Chapter 438: Mandalay's Final Madness

The Expeditionary Force th Division 598 Regiment's front, a dozen MG42s fired at once, forming an airtight wall of fire.

"Kill the chicken, give give!"

The Japanese Army's suicide charge, in the face of this absolute fire suppression, fell like moths to flame in swaths, and not a single man could get within ten meters of the Tank.

"Hold fire, give me a hit back." A Expeditionary Force Platoon Leader shouted loudly.

The battlefield was thick with gunpowder smoke.

"Machine Gunner, fire at the places with the most people, don't spare ammunition!"

"Yes!"

Gaogiri lifted his binoculars, watching the one‑sided slaughter before him, a flash of cold sharpness passing through his eyes.

"Well shot! Keep it up! Advance steadily, coordinate with the Tank, sweep the remaining enemies!"

599 Regiment Willow Tree Unit, following behind Zhang Bing's Sherman Tank Battalion in combat, likewise fought with flair, slowly advancing Mandalay.

The rain grew heavier, and the battlefield grew increasingly muddy.

The craters from artillery shells filled with rainwater, becoming murky ponds; the soft soil, repeatedly rolled over by Tanks, turned into bottomless mud pits.

The advance continued, but difficulties came one after another.

"Regiment Commander! Vehicle No. 023 is stuck in the mud! Can't move!"

In the radio, a sudden urgent, frantic shout came through—it was the voice of the Tank Commander of Vehicle No. 023.

Hu Xianqun's eyebrows knit sharply, and he turned his head immediately.

In the middle of the formation, a T‑34 Tank's tracks were deeply sunk in soft mud; no matter how the driver throttled, the tracks spun wildly, splashing mud, while the hull remained motionless, sinking deeper.

The surrounding Japanese Army stragglers, seeing this, howled and rushed toward the crippled Tank, hoping to blow it up.

"Damn it!" Hu Xianqun felt a tightening in his chest.

Now is the most critical moment of the general assault; the whole army surges forward, and stopping to rescue a stuck vehicle is impossible. If the formation stalls, the Japanese Army could seize the chance to counterattack, causing the entire offensive to falter.

He did not hesitate at all; speaking into the radio, his voice was decisive and unquestionable:

"Vehicle No. 023, listen! If you can't move, become a stationary gun platform! Rotate the turret, use artillery and machine guns to suppress the surrounding devils! If shells run out or range is insufficient, abandon the vehicle, charge out as infantry! Fight together with the brothers of the 598 Regiment!"

"Understood! Regiment Commander!" Vehicle No. 023's Tank Commander, without hesitation, replied immediately, "Even if we become infantry, we will not retreat a single step!"

"Good!" Hu Xianqun roared, "The whole army continues forward! Ignore the stuck vehicle! Charge into Mandalay City, that is victory!"

"Charge—!!"

The Tank formation kept roaring, bypassing the mud‑sunk Vehicle No. 023, maintaining the attack formation, and surged toward the Mandalay city area.

Inside Vehicle No. 023, the commander, gunner, driver, and machine gunner—four men—acted swiftly.

The turret spun rapidly, the 76mm Tank gun firing continuously, "Boom! Boom!" two shots precisely knocked out two remaining Japanese machine‑gun nests. The coaxial machine gun and the hull‑front machine gun swept simultaneously, cutting down all the charging Japanese.

The shells ran out quickly.

"Abandon the vehicle! Grab a rifle! Follow me, charge!" the commander shouted, first opening the hatch, leaping out of the Tank, raising a submachine gun, and charging into the mud.

The other three crew members followed closely, the four forming a small combat squad, using the Tank as cover, engaging the surrounding Japanese in close combat.

They did not retreat.

Even if the Tank was crippled, even if they became infantry, they still fought.

The entire 200th Division, from top to bottom, was like that.

The war had reached this point; retreat was now utterly impossible.

Below Mandalay City, the Japanese 18th Division had gone mad, fighting like cornered beasts, resisting to the death; and the Expeditionary Force soldiers, holding a resolve not to return until they broke the enemy, yielded no ground, fighting to the death without retreat.

After the general assault launched, the battle instantly entered the most brutal, white‑hot stage.

The Mandalay Eastern Front, from the outer positions to the city‑edge, every inch of ground was contested repeatedly.

The Japanese, using ruined houses, broken walls, sewers, and wreckage, resisted step by step, defending to the death. When they ran out of bullets, they fixed bayonets; when weapons were gone, they used stones, teeth, flesh and blood to block the Expeditionary Force's advance.

The Expeditionary Force cleared the way with Tanks, MG42 suppression, infantry sweeping, advancing street by street, house by house, courtyard by courtyard, wall by wall, inch by inch forward.

Mandalay's artillery still roared, and the sounds of melee on the Eastern Front could be heard clearly for miles.

Jiang Anguo stood in the command bunker on the southern bank of the Mi River, holding binoculars, staring intently at the Eastern Front battlefield, his brows knotted, his face so grim it seemed it could drip water.

The rain had eased a bit, but the muddy terrain still severely slowed the 200th Division's advance; the Japanese, like cornered beasts, fought in street and attrition battles with extreme ferocity, each step forward costing considerable casualties.

"The fighting is too stalemated…" Jiang Anguo muttered softly, a hint of worry in his heart.

Mukoda Koya, though already at the end of his strength, the 18th Division was still fundamentally a Class A Division; its remnants still resisted, and the 200th Division, attacking the city alone, faced overwhelming pressure.

In terms of numbers, the th Division did not have the advantage; its sole edge lay in weaponry and equipment, and also the air force, but because another torrential rain fell, Jiang Anguo's air units could not take off for combat.

If the prolonged attack stalled, and the Japanese regained strength, they might even organize a counterattack, and the advantage in hand could reverse at any moment.

We must find a way to relieve pressure on the 200th Division!

Jiang Anguo slammed his binoculars down, a flash of resolve crossing his eyes.

The hard assault on the Eastern Front incurred too many casualties; better to attack where they must be rescued, forcing them to split forces!

The Mandalay city defenses now have all their focus on the Eastern Front, resisting the 200th Division's attack, while the Southern Front is relatively empty.

As long as he suddenly strikes from the Mi River, forcefully crossing and landing, and launches a fierce attack on Mandalay's Southern Front, the opposing Japanese 18th Division's Muta Kugou Lian will inevitably panic; once the Southern Front is breached, the Expeditionary Force can cut off his rear, completely sealing the last chance of breakout.

By then, Muta Kugou Lian would have no choice but to forcibly pull troops from the already strained Eastern Front forces back to defend the Southern Front.

In this way, the frontal pressure on the 200th Division would naturally lessen greatly!

Having figured this out, Jiang Anguo no longer hesitated, immediately turning his head and issuing a stern order:

"Iron Fist!"

"Go!" the st Division's Regiment Commander Iron Fist stepped forward, his tiger eyes wide open, his voice resonant as a bell.

"You immediately lead an entire regiment's officers and soldiers, cross the Mi River at once, reinforce the Mandalay battlefield!" Jiang Anguo said decisively, "Do not go via the Eastern Front; land directly on Mandalay's Southern Front, and forcefully attack the Japanese Southern defensive positions!"

"Yes!" Iron Fist, without any extra questions, raised his hand in salute, took the command and turned to leave.

He clearly understood the division commander's intent: not to reinforce the Eastern Front, but to strike a blow from the Southern Front, forcing the devils to split forces, using the most clever method to resolve the 200th Division's dilemma.

The southeast sides on both flanks encircled the Japanese Army.

In Yichang, Jiang Anguo dared to charge forward with a 448th Regiment and half a division; now in Mandalay, he has troops and commanders, and will pursue and strike fiercely.

Unfortunately, before the battle began, Bamo's 93rd Division could not arrive; according to intelligence, Yu Shao's 93rd had only covered half the road.

A moment later, by the riverbank of Mi Jie, engines roared.

Several LCI infantry landing craft had already docked awaiting orders; their hulls were wide and shallow‑draft, especially suitable for the northern Myanmar river network landing operations. The st Division's 448th Regiment officers and soldiers were fully armed, boarded the craft quickly, in neat formation, with murderous aura.

"Board the craft! Full speed north! Target: Mandalay Southern Theater!"

At Iron Fist's command, the landing craft formation turned the bow, cutting through the turbid river water toward the north bank at high speed. The craft's bow broke the spray, motor noise reverberated across the river surface, and a fresh, elite force surged straight at the Japanese Army's weakly defended Southern Theater positions.