Chapter 161 Honor to you! (Second update!) “Masao Watanabe committed suicide? Was the body burnt?” After Cun Yunsheng received the news, he also looked at Meng Fan in disbelief. "what happened?" To be honest, Meng Fan was also in a state of confusion. He was originally thinking about when he could completely capture Lashio. Who knew, it didn’t take long for good news to come out: the Japanese army headquarters was taken down, and the division commander Masao Watanabe committed suicide. It’s just that nothing was left, it was burned away by a fire. After Cun Yunsheng learned the details, he was speechless for a while. This He Shuguang is still so reckless. But it’s not a big deal, if it’s burned, it’s burned! Anyway, he didn't care much about the Japanese army's intelligence.
“Tuanzuo, what should we do now?” Meng Fanlai hesitated and asked. No useful information was left behind, and not even a regiment flag was captured. Strictly speaking, there was still a loss of blood. Hearing this, Cun Yunsheng thought for a while. Logically speaking, this credit should be greatly discounted, but considering that the other party did not mean it. "I can't do anything that makes heroes bleed and shed tears." Cun Yunsheng said. “In addition, in my name, send a telegram to the big Chinese families around Lashio and tell them to talk to them about anything important.” “Also, let Kang Ya from the engineering battalion allocate some people to find a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters to build a cemetery for the soldiers who died in this battle.” “Send another telegram to Stilwell and tell him that Lashio City has been captured by us.” “I kept my promise.” “Yes.” Meng Fan nodded, then turned around and started making arrangements. Cun Yunsheng looked at the casualty report that had just been sent, sighed, opened it, and looked at it carefully. The battle resulted in more than 1,500 casualties. Even though I was mentally prepared, I still took a breath when I saw such a large casualty report. You must know that in order to reduce casualties, he used a full 300 heavy artillery pieces and several fighter planes, but as a result, there were still such heavy casualties. He couldn't help but feel a little heartache. The casualties were too great. Although most of the three front lines of defense were destroyed by heavy artillery, some Japanese soldiers were very cunning enough to hide in potholes and attack secretly, causing many soldiers to suffer a lot. The infantry and tanks cooperated to prevent Japanese suicide attacks, which also resulted in the death of some soldiers. Some Japanese soldiers were hiding in bomb craters. When they saw the tanks appearing, they exploded explosive packets and rushed out.
Many soldiers were caught off guard and killed. In other words, nearly 700 people were killed in the first three lines of defense. The rest were fighting in the streets. Although they were bombed into ruins, the Japanese troops were like rats, hiding in the ruins and making sneak attacks. There were not many killed in this area, mainly those who were injured. “Sure enough, street fighting is a meat grinder. If we hadn’t prepared properly in advance, the casualties would have been doubled.” "No, even if we put all the troops in our hands, we may not be able to capture Lashio." Cun Yunsheng murmured. You know, after Long Wenwen's guerrillas achieved great results in Mandalay, he transferred the first battalion stationed in Hsipaw. Only a guard company and an engineer battalion were left over there to maintain order. When the general offensive was finally launched, they were the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 6th Infantry Battalions, as well as the newly formed 7th Infantry Battalion. In other words, five infantry battalions, with a strength of nearly 5,000 men. Not counting reconnaissance battalions, guard battalions, artillery battalions, tank battalions and other troops. In total, there were nearly 8,000 troops besieging a city with less than 1,000 people left. Just like this, there were hundreds of casualties, which is enough to show how terrifying street fighting can be. After reading the casualty report, Cun Yun felt a sense of sadness. It seemed that in future urban assaults, artillery fire preparations must be sufficient. No matter what, he still doesn't believe it after using heavy artillery for three to five days. The enemy still has the will to continue to hold on. “I don’t know if the ambush by the guard battalion and the reconnaissance battalion has any results.” Cun Yunsheng closed the casualty report in his hand and murmured. … Imphal, Allied Headquarters, Stilwell has been particularly worried recently. Because the Japanese 33rd Division cut off the communication between Chittagong and Imphal. As a result, the materials over there cannot be transported temporarily. Fortunately, there are still a lot of supplies stored in Imphal, which can sustain consumption for the time being. However, two hundred heavy artillery pieces were previously allocated to the Sichuan Army, resulting in a serious decline in the number of artillery in Imphal. In the past, they used to fight with Japanese artillery, but now they are bombarded by Japanese artillery shells from time to time. This made General Wavell quite complaining. He believed that so many heavy artillery should not be allocated to the Sichuan Army. Especially because the Sichuan Army had not made any achievements for a long time, many people secretly blamed Stilwell. This made Stilwell very helpless and could only hope that the Sichuan Army could gain some ground. However, compared to the Sichuan Army, the recent performance of the British Army is quite tough. The British Fifteenth Army is indeed, as General Wavell said, quite tenacious in fighting will.
Has blocked several attacks by the Japanese 33rd Division in the south. "Your Excellency, Commander, General Wavell is here." The adjutant's words gave Stilwell a headache. This guy must be here to complain again. If it were before, he would definitely not take advantage of the other party. But now that the British army has become tougher, he naturally has to give the other side a good look. Thinking of this, Stilwell asked his adjutant to invite General Wavell in. "General Stilwell, the Fifteenth Army once again repelled the Japanese attack. You really shouldn't have transferred those heavy artillery away. With the help of those heavy artillery, we might be able to eliminate more Japanese troops." When we met, Admiral Wavell complained again. Hearing this, Stilwell was also helpless. Unexpectedly, the 15th Army was indeed very effective in fighting and had blocked several Japanese attacks. Just as he was about to explain something, he saw a burst of noise outside, followed by excited shouts. "Your Excellency, Commander, great victory, great victory, the Sichuan Army has captured Lashio, severely damaged the Japanese 56th Division, killed the Japanese division commander Masao Watanabe, and annihilated more than 10,000 Japanese troops." The communications staff officer rushed in and waved his hand. He said excitedly while holding the telegram. "What..." Upon hearing the news, Stilwell couldn't sit still at all. He stood up suddenly and looked at the other party in disbelief. The communications staff officer wanted to repeat it, but Stilwell took the telegram directly. After reading the telegram, Stilwell could not help but cheer excitedly. “Hahahaha, great, great, the Sichuan Army did a great job, the Japanese 56th Division is finished, and Lashio is back in our hands.” It’s no wonder that Stilwell was so excited, it was really that Admiral Wavell had put too much pressure on him during this period. So much so that other people in the headquarters also secretly accused Stilwell of not transferring so many heavy artillery pieces to the Sichuan Army. If there were so many heavy artillery, the Japanese army that besieged Imphal might have been repelled long ago. Now the Sichuan Army has lived up to expectations and completely occupied Lashio, and also severely damaged the Japanese 56th Division and killed the division commander Lieutenant General Masao Watanabe. This is definitely a big win. Admiral Wavell's face on the side was even more ashen. The young lieutenant colonel who pointed at his own nose and cursed actually did it. This is simply incredible. How did he do it? Just rely on a mere two hundred heavy artillery pieces? For a mountain city, two hundred heavy cannons are a lot. But for the world’s leading powers like Britain and the United States, it’s really not much. If nothing else, in any of the major battles of the German army on the Eastern Front, were there fewer than a few thousand artillery pieces? Tens of thousands of artillery pieces are common. Even for the upcoming Battle of El Alamein, the British army prepared thousands of artillery pieces.
In this way, the British army did not have full confidence to defeat the German army. So, when he heard that the Sichuan Army actually used only two hundred heavy artillery to capture Lashio, General Wavell still couldn't believe it. "Could it be fake?" Admiral Wavell said subconsciously. Hearing this, Stilwell sneered. "General Wavell, don't use your dirty thoughts to treat the Sichuan Army. They are an excellent unit. I will send a report to the White House and be sure to apply for the Medal of Merit for him." The Medal of Merit, also known as the Medal of Merit, was established not long ago. This medal is awarded to personnel (usually principal personnel) in the United States Armed Forces or Allied Forces who have distinguished themselves during their service. In fact, it was mainly awarded to Allied officers. Now that the Sichuan Army has captured Lashio, Cun Yunsheng is fully qualified to be awarded the Medal of Merit. Hearing this, General Wavell's face was extremely ugly. He did not expect that Stilwell would apply for the Medal of Merit for him, which was beyond his expectation. "Admiral Wavell, I think the British Empire should also set an example and award Cun Yunsheng the Order of the British Empire." Stilwell's words made the other party's face look even uglier. “Of course, if you are unwilling, I would suggest that the White House contact your Prime Minister, His Excellency Churchill, personally.” He was disgusted by Admiral Wavell. Now that he finally got the chance, he would definitely disgust him severely. As expected, Admiral Wavell's face looked extremely ugly, and he didn't know how many times he had greeted him. Thinking of this, Admiral Wavell spoke. "General Stilwell, I will consider your proposal, but awarding the medal is not my decision." "I know, but you are the Governor-General of India. Prime Minister Churchill will not refuse your suggestion." Stilwell silenced Wavell with one sentence. "I will suggest it to the Prime Minister." Admiral Wavell left these words and walked out of the headquarters angrily. There were cheers from outside. It was obvious that the morale caused by the siege by the Japanese army began to slowly improve. At the same time, it also means that Stilwell’s prestige has been enhanced again. “What a pity, half of the two hundred heavy artillery pieces were lost.” At the end of the telegram, it was also stated that half of the two hundred heavy artillery pieces provided were lost. Stilwell doesn't care much about this. As I said before, everything will be easy if we take Lashio. If you can't defeat him, even if you boast about it, it's all in vain. So he chose to forgive. Even handed over the remaining 100 heavy artillery pieces to the Sichuan Army Corps for disposal, which was regarded as his personal reward. "It would be better if we could capture a united flag." Stilwell said with some regret. But he also knew that this situation was difficult to encounter. Basically, if something goes wrong, the Japanese army will burn the regiment to ensure that the regiment's designation can survive.
"Call back to the Sichuan Army. The Allied Command expressed congratulations on their spirit of not fearing sacrifice and capturing Lashio. Soon, I will arrive in Lashio in person to bring them awards." Stilwell thought for a while, Then added again. “Let Chennault’s Flying Tigers transport a batch of supplies. Now the victory belongs to them. This group of awesome guys should celebrate.” I have to say that Stilwell was very considerate and asked the logistics department to send cans and other supplies. “Yes.” The adjutant responded quickly. At the same time, Yamashiro also received a telegram forwarded by the Allied Command. After reading the telegram, everyone was silent. They couldn't believe that the Sichuan Army actually captured Lashio. More importantly, Lieutenant General Masao Watanabe, the commander of the Japanese division, was killed. This is really a great victory. It's just that this great victory was won by a motley army. If it were a direct force, they would definitely make a big deal about it. If they make a big announcement now, won't the Sichuan Army, which they finally dismantled, come back again? This is absolutely intolerable. Originally they wanted to deal with it coldly, but they couldn't ignore the telegram that Stilwell personally forwarded. More importantly, Stilwell also said that he would apply for the Medal of Merit for Cun Yunsheng. At this time, they couldn't sit still at all. If he really didn't show any expression at all, I'm afraid it would really chill the hearts of the soldiers. Finally, after some discussions, it was decided to award Cun Yunsheng the fourth-class Yunhui Medal and be promoted to the rank of colonel. As for the duties, they are still the same and there are no changes. Shancheng is very stingy about numbers now. Especially these miscellaneous troops, it is impossible to obtain a larger establishment. After all, Shancheng's idea is to continuously consume the strength of the miscellaneous army in the war and reduce their establishment at the same time. The Sichuan Army is an example, it has been dismantled to pieces. Now if the Sichuan Army is given a larger establishment, wouldn't their previous efforts be in vain? Unless the Sichuan Army is organized into the Central Army sequence, I am afraid it will be given a larger organization at that time. But at that time, it is unclear whether the Sichuan Army Corps was still decided by Cun Yunsheng. At the same time, the headquarters of the Japanese Fifteenth Army, Hebian Zhengzo, received the telegram and remained silent for a long time. “Bagaya Road.”
Everyone in the entire military department knew that Masami Kabebe was extremely angry. Unexpectedly, the 56th Division only persisted for seven days before being completely wiped out. It cannot be said that the entire army was wiped out. At least two regiments were left, as well as more than 3,000 retreating troops. But the death of Masao Watanabe in battle really made him feel extremely angry. "Send a telegram to the base camp and ask them to dispatch at least two divisions to Yangon. We must contain the Sichuan Army. Otherwise, the situation in Southeast Asia will become out of control." After a long time, Hebian Zhengsan came back to his senses. Suppressing his anger, he spoke word by word. “Hai!” Yahara Hiromichi didn’t dare to say any nonsense and responded quickly. I’ll try my best to write another chapter in the morning. Can I be so shameless as to ask for some support?
(End of this chapter)