The most cattle cottage in the Anti-Japanese War

Chapter 594 The Battle of Chiang Mai
Since the outbreak of the Pacific War, the troops of Britain, Russia, France and other countries have been defeated by the Japanese on the battlefield in Southeast Asia.

In the Philippines, more than 8 troops from the U.S.-Philippine coalition surrendered to a Japanese army with less than 3 troops. As a result, the famous Bataan March tragedy occurred.In a short journey of more than 100 kilometers, the US-Philippines coalition forces died more than [-] people.

It can be said that during this period, the morale of the anti-Japanese armed forces throughout Southeast Asia was extremely low.

Under such circumstances, the United Nations Army led by Gao Jiu took the lead in launching a counterattack in Myanmar, and captured the capital of Myanmar, Yangon, in one fell swoop, which became a highlight on the Southeast Asian battlefield.It caused great repercussions in the world.

Newspapers and magazines from various countries have reported on this incident, especially the British.Since the main force of this counterattack against Yangon was the British army and the Burmese servant army, they felt very proud of this and hyped up the victory of this battle, which greatly encouraged the fighting morale of the British army in the British mainland and various colonies.

The newspapers in the rear were naturally not to be outdone, and the "Zhongyang Daily" published related congratulatory articles, saying that the Chinese army also participated in the Burmese counter-offensive campaign and performed well.Especially the anti-Japanese guerrillas headed by Gao Jiu played a vital role in it.

This article refers to Gao Jiu's Taohuashan Special Forces as the Chinese army in general, but there is some truth in saying so.Although Gao Jiu is a bandit anti-Japanese armed force, it is also part of the Chinese anti-Japanese armed forces, and it is reasonable to call it the Chinese army.

The air force of the National Army is not very satisfied with these reports, because the air force played a vital role in the air strikes carried out by the No. 20 [-]st Brigade of the Japanese Army.However, according to Gao Jiu's request, it is not possible to report on these related aspects.

Gao Jiu did this because of his own considerations.These battles fought in Burma had a prerequisite, that is, the Japanese Eighth Air Force did not participate in Japanese operations.Otherwise, the coalition troops organized by Gao Jiu are likely to collapse under the violent bombing of the Japanese army.

After the Japanese 21st Brigade withdrew from Yangon, it went all the way south into Thailand.They reported to the headquarters of the Fifth Division. This battle dealt a heavy blow to the Fifth Division and broke the myth of their invincibility.

The head of the fifth division had no way to explain to the Japanese army and the Japanese people, and he didn't have much confidence in defeating that terrible enemy Gao Jiu, so he chose to throw the blame.After analysis, he found that the Japanese army did not receive air force support in this battle, so he shifted the responsibility to the Japanese Eighth Air Force and sued them to the Japanese base camp.

Of course, the Eighth Air Force of the Japanese Army had already thought of various countermeasures, so they started a verbal lawsuit with them.However, they still felt great pressure, so they got in touch with Gao Jiu, and asked Gao Jiu to give them another reason to prevent their superiors from forcing them to dispatch the air force to bomb the coalition forces that Gao Jiu belonged to in the next battle.

Yangon city.

The coalition forces marched north and captured the city of Yangon, their morale was greatly boosted, and the remnants of troops from all over the world continued to come to join them.Soon after, more than [-] coalition troops gathered in Yangon City.

For this situation, Gao Jiu was not happy, but worried.Because the sources of these troops are too complicated, it is difficult to coordinate with each other when fighting. To be honest, they are just mobs.There is no problem for such an army to fight smoothly, but when encountering difficulties, they will have their own calculations, and it is easy to collapse.

In order to avoid such a situation, Gao Jiu proposed to set up the General Command of the Allied Forces. The supreme commanders of each army would stay in the headquarters of the Allied Forces to coordinate operations and let them designate their deputies to command their respective troops.

The supreme commanders of the coalition forces stayed in the coalition headquarters, which can effectively prevent them from escaping with their respective troops to a large extent.

Although the commanders of the various forces had their own little calculations, they also understood that this was an effective means to maintain the unity of the coalition forces under such circumstances.So they all agreed to this arrangement.

After the establishment of the new coalition headquarters, Gao Jiu ordered the British 139th Regiment, 140th Regiment, and the Thai Army to take a defensive posture against the Japanese Fifth Division in the direction of Thailand.The 141st Regiment of the British Army and the Burmese Servant Army are responsible for repairing Yangon Airport.Gao Jiu got in touch with his wife and brought a large amount of weapons and supplies, especially a large number of 88mm anti-aircraft guns.Strengthen the firepower of the coalition forces and prepare for air strikes by the Japanese Air Force.At the same time, I also asked my wife to send a fighter squadron to Yangon Airport.

In addition to taking these necessary measures, Gao Jiu still focused on working with the Eighth Air Force.Gao Jiu understands the difficulty of the commander of the Eighth Air Force. In order to relieve his predicament, Gao Jiu must give the Eighth Air Force a reasonable reason not to dispatch the air force.Gao Jiu sent a telegram to the head of the underground party in the Northern District of Vietnam, asking them to organize a Vietnamese guerrilla to attack the Japanese Eighth Air Force's airport in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The Vietnamese underground party guerrillas sent a 500-member guerrilla led by Li Qianhong to attack the airport of the Japanese Eighth Air Force at night.The Eighth Air Force of the Japanese Army had received Gao Jiu's notice in advance, and most of the planes on the airport had flown away, leaving only some planes waiting for maintenance.

In order to avoid leaking information, the Eighth Air Force of the Japanese Army did not notify the garrison at the airport.This was a fake battle. As a result, the Japanese garrison fought fiercely with the guerrillas led by Li Qianhong, and both sides lost a lot of troops.Since Li Qianhong's troops were outnumbered, they occupied the airstrip, destroyed the six Japanese aircraft that remained on it, and withdrew from the battlefield.

The airport of the Eighth Air Force of the Japanese Army was attacked by the enemy. They were furious and accused the Army of not fulfilling its responsibility to protect the airport. They brought the lawsuit to the Japanese Army Base Camp, and started a wrangling lawsuit with the Japanese Army. .In this case, it is a good reason for them not to send troops to support the army in combat.

Not only that, Gao Jiu also planned a new campaign, which gave the Japanese Eighth Air Force a better reason not to send troops.

There are too many coalition troops in Yangon now, and Gao Jiu is under great pressure to provide them with supplies every day.If so many people stay here and don't go to war, they will all become dead.Gao Jiu can't let them idle, he must take them to fight a big battle, train this army in the battle, increase the cohesion of the army, and make them a coalition army with real combat effectiveness.

July 7.Gao Jiu convened a military meeting of the coalition forces at the Governor-General's Mansion of the British Army in Yangon City.

They put the combat target on the Japanese 21st Brigade.After Gao Jiu introduced his combat intentions, he passed discussions with the commanders of the various units of the coalition forces, and finally formulated the combat deployment to encircle and wipe out the 21st Brigade of the Japanese Army.

Gao Jiu very much prefers 88mm anti-aircraft guns. When he provided drawings to Sulian Military Industry Department, they reached an agreement to provide Gao Jiu with 500 88mm anti-aircraft guns.These anti-aircraft guns have already been transported to Taohuashan.This time Gao Jiu spent a lot of money and transported most of the anti-aircraft guns to Burma.In fact, anti-aircraft guns can not only effectively contain the Japanese air force, but also make people feel sour when using them to hit ground targets.With so many 88mm anti-aircraft guns, the coalition troops are more confident.

After three days of preparation, on July 7, the battle to encircle and wipe out the No. 25 First Brigade of the Japanese Army officially started.

After the 21st Brigade of the Japanese Army entered Thailand, they stayed in Chiang Mai near the Thai-Myanmar border. They relied on Chiang Mai City to build a defense line, replenish weapons, ammunition and supplies, and waited for the main force of the Fifth Division to come for reinforcements.

On August 8, United Nations troops appeared in the northwest of Chiang Mai.Tens of thousands of coalition forces pressed over aggressively.

To be honest, if it weren't for the fear of Gao Jiu's troops in the coalition forces, the head of the Japanese 21st Brigade would have full confidence in eliminating the mob of the coalition forces.The reason why he retreated from Yangon City was because they were far away from the main force of the Fifth Division at that time, and they were worried about being surrounded and annihilated by the coalition forces led by Gao Jiu.Now, he is not afraid at all, because they are only more than 100 kilometers away from the main force of the Fifth Division of the Japanese Army. After the battle starts, it will not take long for the main force of the Fifth Division to arrive.

The head of the brigade asked for help from the headquarters of the Fifth Division, and at the same time organized troops to carry out defensive operations.

After the battle started, the No. 20 First Brigade of the Japanese Army immediately felt tremendous pressure.The firepower of these coalition troops was very fierce, and their defensive positions were easily blown up by the enemy, and the bodies of soldiers could only be used to fill the gaps.Under the heavy enemy artillery fire, Japanese officers and soldiers suffered heavy casualties.

In order to consume the vitality of the Japanese army and to train the various units of the coalition forces, Gao Jiu adopted the method of taking turns to fight, so that each coalition force could increase its experience in fighting the Japanese army.

After sufficient artillery preparations, the first offensive was launched by a squadron of the Taohuashan Special Forces, the 141st British Army Regiment, a Thai Army Battalion, and a Burmese Servant Army regiment.The coalition forces all agree with this form of organization, because it is fair, and Gao Jiu treats his troops the same as those of other countries.As a result, the morale of each unit was maintained at a high level.

Although this attack did not break through the Japanese defense line, it dealt a big blow to the Japanese army, and the troops participating in the attack were also tempered.

Just 5 minutes after the end of the first attack, the second attack started again.The troops participating in the attack this time were a squadron of the Taohuashan guerrillas, the 142nd regiment of the British army, a regiment of the Burmese servant army, a battalion of the Vietnamese army, and a reinforced battalion of the Laotian army.Although they still did not break through the Japanese defense line, they once again caused great consumption to the Japanese army.

Five minutes after the end of the second attack, the third attack on the Japanese army began.The attacking troops were a squadron of the Taohuashan Guerrilla Army, the 5rd Regiment of the British Army, two regiments of the Burmese Servant Army, two brigades of the Kokang Self-Defense Force, and a brigade of the Construction Workers' Self-Defense Force.

The coalition troops are numerous and powerful, and their momentum is like a rainbow.The Japanese army was exhausted after two fierce attacks. When the third attack came, the Japanese army couldn't resist it, and was forced to abandon the forward position and retreat the troops into the city of Chiang Mai.

The coalition troops broke through the Japanese positions, and their morale became stronger. They surrounded the remnants of the 21st Brigade of the Japanese Army in Chiang Mai City, and used a large number of artillery they carried to violently bombard the Japanese troops in the city, constantly consuming the vitality of the Japanese army.

The 21st Brigade of the Army was in danger, so it could only ask the division headquarters to send reinforcements quickly for reinforcements.

It is a pity that the brigade head of the 21st Brigade received the news that they should continue to stand by and wait for reinforcements, because the reinforcements of the Japanese army could not get through at all.

The most critical and difficult battle to encircle and annihilate the 21st Brigade of the Japanese Army was not to besiege the 21st Brigade of the Japanese Army, but to block the reinforcements of the Fifth Division of the Japanese Army.

Because of this, Gao Jiu dispatched the real main force of the coalition army.

Just before the battle started, Guo Hengming led a special warfare squadron, the main force of 1 members of Tagawa's Construction Workers' Self-Defense Force, the 1800th Regiment of the British Army, and the 139 members of the 140th Regiment. The Chiang Mai Ridge between the divisions built a defensive position to cut off the retreat of the Japanese No. 3800 Brigade and block the reinforcements of the Japanese Fifth Division.

In the day before the battle started, the coalition forces occupied the favorable terrain of Chiang Mai Ridge and built fortifications.After the battle in Chiang Mai started, the 5th Division and the 20th Brigade of the Japanese Army launched reinforcements to the 21st Brigade of the Japanese Army, and fought fiercely with the coalition blocking forces at Chiang Mai Ridge.

The 5th Division of the Japanese Army is all mechanized units. In addition to the armored vehicles equipped by each brigade, the division headquarters also has a tank wing, which is equipped with 24 Type 62 medium tanks and [-] Douding tanks. And equipped with a large number of artillery.

The Japanese army was eager to open up a channel for reinforcements, and invested a large number of armored vehicles at the beginning, covering the infantry and launching an attack on the coalition positions.

Guo Hengming and others carried 60 88mm anti-aircraft guns this time, and they aimed at the Japanese tanks and fired fiercely.The Japanese tanks were not to be outdone, and shelled while advancing.

It is said that the Japanese Type 57 tanks have strong protection capabilities and are in motion. It is not easy to hit them and destroy them.The [-]mm gun of the Japanese Type [-] tank is also very powerful and has a high rate of fire.

But they also have a weakness, that is, there is no two-way stabilizer in this era, and they have to stop to aim when firing.This gave the coalition artillery a good chance to hit them.

The artillery of the coalition forces set up artillery positions in advance. They were hidden in the jungle. It was difficult for the Japanese army to find them, so the artillery of the coalition forces still had a considerable advantage.After fierce artillery battles, most of the Japanese tanks and armored vehicles were destroyed.The artillery of the coalition forces also suffered certain losses, and in the end the coalition forces took advantage.

Seeing the enemy's heavy artillery fire, the Japanese army could not gain any advantage by dispatching armored troops.So they let the infantry get out of the vehicles and used ordinary infantry offensive tactics to attack the coalition positions.

The strength of the coalition forces was comparable to that of the Japanese army, and their firepower was significantly superior to that of the Japanese army. In the ensuing battle, the coalition forces had a great advantage.After the Japanese army launched three attacks, they suffered heavy casualties and had to stop the attack temporarily, and then began to call the air force for support.

The Japanese Army attached great importance to the 5th Division. They specifically asked the Japanese Air Force China Expeditionary Force Command to send personnel to the Japanese Eighth Air Force to supervise and urge them to send troops to bomb Gao Jiu's coalition forces.

This time the Eighth Air Force of the Japanese Army did not hesitate. They dispatched 32 bombers and flew to the blocking positions of the coalition forces.

(End of this chapter)