riverside, and the Japanese planes in the sky are more rampant low-altitude strafing and bombing, and there is an earth-shattering explosion, gunpowder smoke and flames flashing, and the bloody corpses of soldiers are piled up on the shore and float away along the surging river.

The troops that Francis could control, that is, the guard regiment of the General Headquarters around him, as well as his own guards, were only more than 2,000 people, and the rest were followed by some civilian officers and miscellaneous departments of the General Headquarters.

Francis took a breath and said to the commander of the guard regiment: "Immediately send out the soldiers, divide them into several groups, gather as many troops as possible by the river, restore the formation, and if you meet their commander, bring them to me immediately, and arrange a small force to look for a section along the river bank to cross the river." ”

After assigning the task, Francis said to the chief of telecommunications: "Turn on the radio immediately and inform Commander Alexander of the news of our breakthrough from the Libao Grand Canyon," As soon as the words fell, a heavy bomb roared and landed nearby, splashing mud and sand, and his Excellency the chief of staff fell on him, and several guards hurriedly pressed him down.

Francis got up and continued to dictate the message with a blank face, "Your Excellency Commander-in-Chief, the troops have broken through from the Libao Grand Canyon, but the losses are heavy, at present, we have arrived at the south bank of the Yindun River, falling through Mandalay and Libao Grand Canyon fierce battles, the troops are only more than 200,000 people, and the Japanese planes will blow up all the bridges on the Yindun River, and the Japanese infantry is hundreds of thousands, chasing after each other, the battle is happening all the time, the losses of the troops continue to increase, at present, I intend to organize the troops to cross the river, the follow-up situation, Report to His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief at any time. ”

Francis's telegram was only to report the situation to Alexander, and when it came to the duty of a subordinate, he had no hope that the commander-in-chief would be able to take the remaining 200,000 soldiers safely over the Yindun River while the troops were still in a dangerous situation.

However, Francis underestimated Ito's determination to destroy all the British, and the Yudun River, which was on the road to Myitkyina, was the final place where he planned to annihilate the British.

The front blocked the Yudun River, and Ito strictly ordered the main force of the Japanese army to chase after him, regardless of the fierce attack of the British troops along the way, on this road, even if the British no longer have the will to resist, but hundreds of thousands of people are crowded together, even if the Japanese soldiers are cut with knives, it is a waste of a long time.

After catching up with the lagging British troops, the advance speed of the Japanese army slowed down significantly, there were too many British, and they wanted to swell the Japanese to death, Ito's anxious eyes were on fire, and he gave strict orders one after another, "All troops, be sure not to be tempted by the results in front of you, throw off the British, and go straight to the south bank of the Dunjiang River, this is the only chance for the Imperial Army to completely annihilate the British." ”

(To be continued)

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