Chapter 316: Fierce battle in Menggong River Valley (I)

The hour hand slowly pointed to October 1942, the rainy season in Myanmar was over in a hurry. General Stilwell hurriedly flew to Xinbeiyang and directed the Chinese Expeditionary Force's New First Army to attack the Menggong Valley.

The combat meeting was held in the combat conference room of the Xinbeiyang Guard Command. Stilwell didn't like it to be too long. He was American-style and spread the map on the table, and a few people could hold a meeting.

"Generals, the enemy of the Menggong Valley is a big crab." General Stilwell said. The old general was straightforward and spoke humorously. He opened his hands and continued, "Look, there are two big clamps. One is Gamai and the other is Menggong. The two places are only 30 kilometers apart.

Obviously, when you attack Jiamai, Meng Gong's enemies will definitely reinforce. When you attack Meng Gong, Jiamai's enemies will definitely make trouble. This is a bit troublesome. I heard that the Chinese have a lot of experience in eating crabs."

After saying that, Stilwell looked at Commander Sun Liren and the three main division commanders beside him with anticipation.

Seeing Stilwell's confident appearance, Sun Liren knew that Stilwell must have a vain, so he was not in a hurry to express his opinions to avoid losing the title. So Sun Liren pretended to be contemplative and smoked in a calm manner.

Li Hong, the commander of the new 38th Division, and Pan Yukun, the commander of the new 50th Division, did not say anything. Only the commander of the new 30th Division, Hu Su, is he straight. Isn’t this obvious? The enemy has two pliers, don’t we have three fists? Take two fists out and smash them one-on-one. He stared at Stilwell, waved his fists, and answered straightforwardly: “This is very simple! Take two-pronged approach, smash them one-on-one!”

Hu Su moved his eyes and looked at Sun Liren. Sun Liren nodded at Hu Su. Stilde looked at Sun Liren: "God of General, what do you think you eat this?"

"Very good, general!" Sun Liren answered very affirmatively. He quickly continued, "But there is a question, which one of our two fists should hit where?"

The issue mentioned by the army commander is very simple, but the simpler the problem, the more difficult it is to deal with. Jiamai and Menggong are very close to each other. They are both two major strongholds of the Japanese army in the Menggong Valley. Jiamai is on the west bank of the Nangao River and Menggong is on the east bank.

The Japanese troops in the two places were equal in strength. Although the Gama Guards were the remnants of the 18th Division, the soldiers of this unit were vigorous in fighting and had a strong fighting spirit. They fought back and forth, and they would definitely fight to the death.

Meng Gong's defender was part of the 49th Division of the Japanese Army. The division was a new army entering Myanmar. It was strong in morale and was waiting for labor. It was not easy to defeat Meng Gong. Sun Liren also had an idea that he could not say. The new 38th Division was a unit he brought out. This time he wanted to let the new 38th Division, which Li Hong took over, show his face. However, Hu Su and Pan Yukun's command ability was not inferior to Li Hong, and Sun Liren did not want to give up the excuse of favoring basic cadres.

The "two-pronged approach" approached Stilwell's ideas, and he was willing to express his respect for the commander on some subtle and final issues. So Stilwell said to Sun Liren with a smile: "General Sun, this is a technical issue, and it is within your authority!"

However, the straightforward American general couldn't help but put forward some reference opinions: "According to the habits of us Americans, the most fair way to deal with such things is to draw lots!"

Draw lots?

All the officials present were surprised!

Hu Suteng stood up, as if he had suffered a huge insult, his face flushed: "If General Stilwell came to draw lots, then I'll say goodbye!"

Sun Liren was also indignant, thinking that his alumnus underestimated the Chinese people's measurements, and shook his head repeatedly: "Absurd! It's so ridiculous!"

General Stilwell did not expect that his words annoyed almost all the Chinese generals present. He was extremely embarrassed and kept smoking.

Sun Liren didn't want to make things too irritated, so he had to smooth things over. "General, if you don't have a plan, then please authorize me to deal with it!"

"Okay, okay, okay!" Stilwell quickly went downstairs, "This kind of technical problem is originally within the scope of your military commander's authority. It's convenient for me to go out." As he said that, Stilwell walked out of the command center in disappointment.

When the general walked around and returned to the command center, the Chinese general had already discussed everything.

The newly formed 30th Division beats Jiamai, the newly formed 50th Division beats Menggong, and the newly formed 38th Division temporarily stationed in Xinbeiyang and Deluo Town as a battle reserve.

After hearing this, General Stilwell said mockingly: "Actually, this is the same as eating. You use chopsticks and we use knives and forks, and the result is the same, filling your stomach."

Everyone was amused.

Stilwell ordered the combat plan to be reported to Chiang Kai-shek, and at the same time informed the Expeditionary Force chief. Yue Hanping held Stilwell's telegram and slapped the table happily, "Okay! That's great! The New Army can clear the Japanese army in the Menggong Valley and open up the connection with Myitkyina, so we will completely occupy the initiative in the war situation in northwest Myanmar."

Chief of Staff Zhao Zili added next to him: "Sir, there are better ones! British Prime Minister Churchill doesn't want to counterattack Myanmar now. President Roosevelt sent him emergency telegrams three times in a row to clarify the importance of the Myanmar battlefield.

The arrogant Prime Minister Churchill was finally convinced. Under Stilwell's urging, the British army had sent troops from Impal and Kohima to attack western Myanmar along the Chinduan River. General Slim's 14th Army had captured Xidang and Banta and pressed towards the Japanese western defense line."

Yue Hanping smiled slightly, "It is understandable that the British's strategic focus is not on the Far East, but the burden on our Chinese expeditionary force is heavier! Eighty percent of the British want us to beat the Japanese in front, and they enjoy the success."

Zhao Zili let out a long sigh and stopped making a sound. Yue Han patted his shoulder and said deeply: "Pick up, we need to do something too! Since the British want to watch the fun, let them watch it. We will treat it as avenge the elders and fellow villagers in Nanjing and the brothers who died on the battlefield!"

In the Kamai area, more than 3,000 remaining soldiers of the Japanese 18th Division were reduced to one corps, and two infantry corpses were drawn from the country, as well as relevant logistics troops, and the artillery corps were transferred to Myanmar. The division commander Tanaka Shin-yi Middle School was dismissed and recalled to Tokyo, and Lieutenant General Mutaguchi Reincarnated as the commander of the 18th Division.

Commander Ah San Zheng San had high hopes for Lieutenant General Mutaguchi. Lieutenant General Mutaguchi was deeply shocked by the 18th Division's record, especially the 18th Division was demoted from a permanent main division to a three-unit division, which made the general who once led the 18th Division to a great military achievements on the Chinese battlefield.

At the beginning of taking over the 18th Division, Lieutenant General Mutaguchi's top priority was to restore the morale of the soldiers and restore the heroic spirit of the main division. The commander of Mutaguchi's division arrived at Kamai and ordered the assembly whistle to blow in the heavy rain. More than 3,000 remaining soldiers walked out of the barracks in sparsely.

When the soldiers saw Lieutenant General Mutaguchi, who was in a well-dressed uniform, stood upright in the heavy rain, his eyes were fascinated by the rain, and he did not reach out to wipe it. The glorious mark of the 18th Division inspired the soldiers' sense of honor, and the Lieutenant General shouted loudly: "Warriors! Don't forget that you are the 18th Division of the Imperial Army with great military achievements!"

The soldiers quickly ran to the general and lined up one by one. The general took the 38th rifle from the soldiers beside him and installed a bayonet, "Range the target and prepare to sprint!"

Soon, the straw man target practicing stinging was erected. The general strode to the target 3 meters away, stopped, steered his gun, thrust his gun, and sprinted his gun, and sprinted in one go.

The general's standard stabbing movements were constantly demonstrated again and again. The rain and mud splashed all over the general's body, and the general's uniform was soaked. The general's face showed a ferocious thorn, as if there were vivid and lively people in front of him.

The soldiers gradually took action and stood in line. There were so many wolf howlings on the playground.

During the training break, the Lieutenant General gathered all the remaining soldiers to train, "Glorious warriors! You are the great Japanese emperors. Conquering Myanmar and conquering India are your sacred mission! There is a saying in China that is good, "Victory and defeat are common in military affairs!" There is always a time for defeat in the war, but you are descendants of the Yamato nation, and you are the warriors of His Majesty the Emperor! Before the war ends, you will never fail!

I used to be the commander of this division. I only remember that the 18th Division was a hero in the battle in Shanghai! It was a hero who captured Nanjing! The 18th Division had no failure in the order of the 18th Division. We are the tigers in the jungle. The injured tiger is even more terrifying, so it knows how to accumulate strength and how to choose the best time to give the hunter a fatal blow!"

"The commander of Tanaka Division lost the division flag. This is a shame for every soldier of our division. In order to erase this shame, we must use the blood of the Chinese people to win back a new military flag for us! I believe that the new military flag soaked in the blood of the Chinese people will definitely be more bright and dazzling!" Commander of the Mutaguchi Division said loudly with a blue face.

"Long live! Long live! Kill all the Chinese people! Win back the new military flag!" Thousands of howls came everywhere, the soldiers' blood was ignited, and the glory of the 18th Division was deeply injected into their blood.

Subsequently, Lieutenant General Mutaguchi adjusted the division officer and promoted Colonel Maruyama Fang Nobu was the commander of the infantry regiment, Colonel Ichiji Tozawa was the commander of the 55th Infantry Regiment, Colonel Koyama Tatsuhiko was the commander of the 56th Infantry Regiment, Colonel Ueno Shinno was the commander of the 114th Infantry Regiment.

According to the order of General Ah San Masami, Major General Maruyama commanded the 55th infantry registrar, the 114th infantry registrar, and the artillery registrar to guard Kamai.

Lieutenant General Mutaguchi led an infantry gang, engineer gang and other troops to build a second line of defense in the Nanma, and the guards were in charge of the frontiers of the defense zone.

Mutaguchi Ryokan's efforts were not in vain. Under his training, the morale of the 18th Division quickly recovered, with strong fighting will and the combat effectiveness of the soldiers was also improved.

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