Age of Rebirth

Chapter 95 Siege of Mandalay

From Mandalay to Ye'an and Indo, if the British marched mechanized, they could arrive there in at most two hours, and if they marched quickly, they could reach them in more than five hours. It would take more than six hours at the fastest to get there by running on two legs, and the Japanese army during World War II had not yet reached the level of mechanization.

But when the British army rushed to Ye'an and Indo in good spirits, a regiment of the [-]rd Division of the Japanese army's vanguard had already established a position here. Speaking of which, Francis, the British chief of staff, sent to defend When the combat group set off from Mandalay, they didn't have enough confidence in their hearts. These British troops were driven all the way to Mandalay by the Japanese from Thailand and southern Myanmar.

Now, they are ordered to go back to fight the Japanese army. From the commander to the ordinary soldiers, they finally escaped to death. Those who were reluctant in their hearts, it took more than three hours just to assemble the troops in Mandalay , dawdling in the car, suspicious all the way, the car drove like a bullock cart, from Mandalay to Ye'an, Indo, [-] kilometers away, walked for six or seven hours, and the [-]rd Division of the Japanese Army The vanguard of the regiment, relying on two legs, insisted on running ahead of the British and occupied Ye'an and Indo.

A regiment of more than [-] troops faced two divisions, three brigades, and two tank regiments of tens of thousands of troops from the British and Burmese troops. Launched the attack and quarreled for more than an hour. The spirited British soldiers were just opposite Ye'an and Indo, watching the Japanese soldiers frantically building fortifications, and they were very busy. [

At about two o'clock in the afternoon, the British army was in the offensive to recapture Ye'an and Indo. With two tank regiments as the guide, they covered the shrinking British soldiers and rushed towards the Japanese positions.

A few tanks were blown up, and Japanese soldiers were hit with light and heavy machine guns and 100-type rifles. More than [-] people were killed and injured, which led to the first British attack. , They didn't listen to the commander's greeting at all. Such an effect surprised the Japanese soldiers who were preparing all the jade pieces.

Attacking again, it left hundreds of corpses and returned. After a few rounds, tens of thousands of British troops and more than 100 tanks were repelled one after another by more than 4000 Japanese soldiers with light weapons. At around four o'clock in the afternoon, the main forces of the 97th Division and the [-]th Division of the Japanese Army arrived.

The cannons were set up, and there was a burst of bombardment at the British army gathered on the opposite side. The British army was knocked out at that time, and their positions began to become chaotic. The British soldiers who retreated all the way had experience. , the large Japanese army came up, so they still had the heart to recapture Ye'an and Indo, and they would collapse if they didn't do it right away, and they already deserved the reputation that Alexander called the elite.

In fact, the Japanese army that rushed to Ye'an and Yinduo was no more than 5, while the British army had more than 7, and their weapons and equipment were twice as strong as those of the Japanese. The Japanese army of the division was completely sure to be defeated on the front lines of Ye'an and Yinduo. However, it is strange that more than [-] Japanese soldiers launched a full-line assault on more than [-] British troops.

The Japanese army's vicious attack frightened the British, and they retreated in a hurry. The Japanese army, who had survived the victory in the northward march, clung to the British, chasing and beating them all the way, mingling with the British army. Step by step approaching the direction of Mandalay, the Japanese army couldn't eat the British, and the British army couldn't get rid of the Japanese, so they got entangled in two strokes.

The British army lost their fighting spirit and was eager to get away and ran back to Mandalay. They were beaten so hard by the Japanese that they couldn't even fight back. Behind the rolling battle group, it was only a three-day journey. It was the main force of hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops dispatched to Southeast Asia. , The black pressure came over, Francis ordered one order after another, ordering the British troops to take a step-by-step blocking method, and retreat while fighting.

Strange to say, the British seem to be suffering from "Sunphobia". There is no army that can take on this important task. They just ran to Mandalay with one mind. Two days later, the flames of war finally reached the outskirts of Mandalay. Of the more than 7 British troops sent to Ye'an and Indo, only more than 5 of them ran back to Mandalay, and the Japanese troops who pursued them lost only a few thousand people.

Francis disobeyed Alexander's military order, and the Ye'an and Yinduo defensive clusters organized by Francis collapsed. They ran back to Mandalay with lost troops and armor, and finally heard the "rumbling" guns of the Japanese. The city fell into panic. The British ruled the Indochina Peninsula for decades, and fought a battle that stunned the world. The British Empire lost all its face in Asia.

At this time, the Japanese troops besieging Mandalay consisted of only two divisions of more than 40 people, and the British and Burmese troops in Mandalay City numbered more than [-]. If the British had the courage and courage to fight again, more than [-] Thousands of people can drown the Japanese army, and Francis can no longer organize another, even a small-scale counterattack, which can change the current passive situation.

But the British were completely panicked. An atmosphere of despair and terror, like a plague, spread among the British soldiers. Just as Francis reported the dangerous situation in Mandalay to Alexander, some British commanders were already secretly Discuss and negotiate with the Japanese to surrender. Can such an army still fight?

For two full days, the four 10,000+ British and Burmese troops in Mandalay did nothing. They had no guts and courage. They did their best to counterattack the Japanese army across the board, and did not build fortifications around Mandalay. , To make preparations for long-term stand-by, Francis is at a loss, and the troops have reached the point where they are out of control.

Almost all the British pinned their hopes on the results of their commander-in-chief, General Alexander's trip to China, and waited for reinforcements to fall from the sky to break the siege of the British. Perhaps, since the Opium War, they have never looked at China seriously The British, who are not Chinese, have never hoped that the Chinese will come to them as soon as possible to block the Japanese for themselves.

That is to say, if you don't make preparations to hold on, and you don't have the courage to break through, the tens of thousands of Japanese troops in Myitkyina have become a high-voltage line that the British dare not touch. It was able to stop the more than 40 British and Burmese troops who were desperately fleeing for their lives, and during this period, Alexander did not even issue a clear order to the troops.

In this way, in the chaos of the British people in the city and the six gods, the most precious two days passed, and the British did nothing. This is really the strangest phenomenon in the history of world wars. More than 40 soldiers were killed Surrounded by the Japanese army for many days, it turned out to be a posture of waiting to die.

Two days later, the main force of the Japanese Southeast Asian Dispatched Army appeared on the line of Ye'an and Induo, joined together at Kyaukme, and rushed towards Mandalay like a flood. The Burmese army has become the shackles in the urn, and the British finally faced catastrophe. They paid the due price for their own timidity and avoidance of war, and for their own harm to others.

General Genzaburo Ito, Commander-in-Chief of Japan’s Southeast Asian Expedition Army, stood proudly on the hillside north of Kyaukme. Under his feet, there were several Japanese troops rolling forward. From the telescope, Mandalay could already be seen. Outline, Yanzaburo Ito at this time, has never been so proud, there are at least a dozen commanders at the first level of the Imperial Theater.

But which one has created its own brilliant record, encircled more than 40 enemy soldiers at the cost of less than [-] casualties, and swept across the Indochina Peninsula in a few months, hitting the British as if they were dying, and the leaves were blown away by the wind. I had to be a little surprised that this rich land was in my own hands, and it belonged to the territory of the Great Japanese Empire. This kind of pride in expanding the territory made Ito's eyes feel hot.

Major General Nitta, the chief of staff of the dispatched army, looked at his commander in admiration. It is undeniable that the commander is a genius. With such a record, those guys in the navy can't catch up with flattery. The commander is destined to remain in the history of the empire forever. Of course, there was an element of luck in this. A senior staff officer ran over with a telegram, but Nitta waved his hand to stop him. He didn't want his subordinates to disturb the general's fugue at this moment. [

After reading the telegram, Nitta asked respectfully: "Commander-in-Chief, the front-line troops called to ask if they should immediately launch a full-line general attack on the British in Mandalay City? I think that our big Japanese imperial army is now imposing. Ruhong, with a high fighting spirit, occupying Mandalay and destroying the British should be a breeze, so I personally think that we should immediately order the troops to attack Mandalay!"

General Ito Gensaburo smiled inscrutablely, shook his head slightly, and said: "Mr. Nitta, the ancient Chinese art of war is sometimes more powerful than cannons and machine guns. The British have lost their fighting spirit. Attack immediately. It will cause the desperate British to fight back, and increase unnecessary casualties to the troops. If the order continues, all troops will immediately form an encirclement around Mandalay, build positions, surround and not attack. The British will to resist."

In fact, Ito was too cautious and cautious, and overestimated the fighting will and morale of the British. If the Japanese army attacked Mandalay immediately, the more than [-] British and Burmese soldiers in the city would definitely not last for a day. Just wait for a lot of prisoners to be taken and surrendered!

Chief of Staff Nitta, after listening to Ito's high-level remarks, he did not doubt the decision of the Commander-in-Chief at all. Just as he was about to leave, Ito stopped him again and said, "Mr. Is it called a soldier who surrenders without fighting?" Nitta shook his head blankly, why did the commander-in-chief ask such a strange question, inferior Chinese people, what else is worth learning from our Imperial Japanese generals?

Gensaburo Ito smiled reservedly, and said gently to the bewildered Chief of Staff Nitta, "Nita-kun, go and deliver my order!" You will witness a miracle.

(To be continued)

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