Headquarters of the 15th Army of the Imps in British Burma.
Shoji Iida faced the fall of Monywa, Sagaing, and Mandalay, as well as the annihilation of the 15th Division and the 22nd Division. He was obviously not mentally prepared.
When the news came that Mandalay had fallen again, blood spurted out on the spot.
In the eyes of Shoji Iida, the 15th Division and the 22nd Division were really useless. Facing a mere 30,000-strong Second Theater Expeditionary Force cluster, they relied on positional defense to gain geographical advantages, and were destroyed by their opponents one after another. And the fighting time is only a few hours!
In comparison, the 18th Division resisted the Northern Front Expeditionary Force with nearly 40,000 troops. It fought bloody battles for several days and still maintained its northern front position without losing a single inch!
The Monywa-Mandalay defense line, originally thought to be the most stable, fell apart in an instant, putting the 15th Army in the most dangerous situation and being cut in half into two independent parts, the north and the south.
This made Shoji Iida a little bit intolerable.
After spitting out a mouthful of old blood, Shoji Iida felt a little more relaxed.
Start thinking about future plans.
Now the 15th Army is divided, with the 18th Division on the northern line and the 56th Division on the southern line.
But these two elite divisions from the Kurume region are very capable of fighting. For the little devil, the 18th Division and the 56th Division both had great military exploits.
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The 18th Division can use "Chrysanthemum", which has special meaning in childhood, as its division code name, and the 56th Division is even known as the "Dragon" Division. These are all earned by their men who committed numerous blood debts.
The 18th Division has already started fighting with the First Army of the Expeditionary Force on the northern front, but it has basically not allowed the other party to take advantage. Shoji Iida is not too worried. The two sides are now at most 50-50 apart, and the situation is completely controllable.
But the Second Theater Expeditionary Force Group in the south has a strange name, and its strength is really confusing. It is said that the 15th Division, the 22nd Division, and second-line field troops such as the Garrison Division will not have combat effectiveness. They were defeated in one blow and lost so miserably.
Since the 15th Division and the 22nd Division were destroyed very quickly, many battle processes were not transmitted to Iida Shoji's ears, so he did not know the specific situation at all.
I just knew that the opponent's artillery fire was very fierce, with a large number of 155mm howitzers and 105mm howitzers, but it was not like they had never encountered such artillery fire when facing the Allies. This was what Iida Shoji was puzzled about.
It can only be attributed to the stupidity of the two division commanders.
"Isayama-kun, with the 56th Division, can we keep Nian Qiang and Dagon?" Iida Shoji thought for a long time, but still did not dare to make a decision. He turned to Chief of Staff Isayama Haruki and asked.
"Iida-kun, frankly speaking, I think there may be some problems. The 15th Division and the 22nd Division were defeated too quickly. This newly emerged expeditionary force group is said to be from Jin. They once defeated the 22nd Division and the 22nd Division. 41st Division." Haruki Isayama has obviously done some homework. Of course, the 15th Army does not have this information, but he can ask the base camp.
Although the base camp does not know the detailed information, there must be some information from the base camp for such a big news as the Second Theater Expeditionary Force Group. Therefore, when all kinds of intelligence are gathered together, Isayama Haruki is not as concerned about it as Iida Shoji is. The troops knew nothing.
"Is it the unit that defeated the First Army?" Shoji Iida's heart suddenly contracted. He knew that Yoshio Shinozuka of the First Army was not a vegetarian. If he could defeat Yoshio Shinozuka, then this unit would be in great danger. Treats taken to a new level.
"I'm afraid that's it." Isayama Haruki said with a bitter smile, "otherwise our 15th Division and 22nd Division wouldn't have lost so miserably."
"Your Excellency, General, I think that Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, has exaggerated the opponent's strength a little too much." A staff officer next to him, Yahara Hiromichi, suddenly interjected.
"The reason they can fight in Jin is because they are familiar with the local terrain and have a base there. But here, they have lost all these advantages, so I don't think they need to worry too much. I suggest sending a team The team went to sneak attack them to try out their skills."
"The tunnel-type defenses established by our 56th Division in Ren'anqiang and Dagon are criss-crossed and extremely strong. They can definitely be buried here." Yahara Hiroko said with heart.
Yahara Hiromichi was a major contributor to the conquest of the British Burma territory. He was talented and arrogant. Sometimes even Shoji Iida looked down on him, which made Shoji Iida very angry.
But sometimes his vision is really unique. When he first attacked the expeditionary force, it was Yahara Hōtō who sent a division to sneak attack the expeditionary force's logistics base, and then defeated the expeditionary force.
"I don't think it's possible. Based on our current situation, it would be best to send out the entire independent army to test it out. If we send out a single brigade, we will die in vain." Haruki Isayama quickly stopped him.
"Isayama-dono, you are humble and incapable of doing your job. You are willing to lead a large group to carry out a sneak attack. If you act according to the opportunity, you will be able to find out the enemy's true and false intentions." Yahara Hiromichi retorted.
"In addition, if you are still worried, then it is inevitable to request reinforcements from the front army."
When they asked for reinforcements, Iida Shoji and Isayama Haruki's expressions changed. There is no doubt that only incompetent commanders leave problems to their superiors to solve.
Shoji Iida thought for a while and decided not to request reinforcements from his superiors yet. He will wait for further developments in this expeditionary force group before deciding on his next plan.
Even the 18th Division may be in a dangerous situation of being attacked from both sides.
Shoji Iida felt that with the capabilities of the 18th Division and the complex terrain of the British-Burmese territories, they would at least be able to escape by then.
"Yahara-kun, I hand over to you the first battalion of the 113th Regiment of the 56th Division. Together with the First Division of the National Independence Army, we will form a special detachment and go north to find out the details of the expeditionary force group." Shoji Iida pondered for a long time. , finally decided to combine the opinions of the two staff officers.
"Hey!" Yahara Hirotō stood at attention with some joy.
His heart eager to make achievements immediately surged.
No matter how great the credit is for strategizing in the rear, the people who make the plans are basically inferior to those who annihilate the enemy on the front line, because the credit for strategizing generally belongs to the leaders.
...
At almost the same time, Gao Jianwu was also convening a meeting with his three major attack groups.
"Gao, I think it's time to go north to attack the 18th Division, and attack the 18th Division from the north and south with the expeditionary force on the northern front, and annihilate them in one fell swoop." Colonel Smith said excitedly.
According to the combat capabilities currently displayed by the Second Theater Expeditionary Force Attack Group. Colonel Smith believed that the 18th Division could be annihilated in the northern part of British Burma in one fell swoop, thereby opening up communication channels with the mainland.
This is what the Allies have been dreaming of for the past two years.
"John, I think it's not the right time yet, because there is still the 56th Division to the south of us, and once he and the 18th Division attack us from both directions, we will be in a very difficult situation."
Gao Jianwu shook his head and said.
"We must first solve the worries of the 56th Division before we have the energy to move north. We only have more than 30,000 people. If we hold on to Sagaing and Mandalay, we can't even attack south, otherwise our logistics supply line will will be truncated.
If we don't have the manpower to firmly control and defend this place, and the enemy on the southern or northern front comes to attack and intercept us, we will most likely make the same mistakes as last year's expeditionary force. "
Gao Jianwu's analysis is reasonable, and Smith has no other way to refute it. Although it’s nice to have a flower in the center, it also means you’re surrounded by enemies on all sides.
In fact, this is also the case. After Gao Jianwu captured Mandela, he had reached a limit in the use of his troops. He could only take the next step after re-stabilizing his territory, otherwise his logistics support line would indeed be severely damaged. Big damage.
Now having cannons to bombard the little devils is really cool, but it also means more reliance on logistics. A battle often requires hundreds or thousands of tons of artillery shells. This is impossible without a stable logistics supply line.
What's more, Gao Jianwu still has his own things to do in Mandalay, and he must stay here for a while.
Regarding the situation on the northern front, in Gao Jianwu's memory, they themselves could win this war, but it might take a little longer.
"Perhaps we can use the British and Indian troops from the Allied forces to fill the defense here." Colonel Smith said with some reluctance.
"John, can you yourself believe that the British and Indian troops in the Allied forces will serve as your back?" Gao Jianwu asked rhetorically.
"I can't!" Colonel Smith admitted matter-of-factly, although he was a little reluctant.
The British and Indian troops did not fight every day. There were so many cases of surrendering after being unable to win against a few little Japanese that Colonel Smith admitted it without even thinking about it.
"Yeah, I can't either, I can't put my back on an untrustworthy teammate, John, we're progressing very quickly.
Now is the time to completely expand our advantages into victory in Mandalay and Sagaing. We must establish good relations with the local aboriginal people. We are here to help them, so next we can carry out some activities within our capabilities here. work. "
"For example, building bridges and roads, improving local people's livelihood, and even bringing in foreign businessmen to expand productivity here. John, we not only want to drive away the little devils, but also help local people improve their lives."
Gao Jianwu said solemnly.
"Ding, more than 6,000 people from the 56th Division's Bayuan Special Detachment set off from Pyinmana and are expected to arrive in Mandalay in three days." Gao Jianwu's intelligence system suddenly sent a new message.
Gao Jianwu was stunned, who is so stubborn? Knowing that he has already killed two divisions, he still wants to get beaten up by such a small number of people. Isn't this sick?
But this news comes at the right time for Gao Jianwu!
