, Chapter 1104 Let go of the hands and feet

Terauchi Shouichi, who received the order to occupy Myitkyina, has completed the task assigned by the base camp since he drove away the British army, but the feeling of being alone in northern Myanmar has made him frightened, especially on the Chinese side of the border, the independent division troops that are eyeing him not only fear, but also fear to the bone.

Tang Qiuli, who had been defeated and retreated again and again, maybe when, suddenly came to Burma, Terauchi Shouichi asked himself, he could not resist the all-out attack of the independent division troops, and the strength and equipment were not of the same level.

The southern dispatch army of China, since the escape from the Savage Mountain, although it has received a large number of air supplies from the Southeast Asian dispatch army, but the number of soldiers has not been replenished, Terauchi Shouichi has asked several times, but has not received a reply from the base camp, which makes him feel that he has been marginalized, and the current darling of the empire is Ito Yanzaburo, who is the Southeast Asian dispatch army.

He hoped that Ito Yanzaburo could eliminate the British army encircled in Mandalay as quickly as possible, and his mission of blocking the British army's westward retreat to India would be over, and the importance of Myitkyina would no longer exist, and there would be no need for his remnants to stay in northern Myanmar, which was very close to Tang Qiu.

But Ito, this guy, has never done anything to Mandalay, Terauchi Shouyi can feel that this is not a good thing, but Ito, this guy, did not listen to his own advice at all, and was suddenly attacked by Liu Hongzhang's brigade of the Corps directly under the Independent Division, Terauchi Shouichi calmed down from the initial panic.

He knew very well that he only had to hold Myitkyina, which was an important chess piece in the strategic plan of the Indochina Peninsula of the empire, and if his troops were annihilated by an independent division in Myitkyina, it would have little impact on Ito Yanzaburo's settlement of the British army in Mandalay.

Now, Myitkyina is being attacked by the troops of the Independent Division, although it is only one direction, but Terauchi Shouichi still smells the smell of danger, Tang Qiuli This is for the British army that was surrounded by Mandalay, open the way to withdraw to India, so, next, is the British going to break through from Mandalay? Shouichi Terauchi was shocked into a cold sweat for his thoughts.

If this is the case, holding Myitkyina has become the most important part of the empire's Burma campaign, and Ito will never sit idly by and watch Myitkyina be lost, and he will have hope of survival, whether it is an important pawn or an outcast. Shouichi Terauchi has to think about the future and fate of himself and more than 90,000 subordinates.

Therefore, after being attacked, not only did he not send troops to plug the gap, but instead contracted his position and carried out a close defense, which brought great trouble to Liu Hongzhang, who started the first battle abroad.

As soon as the artillery fire in northern Myitkyina stopped, Terauchi Shou immediately sent an urgent telegram to Ito Yanzaburo, informing him of his judgment and thoughts one by one, and explaining his opinion once again that the British army was very likely to break through from Mandalay, and Myitkyina could not be lost.

At the same time, he telegraphed and ordered the troops stationed in the Hukang River Valley, Hinbetting, Mengguan and other places to immediately shrink and move closer to Myitkyina, so as not to be broken by the troops of the independent division, and also to concentrate the troops and ensure that Myitkyina, this group of troops scattered, could become the target of Tang Qiuli's attack.

Just when Terauchi Shou was in a hurry, adjusting his deployment, and complaining to Ito Yanzaburo, Liu Hongzhang's first brigade was ready to attack again, and after receiving the order from the division commander, Liu Hongzhang made careful arrangements, and this time, he was definitely not easy.

In his words to Chief of Staff Ren Zhaoquan, "This time, our First Brigade is going to the meeting alone, which is also called an arrow through the heart, anyway, it is a dangerous job,"

However, the division commander Tang Qiuli remembered a sentence in the telegram, "Don't be impatient, fight steadily, advance slowly, use superior firepower to consume a large amount of Japanese troops, attract Japanese troops in the north of Myitkyina, and repeatedly compete with me for positions, and the time of the general attack is subject to the progress of your brigade's battle." ”

In this way, our first brigade is still the main attack force, Liu Hongzhang suddenly felt that the heavy responsibility of the first battle abroad was on his shoulders, in fact, Tang Qiu's time from the scheduled occupation of Myitkyina was a day and night, and now, it is just the beginning, and the troops of the other four brigades have not yet started, since Terauchi Shouyi has reduced his troops, let Liu Hongzhang's brigade follow up.

Two hours later, in the northern part of Myitkyina, which had been silent for a long time, fierce artillery fire sounded again, and Liu Hongzhang's brigade, led by a brigade of tanks, dispatched three infantry regiments to break through the second line of Japanese defensive positions in the northern suburbs of Myitkyina from the Japanese positions that had been blown into ruins.

First of all, the brigade belonged to two heavy artillery regiments, each regiment belonged to a field artillery battalion, hundreds of artillery pieces of various calibers, and a burst of overwhelming artillery fire made the Japanese soldiers once again taste the smell of the earth trembling and shrapnel flying; after 30 minutes of shelling, the pillboxes flew into the air, the trenches were razed to the ground, and the surface fortifications of the second line of defense of the Japanese army were almost all destroyed.

When the Japanese soldiers who were dizzy by the bombing came out of the soil, hundreds of tanks, roaring, spewing out tongues of fire from their muzzles, rolling up the dust, and a moving metal wall, all brushed towards the Japanese position, and the Japanese soldiers were stunned by this formation.

If the Southern Dispatch Army is fully organized, it can use a large-scale artillery group to block firepower, and it can also cause a certain amount of threat and damage to the tank troops, and reduce the pressure on the infantry position, but Terauchi Shouichi's troops came out of the savage mountains and ran out after nine deaths, not to mention losing all the heavy weapons, and one squadron can have two or three Type 96 heavy machine guns, which is already very good.

Although he received a large amount of supplies, but the heavy weapons could not be transported by plane, Terauchi Shouichi managed to put together an artillery wing with great difficulty, but it was equipped with forty-two Type 92 infantry guns, such light artillery, against the tanks of the armored units of the independent division with Soviet blood and modified by the Dingbian Arsenal, it was almost like tickling, at most rubbing off a piece of paint.

Behind the tanks, there were two regiments of infantry, and the second line of defense organized by Terauchi Shouichi in northern Myitkyina collapsed in an instant, and a brigade of Japanese troops invested in this line of defense suffered more than one-third of casualties, and in the face of the tremendous pressure of the First Tank Brigade, they had to abandon their positions, retreat into the urban area, and pull out a posture of street fighting.

Liu Hongzhang resisted the impulse in his heart and ordered the 1st Tank Brigade and the 1st and 2nd Infantry Regiments to occupy the existing positions, and the 3rd and 1st Infantry Regiments to join the attack sequence and expand the breakthrough.

The First Brigade was in full swing, and Chu Ziye, the commander of the Sixth Brigade, who was waiting for the attack order in the southeast of Myitkyina, was on fire with anxious eyes, listening to the indistinguishable cannon sounds, swallowing and foaming, and in less than a minute, he looked at his watch twice and muttered in his mouth, "The division commander is eccentric, why is he Liu having a loud voice, and I, Chu Ziye, sit on the cold bench?" ”

Liu Hongzhang moved the brigade command post forward to a small village in the suburbs of Myitkyina, and as soon as the radio station was set up, he ordered, "Send a report to the division commander immediately, after an hour and a half of fighting, the Japanese army retreated into the urban area, our brigade has occupied the northern suburbs of Myitkyina, and has not yet seen the Japanese reinforcements, and is now preparing to break through into the urban area and develop in depth. ”

After listening to Chang Feng's report, Tang Qiuli thought for a while, and said: "Yes, if you beat Terauchi Shouyi, you will mobilize the Japanese troops from other directions and concentrate on the northern breakthrough, in Myitkyina, only in the northern direction, it is suitable for large-scale armored cluster assault, Liu Hongzhang has enough brains, and he can be regarded as using the first tank brigade to the blade." ”

Chang Feng said: "Division commander, do you want to remind the First Brigade that the urban area is not suitable for tank combat, slow down the speed of the attack, and moreover, heavy artillery and rocket artillery cannot be used, losing the advantage of firepower, and the strength of the First Brigade is very thin compared to the Japanese army." ”

Tang Qiuli nodded and said: "In the name of the division, order Liu Hongzhang, push flat on the front line, put on a posture of storming the urban area, don't take too much into account, when it is time to use heavy artillery, you must use it, and ask him to use cannonballs to blow up the north gate of Myitkyina step by step, instead of using the blood and lives of soldiers." ”

Chang Feng glanced at Tang Qiuli, as if he wanted to say something, Myitkyina is the central city of northern Myanmar, and the population must be at least 200,000.

He followed Tang Qiuli's side, it had been several years, and it was the first time he heard such an order from the division commander, Tang Qiuli knew what Chang Feng was going to say, but said lightly, "This is not in China, the residents of Myitkyina have long become accomplices of the Japanese army, otherwise, Terauchi Shouichi will be defeated with remnants, and he will not be able to recuperate in northern Myanmar for a few months, I am afraid that the local residents hate the Chinese more than the Japanese." ”

Chang Feng admitted that what the division commander said was the truth, after the troops entered Burma, the locals refused to be a guide for the squadron, and they couldn't give money, he was just emotional, a little unbearable, and the division commander had already made up his mind, so he didn't say more, and immediately issued the order to the first brigade.

Tang Qiuli's thoughts were also where Liu Hongzhang was embarrassed, and he complained to the chief of staff, Ren Zhaoquan, "Zhaoquan, you said that this little devil is hiding in a private house, and our artillery and rocket artillery are all useless, so is it possible to let the soldiers fight door by door?" If this continues, the casualties will be great! Time is not allowed, let's play slowly! ”

When he was worried, the order from the division commander came, and Liu Hongzhang immediately shouted excitedly: "Zhaoquan, order the heavy artillery regiment and the rocket artillery battalion to immediately move the position forward and flatten the ground for me!" ”

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