The First Failure and Retreat of the Eight Thousand Li Blood and Fire Expeditionary Force in Myanmar

On the evening of April 20, Chiang Kai-shek sent an urgent telegram from Chongqing, ordering the expeditionary force to change the original plan of fighting the Japanese army in Mandalay to defense in depth to keep the enemy out of the country. At the same time, he pointed out that the defense focus is lashio. However, the Japanese army has already seen the key to the success or failure of the war in Myanmar: while the main force of China's army is advancing westward and the eastern front is empty, China's army, which is directly in Yunnan, is in danger of being surrounded and annihilated, and has to retreat from northern Myanmar. When the bayonets of the Japanese invaders came in obliquely from Yunnan and Myanmar, War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression reached the most difficult moment. In order to defend the southwest rear area of China from the invasion of conquered nations, China troops went to Myanmar to fight bloody battles. After the first expedition failed and the casualties exceeded100000, the Chinese Expeditionary Force wiped out the Japanese elite in western Yunnan and Myanmar and returned home in triumph. This is a brilliant stroke written by China soldiers with flesh and blood and the soul of a great country! 1937, War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression broke out in an all-round way, and the Japanese army quickly occupied Beijing, Tianjin, Nanjing, Shanghai, Hankou, Guangzhou and other eastern/south-central parts of North China. China's major cities, 95% of its industries, 50% of its population and almost all its coastal ports have successively fallen into the hands of the Japanese. China's already poor defense industry is in danger of being overwhelmed, and the maritime aid channel is blocked. The Soviet Union gave China a lot of help, providing 400 planes to the China Air Force, and another 500 Soviet military advisers and six air force fighter squadrons also fought in China. A 2700-kilometer highway from the Soviet border to Lanzhou was opened. From 1938 to 1940, Soviet munitions sufficient to equip 15 division entered China through this road. However, after Hitler launched a blitzkrieg against the Soviet Union, Stalin had no time to look east. 1941April, the Soviet Union and Japan signed the Treaty of Neutrality between the Soviet Union and Japan. Since then, Soviet aid to China has stopped. Lifeline of the Anti-Japanese War: Yunnan-Myanmar Highway At that time, the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, the only international transportation channel in China, was destroyed by the Japanese army, and the traffic volume was decreasing day by day. The planned Yunnan-Myanmar highway immediately became the focus of national attention. Chiang Kai-shek ordered that the Burma Road must be completed on schedule. When the situation was unprecedentedly tense, Sun Shi gave Yu Peiyun, the heirloom of Yunnan President Long Qingqiu, an order to start construction along the highway before the end of 1937 to build a simple highway that can be opened to traffic within three months. This kind of road only needs to level the subgrade, spread gravel and flatten it with a roller. About 200,000 laborers of all ethnic groups along the route were recruited to the construction site, most of whom were elderly people, women and children. This is because young and middle-aged people have basically gone to the Central Plains to participate in the Anti-Japanese War. Due to the lack of construction machinery, these laborers can only use their hands and feet, and they have opened up a road of thousands of miles between the mountains with flesh and blood. However, the worst thing is not pain, but malaria. Lou Xing, a former Yunnan-Myanmar highway engineer, recalled that shocking day: malignant malaria appeared in low-lying areas such as Nujiang and mangshi. After being bitten by cows and mosquitoes, people will tremble and have a fever, and they will die in less than three days. A group of people fell, a group of people changed, and the price was heavy. At the end of August, 1938, after the unremitting efforts of 200,000 people, the Yunnan-Myanmar Highway was finally opened to traffic. Due to the tense situation of Wuhan Battle and the urgent need for strategic materials, the road was put into use without any opening ceremony. For this reason, an editorial said that the completion of the Yunnan-Myanmar Highway is like building a powerful blood vessel for China. In the home front, almost all the newspapers rushed to report this exciting news. However, the birth of this miracle was bought with 3000 lives. Today, it seems that the Yunnan-Myanmar Highway wandering in the valleys may be somewhat lonely. Unless it is a special case, the driver will never leave the highway and choose this bumpy and dangerous road However, 70 years ago, this road was the only passage between China and Europe.

In 65438+February, Japanese vanguard troops invaded southern Myanmar, directly threatening Yangon and Burma Road. In view of the precarious situation in Myanmar, 12 In late February, Chiang Kai-shek hosted a joint meeting of China, Britain and the United States in Chongqing. After the meeting, a reporter asked Chiang Kai-shek, if Myanmar can't defend itself, can the China government cope with the difficult situation of being attacked on all sides? Chiang Kai-shek replied: In view of the increasingly severe situation in Asia, China decided to send troops to Myanmar in a few days to fight against the Japanese aggressors. The next day, Chiang Kai-shek's talk was published on the front page of Yunnan Daily. The domestic media is in high spirits, and the world public opinion has different reactions. Commentators wrote with emotion: Does China's determination to return to Myanmar indicate that the ruling authority of whites in Asia was once broken? On the map of the British Empire, Myanmar is only an insignificant Indo-Myanmar province, and its strategic significance is only to form a peripheral barrier to India. However, for China people, Myanmar is inevitable. With the fall of Thailand and Hong Kong in 194 1, it became the only foreign passage in China, and its existence was directly related to the security of the rear area of the Anti-Japanese War. Although the British have no time to look east, they don't want China's allies to interfere in Myanmar affairs. When Chiang Kai-shek hosted a banquet for British guests at Huangshan Villa, the British representative Weaver read a strongly worded memorandum on the spot, demanding that the number of China troops entering Myanmar should not exceed one regiment. The British side could not understand Chiang Kai-shek's anxiety. 1942 65438+ In October, the Japanese army invaded Changsha. The first artillery brigade of the ninth theater occupied the position of Yuelu Mountain and suppressed the enemy's artillery fire. At the height of the war, the shells were used up. The ninth theater telegraphed Chongqing, and the military region replied that the shells were still waiting to be loaded in Yangon. In the same month, the arsenal moved from Hanyang to Chongqing was forced to shut down due to lack of steel. The government's only ten transport planes were grounded for lack of oil. The differences between China and Britain have caused anxiety in the White House. Roosevelt was extremely dissatisfied with the short-sightedness and selfishness of the British people. China's participation in the war not only played an important role in the Asian war, but also played a vital role in the embattled European allies. Only by letting China contain Japan can Britain and the United States concentrate on dealing with Germany. 1942 65438+1October 14, the Arcadia conference ended in Washington. The meeting signed and published "Central Daily News", which established a strategic policy centered on Europe. At the same time, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam broke away from the Southeast Asian War Zone of the Allies and merged into the China War Zone, which was called the China-Myanmar-India War Zone, with Chiang Kai-shek as the supreme commander. One day in February, when the Chinese Expeditionary Force entered Myanmar, a thin general less than 6 feet tall boarded a silver seaplane at Miami Air Force Base. A few days ago, he was the commander-in-chief of the US military, and now he is going to China as the chief of staff of the war zone. This is joseph stilwell. Stilwell 1883 was born in Florida, and 1904 graduated from West Point Military Academy. During World War I, he joined the American Expeditionary Force and went to Europe, and later served as an instructor at West Point Military Academy. He is a general with a traditional American cowboy style. Stilwell was honest with the people he admired, but disgusted with the generals he despised, so he got the nickname "Acid Joe". Learn Chinese, 1935- 1939 as an American military attache in Beijing. He can speak fluent Chinese. At the same time, the Yunnan-Myanmar highway is dusty, and the mighty China army, like an endless grey dragon, is advancing to Myanmar on a large scale. This is a Chinese expeditionary force composed of the 5 th Army, 6 th Army and 66 th Army of Chiang Kai-shek Group. At the beginning of March, Chiang Kai-shek flew to Lashio for the first time as commander-in-chief of the Allied China-Burma-India Theater. Lashou is an important transportation hub in northern Myanmar, and the Yunnan-Myanmar highway twists and turns. At that time, all China's foreign aid materials arrived at Lashio Railway Station from Yangon by railway, and then were transported to China by car. On March 3, Chiang Kai-shek met with his American chief of staff here. As early as when Stilwell was a military attache in China, he didn't like ginger.

Jiang wooed Stilwell and attached importance to American aid, but Stilwell hated the corruption and incompetence of Kuomintang generals and disagreed with Jiang on a series of issues such as American aid. He is the chief of staff of the China-India-Burma War Zone, Jiang is the commander-in-chief and superior, and Stilwell is the representative of American interests in this region, which is almost an irreconcilable contradiction. For China's army, which has just entered Myanmar, the battlefield situation is very unfavorable. On March 8, Yangon fell, the Daimon Masaru in Myanmar opened and the Japanese army moved in. There are only two divisions in the British-Burmese army. Chiang Kai-shek felt that the war must be fought, and it must be fought vigorously, but there should be a limit to the losses. He doesn't want to make unnecessary sacrifices for the British. In Lashio, Chiang Kai-shek summoned Dai Anlan, the commander of the 200 th Division, three times and instructed him to make a good plan. The 20th Division was Chiang Kai-shek's clique and the only motorized artillery division in China at that time. The whole division is equipped with tanks, armored vehicles, motorcycles and large-caliber artillery, with a ratio of three to one. Dai Anlan and Major General, a young general praised by Chiang Kai-shek as a contemporary standard, are an Anhui inaction. Huangpu graduated from the third phase and participated in the Northern Expedition in his early years. Because of the effective suppression of the * * * production party, he was promoted many times. After the Luqiao incident, he successively participated in the Great Wall Defence War, Taierzhuang War and Wuhan Conference War, and made repeated military achievements. Chiang Kai-shek asked Dai Anlan if the 200th Division could hold the bronze drum for a week or two and win a battle. Tonggu is a small town in the lower plain of Myanmar, and it is also the hub of roads, railways and waterways in central Myanmar. Its strategic position is very important. Dai solemnly vowed that this expedition was a great achievement since Tang Ming. Even if Dai is defeated by a single soldier, he will certainly defeat the fierce flame of the enemy and stick to the same ancient times. However, when the 200 th Division came to Tonggu 1000 kilometers alone, it had to face the 55 th Division of the Japanese army, which came directly from southern Myanmar, and its strength was twice that of the 200 th Division. At that time, Yangon had fallen, and the survival of the bronze drum was directly related to whether the Japanese army could be prevented from going north. They were frightened after being defeated by the Japanese army. When they fled to the north in panic, they found an army from China rushing towards the Japanese army behind them. They think these China people will only die. On the day Dai Anlan arrived at Tonggu, he wrote in his diary: Today, he went to Tonggu to meet with Scott, commander of the British 1st Division, and asked about the enemy. However, he doesn't know the enemy's tactics, and neither does he. He is so upset that our army will take full responsibility in the future! Guo Wei Tonggu is 250km south of Yangon and 320km north of Mandalay. It is an important city and strategic location of Yang Man Railway, and there is Keyonggang Airport in the northwest, which is a place that the Japanese army must quickly occupy. The morale of the British-Burmese 1 Division stationed in Tonggu was extremely low. It neither understands the enemy's situation, nor is it prepared to fight. It is only prepared to retreat safely and save its strength. On March 9, Chiang Kai-shek left Laqu for home, and the command was handed over to Du. On March 12, the First Command of Chinese Expeditionary Force will be established, with Luo as the commander and Du as the deputy commander. Du was Luo's agent before he came. /kloc-in March of 0/8, the Japanese army advanced on the bronze drum and the British army retreated to Prometheus. On March 20th, the 200th Division and the 55th Division of the Japanese Army fought fiercely outside the same ancient city, causing heavy casualties on both sides. On the same day, 200 Japanese Air Force planes bombed Magway Airport, the largest allied airport in southern Myanmar. Most of the British-Burmese air force planes were destroyed on the ground except a few that fled to India. Since then, allied planes have disappeared over Myanmar for two years. The 55th Division of the Japanese Army is a second-rate division removed from the battlefield in China. It suffered heavy losses in the battle of Changsha and never recovered. The new leader of the department, Lieutenant General Takeuchi Hiroshi,

/kloc-more than 0/00 planes bombed bronze drums, threw incendiary bombs and even gas bombs. However, the Tonggu defense line was not breached, and the defenders in the city never wavered or retreated. On the evening of the 22nd, Japanese death squads captured a ground officer. After the trial, they learned that the Tonggu garrison was the 200th division, and there were two armies of China at the front line of Mandalay, with a total strength of 6,543,800+. Bamboo is wide inside and cold on the back. But soon, the reconnaissance information sent back from the air and the ground made him greatly relieved: the main force of China Army in Mandalay showed no sign of going south. Takeuchi re-established his faith and determined to eat 200 divisions and raze Tonggu City. At this time, the Myanmar Independent Volunteers led by General Aung San also came to help the Japanese army and joined the attack on the Chinese Expeditionary Force. General Aung San is the father of Aung San Suu Kyi, a democracy fighter in Myanmar today. On the afternoon of 24th, the Japanese army, led by Burmese traitors, detoured north of the city and met the engineers who were destroying the railway. The Japanese army defeated the engineers in a charge and then attacked the airport. The defenders of the airport fought bravely, and finally they were outnumbered and retreated to the city. The Japanese army occupied the airport, cut off the retreat of the 200 th Division and surrounded the bronze drums. The loss of Yungang Airport was reported to the Allied Command as evidence that China people did not fight, and Du was reprimanded by Chiang Kai-shek. Li Shuzheng, head of the engineering corps, was sentenced to death by the military judicial department. On the evening of 24th, 100 more Japanese death squads entered the best position. Ma Licheng, the platoon leader, was shot six times and fought to the death. He was killed by the enemy and his body fell for several days. On the 26th, the dock position of the House of Representatives fell twice. The 3rd Battalion of the 57th Regiment fought with the Japanese army many times, and all died heroically. On the morning of 28th, 100 Japanese troops and Burmese traitors disguised as local aborigines and hid guns and bombs in ox carts in an attempt to enter the city through Xitang River Bridge. Discovered by the 598th Regiment, the whole army was wiped out. The enemy became angry from embarrassment and fired hundreds of gas bombs into the city. Fortunately, during the dry season, most of the poisonous gas was blown away by the monsoon, and no one was killed or injured. On the 29th, the British army finally abandoned its allies in China and hastily retreated without informing the friendly forces, exposing the flank of the bronze drum to the enemy. At this time, the 56th Division of Japanese reinforcements had arrived at Tonggu in the starry night, and the situation went from bad to worse. The 56th Division of the Japanese Army is called the Tiger of the Jungle. Its head, Lieutenant General Masao Watanabe, graduated from Tokyo Army University and is famous for his expertise in jungle warfare. The division consists of tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, cars, motorcycles and infantry. Fast moving speed and strong firepower. They took the lead in capturing Kuala Lumpur in the just-concluded Battle of Malay Peninsula. Deeply impressed by the weakness of the 55th Division in attacking Myanmar, the Japanese base camp ordered the 56th Division and another elite 18 Division to be urgently transferred to Yangon for reinforcements. When Junichi Watanabe's fleet was bumpy at sea, they received urgent telegrams from the front line of Tonggu one after another, so he ordered the troops to set off as soon as they landed. As a result, the vanguard troops completed the March of 300 Li in only three days, and launched an attack on Tonggu on the evening of 29th. Originally, the Chinese and Japanese armies were like two exhausted wrestlers, and no one could beat anyone. Originally, the 55th Division of the Japanese Army was in danger of being eaten by the 65,438+million expeditionary force, but with the addition of the 56th Division, the Japanese defense line immediately fell apart like a fragile plate. On 30th, a Japanese army invaded the city under the cover of tanks and armored vehicles, and divided the 200th division into two directions. Another Japanese army occupied the position east of Xitang River, cutting off the last glimmer of hope for the 200 th Division to break through eastward. In the afternoon, another Japanese army approached the division again. Dai Anlan commanded the secret service company to wage a fierce battle with the enemy, and the enemy was repelled that night. Priority/at the top

Public opinion on both sides was in uproar and national sentiment was aroused. After yenangyaung's victory and Sun Liren's defeat in World War I, Mandalay's survival is directly related to the outcome of the whole Burma war. While the Allied Commander deployed the Battle of Mandalay, Chiang Kai-shek decided to let Sun Liren, the commander of the new 38th Division, shoulder the heavy responsibility of guarding Mandalay. Sun Liren, a native of Chaohu, Anhui Province, graduated from Tsinghua University, went to the United States in the same year, and then went to Virginia Military Institute to study. In the Battle of Shanghai and Shanghai, Sun Liren made great contributions, but because he was not Chiang Kai-shek's clique, he didn't attract much attention. The new 38th Division was also adapted from the tax police force in Song Ziwen. According to the soldier's memory, Sun Liren was unsmiling and very serious, in sharp contrast with another general of the expeditionary force, Liao Yaoxiang, while Liao Yaoxiang was fooling around. After the new 38th Division was stationed in Mandalay, the Japanese soldiers invaded in three directions, and the allies also met the enemy in three directions. The 5th and 6th armies of the Chinese Expeditionary Force fought on the front and left respectively, and the right wing along the Irrawaddy River was the main garrison area of the British army. On April 1 4th, the right-wing British-Burmese Army1Division abandoned Magway and retreated to northern yenangyaung. The Japanese army, with two regiments and about 7,000 special forces, quickly detoured to occupy the oil mountain area in yenangyaung, cut off the rear road of the British army, and surrounded the British-Burmese army 1 division, as well as American missionaries and journalists. However, Magway gave up the defense of the 5 th Army. At the request of Alexander, Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar Theater, Commander Luo ordered a regiment to support the British army on the afternoon of 14. Sun Liren sent a 1 13 mission. Help soldiers, such as putting out fires. The 1 13 group led by head Liu arrived at night. 17 at dusk, we arrived at the north bank of Biqiang River, 5 miles away from the river, and entered the position ready to attack. That night, it launched a fierce battle. 18 at dawn, the fighting intensified, and Sun Liren personally rushed to the front line from Mandalay to command. At noon 12, the enemy troops on the north bank of Peiqiang River were completely annihilated, and the British army urged China troops to cross the river immediately to attack. But at that time, 1 13 regiment had too few troops, so what was the use of armored infiltration? The south bank is exposed. The enemy is in command and our army is in a position to fight back. If the attack is slightly frustrated, the enemy may immediately expose our strength. So, Sun Liren decided to stop moving forward and ordered the 1 13 regiment to find out the enemy's situation and terrain reconnaissance by various methods before dusk, and then made careful arrangements at night to prepare for the attack at dawn the next day. Although the commander of British 1 Force, General Slim, praised Sun Liren's plan, how to rescue his besieged troops immediately was a problem that made him more anxious. Because he received an emergency radio call from General Scott, the commander of the besieged 1 division, he reported that the besieged officers and men had been deprived of water and food for two days and could not continue to maintain it. If they can't be removed today, they may collapse. Therefore, Slim asked Sun Liren to attack and rescue the river immediately, but it could not be delayed until tomorrow. Sun Liren explained the stakes again and again, and then asked Slim to tell Scott, "Since your division has been patient for two days, you must persist until the last day anyway. China's army must be responsible for completely rescuing your division from the besieged city before 6 pm tomorrow." Slim hesitated because he was worried that Liu, the person in charge of the specific command and deployment, would resist the life of the British. Liu immediately took him to the battalion for wading inspection. Colonel Liu remained calm and grinning in the rumble of gunfire. Slim said in his memoirs: Only excellent and clever soldiers can be fearless in the rain of bullets. Rest assured of its deployment arrangements. 19 in the morning, the attack began. According to veterans,

At dawn, the left-wing troops completely captured the enemy's first-line positions, and the fighting turned to the mountains. The enemy fought back desperately. 1 13 lost three times and won three times. Under the oppression of the enemy's superior forces, our army has to guard against the enemy's investigation of its own troops everywhere. So we used various methods to set up suspicious soldiers, bluffing, disrupting the assault with small troops, and even making it impossible for the enemy to judge the actual situation of our army. The main attack troops were covered by mountain guns, heavy mortars and heavy machine guns and were killed again and again. Zhang Qi, the battalion commander of the 3rd Battalion, shed the last drop of blood and shouted: Brothers, kill them! Sound. With tears in their eyes, the soldiers bravely watched the officers fall and fought to the death one after another. Piles of bodies were piled on the ground. In this battle, there was a white blade in the battle, which lasted from 4 pm to 3 pm. The enemy's 33rd division was completely annihilated, leaving more than 200 bodies/kloc-0, losing ground. More than 800 fighters of the 13 regiment also suffered more than half of the casualties. At five o'clock in the afternoon, the 1 13 regiment recovered the whole territory of yenangyaung oil field, and the gunfire faded away, and the enemy was obviously accelerating its retreat. China first rescued more than 500 captured British and American missionaries and journalists, and then returned 100 British trench cars stolen by the enemy. Then, more than 7,000 infantry, cavalry, artillery, chariot troops and 1 horse of the British 1 division withdrew from the left wing to the north bank of Peiqiang River under the security cover of China army. Three days' hard work has disturbed them, and all the officers and men in China gave thumbs up and shouted "Long live China". Many officers couldn't help feeling grateful and jumped up and hugged China's officers. The Battle of yenangyaung was a military miracle. China's army defeated many with few, defeated the Lord with customers, and saved many with few. Sun Liren became famous in the First World War. There is a widely circulated story. Sun Liren frowned and said, "You bastards, please look." . Those who have been to China are buried alive. "Listen to this command in the future! After the victory of the Battle of yenangyaung, the British army gradually moved to India, and the new 38th Division was transferred from Ren Anqiang to Qiaokebaidang to cover the retreat of the British army. Yenangyaung's good news shocked the British Isles, quickly spread all over the world and was praised by the Allies. Sun Liren became the hero of the Chinese Expeditionary Force. He was later awarded the Congressional Medal by Roosevelt. King George VI also awarded Sun Liren the Medal of Honor. China awarded him the Cloud Man Medal. Qi Xueqi, deputy head of the regiment, Liu 1 13, head of the regiment, and battalion commanders of each battalion were awarded certificates by the Chinese and British governments respectively. 1In April, 1992, when Margaret Thatcher, then British Prime Minister, visited the United States, she also cordially expressed her condolences to Liu, who was 93 years old and led a delegation to deploy and rescue the British army and settled in the United States, thanking him for his achievements in saving the British army in the Battle of Yeonpyeong Island 50 years ago. Stilwell was very satisfied with Sun Liren's heroic performance. He left the new 38th Division on the west line of Irrawaddy River. In order to fill the vacancy caused by the westward advance of the new 38th Division, Luo ordered the 66th Army to transfer the new 28th Division from Lashio to Mandalay to take over the defense, which caused the crisis that the main force of China Army marched westward and the eastern front was empty. At this time, the British commander Slim urgently asked Stilwell to send him another China army to teach the Japanese 33rd Division, which was constantly tracking the British attack. Stilwell generously agreed. Without informing Du, the commander of the 5th Army, he directly ordered the 200th Division to be transferred to the western front, ready to show kindness to the British again. Stilwell's underestimation led to the weakness of the defenders on the Eastern Front. The 56th Division of the Japanese Army broke through the sixth line of defense of the Expeditionary Force and quickly fell behind the Japanese army.

However, the Japanese army has already seen the key to Myanmar's defeat: taking advantage of China's main force's shift to the western front, the eastern front is empty, and it goes straight to Yunnan. At the end of April, the Japanese army captured Lashio, cut off the Yunnan-Myanmar highway, and occupied Mandalay on May 1 day. Facing the danger of being surrounded and annihilated, China's army had to start a painful retreat from northern Myanmar. This article is from Times | Lu Zheng.