Age of Rebirth

Chapter 110 A sad day

On the night of June [-]th, the Libao Grand Canyon battlefield, which was full of gunfire, flesh and blood, and smoke, finally calmed down temporarily. The night wind could not disperse the pungent smell of blood. On the tens of kilometers long front, there were bloody corpses of British soldiers everywhere, as well as cars and tanks emitting thick smoke and dark red flames.

It was a bloody day. Of the 10,000+ British and Burmese troops that entered the canyon, only 7 or [-] survived. The artillery fire of the Japanese army continued to bombard the British troops in the canyon from noon. The rain of migratory locusts plowed the land in the canyon over and over again, and the planes of the Japan Southeast Asia Dispatch Air Force also came to help.

Under the joint attack of the Japanese air-ground fire, this day was the saddest day for the troops of the British Empire stationed in the Indochina Peninsula. Hundreds of thousands of people crowded into such a small area with a radius of only tens of kilometers. The Japanese pilots did not even need to aim. A single heavy air bomb could cause casualties to dozens of British soldiers.

The Japanese pilot, who had no threat of anti-aircraft firepower, flew the plane almost to the high treetops. The Japanese pilot grinned grinningly, and looked at the panicked British soldiers running to avoid him, and pressed his finger on the button of the machine gun. , Three tongues of flames spewed out from the nose of the aircraft, and the body of the hit British soldier, like salted fish on a frying pan, twitched violently and fell down. [

The Japanese bomber pilots hovered over the most crowded places with the most British vehicles. When an aerial bomb was dropped, thick smoke and flames rose from the ground. After the fireworks dissipated, a huge deep pit appeared in front of them. The British soldiers around the pit have disappeared. There are only broken limbs and scattered clothes, which proves that there were dozens of British soldiers here.

According to the Army Aviation Corps of Japan’s Southeast Asian Expedition Army, Commander of the [-]st, [-]rd Bomber Wing, Junichi Matsushita, he later boasted to his friend, Commander of the [-]th Fighter Wing, Akihiro Miyazaki, “On the afternoon of June [-]th, In the five-hour bombing operation of the wing, each bomber took off four sorties on average, and the number of British pigs killed was more than ten times that of your fighter wing."

This may be a rumor, but on this day, the casualties of the British army seem to support Mr. Matsushita's statement, and it also explains the blows and heavy losses suffered by the British army during this breakout operation.

Gunpowder smoke, pits, guns and supplies scattered everywhere, the bodies of soldiers of the British Burmese army everywhere, burning vehicles everywhere, and the thick smoke even covered the stars in the night sky in southern Myanmar. This day, one afternoon In that time, the Anglo-Burmese army had more than 5 casualties, among which six were senior officers above the major general level who were killed.

From 10,000 o'clock in the afternoon, after the Japanese artillery stopped for the first time, the [-]+ Japanese soldiers ambushing on both sides of the Libao Grand Canyon launched a fierce attack on the battered and dizzy British troops bombarded by the artillery fire. Throughout the canyon, the sound of guns and shouts of killing can be heard endlessly, and fierce fighting is everywhere.

The British troops serving as the rearguard were under even greater pressure. The Japanese army’s intentions were obvious. They desperately squeezed the British troops into the canyon so that the troops who were in ambush could take advantage of the artillery fire. Ito Yansaburo’s idea was to take advantage of the advantage The terrain, unexpected ambushes, and pre-set artillery positions, under the premise of paying very few casualties, wiped out most of the British army, and ended the Battle of Libao within three days.

Next, it's time to go north to Myitkyina to meet with the troops of the notorious Chinese devil Tang Qiuli. At this time, Ito no longer wants to adopt Mandalay's method. Put it in the wild, there was an ambush before it, and there was a chase after it. The British had already lost their way. Any army that was ambushed on the way would quickly bring great panic to the soldiers.

Ito doesn't even want prisoners of war. In his opinion, these British who put down their weapons are useless. In addition to providing a lot of food to feed them, they also involve many troubles, such as the management of prisoners of war. However, Ito knew that these junior officers and soldiers under his command, even some senior officers, had blood in their bones.

In case of uncontrollable mass shooting of prisoners of war, it is nothing. It is a practice of the imperial army to dispose of things that are used and waste resources on the spot and cleanly. As for the "Geneva Convention", it is a lie It's just that the civil servants of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should blame themselves for making trouble for them.

Therefore, Ito's order to the attacking troops was, "Use the fiercest firepower to inflict maximum damage on the British, and do not accept any form of surrender by the British army. I do not want to see a large number of prisoners of war pouring into the The prisoner-of-war camp, with its ugly mouth open, is waiting for us to come up with precious food to feed these British people who have lost their military integrity."

In a word, the encircled British were exterminated, and the Japanese army faithfully carried out the orders of His Excellency Commander-in-Chief. Madera, a small village with only a few dozen households, was the British Burmese who served as the rear guard. The fifth mixed brigade of the [-]th mixed brigade blocked the Japanese army that was in hot pursuit. It was an important tactical support point on the defensive front and was the main point of defense for the first regiment of the fifth mixed brigade.

Commander Gerdman was ordered to stay here. Most of his regiment were British soldiers, and a small part were Burmese soldiers. After the battle broke out, the combat effectiveness of the Burmese soldiers was even stronger than that of the British Empire. This made Captain Gerdman overjoyed. The bravery of the Burmese also aroused the morale of the British soldiers. With this brute force, the first regiment lasted until more than four o'clock. A regiment of more than 2000 soldiers suffered casualties. More than 300 people.

Under the artillery fire and air bombing of the Japanese army, the overwhelming artillery and bombing almost overturned the ground, and the field positions temporarily built by the British and Burmese soldiers were razed to the ground. After the explosions and gunpowder smoke dispersed, there was no longer any With the sound of returning gunfire, Captain Gerdman woke up slowly, with a long wound cut by the shell fragments on his head.

Enduring bouts of dizziness and severe pain, Gerdman barely poked his head out of the mud, and saw a scene he will never forget. Not far away, four or five hundred British and Burmese soldiers in his regiment, Among them, more than half were wounded, who were driven by Japanese soldiers and climbed up a mountain ridge with difficulty.

"Being captured and entering the Japanese prisoner-of-war camp may be the best destination for these soldiers. Finally, they can save their lives, which is better than being bombed and bombed into pieces that cannot be found. We have fulfilled our military responsibilities," Jie said. Captain Deman thought painfully, and at the same time, he felt relieved after being weak for a while.

At this moment, the sudden burst of gunfire woke up Gerdman, who was so weak that he was about to faint. Right in front of his eyes, rows of captured British and Burmese soldiers were knocked down by Japanese machine guns. The military machine gunner gritted his teeth, with bloodthirsty madness and pleasure on his face. Dozens of light machine guns aimed at the four or five hundred prisoners of war who had put down their weapons.

This is a naked massacre, the Japanese are massacring prisoners of war!Geldman passed out all of a sudden, and when he was awakened by the cool night wind, it was already a starry night, with sporadic gunshots everywhere, piles of burning fires, and will-o'-the-wisps flickering in the night Same red light.

Around Gerdman, there was not a single living soldier, and there were frozen corpses everywhere. Perhaps, he was the only survivor on this blocking line. Under the cover of night, Gerdman ran back and was led at once to the cave where Chief of Staff Francis was hiding.

Francis is struggling to support the situation, mobilizing all the troops that can be contacted as much as possible, and stubbornly blocking the Japanese attack. Finally, God bless, the Japanese did not break through the blocking troops on the rear line, nor did they trap the troops trapped in the canyon. The troops were all eliminated, but the British army paid a huge price for this. Francis successively filled in five divisions that were fairly well-organized before blocking the crazy momentum of the Japanese army. [

From the breakout of Mandalay, in the middle of the night, Francis was so old that he was almost frighteningly old. Amidst the roar of guns and bombs, amidst the flying bullets and the crazy howls of Japanese soldiers, he wrote one letter after another to Alexander. Commander, send an emergency telegram. As for the number of casualties in the troops, he has absolutely no control.

In every telegram that Francis personally dictated, there are these words: "The Japanese air-to-ground firepower combined to carry out a devastating blow to our troops, and then, the infantry carried out uninterrupted assaults. After a day of fierce fighting, the troops suffered heavy casualties. Most of the tanks and tanks were destroyed by Japanese artillery fire, and they will soon be exhausted. If there is no reinforcements, the entire army will be wiped out in two days."

"I have to inform the general with the saddest heart. Since our army is in desperate situation in Libao, if Tang Qiuli's independent division cannot be rescued in time, in order to avoid unnecessary sacrifices of soldiers , I will consider laying down my arms and surrendering to the Japanese commander. Of course, I may become a sinner of the British Empire if I make this decision. will do so.”

Francis was heartbroken and frightened by being beaten by the Japanese. He had a mirror in his heart. If Tang Qiuli's troops really came to the rescue, then Ribao at this moment should be when the Chinese army was fighting fiercely with the Japanese, all day and night. By the time, Tang Qiuli's troops should have arrived by now?Since the squadron did not come, if the fight continues, hundreds of thousands of young people from the British Empire will turn into cold corpses.

Francis even drew up the letter of surrender himself, and waited for Alexander to send it in person, confirming his guessed telegram, "The Chinese Tang Qiuli did not send troops in the direction of Mandalay at all." Negotiated surrender.

At this moment, the bloody and wobbly Colonel Gerdman was brought in by the guards. Francis was taken aback. According to what he knew, the Fifth Mixed Brigade of the British and Burmese Army, which was serving as a blocking mission in the rear, had already Annihilated, survived for a lifetime, why, there is still a regiment leader who survived the disaster?

(To be continued)

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