On the night of February 26th, the sky cleared up in the northern plateau of Myanmar. In the early morning of the 27th, a crescent moon shyly broke through the dark clouds and filled the earth with silver light. The Myanmar army generals who had already assembled in place were excited and waited for the day to break.
That is to attack the Gute pass currently held by the Anjia army.
Yangon, a brightly lit room in a quaint and elegant style of the headquarters of the Myanmar-Indian Front located at the former site of the Governor-General's Palace of British Burma.
With a "pop" sound, a white chess piece landed heavily on the chessboard.
The chess game in front of me has clearly reached a point of entanglement. The two dragons in the middle are tumbling and strangling each other, but the moves are sparse on all sides, and there is plenty of room for grabbing at the corners.
The situation on the chessboard is extremely strange. Koichi Ishikawa, who holds the black stones in his hand, clearly has the upper hand, but he never considers throwing stones around and finding another way. He is still staring at the chaotic chess game in the middle. The new Burmese and Indian Front Army
The Commander-in-Chief seemed to be quite obsessed with the authorities. As he thought deeply, his handsome and resolute face frowned.
Playing a game with Koichi Ishikawa was Lieutenant General Yasushi Murakami, Chief of Staff of the Front Army. This former captain of the 42nd Independent Regiment, as Koichi Ishikawa rose, he was promoted along the way. He first served as brigade commander, and was later appointed as division commander.
The commander of the regiment is already the distinguished chief of staff of the front army. It is not a dream to be in charge of an independent army in the future.
Two young geishas with delicate features stood aside, pouring tea for them from time to time.
At this time, a staff officer walked in. Seeing Ishikawa Koichi's face tensed and thinking, he hesitated, walked gently to Murakami Yasushi, and whispered something.
Murakami Yasushi nodded and signaled them to leave, then waved to the two geishas. When there were only two people left in the room, he suggested to Ishikawa Koichi:
"Commander, the Burmese government's bureaucrats are here again...haven't you made a decision about sending troops to Dongse? As soon as day breaks, the Burmese army will launch an attack. It is said that the Anjia Army opposite them
However, if the Burmese army achieves a decisive victory with these two regiments, the face of the Japanese Imperial Army will not look good..."
Ishikawa Koichi raised his head and stared at Murakami Yasushi coldly. After a while, Murakami felt chilled in his heart and quickly lowered his head, pretending to observe the chess game to avoid Ishikawa Koichi's sight.
"Mr. Murakami, I will not pursue the box of gold and the two Burmese-Indian mixed-race girls that old man Deqin Tun'ou gave you. However, I do not want the emperor's people to ignore the great cause of the empire for the sake of money and beauty.
The future and destiny of the empire are linked to the humble Burmese people. Do you understand?"
Ishikawa Koichi said in an extremely stern voice.
"Hi!"
Murakami Yasushi had big beads of sweat on his forehead. He quickly bent down to answer. Due to excessive force, his forehead suddenly hit the Eight Immortals table in front of him, causing a big bump. He was in extreme pain but did not dare to say a word.
Ishikawa Koichi held the black chess piece between his arms and added another piece to the chessboard. His voice became gentler: "Don't be too polite, Murakami-kun. You have been following me for many years. You know who I am... Let's continue playing.
Let’s talk! Do you really think we should attack the northern Myanmar plateau?”
"Yes!"
Murakami sat upright, responded, and replied: "From the perspective of the empire's long-term future strategy, our army will definitely confront the Anjia Army. The psychological shadow of being invincible against the Anjia Army has always been weighing on the emperor*
The huge burden is placed on the officers and soldiers of the ** team. Now even the Burmese army has won a great victory and pushed back the Anjia army for more than 80 kilometers. There is no reason for us not to take advantage of this great opportunity to boost the morale of the imperial army. In addition,
, I always feel that Daben’s strategy of deliberately maintaining peace with the Anjiajun has the danger of raising tigers!”
"This is a big fallacy!"
Ishikawa Hiroshi shook his head repeatedly: "I have never thought that there is any burden to speak of in the past achievements. During the first Battle of Songhu, didn't our army inflict heavy losses on An's army? In the subsequent Great Wall War of Resistance, An Yi's command
General Gu Changfeng lost troops and generals. In the end, the troops that successfully retreated back to the pass were less than half of what they were when they set off. What is this but a victory? Even after the July 7th Incident, our army may not always be defeated in North China. Hu Jialin's Fifth Corps finally succeeded
Not even one out of ten troops who fled to northern Shanxi remained, isn't this a good proof?
"The combat effectiveness of the army is directly proportional to its training and weapons and equipment. During the first Battle of Songhu seven years ago, the training level of the Anjia Army was already on par with the Imperial Army, but its weapons
It cannot be compared with our army, so it lost more than it won in the first battle in Shanghai, and the same was true in the Great Wall Battle the following year. A local victory could not cover up its overall defeat. By two years ago, its army and air force weapons and equipment had already surpassed
Through our army, the number of various artillery, small artillery and machine guns in the army far exceeded that of our army's troops of the same organization, which led to successive defeats in the North China campaign. However, after our army strengthened its strength, it was even stronger than the Anjia army and had to be defeated.
Out of North China!
"Starting from the end of the year before last, the Anjia army occupied Annan, annexed Japan in the north, invaded Central Asia in the west, and obtained a large amount of Soviet-made weapons and equipment from the Far East Army. Coupled with the general explosion of its military-industrial enterprises under the wartime system, it rapidly expanded
In addition to the equipment gap with our army, coupled with the limited steel of the empire, a large amount of steel has to be used for the manufacture of ships for the navy. The resources shared equally by the army are limited, resulting in the production of guns and ammunition not increasing! Don’t look at Myanmar’s current situation.
The military announced its victory in a high-profile manner, but it can be expected that it will suffer a complete defeat soon. This is not a question of whether it is good at fighting, but the real gap in strength."
"this--"
Yasushi Murakami argued: "It is precisely because the Burmese army is weak that our army needs to take the initiative. In any case, it is beneficial to occupy the northern plateau of Burma!"
Ishikawa Koichi sighed: "Mr. Murakami, even if our army has worked hard and successfully occupied northern Myanmar, will it have a positive impact on us? Northern Myanmar has high mountains and dense forests, barren land, and no industrial foundation. It can be described as a barren land. Since then,
Since our army launched its offensive against British Malaya, Borneo and Burma, the United States has stopped sending steel and oil to us. Fortunately, we already had oil and steel bases in the Lanyin Islands and the Far East, Manchuria, and northern China.
The coal and iron and the newly discovered large-scale iron ore in Hainan Island have brought us relatively abundant strategic materials. Our industry has not been greatly affected. However, in the long run, if our army wants to catch up with the equipment level of Anjia's army, it must have more equipment.
There are a lot of coal and iron deposits, large steel plants, and military factories. Only India and Australia can help us solve these problems. Attacking the northern Myanmar plateau can only be said to be a waste of precious lives of the Japanese imperial army!
"Let's talk about my personal future. Ishihara-kun insisted on promoting me to be the commander of the Burmese and Indian Army despite the opposition of many veterans in the army. I have to think more about Ishihara-kun. Although our army dare not attack India, which is plunged into civil war,
It is said that I am absolutely sure, but the chance of victory is at least 70 to 80%. But if I am hot-headed and attack northern Myanmar, I will recite Amitabha if I can escape unscathed from the terrifying lunatics of the An family army and the harsh natural environment.
Let alone establishing meritorious service? Neither I personally nor the army under my command will allow an inexplicable defeat like that in Siberia. Otherwise, not only will you and I be ruined, but Mr. Ishihara will also be implicated. Regarding this, Mr. Murakami, do you know?
"
"Hi!"
Murakami Yasu suddenly understood and said quickly: "I'm sorry, Commander, I almost made a principled mistake. But how should I explain it to the army, division generals and staff officers below? They are full of fighting spirit and want to take the initiative to ask for a fight.
Make great achievements!"
"Only by attacking India, seizing the industries and mineral deposits of the subcontinent, and possessing India's huge population base can we lay the cornerstone of the empire's hegemony in one fell swoop! I have been authorized by His Majesty the Emperor and the base camp, no matter who is in the army, even if he has outstanding military exploits
As long as the corps commander and division commander deliberately destroy the tacit understanding with the Anjia Army, consume the empire's resources in vain, and immediately transfer to the reserve force, there will be no mercy! At this critical moment that affects the fate and future of the empire, I will absolutely
No mistakes allowed!”
After Ishikawa Koichi finished speaking, he slapped the black chess piece on the northwest corner of the chessboard with a "pop" sound. Once a piece was released, the scattered black pieces in the northwest connected together.
potential.
Only then did Murakami Yasu discover that Ishikawa Koichi, the son of a god, had allowed Black to completely take the initiative, which coincided with the current chaotic battle situation. He couldn't help but think carefully, hoping to understand the subtlety of Ishikawa Koichi's tactics.
...
On the morning of the 27th, the fog that shrouded the plateau had not yet dissipated, and the sun hung lazily over the mountains in the east. The Burmese army's attack on the Kut Pass had officially launched.
As artillery shells rained down from the sky on the front-line position guarded by the Anjia Army, the Burmese army once again unexpectedly stepped on the impact point of the artillery shells and quickly charged forward.
Different from the last time they attacked the Meiya defense line, this time the Burmese army also brought more than 30 cruise tanks captured in previous battles with the British army. These thin-skinned but highly maneuverable tanks were used under the signal flag of the messenger.
The entire line was spread out during the swing, forming an attack surface of more than 500 meters. It was obviously preparing to break through the front line of the Meimiao defense line again and make another central breakthrough.
The Burmese army accompanying the tanks fought in squad units, with shining bayonets sticking out, shouting loudly and following each tank. And further away, more than 8,000 Burmese soldiers of about one division, waved
They seemed to be rushing toward the position.
In Gute Town, three thousand meters behind the front-line position, An Jin looked extremely calm. He stood in front of the sand table and calmly observed the situation between the enemy and ourselves, and listened to the explanation given by Colonel Ma Jianhui, the chief of operations.
"According to the news from the special brigade that went deep into Dongse, the headquarters of the Burmese army is set up here - Naoqiu Town, about eight kilometers away from the starting position. The enemy has deployed one division on each flank, and the center has deployed one division at a time.
There are three divisions, and one division guards the supply line from Naoqiu to Mandalay. The enemy's weapons and equipment are mainly Zhongzheng series rifles purchased from our Xiangxi factory, Czech light machine guns, and Maxim heavy machine guns, supplemented by captured
The weapons and individual firepower of the British army are not much weaker than ours!"
After the victory in the Songhu Battle, Ma Jianhui was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel for his meritorious service. Later, he was awarded many times by the Special Operations Command and promoted to the rank of colonel during the battles in eastern Zhejiang and Annan. As the mountain army continued to replenish its leadership, he finally stepped out of the special forces.
The brigade officially assumes the position of combat staff officer of the Mountain Corps directly under the central government. If this battle is fought successfully, it will inevitably be promoted to the next level.
"In this way, as long as the enemy in the center is defeated, the Burmese army on both wings will collapse without a fight!"
An Jin murmured to himself, and then asked: "Have the Air Force and the Army Aviation Force been contacted?"
"Contacted!"
Ma Jianhui smiled all over his face: "After the sky cleared last night, the 16th Air Force Regiment was transferred from Simao to Mengya, the 17th Air Force Regiment was transferred from Anxin City to Myitkyina, and the 18th Air Force Regiment was transferred from the car to Nalang.
The 19th Air Force Regiment in the east and the 20th Air Force Regiment in Lashio. We have deployed a powerful strike force of five air corps in northern Myanmar. The General Staff has approved the addition of transportation and logistics to these five air corps.
The supply brigade established the Fourth Air Division, with Major General Zhang Cunyi as the division commander.
"The five helicopter brigades of the Army Aviation have all been deployed to the three military airports of Lashio, Nalang, and Mengya, and are directly under the unified command of our mountain army. In the morning, after it was discovered that the enemy troops began to gather to prepare for the attack, the helicopter brigades of the Army Aviation took the lead.
The air force's bomber squadrons also took off a quarter of an hour ago and are expected to arrive before the enemy tanks approach our positions."
An Jin smiled: "So, we have no pressure! Call Political Commissar Liang and ask him to take it easy and not expose our counterattack force prematurely... Well, in this way, immediately order the artillery to carry out
Our 105mm mountain howitzer may not be able to break open the turtle shells of enemy tanks to block fire, but the 105mm mountain cannon and 107mm mountain rocket launcher are different. As long as the enemy does not get entangled with us, it will affect the bombing effect of the air force!"
"OK!"
Ma Jianhui took the order and left.
On the front line, the tanks of the Burmese army rolled forward. Suddenly, several chassis emitted billowing smoke and stopped advancing. The tank crews quickly jumped out of the turret. After a while, the tanks exploded violently due to burning. It turned out that these tanks collided with each other.
It landed on the anti-tank mines laid by the Anjia military.
The rest of the tanks stopped advancing, turned their 40mm guns, and acted as fixed forts. Together with the artillery at the rear, they bombarded the Gute pass in front. A large number of infantry quickly moved forward, using bayonets to carry out the simplest and most dangerous demining operation. After being bombed,
After more than 300 people died, the minefield was finally completely eliminated.
The mountain army's artillery group, which had already been prepared for the Burmese army's actions, used howitzers, cannons and rocket launchers to target the Burmese army's tanks and infantry, launching intensive shelling.
The thin-skinned tanks of the Burmese army were shot one after another, and were turned into burning living coffins by large-caliber cannon shells and rockets. The attacking infantry, under the dense grenade strikes of ninety 105mm mountain howitzers, was reduced to flesh and blood.
Broken limbs and arms flew across the battlefield, and shrill screams resounded over the battlefield.
Since the artillery units of the Anjia Army are set up in the mountains, the artillery of the Burmese Army cannot pose a threat to the artillery positions of the Anjia Army, but the artillery of the Anjia Army can cover the artillery positions of the Burmese Army. However, the Burmese Army obviously also knows its disadvantages in the terrain.
, so the artillery positions were set very far back. The maximum range meant that the accuracy would be very poor, and the effect was not good when bombing the Gute defense line. The Anjiajun artillery obviously saw this problem and did not try to waste artillery shells to suppress the Burmese army.
The artillery instead vented its anger on the attacking tanks and infantry.
Just as some Burmese tanks and infantry stubbornly broke through the fire front set by Anjia Army's artillery and continued to attack the mountain pass, the first wave of strike aircraft from Narang Air Force Airport had arrived.
This wave of strike groups consisted of five bomber groups, one fighter squadron, and one attack aircraft squadron. More than seventy B2 bombers roared directly towards the Burmese army's artillery positions. The dense aerial bombs quickly destroyed the Burmese army's precious artillery.
and artillery pieces, turned into flesh and blood and scrap metal.
Although the Burmese army has set up air defense positions, more than a dozen anti-aircraft machine guns and five or six small-caliber anti-aircraft machine guns have been locked by the attack aircraft that took the lead and were quickly silenced by the dense rain of bullets and falling aerial bombs.
Then there was no way to fight back.
After destroying the Burmese army's artillery, the bombers, in squadron units, began to bomb the Burmese army that had gathered in groups on the battlefield. The Burmese army was in chaos.
Just before the Burmese military command made targeted adjustments, the second wave and the third wave of air strike groups had already arrived over the battlefield. The second wave of fighter planes flew directly to Weiwen Town and used dense aerial bombs to attack them.
The entire town was reduced to a sea of fire and ruins, and the Burmese army's frontline headquarters was quickly destroyed.
The entire central and northeastern region of Dongse, the sky was covered with dense bombers, fighter jets and attack aircraft. Three flight regiments and fifteen bomber squadrons, that is, 225 bombers, plus forty-five
The attack planes and forty-five fighter jets could not be more accurately described as overwhelming.
Under this high-density attack, the entire Burmese army's central offensive force was in chaos. Even the areas where the two wing armies were too concentrated were fiercely attacked by the Anjia Army's air force.
...
In Yangon, in the operations room of the Myanmar-Indian Front Army Headquarters, the phone rang continuously.
Ishikawa Koichi, who got up after a quick four-hour break and discussed with his staff how to quickly invade India, picked up the phone at the reminder of his staff, and heard the voice of Lieutenant General Shojiro Iida, the commander of the right wing of the Front Army stationed in Mandalay, sound a little urgent:
"Ishikawa-kun, the Chinese have dispatched a large number of air forces to attack the attacking Burmese ground forces. The Burmese army may collapse at any time! For the sake of the safety of the empire, I suggest that we immediately send our flying team to Dongse to attack the Anjia army's air force.
We will resolutely fight back any provocative behavior!"
Ishikawa Koichi asked calmly: "Do you know how many fighter planes the Chinese dispatched?"
"According to the feedback from the military advisors sent by our army on the front line, there are three to four hundred fighters, but most of them are bombers. I think this is an opportunity that can be exploited!" Shojiro Iida replied.
Ishikawa Koichi's expression changed: "Iida-kun, do you know the organization of the Anjia Army Air Force?"
Iida Shojiro was stunned: "I vaguely know something..."
"You know it, but you're still so unwise?"
Ishikawa Koichi deliberately raised his voice to vent his anger: "A brigade (regiment) of the Anjia Army Air Force consists of five bomber squadrons, five fighter squadrons (actually one strong vs. four), one reconnaissance squadron and two
It is composed of a transport aircraft squadron. In other words, as many bombers as you see now, there are an equal number of fighters waiting for us!
"Do you know how many fighter jets the Empire has deployed in Myanmar's Fifth Flying Group? Ninety-six! The opponent's number of fighter jets is three to four times that of our army, and its performance is even more advanced. If you ask me to dispatch aviation forces to fight, this
What else is it if it's not to commit suicide? When I have three flying groups in my hands, you can make this suggestion again!"
After saying that, he hung up the phone with a bang.
Ishikawa Koichi thought for a while, then picked up the phone and called the commander of the Fifth Aviation Group, Obata Hideyoshi, asking the aviation units stationed in Mandalay, Meiktila, Pyinmana, Ren'anqiang, Ruibao and other places to be on alert at all times.
, once it is discovered that the Anjiajun Air Force has the intention to cross Dongse, it will immediately make tactical evasion to the south. Under the current circumstances, the priority should be to preserve the strength of the air force and accumulate strength for future Indian operations.
Obata was extremely aggrieved after hearing this, but under the severe scolding from Ishikawa Koichi, he had no choice but to say that he would obey the order.
On the other side of the phone, Lieutenant General Shojiro Iida listened to the busy tone on the phone, smiled bitterly and said to the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Independence Army, Bo Decha, and chief of staff, Bolieye, who were waiting:
"Commander Ishikawa said that the number of enemy air force fighters is several times that of our army, and the air force cannot be dispatched to assist! In the early morning of this morning, the Yangon Command asked our right-wing army to make a guarantee that not a single soldier will join the attack on Dongse
.Unless the Chinese have the intention to attack Mandalay, any unauthorized deployment of troops to join the war will be severely punished by the base camp. It is said that His Majesty the Emperor has given Commander Ishikawa the power to make emergency decisions!"
Podcha and Bolye were greatly disappointed with this result. Podcha provoked: "General Iida, you are the biggest contributor to the attack on Burma. Mr. Ishikawa does not take the general seriously...
..."
Although Iida Shojiro was also very unhappy, he still stopped Bodecha from saying: "Commander Ishikawa, as a member of the royal family, has made great achievements in the attack on Northern China as early as 1933, and his seniority is far beyond that of Iida.
"Tanoue, after the July 7th Incident last year, he made many meritorious deeds and was highly appreciated by His Majesty the Emperor. This time Commander Ishikawa represents His Majesty the Emperor, please be careful what you say!"
After the two people left angrily, Shojiro Iida showed dissatisfaction on his face, but then he fell into deep thought about Ishikawa Koichi's strategic layout.
~~~~~~~~~~
***: I can’t manage book reviews this week, sorry! I’ll repost the essence next week when I get home from the hospital! Thank you!