Chapter 404: The Assassinated Sasaki Toichi

Regarding Stilwell's statement that the Expeditionary Force's main units will cooperate with this attack.

Jiang Anguo does not really believe it.

The unit closest to the Japanese Army's Mandalay is the 200th Division of Xibu, only a hundred kilometers away; the front‑line unit Corner Mei is even nearer to Mandalay.

However, the Expeditionary Force's main body is still in Myitkyina; the straight‑line distance from Myitkyina to Mandalay exceeds four hundred kilometers, but the straight line goes through the sky.

The Expeditionary Force is an army unit, so the ground distance may be five hundred kilometers.

Originally the Expeditionary Force withdrew northward along the Myitkyina‑to‑Mandalay railway; along the way, Jiang Anguo's air squadron airdropped supplies to them, which ensured the main force could safely retreat to Myitkyina.

Now you want this unit to break out from Myitkyina again and counter‑attack Mandalay.

Even in Myanmar's rainy season, at least three times the usual amount of supplies must be prepared, and these supplies must be shipped to the front in advance and supply depots established.

Otherwise, a force of over twenty‑thousand marching through Myanmar's rainforest would consume astronomical amounts of supplies.

Jiang Anguo turned and pointed to Mandalay on the map, saying, "The 96th Division will infiltrate from here to cut the Mandalay‑Ren'ankiang railway; the 36th Division will feint the front to draw the enemy's main force; Commander Dai will lead the 200th Division to attack Mandalay's eastern road, and the armored regiment of the th Division will sprint along the highway straight into Mandalay's city center; my forces' three regiments will serve as reserve, cut the roads south of Mandalay, and be ready to plug any gaps and expand the victory."

Jiang Anguo's troops are behind the th Division; obviously, at this time they are substituting for the 200th Division, and as soldiers of the th Division they must feel uneasy, so Jiang Anguo would not voluntarily take on this main assault task.

The armored regiment of the th Division is actually a tank company split off by Jiang Anguo; it's unclear how it ended up in the th Division's hands and became an armored regiment. The tank company originally had ten T‑34 tanks, later reinforced by two more, for a total of twelve tanks.

When it reached Commander Dai's hands, the force was further reinforced, mainly after seeing tank‑infantry coordination during the counter‑attack at Tonggu.

In addition, Jiang Anguo had plenty of transport vehicles; when Commander Dai met Lin Yi, Lin Yi immediately provided the corresponding transport vehicles to Dai.

He paused, his tone deepening: "Remember, this battle is not for territory but for annihilating the enemy. If the 18th Division breaks out, we would rather let it retreat into the mountains than allow it to flee north back to Yangon to regroup."

"If necessary, the third regiment of Song Mengqin at Dongzhi will move into Tonggu to intercept Japanese reinforcements."

【7】 Facing Jiang Anguo's deployment, none of those present voiced objections.

Facing Jiang Anguo's arrangement, everyone present had no objection.

However, his chief of staff Song Yu stood up and asked, "Commander, can our main force arrive at the designated combat position on time?"

Jiang Anguo returned to the map, picked up a caliper, measured the distance, and casually tossed it onto the table.

"Whether they can reach it or not," Jiang Anguo said slowly, looking at all the officers, "we must take Mandalay. If they do, it will be the cherry on top; even if they don't, we will still be the main force attacking Mandalay. How? My one regiment and two divisions dared to strike Yichang, and now our two divisions can't even capture a single Mandalay."

"Do you have confidence!"

"Yes." All the officers rose and shouted loudly.

Jiang Anguo nodded with satisfaction.

It's more than just two divisions; now his force totals over thirty‑three thousand troops, plus over ten thousand under Commander Dai, and of course some of those are still Jiang Anguo's men.

The size of Jiang Anguo's troops far exceeds the establishment provided by the Chongqing side.

The number of troops that can be employed for the attack in this battle will exceed thirty thousand.

The Little Devils in Mandalay are merely a Japanese 18th Division of the Japanese Army, plus some attached personnel from the 15th Army, totaling no more than thirty thousand.

Iida Shōjirō's caution, and the direction of operations in the Indo‑Burma area, focus on India rather than the Chongqing forces in the north.

Of course, it is also that capability does not permit it; after the 15th Army lost a 56th Division, Iida Shōjirō escaped punishment from headquarters, largely because two crucial telegrams were received in Myanmar—intelligence from the U. S. Navy on the Coral Sea and Midway.

Otherwise, the loss of a division would have been enough for Iida Shōjirō to retreat home.

Thirty‑thousand versus thirty‑thousand, the advantage is ours!

The meeting ended, and Jiang Anguo stayed alone with Yao Quanyi.

"Old Yao, your unit will temporarily station at Lashu to train new recruits while securing the 'R Plan' transport line." He patted Yao Quanyi's shoulder, "I know you're unwilling. But a force that can win battles relies not on blood‑thirsty bravery but on discipline and timing. Once Mandalay is taken, the next target—Yangon—will be yours to lead."

Yao Quanyi stood at attention, the fire in his eyes unextinguished yet now resolute: "Understood! I will ensure the garrison mission is completed!"

The Battle of Mandalay is about to ignite.

Jiang Anguo looked at the telegram in his hand, which read: Japanese 39th Division's Sasaki Toichi was assassinated by a spy while being photographed by the media.

The Japanese's infiltration ability truly is terrifying.

Because scattered intelligence shows that the spy who killed the official was not Japanese but a confidential staff member in Chongqing.

This caused great anxiety inside Chongqing, especially for Dai Li; having this thing assassinate someone at the highest level is a huge embarrassment.

In fact, it's already embarrassing; only two division commanders have been captured in total.

One of them was even assassinated.

Of course, a 56th Division commander is also detained at Lashu.

Jiang Anguo could not believe it and immediately asked Song Yu, "How is Uchiyama Eitarō?"

"That Uchiyama fellow was being held elsewhere at the time; after the incident we're not sure where he went, but we can confirm he's still alive," Chief of Staff Song Yu said.

Jiang Anguo exhaled a sigh of relief; if the Little Devils could so easily eliminate the two hard‑won division commanders, it would be a real loss.

Had they known earlier, it would have been better not to send them to Chongqing.

Yan Xing also sent a telegram reporting large numbers of suspicious personnel at Changde and Dangyang airfields; Jiang Anguo had only one order regarding this.

Anyone identified as suspicious should be taken away and sent to Lashu.

Jiang Anguo also realized a dangerous signal: the Little Devils know Chongqing extremely well.

They could even assassinate a Japanese division commander under the watch of the Military Command and other security agencies.

"Song Yu, you also go to Chongqing yourself. I'll give you a letter and the address of my sisters in Chongqing; once there, explain your purpose. Your main task is to bring them all to Lashu." Jiang Anguo was certain that Lashu currently had no Japanese spies.

As for spies on the Myanmar side, that's uncertain.

But Myanmar spies don't know any of his sisters, so there's no real threat.

Jiang Anguo realized the danger stemmed from Japanese assassins; if they can target their division commanders, they will surely go after his own family.

Jiang Anguo must make thorough preparations.

First, bring his four sisters over; of course Lin Yi is also in Chongqing, but by now he has gone to Sichuan, so he won't be bothered.

He decided to send another person back to handle the matter.

When Jiang Anguo left Changde, he had already dispatched ten Special Forces Unit soldiers to Chongqing to protect his family.

Only when his family is safe will Jiang Anguo have no worries.