mtl008 Chapter 549 Meal 1
Chapter 549 Meal 1
549 First Meal
Afterwards, Stilwell, under the protection of the guard company, rushed to the airport and flew to the rear on his private plane.
As it stands now, the first line of defense can no longer be defended.
Next, what Stilwell had to think about was how to withdraw as many of the 100,000 British main forces defending Rangoon as possible to the second line of defense.
Then hold the second line of defense.
"Hey, I promised Ye Qingshan that I would stop the Japanese army for a week.
It’s only been less than two days.”
Stilwell also had a worried look on his face when he was sitting on the plane.
"Paul, why do you think we lost this battle so quickly?"
Stilwell couldn't help but ask his staff officer.
"General, in my opinion.
In this battle, we did not lose because of our command, manpower and weapons and equipment.
In these aspects, we are stronger than the Japanese army.
In this battle, our army lost because of the people's hearts.
You may not know that those British officers privately showed their fear of the Japanese army on their faces.
Even the British are like this, not to mention the Indian vassal troops under their management.
As an army, they were afraid before the battle even began.
The battle is half lost before it's even started.
No matter how good the equipment is or how many soldiers we have, it is useless.”
This American staff officer usually hung out with middle-level British officers, so he understood the British army's fear of the Japs better than Stilwell.
After hearing this, Stilwell nodded repeatedly.
"Paul, you're right.
This problem must be solved.”
However, how to solve this problem is also a difficult problem.
Stilwell sat in the plane, lost in thought.
On the other side, Ye Qingshan soon received news of the British army's defeat.
"What? The defense line built by the British army on the southern coast of Yangon was breached by the Japanese?
It's only been less than two days.
Even if there were 100,000 pigs, they wouldn't be defeated so quickly."
When Ye Qingshan heard the news conveyed by Luo Zhuoying, his eyes widened in disbelief.
It's hard to accept such a thing.
Ye Qingshan thought that the British army might not be able to defend Rangoon.
After all, there is no doubt about Yamashita Tomoyuki's determination to rescue the Japanese 15th Army this time.
Moreover, the Fifth Division of the Japanese 25th Army is the Japanese's elite.
If the Japanese were determined to land and break through the British defense line, there was a high probability that it would happen.
However, the British army only held out for less than two days, which was far from the truth.
Ye Qingshan expected the British army to perform poorly, but he never expected it to be so poorly.
"Commander, what should we do?
What if the British army commanded by General Stilwell failed to stop the Japanese 25th Army?
Then we will fail.”
Luo Zhuoying was also deeply worried.
Ye Qingshan had a gloomy face and said nothing.
“We have no way out of this battle.
We can only hope that the British troops under the command of General Stilwell will perform better in the future.
Now, they have only lost the coastal defense line around Yangon.
There are two more lines of defense behind.
In addition, we have to speed up our offensive.
We must destroy the Japanese 15th Army as soon as possible, even if the British army cannot hold out in the southern battlefield by then, it doesn’t matter.”
"That's all it can do."
Luo Zhuoying sighed.
He also knew that what Ye Qingshan said was right. At this point in the war, neither they nor the Japanese could retreat.
"Where is the armored division now?"
Afterwards, Ye Qingshan returned his gaze to their northern battlefield.
On the southern battlefield, Ye Qingshan was out of reach at this time, and his mission was to eliminate the Japanese 15th Army on the northern battlefield.
Hearing Ye Qingshan's question, Luo Zhuoying said: "Last night, the armored division crossed the Irrawaddy River.
According to your command, advance in three directions.
Now, the nearest armored group commanded by Zhang Kedi has already reached Sintega.
The route to the south was cut off for the more than 10,000 remnants of the Japanese 18th Division who remained in Mandalay.
The other two armored groups commanded by Fu Hongyuan and Guan Feng were still advancing towards Dongsha and Meiktila.
Now, Meiktila is temporarily occupied by the Japanese.
More and more Japanese troops are gathering towards Meiktila."
Ye Qingshan looked at the chaotic battlefield situation at this time.
For a moment, it was unclear why Yamashita Tomoyuki ordered the Japanese 15th Army to break out in this dispersed manner.
Which direction should we take as the final breakthrough direction?
"I always feel that this old devil, Yamashita Fengwen, is playing tricks on us."
Ye Qingshan looked at the battlefield situation map, on which the movement trajectories of the enemy and our own troops were marked by the staff, and it looked very messy.
This thought popped up in Ye Qingshan’s mind.
Luo Zhuoying next to him also said: "Commander, this is normal.
The current dire situation of the Japanese 15th Army.
It would be extremely difficult for Yamashita Tomoyuki to rescue him.
I can’t imagine what method that old devil will use.”
“Forget it, the fox will always show its tail.
If you don’t understand it now, just ignore it.
Continue to execute according to the original plan.
First, separate the four divisions of 100,000 Japanese troops on the battlefield.
Since, there are only about 10,000 Japanese devils left in Mandalay in the north.
Tell Du Yuming that the first meal will be given to their Fifth Army.
I allocated the artillery division that General Stilwell had just transferred to them for temporary use.
The air force will also bomb the Japanese in Mandalay starting tomorrow.
Within two days, their Fifth Army must eat up these 10,000 devils and then move south."
Ye Qingshan couldn't wait to show his fangs to the expeditionary force.
Soon, Du Yuming at the Fifth Army Command also received Ye Qingshan's order.
“Haha, tell the headquarters.
Within two days, our Fifth Army will definitely wipe out more than 10,000 devils."
Du Yuming was extremely excited.
At any time, the Japanese will be able to eat them one by one.
So rich.
At the same time, they had an artillery division given to them by Ye Qingshanbo, plus an artillery division expanded from the artillery regiment of the Fifth Army.
The two artillery divisions have hundreds of artillery pieces with a caliber of more than 105 mm.
There were also air forces carrying out bombing in the sky.
I have never fought such a rich battle in my life.
"Send the message to Dai Anlan, Yu Shao, and Liao Yaoxiang.
Starting tonight, we will launch a night attack on the remaining Japanese invaders in Mandalay.
After daybreak, when the air force bombing is over, the general offensive will begin."
Du Yuming excitedly issued combat orders.
Just when Du Yuming's Fifth Army started to eat its first meal.
On the battlefield, other armies of the Expeditionary Force, as well as the Japanese breakout forces, were still moving rapidly.
But the most eye-catching among them were the three armored assault groups formed by the armored division sent out by Ye Qingshan.
They move the fastest on the battlefield, like three sharp daggers.
They identified the weak points of the various Japanese troops on the move on the battlefield and quickly made a breakthrough, splitting the originally complete Japanese army into two halves.