East India battlefield, Diyavan area south of the Ganges River.
More than 2,000 Japs, more than 12,000 Japanese and Indian troops, mixed with nearly 80,000 Indian indigenous armed forces holding rifles or grenades in their hands, marched towards the besieged city of Patna in a chaotic manner. .At first glance, the momentum is earth-shattering, but it is a pity that such a mob has no fighting power. Even the majestic-looking Japanese soldiers are mostly Japanese expatriates wearing military uniforms and have no airs.
In order to cover the march of the ground troops, the Japanese Army, Navy and Air Force dispatched several reconnaissance planes to provide early warning. After marching all night, this large-scale reinforcement force finally plunged into the three main divisions of the Ninth Army and the Seventh Army. Twenty tanks returned to the encirclement set up by the Keshi Division.
This time the Army did not even call for air force support. Two of the four tank divisions were deployed on the plains, followed by two motorized infantry divisions, and groups of tanks and tanks were launched. The horses galloped, roaring fiercely, and rushed towards the direction of the enemy. Countless infantrymen of the Anjia Army made earth-shattering shouts of killing. Under the cover of armored vehicles, they followed closely behind the tank Huike, forming a line. An unstoppable torrent.
Tanks, armored vehicles, and the trailing infantry, under the tacit coordination of infantry and tanks, completed the planned actions unstoppably, cutting in, dividing, surrounding, and killing!
Yes, this is undoubtedly a one-sided massacre!
The mechanized troops collided with the marching troops on the plain who had no position to rely on and could not receive heavy artillery cover. Not to mention the current mob, even the elite infantry of the Japanese were unable to resist. The battle situation showed a one-sided trend from the beginning.
Although the Japanese commanders organized suicide attacks again and again, in the wilderness, without the cover of trenches, in front of the fire protection network composed of dense artillery fire and self-propelled bombs, the hope of getting close to the blast and succeeding was very slim. The cannon fodder turned into a rain of blood and minced meat, moistening the earth. I think next year's crops will be blessed.
The fighting lasted from ten o'clock in the morning to four o'clock in the afternoon, and was still going on.
The sun broke through the thick clouds and shone on the earth. Under the golden light, the red blood quickly condensed from the body that gradually became stiff. The broken limbs and flesh were mixed with the inexplicable liquid, sputtering in all directions. , all kinds of miserable howls became almost inaudible under the violent bombardment of artillery fire and the crushing of tanks and tanks. The faces of the remaining enemies were full of fear, but in the face of the rumbling steel behemoth, there was nothing but death. There is no choice.
The battle ended late at night, and the vast wilderness was littered with corpses. Although the enemy's combat effectiveness was not a concern, as a certain big shot said, even killing tens of thousands of pigs would take a lot of time, let alone It was said that there were nearly 100,000 people. After a big battle, the water of the Ganges River also changed color, and the tragedy was evident.
Behind the four divisions, the 19th Motorized Infantry Division's attack on Patna City was still proceeding in an orderly manner.
To the west of Patna City, as another round of artillery bombardment began, the artillery of the artillery regiment directly under the division and the heavy firepower battalions of each regiment, including howitzers, cannons, howitzers, infantry guns, and mortars, formed a tight echelon. Firepower network, amidst deafening explosions, the infantry assault began.
Infantry and artillery coordination is a compulsory subject for the infantry of the Anjia Army. Under the cover of some tanks and armored vehicles, the officers and soldiers of the three regiments rushed towards the central area of Patna City along some of the city's peripheral buildings.
The resistance of the Japanese and Indian troops was stubborn. According to orders from the Burmese-Indian Front Command, Colonel Takezono Yoshii organized the citizens of Patna into death squads and went into battle in batches. Unfortunately, they were suppressed by fierce artillery fire. Below, the achievements achieved are almost negligible.
Soon, the 77th Infantry Regiment secured a solid support point in the central area of the city. At the same time, the 76th Motorized Rifle Regiment occupied the train station in the southwest of the city.
The battle became more and more intense, and the humid and hot air was filled with gunpowder smoke and flames of war. The smell of burning and blood filled the nostrils.
By sending waves of indigenous death squads into death traps, the Japanese successfully slowed down the city's invasion. The battle lasted until two o'clock in the morning. As the "consumables" were exhausted, the Japanese and Indian troops were sent in again. .
The battle was unusually cruel. After repeated tug-of-war battles in many areas, most of the Japanese and Indian troops, under the supervision of machine guns behind the charge formation, bit the bullet, held bayonets, and under the cover of night, attacked the Anjia Army's position. Launched an assault. However, the launch of illumination bombs left them with nowhere to hide, and then mortars and infantry artillery continued to send hot shrapnel into people's bodies. Yuan Shu's figure fell on the charging road.
Under the guidance of the Japanese instructors, the Japanese and Indian troops maintained some of the characteristics of the Japanese and attacked in skirmish lines. In order to reduce fear during the assault, they often ran with their heads down and passed quickly, quickly approaching the Anjia army's position. Within two to three hundred meters.
At this time, the firing sound of Anjiajun's universal machine gun and Gaoping dual-purpose machine gun rang out. Japanese and Indian soldiers fell down one after another. Even if they were lucky enough to be close to 20 to 30 meters away, before they could feel happy, they were greeted by these The "bad" thing is the rebound of the grenade that hits the head and face.
Seeing their companions fall one after another, the Japanese and Indian troops suddenly collapsed psychologically and quickly fled back. However, what greeted them was the same dense rain of bullets, as well as the scoldings of "coward" and "coward".
The assault operations organized by the Japanese everywhere failed. However, at this moment, Colonel Takezono Yoshii already knew the news that all the reinforcements had been wiped out. His mentality was unbalanced and he still ordered the Japanese and Indian troops to be the main assault force to attack the Anjia Army. Even if the battle Even the last person was spared no expense.
Unfortunately, at this time, intensive gunfire also rang out from the east of the city. It turned out that after dealing with the reinforcements in Patna City, Sun Desheng, commander of the Eighth Army, mobilized some of the capable members who had not participated in the daytime annihilation operation against the Japanese reinforcements. , devoted to the attack on Patna city.
Fierce fighting broke out on the east and west routes at the same time, leaving Colonel Takezono Yoshii at a loss and could only divide his troops to defend.
The officers and soldiers of Anjia gave full play to their night fighting skills, and with strict organization and cooperation, they continuously compressed the Japanese living space. By 9 a.m. on the 18th, they finally completely annihilated the enemy defenders in Patna.
Myanmar, Mandalay.
Xia Jian held a telescope in one hand and observed the situation far and near. Although the battle had passed for a day and a night, from the dense craters and the rapidly deteriorating corpses that engineers and B-type troops were still clearing, we could tell how serious the battle the night before yesterday was. cruel.
The Japs' frenzied behavior made Xia Jian mentally prepared for the critical battle against Mandalay. The brave will win in a narrow encounter, which is related to the overall strategy of An's army. Xia Jian is very cautious, and there are good news on all fronts. Under the circumstances, he did not want to lose himself. The war zone became a laughing stock, so after the main force entered the outside of Mandalay, he went to the front line to check the situation in person.
After instructing Major General Pan Che, Director of the Political Department, to dispose of the body as soon as possible to prevent the outbreak of the plague due to the hot weather, Xia Jian got into the armored command vehicle and two hours later arrived at the Fourth Group Army of the Anjia Army, eight kilometers southeast of Mandalay City.
The frontline headquarters met with several main generals of the group army.
Mandalay is the political, economic and cultural center of central and northern Myanmar and a famous ancient capital. It was named because it is backed by Mandalay Mountain. Because Ava, the famous ancient capital in Myanmar's history, is in its suburbs, overseas Chinese in Myanmar call it "Wa".
"City", which is located on the east bank of the middle reaches of the Irrawaddy River, with an altitude of 76 meters.
Mandalay City once suffered some damage during the battle between the Japanese and British troops, but after more than two years of construction, it has become a strong defensive fortress.
Today, the Japanese 53rd Division, as well as the Burmese Army's 5th and 6th Divisions, a total of more than 60,000 people, are huddled tightly together to resist the Anjia Army's attack.
Xia Jian came to the hill of Qinghua Mountain, which is more than 300 meters away from the headquarters and more than 300 meters above sea level, and used high-power binoculars to look at the Japanese defensive positions in Mandalay.
The Japanese army was so ruthless that they built countless criss-crossing infantry trenches, intersection trenches, anti-tank trenches, etc. in the east and south directions of the city. They looked like a hedgehog with a spiked ball. It was very bad.
provoke.
Zha was once the royal city of Myanmar. Xia Jian saw only a few buildings with more than four floors through the telescope. The layout of the city was very chaotic. The streets and most buildings were built with square stones or strips of stone.
Although it looks antique, it lacks some modern flavor.
Lieutenant General Luo Lei, commander of the Fourth Group Army, said:
"Obviously, the Japanese army realized a long time ago that the line from Lashio to Mandalay is our main attack direction, so the main defensive positions are built on this line. However, this does not mean that the Japanese army has given up its defense to the north.
Mandalay Mountain in the northeast has an altitude of 30 meters. There are many temples, pagodas and forest of steles on it. There are winding corridors from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain. The Japanese army built a three-dimensional defense system relying on temples, white pagodas and other buildings.
.
"At the same time, the Japanese army also docked a huge transport fleet at the dock in the west of the city. At the critical moment, they can withdraw their troops to the west bank of the Irrawaddy River. It can be said that they can advance, attack, retreat or defend. Unfortunately, if they lose the air superiority, everything is in vain.
Under the intensive bombing of our air force, the Japanese fleet was almost completely destroyed. It will not be easy for the Japanese to escape!"
Xia Jian nodded, continued to watch with a telescope, and asked a question: "Do you know what the Japanese army is doing now?"
Lieutenant General Pei Guangrong, political commissar of the Fourth Group Army, replied:
"After we approached Mandalay yesterday afternoon, we tried to organize an attack. The Japanese army's defense system was indeed extremely tight. We lost more than 200 officers and soldiers in one tentative attack. It seems that the Japanese army is still not satisfied with this.
Satisfied, they used the cypress trees on the nearby mountains to once again reinforce the defensive bunkers outside the city, and continued to dig tunnels frantically inside the city. From this, it seems that the Japanese army is preparing to frustrate our offensive under the strong city of Mandalay!"
"Let's talk, how are you going to fight this battle?" Xia Jian continued to ask.
Major General Lin Bingning, Chief of Staff of the Fourth Group Army, pointed to the Japanese positions in the northwest:
"The Japanese army's blocking trenches were constructed very cleverly. Each of the three outer trenches is basically 20 meters wide and five to six meters deep. When our army launches an attack, the Japanese army can fill the trenches with water at any time.
Moreover, on the other side of each trench, there are densely populated Japanese firepower points and overlapping positions. It is difficult for our mechanized troops to deploy, and the Japanese and Burmese troops are engaged in a trapped beast. They rely solely on infantry to attack one by one. I am afraid that it will not take more than one or two months.
Time cannot be taken away.
"The Japanese bunkers were reinforced with cypress wood and could withstand direct hits from cannon shells including ours. At the same time, the thick soil covering the top of those fortifications could greatly offset the direct damage caused by aerial bombs to the forts and bunkers. At the same time, anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft guns are deployed between these fortifications, which pose a great threat to our helicopters... Therefore, we must be patient enough to deal with the enemy this time. Any advance by the enemy that is underestimated may be possible. It will cause huge casualties, so I suggest that the offensive task be left to our group army alone to complete!"
Xia Jian was a little surprised, put down his telescope, and asked: "Xiao Lin, you mean... we don't need that many troops to attack Mandalay?"
Lin Bingning smiled slightly: "There is only such a big place here, and it is enough for us and the First Mountain Group Army! The Fifth Army can completely cross the Irrawaddy River at Amarapura, southwest of Mandalay, and first occupy the large area of the left river in northern Myanmar. Occupying the plain area will cut off the Japanese railways and roads leading to Imphal and Kohima areas, truly trap Mandalay into an isolated and dead city, and shake the confidence of its officers and soldiers in fighting. At that time, we can launch an attack again, which can have an effect. Get twice the result with half the effort!”
Xia Jian pondered for a moment, put the telescope into the hand of the guard beside him, and waved his hand:
"Let's go to the headquarters. Let's make a careful calculation. It's best to take both Mandalay and Dalze. We must also try our best to seize the time to deal with the 6th Army of Wei 1st Air Force and Li Zhenhan's 20th Army. A group of armies marching south..."
As a group of generals left, the lush Qinghua Mountain fell into silence again.
On the battlefield of Malaya, the Second Army of Gui Jing on the Western Front was still clearing out the Japs who had hid in the Besar Mountains and the defeated Malay army. Zong Xingzhen's Tenth Army had already taken over the heavy pursuit task and headed towards the Strait of Malacca. On the right bank, Niulun Town is between China Mountain and Muda Mountain.
Niulun Town is only 890 meters above sea level, but China Mountain to the left of the town is as high as 1,000 meters above sea level, and Muda Mountain on the upper right of the town is also over 200 meters above sea level. The entire town is on the way to Penang in the south. This canyon basin is a choke point, easy to defend but difficult to attack.
You must know that Penang and its surroundings are areas with very dense Chinese populations in Malaya. Although the Anjia Army evacuated a large number of expatriates in cross-border operations two years ago, hundreds of thousands of Chinese are still stranded in the same place. In view of the extremely cruel Japanese army's organized After launching a suicide attack, the Anjia Army headquarters was worried that the Japanese army would do the same thing to the Chinese, so it demanded that Penang must be captured as soon as possible to relieve its worries.
The battle started in the early morning of the 18th. The divisional towed artillery, self-propelled artillery, infantry artillery and mortars of the 10th Army's 28th Motorized Infantry Division launched a bombardment at Niulun Town, one after another. , fell on the defensive position built by the Japanese army based on the mountain. Large groups of flames steamed up on the hillside. The machine guns and rifles deployed on the position were quickly dismantled under the cultivation of artillery fire. Zero..."... accounted for
A large number of Japanese soldiers and Malay soldiers were blown to pieces, and sharp shrapnel flew in all directions, like moving meat grinders, grinding the broken limbs into tiny pieces of meat and throwing them everywhere, staining the ground with blood. It got all red.
At this time, the aircraft fleet of the 10th Flying Regiment under the Second Air Division happened to be above Niulun Town. The horizontal bombers dropped dense bombs and, together with the dive bombers, carried out a brutal attack on the artillery positions deployed by the Japanese army in the town. Yuan Rendao was massacred back, and the attack aircraft, which could withstand anti-aircraft fire and bullets, sprayed violent aircraft fire and machine gun fire, shooting fiercely at the Japanese and Malay troops attacking in the town, completely blocking the enemy. A channel for reinforcements to Sufang positions.
After the artillery fire extended, tanks and armored vehicles rumbled into action, and under the cover of helicopters, they launched an attack on the Japanese defenses in the north of the town.
This fierce open-to-ground six-body offensive caught the Japanese and Malay troops by surprise. Under the almost abnormal firepower, they were unable to organize a useful line of defense. The infantry followed the tanks and armored vehicles and climbed up the gentle slope. Passing over the collapsed fortifications, they successfully rushed into Niulun Town.
The entire attack was completed in one go. It only took more than half an hour from the launch of the attack to the infantry charging into the town.
Guarding Niulun Town was a Japanese garrison of 2,000 people, and there were also more than 10,000 Malay troops. After entering the town, hand-to-hand street fighting quickly began.
As the founder of the Anjia Army's special forces, the troops led by Lieutenant General Zong Xingzhen were completely stamped with his brand. This critical battle was completely like a textbook drill.
The infantry is organized into squads and platoons. Each platoon is equipped with an armored vehicle, which serves as a fire support point. Each strike group carries machine guns, automatic rifles and rocket launchers, as well as five- and six-caliber mortars. Attack every building garrisoned by the Japanese and Malay troops.
Once an abnormality is discovered in the building, immediately use machine guns and armored vehicles to suppress the enemy's firepower. The rocket launcher will approach and strike at close range to destroy the building and eliminate the enemies hidden inside.
For those enemy officers and soldiers hiding behind the buildings, they used mortars to bombard them. The shells fired by the mortars showed perfect arcs, easily destroying the enemies who thought they were safe.
When encountering strong defenses during the attack, the easiest and most violent way to fight is to call for helicopters or attack aircraft, and directly use bombs or rockets to destroy these obstacles. Engineers can show their talents. They use explosives to open a passage in the buildings on both sides of the street, cleverly go around the enemy's back and fire back, often destroying a large number of enemies without any losses.
The snipers assigned to the strike team showed their special skills even more. They followed the team's actions while looking for suitable places to carry out precise sniper attacks on enemies who were well hidden.
Under the careful "care" of the snipers, the firepower points of the Japanese and Malay troops misfired one by one. Many Japanese who showed up to shoot were shot in the head by the snipers behind the shooting holes of many firepower points. Not a single Japanese could reach the target in time. The puppet soldiers dared to get close to the machine gun, because there were corpses lying next to the machine gun, and each one of them died in a miserable state, which painfully tortured everyone's nerves.
In desperation, the Japanese commander picked up the spirit of "Pig Attack" again and sent batches of death squads to prepare to eliminate Anjiajun's snipers at close range. However, it was not easy to break through the defense of the strike team. General-purpose machine guns and automatic With the rifles weaving into a tight fire net, and snipers picking up missed shots, the Japanese army's hope of a successful assault was slim. Even if they were lucky enough to get close, grenades would rain down, and then everything would fall silent.
In this fierce battle, the officers and soldiers of the special brigade also showed their talents. They went around walls, roofs, beams and other places to seize commanding heights and key parts on the enemy's flanks. Then they set up general-purpose machine guns to cut off the enemy's mutual communication. connect.
Although the street fighting went smoothly, the Japanese army's fighting will was not limited. In some places, as soon as they captured a building, they were counterattacked by the Malay soldiers led by the Japanese. The Anjia officers and soldiers who stood firm on the position they had just captured fought hard Defeat the enemy's counterattack, and then join forces with the follow-up troops to continue advancing without hesitation.
The strike firepower of the Anjia army was several times that of the Japanese army. It did not give the enemy a chance to engage in hand-to-hand combat. The automatic rifle return, hand return rifle and charging rifle return were like the scythe of the god of death, harvesting all life to their heart's content. Every time they invade a building and find wounded enemy soldiers struggling to their death, unless they drop their weapons and raise their hands to surrender, Anjia officers and soldiers will shoot these guys in the head and kill them directly to avoid Yuan Wei's casualties. .
Since 1937, with the frequent victories of the Japanese army in the Indian Ocean and the Asia-Pacific region, the self-esteem and self-confidence of the Hui people have been greatly encouraged. The Japs rarely surrender. They usually fight to the end and are influenced by the spirit of Bushido. After being tempered by the war, the Japanese soldiers' willpower has become increasingly tenacious, which is definitely not something that white people such as Britain and the United States can understand!
After more than four hours of fierce fighting, the battle ended at 3:20 in the afternoon. The enemies in Niulun Town were basically eliminated. A few broken troops fled towards Meinong Town in the south, and behind them, "Rumble" A large force of tanks and armored vehicles advanced rapidly toward the south along the road beside the railway.
In this battle of Niulun, the Tenth Army only dispatched the 28th Motorized Infantry Division of Major General Zhang Fengyun to carry out the attack. During the battle, the 29th Armored Division commanded by Colonel Feng Jiaqi was already in place. As soon as the battle was over, The armored division immediately rushed through the town and continued the pursuit south.
Behind the 29th Armored Division, Colonel Duan Jinhan's 30th Motorized Infantry Division had already caught up. The three main divisions were chasing each other, giving the Japanese no chance to breathe. By noon on the 20th, the Tenth Group Army They have all crossed the Muda River and arrived at Beihai Town, east of the Penang Strait.
On the afternoon of the previous day, the Anjiajun Air Force paratrooper team carried out a parachute landing on Penang Island. After fierce fighting, they eliminated more than 600 Yuan troops on the island and more than 2,000 Malay troops, stabilizing the Nanyang Chinatown. Under such circumstances, it was no longer possible for the Japanese troops to withdraw to Penang Island and use the advantages of the Strait to resist, so they had to take the initiative to retreat from Butterworth Town to Bukit Mertajam Town on the afternoon of the 20th, relying on the northeastern direction of the town, which is more than 400 meters above sea level. mountainous areas and build fortifications.