Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Chapter 554: Massive Japanese Air Raids Cause Collapse of British and Burmese Forces, Expeditionary Force Retreats, and Japanese Pursuit in Full Force!

"If we win, our East Asian defense perimeter will remain stable, and we can also buy more time for negotiations for our headquarters."

Terauchi Hisaichi's tone was full of pessimism, with none of his previous optimistic predictions remaining.

Everyone knew that even if they won this battle, they would not be able to achieve victory in the war.

From the perspective of the Japanese.

It's all that damned Chiang Kai-shek's fault. He was out of touch with reality and didn't know to surrender and build the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.

It's that damned Chu Yunfei's fault; he always manages to defeat them in all sorts of ways.

The blame lies with the unyielding Chinese people; they are the backbone that the Japanese devils could not break no matter how hard they tried.

The blame lies with the Eighth Route Army and New Fourth Army troops who were active behind enemy lines; they were the mainstays of the fight.

Nowadays, the National Revolutionary Army, armed by the Americans and the Soviets, is continuously strengthening its military capabilities.

The country's strength is also constantly improving.

It was Terauchi Hisaichi who clearly understood the military strength of both sides.

There is a clear understanding of the national strength of both sides.

That's why I feel so much pain and pessimism.

in other words.

Today, Terauchi Hisaichi is as pessimistic as He Yingqin was at the beginning of the war in 37.

After a while.

Terauchi Hisaichi's tone was slightly bitter as he added, "If we lose, we should commit suicide to atone for our defeat at the hands of His Majesty the Locust King."

"Gentlemen, this battle can only be won, not lost."

"We want Chu Yunfei to see with his own eyes how Du Yuming slowly and painstakingly annihilates his most elite troops in this jungle!"

"Your Majesty, the Emperor is here!"

"Great Japanese country, on board~!"

"Banzai~! Banzai~!!"
-
Just as Terauchi Hisaichi made up his mind, luck seemed to be on his side.

The continuous rainy weather suddenly cleared up.

This seems to indicate that Southeast Asia is gradually moving away from the rainy season.

The sky cleared up early in the morning, a rare occurrence.

By afternoon, a tense yet fervent atmosphere permeated the Japanese airfield in Siam.

The rain-soaked land steamed with white vapor under the sun, mingling with the pungent and damp smell of aviation fuel.

Ground crew moved about like worker ants, loading aerial bombs and incendiary bombs onto rows of Type 97 heavy bombers and Type 99 twin-engine light bombers.

Meanwhile, Zero fighters waited on one side of the runway, their wings reflecting a chilling gleam in the sunlight.

The pilots, dressed in flight suits, stood in small groups, their faces expressionless.

They remained silent, conducting the final checks with serious expressions.

The silence was broken by a signal from the control tower.

"Woo-wu-wu-"

The piercing alarm blared throughout the airport; it wasn't an air raid siren, but the call to arms for a final assault.

The engines of bombers and fighter jets were awakened one after another, and what started as a few coughs quickly turned into a deafening roar.

The earth began to tremble violently.

With a deafening roar of engines, the aircraft, like a swarm of metal locusts awakened, swept up into the sky, blotting out the sun.

They took off from the runway in squadrons, wave after wave, forming dense formations in the air, their huge shadows casting a moving haze on the ground.

However, just one hour later...

The aircraft group had already flown over the Southern Route Army.

A Zero fighter pilot yelled into the radio, his tone full of contempt: "Look! The Chinese pigs' positions are like filthy anthills!"

His wingman immediately responded: "Haha, Matsumoto-kun, watch me burn these ants and their nest to the ground! For His Majesty the Locust King!"

The first aerial bomb roared down to earth.

Boom.

Amidst a violent explosion.

On the positions of the Fifth Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force.

The rudimentary fortifications were blasted to pieces by the direct hit of the heavy bombs, with earth and rocks flying everywhere.

The tents and trucks were quickly engulfed in flames by the incendiary bombs.

"Get down! It's a Japanese plane!"

A veteran of the Fifth Army pressed a terrified recruit next to him firmly into the trench, while dirt and gravel rained down on their backs.

On the expeditionary force's positions, countless Czech light machine guns and Type 24 heavy machine guns immediately turned their muzzles, spitting out angry tongues of fire into the sky.

A fleet of Bofors anti-aircraft machine guns (truck-mounted welded version) accompanying mobile operations were quickly assigned to their combat positions.
The situation was equally chaotic on the positions of the two US armored brigades.

"Scatter! Spread out the tanks!" a U.S. Army captain roared over the radio.

The commanders of the M3 Stuart light tanks poked their heads out, directing the tanks to create distance, while the M2 heavy machine guns on the roofs began to fire fiercely into the air in an attempt to suppress the air.

In terms of air defense firepower, whether it is the Fifth Army, the Thirteenth Army, or the US Army's armored brigades, they all possess a certain degree of air defense firepower.

only.

The British and Burmese troops, acting as a feint attack force on the left wing, performed much worse.

General Smith's 1st Burma Division was thrown into chaos by the sudden attack.

These hastily assembled troops, composed of British, Indian, and Burmese soldiers, were already demoralized.

At this moment, they were running around like headless flies, and the officers' desperate shouts were completely drowned out by the sound of the explosions.

The British 1st Burma Division, to everyone's surprise, was routed under Japanese air raids.
"See that? Our enemy runs faster than a rabbit!"

The Japanese bombardier laughed triumphantly over the radio: "The Chinese are still putting up a fight, but it's only a matter of time! Their doom is near!"

This massive air fleet has a clear objective.

It was aimed directly at the main Allied forces that had amassed on the border.

The Chinese Expeditionary Force's Fifth and Thirteenth Armies under Du Yuming's command, along with two armored brigades of the US Army operating in conjunction. This also included the 6,000-strong British 1st Burma Division commanded by General Smith.

At the headquarters of the Thai-Burma Army, Terauchi Hisaichi received a report that the entire air force had taken off.

His wrinkled face was expressionless, but his eyes once again gleamed with the ferocity of a hungry wolf.

soon.

After a barrage of aerial firepower that blotted out the sky, Japanese commander Terauchi Hisaichi received a strike report.

Under the condition that the bombing is effective.

An urgent telegram was sent to all the frontline troops.

Soon, the voices of commanders at all levels were transmitted to every unit on the front lines via radio.

"The general attack begins!"

The order was delivered effectively.

In an instant, countless plumes of dust rose from the horizon.

The infantry of the Japanese 18th and 33rd Divisions, like ants swarming out of hell, launched a tidal wave of attacks, guided by Type 97 medium tanks and Type 95 light tanks.

Behind them were artillery positions consisting of rows of Type 92 infantry guns and Type 41 mountain guns, constantly roaring and pouring shells onto the expeditionary force's positions, providing fire support for its infantry.

"His Majesty the Emperor onboard!"

"The Empire of Japan aboard!"

The frenzied roars coalesced into a terrifying sonic wave that swept across the entire battlefield.

The battle broke out.

The expeditionary force's lines seemed to be as "vulnerable" as the Japanese had predicted.

Especially on the positions of the British 1st Burma Division commanded by General Smith.

Faced with the relentless offensive of the Japanese 18th Division, chaos ensued first.

The troops, hastily assembled from British, Indian, and Burmese soldiers, were already demoralized after the devastating air raids, and were now completely overwhelmed by the fierce combined arms assault of the Japanese army.

"Hold on! Don't retreat!"

A British captain brandished his pistol and shouted at the top of his lungs, but his voice was quickly drowned out by the sound of a shell exploding beside him.

The soldiers scattered like headless flies, and some Indian soldiers even threw down their weapons and fled back into the jungle.

A Japanese battalion commander, peering through binoculars at the chaotic scene on the British lines, sneered disdainfully, "Ha! The British are indeed useless!"

soon.

He drew his katana from his waist, raised it high, and roared, "Charge! Charge!"

"Onboard~!"

In an instant, the 18th Division, which had just finished replenishing its ranks, launched a fierce attack on the British forces.

Meanwhile, on the positions of the Fifth and Thirteenth Armies of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, the fighting was also exceptionally fierce.

Under the fierce attack of the Japanese 33rd Division, the outer positions of the Expeditionary Force were "retreat in defeat".

The soldiers put up a tenacious resistance, relying on the bombed and ravaged fortifications. However, faced with the superior firepower and fearless charges of the Japanese army, they could only retreat and abandon one defensive line after another.

"Commander! We can't hold them off! The Japanese tanks are charging up!" A regimental commander of the Fifth Army shouted anxiously to Army Commander Zheng Dongguo over the phone.

"It's alright, proceed with the original battle plan and retreat to the attack line!"

"What? Commander, then all our attacks these past few days have been for nothing!"

"Use your brain and think about it yourself. If the Japanese devils keep hiding in their turtle shells, how many shells would we need to lure them out?"

Although Zheng Dongguo spoke casually, his forehead was already covered with fine beads of sweat.

After hanging up the phone, General Dai Anlan immediately stepped forward: "Commander, does Commander Du have any reserve troops that haven't been deployed yet?"

"The 71st Army has just arrived at the front line and has not yet undergone corresponding acclimatization training. It was originally intended to be used as the general strategic reserve, but now it seems that it needs to be deployed to the battlefield ahead of schedule."

Dai Anlan was somewhat worried: "They have just arrived in Burma, and their non-combat casualties must be extremely severe. Under these circumstances, it is very possible that the 71st Army will be deployed."

"In addition, the newly formed 38th Division under Sun Liren can be deployed to the battle, so we still have a fighting chance in this battle."

"But this is far from what we planned."

Zheng Dongguo then bluntly explained, "In fact, no one expected our opponents to launch a counterattack under these circumstances, and even Commander Du did not leave sufficient reserves."

"Judging from the reports from the front-line units, our opponents do not seem to have any reserves either."

"It seems they, like us, attach great importance to this strategic decisive battle."

"With our victory, there will be no more obstacles to conquering Southeast Asia; with the Japanese victory, we will have at least six months to catch our breath."

Zheng Dongguo sighed and continued, "That's not the most important thing. The crucial question is how we should conduct ourselves in front of America's allies."

"General Stilwell, Chief of Staff of the Far East Theater, was not optimistic about this operational plan; it was an offensive operation launched unilaterally by Chiang Kai-shek and Commander Du."

General Dai Anlan asked, "How is the offensive operation of the Northern Route Army progressing? If we can successfully defeat the Japanese 56th Division, we may be able to carry out a large-scale flanking maneuver to encircle the main force of the Japanese army."

"It is said that the Japanese border defense line was breached just yesterday."

General Dai Anlan stepped forward and stood beside Zheng Dongguo, his face full of puzzlement: "Huang Baitao and Wu Ziqiang are both famous generals in our army, so why is the offensive progressing so slowly?"

Zheng Dongguo slowly sat down on a chair to the side, no longer analyzing the battlefield situation: "Their artillery is relatively fewer, after all, their forces are at most only two main armies, of which the newly formed 11th Army has only half the combat strength of our 5th Army."

"Our forces are equivalent to four armies, a significant disparity in troop strength, so it's understandable that our offensive has been relatively slow."

"In addition, it is understood that Wu Ziqiang and Huang Baitao have some differences on how to fight the enemy. At present, they are adopting this plan, which is relatively conservative in attack mode and the attack speed will be affected to some extent."

Dai Anlan was slightly dissatisfied: "The whole battle is a strategic game. Their slow offensive could allow the Japanese to take advantage of the situation and launch a counterattack against our main force, causing heavy losses to our army. Commander Du should order the Northern Route Army to launch a full-scale attack towards Chiang Mai. The Japanese army, with only the 56th Division, a mixed brigade, and the Siamese puppet troops, will never be able to stop their attack."

"Brother Yangong, you must understand that the newly formed 12th Army is a genuinely newly formed unit. Although its commander is Wu Ziqiang, its combat effectiveness is far inferior to that of several main divisions in the Second War Zone. Furthermore, Huang Baitao's small-scale combat units can only play a tactical role in such a large-scale battle."

Zheng Dongguo put it rather tactfully.

The implication is that if such a small force could easily defeat the 56th Division and successfully capture Chiang Mai, it could be considered that they had achieved their strategic objectives, and even performed exceptionally well.

In contrast, their Southern Route Army...

The army consisted of the Fifth Army, the Sixth Army (which did not participate in the offensive and was mainly responsible for defending against the Japanese landing), a newly formed Thirteenth Army, two armored brigades, the Seventy-first Army, and the Sixty-sixth Army which was being reorganized, as well as the British Burmese First Division.

If they don't play well, they naturally have no right to make demands on Huang Baitao and Wu Ziqiang.
Even with the 71st Army joining the fray, this battle still couldn't stop the Japanese counterattack.

The battle that follows could very well take an unpredictable turn.

The Siam campaign, personally drafted by Du Yuming, may very well fail due to this rare large-scale air raid!

(End of this chapter)