After capturing Rangoon, the Japanese began to drive northward, and the British army was losing ground one after another, at which time the British asked the expeditionary force to enter the battle as soon as possible. At this time, the expeditionary force began to divide its troops into three routes according to the original plan, stationed in the important towns of Mandalay, Tonggu and Lashio, and began to take over the defense here.

Lashio was the rear of the expeditionary force, Tonggu was the flank, and Mandalay was the place of concentration in person. In terms of the distribution of troops, the three are also different, Mandalay concentrates the main forces, Tonggu is only the first division of the expeditionary force, and Lashio is mainly concentrated with logistics troops.

Naturally, such a troop arrangement is based on China's overall considerations. However, in terms of troop deployment and many aspects, it is also necessary to integrate the requirements of the British and American sides. Upon arrival in Mandalay, the expeditionary force began a handover of defense with the British.

Sun Liren and other expeditionary force generals were supposed to meet with Lieutenant General Hu Dun, commander of the British forces in Burma, which was also a procedural requirement, but at this time Hu Dun himself had been replaced, and the new replacement of Alexander and the senior generals of the British army were still in India, and now Mandalay only left most of the British army and a few generals with fluctuating hearts.

In desperation, the Expeditionary Force Command had no choice but to contact and communicate with the British army through radio. At this time, the Japanese army had already attacked several cities in Burma, and a large number of troops were rushing towards this side.

The situation was very urgent, and after arriving in Mandalay, Sun Liren did not even eat, so he immediately summoned officers above the regimental level and held a defense meeting in the conference room left for them by the British army.

Fang Zhenzhong, chief of staff of the expeditionary force, introduced the basic situation, he pointed to the large-scale map of central Burma that had just been hung and said: "Intelligence shows that the vanguard of the Japanese Southern Army is only 100 miles away from Mandalay, and the British army has broken and fled all the way without resistance, and the Japanese army will be able to reach Mandalay in a few days." The main force of the Japanese offensive force this time was the 15th Army and the 18th Division, which were good at jungle warfare, and the total strength was naturally nearly 20,000 more than ours, but counting the British troops that we assisted in the defense, the strength of the Allies still had an advantage. ”

Li Qing, the commander of the Third Division, snorted coldly after hearing this: "I don't think it's better to count it." Didn't you look at the defensive positions in Mandalay, which were basically not built at all, and then look at their morale, it would be good if they didn't hold us back, and you still counted on them? ”

"Yes, what Master Li said is right. The British are really not authentic, and I don't think they want to stick to it at all. A deputy division commander sitting next to him also said frankly.

Sun Liren coughed lightly and said: "The British Army still has a lot to learn from in modern operations, and there are many reasons for their defeat this time. Out of consideration for the overall situation, don't say anything like this in the future. ”

After listening to Sun Liren's words, all the officers stopped talking, some nodded, and some didn't say anything.

It's not that these officers are arrogant, it's just that the arrogant attitude of the British is what they have all experienced, and those British guys laughed and scolded, and looked down on the Chinese army at all, not to mention the lower-level officers and soldiers, even the senior officers and British soldiers would not salute after seeing them, plus the British army was defeated all the way, which made them have no good impression of the British army.

Sun Liren naturally knew this, but he was unwilling to continue to dwell on this topic, so what was the use of complaining here? Time is of the essence, and it is still important to defend.

"When I was on the road, I took a look, and although the main force of the Japanese army attacked this time was strong in combat and numerous, it was not without disadvantages compared with us. Before this expedition, with the help of Chairman Huang, we supplemented a large number of domestically produced automated weapons and light armored firepower, which we had an advantage over the Japanese army. Now there are three sides on the left, center and right, Tonggu on the right, Mandalay in the middle, and Ren'anqiang on the right is the British defense. Of these three points, Tonggu is the closest to the front line, so the responsibility for defense is the most important, how about it? Yangong, can you keep it with confidence? ”

Sitting in the corner of the table, Dai Yangong said categorically: "Tonggu is at the forefront of the front, presumably for my expeditionary force to fight the first battle against the Japanese army." Even if you fight to the point of one soldier and one soldier, you will definitely thwart the enemy's fierce flames and stick to the east melon. ”

Sun Liren nodded, he and Dai Yangong are fellow villagers in Anhui, they are about the same age, and they talk a lot on weekdays, although they are not close in personal relationships, they are not bad. After entering Burma, according to the current situation, Sun Liren judged that Tonggu may be the place of the first battle, because he wants to stick to Mandalay, so he naturally cannot send heavy troops to defend, but the first battle will not only affect morale and the next strategic deployment, but also affect the image of Chinese soldiers in the world, so this battle must be fought well.

Such a tough battle requires a tiger general to go. Through his own observation and the screening of his resume, Sun Liren felt that Dai Yangong was more suitable, so he sent him over.

Time was pressing, Sun Liren did not waste more time at the meeting, and after making some general deployments, he ordered the troops to start specific actions.

At this time, Mandalay Defense was still a mess, and the mess left behind by the British was a real headache.

……

The First Division of the Expeditionary Force, where Zhu Jingxing was located, had already set off for Tonggu when Sun Liren was still meeting in Mandela. The First Division, like the rest of the expeditionary forces, was as equipped with automobiles and light armor as the U.S. Army, and these domestically produced ten-wheeled trucks and wheeled infantry armored vehicles marched southward, kicking up dust and smoke for miles along the way.

The mechanized troops marched extremely fast, and in less than a day they reached Tonggu along the road. At this time, the ancient city of Tonggu was already in chaos, and the British troops stationed here had begun to evacuate before the Chinese troops could come to take over the defense.

The withdrawal of British troops led to the collapse of the local government that had been maintained, and the Japanese had not yet been stationed, so there was a power vacuum here, and with some Burmese traitors and Japanese spies, Tonggu was already in chaos.

A large number of British troops began to retreat north, and the roads into the city were blocked. At this time, it was intertwined with the expeditionary force entering the city, and the front of the two sides was against the front of the car, and no one could move.

Seeing that the Japanese army is about to arrive, it must be dangerous for so many troops to be stuck here, if the Japanese troops come over or the Japanese planes find them, they will only be slaughtered.

It was imperative to get the British out of the way as soon as possible. Zhu Jingxing's battalion was the head car of the whole army, and the battalion commander Xie Guozhi came over and said to Zhu Jingxing: "You know foreign languages, go, come with me to negotiate with those British, and let them quickly get out of the way." ”

Zhu Jingxing immediately jumped out of the car and followed the battalion commander forward.

The Chinese and British trucks arrived together, the drivers on both sides were anxiously honking their horns, and the British soldiers wearing UFO helmets came down and banged on the car door vigorously, and the soldiers on both sides did not understand the language but shouted loudly at each other. The weather was hot and dry, the mood was irritable, and the soldiers on both sides were arguing and about to move.

"Stop!" Xie Guozhi followed Zhu Jing over, and after he yelled, the soldiers of the expeditionary force stopped, but the tall British soldiers did not mean to stop, and after seeing the Chinese soldiers stop, he still smashed his fist on the face of the Chinese soldiers.

When the thin Chinese soldier was about to fight back, he was stopped by Xie Guozhi.

Xie Guozhi calmed his brothers for a few words, and then said to the British army: "Why retreat? ”

Zhu Jingxing truthfully translated the past, and a major came from the British soldiers, and he raised his eyebrows and said, "Major, please let your soldiers get out of the way." ”

"You are retreating, we are going to fight the Japanese, you quickly get out of the way and let us pass." Xie Guozhi was a little angry, he was angry with many British people along the way, but he didn't expect to be angry when he came here.

The British major disagreed, and the two sides quarreled back and forth. At this time, the officers and men of the expeditionary force also began to sneer and scold, they scolded the British for being greedy for life and afraid of death, and being scared by the Japanese to pee their pants, and so on, although the British could not understand it, they could still feel the scolding from their expressions, and the shouting and scolding on both sides became louder and louder, and there was obviously a tendency for the situation to expand.

At this time, Zhu Jing walked to Camp Commander Xie Guozhi and said, "Battalion Commander, it's not a way to go on like this. It's better to report to the deputy division commander quickly, the British did not complete the handover with us as agreed, and they did something wrong. ”

Xie Guozhi felt that what Zhu Jingxing said was right, so he immediately reported to the accompanying deputy division commander according to his suggestion. After reporting the situation to his superiors, the deputy division commander also rushed to the front of the troops stuck on both sides.

The deputy division commander, with the rank of major general, walked over and angrily reprimanded the British officers and soldiers, and said: "Let your commander come over, you did not follow the requirements of the Allied command and wait until we took over the defense before evacuating, this is your violation of the regulations, hurry up and let your commander come." ”

The commander of the British army, Major General Palau, also came over and told the expeditionary force that they were not evacuating, but had received an order from Shangfeng to move to the area around Ringanqiang.

At this time, the Expeditionary Force Command also reported the situation to the Allied Command. The newly arrived General Stilwell and the British Commander Alexander, after consultation, decided to give way and leave behind men to take over the defense with the Chinese army.

Although the Allied Command issued an order to arrange personnel to assist the Chinese army in receiving the defense, the British army only symbolically left a dozen people to be responsible for the defense, and the so-called defense did not have anything substantial, most of the fortifications had collapsed, and the weapons and ammunition had been transferred by the British army, leaving only a mess waiting for the expeditionary force to clean up.

This is a normal encounter for the expeditionary force, as soon as the first division entered Tonggu, it began to deploy non-stop, and at this time, the vanguard of the Japanese army was only a few dozen miles away from Tonggu.