The Japanese retreated like a tide, leaving corpses on the ground. This time the 112th Alliance was hurt by the beating, and began to treat the expeditionary force as a well-matched opponent.
At the 112th Regiment Headquarters, Colonel Hashimoto had a gloomy look on his face, and Ono Jusanro was reporting the losses to him:
"Your Excellency, Captain, the First Battalion was attacked by the despicable Chinese when they attacked the bridge. They planted bombs on the bridge in advance and blew it up;
4 armored vehicles were lost, and 117 warriors were shattered——"
Colonel Hashimoto already knew with a wave of his hand that this was the biggest loss suffered by the Southern Army since they entered the Emerald Kingdom. The loss in occupying the bright light and defeating tens of thousands of John Bulls was not so great. He couldn't help but cursed:
"Bagayalu, is this good-for-nothing Okada full of shit in his head?
On Baga Ya Road, the Chinese must pay the price and ordered the field artillery brigade to blow up the Chinese positions on the other side of the river!
The river is not deep, so we ordered the Okada brigade to wade into the water and attack, kill the chicken and give it to them! "
"Boom boom boom boom..."
A dozen 75mm howitzers from the Japanese Field Artillery Brigade began to violently shell the expeditionary force positions on the other side of the river;
At the same time, the Japs of the Okada Brigade began to attack through the water. The artillery shells exploded dozens of meters in front of the infantry. The Japs' infantry charge did not stop at all. The infantry and artillery coordination tactics were very skilled. The Southern Army was definitely the elite of the Japs. The elite among them.
Of course, the 200 Division was not a coward. They withstood the Japanese artillery fire and opened fire on the Japanese tenaciously. People kept falling under the artillery fire. The battle between the two sides became intense. Groups of Japanese soldiers were killed in the river, and the fish in the river were reveling. There is Japanese meat to eat!
On the outskirts of Tonggu City, the main force of the 55th Division has also arrived. Under the cover of aircraft and heavy artillery, they launched a fierce attack on the outer positions of Tonggu City;
More than a dozen planes dropped a series of aerial bombs on the buildings in the ancient copper city, razing every house to the ground. A large number of civilians and officers and soldiers of the 200 Division were engulfed by artillery fire, and the entire city was bleeding.
The officers and soldiers of the 200 Division refused to retreat, and the battle between the two sides became fierce...
In the ancient city of Tong, under the dim light, Master Dai was writing furiously. This was the last letter he wrote to his wife when he saw the Japanese attack fiercely and the situation was grim, and he was determined to live and die with Tonggu:
"...I was ordered to stick to Tonggu this time. It was a grand decision made by my superiors. The contact with the rear was too far and the enemy was moving quickly. Now I am fighting alone, determined to live and die with the position, to repay the country's upbringing, and to die fighting for the country. It is extremely honorable. …”
Commander Dai both wrote and did this. He announced in public at the battalion officers' combat deployment meeting convened on the second day:
"Everyone, the 55th Japanese Division has surrounded us from three directions: south, west, and north. The time has come to commit suicide. I have decided to live and die with Tonggu City.
If the division commander dies in battle, he will be replaced by his deputy division commander; if the deputy division commander dies in battle, he will be replaced by the chief of staff;
If the chief of staff dies in battle, he will be replaced by the infantry commander, and this will be done at all levels! "
From the evening of the 22nd to the 23rd, officers and soldiers of the 200 Division killed more than 500 Japs, destroyed 3 tanks and 7 armored vehicles, and seized 38 horses, 9 light and heavy machine guns, 1 Type 92 rifle, and 286 rifles. and other ammunition supplies;
The 200th Division also paid a heavy price, with more than 300 casualties.
Mandalay, Independent Division Defense Area
A fierce battle was going on in Tonggu City, but the John Bulls were retreating in large strides. A defeated British-Indian army brigade was about to pass through the independent division defense area, but was stopped by the first brigade, and some conflicts occurred between the two sides.
"Shit, I am Brigadier General Robert of the Third Brigade of the British-Indian Army. What qualifications do you Chinese have to stop our retreat? Call your commander to come and respond."
A John Bull officer shouted arrogantly, they were chased by the Japanese all the way from Liangguang to Mandalay, and they had never seen them so awesome.
"Oh, it is indeed John Bull. He was so confident in running away after losing the battle. Doesn't your empire have no military discipline?"
He Zhenhua, commander of the 1st Brigade of the Independent Division, said coldly that as the garrison commander of the old battalion, he had finally won a battle during this overseas expedition. He had nothing to be polite to John Bull.
"Just translate it to them according to the original words!"
He Zhenhua told Gao Xiaoling that Gao Xiaoling had learned English before and was sent here by him. Gao Xiaoling was not an easy person to deal with, so she translated it word for word for Robert and others.
The Eighth Route Army did not wear military ranks like the Kuomintang Army. Brigadier General Robert did not pay attention to He Zhenhua, who did not even have a military rank. He just signaled to his adjutant and said:
"Our General Robert has said that from the perspective of job equality, you are not qualified to talk to our General."
Gao Xiaoling directly introduced He Zhenhua's position. When Robert heard that he was also a brigade commander, he stopped worrying about it and said directly:
"General He, this must be a misunderstanding. Our brigade has been ordered to pass through your brigade's defense area. Please let us go!"
Gao Xiaoling relayed Brigadier General Robert's words to He Zhenhua. He Zhenhua knew as soon as he heard that these John Bulls were playing tricks and said unceremoniously:
"According to the alliance agreement between the two parties, neither party is allowed to voluntarily withdraw from the defense line. One hundred thousand troops of our expeditionary force on the center and right are fighting fiercely with the Japanese. You retreated with so many iron bastards without firing a single shot. This is treachery. !
If you want to retreat, you can leave your weapons behind. Such good weapons are useless in the hands of you weaklings. "
Robert's adjutant translated He Zhenhua's words to Brigadier General Robert. Robert blew his beard angrily and said:
"The gentlemen of the Empire on which the Sun Never Sets have no habit of laying down their weapons, and the Chinese Empire has no right to surrender their weapons. If we don't let them go, they will rush over with tanks!"
After hearing Gao Xiaoling's translation, He Zhenhua smiled instead of getting angry, secretly thinking to himself, why didn't these shameless people say anything when hundreds of thousands of people laid down their weapons against the Japanese?
He didn't bother to talk nonsense with him and directly ordered to prepare for battle.
Robert was dumbfounded and cursed:
"What a bunch of barbarians, then teach them a lesson and order the tank battalion to rush over directly. If the Chinese dare to stop them, they will fire!"
The John Bulls got angry, and the negotiations between the two sides broke up. After they left, Robert ordered a dozen Valentine tanks from the tank battalion to rush toward the first brigade's defense area, followed by hundreds of others. Named Ah San wearing a turban.
"Send a Mulan team up and kill one of their tanks. This will give these John Bulls a warning. Just destroy one of them first. From now on, these will all be ours. It would be a pity to blow them up."
He Zhenhua was not used to John Bull's problems, so he directly sent Hua Mulan's combat team to do it, and other troops were prepared for John Bull to expand the conflict.
John Bull was used to being the boss. Although he was defeated by the Japanese, he was arrogant in front of the Allied Chinese army. He gave up his position to trap China without saying a word, and even used violence at the slightest disagreement.
"fire!"
The main gunner of the fire team decisively pulled the trigger, and a new 107mm Mulan rocket headed straight for the leading tank.
"boom!"
The rocket easily tore through the front armor of the Valentine tank, and then exploded in the cab. With just one shot, it knocked over the tank that John Bull had high hopes for.
The battlefield suddenly became silent, and the John Bulls were frightened...
"Damn, God, they can knock out tanks, get back!"
Brigadier General Robert had already figured it out, and the Chinese people still gave them some face.
