The embarrassed commander of the Yamada Seiichi Division had lost his former grace. His soldiers carried him and ran southward for several kilometers, and finally escaped from the Chinese encirclement.
However, there were not many soldiers left around them. There were only a few dozens of them, and all of them were covered with dirty faces and looked in a daze, as if they had lost three souls and seven souls.
Yamada Seiichi was already desperate. At least two-thirds of the Fifth Division were surrounded by Chinese people. Only a handful of them could escape. The most important thing was that there were still pursuers behind them, and they were chased and beaten along the way. Countless soldiers died, and the entire fifth division was completely destroyed.
After the 50th Division and the 200th Division merged, some people were left to continue to encircle and suppress the trapped Japanese troops, while the rest began to pursue the escaping Japs. At the same time, they were preparing to capture Taunggyi in one go and completely cut off the opponent's retreat.
This extremely urgent battle situation made Fengwen Yamashita, who was far away in Mandalay, so angry that he almost fainted on the spot. If something goes wrong in Taunggyi, Mandalay will be completely surrounded by the Chinese and will never be able to recover. It is also a matter of time before it is breached.
At this moment, the Fourth Division, which had been silent and silent, suddenly jumped out. They had set up ambushes on various highway arteries and waited for the pursuing Fifty Division.
As soon as the two sides came into contact, the Fourth Division caused a lot of trouble to the 50th Division with its mines, cold guns and steady attack. Many soldiers who were not well prepared died in the sneak attacks and ambushes of the Japs.
The losses coming from the front line made the division commander Gao Xijiang furious. He immediately ordered the troops to concentrate their forces and led the troops himself, hoping to fight the Japanese to the death.
But the little Japs in Osaka were very smart and were not greedy after taking advantage. They immediately turned around and retreated while fighting. At the same time, they collected the defeated troops of the Fifth Division and stabilized the battlefield situation again.
Although the people under his command are usually indifferent, they are still very up to date at critical moments. The commander of the 4th Division, Masaro Baba, can finally feel proud this time. Now he is like a savior, taking the initiative to lead the army to stop the enemy and gather the remaining troops, and He reported the situation to his superiors very actively and explained why he had been hesitant to move forward. It was because he had long seen through the Chinese people's tricks and did not fall into the trap.
Of course, the headquarters knew the virtues of the other side, but due to the current situation, they had to express their approval and support for their actions, and ordered them to continue to defend Taunggyi and repel the Chinese attack.
However, the Osaka soldiers have always been naughty. They know that if they want to go head-to-head with the current Chinese army, they will definitely suffer losses.
So the troops of the Fourth Division began to withdraw from the battlefield in an orderly manner. By the time Gao Xijiang and Gao Jiren came with the main force to prepare for a decisive battle, they had already disappeared.
In fact, most of the people in the Fourth Division do not want to go head-to-head with the Chinese. After all, judging from the entire battle situation, they are already at a disadvantage, and there will be no reinforcements. If they stay here, they will only follow in the footsteps of the Fifth Division. It is better to return to the Taunggyi area and rely on terrain fortifications to block the enemy's attack to slow down the enemy's southward offensive.
Although this is indeed the case, there are always some people who are not clear-headed and unwilling to admit it. Even many soldiers of the Fifth Division think that these actions of the other side are a sign of cowardice. If the Fourth Division had not cowered and missed the opportunity, they would have It would not end in a disastrous defeat, including Lieutenant General Yamada Seiichi who escaped from death.
After returning to Taunggyi, he immediately sent telegrams to both the Mandalay headquarters and the base camp. He first outlined the entire battle process, admitted his fault and helplessness, and then accused the red deer of their cowardly behavior with deep disgust.
However, Yamada knew very well that after encountering such a serious failure, he could not survive alone. The best outcome after returning to the country was to go to a military court. Only death might retain some dignity, so that his family at home could live a better life.
Then this senior Japanese military officer chose to end his life with a short knife after bathing and changing clothes on a quiet night. A few days later, the Fifth Division he was interested in also had to cancel its formation due to excessive troop losses. The remaining more than 3,000 soldiers were temporarily incorporated into the Fourth Division's combat order.
At this point, the Fifth Division, which had committed numerous crimes in China and was known as the "Steel Army" of Japan, was finally completely defeated by the Chinese and was eventually lost in the long river of history.
In the Japanese defense zone of Mandalay, the piercing air raid siren had already sounded. The ground was full of soldiers running around, the fire snakes sprayed by anti-aircraft guns intertwined in the sky, and the roar of countless fighter planes resounded throughout the sky.
The US military bomber formation has begun to carry out endless bombings on the city of Mandalay. Every day, more than ten tons of aerial bombs are dropped on the heads of the little devils.
In view of the situation at hand, Yamashita Fengfumi had to move the headquarters to an air raid shelter and live like a gopher every day. In the following days, the situation on the battlefield took a turn for the worse for both warring parties, who were still evenly matched.
First, in the Kyaukse Plain, the Yinlun force, which had high hopes, was almost completely wiped out. Then, the Fifth Division failed to encircle it and was beaten into disarray. Taunggyi was in danger and had to rely on the least promising Fourth Division. Stabilize the situation.
In the past two days, the attack frequency of the Honorable Third Division on the front has become higher and higher. From the initial feint attack, it gradually turned into a real attack with real swords and guns. The terrifying bombardment never stopped. The Japanese army could only support but could not Ways to open up the situation.
Just as Yamashita Fengwen was worried, another piece of bad news reached Mandalay - the Chinese army that killed his Yinlun troops in the Kyaukse Plain actually appeared in the lower reaches of the Irrawaddy River.
It only took them two days to cross a distance of more than 300 kilometers. When the Japanese scouts discovered that the enemy had already crossed the river, the dark troops continued to advance southward at an extremely fast speed.
Since Yamashita Fengfumi placed most of his troops on the defense line on the upper reaches of the Irrawaddy River, the rear was empty of troops. The armored brigade whizzed past into an uninhabited land, completely cutting off many Japanese strongholds such as Keshijie, Simikon, and Jiujiang. Mandalay’s connection with southern Myanmar.
This is not over yet. After controlling the downstream area, Chen Jize once again sent his troops southward, aiming directly at Meiktila, the second important town in central Myanmar!
This place is a logistics storage point for the Japanese army in central Myanmar, and it is also an extremely important military location. If captured here, it will not only cut off the retreat of the Japanese army in Mandalay, but also use its supplies to supplement its own consumption. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone.
On the third day, the armored brigade did not delay at all. Except for the maintenance personnel who dealt with the malfunctioning vehicles and some wounded soldiers, the rest continued to move forward, aiming to capture Meiktila before the Japanese could react.
When this news was sent back to the Japanese army in Mandalay, the entire Japanese army was stunned. Yamashita Fengwen stood dumbfounded. Unexpectedly, the Chinese people actually came a long way and hit their rear areas directly.
It was like a loud slap to the face, it was no longer a question of whether it hurt or not, it was totally going to kill him.
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