That night, the 3rd Division and 1st Regiment attacking the Dagon area met stubborn resistance. The powerful troops of the 18th Division used the firepower network they had built to repel the officers and men of the expeditionary who were charging back again and again, and on several occasions they even waited for an opportunity to organize a counteroffensive; if it were not for the officers and men of the 1st Regiment who relied on the planes of the Flying Tigers to seize air supremacy, and the troops were equipped with a large number of light and heavy machine guns to form a tight firepower network, their regiment would have almost been eaten.

After a night of fighting, the 1st Regiment never achieved the set goal, so it had to withdraw its troops.

Looking at the corpses that were carried down, the regiment commander Deng Runwen's heart was touched, if he wanted to say that the opposite side was the Burmese Independence Army, he would not believe it if he was killed. The Burmese Independence Army has fought against each other, and both the quality of its soldiers and the level of weapons and equipment are very poor, and when they encounter slightly stronger firepower when attacking, they will rush to the ground, and naturally they cannot be compared with this army.

Also, judging from the slogans and skin colors of the soldiers just now, they are very similar to the Japanese soldiers.

Could it be that you encountered a Japanese army? Deng Runwen didn't think much about it, so he shouted to the signal soldiers: "Help me take over the division headquarters!" ”

The feedback from Deng Runwen and the front line shows that the troops in the Dagon area are by no means as simple as ordinary Japanese-Burmese combined forces, and they are likely to be composed of elite Japanese troops. More than an hour later, the intelligence department received the latest information through the Burmese Independence Army, and this time the troops in Dagon were the 18th Division, which had been reorganized by the Japanese army.

The feedback from various fronts was reported to the Tonggu Headquarters, and in the headquarters, Sun Liren, Dai Anlan, Fu Guoqiang, and a group of generals who had not slept all night were all frowning, thinking about the next battle.

What kind of unit the 18th Division is, the officers and men of the expeditionary army could not be clearer. This arrogant Japanese army was well-armed and formidable, and the division was composed of industrial workers from the island of Kyushu, who were known for their ferocity, skilled in jungle and mountain warfare, and had also participated in the attacks on Shanghai and Nanjing.

In Singapore, the unit once forced more than 80,000 British troops to surrender with more than 30,000 men, and was known as the "king of jungle warfare". During the attack on Tonggu, the 18th Division had several scenes of long-lived charges, and many veterans were deeply impressed by the tenacious and desperate fighting consciousness of the Japanese officers and men under the extremely strong sweep.

The senior officers in short-sleeved shirts in the command post paced back and forth, the staff officers kept explaining to the map, everyone was smoking one cigarette after another, and the small headquarters was filled with smoke, several ceiling fans whirring around, and the fans rolled up smoke to constantly envelop the whole room.

"Hit!" Sun Liren extinguished the cigarette butt in his hand, walked quickly to the map and said, "This seems to be a crisis, but it is actually an opportunity." You see, the Dagon area is in our rear, with the 1st and 2nd divisions and other troops in front, and other units of the Japanese army cannot come to help, while Dagon is surrounded by mountains and plains, and is surrounded by our territory. ”

"The 18th Division is the main force of the Japanese Burma Front, and it can be regarded as a fist of theirs, if they can eat this unit in one fell swoop, then there is basically no suspense in the battle with Gu."

Speaking of this, Sun Liren's face was full of brilliance, as if victory was just around the corner.

Seeing him in such a state, Lin Wei, the chief of staff, stepped forward and persuaded: "This eighteenth division is a first-class horse-pulling division, with more than 30,000 troops, if we want to eat it, we must use at least half of the troops, so won't it be chaotic with the ancient front?" ”

What Chief of Staff Lin Wei said is true, and everyone knows this situation. Even if China and Japan are one-to-one, it will be difficult to achieve results, not to mention that more than 30,000 people cannot be drawn out now?

Dai Anlan and the others looked at each other, and they didn't know how to arrange it for a while.

Sun Liren paced back and forth, he tapped on the map and said, "Under the condition that the Tonggu front line is not moving, what troops can be drawn out now?" ”

Lin Wei was familiar with the allocation of various troops, and he said: "The three main divisions of the 1st, 2nd, and 5th divisions are now guarding the same ancient line and cannot move, and the two infantry regiments and tank regiments of the 4th division are also here. At present, only part of the troops of the 3rd and 4th Divisions can be withdrawn, and the total number of troops is only more than 20,000. ”

Sun Liren nodded, not knowing whether he felt more or less.

"What about the Air Force?" Sun Liren turned to Fu Guoqiang again and asked.

Fu Guoqiang stepped forward and said: "The brothers of the Flying Tigers who came to the battlefield in Myanmar have almost assembled, and more than 20 planes will land at Mandalay Airport tomorrow. General Stilwell said, "We are at the front of the Commander's command." I think that the Air Force can ensure air supremacy over Tonggu. ”

Sun Liren didn't say anything, it seems that what he wants is not just air supremacy, if he can completely suppress the enemy, it is naturally best to carry out a powerful air strike, but it is already rare to be able to ensure air supremacy.

"Commander, I think of the two troops, but ......" Commander Dai stepped forward and stopped talking.

"Yangong, let's talk about it." Sun Liren naturally wouldn't listen to half of what he said.

Division Commander Dai stepped forward and said: "Zhang Qifu of the Reserve Cadres Department has made good progress in Tonggu recently, he borrowed a company from me to train the people's armed forces, but he trained thousands of Burmese self-defense forces, but the equipment is inferior and the combat effectiveness is good. ”

Speaking of this, Master Dai himself shook his head.

When Sun Liren heard this, he smiled and said: "It's not in the way, the popular armed forces naturally have the purpose of the popular armed forces, which can be used as our logistics or as a coordination force." Yes, plus these thousands of people are about the same size as the Japanese army. You just said two, which army is the other one? ”

"Can't remember? It's Stilwell's student brigade. Master Dai said bluntly.

The student brigade is not a specific number, the real number is the teaching brigade of the 1st Army of the Expeditionary Force, which is one of the reinforcements that have just been transferred from China. This unit is mainly composed of young students, so it is also called the student brigade.

"No, I can't. The student brigade is now being trained under Stilwell, and the composition of this unit is very simple, and there are some students who have never seen blood, to fight such a vicious battle! Chief of Staff Lin Wei shook his head, "Definitely not!" It's for them to die. ”

Hearing Lin Wei's words, everyone's faces became grim.

Sun Liren's eyes narrowed, and he suddenly remembered what Stilwell had said to him not long ago, he said to keep the student brigade for him, and let him train a mechanized army as a pilot.

Sun Liren also felt that the combat effectiveness of the student brigade was worrisome, and Stilwell's batch of US aid was considered something else, so he naturally agreed in the spirit of not wanting nothing in vain.

Now that more than two months have passed, I don't know how the student brigade is trained?

After thinking for a while, Sun Lidao said: "I have decided, with the 3rd Division as the main force, and the other troops of the 4th Division as the cooperation, plus the Air Force and the People's Armed Forces, the student brigade will also be transferred, and I will personally call Stilwell in a while." In any case, we must eat this eighteenth division in one go. ”

With that, he tapped his finger on the location of Dagon on the map.

Lin Wei saw that Sun Liren had already decided, and it was not good to say anything more, there was nothing to dispute about this battle, it was to be fought no matter what, and this was the best plan at the moment.

"Who, then, will be in command of this campaign?" Lin Wei was thinking that Dai Anlan was in charge of the Tonggu frontline, so naturally he could no longer serve as this commander, otherwise the loss of the Tonggu front line would cause more serious consequences, but the siege of the 18th Division was also a vicious battle, and it was necessary to be a tiger general.

He searched for a few names in his mind, but he couldn't give them all himself. If this battle is not fought well, it will be a loss of points, and in order to avoid offending people, he simply does not recommend it.

Sun Liren knew what other people thought, so he naturally didn't bother it. Without thinking, he pointed to a bespectacled officer in front of him and said, "Jianchu, this battle is under your command." ”

The officer Sun Liren was referring to was Liao Yaoxiang, a major general of the Third Division. He is the commander of the third division, and this battle is the main attack of the third division, so it is perfect for him to come.

Before Liao Yaoxiang could express his position, Sun Liren said: "You are the commander-in-chief of this battle, and all units must be properly coordinated. This battle is a tough battle, when the time comes, I will transfer the artillery brigade directly under the headquarters to you, by the way, the entire Flying Tigers will also support you during your attack, if you have any requirements, go directly to Captain Fu or myself. ”

Liao Yaoxiang, the commander of the Third Division, snapped upright, "Yes!" Humble duty is not dishonorable in mission. ”

……

After the meeting, the subordinate ministries began to assemble in the direction of Dagon. After the meeting, Sun Liren sent a telegram to Stilwell in Mandalay, requesting that the student brigade be transferred to the front.

Stilwell's side had already learned of the news that the 18th Division had advanced into Dagon, and he readily agreed to this request. On the phone, he said to Sun Liren, "General Sun, although they are only more than 7,000 people, I promise that they will be the vanguard of the defeat of the Japanese army, and these children will definitely rush to the front of the line." ”

Sun Liren knew that this was the unit that Stilwell led the training, and he had a reason to brag about it, so he didn't say much.

That night, the Teaching Brigade of the 1st Army of the Expeditionary Force, which was stationed in Mandalay for field training, received orders and set off for the Dagon front.

Stilwell said to them, "Boys, kick the Japanese monkey in the ass!" ”

At night, the five camps of the teaching brigade were brightly lit, and all kinds of armored vehicles, artillery, light and heavy machine guns, and other weapons were all driven out of the warehouse.

After twelve o'clock in the morning, the troops began to assemble from their camps, and after taking the road, they formed a long line and headed for Dagon. The excited officers and soldiers sang triumphant songs, and the military song of the expeditionary force echoed on the highway: "...... Abandon my old pen, follow me in wartime, call out more than 100,000 comrades, sing war songs and join the army. Qi joined the army, cleaned up the dust, and swore to sweep away the Japanese slaves without regard for their ......"