Chapter 553: Mysterious Supplies

Sakurai Seizo looked up, and the sunlight was extremely dazzling.

"General, it's our aircraft!"

"It's our aircraft!"

"We've got a rescue!"

The Japanese Army soldiers, mired in despair, seemed to see hope.

Sakurai Seizo saw the patch flag under the wing and confirmed, without doubt, that it was the Imperial Japanese Air Force's Ki-57 transport aircraft.

What puzzled him was that Japan's Fifth Division in Myanmar had been almost completely annihilated, and the remaining fighters and bombers had all flown to Indonesia and Malaysia.

How could a transport aircraft be flying here at this time?

Without time to think further, Sakurai Seizo saw the Ki-57 transport drop a flurry of parachute bundles.

But why were these airdropped supplies left on the west bank of the Irrawaddy River, while Ma Gui was on the east bank?

In other words, they needed to cross the Irrawaddy River.

"General, what do we do now!" the staff officer asked.

Sakurai Seizo did not dwell on it and immediately issued the order, "Cross the Irrawaddy River!"

A total of five Ki-57 transports dropped ten tons of supplies, with no medical provisions, only food.

For a Japanese Army Type‑B unit that had suffered almost no major casualties on the Myanmar battlefield, this was a disaster.

The rd Division, now numbering 16,000 men, had only ten tons of food, giving each person just over a pound, and it was unknown when the next air drop would come.

In other words, from now on they would have to rely on themselves.

Crucially, Sakurai Seizo knew that once they crossed the Irrawaddy, returning would be difficult.

Sure enough, shortly after the rd Division crossed the Irrawaddy, Ma Gui behind them was seized by the Expeditionary Force's 96th Division Yu Shao Unit.

In fact, the airdropped food for the Japanese Army was arranged by Jiang Anguo; a fully‑manned Japanese unit still posed a threat, so Jiang Anguo needed to send this unit westward, i. e., toward India.

He let the Japanese Army rd Division wreak havoc on the British forces in India; how many would survive in the end depended on their own abilities.

After the Japanese soldiers received supplies, a brief chaos did break out, because most of them had lost their humanity; they rushed forward to loot and shoved food into their mouths.

A few Japanese soldiers even died from overeating.

Sakurai Seizo immediately executed several soldiers; the chaos subsided quickly, and he ordered the distribution of a portion of the food to all soldiers, who ate slowly, savoring the taste.

Although they were unpalatable compressed biscuits, with a little water they did fill the stomach.

The rd Division's quartermaster had already reported the quantities, and Sakurai Seizo glanced at it, discovering the problem: there was no medical supply at all.

In other words, the wounded in the unit could not receive effective treatment and had to rely on their own will.

However, Sakurai Seizo was unsure whether the Chinese army behind them would pursue, and shortly after the air drop a squadron of aircraft appeared, but they were all Chinese aircraft.

They only dropped bombs behind them, killing few Japanese soldiers.

They didn't even strafe the Japanese on the ground with machine‑gun fire.

Sakurai Seizo knew they could not stay put; he could only lead the unit northward.

As for why they couldn't go south, those fighters had come from the southern direction of Myanmar, leading Sakurai Seizo to think the Chinese were already waiting for him in the south.

With no other choice, he could only choose to go north.

Airdrops were not daily; every three days the transports would airdrop toward the north of the rd Division, after which Chinese fighters would appear again, driving the Japanese toward the northwest.

That timing coincided with the moment the Japanese exhausted the first batch of supplies.

Because there was no medicinal treatment, many Japanese who drank Myanmar river water contracted malaria and tropical diseases, and without cure they died on the march.

The corpses were left abandoned on both sides of the road.

An urgent telegram shattered the brief calm of the American Army Pacific Command.

News arrived that the Japanese had successfully seized Port Moresby in New Guinea; the command fell into dead silence, every face marked by gravity and anxiety.

The fall of the port was like a massive boulder crushing the American morale and plunging the South Pacific situation into a passive state.

Port Moresby's strategic position was crucial; it lay less than 650 kilometers from mainland Australia, and from the high ground of the harbor one could even faintly glimpse the outline of the Australian continent.

This meant the Japanese spear had reached near the Australian border, bringing the goal of conquering Australia one step closer.

When the news reached Tokyo, Japanese Headquarters erupted in cheers, believing that capturing Port Moresby opened the gate to Australia, and that a subsequent push would incorporate Australia into the Imperial Japanese Empire's territory.

But few knew that the Japanese still faced a long road before truly conquering Australia.

Australia's major cities—Sydney and Melbourne—while the capital Canberra lies inland; the straight‑line distance from Port Moresby to Canberra exceeds three thousand kilometers, a stretch of barren desert, dense jungle, and rugged mountains, making supply difficult and confronting unknown resistance.

Of course, the Japanese would not be foolish enough to attack overland; they now held maritime superiority.

And that three‑thousand‑kilometer gap gave the American soldier who had fled in disgrace from the Philippines enough time to fortify the Australian mainland, he was Douglas MacArthur.

MacArthur's name was already household‑famous within the American Army.

Previously, he had stubbornly defended the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines, witnessing the Japanese brutality firsthand.

Burning, killing, looting, and all manner of evil, countless American soldiers became prisoners of war and suffered inhuman treatment.

When the Japanese forces approached the city, Army Chief of Staff Marshall personally sent a telegram ordering his retreat, but the hard‑headed general flatly refused, declaring, "I will only obey the President's orders; unless President Roosevelt himself orders it, I will never abandon my soldiers, nor abandon the Philippines."

Marshall, helpless, could only report the situation to Roosevelt.

Roosevelt knew that MacArthur was the core commander of the American Army in the Pacific Theater and could not be allowed to fall into Japanese hands.

It was not only about MacArthur's prestige but also about American honor.

Consequently, Roosevelt personally sent a telegram to MacArthur, ordering an immediate withdrawal to Australia to oversee its defense.

One could say Roosevelt gave MacArthur full face.

Receiving the President's personal order, MacArthur painfully bid farewell to the soldiers he had defended for days, boarded a small boat, and under the cover of night broke through the Japanese naval blockade, endured hardships, and finally arrived in Australia.

After arriving in Australia, MacArthur immediately began fortifying it; he knew the Japanese ferocity and was aware of Australia's numerous defensive gaps, yet the development of the war still exceeded his and the American government's expectations.