Chapter 22 Chapter 9 Iron-Blooded Expeditionary Army, Kill a Dawn

As China and Japan entered a stalemate on all fronts, the time quietly came to the end of 1940. In September 1940, Germany, Japan and Italy signed an offensive and defensive alliance as the Axis powers. In June 1941, Germany attacked the Soviet Union with all its might. At the beginning of World War II, there was a long list of countries defeated by the German army's "blitzkrieg" (making full use of the speed advantage of aircraft and tanks, concentrating forces, and winning the enemy by surprise attacks): Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, France... This created a serious illusion for Hitler: Blitzkrieg could kill everything.So Hitler's tactic against the Soviet Union was blitzkrieg.

But Hitler didn't realize that no matter how clever the tactics are, they also have their weaknesses.The weakness of blitzkrieg is that it pays too much attention to speed and success rate. Once it cannot "hack" the opponent quickly, it will miss the fleeting opportunity and fall into a tug of war.Once entering the tug-of-war, the "Lightning" troops that cannot keep up with supplies such as gasoline, ammunition, clothes, and food, become a lone army that penetrates deep into the enemy's line.Compared with the Soviet Union, those countries that were defeated by the blitzkrieg lacked strategic depth in terms of land, and lacked air superiority in terms of weapons and equipment.These two characteristics of the Soviet Union can restrain Germany's blitzkrieg.The course of the war really confirmed this point.

For more than a month at the beginning of the war, the Soviet Red Army suffered numerous casualties, the western country was wide open, and the Germans drove straight in, reaching the birthplace of the October Revolution - the city of Leningrad (St. Petersburg). At this moment, the Germans thought they had the chance to win, but what awaited them was an extremely painful and long battle! Previously, the Germans took over millions of square kilometers of Soviet territory in just over a month, killing and injuring millions of Soviet troops.But to deal with a small city like Leningrad, they actually spent nearly 900 days, killed and injured more than 500,000 themselves, and caused nearly 2 million casualties to the opponent's soldiers and civilians, but they still failed to win in the end.

In front of wave after wave of Soviets who swore to defend their motherland and hometown, the once invincible "Lightning Troops" were frozen in the cold current of Siberia. Of course, if the time is fixed before the march into Leningrad, the German army is invincible, and no one is optimistic that the beaten Soviet Red Army can come back.Germany's success stimulated Japan, and the Japanese chanted the slogan "Don't miss the last bus", and launched several large-scale partial attacks on China during the year.Both China and Japan had their own victories and defeats—such as the great victory of the "Shanggao Battle" commanded by Luo Zhuoying, the second figure in the "Civil Engineering Department", and the disastrous defeat of the "Zhongtiaoshan Battle" commanded by He Yingqin.Generally speaking, Japan wins more and loses less, but winning is not easy.

It's the darkness before the dawn, and the light is coming. When the Sino-Japanese War was fought until the end of 1941, in addition to the use of troops by the commander and the use of soldiers, another major combat advantage of China also began to play a role. The advantage is that there are many people.As the war progressed, this advantage became more and more obvious.After several major battles, both China and Japan urgently recruited troops to continue fighting.Although Chinese recruits are as lacking in training as before, the gap between Japanese recruits is even greater than that of veterans who have passed layers of selection, received sufficient training, and have experienced many battles.Therefore, China's population advantage has finally turned into a victory.

In addition to its population disadvantage, Japan's own poor resources also make it unable to support a long-term war of attrition.Moreover, due to the existence of large-scale guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines, the Japanese "supporting war with war" has also become a delusion.Especially after Germany, Italy, and Japan formed an alliance, the United States and Britain openly supported China and imposed an economic blockade on Japan, which quickly exhausted Japan's war resources.By the second half of 1941, Japan's oil reserves had been stretched, and it seemed that the only way to withdraw its troops from China was.

However, the Japanese have figured out a way out of the current difficult situation - completely crazy.Totally crazy people are irrational, they don't have to think about whether they can do it, they just resign themselves to their fate and give it a go.The Japanese decided to do three things: First, completely destroy the military forces of the United States and Britain in the Pacific Ocean and break their naval blockade against Japan. Second, occupy Southeast Asia to obtain the rich war resources there. Third, enter Myanmar, destroy China's lifeline - the Burma Road, and strangle China.

So the time was fixed on December 7, 1941. The powerful US Pacific Fleet was completely destroyed by the Japanese army within a few hours. This is the "Pearl Harbor Incident" we are familiar with. The next day, December 8, the United States and Britain declared war on Japan at the same time. At this time, Chiang Kai-shek must be unable to suppress his joy, because since the "September 18th" in 1931, the ten-year solitary struggle has finally come to an end!At the most dangerous time for the Chinese nation, Japan dug its own grave and dragged the top power, the United States, into the water. It was too timely for the Japanese to go crazy!

On the third day, the Chongqing Nationalist Government declared war on the Axis powers headed by Germany, Italy, and Japan.China joined the Allied Powers, the opposite of the Axis Powers, and stood together with the United States, the Soviet Union, and Britain. A few days later, Japan's allies Germany and Italy declared war on the United States.To mention a little bit, Germany and Italy have declared war on European countries before. This mass fight that shocked the world-the Second World War has finally been fully staged. According to normal logic, given that the national strength of the Soviet Union is not as good as that of the United States, it seems more reasonable for Japan to go north to cooperate with Germany, to destroy the Soviet Union first and then talk about other things, but why did the Japanese choose to go south?In fact, there are different opinions within Japan on whether to go north or south.But in the end, Japan still chose to go south for no more than a few reasons.

The first reason is that there are insufficient troops and the risks are too great. Don't look at the so-called non-aggression agreement signed by the Soviet Union and Japan. In fact, this is all superficial work.Just like Germany and the Soviet Union also signed a non-aggression agreement, it's not like it's true.Therefore, the Soviet Union could not trust Japan at all, and still stationed nearly a million troops in the Far East.From this point of view, if Japan wants to attack the Soviet Union, based on the combat effectiveness shown by the Soviets in the "Zhanggufeng Incident" and "Nuomenhan Incident", it would be useless to send fewer troops.But the army cannot appear out of thin air, so where did the army that attacked the Soviet Union come from?

To clarify this issue, let’s take a brief look at the distribution of troops after the expansion of the Japanese army around 1942. The situation is roughly like this: the local garrison (the number is unknown, probably less than 400,000), the navy (about 350,000), and the Kanto stationed in the northeast. Army (about 800,000), the "China Dispatch Army" (about 1 million) who fought against the national army on the frontal battlefield in Guannei, and Japanese troops stationed in North Korea and Taiwan (about 100,000). If there is a war with the Soviet Union, the Kwantung Army will definitely not be able to escape.Of course, this is exactly what the Kwantung Army expected.But when the main force of the Kwantung Army goes northward, the entire Northeast will be in a vacuum.If the war is going well, everything is easy to talk about. If it is hindered or even lost, how can the Kwantung Army's remnant soldiers in the Northeast be able to resist millions of Soviet troops going south to occupy the Northeast?That being the case, Japan is bound to send troops to fill the vacuum left by the Kwantung Army and protect the piece of meat in the Northeast that has already been eaten.But where to send troops?There is only one way to tear down the east wall and make up for the west wall.It is possible that the "Chinese Expeditionary Force" in the pass, the local garrisons, and even the garrisons of North Korea and Taiwan will all be transferred to the Northeast for garrison. But the problem is that China and Japan have now formed a stalemate situation, and the Japanese army is unable to even launch a large-scale battle. If the Japanese army in the pass is transferred to the Northeast, what will be used to prevent the Chinese army from harassment and counterattack?Do you want to give up the Chinese land that has been occupied in the past few years? Pull one hair and move the whole body.Under the undecided situation in China at that time, going north rashly would only end in a careless move and lose everything. Therefore, in terms of military strength, instead of trying to go north, it is better to take advantage of the time when the Soviet Union and the German army have no time to take care of each other, and deploy some elite "Kwantung Army" and "Chinese Expeditionary Force" to cooperate with the navy to go south to open up another battlefield. Taking a step back, even if Japan cooperates with Germany to send troops to the north, since the industrial areas in the southwestern part of the Soviet Union have already fallen into the hands of Germany, if the Japanese want to destroy the Soviet Union and gain benefits at the same time, they have to target the industrial areas moved inward by the Soviet Union, such as Siberia. Even the Ural industrial zone.But the problem is that it is close to the heart of the Soviet Union, and it is extremely far away from the Japanese mainland and even the Sino-Soviet border. Given Japan's strategic reserve status-the extreme shortage of oil, it is still a problem whether the army can fight there.It has to be said that it is very lucky that the Japanese did not discover the Daqing Oilfield in the Northeast, otherwise the Japanese army supported the war with war, and its destructive power would be unbearable for the Asian people. On the whole, going north is too risky for Japan. The second reason is national policy. Japan is an island country. Like Britain, it attaches great importance to maritime defense.As a result, Japan established the national policy of the "Great East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" colonial empire, and decided to expand its main force to the Pacific Ocean. However, going south also has an unavoidable problem, that is, it has to face the United States. The solution Japan came up with was to first kill the US Pacific Fleet, minimize the influence of the US in Asia, and then take advantage of the period when the US military was unable to intervene in Asia, open up the Southeast Asian channel and make an emergency landing on the Nationalist government.When the strength of the United States recovers enough to intervene, Japan has already taken control of the overall situation, digested enough interests and a large enough territory, and has the strength to confront the United States. The idea is good, but there are some problems in implementing it.Because the Japanese found the wrong opponent, one was China, which had been knocked down countless times, but would never lie on the ground, and the other was the United States, which was seriously injured but still able to fight.Choosing such an opponent can only be said to be a tragedy for Japan. Without the restraint of the US Pacific Fleet, the Japanese army immediately sent troops to Southeast Asia to plunder strategic materials! In order to quickly achieve this goal, Japan launched attacks on multiple countries at the same time.Regarding the experience of the Japanese army in the following period of time, the records in the history books are roughly the place names, the time of the fall, and the casualties—the number of people the Japanese army killed or injured their opponents. In fact, the British and American colonial forces in Thailand, the Malay Peninsula, the Philippines, Guam, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the East Indies also resisted. It is a pity that the time they resisted was almost the moment when they were rushed by the Japanese army. just collapse.This was demonstrated to the extreme in the Philippines and Singapore battlefields. Seventy-five thousand U.S.-Philippine coalition forces laid down their weapons, and U.S. Commander-in-Chief MacArthur fled in a panic. More than 1,000 Japanese casualties were exchanged for more than 80,000 British troops stationed in Singapore raising the white flag. In fact, the strength of the British and American colonial armies was not very bad, but they were too corrupt, cowardly for too long, completely devoid of blood, and collapsed with a bang. Japan quickly weaved almost all countries in Southeast Asia into the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" that it woven, and strategic materials such as oil, natural gas, coal, and food were replenished in a timely manner.Immediately afterwards, the Japanese army entered the British colony of Burma, preparing to implement a strategic encirclement of China—cutting off the Burma Road, and then attacking Yunnan through Burma, taking Yunnan and attacking Chongqing. Myanmar is a weak country, and it is absolutely impossible to withstand the Japanese invasion on its own!And its suzerain country, Britain, is being flattened by Germany in Europe and North Africa at this time, and there is no time to care about it.Even if they have time, the first thing the British want to keep is India, their largest and richest colony in Asia.Other small colonies like Burma were left to fend for themselves.As for the United States, the most powerful of the allies, after losing the Pacific Fleet, it is almost an impossible task to restore its military presence in Southeast Asia in a short period of time after being thousands of miles away. The United States and the United Kingdom are unable to send troops to rescue. What should Myanmar do? As mentioned earlier, the only remaining international channels for China's external relations are the Guangxi-Vietnam and Yunnan-Burma highways in the southwest.At this time, the French had already surrendered, and Japan, as the Axis power, as the winning side, naturally accepted the French colonies in Southeast Asia-Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, and the international channel of Guangxi and Vietnam was blocked by Japan. Living. Therefore, China's external channel is only the Burma Road.Once the Burma Road is cut off, China's protracted war of resistance will fall into an unprecedented predicament.At the moment of fate, relying on others is far less secure than relying on yourself.So China decided to organize its own expeditionary force to go to Myanmar to defend its lifeline. Chiang Kai-shek bled profusely and prepared three armies in one go, including his own coffin, the Fifth Army. The expeditionary force is organized and ready to send troops to Burma at any time. Before sending troops, Chiang Kai-shek also consulted the British: What can I do for you?The British replied: No, Thanks. Niang Xipi, the British don't do their own work, so why don't they let me China do it? On the face of it, the British at the time had four powerful reasons to say no. The first reason is that the British themselves have not yet decided whether to defend Myanmar or not. The second reason is that there are still many British troops in Burma, and they should be able to compete with the Japanese troops. The third reason is that they do not want troops from third countries to enter their colonies unless it is absolutely necessary. What if the Chinese stay there and refuse to leave? The fourth reason is that they really look down on the combat effectiveness of the Chinese army.A hundred years ago, they could wipe out the Qing army by sending two warships in the Opium War.This bad impression has been retained. It is a pity that Britain is far from the empire on which the sun never sets a hundred years ago. Its strength has long been blown away by the rain and the wind, and what remains is its superficial beauty and so-called gentlemanly demeanor. The tens of thousands of British troops in Burma faced the crazy attack of the "third-rate army" in the European population-the Japanese army, and they were defeated without gentlemanly demeanor, and rushed all the way.It wasn't until the Japanese chased all the way to Yangon, the capital of Myanmar, that the British knew that they were anxious and urgently called the Chinese Expeditionary Force to enter and assist in defense. But it was too late, the Japanese army had penetrated deep into Burma, and all major cities in Burma had fallen.The selfishness and conceit of the British made the Chinese Expeditionary Force miss a great opportunity.Nevertheless, the expeditionary force was determined to send troops immediately. At the same time, the Allies held a meeting in Washington and decided to merge the Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, India and China theaters to form the Allied "China-Myanmar-India Theater", with Chiang Kai-shek as the commander-in-chief. In addition, the Confederates parachuted two big-name leaders. One is the American Lieutenant General Stilwell, who served as the chief of staff in the theater. Stilwell has many advantages.He has worked in China for a period of time and is a "China hand".He graduated from the West Point Military Academy with a good academic record, but he lacks combat experience, but he is serious in his work and has a strong personality. He is a soldier with great professionalism.He also has a good backer—Marshall, who was the chief of staff of the U.S. Army at the time. He was not only President Roosevelt's military adviser, but also the proposer of the "Marshall Plan" to save the European economy. Accompanied by these advantages, is one of his major weaknesses - personality flaws, this person is extremely strong, he likes to have the final say in everything, and it is useless for others or even leaders to oppose him.So his relationship with the leaders is very bad, as can be seen from the nicknames he gave to the leaders-Chiang Kai-shek is "Peanut" (meaning stupid, useless little person), and Roosevelt is "Old Soft-footed Crab". After this person came to work in the "China-Myanmar-India Theater", he regarded himself as President Roosevelt's special envoy, and believed that his mission was to "supervise" China's war of resistance, and he acted very high-profile.His ability to lead troops to fight is another story. In fact, it was Chiang Kai-shek's idea for the Americans to send a chief of staff.Chiang Kai-shek's original intention was to get an obedient "megaphone" so that he could find some free strategic materials and low-interest loans from the Americans, but he never expected that he would invite back a bullying Bodhisattva. The other is the British Lieutenant General Alexander, who served as the commander-in-chief of the British army in the theater.This person once calmly and calmly led the British army back to the UK in the "Dunkirk Great Retreat", and he can be regarded as a character. The commander-in-chief of the Chinese Expeditionary Force was Wei Lihuang, but Wei Lihuang was unable to enter Myanmar for some reason.Generalissimo Jiang later discovered that the personnel arrangement was improper, so he sent Chen Cheng's loyal younger brother Luo Zhuoying to act as his deputy, and the deputy commander was Du Yuming, who became famous in the Kunlun Pass battle. Everyone can also see that the leaders are all big names, and the relationship is intricate - Du Yuming wants to listen to Luo Zhuoying's command, Luo Zhuoying listens to Lieutenant General Stilwell's command, and Lieutenant General Stilwell and Lieutenant General Alexander don't know who listens to whom. The super general (self-appointed by Chiang Kai-shek) Chiang Kai-shek commanded remotely in Chongqing. Although the command system is in chaos, it can only be fought. After all, Yangon, the life port of China's war of resistance, is already hanging by a thread. In early March 1942, the expeditionary force entered Burma in a hurry. This is the first time that China has taken the initiative to fight abroad since the Sino-Japanese War. Amidst the warm cheers of the people along the way, the soldiers of the 200th Division of the Fifth Army, wearing single clothes and wearing straw sandals, boarded their chariots and headed westward. land. Didn't Chiang Kai-shek prepare three armies? Why is there only one 200th division?That's because Chiang Kai-shek made a move first.Before, although the British did not allow the Chinese army to enter Burma, Chiang Kai-shek was still prepared. He ordered the powerful 200th Division to station troops on the Yunnan border in advance to prepare to enter Burma at any time. After the 200th Division entered Burma, the rest of the troops also set out on the road one after another.The situation is roughly like this-the rest of the Fifth Army of the National Army is in the vanguard, the New Sixth Army is in the middle, and the Sixty-sixth Army is in the rear. If they entered Burma earlier, the expeditionary force could calmly set up defensive positions.But because of the arrogance of the British, the expeditionary force has lost the best time, so now it can only fight wherever it meets.What's more terrible is that the three divisions of the Fifth Army also advance at different speeds, and they cannot cooperate with each other at all.Dai Anlan's 200th Division has already moved to Tonggu near Yangon, Liao Yaoxiang's (replaced and promoted Qiu Qingquan)'s new 22nd Division is still far away in Lashio, and the 96th Division is still in Baoshan, Yunnan.Some people may not understand this, but it will be clear if they are replaced by Chinese place names: the 200th Division has arrived near Guangzhou, the new 22nd Division is still far away in Changsha, and the 96th Division has been left in Wuhan. Having said that, it is necessary to explain the relative positions of several place names that will appear repeatedly, from north to south, and from east to west, roughly like this: East: China-Myanmar border, such as Fugong and Tengchong in Yunnan, and Jingdong in Myanmar. Middle (north side): Burmese land, Savage Mountain - Myitkyina - Lashio - Mandalay - Ren'an Qiang - Tonggu (also known as Toungoo or Winter Melon) - Yangon. West: India-Myanmar border, such as Imphal in India. The 200th Division was rushing to defend Rangoon, so it traveled day and night and marched thousands of miles in a hurry.When the troops finally arrived at Tonggu, the sky above Yangon that caught the eyes of the expeditionary army had already turned a frightening red! Rangoon has fallen in raging fire. The fire was set by the British themselves.One is to not leave supplies for the Japanese, and the other is to use the fire to block the enemy so that they can escape for their own lives.The British all evacuated Yangon and fled all the way to the northwest, the destination was India. Behind the buttocks of the British army, there are land and air-integrated Japanese pursuers who are blooming in all directions-throwing their legs and chasing them all the way, driving chariots furiously, and flying in the sky with the help of fighter planes and throwing bombs.In short, except for swimming in the water, there are all possible pursuit methods that can be imagined.That is, the British are running a marathon against the Japanese.The British are rabbits, and they can do nothing but run, but the Japanese are not tortoises, but hyenas. Dai Anlan's 200th Division happened to encounter a hyena chasing a rabbit in Tonggu, and the rabbit asked the national army for help.Chiang Kai-shek ordered Dai Anlan to extend a helping hand to the British army because the British were friendly troops, especially because the British promised to help the national army with supplies. The chasing hyena was the 55th Division of the Japanese Army, twice as many as the 200th Division, the most elite unit in China, and it also took the lead in heavy weapons. Fortunately, the 200th Division's combat effectiveness and willpower were extremely strong. Relying on the fortifications they repaired, they stubbornly blocked the repeated attacks of the Japanese army in the first few days.But fighting alone, backup is difficult, supplies can't keep up, and Dai Anlan is not absolutely sure to defend Tonggu. He asked one of his regiment leaders named Huang Jingsheng: Are you sure of defeating the Japanese invaders? Huang Jingsheng replied: Although success is uncertain, Chengren is determined! Dai Anlan was deeply touched.In the middle of the night, after checking the position, Dai Anlan wrote a will to his wife under the solitary lamp, and he wanted to explain what happened after his death. The fighting went from bad to worse in the days that followed.The 200th Division fell into a dangerous situation surrounded on three sides. With the setting sun in an isolated city, the 200th Division, fighting alone, has reached the most dangerous moment.Dai Anlan decided to shrink his troops and rely on the fortifications and favorable terrain to defend the ancient city with all his strength.When adjusting the deployment of troops, Dai Anlan looked around and announced loudly to the commanders and fighters present in a heavy and hoarse voice: As long as there is one soldier left, he must stick to the end.If the division commander dies in battle, he will be replaced by the deputy division commander, and the deputy division commander will be replaced by the chief of staff.The chief of staff died in battle and was replaced by a regiment commander!Lone army, but also to fight to the end! On the battlefield, those who seek the living die, and those who seek the dead live. Will be the courage of soldiers.From Dai Anlan's voice, the soldiers felt the determination and strength to die on the battlefield. The main general is desperate, and the three armies are desperate.Not only could the Japanese army fail to break through the positions of the Chinese army, but they also suffered heavy casualties. In desperation, the Japanese army dispatched another part of the 56th Division to attack.The 56th Division (expanded from the main force of the 1st Division of the Japanese Army) and the 18th Division of the Japanese Army are both extremely good at fighting in the jungle, known as the "King of the Mountains". The Japanese side has a new force to join, the number of which is several times that of their own, the firepower of heavy weapons far exceeds that of their own, and there is also air support.But so what!There are only six words in Dai Anlan's dictionary - resist to the end!He personally held a light machine gun to fight against the Japanese army, and was determined to serve the country with his death. Commanders and fighters at all levels of the division also vowed to live and die with the ancients. The fortifications were constantly destroyed by Japanese artillery shells, and the soldiers used the ruins and bomb pits to deal with the enemy. Huang Jingsheng, who "success is not sure, Chengren is determined", fulfilled his oath with his life. He blew himself up when attacking a Japanese tank with a cluster grenade, and died with the enemy. Under the predicament of comprehensive backwardness in personnel, equipment, and logistics, the soldiers did not fear in the face of death, stuck to their positions, and did not retreat half a step! This is a head-on confrontation between the Whampoa spirit and the Japanese Bushido spirit! The Chinese soldiers persisted in their beliefs until the last moment, and the Huangpu spirit had the last laugh. Dai Anlan led his troops to fight hard for 12 days, facing a strong enemy with twice as many troops as his own, with inferior weapons and equipment, and with the sacrifice of about 2,000 people, he wiped out more than 5,000 enemies, and perfectly completed the task of covering the retreat of the British army. This is the famous "Tonggu Blocking War". Under such adversity, defeating a powerful enemy with a loss ratio of 1:2.5 is definitely an unprecedented achievement of the modern Chinese army in the history of combat against Japan!Dai Anlan lived up to the title of peerless titan!It is worthy of the name of the first person to make meritorious service in a foreign land and promote the prestige of a great man in modern times! After the fall of Yangon, what was placed in front of the Chinese army was an out-and-out mess. The purpose of China sending troops to Burma was originally to protect the Burma Road, especially the source of the Burma Road—the outlet in Yangon.Now that Yangon has fallen, this goal has become difficult to achieve. The most serious problem is that the Chinese Expeditionary Force that went deep into Burma has become a lone army. Not to mention that the British army slapped their ass and left, the materials they promised to assist the national army-vehicles and supplies, did not materialize.Therefore, in the absence of sufficient means of transportation, most of the Sixth Army and the Sixty-sixth Army of the Expeditionary Army could only rely on walking, opening up small trails and crossing mountains and mountains. That's all right, the key is that the Burmese are still making trouble in the rear! After the Japanese invasion, the Burmese people not only did not look sad, but all the old and young were very happy, as if they were celebrating a festival.Thousands of words are turned into one sentence: Warmly welcome the Japanese "Liberation Army" and attack the colonial ruler Britain and all "accomplices" represented by the Chinese Expeditionary Force! Although the way of thinking of the Burmese people is rather strange, their destructive power cannot be underestimated—destroying the roads and railways that the expeditionary army must pass through, actively acting as spies for the Japanese army, and scrambling to report the movement of the expeditionary army to the Japanese army. People attacked the expeditionary force... There were not enough means of transportation, and the transportation lines were destroyed by the Burmese, so the transportation capacity of the expeditionary force could not be increased at all. Therefore, there was a large distance between the various ministries, and the troops were extremely scattered. For the expeditionary force that went deep into Burma, they were surrounded by hostile eyes, could not find food, and had no guides. The natural environment was harsh, and there were heavy troops (four divisions) pressed by the Japanese army. The expeditionary force gradually fell into a desperate situation. At this time, the internal conflicts of the Allied forces broke out at the same time. After 12 days of bloody battle against the ancients, the 200th Division, in view of the new 22nd and 96th Divisions as reinforcements, was either blocked by the Japanese army, or could not quench their thirst in the near future.Du Yuming then ordered the 200th Division, which was fighting alone, to break through and retreat to prevent the entire army from being annihilated. Du Yuming's order to break out of the siege was approved by Chiang Kai-shek in advance, and Chiang Kai-shek thought more. In view of the unfavorable situation of the expeditionary force, Chiang Kai-shek thought about it, and finally came up with a good idea that was safe and took care of the face of the British before the end of the war with the ancients-the 200th Division and the rest of the Fifth Army. Retreat, assemble near Mandalay, join other expeditionary forces here, and wait for the opportunity. Why did Chiang Kai-shek take a fancy to Mandalay?Briefly introduce the geographical features of Mandalay. Feature 1, Mandalay is the throat of northern Myanmar and serves as a barrier for northern Myanmar.In other words, defending Mandalay will preserve the security of northern Myanmar and leave a buffer for the southwestern region of China to avoid direct threats from the Japanese army.In case of defeat in the battle, there are still strongholds such as Lashio and Myitkyina behind Mandalay to retreat, and it is not difficult to withdraw troops back to the country. Feature 2, it is the hub of transportation to India via northern Burma and westward.It means that by keeping Mandalay, China can keep the foreign channel from Myanmar to India and maintain the indirect way of obtaining foreign aid.At the same time, this also took care of the shameless thoughts in Alexander's heart that could not be compared with outsiders—abandoning Burma, preserving India, and taking the lives of Chinese soldiers to guard the gates of the British who retreated to India. The third feature is that from the perspective of Myanmar's topography, with Mandalay as the boundary, there are many plains in the south and mountains in the north. Relying on the mountains to fight defensive warfare is obviously more beneficial to the expeditionary force with relatively backward weaponry. This idea, which is very beneficial to China and the expeditionary force, was opposed by Mr. Stilwell. Mr. Shi firmly believed that Chiang Kai-shek's plan based on defense and counterattack was too conservative, and the main force of the Chinese army should go south, gather in Tonggu, and counterattack Yangon. This is normal, people from different countries have different interests.Behind Mr. Shi's idea, there are two purposes hidden. The first purpose is to implement the highest instructions of President Roosevelt. Roosevelt's instructions were to put Europe first and then Asia.In other words, the United States and the United Kingdom will focus their work on Europe and North Africa, giving priority to solving the biggest enemy of the allies - the German army.To achieve this, the Chinese army needs to consume the main force of the Japanese army on the Burmese battlefield, contain the Japanese army, prevent the main force of the Japanese army from entering India to disperse the British forces, and prevent the Japanese army from converging with the North African German army across the Indian Ocean after occupying India. How to consume it?Roosevelt hoped that the expeditionary force would continue to fight the Japanese army with bloody sacrifices, and hoped that China would hold back or even defeat Japan with its population advantage. American aid is not free to receive. The second purpose is that Stilwell wants to realize his life dream of making contributions, getting promoted and making a fortune in the Burmese battlefield. Obviously, no matter which goal Stilwell wanted to achieve, it was obviously a better choice to launch an offensive by the Chinese army.So the polished commander Stilwell used American aid to threaten Chiang Kai-shek to mobilize troops to attack. Chiang Kai-shek originally wanted the Fifth Army to retreat resolutely, but because the United States was the leader of the allies and money, he had to give in reluctantly. Chiang Kai-shek didn't know that his retreat this time actually pushed the expeditionary army to an extremely difficult journey. Stilwell was not made to be a commander at all, and he could not listen to the correct opinions of Du Yuming and other front-line generals.The expeditionary force, which was already scattered in strength, was split up again by Stilwell for use.The three divisions of the Fifth Army were fighting fires in front, while the Sixth Army fought independently on the vast eastern front of Burma. From Mandalay to Lashio and then to the border of Yunnan hundreds of kilometers of land. Moreover, all of Stilwell's plans were based on the same pattern—the Chinese Expeditionary Force launched an attack from the front, and the British army was responsible for protecting the Chinese Expeditionary Force's flanks. If the British can hold their flanks, hell be damned! The Chinese army fought bloody battles with ancient times for 12 days, and finally stopped the pursuers for the British. As for how many casualties the Chinese would have to pay to stop the Japanese army from pursuing them, and how to get rid of the powerful enemy even if the blocking was successful, that is not what the British care about. As long as the British escape to a safe place, everything will be fine. Run, run fast, run to India! The British troops fleeing north were not all miscellaneous troops-colonial troops.Generally, only the officers of the colonial army are British, and most of the soldiers are from the Commonwealth (such as India and Australia). Among the fleeing army is the genuine British troop, and it is the ace troop - the 7th Armored Brigade, known as the "Desert Rat". It has fought many times with Rommel's elite, who is known as the "Desert Fox" in Germany. But on the Burmese battlefield, the 7th Armored Brigade was beaten to the ground by the 55th Division of the Japanese Army who came in a surprise attack.Fortunately, the 7th Armored Brigade knew how to play by ear, and a group of defeated soldiers escaped from the encirclement of the Japanese army with the help of the few remaining mechanized equipment. But his brother army, the First Division of the British Burmese Army, was unable to fight or run. More than 7,000 Japanese troops were caught up by 3,000 Japanese troops and surrounded in Ren'anqiang. The First Division of the British Burmese Army asked Alexander for help: Your Excellency, Commander, send us some reinforcements as soon as possible, we will have to surrender if we are late! Alexander is really "stressed" at the moment. Although the British army surrendered not once or twice, it is a joke when it happens to others, but it is a tragedy when it happens to yourself.The First Division must not surrender! Therefore, Alexander had to ask the Chinese army for help again. In this way, the 113th Regiment under the command of Sun Liren of the New 38th Division of the 66th Army (formerly the Tax Police Headquarters) was sent to Ren'anqiang.This Sun Liren was the deputy head of the Tax Police Headquarters during the "August 13th" Songhu Anti-Japanese War, and has now accumulated meritorious service to become the division commander. Under the command of Liu Fangwu, head of the 113th Regiment, more than 1,000 Chinese soldiers rescued 7,000 British troops (including a small number of Western media workers and missionaries). This is the so-called "Ren'an and Qiang Great Victory". In fact, not many enemies were wiped out. It's just that the British were used as props by Chinese and Japanese soldiers to show themselves to those in the Western world who have always looked down on the combat effectiveness of the Chinese and Japanese armies. His bravery and bloodiness. Under the cover of the Chinese army, most of the British troops fled to India, and the so-called Sino-British joint defense became China's independent defense. Alexander, the commander-in-chief of the British army, once again created the miracle of leading the army to retreat after the "Dunkirk retreat"-the longest retreat in British history, with a distance of 1,700 kilometers. From this point of view, Churchill deserves to be a person who can climb to the presidency, and he has a unique vision.He knew that Alexander was good at running, so he sent Alexander twice to the battlefield where the main military mission was to escape, successfully preserving the British army's vitality. Although Ren'an Qiang won, it could not change the fact that the Chinese expeditionary force was scattered and exhausted. The expeditionary force wiped the British army's ass everywhere, coupled with the unknown enemy situation, and was finally defeated by the Japanese army's large-scale interspersed and long-distance raids. Lashio fell. Mandalay fell. One bad news after another came one after another! The back road of the Chinese Expeditionary Army was cut off by the Japanese army!The battle situation has been completely corrupted and cannot be undone! Now that it has been unable to recapture the lifeline cut off by the Japanese army and cannot achieve its strategic goals, then preserving its strength and fighting again with profit has become the only choice. At the beginning of May 1942, Chiang Kai-shek, who was so remorseful, could no longer care about Stilwell's face, and directly bypassed Stilwell and ordered Du Yuming to bring the expeditionary force back to China. However, Stilwell, the supreme commander of the Burmese front line, believed that the Chinese army should withdraw to India. From a tactical point of view, withdrawing to India is a good choice. After all, with the successful experience of the British, you can escape with just one step west. But the British bravely stood up and sabotaged it. They said: It’s okay to withdraw to our place (India), but the Chinese army has to lay down their weapons and enter India as refugees, be taken in by our army, and then make arrangements. Judging from the current performance of the British, their role in the Asian battlefield is nothing more than a mouse shit, and they only disgust the Allies. From a moral point of view, the disarmament of the Chinese army is tantamount to internal strife; but from the point of view of international rules, it is also the right of the British to prevent other countries' troops from entering their "land" fully armed. Du Yuming believes that it is a great insult to Chinese soldiers to let the dignified national army lay down their weapons and enter other countries' borders as refugees to seek refuge!Especially the other party has repeatedly bullied China's Britain! So Du Yuming categorically rejected the British proposal: My troops cannot accept your kindness.Since we came from China, we should go back to China.I have my own country and don't have to go to India to be a refugee.I believe the Japanese can't stand in my way, that's what I'm going to say today! Du Yuming's direct descendant, Dai Anlan, and others stood firmly on the side of his superior and began to retreat northward. 杜聿明安排第九十六师为前锋，孙立人的新三十八师殿后。 新三十八师属于六十六军建制，不属于杜聿明的嫡系第五军，因此孙立人觉得杜聿明的这种安排明显亲疏有别。 孙立人早年毕业于清华大学预科，打得一手好篮球——国手级别。后留美四年，分别拿到了美国名牌大学普度大学和弗吉尼亚军事学院的学士学位。思想比较西化，奉行实用主义，不喜欢搞政治。 孙立人既是为了赌一口气，也是为了给自己的弟兄们找一条更容易的生路，他审时度势，极为冷静地分析了各方面的情况，违抗杜聿明的军令，率众改道向印度撤去。 孙立人的新三十八师一路被日军尾随追击，牺牲近半人马，好不容易到了印缅边境。 英国人还是要缴枪。 孙立人狂傲之气迸发，直接下令准备战斗：你让我进我就走进去，你不让我进我就打进去！想缴我的枪，做你们的春秋大梦！ 孙将军在美国的几年没有白混，深得美国思维方式之妙——你蛮横我更蛮横，你霸道我更霸道，就看谁更横！ 英国人一是见这个姓孙的不好惹，二是还有几分不好意思——毕竟刚被孙立人救了命，只好收回成命，让新三十八师武装进入印度。 之前说过，远征军各部之间距离极远，基本就是各自为战，因此大家都是撤退，但是具体路线并不一样。情况大概如下： 第六军大部，穿越景栋回国。景栋是缅甸东部最边远的一座城镇，从景栋向东，就是老挝，从景栋向东北，则是中国云南景洪。 第六十六军大部，被日军在腊戌击败后，从滇缅公路原道返回国内。 第五军的前锋九十六师，则是穿过缅甸葡萄经云南福贡回国，中间也走过了一部分野人山。 至于戴安澜的二○○师，走的是另外一条路——血路。 第二○○师一直在最前线作战，是超级救火英雄。在杜聿明下令撤退时，二○○师刚在棠吉狂揍了一通日军，但也因此和杜聿明的军部距离越来越远。 没办法之下，二○○师只好自行向国内撤退。只是，日军岂能放这支中国最优秀的军队、最强大的对手平安归国。 日军设下五道防线。 尽管这支唱着《义勇军进行曲》的部队先前连连血战，伤亡不小，但还是艰难地突破了敌人前四次疯狂的围追堵截。 在穿越敌人的最后一道封锁线时，二○○师在以逸待劳的日军五十六师团的攻击下突围时，戴安澜顶着密集炮火指挥作战，不幸为流弹击中。 因为缺少医药，戴安澜在途经缅甸茅邦村时自感时日不多，于是叫来信得过的属下郑庭笈，北望故土，断断续续地留下最后的嘱托：如果我殉国了，你一定要把部队带回祖国…… 壮志未捷身先死！戴将军的英灵在郑庭笈的哽咽答复声中飘然远去。 绝代悍将就此长眠异国他乡！终年未满38岁！ 记住这一天吧！1942年5月26日，“黄埔之英、民族之雄”戴安澜在缅甸茅邦村殉国。 戴将军将略冠军门，从“长城会战”到“台儿庄战役”，从“武汉会战”到“昆仑关大捷”，从“同古阻击战”到“棠吉反击战”，日寇回回遭重创！ 英魂不幸羁留缅境，世人无不哀叹痛失英豪。罗斯福向他颁发了第一枚属于中国将领的同盟军军团功勋章，毛泽东亦挥笔写下《五律·挽戴安澜将军》，敬祭戴将军： 英雄千古！他的生命就像灿烂的流星，虽然短暂，却是那样的光耀照人，他的军事才能和功绩将永远为人们所传颂！ 戴将军虽已不在，但其身上的黄埔精神永远不死，无数黄埔军人还将在豪情满怀、以死为荣的黄埔校歌声中踏着坚定的步伐继续前进！ 在孙立人率队西向后，杜聿明则率第五军军部直属部队和廖耀湘的新二十二师北上抢占密支那。密支那离中国云南边境的腾冲只有咫尺之遥。占据这里，即可保住回国的通道。 可事与愿违，日军抢在杜聿明之前占领了密支那，断掉了中国军队东向腾冲之路，直接威胁云南。 这时候，如果杜聿明下令向西突围，依然有机会进入印度境内。 这时候，如果杜聿明率众强攻密支那，向东杀开一条血路回腾冲，也是个不错的选择。 可是，固执的杜聿明命令部队扔掉所有辎重，北上穿越野人山。 很遗憾，他选择了一条错误的路线。 野人山又叫克钦山区、枯门岭、胡康河谷山，位于中国和缅甸、印度交界处，位于缅甸最北方，再北是白雪皑皑的喜马拉雅山，东西皆为高耸入云的横断山脉所夹峙。据说这里是当年诸葛亮七擒孟获的地方。山峦重叠，林莽如海，沼泽绵延不断，河谷山大林密，豺狼猛兽横行，瘴疠疟疾蔓生。直到如今，这块地方还是要吃没吃、要路没路的原始森林。 杜聿明之前对这一地区的险恶环境缺乏最起码的判断。他在回忆录中说：如果知道野人山如此艰险，就不会让部队扔下重装备入山，而是与敌硬拼，争取突围。 可说什么都已晚了，一万余远征军将士一头扎进了荒无人烟的大山之中。 更重要的是，由于延误了时间，他们在撤退中遭遇了东南亚最可怕的雨季。野人山的雨季，倾盆大雨、泥石流冲刷、洪水泛滥。不仅森林里的蚊蚋、蚂蟥、毒蛇和瘴气异常活跃，而且各种丛林疾病——回归热、疟疾、破伤风、败血病等迅猛传播开来。 没有药，这些疾病根本控制不住，官兵死伤无数。 荒无人烟，筹集粮食也无可能。 部队陷入绝境。 如果是和日本人作战，也许杜聿明还能够想办法鼓舞士气，但蚊虫毒气根本防无可防，攻无可攻，军无斗志，军心迅速涣散。 新二十二师师长、黄埔六期生、具备法国最好的军校——圣西尔军校机械化专业学历的廖耀湘向已经病倒的杜聿明试探说：如果咱们去印度也许不会有这么大的伤亡。 杜聿明说：你有话直说，不用吞吞吐吐，你是不是想去印度？可以带你的部队与孙立人一起去印度，我一人回国！ 廖耀湘碰了钉子，不敢再说。 虽然大部队依令继续前进，但越往后杜聿明越无法收拢队伍，他只能任由官兵们自求生路。 第五军在缅甸打了半年，只损失了几千人，而在野人山六百公里的山路上，杜聿明第五军军部以及二十二师从出发时的约一万五千人，大致历时一百一十余天的痛苦折磨后，最后生存下来的仅仅剩下两千多人。 如果粗略计算一下，得出的数据如下： 平均每公里死亡：二十二人。 平均每天死亡：一百一十八人。 死亡率：百分之八十七。 死亡率高达百分之八十七！ 中国人常常说“九死一生”，那仅仅是一个形容，而穿越野人山的第五军却在数字上无限接近了这个形容词。很多人据此来抨击杜聿明拒绝前往印度的决策，认为是他的错误导致数万中国军人毫无意义地命丧野人山。 客观地说，杜聿明在对困难估计不足的情况下指挥部队进入野人山，确实难辞其咎。但是，他拒绝以难民身份进入印度则无可指责。中国人承受巨大的苦难、做出无畏的牺牲，与强敌血战到底，无非是争得做人的尊严。如果尊严可以随意抛弃，那中国人民根本没必要抗日，直接并入“大东亚共荣圈”做顺民算了！ 孙立人的做法确实很长士气，但杜聿明的做法也无可厚非。他带头踏入无法回头的野人山，并且在最艰难的时刻，依然拒绝逃亡印度，选择与自己的部下一起出生入死，这维护的不仅仅是他个人，而是我们整个中华民族的尊严。兵退野人山之悲壮惨烈，足以感天动地，何来毫无意义之说？ 杜聿明率领残部在野人山里转了近三个月也没走出去，成了孤军，电台也坏了。 后来美国空军发现了他们——估计杜聿明他们用火熏蚂蟥时有了烟，被美军飞机发现了——随后投下了供给和电台。 蒋委员长通过电台对杜聿明说：二○○师和九十六师已经化整为零地回到云南了，你和新二十二师去印度。 刚好，得到消息的孙立人也派了一个加强连在野人山搜索他们，找到后带着杜聿明他们去了印度。 杜聿明和新二十二师到印度后，廖耀湘和新二十二师留在当地，杜聿明转道回国，后明升暗降，任第五集团军总司令，驻防云南，保卫重庆。 野人山之败恐怕是杜聿明一辈子的遗憾。幸运的是，他虽不能重回缅甸战场弥补遗憾，但在云南应该会有机会跟日军碰面。 在本节的最后，特以穆旦——著名诗人、金庸大师的堂兄弟、西南联合大学学生、杜聿明随身翻译、穿越野人山的幸运存活者，所作诗歌《森林之魅——祭胡康河上的白骨》最后一段作为结语，借此缅怀那些长眠于异域几十载，至今仍无法回家的英灵。 第一次入缅战役结束后不久，英军便在北非阿拉曼会战中取得了决定性的胜利。但盟军北非战场的胜利，是用放弃缅甸战场的代价换来的，是靠中国远征军在缅甸战场孤军浴血奋战、独自拖住日军换来的。 可是，与鬣狗经过连续五年的殊死争夺，中国这头狮子已呈垂死之态，仅凭自身的造血功能已难以支持后面的抗争，只有寄希望于外部输血。 但问题是，唯一的输血管道——滇缅公路已被日军卡断。更为要命的是，远征军主力还没有归国的时候，日军五十六师团已从缅甸杀入了中国西南境内。云南重镇龙陵、腾冲接连沦陷。 抗战刚开始的时候，我们可以依靠广阔的疆土，进行大、纵、深防御，且战且退，消耗敌人。可随着战争的进程，我们的回旋余地越来越小。现在日军几乎可以从云南涌入，直扑重庆。本来的大后方一下变成了前方。关于国民政府准备迁都西北的传闻已经铺天盖地了。 怒江，已经成为阻挡日军打通西南的最后一道天然屏障，就如同英吉利海峡之于英国，不容有失。 千钧一发之际，蒋委员长调兵遣将，第十一集团军司令宋希濂亲率麾下第三十六师，累死累活地赶到连通怒江的唯一通道——惠通桥，在空军的配合下，数日激战，全歼日军前锋部队，随即炸毁桥梁，依托怒江天险与日军对峙。 随着增援部队逐渐抵达，怒江防线日益巩固。此后两年间，日军再也未能越过怒江一步。 说到这里，得解释一下，支援宋希濂的空军从哪里来。 这就得提到一个叫陈纳德的人，一个集才气、勇气、痞气和乐观于一身的美国草根。 此人桀骜不驯，老管不住自己的嘴巴。做事也是我行我素，从不向领导请示汇报。一般这类人都被叫作刺头。刺头陈纳德在美国空军军界混了二十年，还只是一个上尉，甚至因为工作环境不佳——积年累月地在引擎轰鸣声极大的机舱里驾驶飞机，失去了部分听觉。1937年，上司以陈纳德身体伤残不再适合工作的理由，强制要求他退役。 实际上，陈纳德是一个天才，44岁的他正处在一个人经验和能力的巅峰期，只是其张扬的个性阻碍了他在美国空军里的继续发展而已。他的飞行技术很棒，他的战斗技术在美国空军中屈指可数。这还不足为奇，真正证明其天才程度的是，陈纳德敢于颠覆当时所谓的“正宗空军理论”！ 当时的美国空军上层，普遍都对战斗机持轻视态度，认为轰炸机才是空军的主角。受到这一思潮的影响，很多一战时的战斗机好手都被迫改换门庭，开上了轰炸机。 陈纳德是天才，不吃这一套。他坚信，在未来的战场上，战斗机才是天空的王者！ 可陈纳德也明白，行将被退休的自己，此生很难得到一个证明自己的机会了。 就在陈纳德最需要一个机会的时候，宋美龄出现了。 1937年，第一夫人宋美龄入主空军，成为中国空军总司令。 宋美龄能入主空军的理由很容易想通。一是她早年在美国生活学习十年，擅长对美外交，中国的飞机、武器基本上都是由她经手从美国进口；二是蒋介石把组建空军的任务交给自己的老婆也比较放心；三是宋美龄也有这个资望。抗战期间，她屡次不顾危险亲往前线劳军，前后数次徘徊在生死边缘。 宋美龄派人在美国招飞行教官，结果选中了陈纳德。也许不是选中，而是美方“郑重推荐”的——一定要送走这个刺头大爷。 当时，苏联人也看中了陈纳德，但陈纳德没去。原因可能是他自己所说的“预感苏美两国不会成为真正的朋友”，也可能是宋美龄在邀请函中对他说的一句话：您将有权驾驶中国空军的任何一架飞机。 我要证明我还能再上长空战斗！ 经过多年的课堂争辩和理论论战后，我需要有一个机会在战争中严格检验我的战斗机制胜理论！ 1937年5月，44岁的陈纳德以上尉军衔正式退役，乘坐邮船自美国抵达上海。 不过在护照上，他所填写的职业不是退役空军上尉，而是“农民”。这当然是为了保密。 不过这个前美空军上尉到中国之后，就被宋司令聘为中华民国空军顾问，挂上校衔。 初到中国，就赶上了淞沪会战，在空战中，陈纳德逐渐教会了中国战斗机飞行员如何对付结队而来的日本轰炸机。原来日本人也研究过美国“正宗空军理论”，是“轰炸至上论”的绝对拥趸。他们认为速度快、装甲厚的轰炸机根本用不着战斗机护航，就可横行中国。但是在陈纳德的发明——战斗机拦截战术面前，日军没有战斗机护航的轰炸机群被揍得很是凄凉。由此，后来日军进行空袭时，都出动大批战斗机护航。 在中国工作的几年中，陈纳德先后参加了淞沪会战、南京保卫战、武汉会战，还在昆明办了一所空军飞行员培训学校。总之，陈纳德工作态度积极，喜欢埋头专研，喜欢当技术能手做岗位标兵，还有很强的正义感，总体表现得到了蒋介石夫妇的认可。 但让陈纳德郁闷的是，到1940年的时候，他居然失业了。 即便中国空军再能打，也耗不过日本空军的数量优势，毕竟日军有强大的工业为后盾，而中国空军的飞机数量本就不多，更何况曾经的“苏联志愿航空队”也随着苏联政府的抽身离去而离开了中国。打到后来，中国的飞机被打光了。没了飞机，陈上校的屁股就坐不住了，每天都觉得生活太枯燥太无聊。 好在这种难受的日子没过多久，蒋介石就召见陈纳德说：你和宋子文去趟美国，想尽一切办法给我们弄些飞机和飞行员来。 此时美国还未对日宣战，自然不会公开地、大规模地援助中国，只能是给中国贷款，然后中国再用这些贷款购买美国的飞机。 飞机可以用钱买，可空军飞行员呢？总不能由美国政府直接派空军参战吧？因此，飞行员的问题得陈纳德自己解决。 不过这对于陈上校似乎不是难事。在美国政府的默许下，这个在美国不起眼的底层军官，利用关系联络上了一批美国预备役和退役飞行员，重金聘请他们来中国上班——底薪高，月薪六百美元起，还有提成奖金——击落一架敌机，奖励五百美元。反正闲着也是闲着，还不如去中国捞点外快。当然了，这群人也并非单纯是为了钱，毕竟生命是无价的。但要说是为了伟大的反法西斯事业，恐怕也有些拔高。客观地说，他们就是一群有正义感且乐