Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Chapter 473: Emergency at Biaoguan, requesting air support! Stilwell sighed: Chinese soldiers are the best in the world!

Joint Command.

Stilwell and Chu Yunfei just sat there waiting.

The process of waiting for the battle outcome is so boring.

Stilwell also knows how to play chess, but after knowing Chu Yunfei's true level, he would rather spend his time in a daze rather than seek abuse.

Chu Yunfei had no intention of learning chess.

This time, their combat goal was to defeat the Japanese 15th Army and even the entire Southern Army.

It's just that the British army was too weak, so the two had to adjust the corresponding battle plan.

The goal was temporarily set to annihilate the Japanese 55th Division in the direction of Biaoguan.

This also meets Chu Yunfei's expectations.

He also needed a suitable reason to take control of Yangon.

On the distant battlefield.

The roar of artillery fire continued, and under the command of Qiu Jinxuan, shells hit the Japanese defenders in Yangon.

When the shells hit the Japanese brigade headquarters, Chu Yunfei used his artillery guidance skills without hesitation.

One shell after another hit the Japanese army commander Hidego Inoue who was in the basement.

"Boom boom boom~!"

"Boom~!"

The ground buildings were quickly destroyed by the artillery fire. Inoue Hidego, who was hiding in the underground air-raid shelter, could not help but secretly rejoice in his wise decision.

Even hiding underground like a rat is better than being killed by a shell.

Chu Yunfei, who had been paying close attention to the results of the shelling, couldn't help but frown at this moment.

A round of shelling continued.

The skull representing the Japanese brigade-level command did not disappear, but became even brighter red.

obviously.

After the opponents learned that they were the ones being fought.

The headquarters was placed underground or in a fairly sturdy building, and the bombardment of the 105mm howitzer did not produce any substantial effect.

It's a pity that the power of the 105mm artillery was still too small during the siege.

To deal with such a strong enemy hiding in underground air defense facilities, at least 150mm caliber heavy artillery is needed.

Chu Yunfei subconsciously looked at Stilwell.

We have to find a way to get some more heavy artillery from the Americans.

Stilwell's current situation is not easy either. The orders from within the United States are vague about his position.

The commander of the Far East Theater was Chang Ruiyuan, and he was the chief of staff.

According to common sense, the party that sends the most troops must have direct command of the army.

But the Americans did not think so. They wanted Stilwell to have more command power while only providing some supplies.

This is obviously not realistic. The Americans couldn't even convince the British, let alone the stubborn Chang Ruiyuan.

Just one week into the fierce fighting, Chang Ruiyuan had already flown to Lashio and was commanding the battle remotely.

However, after his telegram was sent to the joint command, there was no further response.

If we really follow Chang Ruiyuan’s battle plan.

The two combat units, the Fifth Army and the newly formed Sixth Army, may have already recovered Maodan Myeon and even invaded Thailand.

But the same thing.

There is a high probability that the two armies will not be able to maintain a sustained offensive due to their own heavy losses.

The war cannot be fought like this. Chu Yunfei was glad that he was accompanied by the American general Stilwell instead of Luo Zhuoying who obeyed Chang Ruiyuan's orders blindly.

the other side.

Biaoguan, command center.

Zhao Pengcheng looked at the battle map in front of him with a gloomy face: "Old Feng, are you going to use this map to deal with it?"

"How is it, have our reinforcements arrived?"

Zhao Pengcheng repeated: "I said you can just use this map to deal with it?"

Feng Wenxiang noticed something was wrong. He seemed to have trouble hearing what was said. “What did you say?”

Well, two deaf people!

The command post was destroyed three times by Japanese artillery fire, and one staff officer was also killed.

When the Japanese attacked Biaoguan, they did not hesitate to use the artillery shells they carried across the mountains and rainforests.

Almost all of them were smashed towards the defenders' positions.

In the sky, the support from fighter jets and bombers was almost non-stop.

Zhao Pengcheng knew that it was not a good idea to continue fighting like this, so he quickly stepped forward and picked up the phone: "Hello, this is Zhao Pengcheng, connecting to the joint command center!"

"Yes, take it, find a way to take it, what a bullshit confidentiality, there is no need for confidentiality now!"

The call is connected.

"Hello, Your Majesty, hello~ Your Majesty, I'm Zhao Pengcheng. The pressure at the pass is too great. The Japs' aircraft support is too frequent. We have suffered too many casualties. I'm requesting air support! I'm requesting air support!"

"What's the specific situation?"

Zhao Pengcheng kept repeating: "Request air support..." After a moment, he reacted: "Your Excellency, my ears were deafened by the Japanese artillery, I can't hear what you say!"

"Got it!" Chu Yunfei hung up the phone and immediately turned around and signaled: "Sun Ming, send a telegram to the headquarters and request the Flying Tigers to attack and fight against the Japanese fighter planes over Biaoguan."

"Yes!"
-

The battle was quite intense.

Alexander led the defeated British army to retreat towards Yenangyaung.

This is their most critical and important oil production base.

Once there is a problem on the front line.

They will "completely destroy" the base to ensure it does not fall into the hands of the Japanese.

After waiting for a long time, a day and a night passed.

Only then did he learn from Smith that the expeditionary force had launched a counterattack on the port of Rangoon and that the fighting was quite fierce.

Alexander was filled with turmoil.

While resisting the main attack of the Japanese army, the expeditionary force also took care of the logistics supply lines and had enough energy to counterattack the port.

How many troops do they have?

Three hundred thousand or four hundred thousand?
"Fuck, why has no one ever told me that the Chinese are so powerful in combat?"

"Major General Smith, I need an explanation as to why your troops were defeated so easily!"

Major General Smith stood aside in silence.

The gap is really too big.

Their combat force of nearly 10,000 was defeated by the Japanese army, and only less than 5,000 British troops successfully retreated and assembled in the area around Yenangyaung.

Many Indians and Burmese native soldiers have been captured by the Japanese army.

Even the armored brigade, which was highly expected, was defeated by the Japanese army through roundabout tactics.

"Fuck~! Myanmar is our British "special economic zone". If the Chinese are allowed to occupy it, it is very likely to have an adverse impact on our rule."

"General Alexander, I suggest that we immediately organize our troops to launch a counterattack against the Japanese and join this battle."

Although Alexander was shouting, he knew what was going on in his heart: "We need time to rest, we need a lot of supplies, weapons, equipment and even soldiers!"

With their current combat strength, they are simply unable to interfere in Myanmar's war.

The British Indian Army was to defend India.

Alexander could even guess with his buttocks that Churchill would definitely reject his request to send troops.

For Britain, securing India was more important than defending Burma.

What Britain is most worried about today is that the Japanese and Germans will join forces and attack India from two directions.

With the expeditionary force leading the way, Churchill would not be anxious at all.

Instead, they will continue to invest their limited resources in the European battlefield!
Just like the strategy chosen by the Americans themselves, Europe first, Asia second, Germany and Italy first, then Japan.

At this moment, the British and Burmese troops were in a complete dilemma.

“Perhaps we should try to communicate with the Chinese and wait until they successfully retake the port of Yangon before handing over the defense work to us.”

Major General Smith was stunned. He never thought that this famous general could say such words.

So he just said sarcastically, "General Alexander, are you planning to give the Japanese another chance to seize the port of Yangon?"

"Major General Smith, what do you mean?"

"Our troops are extremely weak in combat effectiveness. The enemy's light infantry is enough to defeat us. Our competitors not only have strong naval and air superiority, but also have far superior personnel and manpower."

Alexander couldn't hold back his anger: "Are we going to hand over Yangon to the Chinese?"

"General Alexander, I have to remind you that just one battle has made me deeply aware of the Japanese's fighting spirit and the quality of their troops. Under such circumstances, the battle between the two sides will never end easily!"

"Rangoon is likely to be reduced to ruins, or even become a slaughterhouse for the two sides to fight. If I were the supreme commander of the joint command, I would be happy to see the use of the Yangon Port as a trap to continue bleeding our enemies."

When he said this, Smith was slightly startled and his eyes met Alexander's.

They have come to their senses, they have been fooled.

“Rangoon Port was a bait for the Chinese from the beginning!”

Major General Smith nodded in agreement: "They are using the Japanese to drive us out of Yangon. When they take it back, they will be able to control Yangon, the largest port in Myanmar."

"On this basis, they can not only obtain more material assistance, but also send more Chinese workers into Myanmar in the name of repairing transportation lines."

The two British generals reacted quickly and sent a telegram to India immediately, conveying their views to Wavell, the supreme commander of the British Far East.

This former Supreme Allied Commander of the US, UK, Netherlands and Australian Command in the Southwest Pacific was actually qualified in terms of his command performance during World War II.

Wavell went to Egypt in July 1939 to serve as commander-in-chief of the British Middle East Command. He was well aware of the geographical and strategic importance of the Middle East and actively prepared for war despite extremely limited manpower and resources.

When the World War broke out, in order to deal with the Italian army in Africa, he rejected Churchill's order to allocate troops and emphasized the important role of people in determining the outcome of the war.

On the African battlefield, he commanded his troops to defeat the Italian army commanded by Graziani.

In two months, they advanced more than 9 kilometers, captured more than officers and soldiers from nine Italian divisions, and seized nearly tanks and artillery pieces.

Just when the war in Africa was going well, Churchill intervened again.

He was asked to transfer the main forces of four divisions to the Greek battlefield.

Since both sides have insufficient military strength, naturally neither side can win.

This resulted in the British army neither being able to save the crisis on the Greek battlefield nor having enough troops to pursue the Italian army and wipe out the Italian army in Libya before the German army landed.

Yes, you read that right. This general's poor performance on the battlefield in the Far East was actually closely related to one person.

That was British Prime Minister Churchill.

Chang Ruiyuan is not the only commander who likes to micro-manage the front-line battlefield.

Churchill was the same.

In order to shirk responsibility, Wavell was sent to India to serve as the commander-in-chief of the British army.

Just at the beginning of his tenure, Wavell pointed out the extreme weakness of India's military and believed that Burma should be placed under the jurisdiction of the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in India, but he was not allowed to take over Burma's defense until December 12.

It is said that Chiang Kai-shek was holding the National Army back, but wasn't Churchill also holding the British Army back?
The reason why Wavell refused the National Army's advance entry into Burma was because he had the foresight to realize that it was easy to invite people but extremely difficult to let them go.

Especially the expeditionary force with strong men and horses.

If any contradictions or conflicts arise between the two sides, the combat effectiveness of the British and Indian Army will not be enough for the Expeditionary Force to deal with them.

On the one hand, he advocated emphasizing the importance of the defense of China, India and Myanmar, hoping to attract enough attention from London, and on the other hand, he urgently hoped to maintain British rule in Myanmar.

Especially since there is a leader who looks like Chang Ruiyuan.
If you want everything, you often get nothing.

When Wavell saw the telegrams from Smith and Alexander, he looked worried.

This was what he expected.

It is almost impossible for the Japanese army to break through the expeditionary force's defense line at the moment, according to the current trend of the war in Yangon.

It will either become a battlefield where the expeditionary force continues to bleed the Japanese army, or it will be built into a solid war fortress by the expeditionary force.

It is absolutely impossible to expect them to hand it over to the British army.

The British have a lot of information about Chu Yunfei and Stilwell.

The two were described by the intelligence department as "arrogant generals with the same bad smell."

It is almost impossible to convince these two people.

How to ensure that colonial rule over Burma is maintained after the war has become what he needs to consider and ponder most.

At least after the Americans and the Chinese came together.

There is a high probability that the Americans will invest more war resources in China.

From a personal perspective, Wavell hopes to see this, at least the Japanese will not target India.

But from London's perspective, they naturally hope to invest more resources in the European battlefield.

Although he was quite capable, he was in a dilemma at this time. After much deliberation, he decided to forward the telegram to London intact.

Let that fat guy Churchill worry about his own headache!
-

Port of Yangon.

The transport ships are very busy, constantly transporting combat troops and supplies, including heavy weapons such as tanks.

In the distance, there was a constant roar of artillery fire.

The bombardment lasted almost a whole day, with various types of artillery taking turns to be used.

All buildings in the once prosperous outskirts of Yangon were completely destroyed.

After two rounds of replenishment, the landing combat force of the Japanese Army's 18th Division still maintained its strength at around 3,000 people.

They occupied various key points in the city and were determined to defend it to the death.

The Japanese army's follow-up support forces and fleet are being formed in full swing.

It's just because it can't be fully developed.

There was an urgent need for the 18th Division to counterattack and expand the width of the battlefield and the occupied area.

Of course.

The Japanese army also had another option, which was to break through the expeditionary force's defense line head-on, but this was obviously unlikely.

The only hope can be placed on the 18th Division and its commander, Mutaguchi Ren'ya.

After learning about the battle situation on the front line, the commander of the 18th Division chose to fly to the front line as soon as possible and appeared in Yangon Port as the supreme commander to supervise the battle.

During this process, another two days passed.

At Chu Yunfei's request, the "Flying Tigers" were sent by the headquarters to the sky above Biaoguan to conduct several rounds of air battles.

Although they had a slight advantage overall, they did not show the fighting ability as previously advertised.

However, due to the frequent appearance of their own fighter planes, the morale of the soldiers of Feng Wenxiang's regiment was greatly improved.

Early next morning.

66th Army Headquarters.

"Commander, the order from the Joint Command has been issued. Carry out the encirclement and annihilation operation as planned. In addition, the 200th Division of the Fifth Army will also participate in this battle. They will launch an attack from the south to ensure that the Japanese army is surrounded on all sides and annihilated."

Zhang Zhen nodded slowly: "Order Liu Bolun to penetrate the north of Biaoguan Pass with all his strength. At the same time, order Sun Liren's troops of the newly formed 38th Division to attack Mombaka according to the original battle plan. While cutting off the enemy's retreat route, they will also sweep away the enemy troops along the way."

(The above picture is a simple schematic diagram. The terrain of Myanmar is very clear, which is very suitable for encirclement and annihilation warfare, but not suitable for defensive warfare)

"Yes!"

In addition to the combat units originally scheduled to participate in the war, there were also regiments from the newly formed 11th Army.

this means.

In order to annihilate the 55th Division, a Japanese combat unit with less than 20,000 troops and poor logistical conditions.

The expeditionary force also deployed about 40,000 troops.

Among them are elite ace units such as the 200th Division.

If this battle goes smoothly, the Japanese 55th Division can be completely wiped out at the Biaoguan line.

Three hours.

The attack started and the 66th Army's offensive was quite successful. The Japanese army did not notice or detect the existence of the 66th Army.

The offensive went quite smoothly, not long after daybreak.

The Joint Command received a telegram from the 66th Army.

Sun Ming stepped forward with a smile on his face: "The offensive is progressing quite smoothly. Although the Japanese army has sufficient light weapons and bullets, they don't have many heavy weapons such as artillery shells.

The 28th Division successfully defeated the Japanese army's first line of defense through assaults, suicide squads and other tactics, killing at least 400 Japanese soldiers.

At this attack speed, it will take at most three hours to directly support the garrison troops in Biaoguan."

Chu Yunfei showed a slight relief on his face.

The newly formed 28th Division was formerly the Guizhou Army.

In his memory, in the Battle of Lashio, the newly formed 28th Division was easily defeated by the 56th Division of the Japanese Army, resulting in the fall of Lashio and the cutting off of the Expeditionary Force's retreat.

But the newly formed 28th Division had its own difficulties in this matter.

At that time, the expeditionary force headquarters insisted on carrying out the Battle of Mandalay and preparing for the Battle of Bwinna, which led to considerable confusion in the dispatch.

At that time, the 66th Army, which was responsible for defending Mandalay, had only one newly formed 28th Division under its command, which had just been reorganized.

Sun Liren's troops were assigned to the Fifth Army, and the newly formed 29th Division did not enter the country.

There were only four infantry battalions in Lashio.

How could we possibly withstand the Japanese attack?

After the defeated troops retreated to Yunnan, their unit designation was cancelled.

It left the impression on the world that they were not good at fighting and had weak combat effectiveness.

Now, under his command, everything has been transformed from decay to magic.

If the 55th Division of the Japanese Army could be completely wiped out, or even just severely damaged, it would be enough for the Guizhou Army to be proud of itself.

Stilwell was even more optimistic, saying: "If everything goes well, the 66th Army can take advantage of the situation to attack Chiang Mai to the east, directly threatening the Japanese rear area and even overthrowing the pro-Japanese Tai government."

"If we can find a way to destroy the Japanese fighter planes, perhaps the battle in Southeast Asia will go more smoothly."

Stilwell sighed: "Unfortunately, our bombers cannot fly across the vast Pacific Ocean, and there is no way to deploy them in the Indian region for the time being."

"The British have never kept their promises to us. General Wavell is an arrogant and incompetent general. Just as the commander-in-chief (Chang Ruiyuan) believes, the British are unwilling to hand over the command of the army to us."

Stilwell made considerable efforts to fight for command.

He even joined forces with Chang Ruiyuan.

Chang Ruiyuan naturally had the same goal as Stilwell, and once sent a telegram to Roosevelt. However, Roosevelt was unwilling to offend the "tough" Churchill for this, so he just tactfully rejected Chang Ruiyuan's request.

What he got in return was a notice from the British and American Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.

The British troops in Burma would come under the command of General Wavell.

On this basis, if the Americans want to use India as a forward base for counterattacking Southeast Asia, they need a major premise.

That is, after Myanmar falls and resources are invested in India, a counterattack is launched from India.

As long as the port of Yangon still exists and the Burma Road is still open, it is naturally impossible for the Americans to invest resources in India.

Thinking of this, Chu Yunfei couldn't help but sigh: "Now it seems that the British army and Mr. Stilwell have the same judgment. General Alexander is actually just a decoration!"

When fighting domestically, various factions were scheming against each other.

When fighting abroad, countries engage in intrigue against each other.

The same is true for the Japanese.

However, the overall goal of conquering Burma and cutting off the Yunnan-Burma Road remains unchanged.

These Japanese people showed unprecedented unity!
"Alexander is just a rude, cold bastard, and I'm quite disgusted by his awful long nose."

As the nominal commander-in-chief, Stilwell naturally met with Alexander.

There were less than 10,000 British troops in Burma, but the headquarters had one general, one lieutenant general, five major generals, eighteen brigadier generals, and more than 200 well-dressed staff officers.

There was no plan, no reconnaissance, no security guarantees, and even the logistics of the expeditionary forces entering Burma could not be smoothly supplied.

It is obvious that the British did not welcome Stilwell, an American, to interfere in Burma's military affairs, and they also resisted the Expeditionary Force.

As the war progressed, Stilwell and the expeditionary force became increasingly bound together.

Chu Yunfei was naturally happy to see this. He immediately spoke to comfort him, "General Stilwell does not need to worry too much. We only need to retake the port of Rangoon to contain more Japanese troops. As long as the supplies from the Burma Road continue to arrive in the country, the Japanese army will inevitably need to invest more resources and manpower in the Chinese battlefield."

such.

The Americans would naturally be able to reduce the pressure on the Pacific battlefield and invest more resources in the decisive European battlefield.

Mutual benefit to both parties.

Just as Marshall promised before the war: "Money is not a problem, as long as we can win the war."

Roosevelt had long been determined to transform the United States into the "arsenal of democracy."

The United States now lacks soldiers, sailors, and warships, but it is not short of army equipment!

Stilwell was quite emotional: "Clearly, the Chinese soldiers have proved to the world that if they are properly equipped, trained and led, they are no less powerful than any other army in the world.

If one day I can give a speech in Times Square in New York, I will definitely tell the world that Chinese soldiers are the best soldiers in the world!"

Chu Yunfei nodded slightly: "Compared to this kind of praise, we want to obtain advanced weapons from the United States to support our subsequent operations. If possible, we would like to launch a more comprehensive and thorough counterattack and strive to destroy them as soon as possible and restore peace!"

(End of this chapter)