mtl008 Chapter 816: Another Battle with the Japanese 25th Army
Chapter 816: Another Battle with the Japanese 25th Army
816 Another Battle with the Japanese Twenty-fifth Army
The time came to January 42, , according to the battle plan formulated by Stilwell.
The 300,000 expeditionary forces under Ye Qingshan and the 100,000 American troops simultaneously headed eastward and launched an attack on the main force of the Japanese 25th Army in western Siam.
Half a day later, the telephone kept ringing in the headquarters of the Japanese 25th Army.
The Japanese staff officers took the call one by one.
They were all Japanese defenders on the front lines, requesting reinforcements or artillery support.
"Moses, Moses, hi!
We will send reinforcements immediately, and you must hold your current line of defense.
For the sake of the empire and His Majesty, you must not retreat, even if you all perish in battle."
After a Japanese major staff officer hung up the phone, the phone next to him rang again.
He could only pick up the phone again.
The entire headquarters of the Japanese 25th Army was in chaos at this moment.
Instead, the commander of the Japanese 25th Army, Yamashita Tomoyuki, stood in front of a large map, his eyes fixed on the Singapore area in the south.
"Commander, according to the information sent by the Special High Police.
Stilwell commanded the China Expeditionary Force of 300,000 troops, as well as 100,000 American troops, who attacked from five directions early last morning.
An attack was launched against two divisions on our defense line in western Siam.
The other side was well prepared this time, with fierce artillery fire and aggressive attack.
The front-line troops are under great pressure.
Should we continue to request reinforcements and supplies from our domestic base?"
A Japanese lieutenant general chief of staff came over and spoke to Yamashita Tomoyuki with concern.
Yamashita Fengwen was very calm, and he comforted the Japanese Chief of Staff and said, "Don't worry, Oda-kun.
The large fortifications we have built in the mountains to the west of Siam are not so easy to conquer."
There is a reason why Yamashita Tomoyuki is so confident.
Since a year ago, he led his troops to retreat from Burma to Siam.
He knew that it was only a matter of time before the Allied forces in the Southeast Asia theater under Stilwell's command would advance eastward into Siam.
As a result, the other side forcibly conscripted local people and built a large number of fortifications, bunkers, etc. in the mountains and jungles bordering Myanmar.
Originally, the terrain in western Siam was extremely complex, easy to defend but difficult to attack.
After the carefully designed fortifications by Yamashita Tomoyuki and his men, this vast mountainous area in the west became a death barrier.
Therefore, even the front-line units were constantly requesting support at this time.
But Yamashita Tomoyuki was not worried. He believed that with the strength of his two divisions and relying on the mountains and jungles in the west, they could defeat the enemy.
It is enough to stop Ye Qingshan’s 300,000 expeditionary forces and Stilwell’s 100,000 American troops.
On the contrary, Singapore on the southern front is now what Yamashita Tomoyuki is most worried about.
"I am more worried about Singapore than the western part of Siam.
The only forces that attacked Siam this time were Ye Qingshan's China Expeditionary Force and Stilwell's American troops.
But there was no sign of the British troops.
If things go as expected, Stilwell will certainly take advantage of their naval fleet.
Transport the British troops by sea to the Malay Peninsula and capture Singapore.
If the southern route allowed them to successfully retake Singapore.
At that time, the British army would be able to move northward from the Malay Peninsula and invade southern Siam.
The terrain in the southern part of Siam is different from that in the western part.
Most of it is flat.
Once the British army attacks, they will be able to cut off the retreat of our defenders in the western mountains.
By then, we will definitely not be able to defend Siam.
Therefore, it is right that we need to request more reinforcements from our domestic base.
But the support is not to be sent to us, but to Singapore as soon as possible.
There is only the 18th Division over there, and I am worried."
“Hey, I’ll send a telegram to the home base right now.
Have them send another division to Singapore."
The battle situation in the western mountainous area of Siam and its development over the following half month were almost exactly as predicted by the old devil Yamashita Tomoyuki.
Ye Qingshan's 300,000 expeditionary forces and 100,000 American troops were indeed firmly blocked in the mountains by two Japanese divisions.
"Damn it, Commander, this battle can't be fought.
The Japs all hid in their turtle shells and refused to come out.
We can only let the soldiers knock off the Japanese's turtle shells one by one.
Such siege battles seemed endless, and the casualties among the soldiers were heavy.”
Ye Qingshan received a call from Lu Dahai, and Lu Dahai started cursing on the phone.
"Okay, stop complaining.
No matter how difficult it is, we have to fight.
No matter how many turtle shells the Japanese have, I will smash them all.
Tomorrow, I will have the logistics department send you a thousand blasting tubes."
After hanging up the call with Lu Dahai, Ye Qingshan looked at the map of the mountains in western Siam.
There are three red lines drawn on it. These are the three defensive fortifications built by the Japanese relying on these mountains.
Ye Qingshan visited the front line a few days ago and found that all the Japanese fortifications were built on the mountains and jungles.
It's really hard to fight.
Therefore, Ye Qingshan was concerned whether their 400,000-strong army could break through the three lines of defense of the Japanese in the western mountains.
I'm not completely sure.
Moreover, even if a breakthrough were to occur, his 300,000 expeditionary forces would probably suffer heavy casualties.
"We can't fight like this. It's too difficult to attack Siam from the west.
It is more convenient to attack via the southern sea route.
Let the British charge ahead first, and then wait until they fail.
I will discuss with Stilwell and ask my expeditionary force to send a team south to participate in the sea attack on Singapore. "
Ye Qingshan was planning in his mind.
Ye Qingshan knew that the British army of 300,000, including a vanguard of 100,000, had already moved south.
But Ye Qingshan knew that it would not be easy for the British army to take over the Malay Peninsula and Singapore.
Their expeditionary force still has a chance.
A month later, in the mountains of western Siam, only one of the three Japanese defense lines was taken down by the Expeditionary Force and the US Army.
Just for this, they paid the price of more than 30,000 casualties.
This directly made Stilwell give up his plan to continue the attack.
Now, Stilwell also placed his hopes on the British offensive on the southern front, believing that it would be too difficult to break through the Japanese defense line from the western mountains.
Just as Stilwell was waiting for news of victory from the British army on the southern front.
On February 8, Stilwell received a piece of news that was hard for him to accept.
The 100,000 British landing troops heading south failed in their landing on the Malay Peninsula and were almost wiped out!