Age of Rebirth

The first thousand and ninety-nine chapters look farther

In order to reassure Alexander, Tang Qiuli did not keep secrets from Alexander, Stilwell and Chen Cheng about the troops leaving Tengchong and entering Burma that night. He specially invited these three people to watch the spectacular scene of the troops leaving.

The scene of the car twitching, Ma Xiaoxiao, the big troops setting off was amazing. It was the first time for Alexander and Stilwell to see the whole picture of the independent division troops in battle state. When the tanks and gun carriages of the brigade came, the engine The loud sound of "rumbling" raised dust all over the sky, and the ground trembled. Under the night, a long dragon composed of various vehicle lights meandered on the mountain road in the west of Yunnan. is amazing.

Alexander and Stilwell watched all this intently. What they were more concerned about was the level of equipment of the independent division. The independent division was directly under the various units of the corps and had already fully formed a mechanized unit. , tank and gun carriage, the two looked at each other.

Seeing the astonishment in each other's hearts, judging from the generals of the two countries with the top ten military forces in the world at that time, the current equipment level of the independent division is not inferior to that of European countries, and it is a generation beyond the Japanese army The above is even more than the equipment level of the United States and the United Kingdom, which are stationed in Southeast Asia. [

The reason why Tang Qiuli did this was to give Alexander enough confidence and hope to believe that the independent division could break the siege of Mandalay, so that the British generals who were encircled would not have the idea of ​​surrendering to the Japanese. It is certain that today's spectacular scene will soon reach the commander of the British army in Mandalay.

Under the watchful eyes of Alexander, Stilwell, and Chen Cheng, ten infantry brigades, three tank brigades, four artillery brigades, and two air defense brigades of 10,000+ troops directly under the independent division crossed the China-Myanmar border, Disappearing in the jungles and mountains of northern Burma, Alexander was relieved, and the big stone that weighed him down fell to the ground. God bless, the Chinese finally made a move!

After the troops of the Independent Division disappeared from sight, Alexander didn't even have time to say hello to Stilwell, so he hurriedly drove all the way back to his residence in Tengchong, and informed the bitter people in Mandalay of the great news as quickly as possible. Francis, who is struggling to support the crisis.

"Chief of Staff Francis, at 15 o'clock tonight, the troops of Tang Qiuli, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Government, have begun to enter Burma. Ten brigades of its vanguard, about [-] people, have set off from the Tengchong area, passing through Ruili and Mang in China. City, after crossing the Yunnan-Myanmar border, directly from Nankan in northern Myanmar to Mandalay, according to Tang Qiuli's combat plan, the squadron will launch an attack on the Japanese troops surrounding Mandalay in three days at the latest. Immediately organize your troops and prepare to break through the encirclement of the Japanese army."

Alexander is very optimistic. He has witnessed the equipment level of the independent division and the high morale of the soldiers. As long as the elite division of the squadron reaches the outskirts of Mandalay, it will definitely attract the full attention of the Japanese. The encirclement circle will be torn open, and Tang Qiuli's troops are not just this one. According to him, at the same time this evening, more than 50 troops from three regiments entered from different directions. In the Indochina Peninsula, the goal is Mandalay.

According to Tang Qiuli's words, Alexander obtained a piece of information that Tang Qiuli was going to have a decisive battle with the main force of Japan's Southeast Asian troops around Mandalay. In the telegram, Alexander's mind was completely exposed, which was to preserve his strength and passively avoid war.

"Chief Francis, once the squadron has exchanged fire with the Japanese, you should immediately organize your troops to evacuate Mandalay and get rid of the current situation of being surrounded. Then, the army of the British Empire should follow the squadron and decide Do not arbitrarily decide the direction of retreat, the specific tactic is to stick closely to the side of the squadron and avoid any contact and engagement with the Japanese army.”

At this time, Alexander was still thinking about it. As long as the Chinese and the Japanese army exchanged fire and the two sides became entangled, the Japanese would not be able to deal with their own troops. It's not easy to deal with. With Tang Qiuli's strength, he can definitely repel the Japanese army. In this way, the British Empire's army will be able to turn the corner, and the Japanese army that invaded the north will be repelled, so there is no need to retreat to India.

To put it bluntly, Alexander did not dare to retreat in the direction of Myitkyina, nor did he dare to join the independent division troops in a decisive decisive battle with the Japanese. He just wanted to use these Chinese soldiers as shields. The soldiers of the British Empire hid in the Behind the independent division troops, the idea is very good. If Tang Qiuli is full of troops and goes straight to Mandalay, Alexander's strategy will work.

Alexander used the troops of the Independent Division as his spearmen. How could Tang Qiuli give him this opportunity to steal and cheat? What he showed Alexander was the troops directly under the three brigades of the Corps. The purpose was to let this trickster The Briton believed that he was going to rescue Mandalay.

The other troops directly under the Corps, after leaving Tengchong, went directly north, passed through Sudian, Guyong, and Pianma in Myanmar, entered Myanmar, and formed a situation of encircling Myitkyina. The seven brigades directly under the Corps, with 10,000+ people, dealt with the temple Shouyi's more than 9 Japanese troops not only have superior military strength, but also have several times more heavy firepower.

At the same time, all of Tang Qiusheng's Sulu mobile corps crossed the border from Jinghong in southern Yunnan to the Salween River in eastern Myanmar. After crossing the river, they occupied the Taunggyi and Lawu lines. The Japanese army in the direction of Le was on alert.

Feng Jiwu's entire Niangziguan garrison corps entered the front line of Bomurabang in northern Laos from Jinping in southern Yunnan, took the opportunity to occupy Vientiane, and de facto occupied Myanmar. The main task of the Jiwu Corps is to link up with the Tang Qiusheng Corps in eastern Myanmar, and run through a front that stretches thousands of kilometers from eastern Myanmar to Bangkok, Thailand.

Ma Chaoyang's Southeast Mobile Corps was divided into two groups, one from Pingxiang, Guangxi, through Lang Son in northern Vietnam, with the goal of Hanoi, Vietnam, and the other from Hekou in southern Yunnan, through Vietnam's Yuechi, with the goal of Hanoi, and then, The Ma Chaoyang Corps deployed its defenses along the Beibu Gulf and did not participate in the Burmese campaign.

In this way, the four main field corps assembled by the Independent Division on the southern border of China, more than [-] troops, took advantage of Alexander's strong invitation to send troops to Myanmar, and all entered the Indochina Peninsula, the sphere of influence of the former United Kingdom and France. This is the Republic of China It was the only time in history that the squadron went overseas to fight. As a result, the situation in the Indochina Peninsula and even Southeast Asia fell under Tang Qiuli's control.

Judging from Tang Qiuli's strategic layout in the Indochina Peninsula, the three corps of Tang Qiusheng, Feng Jiwu, and Ma Chaoyang lined up from eastern Myanmar to southern Thailand, dividing the Indochina Peninsula into two halves. The Japanese army, only the local armed forces and the puppet army supported by the Japanese, Edong is the main force of the Japanese Southeast Asian Army to encircle Mandalay.

This kind of strategic layout makes people very puzzled. There is an obvious loophole. The troops of the independent division did not control the narrow strip of the Malay Peninsula, nor did they control the throat of the Strait of Malacca. In central Myanmar, the main force of the Japanese army encircling Mandalay left an obvious gap.

If the war in Myanmar is unfavorable, the Japanese army can withdraw to Sumatra and Kalimantan along the Malay Peninsula, and board a ship in Yangon, and withdraw to Taiwan or the mainland from the Andaman Sea through the Strait of Malacca, so as to escape the danger.

Just before going abroad to fight, at a secret military meeting of commanders above the brigade level of each corps of an independent division, several commanders, including corps commanders Tang Qiusheng and Feng Jiwu, had doubts about Tang Qiuli's strategic layout. With the attitude of the independent division, with the troops assembled on the southern border of China in front of the independent division, in Burma, it is fully capable of conducting several major battles with the Japanese troops sent to Southeast Asia. [

Even if the Japanese army cannot be completely wiped out, at least it can severely damage the Japanese army and expel the Japanese army from the Indochina Peninsula. The commanders of Tang Qiusheng, Feng Jiwu and Ma Chaoyang, although they do not believe that this is the negligence of the division commander Tang Qiuli or fatal Wrong, and I am also puzzled by this. What is the combat goal of the independent division troops entering the Indochina Peninsula without annihilating the effective forces of the Japanese army?

Those brigade commanders obviously meant the same thing. However, there were a few corps commanders present, and it was not their turn to speak, so they paid attention to this matter. Seeing how the division commanders would persuade them, some of them were more anxious The brigade commander is eager to try. He has fought for many years, from the north to the south. The commanders at all levels of the independent division have got rid of their blind obedience to the division commander. Many times, they will put forward their own different opinions and suggestions.

Tang Qiuli and Chief of Staff Chang Feng looked at each other, and said with a smile: "Everyone, the situation in the Indochina Peninsula is already predictable. Our eyes should not be limited to this. The southern part of the Indochina Peninsula, across the South China Sea, is The traditional sphere of influence of the Americans, if we completely annihilate the Japanese troops sent to Southeast Asia in Burma, we will definitely pay a huge price, and Japan’s military power in Southeast Asia has been completely lost, who will touch the interests of the Americans for us?”

Everyone was thinking and digesting Tang Qiuli's words. Such a long-term strategic plan was beyond the imagination of senior commanders including Tang Qiusheng. The commander's strategic vision has shifted from the Burmese battlefield to the South Pacific. Island, focusing on the sphere of influence of the Americans, isn't it a replica of the division commander's Indochina Peninsula strategy?

From this point of view, the Americans in southern Southeast Asia will not be in a better situation than the British in the Indochina Peninsula.

The islands in the South Pacific are Tang Qiuli's next strategic plan, and the first step in connecting this plan is to resolve the war in Burma as perfectly as possible, and let the Japanese and the British fight to the death, and the key to triggering this series of reactions point, in Myitkyina in northern Myanmar.

(To be continued)

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