Age of Rebirth

Chapter [-] An Unusually Smooth Breakthrough

Alexander immediately telegraphed Tang Qiuli the news that the British army had begun a breakout operation, "Dear Vice Chairman Tang, my Mandalay troops have left Mandalay on time at two o'clock in the morning today. Le Breakout, on behalf of all the soldiers of the British Empire troops stationed in the Indochina Peninsula, I would like to express my gratitude to you for your effective work in helping the British army break out. In addition, I have another question. Your troops, Are you on the way to Mandalay to pick up?"

After reading Alexander's telegram, Tang Qiuli breathed a sigh of relief, his expression relaxed, and he leaned back comfortably on the chair. From the afternoon of June [-]th to now, he was also exhausted. On the one hand, he paid attention to Myitkyina On the battlefield, on the other hand, you have to fight with Alexander to master the rhythm of the battle. Now that the British have begun to break through, everything has become a definite number, and no one can change it.

With the arrival of this telegram, the tense atmosphere in the frontline headquarters of the Bhamo Independent Division in northern Myanmar suddenly relaxed. Chang Feng, the chief of staff, asked him, "Master, how should we return the telegram to Alexander?" Tang Qiuli He smiled and replied: "Ignore him, the British are on the verge of attacking and have no choice but to attack. It's too late for Alexander to try any tricks."

"Also, send a telegram to Yu Guanghan. If you find that the Japanese army is setting up an ambush along the road leading to Myitkyina, don't intervene. If necessary, you can evacuate the existing position and give it to the Japanese army. You should help the British once. Help the Japanese, order the troops to attack Myitkyina, the battle in the urban area of ​​Myitkyina must end after two hours.[

In the headquarters, there was a burst of relaxed laughter. Tang Qiuli looked at the mountain tiger on the side and said, "Huzi, do you want to have some game? Let's have a midnight snack, have a few drinks, and wait for General Alexander's greeting." News? Why do I feel so hungry?" Shan Hu smiled "hehe", he knows his good brother since he was a child, this proposal is the ease after everything is under control, often at this time, the little Qiu's appetite is surprisingly good.

As long as the British start to break through, this will be an inextricable knot. Tang Qiuli can conclude that Ito will definitely carry out an ambush somewhere leading to Myitkyina. This preparation time was given to Ito Yanzaburo by Alexander. In this way, Alexander's hesitation gave Ito ample time for more than two hours to adjust the deployment.

Chief of Staff Koizumi didn't understand Ito's deployment. He asked, "Your Excellency, why didn't we stop the British at the gate of the city when they just started to break through the siege? Well, if the British were to collapse, wouldn't our plan for total annihilation become a pursuit?"

Ito said to Koizumi very gently: "Mr. Koizumi, you don't understand. The ancient Chinese art of war is really unpredictable. Among them, there is a strategy that is suitable for the current battlefield situation. Annihilating the enemy can avoid the heavy casualties caused by our storming Mandalay, and it can also deal a sudden blow to the British on the way to break out of the siege, don't forget the saying that the trapped beast will fight."

"As for what you're worried about, you didn't take into account the suddenness of the attack, the British army's eagerness to break out of the encirclement, their panic, and the complex terrain of Libao. On the way to Myitkyina, there is no one more suitable for ambushing the British army than Libao. The terrain is different, a long canyon, dense forests on both sides, and rolling hills, it is not a problem to hold a million troops, let alone more than [-] British who are eager to flee?"

"Order to set up an ambush and leave a small number of troops. When the British army breaks through, they must fight desperately. However, other troops are not allowed to reinforce this direction. The troops in the other three directions bypass Mandalay and follow the British army northward. Immediately block all routes for the British army to flee after the glass protection is fired!"

After Ito Yansaburo finished speaking, he seemed to be talking to himself with a look of wisdom in his hands: "Isn't this another catch in a jar, let's wait and see!"

The vanguard of the [-]th Mechanized Division of the British Army, Whiteman Royal Tank Battalion. Dozens of tanks fired machine guns at a time, and then the follow-up troops spread out to the two wings at the breakthrough. The Japanese army suffered heavy casualties, but the strength of a wing was no match for the British tanks and infantry.

In less than three to ten minutes, a large opening about four kilometers wide was torn open. Lieutenant Colonel Whiteman immediately grabbed the walkie-talkie, "Report to Your Excellency Chief of Staff, our Sharp Knife Battalion has broken through the Japanese army in the north of Mandalay. The blocking position opened a three-kilometer-wide gap, and the troops could follow up immediately. In addition, it was discovered that there were large-scale Japanese troops on the two wings, and they were closing in on the breakthrough."

Lieutenant Colonel Whiteman's voice was somewhat trembling because of his excitement. He was trapped for ten whole days, and once he escaped from the trap, he was like a bird that hadn't come out of the cage.

Gensaburo Ito was also insidious enough to take out a regiment of more than 3000 soldiers as sacrifices, giving the British the impression that the breakthrough was opened after fierce fighting, and ordered the troops on the northern two wings of Mandalay to go to the northern breakthrough with great fanfare. The false movement in the direction created the illusion that the Japanese army was eager to block the breakthrough. Everything was to convince the British that their breakout operation had achieved unexpected results. In fact, it was to send the British to another place of death. drive away.

Major General Francis, in the city of Mandalay, was anxiously waiting for the news of Whiteman's Sharp Knife Battalion. Suddenly, a burst of unusually intense gunfire sounded in the night sky of Mandalay. In his heart, he didn't expect to break through without firing a single shot.

But the sound of the guns was too intense. Could it be that they encountered heavy Japanese soldiers?Or, is it simply a Japanese trap?All kinds of speculations bit Francis' heart like a poisonous snake. In just three to ten minutes, he felt as long as decades. Whiteman's call made him change from extreme worry to extreme ecstasy. This instant change made his heart beat wildly almost uncontrollably, and he felt a little dizzy.

Francis asked with difficulty: "Lieutenant Colonel Whiteman, are you sure?" After receiving an affirmative answer, Francis suppressed his inner excitement and ordered: "According to the plan, start to break through." The soldiers of the Burmese army seemed to be waiting for the verdict of God in the dark, their faces were cloudy and uncertain.

The intense gunfire in the northern part of Mandalay, they felt no less than Francis, the atmosphere of tension and uneasiness mixed with support permeated among the soldiers, and suddenly received an order to break out, the morale of the soldiers of the British and Burmese soldiers was very high. Excited, it seemed that a door to India opened in front of my eyes.

Four 10,000+ British and Burmese troops, according to the order of battle, poured out of Mandalay like a flood of embankments. It should be said that Francis' command ability far exceeds that of Alexander. The troops are well organized and orderly, which is not easy in itself. Don't forget, this is a troops that has been surrounded for ten days, morale is extremely low, and they are retreating all the way from Yangon and Bangkok, eager to escape.

After most of the troops left Mandalay, Francis took the staff of the general headquarters and left the city that had been tortured by fear and despair for ten days. The two wings were responsible for the task of blocking the encirclement of the Japanese army. Originally, no army was willing to undertake such a task.

But the British troops who were successfully broken through to boost their morale, in this case, also came with courage. The troops of the four brigades spread out to the two wings, mustered up their courage, and fought the Japanese army cracklingly. It is strange to say that the Japanese It wasn't as difficult to deal with as imagined. After a few charges, it never launched an effective attack again.

The breakthrough was still firmly in the hands of the British army, and with this momentum, the Japanese blocking troops were repelled, and the breakthrough was expanded to a width of eight kilometers. After more than two hours, at around 11:[-] in the morning, Francis received a report that the Ninth and No.[-] Infantry Divisions, which served as the rear guard, had left the battle and moved towards the main force after repelling the pursuing Japanese army. [

Francis looked up to the sky and sighed, "God bless, it finally came out." No wonder he sighed that it was a miracle in itself that more than 40 people could break through the siege of more than [-] Japanese troops at the cost of very few casualties. "Immediately send a telegram to Commander-in-Chief Alexander. In a word, the encirclement has been successfully broken out, and the troops are rushing towards Myitkyina."

Francis felt that the good news should be told to the distraught Alexander. No matter how incompetent this old guy is, he was able to invite the Chinese Tang Qiuli to send troops to open up Myitkyina, the passageway to retreat westward to India. This is a great contribution. In other words, without Alexander's trip to Tengchong, there would be no breakout operation in Mandalay early this morning.

On a mountain in the northeast of Mandalay City, Yanzaburo Ito put down his binoculars and looked at a long dragon composed of various vehicles in the darkness before dawn, swimming rapidly towards the north, with an old fox at the corner of his mouth. With a smile like a smile, the British successfully broke through the encirclement in the direction he arranged and in the way he hoped. At this moment, the British commander should be very proud, right?

Ito said to Chief of Staff Koizumi without turning his head: "Koizumi-kun, order the pursuing troops to bite the British who broke through the siege tightly, don't let their brains think about other things, and inform Ribao's ambush troops that the fish have already entered the net. , Koizumi-kun, we should go too, oh, yes, arrange an army, after dawn, prepare to receive the British prisoners, the prisoner-of-war camp should be set up in Mandalay!"

(To be continued)

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