Shadow Spy

Chapter 415 The battle with Tonggu finally begins

The direction of Li Junhao's words was obvious and everyone could hear it. The generals of the Chinese Expeditionary Force were very relieved when they heard it, while the British generals were all shameless.

"Yes, sir!" The newly appointed Hutton and Slim took the lead in responding, and Yuen also led the others to follow.

Li Junhao looked at them, nodded, and said: "Everyone, I never think that the Japanese army is invincible, of course, provided that we dare to fight!
“In terms of strength, the Japanese army’s invasion of Burma this time only consisted of four divisions: the 18th, 33rd, 55th, 56th and 18th, with less than 10 troops in total, while we have 4.5 British-Burmese troops and 14 Chinese Expeditionary Forces. In terms of weapons and equipment, they are also stronger than the Japanese army. If we can't win two against one, you generals should just retire!"

Having said this, he looked around the people in the room and said firmly: "In this battle with the ancients, my request is to completely annihilate the Japanese 55th Division and eliminate the main force of the 56th Division that came for reinforcements. All previous arrangements and arrangements have been completed. It was carried out for this purpose.

"Before I took over as commander of the Indo-Burma theater, I had been authorized by President Roosevelt of the United States, Prime Minister Churchill of the United Kingdom, and Chairman Chiang Kai-shek of China. I had the power to judge and adjudicate on the commanders of all Allied forces, and to respond to any violation of orders. I have the power to dispose of the battlefield, I hope you will not let me use this power!"

In the awe of the participating generals, the meeting ended and the officers returned to their troops. At this time, they all had to consider what the new Commander Panson said. This was no joke.
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After Li Junhao returned to the office, he studied Stilwell's plan for the Tonggu battle and found that there was still a loophole in it, and that was the problem of the air force!Wavell, the commander-in-chief of the British-Indian Army, had previously ordered all the air forces attached to the British-Burmese Army to withdraw to India. Although this was later prevented by his actions, there are now less than a hundred British aircraft remaining in Ren'anqiang and Mandalay. Putting the Allies at a disadvantage when fighting Japan...

Well, this Wavell is a bastard!Li Junhao cursed secretly, now that the war is approaching, he has no time to deal with this guy for the time being, and he will definitely deal with him when he finds an opportunity in the future!

"Xiaoyu, send a report immediately to transfer the fighter group of the 10th Air Force stationed in India from Imphal to Mandalay and the bomber group to Lashio, and be ready to support the front line..."

After issuing the order, he felt that the current air power in Myanmar was still too weak, so he asked Xiaoyu to generate electricity and asked the country to send more air power.
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When Li Junhao was thinking about strengthening the military power in Myanmar, Lieutenant General Hutton, who was reinstated as the commander of the British-Burmese Army for the third time, and a group of generals under his command returned to Yan'anqiang, which is the only large oil field in Myanmar and is also related to the British. The best interests in Myanmar.At present, except for the 17th Division of the British and Indian Army, which is stationed in Magui, 30 kilometers south of Ren'anqiang, all other British troops are concentrated here.

Hutton immediately ordered all ministries to act in accordance with the orders of the Allied India and Burma Command - at this time, he already knew the special identity of General Panson from his own channels, whether it was his status in the United States or his special British identity. , all made him decide to carry out Pan Sen’s orders unconditionally!
Although the other British generals did not know the reason, seeing Hutton's resolute attitude, they could only obey the order and take action immediately.
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On the afternoon of April 4, the New 20th Division of the Chinese Expeditionary Force arrived in Murah and assumed the responsibility of the strategic reserve.

The next day, after the new 38th Division took over the defense of Mu La, Li Junhao ordered the Gorkha Brigade and the newly arrived British 7th Armored Brigade and the British-Australian 63rd Brigade to conduct training.
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At 22:200 pm on the 598nd, the time was ripe for all aspects. Under the order of Li Junhao, the 8th Division stationed in Tonggu dispatched the reorganized and run-in 55th Armored Regiment to raid the Japanese position 143 kilometers south of Tonggu City. Nearly a hundred vehicles Tanks and armored vehicles charged under the cover of infantry, defeating the Japanese troops facing them. The 1000rd Regiment of the Japanese [-]th Division, which was responsible for defending the first and second lines of defense, was completely stunned. It left thousands of corpses and retreated hastily. Retreat to the third line of defense more than [-] meters away!

The 598th Armored Regiment did not want to fight. After clearing the remnants of the enemy's first and second lines of defense, it immediately retreated back to the starting position, without giving the Japanese any chance to counterattack.

Two hours later, Lieutenant General Takeuchi Hiroshi, commander of the Japanese 55th Division, ordered the 112th Infantry Regiment to "take back" the two lines of defense, but no sign of the enemy was seen!
At a little after 200 o'clock in the afternoon, the Japanese army was clearing the corpses in the defense line. The 599th Regiment of the 598th Division launched another raid. This time, heavy artillery opened the way and infantry and tanks cooperated. In one fell swoop, they penetrated the two defense lines that the Japanese army had just recovered, killing and wounding the enemy. Even more than the last assault of the [-]th Regiment!
By the time the Japanese army reacted, the 599th Regiment had already withdrawn. This made the 55th Division furious!

Lieutenant General Takeuchi Hiroshi could no longer bear the anger in his heart and ordered the newly replenished 144th Regiment to launch an attack on the Tonggu Chinese garrison position under the cover of the 55th Mountain Artillery Battalion...

The 200th Division had been ready for a long time. Heavy artillery, tanks, armored vehicles, and heavy machine guns opened fire at the same time. In just 10 minutes, the 144th Regiment was crippled. The 3500-man Regiment had just been replenished, but less than 1000 people escaped. go back!

Several consecutive blows stunned Takeuchi. He had lost more than half of his three main infantry regiments. If the enemy launched a full-line attack at this time, the 55th Division would be in danger!So he immediately ordered the contraction of the defense line, withdrew the remaining 5000 infantry and more than 3000 technical troops behind the third line of defense, and then immediately reported to the No. 15 Army Headquarters, requesting "tactical guidance"!
Lieutenant General Shojiro Iida, commander of the No. 15 Army, immediately ordered the 56th Division, which had completed its rest after the landing, to rush to Tonggu; at the same time, he asked the 18th Division, which had just landed shortly, to seize the time to reorganize its team and prepare to become the second echelon; The 33rd Division, which had been seriously damaged in the Degong battle, was being replenished in Yangon at this time and was temporarily embarrassed.
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That afternoon, Li Junhao, who was instructing the troops to train in Mu La, received a report on the war situation. After reading it, he happily called back and said: General Dai Anlan, good fight!The first step of the battle plan is achieved, be careful to close the net!

Dai Anlan called back: The pockets have been packed, just waiting for the Japanese 56th Division to come!

Li Junhao did not call back, but ordered all units to be ready to attack at any time.

He knew very clearly that under the current circumstances, as long as the Japanese army did not suddenly increase its troops by three or more divisions and be able to "airborne" into southern Myanmar within two days, the war situation would be irreversible - the fate of the enemy's 55th and 56th Divisions. It’s already been decided, it just depends on whether the next battle of annihilation will be fought resolutely!
The battle before him was a litmus test to see whether he, the commander of the theater, could control his troops well!

(End of this chapter)