Chapter 1088: A knife in the heart

The importance of Myitkyina in northern Burma is self-evident, and if the Japanese army occupies Myitkyina, the British who are bent on retreating to India will have no other way to go except to jump into the Bay of Bengal, and then to be attacked by the Japanese army from the north and south to encircle the Mandalay area in central Burma.

The British troops who blocked the remnants of Terauchi Shouichi from Savage Mountain were defeated and returned, and Alexander couldn't figure it out, and he couldn't understand that this was a main force stationed in Myitkyina, which belonged to the brigade level, with more than 8,000 troops, and it was waiting for work and recuperating with ease, how could it be beaten by the Japanese, who only had half a breath left, and retreated in a hurry?

Alexander was furious, ordered the commander of this army to be removed on the spot, Terauchi Shouichi suddenly killed from the savage mountain, but also caught the British army by surprise, in fact, this is the evil result of Alexander's self-deception, he commanded the Anglo-Burmese army retreating from Thailand and southern Burma, is already in a hurry, and he is not worried about Terauchi Shouichi who is deep in the savage mountain.

Even the guide team with sufficient supplies and familiar with the geographical environment of Savage Mountain is gone, and there is no news, can the Japanese who were brought into Savage Mountain by the Chinese come out alive? Others may believe it, but General Alexander didn't believe it anyway, and after a few months passed, not a single Japanese man came out, and even the troops sent from Myitkyina to the exit of the southern foot of the Savage Mountains to be in charge of the vigilance, he was also a temporary deployment just in case and for peace of mind.

The troops that were previously transferred to the Sino-Laos and Sino-Vietnamese borders to deal with the Chinese, Alexander did not plan to move, that was the capital to save his life, once the Japanese army forced into Mandalay, this part of the troops was used to relieve the siege, besides, it was too late in time, as for the confrontation with Tang Qiu, Alexander had long lost this courage and mind.

His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief had not yet exhausted his anger, and the next morning, he received news that he was even more surprised and frightened, and only one day later, more than 90,000 Japanese troops, who had just left the Savage Mountains and had not yet filled their stomachs, launched a frenzied attack on Myitkyina, and the commander of the Myitkyina garrison sent a telegram asking for help, claiming that the Japanese army had occupied the periphery of Myitkyina and was storming the city.

In the afternoon, the situation in Myitkyina worsened, the Japanese army, breaking through the British defensive positions on the outskirts of Myitkyina, had already attacked the northern part of the city, and the British defenders were in danger. What are the Japanese going to do?

With the soldiers who were dragged half-dead by the Savage Mountain, attacking Myitkyina, which was defended by more than 8,000 British troops, actually had the upper hand, Myitkyina was the only passage to India, if it was lost, where would he and hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the British Empire go? Retreat to China? Can that Tang Qiuli let himself go? At this moment, Alexander suddenly remembered a Chinese idiom, which is the most appropriate way to describe the intentions of the Japanese, "catching turtles in urns" is like this, the Japanese cut off their own retreat, and they are determined to leave themselves in northern Burma.

Looking at His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief who was in a hurry and the six gods had no master, Chief of Staff Francis couldn't help but remind: "Your Excellency, the top priority at present is to immediately send troops to the farthest Myitkyina defenders, and before the retreating troops are assembled, Myitkyina must not be lost, otherwise, we will fall into the north-south attack of the Japanese army." ”

Alexander said angrily: "Chief of Staff, I know that I want to reinforce Myitkyina, but do I have troops in my hands?" Counting on the 11th Infantry Brigade, there are only more than 3,000 people, and now they are still lying on the garrison and can't get up, send that unit to it, Chief of Staff, you sue me! Francis was silent, he knew that Alexander was telling the truth, and Mandalay had no other troops except for the 11th Infantry Brigade, which had lost all its heavy equipment and was crippled by the Japanese.

Now, when it comes to Francis's own safety, he once again suggests, "Your Excellency Commander-in-Chief, I still insist that the only feasible way is to reach an agreement with the Chinese Tang Qiuli through the local channel of Guò and implore him to send troops to northern Burma, otherwise, you and I still have the troops assembled in Mandalay, except for the battle death, to be prisoners of the Japanese." ”

After two days of fierce fighting, Terauchi Shouichi commanded more than 90,000 soldiers, who were shaking when walking, and forced a brigade of more than 8,000 troops of the British army defending Myitkyina out of Myitkyina, so that the important town in northern Burma, the only choke point leading to Puram in eastern India, finally fell into the hands of the Japanese army, and the gate for the British to withdraw to India was blocked.

Speaking of which, this is a very puzzling battle, with more than 90,000 weak and extremely weak, just got rid of the fate of the whole army, lost all the remnants of heavy weapons, and attacked the well-equipped, leisurely, and dangerous British army of more than 8,000 defending Myitkyina, even if the Japanese army can finally occupy Myitkyina, I am afraid that the remnants of Terauchi Shouichi will be wiped out, right?

But this is not the case, the Japanese army only paid less than 10,000 casualties, although the British casualties were small, but also reached more than 2,000 people, only two and a half days of fighting, the British army could not support it, and ran in the direction of Mandalay.

Tang Qiuli, who was in Tengchong, after learning that the British army had lost Myitkyina, shook his head again and again and sighed, and said to the chief of staff Chang Feng: "The British have really reached the point of exhaustion this time, Myitkyina is lost, the Japanese are ready to close the door and fight the dogs, order all corps, make preparations for fighting in Burma, and the British should also come to the door for help." ”

Tang Qiuli and Chang Feng also discussed the Battle of Myitkyina, and the two could not explain it anyway, the strangeness of this battle, although the Japanese army had 90,000 people, its combat effectiveness was almost zero, and the combat effectiveness of ten Japanese soldiers was equivalent to one Japanese soldier in a normal state, so it was almost equal to the strength of the British soldiers defending Myitkyina.

Moreover, the Japanese army did not have heavy weapons to attack the fortifications, how to say, the British army should also hold Myitkyina for more than two weeks, if Alexander reacted quickly, he transferred a small part of the main forces in the Sino-Vietnamese and Sino-Laos border areas, which was enough for Terauchi Shouyi to drink a pot, who killed who was not certain, but the British only held for two and a half days, and ran away in a hurry, leaving about a third of the troops, I can't figure it out.

Regarding this battle to blockade the British army's westward retreat from India, only Terauchi Shouichi knew best in his heart how the victory was achieved, looking at the strong outer fortifications of Myitkyina, Terauchi Shouichi knew how to fight this battle.

The combat effectiveness and morale of the remnants of the southern dispatch army in Echina, only one blow can be used to capture Myitkyina, otherwise, to organize a second offensive, don't even think about it, that is, with a breath in his heart, this breath is vented, Myitkyina is an iron walnut that cannot be gnawed in the eyes of the Japanese soldiers.

Therefore, when Shouichi Terauchi came to the soldiers of the troops participating in the main attack, he didn't talk nonsense, and asked the soldiers directly, "Warriors of the empire, what do you need most?" "When the commander-in-chief asked, it was inexplicable, the soldiers were stunned on the spot, and no one answered, and Shouichi Terauchi didn't need ordinary soldiers to answer, this is what he wanted.

"I know what you need? Delicious food, good wine, comfortable beds, and beautiful women, and these things, as your commander, I cannot give you, but in this city in front of you, there is a qiē you need, seize it, occupy it, and ask for the qi ē you need, and I officially declare that the first army to attack Myitkyina can move freely for three days. ”

Terauchi Shouyi saw that the soldiers who heard his words, their eyes were red at that time, revealing a fierce light like a hungry wolf, and a fierce murderous aura suddenly rose above the Japanese soldiers, he nodded with satisfaction, and then said: "In the past three days, this city belongs to the bravest troops, military discipline has no constraints on you, and other troops can only be stationed outside the city, attack!" Warriors of the Empire! ”

These were the words of the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Army, who boasted of strict military discipline, not to mention the pre-war mobilization, and it was clearly the mentality and language of bandits who raided homes and houses.

Terauchi Shou held the command knife in one hand, looked at the soldiers with high morale with satisfaction, and secretly thought to himself, "Attacking Myitkyina with tired soldiers is not something to do in itself, in such a situation, what to serve the Japanese Empire and be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor is useless nonsense, what he did was nothing more than igniting the primitive bestiality accumulated by the soldiers in the savage mountains, making the soldiers forget about fatigue and hunger, and for the sake of instinct, to fight without fear of death." ”

Now it seems that Terauchi Shouichi's purpose has been fully achieved, and the fierce gunfire resounded around Myitkyina like a torrential rain, and his chief of staff saw that His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief had a cruel and cold smile on the corner of his mouth, although the corner of the chief of staff's mouth did not very much agree with Terauchi Shouichi's words, but he had to admit that for soldiers who endured months of hunger and despair, the effect was the best.

Staying in the reinforced concrete fortifications, the brightly dressed British soldiers were horrified to see groups of ragged Japanese soldiers named Hanako, holding only rifles in their hands, and some even holding a wooden stick or a bayonet, so they rushed up without fear and rushed up like a human wall.

The British light and heavy machine guns fired together, knocking down a piece, the Japanese soldiers behind, as if unconscious, let out a strange scream in their mouths, still rushing up with their bodies, the British soldiers were cold in their hearts, the more they beat their hearts, the more afraid they became, the Japanese in their eyes, became an unbeatable monster, did not know that it was a detachment, and was the first to withdraw from the trenches, which immediately caused a chain reaction, so that the British army in Myitkyina retreated on all fronts.

If the British army can evacuate Myitkyina smoothly, it can be regarded as preserving its strength, and it is not too embarrassing, but the fact is that this is not the case, and the Japanese soldiers who are like madmen have become a disaster for the British.

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