Chapter 133: Retreat of the 56th Division

Dong dong dong!

Jiang Anguo excitedly hammered the rear panel of the cockpit and shouted, "Meng Fanle! Go check and see which unit has started fighting, especially the situation over at Zai An!"

Although separated by the car window and the rain, all he could think of was that his own side's troops were in trouble.

Soon, Meng Fanle's radio received the signal, turned and shouted at the co‑pilot Jiang Anguo in front, "Company Commander, no, Regiment Commander! It's over at Zai An! Company Commander Song just sent word that Shi Xiaomao that kid fired a few shells with a howitzer; the observation post confirmed it seemed to have killed several Little Devil high officers!"

Meng Fanle hadn't even reacted yet, his own Company Commander had already become Regiment Commander.

But how does it feel like even the Regiment Commander isn't enough!

The division commander doesn't have as many troops as the units commanded by his own superiors, and the firepower isn't that fierce—either tanks or aircraft.

Meng Fanle recalled the Chanda folks, Mi Long also went to the front line, She Pigu was in charge of a whole family's meals, the veterinarian followed behind Doctor Lei Ao, and that really was a foreign devil; now the veterinarian is almost a real doctor, even wearing a white coat.

Kang Ya is in the Transport Company.

He hasn't become the deputy company commander, and doesn't know whether others will have a chance to go to the battlefield and fight the Little Devil.

The soldiers in the vehicle, hearing this, couldn't help but excitedly discuss. Jiang Anguo, sitting in the back row, heard the news and felt an indescribable thrill. That kid Shi Xiaomao really acted as a surprise attack! He originally only intended to have Shi Xiaomao practice at the Zai An Defensive Line to suppress the Japanese Army's arrogant aura, but didn't expect the kid's first shell to give him an instant fame.

"Alright! Not only high officials, this directly severs the command system of the Little Devil 56th Division!" Jiang Anguo clenched his fists, but immediately, a soldier's keen intuition calmed him down.

The battlefield's treachery lies in that when you think victory is in hand, hidden killing intent often lurks.

"Tell Song Mengqin that the Little Devil 56th Division's main force has definitely already appeared near Zai An. With the command system severed, the Little Devil will surely fall into madness or chaos; make sure to watch for their ambushes, especially those reckless suicide charges!" Jiang Anguo ordered loudly.

"Understood, Regiment Commander! Got it!"

Jiang Anguo had long studied the Japanese Army's tactics. Simple and brutal, yet extremely effective: first artillery fire suppression, then infantry flanking on both wings, and a frontal wave attack. This tactic swept Southeast Asia essentially because they possessed absolute firepower superiority.

Whether ground firepower or aerial firepower.

Both far exceed the Huaxia Army, but when both sides' weapons and equipment reach comparable stages, the Japanese Army is no different.

But if firepower exceeds the Little Devil, that Little Devil is just a country chicken and a cracked dog!

Yet, just like at Bamo, once firepower advantage is lost, even the fiercest Little Devil, facing Jiang Anguo with massive mortars and tanks, becomes a scattered sand, completely describable as being crushed, like the battle at Bamo.

It must also be said that under such firepower, the Little Devil can still counterattack Jiang Anguo's troops, and their fighting spirit is indeed tenacious.

Luck is sometimes also a kind of strength. Jiang Anguo didn't expect that before returning to Lashu, news of such earth‑shattering good news came from the Lashu direction. The only regret is that the highest rank on the kill list was only a Colonel. If they could take down a Lieutenant General, that would mean Watanabe Masao the old Little Devil also went to the Western Heaven, and the 56th Division would probably be completely destroyed.

After the excitement faded, Jiang Anguo began worrying about Lashu's safety. With Zai An on the front line, the Japanese Army lost so many Senior Officers; the new commander, to save face, might launch a frenzied retaliatory attack, and casualties would inevitably follow.

However, as time passed, the battlefield situation surprised everyone.

Jiang Anguo's convoy sped along the highway to Myitkyina, but he never received further news of intense fighting. The points in the system no longer jumped wildly as before, indicating that the Independent Regiment's Four Regiments at Zai An had not suffered massive casualties.

Could the 56th Division have abandoned the offensive?

Yes, that is indeed the case.

In the jungle opposite the Zai An Defensive Line, the newly appointed commander Jin Gang Zong Si Lang's face was so gloomy it could drip water. He looked at the dead silent Expeditionary Force camp in the distance, and there was no flame of vengeance in his eyes, only deep fear.

The first thing he did was issue an order that left all his subordinates astonished: "All troops cease the attack, Zai An's units withdraw immediately! The forces attacking Lashu's flank at Nammbang also abandon their positions at once, consolidate toward the central road, strategic shift!"

This was not merely a retreat, it was a surrender.

Jin Gang Zong Si Lang was not a coward frightened by fear, but a rational staff officer by training, later becoming the commander of the 146th Regiment, unlike the fanatical gambler Watanabe Masao. He knew clearly that the 56th Division could no longer endure any more strain.

Two reasons made him take this helpless step.

First, the few cannon blasts just now deeply pierced his nerves. It was the sound of a 105mm howitzer, which only heavy artillery units can produce. This shows that the opposing Chinese Army not only has solid fortifications but also firepower sufficient to destroy any heavy weapon. If the troops keep charging like headless flies, the unit will be completely annihilated in this damned place.

Second, he feared the sky even more. During the previous battle, it was the enemy's bombers that disrupted all deployments. Although today's heavy rain prevented enemy aircraft from taking off, giving them a breather, the rain will stop. Once the sky clears, enemy fighters and bombers will sweep the sky, and the 56th Division, lacking anti‑air weapons, will face total destruction.

Besides battlefield factors, logistical collapse also drove Jin Gang Zong Si Lang to despair. The troops deep in Myanmar's interior had supply lines stretched thin like cobwebs and often broken. To solve this, the Japanese Army adopted the most extreme "local requisition" policy, essentially looting.

Along the way, Myanmar villages were burned, food looted, countless Myanmar women were taken into camps as "comfort women", tortured to death, some even stabbed to death by the Japanese. Worse, when supplies ran out, the deranged Japanese even killed locals to satisfy hunger.

The Buddha worshipped by the Burmese People never manifested, but instead summoned a horde of skin‑clad demons and monsters.

And what the Japanese did in northern Myanmar and their hypocrisy in southern Myanmar were like people from two worlds; when they attacked Yangon, they would give candy to children by the roadside.

Along the northern Myanmar route, they have already lost count of how many infants they slaughtered.