SFS Chapter 243: The naval gun fired once, and my parents raised me in vain
Chapter 243: The naval gun fired once, and my parents raised me in vain
Unlike Zhang Chi who was immersed in a relaxed and happy atmosphere, General Tanaka Shinichi, Chief of Staff of the Pegu Front in Mandalay City, had a sad face at the moment, as if both his parents had passed away.
Lashio was lost, and the 2nd Independent Guard Brigade of Pegu guarding the Lashio-Manzhouli railway line was easily defeated by Hao Yi's left-wing group. Of the 5 battalions plus the attached troops, nearly 6500 Japanese soldiers, only a little over 1000 escaped.
The puppet troops sent to destroy roads and the forcibly conscripted Saka laborers did not play a significant role either.
The big pit that the puppet soldiers and laborers dug with hoes, shovels and pickaxes under the threat of the Japanese machine guns and bayonets was filled back with earth by various armored bulldozers and armored excavators of the mechanized combat engineering battalion of the Anmin Army.
The paving tanks and bridge-laying tanks modified from the Sherman tank chassis were equipped with several tons of steel plates and prefabricated bridge parts, and they were used to build roads through mountains and bridges over rivers.
Taking the Japanese mopping-up troops on the North China Plain, who were suffering terribly due to the Eighth Route Army's digging roads and destroying railways, as a reference, Tanaka Shinichi thought that his traffic blocking strategy could delay the left-wing group of the Anmin Army for at least 15 days.
However, the times are developing too fast, and the capabilities of mechanized equipment far exceed the imagination of Shinichi Tanaka, a stubborn and conservative old man.
In just one week, Hao Yi's left-wing group and Qi Quan's right-wing group joined forces at the gates of Mandalay, a major city in central Pegu.
Nearly 20 An Min Army troops besieged the 18th Division in the city, plus other disabled troops, totaling 2 devils. With a 10-fold advantage in troop strength, there was naturally no need to "surround three sides and leave one behind", and they directly surrounded Mandalay City.
General Tanaka Shinichi felt very miserable. He originally had a hope of escaping south before the encirclement closed, but it was really embarrassing for a general like him to escape before the battle.
Unexpectedly, he hesitated for just a moment, and the motorized troops of the People's Army of Anchorage cut off the railway line between the south of Mandalay and Naypyidaw in Lynx assault vehicles.
The sky is now full of patrolling Anmin Army planes, and it has become impossible for General Tanaka Shinichi to escape even if he wants to take a transport plane.
Looking at the huge map hanging on the wall in the command center, countless blue arrows representing the People's Security Army were surrounding the city of Mandalay. These blue arrows were so eye-catching in Shinichi Tanaka's eyes that he closed his eyes in pain.
Fast, too fast.
It was so fast that Shinichi Tanaka couldn't react at all.
Tanaka Shinichi's thinking was still stuck in the model of the First World War, where two armies faced each other, dug trenches for each other, and advanced in single kilometers each time.
He simply couldn't understand Zhang Chi's coordination of the navy, army and air force, and the large-scale mobile operations of mechanized troops.
Shinichi Tanaka was like a nearsighted and slow-reacting boxer, who was beaten so hard in the ring by the young and strong Zhang Chi, whose movements were as fast as thunder, with his "Lightning Five Whips".
Just over 20 days after the war began, the 2nd Guards Division and more than 3 Japanese troops on the first line of contact were completely defeated, divided, surrounded, and eaten one by one.
Then the reinforcements heading north were defeated halfway while on the march.
Then, the commander of the 55th Division in Lashio, a hundred kilometers away, Sadaichi Takeuchi, fled hurriedly into the mountains and forests.
Now, the city of Mandalay was surrounded within 24 hours.
Tanaka Shinichi couldn't even see the trajectory of his opponent Zhang Chi's punches, so how could he defend himself? He could only hold his head and take the beating.
During the invasion of Qian Country, the old Japanese soldier Tanaka Shinichi, who was wreaking havoc along various railway lines, highway lines, and the Yangtze River, felt for the first time that this smooth transportation line was not a good thing.
"Hasn't that Mutaguchi guy's 15th Army been called out yet?" Tanaka Shinichi already knew the answer in his heart, but he still didn't give up and prayed for Aunt Amaterasu to appear.
The communications officer shook his head helplessly, looking at his general, whose hair was now white and who seemed to have aged 20 years overnight, and said, "Apart from the last report about the capture of Imphal and the plunder of dozens of tons of gold, there has been no further news from Lord Mutaguchi's radio."
Tanaka Shinichi was dejected.
He knew very well that Mutaguchi Ren'ya's retreat was the gold looted in Sindhu.
With this batch of gold as bait, the Locust Navy will be quite happy to send a squadron to the coast of Sindhu to rescue the 15th Army back to the country.
After all, although there are huge contradictions between the navy and the army, those golden stones can significantly make up for those contradictions.
Mutaguchi Ren'ya has already made a promise that he will carry more than 200 tons of gold and wait for the Locust Navy to pick him up in Chittagong. Tanaka Shinichi does not believe that those old bastards in the navy can resist the temptation of 200 tons of gold.
There was no hope for the 9 Japanese soldiers of the 15th Army (more than 10 at the start, and more than 1 were lost in the battle of Imphal due to death, wounding, and missing). Tanaka Shinichi could only pray to General Heitaro Kimura, commander of the Pegu Front, to save him.
"What did you say, Mr. Kimura? Have the rescue troops been dispatched?"
The communications officer shook his head again. "The Commander simply said that if we hold on, there's a way. He's mobilizing reinforcements, but it'll take more time."
Tanaka Shinichi knew it was a perfunctory response. His eyes blazed with anger. "Tell him that the bank in Mandalay still has 6 tons of gold and 350 tons of silver left behind by John's men. If he still wants them, he'll have to send reinforcements as fast as he can."
In fact, this precious metal was the wealth plundered by Tanaka Shinichi in Pegu when he was the commander of a division. He had been keeping it in his hands and not handing it over. Instead, he was waiting for an opportunity to secretly transport it back to his homeland.
Previously, because the An Min Army Air Force had been continuously bombing the railway line, this precious metal was delayed in the city of Mandalay. Now Shinichi Tanaka used it as bait to attract the rescue of Heitaro Kimura.
"Hi, I'll send the message right away." The communications staff officer was shocked to hear about such a large amount of wealth (a little-known fact: the Treaty of Shimonoseki only paid 7000 tons of silver as compensation). He immediately saluted and turned to leave.
Suddenly, all the lights in the brightly lit command center went out and it was plunged into darkness.
"What's going on? Why is there a power outage?" Tanaka Shinichi shouted loudly in the dark, but no one could answer.
After a while, several flashlights lit up. Tanaka Shinichi narrowed his eyes and ordered fiercely, "What are you still standing there for? Go activate the backup power supply!"
Due to the previous air raid on the fuel depot by the People's Army Air Force, there is now a severe shortage of fuel in Mandalay. In order to save fuel, the diesel generators are naturally not started. The electricity is entirely provided by the small hydropower station on the Irrawaddy River outside Mandalay.
Suddenly, rumbling artillery sounds were heard in the distance, and everyone in the command center immediately felt the building beneath their feet shaking.
The devils panicked again.
At this time, a signalman ran in breathlessly with a flashlight, shouting anxiously:
"It's bad, Tanaka Kaka, the Anmin Army's destroyers sneaked up at night. They not only occupied the hydroelectric power station along the river, but also bombarded Mandalay City with naval guns from the river west of the city."