Within two days of the war, the Yunnan Army lost Nankan, Ruili, Wanding, Tongbiguan, Longchuan and other key border towns one after another. By the third day, the Yunnan Army suffered defeats one after another. Mangshi and Zhejiang, which were important transportation chokepoints in the deep region, were defeated one after another.
Leave it for five hours
The city fell one after another, and the extremely important Mangshi Airport was also occupied by a regiment of British troops. The Tengchong Security Brigade on the West Road suffered heavy losses under the fierce attack by the British-Burmese coalition forces, and had to abandon Yingjiang City and retreat to the old city to the Lianghe River line.
Although grand troop dispatching ceremonies were held in Kunming and Xufu in southern Sichuan, the distant waters could not save the nearby fire. The main force of the 38th Army of the Yunnan Army hastily gathered in Kunming only today. After holding the dispatching ceremony, it immediately rushed to the battlefield in western Yunnan with all its strength.
European and American newspapers have predicted that the distance of nearly 500 kilometers from Kunming to Baoshan seems extremely far for the current Chinese army. The 38th Army, which does not have modern transportation, will take at least five days to a week to reach the front line of Baoshan.
and
Five days are enough for the British-Burmese coalition forces to reach the west bank of the Nu River and drive all the Chinese troops across the east side of the Nu River. By then, as long as the British-Burmese coalition forces control a few bridges and crossing points on the Nu River, it will be difficult for the Chinese army to conquer the Nu River natural chasm and recover it.
Lost ground.
The 24th Army of Xufu is even further away from the battlefield. Even if this elite force is famous for its ability to fight on the run and attack tough battles, it will still take at least half a day to rush to western Yunnan under the leadership of its commander Gu Changfeng.
In a month, and half a month later, I am afraid that a large area of land to the west of the Nu River has been completely occupied.
As for the Xia Jian 26th Army in southern Yunnan, under the heavy restraint of the British and Burmese troops south of the border, they simply did not dare to send troops to assist western Yunnan. Now the border in southern Yunnan is in a tense situation, and it is possible at any time.
There was a fierce battle no less fierce than that in western Yunnan, and no one dared to mobilize troops under any circumstances.
At four o'clock in the afternoon on the third day after the Battle of Western Yunnan broke out, Luxi, an important town in Western Yunnan where the security division of the Yunnan Army was stationed, struggled for eight and a half hours under the coordinated attack of two divisions of the British-Burmese coalition forces and aircraft and artillery. Finally,
Helplessly defeated.
The Yunnan Army performed very bravely and tenaciously in this battle, and the forward positions were recaptured after changing hands several times. However, under the fierce attack of the enemy's superior strength and modern weapons, they suffered heavy losses. Later in the battle, all fronts without reinforcements were broken through by the enemy.
, and finally the whole front was defeated, and the remaining troops fled back to Longling in embarrassment under the support of the Second Security Division of the Yunnan Army who rushed to rescue.
For several days in a row, the bad news of the defeat spread throughout China through the radio waves of the Southern Sichuan Radio Station. The whole country was in an uproar. Countless people were filled with grief and anger and continued to hold protest marches. People from all walks of life in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and coastal cities in Guangdong and Guangxi rushed to appeal and donate money and materials.
Supporting the Yunnan Army in the War of Resistance with great sadness. Shanghai, Nanjing, Nanchang
, young students from Wuhan, Changsha, Guilin, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xi'an and other major cities began to shout the tragic slogan "Rush to western Yunnan and join the army to serve the country." There was a huge flow of people in front of the Yunnan Office in Beijing, and the voice was loud.
Thousands of young students crowded into the small courtyard and strongly demanded to join the army and go to the front line in western Yunnan as soon as possible to protect their families and the country.
That night, Yunnan Provincial Chairman Zhu Peide sent a telegram to the whole country in sorrow, enumerating the crimes of aggression committed by the British-Burmese coalition forces, announcing that Lu Han, deputy commander-in-chief of the Yunnan Army, was urgently dispatched to fly to the front line in western Yunnan to supervise the battle, and called on the people of all ethnic groups in western Yunnan to take up arms and arm themselves spontaneously.
Drive the invaders from their homes.
On the morning of the fourth day, Southern Sichuan Radio once again reported in detail on the British-Burmese army's rapid attack on Longling. Frontline reporters from major newspapers also sent back worrying and pessimistic news.
Both the strength and morale of the Yunnan Army are extremely worrying. The Yunnan Army has suffered successive defeats.
In addition to vowing to fight to the end, Security Commander Zhan Huanqi has repeatedly called on the central government to increase diplomatic mediation through media reporters, pointing out that the British and Burmese troops openly invaded and occupied Chinese territory and massacred our people in spite of the disdain of the world, and will definitely be punished by all parties.
Spurned by all peace-loving people in the world.
Seeing that the situation in the southwest was unfavorable, Feng Yuxiang, who was "farming and studying" in Mount Tai, finally couldn't sit still.
Feng Yuxiang, who was discussing the current situation with the visiting Sun Ke and others, was very excited. Through the visiting reporters of "Ta Kung Pao", "Qilu Daily" and four European and American newspapers, he loudly appealed to his old friend Zhu Peide to make up his mind to kill his relatives and replace the Western Yunnan
Zhan Huanqi, the incompetent commander on the front line, could not let him lose his power and humiliate the country just because he was Zhu Peide's son-in-law. He must mobilize the people of Yunnan to carry out nationwide resistance.
Feng Yuxiang seriously warned the Yunnan Army: Longling must not be lost again, otherwise once the Chinese army retreats to the east bank of the Nu River, tens of thousands of square kilometers of land in western Yunnan will fall into the hands of the British. It is estimated that these days the Yunnan Army is
Feeling resentful after losing again and again, Feng Yuxiang strongly requested the Central Military Commission to hold Yunnan Provincial Security Commander Zhan Huanqi responsible for the defeat many times during his speech.
, and finally recommended that Chiang Kai-shek, his sworn brother, send An Yi, the deputy chief of staff who is tenacious and courageous and has extremely rich experience in fighting enemies, to the front line of Yunnan as soon as possible to assume the overall command responsibility, and mobilize heavy troops from southern Sichuan, western Guizhou and western Hunan to urgently assist western Yunnan.
Otherwise, with repeated defeats, the entire western Yunnan will fall under the iron heel of British imperialism and become another Northeast.
When Japan saw that the British army suddenly attacked western Yunnan and made such amazing progress, it was excited and mobilized its domestic and foreign public opinion to fully support the British aggression. At the same time, an emergency military meeting of the troops stationed in China was held in Tianjin. In the Recha area,
The Japanese invaders along the Great Wall and Shanhaiguan were also on the verge of making an attack.
Song Zheyuan, Shang Zhen and other generals who had just reorganized the mixed troops under their command were sweating with anxiety. He Yingqin, chairman of the Peking Political Branch, was even more worried. He jumped up and down, repeatedly asked to see the Japanese envoys in Pingjin and the Kwantung Army generals, and loudly agreed with the Japanese.
proposed the "Sino-Japanese Friendship", and sent three secret telegrams to Chiang Kai-shek to dispatch this
The former staunchly anti-Japanese Song Ziwen and Vice President of the Executive Yuan and Finance Minister Kong Xiangxi went to Peiping to negotiate with the Japanese to resolve the long-debated issues of trade and customs clearance between North China and other countries. They emphasized that only by making "appropriate concessions" on the North China issue can
Only by preventing the Japanese army from taking advantage of the situation can we avoid the weak China from falling into the danger of being attacked from the north and the south.
Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, has once again become the focus of global attention.
Countless reporters and patriots from all walks of life across the country flocked to the scene, and patriotic young people from all over the country came in droves. Chiang Kai-shek, who was directing the campaign to suppress the Communists, was exhausted and exhausted. In the end, he had to lift the ban on An Yi's public speech.
After severely warning An Yi not to say any more anti-Japanese remarks, An Yi was pushed to the front desk to cope with unprecedented political pressure.
An Yi accepted it silently, and held a press conference at 9 a.m. on the fifth day after the outbreak of the war in western Yunnan at the Nanchang Xingying Conference Center.
The experienced and steady Yang Yongtai was very cooperative with An Yi's work this time, because Yang Yongtai was one of the three people at the top of the Central Committee who learned of the top-secret plan for the Western Yunnan campaign. The other two were Chairman Chiang Kai-shek and Deputy Chief of Staff Ge Jing'en, and the others.
The various departments of the Military Commission and even the generals in the Attendance Room had no right to know about it, which is enough to see Yang Yongtai's important position in Chiang Kai-shek's mind.
The head of the national government and President of the Executive Yuan, Wang Jingwei, was also kept in the dark. Seeing that the war situation in western Yunnan was unfavorable and that it was very likely that the collapse of Northeast China would be repeated, he was busy meeting with envoys, officials and business representatives from Europe and the United States all day long in an attempt to change the situation.
Diplomacy, economics and other means to mediate the conflicts between China and Britain, but the British, who have a good appetite for winning and advancing, simply cannot
Unwilling to talk about an armistice with Wang Jingwei, the British reluctantly proposed a five-point condition with the help of the Americans. Among them, the terms of ceding territory and huge compensation were even worse than those of the Tanggu Agreement.
And, if Wang Jingwei agrees, he will definitely be stabbed in the spine by the people across the country and be scolded as a traitor.
At this press conference, Yang Yongtai was responsible for explaining the central government's foreign policy, Sino-British relations, Sino-Japanese relations, as well as the promulgation and implementation of various administrative decisions, measures, while An Yi was responsible for all explanations on military aspects, as well as the attitude of the Central Military Commission
, response measures to the war in western Yunnan, etc.
The press conference was very serious. An Yi was still wearing the uniform of a general as before. All the medals and swords were not hung up. Facing the questions of Chinese and foreign reporters, An Yi tried his best to answer them. However, his old friend French reporter Davit
A sharp question made An Yi silent for a while.
The question raised by Dawit is: In yesterday's air battle, what were the battle losses of the air force under the general's command? In view of the absolute superiority of the British and Burmese troops and the upcoming victory in western Yunnan, will the general change his usual tough stance and once again engage in disputes with the British about China?
Negotiations on Myanmar border demarcation issue?
Under the attention of more than 300 reporters and more than 100 representatives from all walks of life, An Yi organized his words in his mind, and then solemnly reported the defeat of yesterday's air battle:
“During the large-scale air battle that lasted for six and a half hours yesterday, the Yunnan Air Force and the soldiers of the Syrian Air Force 1st Air Regiment tried their best. Due to our lack of aircraft performance and air combat experience, we were ultimately unable to resist the invading British Air Force.
In the air battle that broke out yesterday, the British Air Force dispatched more than 60 aircraft, and ours flew more than 90 aircraft. The number was almost 1.5 times that of the British Air Force. However, the war
It turned out to be exactly the opposite. We were shot down seventeen fighter planes, two fighter planes crashed accidentally due to mechanical accidents, twenty-one fighters were injured, and thirty-nine soldiers were killed. Among the thirty-one fighter planes dispatched by the British Air Force,
, only seven fighter planes were shot down by our side, two injured fighter planes made an emergency landing in a rice field four kilometers south of Luxi, and three lightly injured British pilots were captured by our peripheral security forces.
"Generally speaking, although we have the advantage in the number of fighter aircraft, we are at a disadvantage in the battle. This problem cannot be solved in a short period of time, because compared with all the air forces in China, the air forces in southern Sichuan and Yunnan are
It is the unit with the most training time and the best equipment. It basically represents the highest level of the Chinese Air Force at present. However, in the confrontation with a traditional air force power like the United Kingdom, the gap is still very obvious. However, we will redouble our efforts in order to catch up.
Up to the level of our opponents.”
The reporters in the audience admired An Yi's honesty very much. Compared with those generals in the Chinese army who were bombastic and evasive, An Yi was a very rare and pragmatic person. He did not whitewash the failures of his army in any way.
Taking into account the left and right
He did not shout slogans to cover up his own backwardness and weakness. This sincere and down-to-earth demeanor immediately won the respect of journalists from all over the world. No one laughed at An Yi for stating the fact that the Chinese Air Force was backward, including more than a dozen Japanese
and British journalists included.
But the hundreds of Chinese representatives from all walks of life who participated in the audience felt very uncomfortable. They knew that Anjiajun's air force participated in the tragic Songhu Anti-Japanese War and the North China Anti-Japanese War. It was the most powerful and most combat-effective heroic force in the entire Chinese Air Force. This
An Yi acted so seriously at that time, which can only show that his country's air force is really far behind the air force of the great powers.