Chapter 38: Tonggu, Dai Anlan

Tonggu.

Dai Anlan, following the 598 Regiment, has already reached the front line, and fortunately moved quickly; he has learned from refugees that Yangon has already fallen.

All of them are Chinese; note that Yangon has five thousand vehicles here, of which one thousand transport vehicles are bound for Kunming, and most of the drivers are South Sea Chinese.

The supplies in Yangon can be described as piled like a mountain; they have all been given to Little Japan.

Of course, Dai Anlan has never seen Yangon; he only knows that Yangon is extremely important.

"Report immediately to headquarters: Yangon has fallen; my unit will maneuver with the enemy at Tonggu," Dai Anlan issued the first order at once.

"Understood."

After entering Myanmar, Dai Anlan felt difficulties piled up; not only the British, who are one thing on the surface and another behind it, but the Burmese also seemed not to welcome them.

Fortunately, the Chinese in Myanmar are very enthusiastic toward the Expeditionary Force, not only donating food but also sending their sons to enlist, all very proactive.

That can be considered a good situation.

When Dai Anlan led the division staff and the 598 Regiment headquarters to the Tonggu Fortress, what infuriated him was that these British soldiers had no pre‑battle mobilization, acting as if nothing were wrong, playing cards and drinking beer there.

Even the entire fortification was only a half‑finished product.

"Major General Kao Si Te, I want to know whether you are truly prepared to resist the Japanese invasion in Myanmar," Dai Anlan said, no longer the cautious tone he had at first toward the British, his eyes already full of contempt.

"General, what do you mean?" Major General Kao Si Te, commander of the First Division, Anglo‑Burmese Army, replied.

"The Japanese have already seized Yangon, yet the soldiers you lead are still sunbathing," Dai Anlan said disdainfully.

Kao Si Te had nothing to say; how could he not know the strength of his division, whose weapons and equipment were indeed present, even better than those of the Chinese army.

But the quality of the troops was extremely poor; the officers were all British, while most of the soldiers were Burmese and Indian, so combat capability was very low.

These are merely excuses; the real reason is that these British are too comfortable in Myanmar, oppressing the Burmese, causing the Burmese to side with the Japanese against them.

While looting wealth in Myanmar, even though the European war situation is tense, it has no impact on them; they even enjoy sunny beaches.

They are comfortable, but the highly aggressive Japanese will not let them have their way.

The Japanese not only aim to crush China, but also to seize Myanmar and India, and to link up with Germany in the Middle East.

Dai Anlan did not want to get further entangled with Kao Si Te, and finally said, "From now on, the Tonggu Battlefield will be taken over by my Expeditionary Force; all military supplies at Tonggu will be allocated by my Expeditionary Force."

"If you have anything you don't understand, go directly to the Expeditionary Force commander, General Stilwell," Dai Anlan said, not wanting to complicate the situation.

But he knew that the weapons he personally possessed were insufficient to defend Tonggu, so he could only requisition the British weapons stationed there.

Yet fearing that Kao Si Te would refuse, he could only invoke Stilwell's name.

Si Kao Te never understood what Dai Anlan meant, until even his own Jeep was taken away, then he finally realized.

Nevertheless, Dai Anlan gave Kao Si Te face by returning his Jeep and also gave Si Kao Te a portion of the transport vehicles, urging those British to leave quickly.

Dai Anlan also obtained a large amount of weapons, ammunition, and supplies, but because the bullets and rifles were not interchangeable, the British Enfield Rifle and Sten Submachine Gun firepower was indeed far stronger than that of the Chinese.

First come, first served, Dai Anlan immediately ordered the 598 Regiment rd Battalion to replace all British weapons and to supplement all collected ammunition to the rd Battalion.

He concentrated the strongest firepower; even the 200th Division's firepower was already better than that of ordinary armies, but since there was something better, it should naturally be employed.

Dai Anlan also considered ammunition logistics, which is why he centralized all British‑style weapons for use.

Moreover, they captured eight British Vickers Tanks and more than ten mm Anti‑Tank Guns.

This greatly strengthened Dai Anlan's resolve to defend Tonggu; orders have already been issued to hold Tonggu to the death and deal a heavy blow to the Japanese.

The only thing that unsettled Dai Anlan was the note in the Brocade Bag stating that if the Japanese attacked with three divisions, his own 200th Division would be completely annihilated at Tonggu.

Dai Anlan does not fear death, but he wants his death to be worthwhile.

When Si Kao Te returned to Mandalay, the Tonggu Defense Battle had already begun; neither Stilwell nor Yalishanda would care about him any longer.

As the guard force of Tonggu, Si Kao Te even withdrew without leaving a single defensive unit, which caused Yalishanda great loss of face.

After Dai Anlan took over the position, he promptly began repairs; the Japanese could launch an attack at any time, but the terrain on both sides of Tonggu is steep and advantageous.

Dai Anlan studied Tonggu's terrain in detail and, after consulting the local Chinese, deployed troops to several key positions.

Dai Anlan personally excavated fortifications and studied anti‑enemy tactics.

The 200th Division's tanks, fifteen Italian‑made Fiat L3 Tanks, have already been organized by Dai Anlan; this is his absolute strength and his trump card.

Unless absolutely necessary, Dai Anlan will not use them.

Dai Anlan's greatest worry remains the enemy's aircraft; if, before going abroad, this British ally could provide fighter support, there would be no problem, but with Yangon fallen, the aircraft at Yangon Airport were likely all destroyed by the Japanese.

And the US 10th Air Squadron far away in India might not obey his command.

Fighters and bombers have far too much killing power for infantry, and Tonggu's anti‑aircraft firepower is far too weak.

Even without Tonggu, the 200th Division itself has little anti‑aircraft firepower.

Dai Anlan also made important deployments concerning Yongke Gang Airport behind him; it is his fallback. On the other side, he urgently telegraphed headquarters to have the new 22nd Division rush to Tonggu for rendezvous.

The British forces of Ren'ankiang on the Right route, Dai Anlan now truly cannot believe that if he leaves his Right route empty and the Japanese cut off Tonggu from behind, the 200th Division will be encircled.

He can only hope the British can hold out longer, lest he be too disappointed.

The British have a 40,000‑person force in Myanmar, part of which are British, another part composed of Burmese and Indian troops, and another part made up of Australians.

Thus the troops' combat morale may be somewhat weak, but their weapons and equipment are certainly not inferior to the Expeditionary Force; their firepower even exceeds it. The Enfield Rifle holds ten rounds, so compared with the Chinese it is much stronger, and the Sten Submachine Gun is also a fine weapon.

Now the British are almost becoming the Japanese's transport brigade.

The more they fight, the more Japanese weapons appear—transport vehicles, tanks, increasingly many.