Chapter 141: Myanmar Situation: Enemy‑Ally Disposition

Because of Dai Anlan's injury, the th Division's command has passed to Deputy Division Commander Gao Jiren.

Gao Jiren, style name Shanting, a native of Youfang Rangzi, Wangquzi Township, Jingbian County, Shaanxi Province. He graduated from the fourth class of Huangpu Military Academy and is the regiment commander of the 598 Regiment of the th Division. He was originally the commander of the 598 Regiment, a hard‑working soldier who rose step by step from the grassroots.

The th Division is a unit whose members from top to bottom are all pure‑blood Huangpu Faction, equipped with the Nationalist Army's finest weapons and gear, truly a direct line within a direct line, the ace among aces.

Moreover, the th Division's combat power is also top‑notch; in the bloody battles of Kunlun, Tonggu, and Taunggyi, each engagement saw it taking the stance of the main force and appearing at the forefront.

It should be noted that those German‑armed divisions back then, had they not been completely consumed in the protracted positional fighting of the Soo‑Hu battle, but instead had relied on the Wusong Defensive Line for step‑by‑step fortification and conducted depth defense, they could have fully exerted a much greater effect, making the Japanese pay a far harsher price.

At that time the situation was truly hopeless; China needed more international support.

The plan to encircle the 56th Division this time, Jiang Anguo originally thought it was foolproof, but the more he thought so, the more prone he was to an illusion.

He hadn't accounted for two points: first, that Dai Anlan, despite being part of the two small detachments Jiang Anguo sent out for support, along with a large amount of material supplies, could still be injured.

Of course, Jiang Anguo had already learned the situation from the whole corps, that Dai Anlan, as commander, led from the front and personally led the charge, which caused the accident.

What surprised Jiang Anguo the most was that the Japanese organized a unit of Airborne Troops, which parachuted into Bamo and Myitkyina, forcing Jiang Anguo to first resolve the rear‑area problem.

The combat power of this Airborne Troops unit was not strong; after the drop, it received no timely support and obtained no weapons or equipment.

With the backing of the German‑armed forces, they were fundamentally not Jiang Anguo's opponents, and Jiang Anguo left no room for courtesy!

"Ah, we missed it!" Jiang Anguo sat on a crate of ammunition and let out a long sigh.

He was very annoyed!

How did Jiu Mi Jingyi appear at this moment? Jiang Anguo's heavenly net had already been set up, including the th Division, yet he hadn't intentionally counted it among the encircling forces.

Now you want him to dispatch troops to chase the Japanese, but he is willing yet powerless; he has forces, but the battlefield changes in an instant, and he must admit his own inadequacy.

Even in weapons and equipment, his Independent Regiment has an absolute advantage, but what frustrates him most is Deputy Division Commander Du Yuming on the Western Front, who still hasn't reached Myitkyina.

Jiang Anguo wishes he could take a horsewhip and give this Officer Du a flick.

He will next adjust his strategy, namely how to defend northern Myanmar and then expand his territory.

Currently the Expeditionary Force controls Xibu, Lashu, Bamo, Myitkyina, and the 93rd Division's garrison at Jingdong.

The key is that the Expeditionary Force's commander Du Yuming still cannot adjust the force's deployment; the situation is chaotic, the Myanmar troops are now too disordered.

On the Eastern Front, apart from Lv Guoquan's 93rd Division, almost everything has been scattered.

Some Expeditionary Force units are still in the interior; the Staff Corps has already reached Kunming, and if they continue onward, this Staff Corps will soon be in Chongqing.

Another portion of soldiers, namely the newly formed 38th Division and the newly formed 22nd Division, are heading toward India.

The th Division garrisons Xibu, which is like driving a nail into the Japanese at Mandalay, causing the Japanese not to commit all their forces to chase the Fifth Army's main body.

The Japanese force pursuing the Fifth Army's main body is only the 18th Division, and the Japanese 55th Division, in fact, is stationed along Tonggu and the Mandalay line, its main purpose being to guard the th Division.

The 56th Division, because Watanabe Masao was injured and fell into a coma, could only retreat toward Taunggyi under the command of 146th Regiment commander Jin Gang Zong Si Lang.

The 33rd Division, currently the Japanese unit with the greatest combat record, not only achieved its set objectives by seizing the important resource town Ren'ankiang in Myanmar, but the British also did something: they pre‑emptively burned part of Ren'ankiang's extraction facilities. The 33rd Division completed the encirclement of the British forces and captured, at Gariva, the British commander Alexander, as well as tens of thousands of British, Myanmar, and Indian soldiers.

At the same time, the 33rd Division also seized a large amount of British‑style weapons and equipment.

From then on, the Myanmar War was essentially over, and Myanmar entered a dreadful rainy season.

The Expeditionary Force lacked the strength to continue fighting, and the Japanese also lacked the strength to keep pursuing the Expeditionary Force, and their gains could not continue to expand; for the Myanmar Campaign, the Expeditionary Force and the Japanese seemed to have reached a stalemate, while the British suffered a crushing defeat, and this time there was no Dunkirk‑style great victory.

Compared with the Expeditionary Force's meager supplies, the Japanese truly could not hold on; not only was the strategy not focused on Myanmar, but more importantly the headquarters could no longer dispatch more troops to support Myanmar.

The Myanmar Campaign has achieved the effect they wanted: cutting off the Burma Road, threatening China's flank as a strategic aim. The core area of Myanmar remains in Japanese hands, so even if northern Myanmar is held by the Expeditionary Force, it will have no impact on the Southern Army.

Going forward, the Japanese in Myanmar will shift to defensive and stability‑maintenance operations.

Domestically, the Expeditionary Force's victories were everywhere, and indeed a victory was achieved at Xibu, as well as at Bamo and Myitkyina.

If you ask them where these places are, where they are on a map, they don't know.

Similarly, within Japan there is massive propaganda about the Southern Army's victories, but reports on the Myanmar Campaign are fewer, because the campaign was not fought elegantly, even somewhat brutal; from the first clash with the Expeditionary Force at Tonggu, the 55th Division was forced to retreat and could only serve as a second‑line unit.

Thus the Myanmar Campaign yields no benefit to the Japanese.

"Give me the situation at Xibu," Jiang Anguo asked.

Staff Officer Song Yu stood up and said, "Commander, Xibu is now defended by the th Division, with a defending force of 5,000 men plus just over 2,000 newly captured prisoners of war, totaling about 7,000 at Xibu."

"Oh, there are that many prisoners of war," Jiang Anguo hadn't expected so many POWs to remain on the Myanmar battlefield.

Song Yu nodded, "Yes, Commander, these prisoners have now been incorporated into the th Division, but they lack weapons and equipment."

"The th Division's wounded are currently being flown by transport aircraft to Lashu," Wang Fei said.

Jiang Anguo tapped the table with his finger, "The th Division has lost nearly half its strength; the Japanese will certainly mass heavy forces in Mandalay."

If this were on the European front, a unit losing half its strength would have surrendered long ago, but this is the Chinese Army, the Chinese Expeditionary Force, the th Division, elite among elites; surrender is absolutely impossible.

Jiang Anguo does not dare to directly pursue the 56th Division for another reason: Mandalay is simply too close to Lashu.

To say how close, it's less than two hundred kilometers, but the mountain roads are rugged; the Little Devil would find it impossible to use his "mechanized units" to attack Lashu, clearly still needing to rely on two legs.

"Should Xibu be held or not?" Jiang Anguo looked around.

Deputy Officer Wang Fei stood up and said, "Commander, the bridge over the Mijie River has been destroyed by the Japanese; Xibu was also almost completely bombed by our bombers earlier, so defending or not defending Xibu is meaningless; if we try to defend, it will only increase our supply difficulty."

"Hmm, Wang Fei is right,"

"Commander, although Xibu is a forward post of the Lashu Defensive Line, we only need to hold the east side of the Mijie River; additionally, occupying Xibu also requires defending against enemies from the south at Taunggyi," Song Yu said.

Xibu can be described as a city at a three‑way junction: north connects to Lashu, south leads to Taunggyi, and to the west lies Mandalay.

"Alright, then, I'll set out shortly, first build a temporary bridge so the th Division can withdraw for refit," Jiang Anguo, who also has no authority to command the th Division, noted that leaving the th Division on the west bank of the Mijie River is not very safe.

After two continuous months of combat, the th Division's soldiers have reached their limit in spirit and vigor, and their tense nerves should finally relax.

Also have Song Mengqin at Zai An ready, so our own men don't step on landmines, and ensure proper guidance work. It's a pity the copper‑wall iron‑shield of the Zai An defensive line, which we expected the Japanese to attack, only saw a few probing squads and then withdrew.