Chapter 246: Air Raid
On the coast of Rakhine, on the coastal road, a brigade of British soldiers is on the march. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. biquge。 These British troops, all of whom were the elite of the 15th Army and the 4th Army drawn from India, led by Lieutenant General Slim himself, fought mightily towards Burma.
After crossing the border and entering the coast of Rakhine, the British army did not encounter any interception. Although the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army controlled most of Burma, it had not yet had time to send troops to occupy such remote places as the coast of Rakhine. So much so that the British were able to drive straight in.
By the 18th of November, the main force of the British army had reached the Minbia line. Thanks to the British colonial rule in Burma, in order to strengthen their control over Burma, they deliberately built a better coastal road on the coast of Rakhine, which made their march much smoother this time. A large number of tanks and heavy artillery were able to march unaffected.
"Your Excellency, our journey was not blocked by the Chinese at all. Obviously, they did not expect us to attack from the coast of Rakhine. Major General Eric, commander of the 5th Indian Division of the British Army, stood in front of Lieutenant General Slim and said.
Lieutenant General Slim did not agree with his words: "The Chinese are not so easy to deal with." We must not forget the crushing defeat of the 7th Infantry Brigade of the 2nd Indian Division. ”
An infantry brigade was easily annihilated by the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army. This was a wake-up call for Slim. He knew that the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army was much more powerful than any Chinese* army he had seen before. Even if he led more than 50,000 elite troops to attack this time, he would have to be cautious.
"Order the troops, speed up the march. We want to catch the Chinese off guard. Before they could react, they rushed out of the shores of Rakhine. Lieutenant General Slim ordered. He was well aware that the narrow terrain of the Arakan coast was not conducive to the deployment of troops. Once they are blocked here, their superior power will not be brought into play. It's just that Lieutenant General Slim knows that the force he has to face is not so easy to deal with.
"Order the armored brigade, ready for battle. As soon as it is discovered that the Chinese have entered the coast of Rakhine to block us, the armored brigade will tear through the defense line of the Chinese and completely crush them! Lieutenant General Slim ordered.
"Yes, General." A communications officer immediately went to give orders.
The British Army's 254th Indian Armoured Brigade has three armoured regiments, each armoured regiment, equipped with 52 tanks. The troops in India are equipped with M3 light tanks supported by the Americans.
At the same time, at the airfield in Morey, the fighters of the anti-Japanese salvation army air force were preparing to take off. Four squadrons of P-51B fighters, two squadrons of B-25 medium bombers, one squadron of B-24 heavy bombers, were ready for takeoff. They will be the first wave of fighters to launch an attack on the British.
Subsequently, the Air Force of the Anti-Japanese Salvation Army would constantly take off and land planes to attack the British army. Focus on attacking the armored forces and artillery of the British. After getting rid of the armored forces and artillery of the British, it was time for them to withstand the powerful firepower of the Anti-Japanese Salvation Army.
When the order of the watchtower was issued, these fighters of the Anti-Japanese Salvation Army Air Force began to take off one after another. Heavy and medium bombers, the first to take off. And finally, the fighters. In order to intensify the strike, these fighters also carried bombs or rockets. The M3 light tank, with weak armor, especially the dealer on the top of the turret, is very thin and will also be shredded if hit from the top by a rocket.
More than eighty fighters and bombers, quickly completed the takeoff. After forming a formation in the air, fly to the coast of Rakhine.
A distance of several hundred kilometers, for these fighters, it only takes more than an hour. This was also mainly due to the fact that the B-25 medium bomber was slower, which slowed down the speed of the group.
When there is a buzzing sound in the sky, it is like a wild bee flying. The British soldiers who were marching on the highway looked up at the northern sky one by one. They soon saw that a large number of planes were traveling in the sky.
"Air attack, hide quickly!" The officers of the British army shouted loudly at the top of their voices.
The sudden attack on the fighters of the Anti-Japanese Salvation Army undoubtedly made them feel great fear. These British soldiers rushed down the road in a hurry, looking for a place to hide. A large amount of equipment and baggage was left on the road.
"Prepare to drop bombs and destroy all the heavy equipment and baggage of the British!"
With the commander's order, the fighters of the anti-Japanese salvation army air force began to attack. Those bombers, the first to drop bombs. One bomb after another, like raindrops, fell to the ground and exploded on the road.
One by one, the British vehicles, artillery, tanks and armoured vehicles exploded into fireballs and became burning scrap metal.
General Slim watched as an M3 light tank was hit by an aerial bomb, and the entire tank was blown up into scrap metal at once.
When the bombers left, the fighters pounced again and began to attack.
Fighter planes flew over the British, and bombs were dropped under the wings.
"Boom! Rumble! ”
A violent explosion sounded, and some British soldiers were blown away on the spot and torn to pieces by powerful bombs.
The tanks or heavy artillery of the British army were the key targets of the anti-Japanese salvation army air force. In the fierce bombardment, these tanks and heavy artillery were reduced to scrap metal.
Some of the fighter planes carrying rockets became the nemesis of the British tank troops. The armor of the M3 light tanks was so weak that they were unable to resist the attacks of the fighters of the Anti-Japanese Salvation Army Air Force.
The tanks of the 254th Indian Tank Brigade of the British Army were destroyed one after another. Soon, most of the tanks were blown up to scrap metal.
Even after the bombs were dropped, the planes of the anti-Japanese salvation army air force did not leave, but continued to attack with aviation machine guns.
"Da Da Da!"
A barrage of bullets opened fire on the British soldiers lying on the side of the road, hitting the ground and leaving deep craters.
Occasionally, British soldiers were hit by bullets and let out heart-rending screams.
An Indian Ah San, whose head was wrapped in a turban, was hit by a bullet from an aviation machine gun, and his whole head exploded at once. Red, white, scattered everywhere.
Under the air raids of the air force of the Anti-Japanese Salvation Army, the British suffered heavy losses. Not only have there been a lot of personnel losses, but more seriously, more than half of those heavy equipment have been lost.