Chapter 50: Unreliable Allies

Tonggu.

The front line kept shrinking, causing the Expeditionary Force 200th Division, all its troops, to curl up inside Tonggu, and another unit on Tonggu's east side; that position was also the retreat spot Dai Anlan reserved for the th Division.

"Call back the 589th Regiment's third Battalion." Dai Anlan's words just left his mouth.

Dai Anlan no longer had any troops to use; the only unit he could mobilize was the Engineer Regiment and the third Battalion toward the airport, which was his only mobile force.

But the Engineer Regiment couldn't move; that was his fallback.

An urgent telegram came through the command post.

Zhou Zhizai answered the phone, and artillery fire sounded on the other end.

After a while, Zhou Zhizai finally understood what the other side was saying: the airport direction was under enemy attack; hearing that, Zhou Zhizai's heart jumped.

"Chief of Staff, the enemy has already been eliminated." 598th Regiment Deputy Commander Huang Jingsheng shouted.

The force attacking the airport was the enemy Japanese Army's 55th Division Lieutenant General Takeuchi Kan's 143rd Regiment, though not the whole regiment, but a battalion led by Colonel Kimura Yūichirō, totaling over a thousand men, plus a unit of Burmese volunteers serving as guides.

Just as they entered within five hundred meters of Yongke Gang Airport, they hit a landmine; with a boom, an instant explosion flipped the surrounding Japanese troops onto the ground, their fate unknown.

Kimura Yūichirō knew that such a massive explosion would certainly be heard by the enemy, so he couldn't bother with anything else and immediately ordered the entire battalion to advance toward the airport.

The Japanese Army was dazzled by the smooth progress.

Meanwhile, the patient Huang Jingsheng led the 598th Regiment's third Battalion soldiers and part of the Engineer Regiment's troops, giving the Japanese a harsh lesson.

Huang Jingsheng was transferred to the rear to defend Yongke Gang Airport, and kept complaining.

The front‑line brothers fought fiercely; he had nothing to do at the back and never expected the Japanese to launch an attack in the early hours of the 24th.

Fortunately, the defensive line had been set up in advance; otherwise, under this Japanese onslaught, the airport would likely have been captured.

Because the fighting at Tonggu was intense, even the rear Yongke Gang Airport's soldiers were sleeping on the ground in their positions, which is why they reacted so quickly.

"Illumination flares." Several flares rose, and the Expeditionary Force troops could already see the charging Japanese.

Browning light machine guns and Sherman field rifles fired bullets mercilessly at the Japanese.

The battle lasted half an hour; since it was still dark, Huang Jingsheng did not send soldiers to scout.

What he didn't know was that in this battle he had severely wounded the Japanese 143rd Regiment commander Kimura Yūichirō; Kimura was hit in the chest by a stray bullet and could no longer command, yet the subordinate officers still blocked the Expeditionary Force's advance on the airport.

If Kimura Yūichirō wasn't treated in time, his life would likely be short.

The Japanese never imagined that, because of Jiang Anguo's computer, Dai Anlan placed the strongest battalion at the rear airport.

The remaining Japanese, over two hundred men, slowly retreated under the command of a Company Captain.

At the Expeditionary Force command post, Dai Anlan punched the table hard and said a single word, "Alright."

It was close; had he moved those three battalions back, Yongke Gang Airport couldn't have been held, and according to the report the Japanese had deployed at least a battalion's worth of troops, while Dai Anlan's Engineer Regiment only had six or seven hundred men.

"Division Commander, from the 18th's engagement with the Japanese to now, my th Division has eliminated five or six thousand enemies, but reinforcements are still delayed; Division Commander, do you think we should retreat?" Zhou Zhizai said to Dai Anlan.

Dai Anlan remained silent, thought for a moment, then said, "Request the headquarters: is a retreat permissible?"

Before the battle, they had prepared to fight the Japanese at Tonggu, but now the problem is that the main force is delayed, the th Division is isolated, troop numbers have dwindled severely, each unit has over a thousand casualties, everyone is wounded.

Fortunately, Dai Anlan arrived at Tonggu ahead of the Japanese, giving him time to build fortifications; his defenses were not limited to Tonggu city but started from the Piyu River, layered outward, and even outside Tonggu he set up three defensive lines, each costing the Japanese dearly.

Dai Anlan couldn't help recalling the Brocade Bag Jiang Anguo had given him, and he thought, if indeed four division‑sized forces were in front of him, should he retreat right now?

The forces under his command had lost more than one‑ninth of their strength; tank numbers were down to just twelve. He had already contacted the new 22nd Division, which would need three to four days to reach Tonggu—what could he do?

Dai Anlan was a soldier, and soldiers must obey orders, but now that he found after entering Myanmar all orders were wrong, he still decided to request the headquarters.

Faced with the th Division's request to retreat, disagreements also arose.

"General Du, we should concentrate our superior forces and have a decisive battle with the Japanese at Tonggu." Stilwell, wearing gold‑rimmed glasses and a head of curls, looked exactly like a little old man.

General Du's expression was solemn; from the retreat request he received from Dai Anlan, the information indicated that Japan had moved at least two division‑sized forces to Tonggu, this only on the central route, while the right route was also pursuing the British.

"General Stilwell, what I want to tell you is that the British deceived us; the intelligence I now have shows that the Japanese have three divisions attacking Myanmar, not one or two." General Du retorted bluntly.

The pre‑battle conference decided: if there is one division, fight a decisive battle; if there are two divisions, act more cheaply.

"Also, General, our reinforcements are blocked on the road, and the damned British actually use the precious railway to transport those damned pieces of furniture; is furniture more important than the lives of our Expeditionary Force soldiers?"

General Du was truly angry; if the railway were yielded, the th Division wouldn't be so passive, as long as Liao Yaoxiang's newly formed 22nd Division could reach the designated spot, which is Tonggu.

The manpower of two divisions, plus Tonggu's terrain, makes it extremely difficult for the Japanese to break through Tonggu's defensive lines in one go.

But he had nothing: no air support, and no British tank units.

General Du felt he had been deceived.

When General Du asked that, Stilwell could only look at Yalishanda, "General Yalishanda, I hope you can give me a reasonable explanation; you know, the Expeditionary Force came to help you drive out the Japanese, yet you are still worrying about how to move the furniture."

Stilwell wanted command of the Expeditionary Force, but he was not a politician and did not understand the Chinese Army.

Yalishanda, unlike Stilwell, said awkwardly, "General, I will have someone investigate it thoroughly."

"General Yalishanda, I hope you will yield the railway and get my troops to the Tonggu front as quickly as possible." General Du said anxiously.

At this point, General Du was extremely disappointed with the British army; is this what an old‑powerful nation looks like?

The French kept losing, and the British did the same.