My Head of the Huaxia Expeditionary Force

Chapter 379 Fan Shaozeng

In addition to the casualties on paper, a large number of non-combat attrition also caused the Western Yunnan Expeditionary Force to pay a heavy price. For this reason, it also became powerless when faced with the interception of the 33rd Division. The entire 11th Army was also Yu Xiaoqing. They fought for days, but failed to gain an advantage.

Fortunately, the 33rd Division entered western Yunnan only to cover the retreat of the 56th Division, and did not counterattack the expeditionary force. After completing the mission, it immediately retreated to Weimao, Myitkyina and other places.

On December 12, when Caijiazhai, the last small town in western Yunnan, was captured by the 10st Army, the Chinese Expeditionary Army finally expelled all the Japanese troops who invaded western Yunnan, and was occupied by the Japanese for one year and five months. Western Yunnan returned to the motherland embrace.

There was joy in China, and major newspapers began to report on the great victory of the expeditionary force, and the spirit of the 200th Division of the Third Division going abroad to beat the Japanese invaders
In just half a year, since the Sichuan Army Corps attacked Nantianmen, the counterattack in western Yunnan has achieved a great victory, which made the head of state in Chongqing unexpected.

In addition to handwritten documents commending several outstanding generals, the head of state's customary medals and commendations were sent to western Yunnan like snowflakes, and a large amount of silver dollars were distributed to reward those officers who had made great contributions.

In particular, Liao Mingyu's unit played a crucial role in the entire battle situation. If the three divisions hadn't marched all the way west to defeat the Japanese, it is unknown how long the counterattack in western Yunnan would have lasted.

At present, the first phase of the counterattack on Burma has come to an end, and the Allied forces have also completed the cleanup of the India-Myanmar border. Stilwell immediately began to prepare for the next combat operation, but the answer he got when he contacted Chongqing made him indignant. .

The government responded that the Western Yunnan Expeditionary Force suffered a great deal of wear and tear due to days of fighting, and it should be repaired and supplemented for a period of time. It will not use troops against Burma for the time being. The Chinese troops stationed in India can continue to fight against Japan, and Sun Liren and Liao Yaoxiang will make arrangements on their own.

Stilwell was furious. Originally, he and the Chongqing guy couldn't get used to each other, but now that the conflict continued to escalate, Hua just pointed at each other's nose and scolded her.

In fact, at this time, the bald head of state did not make up his mind to fight back against western Yunnan.

First, the head of state has always been wary of the British.As early as when the Chinese Expeditionary Army entered Burma for the first time, the British showed disobedience many times and lost the chain at critical moments, causing the expeditionary army to suffer many defeats.

It can be said that the first battle was completely covering the retreat of these pig teammates. It was a bloody road paved for the British by countless Chinese soldiers with their lives.

Therefore, in the past year and a half, although the United Kingdom and the United States have repeatedly urged the government to organize a counterattack, the bald head of state was afraid that the British would not cooperate with their promises again, which would cause the expeditionary force to face the Japanese army alone, so they have been standing still.

If Liao Mingyu hadn't been born, the counteroffensive in western Yunnan would not have started until May next year.

Second, the head of state intends to preserve his strength. Compared with Myanmar, his center is more on the domestic battlefield.

At present, the Japanese are eyeing Hunan. Seeing that the Battle of Hengyang is about to start, the Ninth War Zone is not absolutely sure to stop the Japanese attack. However, there are now two armies of nearly 15 in western Yunnan.If the war is unfavorable, the head of state is likely to transfer these more than [-] people to the domestic battlefield to ease the pressure on the ninth theater.

Unwilling to give up, Stilwell continued to negotiate with the head of state, and even threatened to suspend international military aid to force the bald head into the palace.At the same time, they also began to contact Roosevelt to ask their president to put pressure on the bald head.

The bald head of state, who had already made up his mind, hesitated again. After all, the Cairo meeting had just ended. Roosevelt, in order to win over Chiang Kai-shek to continue fighting against Japan and reduce the pressure on the US military in the Pacific, besides promising huge aid to China, publicly declared that Chiang was the "Four Strong One of the heads".

So far, China has become one of the four major powers in the world, and in the future, many places in the world will rely on the Yankees. In addition to the importance of India's international aid line, due to these reasons, the bald head had to make concessions.

However, the shrewd head of state did not know how to pretend to be false. He only transferred the 71st Army and the 2nd Army to continue westward as representatives, and cooperated with the Indian Army to pose a threat to Myitkyina from the east. Next instruction.

On the other hand, because the third division triumphantly achieved a major victory in Myanmar, the head of state decided to form a new 88th army. The main body is composed of the honorary third division and the 200th division.

Anyway, the Honor Third Division is famous for being able to fight, and now it has been strengthened, and their role in Myanmar is comparable to half an army.

This not only solves the problem of entering Burma, but also retains the main force of the Western Yunnan Expeditionary Force to the greatest extent, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

But the bald head of state had a difficult time selecting the commander of the army. Originally the best candidate was Liao who cultivated fields in Nankan, but the opposition in the army was not ordinary, and Minister He was the only one among them. The leading faction is the most intense,
All of a sudden, rumors and rumors were flying in the sky in Chongqing, and all kinds of words to slander Liao Mingyu emerged one after another, saying that he was not suitable for a high position because of his violent personality, or deliberately smearing him by citing examples of his maverick and disobedience to orders.

Minister He also recommended Zhang Lingfu, under the command of his trusted general Wang Yaowu, as the candidate for the commander of the new 88th Army.

However, Chief Chen from the Department of Civil Engineering couldn't sit still at this moment. He had already been at odds with Minister He, so how could he not intervene in this opportunity of confrontation?
Coupled with the fact that he admired Liao Mingyu and wanted to win him over, Chief Chen immediately testified for him and strongly recommended him to the head of state. Why didn't such a general give him a bigger stage?

So the two groups of people quarreled over this issue, which also reflected the serious factional disputes within the government.

Seeing that the situation was tense, the head of state couldn't make up his mind for a while. Director Dai, who was well versed in the matter, didn't stand up to speak out to Liao Mingyu this time, but chose to play it safe. This was also to make the head of state less suspicious of the latter.

Perhaps for the sake of balance, or perhaps because of jealousy, it is surprising that the head of state did not support Liao Mingyu this time, but he ignored Minister He's recommendation, and finally appointed Fan Shaozeng, who had been idle in Chongqing for half a year, as the commander of the 88th Army .

Speaking of this, Fan Shaozeng is also a strange person. He was originally a general under the Sichuan warlord Yang Sen, and he was also a representative figure in the Sichuan Army who actively advocated the resistance against Japan.

He was born in a large family in central Sichuan. He didn't like reading since he was a child. He often went to teahouses to listen to books. He joined Paoge at the age of 13 and wandered around all day long. To put it bluntly, he is a rich second generation in a messy society

In order to avoid studying when I was a child, I often pretended to be crazy in front of my teacher and my father. Fan's father was so angry that he called him "Ha'er" (Sichuan dialect meaning fool). Because of his straightforward and hot personality, he was free and easy, and he was nicknamed "Ha'er" after he became a general. For "Commander Hal"

During the warlord period, Sichuan was not at peace. Yang Sen tried to unify Sichuan by force, but after being defeated, he had no choice but to leave the field. Most of the army was handed over to Fan Shaozeng. The latter was also reorganized by Liu Xiang, and was also evacuated by Mingsheng and secretly. .

After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the Sichuan Army accepted the reorganization and came out of Sichuan to fight against the Japanese. Fan Shaozeng volunteered to kill the enemy because of his disagreement with Liu Xiang, and rushed to the front line in Shanghai alone.Then Shanghai fell and retreated to Hankou with the army.

The following year, Liu Xiang, Han Fuqu and others conspired to overthrow Chiang. This guy immediately informed the bald head, and was trusted and rewarded by the bald head. He was appointed as the commander of the 88th Army and recruited soldiers to fight against Japan.

Fan Shaozeng, who gained military power again, quickly formed four regiments in Sichuan, but the weapons were dilapidated and the soldiers were even more mixed.He took out more than half of his belongings to raise equipment by himself.He also said to the officers and soldiers: In the past, civil wars were fought against the common people.This time resisting the Japanese aggression, I will go bankrupt, and I will desperately join you to drive the Japanese away!

From leaving Sichuan in 39 to returning to Chongqing in 43, Fan Shaozeng moved to many places in Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Hubei. He fought dozens of battles with the Japanese army, large and small, and won many victories. Ever-victorious troops.He has won dozens of medals and medals at all levels issued by the Ministry of Military Affairs and the Military Commission, and has been upgraded to a Class A army with 88 divisions.

Especially in May 42, Fan Shaozeng led his troops to kill a Japanese lieutenant general and wound a major general within two days.The two generals defeated by Fan Shaozeng were Lieutenant General Naoji Sakai, head of the No.5 Division of the Japanese Army, and Major General Kono, head of the 15th Brigade of the Japanese Army.

In these two setbacks to the Japanese army, the death of Naoji Sakai is definitely something that the Chinese people should be thankful for, because he was the Japanese officer who actively implemented the "Three Alls" policy, insulted women, and committed all kinds of crimes.His death also caused an uproar in the Japanese army, because he was the first division commander in the history of the Japanese army to die in action.

However, there are many factions within the national army, and the combat effectiveness of the 88th Army and Fan Shaozeng's military exploits have also aroused the jealousy of some people.Not long after, Lao Jiang also adopted the method of ascending and descending secretly, and transferred Fan Shaozeng from the 88th Army, and only gave him the title of Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Tenth Army, which was "fancy but not useful".

He had made great achievements, but was transferred from the team he led alone. This incident also chilled Fan Shaozeng's heart. With his hot temper and recklessness, he quit his business in a fit of anger. He returned to Chongqing in early 43, and has been idle until now. .

As the saying goes, one learns one's wisdom through one's life. This veteran Jianghu who was born in Pao has not been idle since he returned to Chongqing. After he knew the rules of the officialdom, he began to make a lot of friends, and actively participated in the entertainment among the powerful. Both the bureau chief and Gu Zhang have maintained a good relationship.

When the appointment of the commander of the new 88th Army fell on his head, the two groups of people surprisingly stopped discussing, and instead said that the head of state was "wise".

In this way, Fan Shaozeng embarked on the road to the west of Yunnan happily with the letter of appointment, but Liao Mingyu, who was in Nankan, did not know that the head of state had already parachuted an immediate boss for him...

(End of this chapter)