Anti-Japanese heroic righteousness

On March 18, the 55th and 56th Divisions of the Japanese Army advanced towards Jiaokexi, and the [-]th Division suddenly turned around after capturing Xibao. Dele advances.

This is a game.Du Yuming originally thought that the strong central offensive of the expeditionary force would weaken the Japanese attack on the eastern front, but he did not know that the Japanese army quickly approached Lashio. After occupying Xibao, they divided their troops and marched along the railway to Mandalay. It is also facing a crisis, and the situation is rapidly deteriorating.Du Yuming finally saw the overall situation clearly. He was forced to abandon the Battle of Mandalay and gave the order to attack Lashio at the last moment.

On March 70th, Du Yuming ordered the No.66 Fifth Army, the main force of the 200th Army, and the [-]th Division to launch an attack on the Japanese army in Lashio. It's too late!

At dawn on March [-], the Japanese army dispatched nearly [-] tanks and armored vehicles. Under the cover of aircraft, they launched a fierce attack on Lashio.

After the fall of Lashio, if the expeditionary force did not want to be surrounded and wiped out by the Japanese army, there were only two roads before them. One was to retreat westward with the British army to India, and the other was to go north and cross the Hukang River Valley. Shan returned home.

For a while, which direction the expeditionary force would retreat became a topic of endless debate between the expeditionary force headquarters and the government.

A small town in northern Myanmar, Mengqiao, the temporary headquarters of the expeditionary force.

Stilwell, chief of the general staff of the expeditionary force, waved his arms and screamed in blunt Chinese: "I am the chief of the general staff of the China theater, and the commander-in-chief of the India-Myanmar theater. I am the highest officer of this army, so you must obey me. According to the order, the troops will withdraw westward to India, and wait for an opportunity to counterattack after getting ready and resting."

With a sneer on the corner of Du Yuming's mouth, he said, "I'm sorry, the expeditionary force is a Chinese army. We only listen to the chairman. As for whether to retreat to India or cross the Barren Mountain, we must wait for the order of the chairman."

Stilwell was extremely frantic, and said with grief: "Wait, wait, wait until your chairman makes a decision, or we may lose even the last chance to retreat."

Stilwell was by no means alarmist. After occupying Lashio, the Japanese army immediately divided into two groups, marching into China along the Burma Highway and capturing Bhamo and Myitkyina along the way. Divisions, another 16 divisions have been added, and the entire Eastern Front has formed an iron wall.In the south, there are the 55nd Division of the Japanese Army, the 30th Division of No.30, and the [-]rd Division of No.[-] on the front line of Reliem, Tangji, and Pingmanna.If they take advantage of the trend, the expeditionary force may be crushed by them after losing the important material base of Lashio.

Chongqing, Military Commission headquarters.

In front of a huge map of Myanmar, the deputy chief of staff, Bai Chongxi, was explaining the current situation in Myanmar with a baton in his hand. The chairman, Chen Chen, and general He beside him all had solemn expressions. Put the cold sweat on your forehead.Originally thought that the expeditionary force supplemented American weapons and equipment, not to mention stabilizing the situation in Burma, at least it could be on par with the Japanese army. Who knew that it had been defeated so badly in less than two months after entering Burma, which made the chairman feel embarrassed.

Although the formation of the expeditionary force was hasty, considering that it could accept American aid, all the elite troops of the party-state were dispatched, especially the fifth army, which was the only mechanized force in the party-state army. The total number of several miscellaneous troops is also half of the strength of the entire expeditionary army.In addition to the three main divisions, there are also teams directly under the artillery, armored, and engineering corps.When it comes to equipment, the Fifth Army is second to none, owning more than 71000 Soviet-made T-26 tanks, 80 German-made "Hausu" armored vehicles, more than 100 American-made Ford trucks, and more than 400 motorcycles.The military heavy artillery regiment has 40 150mm howitzers, and each division also has mountain artillery battalions and field artillery battalions.Even when Base 24 was in crisis, the chairman did not send these tanks to the front line, but stayed in Hengyang, fearing that they would be annihilated by the Japanese army.

After Bai Chongxi explained the situation in Burma, he finally came to the conclusion that if the expeditionary force wanted to preserve its strength, it had no choice but to retreat westward to India, and then to go northward over the mountains.

"Maybe we still have a third way. We can still send troops to the Burmese battlefield through the Huitong Bridge, and join the expeditionary force to attack the Japanese army in Lashio, and open up the Yunnan-Myanmar Highway again." The chairman said unwillingly.

Huitong Bridge is located [-] kilometers away from the Chinese section of the Yunnan-Burma Highway. It is the only passage connecting the two banks of the Nu River.Historically, in order to stop the advance of the Japanese army, the national army had already blown up the Huitong Bridge at this time, thus relying on the natural danger of the Nujiang River to confront the Japanese army for two years.

The reason why the Huitong Bridge was not blown up at this time was entirely because the army guarding the bridge was none other than Jiang Haoran’s Special Warfare Division. Behind the Huitong Bridge was Baoshan, and the Japanese troops directly threatened the safety of the Baoshan base by crossing the bridge. Therefore, it is the duty of the special warfare division to guard the bridge.It was Jiang Haoran's intention to defend the Huitong Bridge but not blow it up according to the historical plan.On the premise that the expeditionary force would be defeated, Jiang Haoran had already made corresponding arrangements for the special warfare division. He was not sure whether the other troops could block the Japanese army's advance, but the special warfare division would definitely be able to. Not to mention their strong combat effectiveness, but relying on Baoshan base's cutting-edge tanks and aircraft that are far ahead of the international level, let alone defending the bridge, even if they counterattack, it is not difficult. However, before Jiang Haoran came out, these would not be invested. The battlefield, it can be said that this is also part of Jiang Haoran's plan.Becoming the commander of the expeditionary force is the first step, but bringing the expeditionary force out of the current predicament is the second step.

Bai Chongxi said: "This road will not work at all. Except for the remnants of the 66th Army that withdrew from Lashio, the current troops in western Yunnan are the special warfare division of the No. 40 Army. The special warfare division must ensure the safety of the Baoshan base. Not to mention, without Jiang Haoran's order, I'm afraid we won't be able to mobilize them, and it will be too late to mobilize troops from Yunnan, but these are not the most important thing. In Lashio, the supplies of the expeditionary force are all cheaper than the Japanese army, in other words, the expeditionary force will not be able to last that day."

"Since it is useless to keep the Huitong Bridge, order the special forces to blow up the bridge, so as not to give the Japanese army an opportunity." The chairman said bitterly. The fact that the expeditionary force was in trouble has become an unchangeable fact. I hope to see the Japanese army immediately enter Yunnan and endanger the rear of the Southwest.