Chiang Mai, the headquarters of the Japanese Second Division
Since the Second Division occupied Siam by force, it began to defend Siam.
Siam is generally divided into four parts geographically. Close to the Emerald Kingdom is the northern Lanna region. Historically, the northern and northeastern parts of Siam were originally independent countries. They were not "unified" for a long time, and the national sense of belonging was not powerful.
Chiang Mai, the central city in the Lanna region, is an important town in the north and the northern gate into Siam. The Second Division originally deployed a regiment here;
After Chu Xiong and Yu Ren made a gamble of the century, reinforcements from the Southern Army successively reinforced the battlefield in Siam, and their strength was already very strong.
Lieutenant General Yamashita Fengwen, who was known as the Malayan Tiger, believed that if he wanted to hold Siam for more than three months, Chiang Mai must deploy heavy troops;
Because after passing Chiang Mai, we enter the central plain area of Siam, which is very suitable for the mechanized troops of the Chinese Expeditionary Force to fight. There is no danger. With less than 700 kilometers of plain terrain, we can reach Thailand in about ten days.
Therefore, Lieutenant General Yamashita deployed the entire Second Division to Chiang Mai, and also deployed a 102nd Division in the Yishan Mountains in the northeast behind Chiang Mai, mainly to prevent the Chinese Expeditionary Army from passing south from Siam's flank. The leader of the country took a circuitous route back to Chiang Mai.
The Second Tank Division is deployed in the central plains and is on standby. The First Division is deployed in Phitsanulok, which is lagging behind, ready to support Chiang Mai at any time.
The most powerful Guards Division is deployed in Taijing, guarding Taijing together with other divisions. The Japanese are determined to fight with the expeditionary force. They are all elite divisions.
In the bright light, at the Expeditionary Force Headquarters, Chu Xiong and others were making final arrangements. Chief of Staff Zhong Guoliang said:
"Comrades, the Japanese have released a second division in Chiang Mai. This second division, also known as the Sendai Division, is one of the six earliest divisions formed by the Japanese. It has very strong combat effectiveness and has been merged with the Sixth Division. Known as the two divisions that are most capable of fighting the Japanese, they are well-equipped with weapons and equipment, and have a tenacious fighting will. With a full strength of more than 26,000 people, the battle in Chiang Mai will be a tough battle. Everyone must be mentally prepared. The specific deployment is as follows..."
Zhong Guoliang made arrangements for the Chiang Mai battle. Since the Chiang Mai battle was an urban offensive and defensive battle, mechanized troops were of little use, so the New Second Army was responsible for the main offensive force, and the Independence Army was responsible for flanking, attacking Nanzhang State, and containing the Japanese forces.
The Japanese only have one infantry brigade in Nanzhang Kingdom, which cannot stop the independent army's attack. The New First Army is a reserve force for the battle.
Finally, Chu Xiong gave the instructions:
"Comrades, I plan to end the battle in Chiang Mai within a month, and then use another month to reach Thailand and Beijing, so as to put enough pressure on the Japanese to force them to put more troops into the battlefield in Siam;
In terms of time, it is still very abundant. The strategy of consuming the Japanese was proposed by Lao Yan. I will not say more about how to fight Chiang Mai. I will just say, use artillery shells and bullets to submerge the second division, and use massive ammunition. To exchange for the elite veterans of the Japanese. "
Yan Haoyu is known as Little Chu Xiong. His fighting style is similar to that of Chu Xiong. He likes to spend money. Anyway, Old History has said, don’t worry about ammunition, there is no shortage of money!
After the meeting, before the Japanese planes were transferred to the battlefield in Siam, the expeditionary force launched a ground attack in time. The first to come on stage was naturally the flying detachment that had temporarily gained control of the air.
It was another sunny morning. The Japanese soldiers of the Second Division got up early and began to repair the fortifications;
Ever since the Second Division moved into Chiang Mai, they have been digging earthworks;
To defend the city, you must defend the country. The Fourth Regiment of the Japanese main force is responsible for guarding the country. Chiang Mai is located in a mountainous area, surrounded by mountains on all sides, and the Bin River passes through the resort from the city.
The Kundan Mountains are in the east and the Inthanang Mountains are in the west. Most of the peaks are over 2,000 meters high. The main peak, Inthanang Peak, is the highest peak in the country with an altitude of 2,576 meters. These terrains are not suitable for large corps operations.
The central part is the Bin River Basin, and the most suitable area for attack is the middle part. The defense of the Japanese Fourth Regiment is to deploy defenses along both sides of the Bin River to prevent the expeditionary force from attacking Chiang Mai City along the Bin River.
The highlands along the Binhe River were built into fortification groups by the Japanese. They were worthy of marmots, and they started digging at dawn.
Captain Koizumi was commanding the Koizumi Squadron to dig earthworks. His ears were extremely sensitive and he suddenly heard the roar of the machine. His face suddenly changed and he shouted:
"Enemy attack! Take cover!"
Before the Japanese could hide in the artillery holes, a group of Sky Fortress bombers flew over and dropped a string of heavy bombs, destroying the fortifications that the Japanese had worked so hard to build piece by piece. A large number of Japanese were buried in the trenches. .
The Japs of the Second Division were fighting for the first time without air supremacy, and they were still a little uncomfortable. Many of the Japs held up their 38-inch guns and shot into the sky. They were too powerful to do anything.
The Chinese Air Force used heavy aerial bombs to reward them for their bravery. They used high-explosive incendiary bombs to set groups of Japs on fire. The burning smell on the position was nauseating.
After the bombers dropped all their aerial bombs, they swooped down again and used their ten machine guns to shoot at the exposed Japs. They were all large-caliber machine gun bullets. Every shot they received was fatal or maimed, and the Japs were beaten to the point where they cried like ghosts and howled like wolves. , and left with satisfaction only after all the bullets were used up.
After the Chinese fleet left, Captain Koizumi climbed up from the pile of floating soil, shook off the soil from his body, and then ordered an inventory of the losses.
"Your Excellency, squadron leader, 19 people in the squadron were injured and 27 were injured. More than 30% of the fortifications were destroyed. The casualties in other squadrons are estimated to be many."
Captain Koizumi's face turned ugly. Before he even saw the Chinese, he had already suffered casualties of nearly a squadron. This was only the loss of one of their squadrons;
This time, Chinese planes bombed the positions of the First Battalion. It is conservatively estimated that the loss will be more than half of the squadron, or even one squadron. If there are a few more attacks, how many people will be left in the whole brigade?
"Nakata-kun, send someone to report the damage to the captain, and seize the fortifications as soon as possible. After the Chinese bombing, they will send infantry up immediately. We must teach the Chinese a lesson!"
Koizumi gritted his teeth and said that this battle made him very frustrated. He could only be passively bombed and had no power to fight back.
"Bagaya road!"
Koizumi Squadron is working hard to repair the fortifications and prepare to meet the infantry attack of the Chinese Expeditionary Force.
"Buzz buzz..."
Koizumi's face became even more ugly, and a resentment even arose in his heart, and he cursed:
"Bagaya road, is it still over?"
The Chinese Expeditionary Force answered him with a series of aerial bombs, which seemed to tell him, where did he go?
"Koizumi, you seem to have a misunderstanding about saturation bombing!"
A string of heavy bombs were dropped, exploding into the sky. The bodies of several Japanese soldiers were thrown into the air, and then fell to the ground like tattered rags, turning into a pool of flesh and blood.
The other Japanese soldiers lay in the trenches shivering, praying constantly for Amaterasu's protection.
The Japs of the Fourth Regiment were visibly consumed, while the Chinese Expeditionary Force only spent some aerial bombs.
After finally waiting for the plane to drop the bombs and leave, Koizumi heard the sound of the shells breaking through the sky again...
"Bagayalu, the Chinese are so unsavory!"
