Chapter 1100: The First Battle of Myitkyina (I)

Myitkyina, which is not only an important town in northern Burma, but also the only transportation artery connecting Myanmar to the Imphal and Sadia regions of eastern India, Terauchi Shouichi occupied Myitkyina, which was to cut off the land connection between the British army in Myanmar and the British army in India, and if the British army wanted to withdraw to India, this was the only way. {.}

Tang Qiuli will enter the first battle of Burma and choose Myitkyina, which is based on the form around Mandalay, and the judgment made is that more than 500,000 Japanese troops are gathered around Mandalay, and he will not be stupid enough to devote all his strength to fight the Japanese army, and use the lives of the soldiers of the ** division to open the door for the British.

The choice of Myitkyina, in addition to the above considerations, also had Tang Qiuli's intention to strike at the weak Japanese army and reduce the casualties of the troops, and the remaining remnants of Terauchi Shouichi, in the eyes of the British, were an obstacle to their westward retreat to India.

He was able to escape from the Savage Mountain, it was Tang Qiuli who deliberately released this tired wolf, to bite the British, and block the British army in Burma, now, the war situation in Myanmar has undergone fundamental changes, Terauchi Shouichi has lost its usable value, there is no need to save zài, and he still stays in northern Myanmar, that is, he is killing himself, and the emperor can't save him.

In fact, the troops participating in the Burma operation are just all the troops directly under the corps, plus part of the troops of Tang Qiusheng's corps, the British army in Mandalay was surrounded by the Japanese army for several days, and the Japanese army did not launch an attack for a long time, obviously, the supreme commander of the Japanese army, Ito Yanzaburo, who commanded this battle, is a guy who is very proficient in the Chinese art of war.

The army pressed the border, surrounded more than 400,000 British and Burmese troops, Mandalay lacked supplies, there were no reinforcements outside, and the besieged British army had only two ways to go, one was to fight to the death, to live and die with Mandalay, and the other was to choose to surrender, and according to Ito Yanzaburo's understanding of the British, stick to the death, the British did not have the courage, let alone such fighting spirit.

Surrender is very likely, so Ito Yanzaburo besieged Mandalay without attacking, constantly creating fear and panic, and slowly depleting the morale and resistance consciousness of the British soldiers, Ito Yanzaburo had a bold but easy to achieve goal, creating a miracle in the history of foreign warfare of the Japanese Empire, capturing more than 400,000 enemy soldiers in World War I, and his own casualties were negligible.

He thought so, and did the same, the Japanese army of hundreds of thousands of troops, around Mandalay, dug out three blockade lines, pillboxes and fortifications densely, Mandalay surrounded like iron barrels, Ito Yanzaburo firmly believed that in less than two weeks, the British army in Mandalay City, because of the lack of food, and completely collapsed, he waited in Mandalay City, accept the surrender of the British Supreme Commander.

And in the city of Mandalay, because the ** division sent troops to Burma to relieve the siege of Mandalay, so that the psychology of the British soldiers in the city has undergone subtle changes, and Francis, the chief of staff of the British army who received Alexander's telegram, cried with joy, and his tired heart was finally able to relax, and next, he should do something to give the soldiers who are waiting for death, with complete hope.

On the radio in the city, Francis made the following emotional and incendiary speech to all the British soldiers, "Soldiers of the British Empire, although we are now surrounded by the enemy, God and the Fatherland have not abandoned us, and today, Commander-in-Chief Alexander, has good news from Tengchong. ”

"Our ally, the troops of General Tang Qiuli of China, with more than 600,000 troops, have entered Myanmar last night, and are rushing to Mandalay day and night, we have been saved, soldiers, as soldiers, it is a pity that they cannot die on the battlefield, but it is a shame that the allies surrender to the enemy after fighting."

"I order, all the soldiers, immediately cheer up, with the cooperation of the squadron, completely break the Japanese encirclement of Mandalay, and then, victoriously withdraw to India, do you want to go to Ramgar? Want to go to Imphal? Want a great Scotch whisky? Want a cosy sun, warm bed? Want a pretty and passionate Indian girl? Follow our Commander-in-Chief Alexander to India together! Our compatriots in India are ready to come back and are waiting for us! ”

It should be admitted that Francis's speech, so beautiful, he aroused the soldier's hope and yearning for a better life, but whenever possible, when he was cornered and in a desperate situation, the soldier was willing to be a prisoner? Personality aside, General Francis, a beautiful description of India, few British soldiers and officers were willing to be captured by the Japanese.

Although the British troops withdrawn from Thailand and southern Burma had great doubts about the combat effectiveness of the squadron and whether they could break the encirclement of the Japanese detachments, the British soldiers and officers who were transferred to the north and fought with the ** division had no doubt about this.

Seeing that the report was still doubtful and hesitant, this part of the people was anxious, and showed up to say, praising the combat effectiveness, weapons and equipment of the soldiers of the ** division as if they were invincible in the world.

When Ito Yanzaburo was still dreaming about himself on the outskirts of Mandalay, the morale of the British soldiers in Mandalay City had a fundamental change, which was also what Tang Qiuli hoped for, giving the British the confidence and hope to fight, and the determination to fight with the Japanese.

Kill the remnants of Terauchi Shouyi, occupy Myitkyina, open up the passage to India, let the British see the hope of withdrawing west to India, the British army will desperately break through, the Japanese will not let the British get their wish, they will inevitably desperately intercept, this battle does not want to fight, one wants to run, one does not let, the two collide, even if it is wet firewood, it can also come out of sparks.

Therefore, Myitkyina triggered a series of reactions, the three brigades directly under the corps, after entering the Burma Nankan, turned north, straight into the direction of Myitkyina, the other seven brigades of troops, through Pian Ma rushed to the area east of Myitkyina, at the same time, Tang Qiuli ordered Tang Qiusheng's corps, with the strength of eight brigades, from Lapin to the west.

With Yu Guanghan, chief of staff of the Corps, as the commander, on both sides of the main road from Mandalay to Myitkyina, multiple preset ambush positions, Yu Guanghan's headquarters had two tasks, one is, when the direct corps on the line from Myitkyina to Ndo, Terauchi Shouichi's Japanese army, after the attack began, the Japanese army Ito Yanzaburo who surrounded Mandalay would be divided to reinforce Myitkyina.

Yu Guanghan's department adopted the method of blocking and delaying the speed of the Japanese reinforcements to the north, and this rhythm was mastered by Yu Guanghan himself, so as to ensure that the directly subordinate corps completed the campaign task as the principle, that is, how did you Yu Guanghan fight me Tang Qiuli did not interfere, anyway, it was not allowed to attack the direct corps of Myitkyina, and Japanese reinforcements appeared.

The second task, if the British army can really break through from Mandalay, Yu Guanghan's department, hide on the spot, do not have any attack on the pursuing Japanese army, and do not reach out to help the pursued British army, Tang Qiuli emphasized this point in the order, he was worried that Yu Guanghan saw the Japanese and could not suppress his anger and make a move, then it would be a great help to the British.

Tang Qiuli estimated that the Japanese army sent reinforcements, and it was unlikely that they would go north to Myitkyina, after all, Ito Yanzaburo had more than 400,000 Anglo-Burmese soldiers in his hands, and his strength was relatively insufficient.

The British will inevitably break through and open the passage to India, which is a sweet cake and Alexander's unswerving plan, so the British army that broke through the encirclement is most likely to be pursued by the Japanese all the way, and when they run to Myitkyina, how many people can be left, and the result can be expected that the duck that flies to the beak will inevitably chase after Ito Yanzaburo.

Yu Guanghan's troops, after the remnants of the British army retreated into India, suddenly killed on the flanks of the Japanese army, intercepted layer by layer, Tang Qiusheng's corps and Feng Jiwu's corps pressed on the whole line, and it was entirely possible to kill a part of the Japanese army, so that the Japanese army would retreat all the way along the narrow strip of the Malay Peninsula until it was driven out of the Indochina Peninsula.

Tang Qiuli issued an extremely strict order to all the troops participating in the Myitkyina Campaign, that the troops must march covertly and engage the enemy in concealment, and that the Chutian Special Operations Detachment operating in the Myitkyina area should clear the insecurity in advance for the large force to approach Myitkyina.

More than 100,000 troops have been entering Burma for more than a day, and the Japanese troops in Terauchi Shouichi, which are lined up from Myitkyina to the Hukang River Valley, have not noticed it at all.

Ito Yanzaburo, the commander-in-chief of the Japanese Southeast Asian Dispatch Army that surrounded Mandalay, had enough patience to simmer slowly, cooked more than 400,000 British and Burmese troops, and surrounded it for several days, and not a single British soldier or officer left the city to surrender to him.

China, Britain and the United States, in the border town of Tengchong in Yunnan, signed a military alliance agreement, Ito Yanzaburo was shocked, for the Japanese Empire, this is by no means good news, it means that the British and Americans in Southeast Asia and the people of China have joined forces, and the first thing he thought of was the ** division of Tang Qiuli, which made the imperial army troops and their jealous and fearful.

Ito's detachment from Tang Qiu did not mean that he could despise it, this elite division that made many of the emperor's fathers and generals suffer great defeats and cost the lives of nearly a million imperial soldiers, so as soon as he learned that China, Britain and the United States had formed an alliance, his first thought was that the ** division troops that had been stationed in China's border areas were very likely to send troops to Burma.

(To be continued)