After landing, Balsos quickly disposed of the parachute bag behind him to check the equipment, and ordered the surrounding team members to observe the terrain, selected a high ground that was convenient for defense, and established a defense line. At the same time, he turned on the radio to contact the soldiers airborne nearby to join him. .
The more than 900 paratroopers airborne this time were composed of the first and second detachments of the Merrell Commando. As the commander of the first commando detachment, Balsos was fully responsible for commanding this airborne assault mission. The top priority now is to gather the troops as soon as possible and start attacking the enemy according to the planned plan.
Each airborne team is equipped with a liaison officer. After a successful landing, they will get in touch with the operation commander's radio as soon as possible and move to the assembly point as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, this airborne landing did not suffer too many enemy attacks. Most of the Japanese troops were still concentrated at the main position of Inthanon Mountain, and there were not many enemy troops in the airborne area. It only took two detachments of soldiers an hour to complete the attack. The gathering is complete.
After counting, except for the 78 casualties caused by enemies or accidents during the airborne landing, other soldiers and equipment were intact. Soon they established a preliminary line of defense on the spot and began to clear out nearby Japanese troops.
The transport plane that returned not long after returned to the airborne area again and sent the second batch of paratroopers to the battlefield. However, their location was not on Balsos' side, but more than 20 kilometers away from the latter. There is also a large number of Japanese military activities on another traffic artery. According to aerial reconnaissance, it is estimated that it is the enemy's sick and wounded hospital or logistics equipment storage point. Anyway, it must be an important stronghold.
At the same time, the transport aircraft also brought more ammunition and support equipment, such as M2 heavy machine guns, M2 60mm mortars, etc...
As an individual support firepower, the 60mm mortar is lightweight and portable, has a fast rate of fire and is powerful. The 60mm mortar, which can be operated by at least one person, has become the first choice for commandos in jungle operations and is also their only artillery support. It must be used Deployed in large numbers in airborne troops.
As the saying goes, the two assault forces were like a pair of big pliers that pinched the soft spot of the Japanese army in Nuanshan. When Jiro Kimura learned that the enemy was on the flanks and rear, he panicked instantly. The enemy actually made a detour to the rear right under his nose!
He could not understand paratrooper airborne tactics for the time being. The Japanese army itself lacked the preparation and use of airborne troops, and their only airborne force was extremely short-lived.
The Japanese army's short-lived and weak airborne brigade even caused a lot of jokes on the battlefield. During the battle on Saipan, the Japanese army's airborne troops had been changed to infantry operations and the entire army was wiped out. The naval airborne troops were completely wiped out in the Battle of Okinawa, thus ending the short and inactive career of the Japanese airborne troops.
Therefore, Jiro Kimura did not expect that the enemy would use airborne tactics to deal with them. He was still hesitating whether to retreat at first, but now it's better. If he doesn't retreat, he will be trapped here.
However, the current situation is no longer one that they can withdraw if they want. It will take a lot of time for more than 10,000 troops to pack up and leave. The fighter planes in the sky are always watching, giving no chance to breathe.
Soon the 200th Division and the 50th Division were encircled, and continuous artillery fire once again covered Yinta Nuanshan. The leading offensive troops had reached the foot of the mountain, and under the cover of artillery shells and bombers, they had begun to attack the mountain. But surprisingly, the resistance on the position was not as fierce as expected.
Kimura Jiro thought for a long time, but finally couldn't withstand the pressure and chose to retreat. He left a regiment of troops in the rear. However, because his Nuanshan defense line extended relatively far, it was too reluctant for just two to three thousand people to defend this place. Not to mention that the opponent's troops were several times larger than our own, and they still had the assistance of artillery and fighter planes. These little devils, at worst, were left to die, and they were all victims of the retreat cover of the large forces.
At around two o'clock in the afternoon, the 30th Brigade encountered the second echelon of the airborne troops on the way to Lamphun, and the two sides immediately started fighting.
Gunfire and artillery shells exploded in the ranks of both sides. The little Japanese were eager to escape and did not want to fight too much. They just wanted to get through this place quickly. The second echelon of paratroopers was clearly blocking the way. How could they let you leave unharmed? .
Within two hours, the first echelon of the airborne troops also engaged the Japanese 29th Brigade. Both sides were working hard, and the fighting was extremely fierce.
Jiro Kimura did not let all the troops evacuate to one place. The main reason was that the target was too large and would easily become a target for US military aircraft. He dispersed the troops into small groups and moved southward in small groups, mainly towards the south. The two cities of Lamphun and Lampang were evacuated.
The fighter planes in the sky are still constantly searching for targets. Their radios are connected with the ground troops, and they will rush to wherever reinforcements are needed. This ground-air coordinated combat method is like a dimensionality reduction strike, which makes the little devils suffer a lot. .
The transport aircraft formation currently parked at Heihe Airport is also seizing the time to prepare for the third airborne mission. More than 900 people from the third echelon of the Merrill Commando are boarding the plane one after another. They will arrive at the battlefield in two hours to block the paratroopers. District provides more troop deployment.
This joint operation was personally directed by Liao Mingyu. Stilwell was generous this time. In addition to moving the 14th and 20th Air Forces to Heihe Airport to prepare for the war, he also temporarily handed over the command of the two air groups to him.
With the main control room of the system base to grasp the overall situation, he can learn everything happening on the frontline battlefield as quickly as possible. Even if the number of participating troops has reached 50,000 or 60,000, he can make adjustments and arrangements based on the facts at the first time, so that All departments execute orders in an orderly manner and according to plan.
The entire Chiang Mai area turned into a mess. Due to the early escape of the Fourth Division, the core of the operations of the two divisions of the 88th Army centered on the total annihilation of the Japanese troops stationed in Inthanon Mountain. As long as this effective force of the Japanese troops was annihilated, There will be no more threats to southeastern Myanmar,
However, the first echelon of paratroopers encountered a difficult situation. The place where they blocked happened to be the road leading to Lampang. The Japanese army asked the 29th Brigade Chariot Group to take the lead. 8 Type 97 tanks and 3 Type 9 Dou tanks appeared at The fighting area between the two sides.
The transport aircraft formation currently parked at Heihe Airport is also seizing the time to prepare for the third airborne mission. More than 900 people from the third echelon of the Merrill Commando are boarding the plane one after another. They will arrive at the battlefield in two hours to block the paratroopers. District provides more troop deployment.
This joint operation was personally directed by Liao Mingyu. Stilwell was generous this time. In addition to moving the 14th and 20th Air Forces to Heihe Airport to prepare for the war, he also temporarily handed over the command of the two air groups to him.
With the main control room of the system base to grasp the overall situation, he can understand the front line as quickly as possible
