. Chapter 1082: War in Southeast Asia (2)

Alexander, the commander-in-chief of the British forces in Southeast Asia, who was pathologically hostile to Tang Qiuli, finally tasted the bitter fruit, and the Japanese, who treated him as a guest and regarded him as a close ally, carried out an all-out raid on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia, the region where Britain's traditional power was most powerful, without giving him any warning.

On 25 April, the 21st Division and the 126th Heavy Infantry Wing of the Japanese Southeast Asian Dispatch Army, which attacked the port city of Yangon in southern Burma, rushed into the southern part of the city of Yangon, which was almost in ruins.

Major General Ethridge, the commander of the British garrison in Rangoon, hurriedly deployed the troops stationed in the city, about 13,000 people, on the main stronghold leading from the port to the city.

After receiving an urgent call from the Yangon Port Garrison, Major General Etherich could not believe it and loudly reprimanded the captain of the garrison for lying about the military situation, until the bomb of the Japanese plane exploded in the courtyard of the garrison headquarters, splashing dirt and air waves, turning the glass to pieces, and the Major General's own head was unfortunately cut open.

This time, he believed it, the reason was very simple, only the Japanese could do it to the British Empire ** team in Yangon, and Ethelridge only had time to shout a few words on the phone, "In the name of the commander of the Rangoon garrison, I ordered the port guard to hold their positions and wait for reinforcements," Without waiting for the port guard captain's answer, the telephone line was blown up.

Major General Ethelridge called a captain's staff officer and ordered: "You immediately go to the Governor's Palace, inform Governor Ebson, the Japanese army has suddenly launched a large-scale attack on Rangoon, please Your Excellency, organize the evacuation of Rangoon immediately, go quickly!" "Ethelridge was self-aware, and with the strength of the British army in Rangoon, it was impossible to stop the Japanese landing in Yangon Harbor.

The total strength of the British army in Rangoon was originally an infantry division, a motorized mechanical division, plus two mixed brigades of the British-Burmese army and a light infantry brigade, with a total strength of more than 46,000 troops.

However, in order to prepare for a large-scale counterattack against the independent division troops entering the Indochina Peninsula, Alexander transferred two divisions of British troops to the Yunnan-Burma border area, and Rangoon became almost an empty city. What is even more serious is that the British army did not set up any decent fortifications in Rangoon, it should be said, it was all the sins of Alexander.

Ethelridge knew better in his heart that it was only a matter of time before Rangoon fell, and how long could the mixed army of more than 20,000 British and Burmese survive in the face of the Japanese army's three-dimensional attack on land, sea and air.

If there was no reason for that bullshit Governor Ebson and his yamen to hold on to Rangoon, there would be no reason for Major General Ethridge to hold on to Rangoon, he would have led his troops to evacuate Rangoon to avoid being surrounded and annihilated in Rangoon by the Japanese army with absolute superiority in strength and firepower.

The captain staff officer he ordered to inform Governor Ebson had returned, and he looked flustered, covered in mud and dust, and his beautiful military uniform, like a rag, very wolf-like, and Ethelridge's scalp tightened, and he had a premonition that something was wrong, and without waiting for the staff officer to catch his breath, he hurriedly asked, "Have you informed Your Excellency the Governor himself?" Are the institutions and diasporas starting to evacuate? ”

The staff officer rolled his eyes, his eyes full of horror, and replied: "Report to Your Excellency, the Governor's Palace, during the first air raid by the Japanese army, was destroyed and razed to the ground, the whereabouts of the Governor Ebson are unknown, and the search and rescue is underway at the scene. ”

When Ethelridge heard this, he almost jumped up and yelled, "What? Sending troops to assist in the evacuation? What are you kidding, my soldiers are all in the south of Yangon, desperately blocking the advance of the Japanese army, with heavy casualties, at this time, how can any troops be withdrawn, you go to the counselor, I can't do anything, and besides, the royal army stationed in Rangoon can only hold out until four o'clock tomorrow morning, when the time comes, I will order the troops to withdraw from Rangoon. ”

Ethelridge was telling the truth, by four o'clock tomorrow morning, it was already the limit of the Anglo-Burmese army stationed in Rangoon, and counting the time when the Japanese army stopped attacking at night, he had just received a report from the troops, the Japanese artillery fire was so fierce, like hail of shells, that it fell on the barricades and fortifications temporarily built by the British and Burmese troops, and the excellent descendants of Great Britain, mixed with bricks and gravel tiles, turned into flying debris.

Ethelridge was flustered, his pale blue eyes, glowing like dead ash, and it was only about four o'clock in the afternoon, a full twelve hours before the scheduled time of evacuation, and he threw all his troops in Rangoon, and in less than a day, he had lost a quarter, and he had little faith in the four o'clock in the morning he had promised.

Thirteen hours had passed since the Japanese army began its attack, and it was only after Ethelridge thought of reporting the news of the Japanese attack on Rangoon to General Alexander, the commander-in-chief in northern Burma.

"Your Excellency Commander-in-Chief, at four o'clock this morning, the Japanese army suddenly launched a three-dimensional attack on Yangon by land, sea and air, and by six o'clock in the morning, the Japanese army landed at the port of Yangon, quickly occupied the port area, and continued to retreat to the center of the city, I have ordered all the troops in Yangon to enter the battle, to buy time for the evacuation of government offices and expatriates, our defensive forces are too weak, and we have not built strong fortifications, in order to avoid the fate of total annihilation, I plan to evacuate Yangon at four o'clock tomorrow morning and move to the area around Mandalay."

The situation is extremely urgent, his garrison headquarters is constantly under attack by Japanese long-range artillery, in addition to reporting this shocking news, Ethelridge also told Alexander, I have decided to run away, whether or not you have an order, don't fight the idea of letting me defend Rangoon as soon as possible, just such a small number of troops, what to defend?

From the telegram sent by Ethelridge to Alexander, it can be seen that this commander of the Rangoon garrison is full of resentment, if it weren't for you, the bullshit commander-in-chief, who transferred the main forces of Rangoon, I could have held Rangoon for a week without any problem, but it was two fully equipped main infantry divisions, nearly 30,000 men!

Moreover, if the motorized infantry division is still there, it is very convenient for Ethridge to run, and the wheels of the car are always faster than the two feet, no wonder Ethelridge is resentful, at the beginning, when Alexander transferred the troops, Ethelridge did not agree, and like his superiors, it was not that he was wary of the Japanese, but he felt that Yangon was such an important port, a military important place in southern Burma, and there were too few defensive troops, and he always felt that he was not very supportive.

In the end, the officer crushed people to death, and Alexander gave a hard order to transfer the troops of the two divisions, and Ethelridge resisted for thirty-six hours, on the one hand, because of the huge disparity in strength with the Japanese army, and on the other hand, it was also to vent the resentment in his heart and make Alexander uncomfortable.

Alexander was in Myitkyina in order to command and coordinate the various British troops transferred to northern Burma, to unite with the Japanese army in the Savage Mountains, to launch an all-out war against the independent divisions, and to recover the lost territory on the Southeast Asian border.

The news of the Japanese attack on Rangoon and Thailand was like a blow to the head, which made Alexander's eyes appear bright and crying without tears, he never thought that the Japanese would be treacherous, undeclared war, and took advantage of the opportunity of the main forces of the British army to concentrate in northern Burma to launch a surprise attack.

But why did the Japanese still attack Southeast Asia, he couldn't understand, it was precisely because he couldn't understand it, his heart was even more aggrieved, aggrieved, angry, panicked, afraid, all kinds of complicated feelings, all kinds of complicated feelings, a rush of brains into Alexander's heart, never hesitated, at this moment, as the supreme military commander of the British colonies in Southeast Asia, he was completely confused.

In the headquarters of Myitkyina, Alexander sat stupidly for a long time, and suddenly jumped up as if his butt was burning, and shouted angrily: "I want to protest, lodge a strict protest with the Japanese government, and protest against this aggression of invading the overseas territories of the British Empire. ”

The other British officers in the command, none of them said a word, let alone acted, but just looked at their commander with pity and protested? The war of the Japanese against the British Empire has broken out in full swing, Rangoon is fighting fiercely and is about to be lost, on the Thai side, the Japanese army is on the offensive, and in less than a week, Bangkok will not be guaranteed, at this time, what kind of protest will the commander-in-chief do!

Was it the shocking news, the stimulated insanity, or the head kicked by the donkey? The Japanese are determined to occupy Southeast Asia, and you can solve it with a letter of protest from Alexander? protested against Tang Qiuli, but is there a result? The Japanese are not much inferior to that Chinese Tang Qiuli when they move!

(To be continued)

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