Age of Rebirth

Chapter One Thousand One Hundred and Four

Shouichi Terauchi, who received the order to occupy Myitkyina, has completed the task assigned by the base camp since he drove away the British army, but the feeling of being alone in northern Myanmar made him frightened, especially on the Chinese side of the border. The independent division unit not only frightened him, but also frightened him to the bone.

Tang Qiuli, who had beaten him back and forth, might suddenly come to Burma at some point. Temple Uchi Shouichi asked himself, how could he resist the full-scale attack of the independent division, and the strength and equipment were not at the same level.

Since China's southern dispatched army escaped from Savage Mountain, although they have received a large amount of air supplies from the Southeast Asian dispatched army, the number of soldiers has not been replenished. Terauchi Shouichi has asked several times, but has not received a reply from the base camp. This makes him feel that , I have been marginalized, and the current darling of the empire is Yanzaburo Ito, the dispatched army in Southeast Asia.

He just hoped that Ito Yansaburo would be able to eliminate the British army besieged in Mandalay as quickly as possible, and his mission of blocking the British army's westward retreat to India would come to an end, and the importance of Myitkyina would also be over. It no longer exists, and there is no need for his remnant soldiers to stay in northern Myanmar, which is very close to Tang Qiuli. [

But Ito, this guy, never did anything to Mandalay. Terauchi Shouichi instinctively felt that this was not a good thing, but Ito, this guy, didn't listen to his advice at all, and was suddenly attacked by Liu Hongzhang's brigade directly under the Independent Division. From the initial panic, Terauchi Shouichi calmed down.

He is very clear that he can only defend Myitkyina, which is an important pawn in the strategic plan of the Indochina Peninsula of the empire. To put it bluntly, sending the remnants of the army in the south of China to occupy Myitkyina is just an extra insurance for Ito Genzaburo's siege of Mandalay.

Today, Myitkyina is being attacked by the independent division. Although it is only in one direction, Shouichi still smells danger. Tang Qiuli is opening the passage to India for the British troops who were encircled in Mandalay. So, next, are the British going to break out from Mandalay?Shousuichi in the temple broke out in a cold sweat because of his own thoughts.

If this is the case, keeping Myitkyina has become the most important part of the imperial Burma campaign. Ito will never sit back and watch Myitkyina be lost, and he has hope of survival, whether it is an important pawn or an abandoned one.Terauchi Shouichi must think about the future and destiny of himself and more than 9 subordinates.

Therefore, after being attacked, instead of sending troops to block the gap, he shrank his position and defended closely, which brought great trouble to Liu Hongzhang, who started his first battle abroad.

As soon as the gunfire in the northern part of Myitkyina stopped, Terauchi Shou immediately sent an urgent telegram to Ito Yanzaburo, notifying his judgments and thoughts one by one to Ito Yanzaburo, who was nominally equal in status but actually had a much higher weight than himself. Saburo, and once again expounded his point of view, the British army is very likely to break through from Mandalay, and Myitkyina cannot be lost.

At the same time, he ordered the troops stationed in Hukang River Valley, Xinbeiting, Mengguan and other places to immediately shrink and move closer to Myitkyina, so as not to be defeated by the independent division troops one by one. All the troops scattered in a row may become the target of Tang Qiuli's attack.

Just when Terauchi Shouyi was in a hurry, adjusted his deployment, and asked Ito Yanzaburo for help, Liu Hongzhang's first brigade was ready to attack again. After receiving the order from the division commander, Liu Hongzhang made careful deployment. , he is definitely not easy.

In what he said to Chief of Staff Ren Zhaoquan, "This time, our first brigade went to the meeting alone, which is also called an arrow piercing the heart. Anyway, it is a dangerous job."

However, he remembered a sentence from the division commander Tang Qiuli's telegram, "Don't be impatient, fight steadily, move slowly, use superior firepower, consume a lot of the Japanese army's vital forces, and attract the Japanese army to compete with me in the north of Myitkyina repeatedly. The time is subject to the progress of your brigade's battle."

That is to say, our first brigade is still the main attacking force. Liu Hongzhang suddenly felt that the burden of going abroad for the first battle was on his shoulders. In fact, Tang Qiuli’s scheduled time to occupy Myitkyina was a whole day and night. Now, it is just the beginning. The troops of the other four brigades haven't made any moves yet. Since Siuchi Shouyi has reduced his troops, let Liu Hongzhang's brigade follow up.

Two hours later, in the northern part of Myitkyina, which had been silent for a long time, fierce artillery sounded again. Liu Hongzhang's brigade, led by a brigade of tanks, dispatched three infantry regiments, from the Japanese positions that had been bombed into ruins, broke into the densely populated area. The second defensive position of the Japanese army on the northern outskirts of China.

First, the brigade belonged to two heavy artillery regiments, and each regiment belonged to a field artillery battalion. Hundreds of artillery pieces of various calibers, a burst of overwhelming artillery fire, let the Japanese soldiers once again taste the taste of the ground trembling and pieces flying horizontally. After three or ten minutes of shelling, The bunkers flew into the air, the trenches were razed to the ground, and almost all the superficial fortifications of the Japanese second line of defense were destroyed.

When the dizzy Japanese soldiers came out of the ground, hundreds of tanks roared, their muzzles spewed out tongues of flame, and dust rolled up all over the sky, like a moving metal wall, rushing toward the enemy in unison. Looking at the Japanese army's position, the Japanese soldiers were dumbfounded.

If the Southern Expedition Army with a well-organized system can use large-scale artillery groups to block firepower, it can also cause a certain degree of threat and damage to the tank troops and reduce the pressure on the infantry positions. , I ran out after a narrow escape, not to mention throwing away all the heavy weapons, a squadron can have two or three Type [-] heavy machine guns, which is already very good.

Although he received a large amount of supplies, the heavy weapons could not be transported by plane. Terauchi Shouichi managed to put together an artillery regiment, but it was equipped with 42 [-]-type infantry guns. Such light guns were of Soviet origin. The refitted armored tanks of the Independent Division at the Dingbian Armory Factory are like scratching an itch, with at most a piece of paint rubbed off.

More than 600 tanks formed a diamond-shaped attack formation, just like this. The firepower of the Japanese counterattack could not stop the attack of the tanks. Behind the tanks were two regiments of infantry. The second line of defense organized by Terauchi Shouichi in the northern part of Myitkyina , collapsed in an instant, and a brigade of Japanese troops that had been thrown into this line of defense suffered more than one-third of the casualties. Facing the huge pressure of the first tank brigade, they had to abandon their positions, retreat into the urban area, and pulled out a pair of street fighting soldiers. Stance.

Liu Hongzhang resisted the impulse in his heart and ordered the [-]st Tank Brigade and the [-]st and [-]nd Infantry Regiments to occupy the existing positions, and the [-]rd and [-]rd Infantry Regiments to join the attack sequence and expand the breakthrough. , The defense system of the Japanese army in the northern part of Myitkyina was immediately smashed to pieces, almost opening the door.

The first brigade was fighting in full swing. Chu Ziye, the commander of the sixth brigade, who was waiting for an attack order in the southeast of Myitkyina, his eyes were burning with anxiety. Time, I looked at my watch twice, and muttered, "The teacher is just biased, why is he so good at playing with a big voice, and I, Chu Ziye, just sit on the bench?" [

Liu Hongzhang moved the brigade command post to a small village in the outskirts of Myitkyina. As soon as the radio station was set up, he ordered, "Send a report to the division commander immediately. After an hour and a half of fighting, the Japanese army retreated into the urban area. Our brigade The northern suburbs of Myitkyina have been occupied, and the Japanese reinforcements have not yet been seen. Now we are planning to break into the urban area and develop in depth. I would like to ask the division commander for instructions on whether this plan is sound or not!"

Tang Qiuli listened to Chang Feng's report, thought for a while, and said, "Yes, the Japanese army in other directions will be mobilized to the northern breakthrough point after the pain in the temple. In Myitkyina, only the northern direction is suitable for large-scale armor. The group assault, Liu Hongzhang has enough brains, he can be regarded as using the first tank brigade wisely."

Chang Feng said: "Master, do you want to remind the first brigade that the urban area is not suitable for tank combat, so slow down the speed of attack, and also, heavy artillery and rocket launchers cannot be used, losing the advantage of firepower, the strength of the first brigade, Compared with the Japanese army, it is very thin."

Tang Qiuli nodded, and said: "In the name of the teacher, order Liu Hongzhang to make a flat line and put on a posture of attacking the urban area. Don't think too much about it. When it's time to use heavy artillery, you must use it. Ask him to use artillery. Blow open the northern gate of Myitkyina step by step, instead of using the blood and lives of soldiers."

Chang Feng glanced at Tang Qiuli, and seemed to want to say something. Myitkyina is the central city in northern Myanmar, and its population must be at least 10,000+. If a heavy gun goes down, it will be destroyed. Residents and Japanese soldiers will fly together. God?

It has been several years since he followed Tang Qiuli, and it was the first time he heard such an order from the teacher. Tang Qiuli knew what Chang Feng was going to say, so he just said lightly, "This is not in the country. The residents of Myitkyina have long been the accomplices of the Japanese army, otherwise, Shouichi Terauchi would not be able to recuperate in northern Burma for a few months with his remnant army defeated, and I am afraid that the local residents hate the Chinese more than the Japanese.”

Chang Feng admitted that the teacher told the truth. After the troops entered Burma, the locals refused to guide the squadron, even if they offered money. Say more, immediately give the order to the first brigade.

Tang Qiuli's thoughts were exactly where Liu Hongzhang was in trouble. He complained to Chief of Staff Ren Zhaoquan, "Zhaoquan, you said that this little devil hid in a private house, and our cannons and rocket launchers are all out of use. Shouldn't the soldiers be allowed to compete door by door? If this continues, the casualties will be huge! Time does not allow, let's fight slowly!"

At the moment when he was worrying, the order from the teacher came, and Liu Hongzhang immediately shouted excitedly: "Zhaoquan, order the heavy artillery regiment and the rocket artillery battalion to move the position forward immediately, and blow me out!"

(To be continued)

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