Left wing, Prome, John Bull defense
The British First Division that retreated from Tonggu to Prome was stationed here. According to the planned Battle of Mandalay, the coalition forces of John Bull and Eagle Sauce were responsible for the west route. The British and Indian troops were disarmed by the Chuxiong First Brigade. The third brigade also retreated to Prome;
Now the Prome army is gathering, but they have no intention of fighting, and people are in panic
Slim, the commander of the First Army of the British Army, convened a meeting with famous John Bull generals to discuss the next battle plan. Slim held a huge Cuban in his mouth. It is said that this is like Fatty Qiu, which can highlight the dignity of gentlemen. Strong:
"Gentlemen, according to the agreement between the Empire and China, we need to hold on to Prome, and then wait for an opportunity to counterattack the Japanese from the road;
China's culture requires us to at least hold on to Prome. This is the bottom line!
What do you think, gentlemen? "
Robert of the Third Brigade of the British Indian Army immediately jumped out to protest:
"Shit, let the Chinese breeders go to hell! When will the noble John Bull gentleman obey the orders of the lowly Chinese?
"They are just a group of barbarians and bandits, especially Chu Xiong of Mandalay. His troops robbed the gentlemen of their weapons. I want to accuse them!"
Slim took a puff of his cigar gracefully and continued to ask Skoll:
"Skoll, your first division is the main force, what do you think?"
Skoll nodded and said:
"Mr. Commander, the core interests of the empire lie in the Asan Kingdom. The Emerald Kingdom is just a peripheral position of the Asan Kingdom. In Chinese terms, it is worthless, tasteless to eat, and a pity to abandon!
Just because the empire and China have just signed a joint combat alliance, and the ink has not yet dried, we have torn it apart, which is detrimental to the empire's face.
Doesn’t the Chinese culture require us to keep our beauty? Ok, let's leave our first division to defend, and all other troops will retreat secretly towards the direction of Asan Kingdom. Explain to the Chinese that it is a ladder configuration!
Prome will leave one brigade, and the people behind An Qiang will leave one brigade. Your Excellency will retreat with the main force for about a hundred kilometers;
If the Chinese really defeat the Japanese, our army can share the fruits of victory. When the situation goes bad, we will stride back to England and let the Chinese take the back seat for the gentlemen. "
A smile appeared on Slim's face after hearing this. Brigadier General Robert immediately raised his hand in approval, and other generals followed suit. A plan to shamelessly cheat the expeditionary force was gracefully decided by the gentlemen. In their view, allies are Used to trap.
The efficiency of the John Bulls in retreating was absolutely high. As soon as the meeting ended, Slim led the gentlemen to withdraw without saying a single hello, leaving only the British First Division as a facade and a brigade stationed in Prome. , another brigade withdrew to Anqiang;
The retreat was later boasted by John Bull's The Times as a great victory, the Dunkirk of the East!
(Chu Xiong raised his middle finger in Mandalay)
On the right wing (west route), the Japanese pincer offensive worked wonders. The 33rd Division, which was responsible for the assault on the right wing, was in a deserted place. John Bull's gentlemen retreated without even seeing the shadow of the Japanese soldiers;
Weapons, equipment and supplies were scattered all over the floor, including tanks, heavy artillery, boxes and boxes of unopened shells and bullets, various field foods and even cigars, coffee, posters of sexy girls, the latest fashion stockings, etc., everything was there!
At first, the Japanese picked them up as if they had seen treasures. Later, they found that there were too many to pick up, and it greatly affected the pursuit speed. Later, the division commander Lieutenant General Sakurai Shozo directly ordered that no one was allowed to pick up "trash" , those who violate orders will be subject to military law.
When the Japanese search force appeared twenty kilometers away from Prome, Major General Skoll, who had previously announced through war reporters that he would live and die with Prome, ordered a retreat without even seeing the shadow of the Japs. The army's flank barrier Prome was lost to the Japanese.
The 33rd Division captured Prome without a single blow. Lieutenant General Sakurai was not in a good mood. These John Bulls ran too fast and he didn't catch any of them, which made him very dissatisfied.
This Third Lieutenant General of Sakurai Province was an old friend of Luo Weimin. On the northern battlefield of Nakatiao Mountain, one of his regiments was almost completely wiped out by Luo Weimin's brigade. If he hadn't been a fast runner, he would have reported to Amaterasu in advance.
Of course, Lieutenant General Sakurai did not think that he was severely damaged by the Chinese in this battle. At most, it was a small setback;
Because after withdrawing, he used supplementary troops to make up for the lost troops. He announced to the public that 12 people had been killed and 65 wounded, and more than 3,000 Luo Wei brigade had been annihilated.
Only such a small setback of dazzling achievements is worthy of his status as a member of the mainland saber team.
Lieutenant General Sakurai was very dissatisfied and turned to the Chief of Staff:
"Ikeda-kun, this group of John Bulls should be called John Rabbits. They run too fast. Now there are only Anqiang and a brigade of British troops. There are oil fields there, and John Bulls may not be willing to run;
At the same time, in order to prevent John Bull from destroying the oil fields, the imperial army changed its tactics and ordered the 213th Infantry Regiment to attack Magui south of Ren'anqiang;
The 215th Infantry Regiment is responsible for covering the left wing of the division and containing John Bull's main force;
You lead the 214th Infantry Regiment to sneak in and attack Anqiang, cutting off John Bull's retreat;
Do you understand? "
After Sakurai finished speaking, he made a dumpling-making gesture. Chief of Staff Jiro Ikeda immediately understood that detours were the Japanese's forte;
Ikeda took the order and left.
Lieutenant General Ying Jin led the troops directly under the division to follow up behind the 213th Regiment. They and the 213th Regiment deliberately slowed down their attack speed and made a big fanfare to allow John Bull to detect them in order to confuse An Qiang's defenders.
He was trying his best not to scare away John Bull. He was marching at a snail's pace and stagnated as soon as he encountered obstacles. Sakurai's performance could almost win an Oscar!
Sure enough, the gentlemen in Anqiang were fooled...
Compared with the smooth sailing on the right wing, the 18th Division's assault on the left wing encountered big trouble.
At the headquarters of the 18th Division, Lieutenant General Mutaguchi Lian was furious:
"On Bagaya Road, only one brigade was attacked by the Chinese, and more than half of it was lost. The rest was heavily surrounded by the Chinese. The main force of the 56th Regiment was blocked by the Chinese several kilometers away and could not advance. Can I ask for tactical guidance?
Is this still the invincible and invincible Kurume United?
Is Ryuzaburo Matsui a shit-eater? Mr. Matsui's face has been completely humiliated by him..."
Chief of Staff Soushiro Imaoka could only listen quietly. He could not answer this question.
Although Mr. Matsui has taken a back seat, he is not something that a small division chief of staff can offend;
Your Excellency, the division commander, can be wild. If he dares to answer the message and spreads it, he will definitely be dealt with.
Matsui Ryuzaburo was a second-generation ancestor of the Matsui family. Muta had long been dissatisfied with him, so he scolded him for half an hour this time and spit on Colonel Imaoka's face.
"Baga! The empire is in such a mess because of these people!"
Despite the criticism, the 56th Regiment still needs support. If the Chinese annihilate a brigade because of his inability to rescue, then his face will not look good to the entire army. How can he be so crazy in the future?
"Imaoka-kun, order the 55th Regiment, the 18th Mountain Artillery Regiment, and the Tank Battalion to support the 56th Regiment. You will be under unified command. We must defeat the Chinese enemy and rescue the Matsukawa Brigade!"
