Age of Rebirth

Chapter [-] Jedi

General Genzaburo Ito, the commander of Japan’s Southeast Asian Dispatch Army, saw that the British had begun to break out of Mandalay according to his plan. He could have predicted that June [-], [-] would be the last time for the British in the Indochina Peninsula. In the days of existence, after this battle, the situation in the Indochina Peninsula can be settled. He has already considered the issue of establishing a prisoner-of-war camp.

After instructing the chief of staff, Major General Koizumi, he said half-jokingly, "Mr. Koizumi, the management troops of the prisoner-of-war camps should not be too short! Also, pick some good-tempered soldiers and officers." After finishing speaking, he shook his head, as if Some helplessly said to themselves: "There are so many British prisoners of war, how much food do I have to feed? It is really a headache."

Almost at the same time, Alexander, who received the news of Francis' successful breakthrough, immediately sent a telegram to Tang Qiuli, "Dear Vice Chairman Tang, I would like to inform you of the most exciting news. I just received my Chief of Staff, Major General Francis' telegram, after fierce fighting, the British Imperial Army in Mandalay successfully broke through the encirclement of the Japanese army, and has repelled the Japanese pursuit force. At present, it is rushing towards Myitkyina. I hope your Excellency Troops, join us in victory on the way! Congratulate me!"

Alexander's telegram was full of optimism and unconcealable pride. After reading the telegram, Tang Qiuli couldn't help shaking his head and said, "Successful breakout? God knows, maybe it's the beginning of the disaster for the British. Chang Feng, from now on Since then, all contact with Alexander and the Chongqing government has been severed on the grounds of a radio failure.”[

"Next, it's time for the British to experience a scene they will never forget. Alexander, who is in a hurry, will do his best. We don't need to go to this muddy water again. Let's be quiet. Also, order Chu Today, the special warfare detachment closely monitors all the battles that occurred along the retreat of the British army, and the battle situation needs to be reported at any time."

The British who broke out from Mandalay were rushing towards a huge trap. On the one hand, the formation of this trap was due to the insidiousness and cunning of Ito Genzaburo, the supreme commander of the Japanese army; The bait thrown, in Myitkyina in northern Myanmar, opened a door to India, attracting the British to go north desperately.

In order to let the Japanese and the British fight in this bloody battle in Myanmar, Tang Qiuli did not know how much brains and tricks he did, and finally came to the current situation, a bloody battle between the British army and the Japanese army Inevitably, no matter which side is killed or hurts each other, it will be beneficial to Tang Qiuli. At this time, it is not easy to intervene in this matter.

Even Bhamo couldn’t stay here. In desperation, Alexander ran directly from Tengchong to Bhamo to find Tang Qiuli. Even Chairman Chiang in Chongqing couldn’t bear the pressure from the British and Americans. Forcing myself to send troops, at this time, it is the best policy to play and disappear appropriately. After a few days, everything is a foregone conclusion, and then calmly clean up.

Regardless of whether Tang Qiuli used conspiracy or tricks, the British and the Japanese inevitably encountered each other, and they became a pawn in his strategic layout in Southeast Asia. What was lost was that they should not have appeared in this land The military power in the world and the benefits of the fisherman are his biggest gains from this sleight of hand.

The British troops withdrawing to Myitkyina did not have much confusion when the Japanese ranks were chasing after them. Francis used the fact that he successfully broke through the encirclement in the early morning to establish a solidarity among the hundreds of thousands of British and Burmese soldiers. Prestige, he constantly ordered the retreating troops to use all available terrain to block the pursuing Japanese army step by step.

And Genzaburo Ito, whose purpose was to drive the British into the huge ambush circle set up by Riho, did not order the pursuing troops to attack the retreating British troops with all their strength, but kept an appropriate distance and pressure to let them The British cannot retreat with too many thoughts. There seems to be a tacit understanding between the British and the Japanese.

One chasing, one retreating, the British rearguard troops responsible for blocking, can always repel the Japanese troops chasing after them, and buy relatively plenty of time for the main force. This allows Major General Francis, who is commanding the retreat, to have a new perspective on the combat effectiveness of his troops. It is estimated that by noon on June [-], the [-]th Mechanized Division of the vanguard of the British Army had already arrived at the mountain pass at the southern foot of Libao.

There were too many British troops retreating. The vanguard arrived at Libao, while the rear troops were still fighting and retreating on the front line of Meimiao. The distance between the head and the tail was dozens of kilometers. For some unknown reason, a large number of retreating troops unexpectedly mixed in. There are more than 2 expatriates, many of whom are still driving private cars and carrying a lot of belongings, which also makes the retreat much slower.

After dawn, when Francis found out, the expatriates and soldiers were mixed together, and military vehicles, tanks and civilian vehicles were crowded together, and you all wanted to run forward as soon as possible, and the road leading to Myitkyina was not wide. The crowd was tight, and Francis immediately understood that these expatriates should have been evacuated to Mandalay from Yangon and Bangkok along with the rout.

I don't know through what channels, I learned the time of the troops' evacuation, mixed with the troops, and withdrew from Mandalay together, such a messy scene.Francis was furious at the time. He no longer had the time and energy to pursue the responsibility of the commander of the unit. If such a crowded and chaotic situation did not change, even the Japanese infantry could not catch up.

In case the Japanese army planes arrived and a burst of bombs dropped, it would be a massacre. He immediately ordered the headquarters guard group to act as a military police. The soldiers were eager to retreat, and after receiving the order, they did not care about the friendship of their compatriots.

One after another, civilian vehicles, together with the gold and silver on them, were thrown down. From time to time, a puff of black smoke rose from the mountain stream. Most of the property that most British people had looted in the Southeast Asian colonies for many years suddenly disappeared, causing With howling and cursing, Francis became the most vicious curse object of these subjects of the British Empire.

Francis, who had just solved the traffic problem, received a bad news. The Japanese army chasing after them suddenly stepped up their attack. Not only did they invest several times more troops, but also a large number of tanks appeared. After the heavy shelling of the Japanese army's heavy artillery, the task of ending the mission began to become difficult.

After receiving the report, Francis instinctively sensed a huge danger that was slowly approaching. The Japanese army, uncharacteristically, stepped up their attack. Is there any conspiracy inside? Looking at the terrain ahead, a winding road The trail is hidden in a long canyon with no end in sight. Although the peaks on both sides are not very high and steep, the woods are dense, the strange rocks are jagged, and there is danger everywhere.

Reminiscing that breaking out in the early morning seemed to be too smooth, Francis ordered the avant-garde [-]th Mechanized Infantry Division to stop advancing, send troops, and find other roads. They have all come here. Francis would rather waste more time on the road than Walk in front of this grand canyon that seems to be bursting with murderous aura.

Ito, who was chasing after him, became tenacious when he saw the resistance of the British army, and there were signs of stopping his advance, he smiled coldly in his heart, knowing that the British commander, after a few hours of dizzy and hastily retreated, finally I realized that something was wrong, but it was too late, even if the British turned around now, it would be too late.

Ito calmly ordered: "Immediately order the air force of the dispatched army to take off and bomb the British army on the front line of Libao. The pursuit troops will continue to increase the attack intensity. Be sure to rush all the British into the canyon."

The Japanese army dispatched chariot troops and launched the most violent attack on the British army that was blocking the rearguard since their retreat. This time, the British army couldn't bear it anymore, and they all retreated under tremendous pressure. Now, Francis Even if he found another direction that could bypass Ribao, Ito would not give him the opportunity and time to change the route. Besides, this is the only passage leading to Myitkyina within a radius of tens of kilometers. [

Only a few kilometers away from the mountain pass at the southern foot of Riho, Lieutenant General Takahashi Eemon, who was ordered to temporarily command the Japanese army's ambush troops, put down his binoculars, and said to the staff around him: "Order all artillery units to enter the combat state immediately," followed by Following Takahashi's order, on both sides of the mountain road extending tens of kilometers in Ribao, hundreds of Japanese artillery guns slowly raised their ferocious muzzles. The Japanese soldiers holding the guns stared at the gun in the commander's hand. little red flag.

Francis couldn't help hesitating any longer. The British rear guard, unable to bear the huge pressure from the Japanese army, retreated step by step, and gradually moved closer to the main force, huddled together. Go through the canyon at the fastest speed, and no troops will retreat or stop no matter what obstacles they encounter," Francis said with a livid face, and he decided to take a gamble, and the bet was that there would be no Japanese ambush ahead. .

Lieutenant General Takahashiemon, watching the British soldiers pouring into the canyon like a tide, trimmed the mustache on his lips with satisfaction, "Yasai, Commander Ito has a clever plan, the British have entered the net, Send a report to Your Excellency Commander, the plan is going well."

The narrow mountain road was crowded with soldiers of the British Burmese Army running fast, various military vehicles and tanks, among the crowded crowd, strenuously rushing from left to right, the atmosphere of tension, fear and suffocation shrouded the canyon Among them, after more than 30 minutes, 10,000+ British and Burmese soldiers had been swallowed into the canyon, and the tails left outside the canyon were being fiercely attacked by the Japanese army, which intensified the tense atmosphere.

Francis had been forced to abandon his car, and under the protection of a dozen guards, he was crowded in the crowd of soldiers. Suddenly, there was an abnormal sound among the noisy voices. In the clear sky, there was a burst of The strange whistling sound, from far to near, irritated people's skin tight. A staff officer looked up to the sky, and suddenly screamed "Bombardment!"

(To be continued)

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