Age of Rebirth

Chapter [-] Strategic Encirclement

Ito Gensaburo didn't want to quarrel, let alone have any conflict with this well-established chief of staff, and he couldn't act like a godfather to the previous chief of staff. Even within the large system of the army, Takemura Yamaichi also fought I am not a faction, not to mention, I still suspect that this guy is a supervisor sent by His Majesty the Emperor.

Ito suppressed the unhappiness in his heart, and said as gently as possible: "Mr. Wucun, I have fought against the Chinese devil Tang Qiuli several times. I still know him well. The motives for this sudden withdrawal from Mogok, which has been built with strong fortifications, are questionable."

"Our current best strategy is to stick to the defense line of the Libao Grand Canyon, and then mobilize elite troops to face the independent division troops coming from the east. That is the imperial army's confidant. You know, there is no such thing as Mandalay. The terrain conditions that can be used like Ribao, and more importantly, with the current state of our dispatched troops, we can only determine one main direction of attack."

In fact, Ito has clearly felt that a huge danger is sending troops to Southeast Asia. Tang Qiuli's deployment is very clear. From the north and east of Burma, he will form a strategic encirclement of the imperial army. The troops of the two corps of the independent division who came here are probably going to capture Mandalay and cut off their retreat to the Malay Peninsula. [

He made a plan to attack the independent division in the east first, just to avoid this kind of danger from happening to him, but can this guy, Wucun, believe it?Can you understand me?

As soon as Wu Cunshan put away his haughty expression, his words carried a warning meaning, "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, you shouldn't forget the order from the headquarters, right? Today is October [-]rd, and there are still ten days left, shall we To complete the Burmese battle plan approved by His Majesty the Emperor, one should not look forward to the future and worry about gains and losses. Otherwise, the battle opportunity will be delayed, and the base camp will not let go of accountability. The direction of Myitkyina, no matter from which point of view, should be an opportunity worth trying."

Ito couldn't hold back anymore, you bastard, you mobilized the troops behind my back, I haven't argued with you yet, and you're being aggressive here, how can Tang Qiuli be so kind?Give Mogok to our imperial army for nothing?Pig brain?So, he said coldly: "Mr. Wucun, I am the Supreme Commander of the Empire's Southeast Asian Expeditionary Army. All military operations cannot be carried out without my permission. Of course, I will bear all the consequences by myself. I will definitely not Put the blame on others, Takemura-kun, please rest assured."

The so-called words are not speculative, and the conversation has reached this point. In fact, the conversation has already collapsed. Wucun is greedy for the big fat piece of Mogu, and wants to send troops to occupy it. Ito is afraid that he will fall into Tang Qiuli's trap , and would never let a single soldier out of the defense line of the Libao Grand Canyon. The opinions of the two were diametrically opposed, and the conversation could no longer proceed.

It was the result of restraint and scruples on both sides. Ito was so depressed that he almost vomited blood and wanted to kill someone. In the history of the empire dispatching troops to Southeast Asia, there was no chief of staff who dared to confront the president face to face. The commander challenged, Wu Village is No.1, and this Wu Village is just a guy who is very happy and obsessed with flattery. He sacrificed the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the dispatched army to cater to this inexplicable order from the base camp.

In Takemura Yamaichi's view, Gensaburo Ito, who can be called a veteran of the Japanese army, is already old and belongs to the figure of the last century. His tactics and tactics are rigid, and being cautious is a euphemism. In fact, he is a coward. Such a person is not worthy of commanding such a huge imperial army, let alone fulfilling His Majesty's grand wish of conquering Asia.

Neither Ito Yansaburo nor Takemurayama spoke any more. The atmosphere in the headquarters was oppressively frozen. The staff officers in the room did not dare to breathe. It is commonplace to be broken into pieces.

"Report to Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, the troops who have left Mogok have reported that the enemy troops on the front line of Mogok have completely withdrawn, and re-established defensive positions on the line from Mengmi to Baldwin mining area," a staff officer came in with a telegram in his hand, loudly report to.

Ito took the telegram and scanned it quickly. His face was so gloomy that it almost dripped, but he felt relieved. He glanced at Wu Cun with flickering eyes and said, "Mr. Wu Cun, this is Tang Qiu, the devil of China. Mogok is the battlefield he gave us, let us carry out this battle according to his will."

Wucun didn't speak, but Ito clearly saw a trace of disapproval in his eyes, and Ito ordered: "Send my order, the defenders on the front line of Ribao Grand Canyon, without my order, no one can only enter and occupy Mogok. Mr. Takemura, I will truthfully state my opinion to the headquarters and ask for a delay in ending the Burmese campaign."

Ito turned and left, but he didn't see it. Takemura-san's eyes were full of irony. He came from the base camp, and, before leaving, he went to the office of the chief of staff to accept the opportunity in person, the battle plan approved by His Majesty the Emperor , How can it be that you, Yan Saburo Ito, can change it if you say it?Not knowing the heights of the sky and the depths of the earth, he could predict the result and hit a big snag.

On the evening of October [-]rd, Tang Qiuli in Mengmi received a report from the reconnaissance troops, "For three days and a whole day, no large-scale Japanese military operations were seen. Only a small group of Japanese troops left the Li defense line and entered Mogok. And went out to scout Meng Mi's front line, and then quickly retreated."

Tang Qiuli looked at the telegram and said to Tang Qiusheng with a smile: "Brother Qiusheng, this Ito seems to have learned his lesson. He has become smarter if he doesn't eat a piece of fat as big as Mogok!"

Tang Qiusheng nodded and said: "From this, it can be concluded that the current strength of the Japanese army under Ito is not enough to launch a decisive attack. Ito is still recovering. In addition, our counterattack in the Baldwin mining area, The beating was so hard that the old devil Ito had lingering fears, fearing that he would fall into our scheme to lure snakes out of the hole and lose Libao, a natural line of defense."

Tang Qiuli nodded and said, "Brother Qiusheng, your analysis is absolutely correct. There is also a possibility that Ito, relying on Libao's defense line of the Grand Canyon, defended with a small number of troops to resist our attack, and freed up his hands to mobilize the existing To deal with our two corps troops from the east, with Ito's experience and experience, it is not difficult to see that Feng Jiwu and Ma Chaoyang are their deadliest threats. If Mandalay is lost, Ito will really The retreat was cut off."

Tang Qiusheng nodded, and then said: "If Ito really does this, the Feng Jiwu Corps and Ma Chaoyang Corps will face a Japanese attack with more troops than themselves. Even if they can drag the main force of the Japanese army to the Salween River, their own losses It is bound to be huge, and, in central Burma, there will be an endless battle with the Japanese army, which runs counter to your campaign vision, and this problem must be resolved.”

Tang Qiuli muttered, "Ito, I hope you will retreat in the face of difficulties. It's not that you can't be killed, but that it's still useful to keep you." Tang Qiusheng didn't hear clearly, and asked, "Teacher, what are you talking about?"

Tang Qiuli smiled without answering, and said to Chief of Staff Chang Feng: "Order, Le Yiqin's Southern Flying Group will bomb the Japanese Army's Libao Grand Canyon defense line continuously, creating the illusion that we are about to launch a full-scale attack. "Tang Qiusheng asked, "The Japanese army didn't take the bait, will the troops immediately return to the front line of Mogok?"

Tang Qiuli shook his head and replied: "No need, just put that piece of meat under Ito's nose, he can resist the temptation, other senior Japanese generals may not, our bomber dropped bombs on the Japanese army's head at the Libao defense line." , to see if Ito dares to concentrate his forces to go to the Eastern Front, and if he dares not go to the Eastern Front, Mogok must be swallowed. [

Tang Qiusheng smiled, and said, "You, you have figured out the temper of the Japanese commander." Tang Qiuli smiled secretly, "It's not the temper of the Japanese commander, but the mind of that shitty emperor. The defense agreement, how can it prevent Emperor Hirohito from panicking, he wants to solve the Burmese issue first, and then turn around and deal with the Americans, that's right."

Tang Qiuli picked up the phone, "Pick up the artillery commander Zheng Yong." "Is it Zheng Yong? I order that all artillery units on the front line be under your command. The artillery group must be able to cover the front line of Mogok in all directions," put it down After the phone call, he said to Tang Qiusheng: "Brother Qiusheng, are you sending an engineering unit to our position in Mogok to feed the Japanese, only artillery, I'm afraid it won't be thorough?"

Tang Qiusheng sighed and shook his head, and said, "You, you are ruthless." After finishing speaking, he went out to arrange for the engineering troops, and Tang Qiuli said to Chang Feng, the chief of staff, "Chang Feng, send a report to Feng Jiwu immediately. The Feng Jiwu Corps and the Ma Chaoyang Corps immediately accelerated their advance and assumed the posture of capturing Mandalay, and gradually compressed the small number of Japanese troops who were blocking the two Corps along the Salween River back to the Mandalay area.”

From the perspective of the situation in the entire Burmese battlefield, the independent division, from the north and east, is like the upper and lower jaws of a vise. Strategically, it has formed a strategic position against the Japanese troops under Ito's troops who are firmly guarding the line from Ribao to Mandalay. The difference in the huge encirclement is that the independent division troops in the north are stationary, while the troops in the east are rapidly closing the upper jaws of the vise.

Such a situation, even those who have no military common sense, know that the Japanese army under Ito is being attacked from two directions, and there is a danger of being surrounded on the line from Libao to Mandalay. Tang Qiuli used this method This kind of oppressive situation made Ito Genzaburo retreat in the face of difficulties, and went to Luzon to find trouble with the Americans, but I don’t know if Ito appreciates it?

I have done everything I need to do, and it depends on Ito's next move. He suddenly remembered that Chutian, who was commanding the troops to wipe out the small group of Japanese troops that had infiltrated into the rear, had passed two days and did not know the result of the battle. How, those annoying flies, biting from time to time, really uncomfortable.

"Yang Ketian! Yang Ketian!" Tang Qiuli shouted, Yang Ketian hurried in, followed by a slender figure.