Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven: The Setting Sun Is Like Blood (1)

On New Year's Day in 1942, twenty-six countries including China, the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom signed the "Common Declaration of the United Nations" in Washington, expressing their determination to jointly launch military operations against the three Axis powers, Japan, Germany, and Italy. In view of the fact that the Chinese battlefield contained two-thirds of the main force of the Japanese army at that time, and it had essentially become the main battlefield against the Japanese army. The allies, especially the Western powers, began to look at China with admiration. Two" wrench force to try.

On January 4, the headquarters of the Allied Forces officially delineated the Chinese theater, which included Vietnam and Thailand in addition to China, and Chiang Kai-shek and above served as the commander of the theater. This has never happened in modern China. Once upon a time, "sick man of East Asia" and "no Chinese and dogs allowed" were labels that had been hanging on us since the Opium War, and we couldn't get rid of them even if we wanted to. Even if the country is beautiful, even if the family background is prominent, he is just a sleepy person who has been asleep for a hundred years. Now he finally lets others know that China is actually a lion, and he can also be independent after waking up.

When the news came out, not only in China, but also overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia were rejoiced.After receiving the appointment, Chiang Kai-shek wrote in his diary: "The reputation and status of the country have really improved unprecedentedly in history." With a commander in the theater, a chief of staff is needed. This is a foreigner, an American. On January 14, Lieutenant General Stilwell was nominated by the US government as Chief of Staff of the China Theater. happy moment Chiang Kai-shek had commissioned Song Ziwen to conduct an investigation beforehand, and the results of the investigation satisfied Chiang Kai-shek.The brother-in-law told him: "Your new chief of staff is the best figure in the US Army."

Song Ziwen's evaluation is exaggerated, and it may be more secure to put it another way-among the generals who could be sent to China, Stilwell should be the only suitable candidate identified by the United States at that time. Stilwell, graduated from the Infantry Division of West Point Military Academy, served as a military attache in China.In addition to being proficient in Chinese and enjoying the title of "China Hand", he also showed certain military talents. Before the outbreak of the Pacific War, the United States held a large-scale military exercise. Stilwell, who participated in the exercise as a major general, became a blockbuster. The infantry division under his command performed well, and he himself was hailed as the most outstanding major general among the forty-seven major generals of the US Army. One.

However, when the U.S. Department of War was contemplating candidates, it did not like Stilwell. The reason was that Stilwell's rank was too low. He was only a major general and had never commanded any actual combat. When he took office, he was afraid of being underestimated by the Chinese. It is best to be a role like the commander of the group army, or above the lieutenant general, but the question is asked in circles, and no one is willing to go. What are you going to do?If you don’t send American soldiers, what if I command the Chinese soldiers to lose? Isn’t it “everybody and name will be destroyed”...

Stilwell said, "I'll go!" Major general promoted to lieutenant general, set off immediately. On March 4, Stilwell arrived in Chongqing and received a warm welcome. Stilwell's "appearance" is good, he is very thin, but no matter where he goes, he can give people an impression of perseverance, letting you know that this is a veteran professional soldier. Stilwell's "presentation" is good If there is a type of character that Chiang Kai-shek likes as soon as he meets him, then Stilwell can undoubtedly be included in it. Coupled with the three-star lieutenant general logo just worn, and the authentic Chinese, there is no reason why Chiang Kai-shek and his wife should not be overjoyed.

When Stilwell came to China, Chennault was also invited to accompany him.Song Meiling's face was full of smiles. The first lady held Stilwell in one arm and Chennault in the other, and said to the two: "China finally has the help of you two American military officers. I feel sincerely for this." Happy." Thinking about it, it really makes people happy. When Chennault set foot on Chinese soil, he was just a captain. But under his guidance behind the scenes, the Chinese Air Force has exploded with amazing potential. Now there is a lieutenant general like Stilwell directly in command , What kind of changes will happen to the Chinese Army?

It was a happy scene.In our life, there will be many such shots, which will make us happy, excited and even moved. Unfortunately, time is always passing by, and no matter how beautiful and moving the photos are, they will gradually turn yellow. But at that moment, no one could think about the future. They only knew that this was a good start, and that Stilwell should be capable enough to help the Chinese army win. At that time, one of the main tasks of the Chinese army was to defend Myanmar. Although the latter was not part of the Chinese theater, it was undoubtedly a lifeline for the war of resistance as the main entrance of aid materials to China, and we had to do our best to ensure it.

Long before the establishment of the China Theater, the Kuomintang High Command had judged the intention of the Japanese army to invade Burma based on intelligence. Therefore, three armies, including the Du Yuming Fifth Army, were drawn from the country. With 100,000 elite troops, they were ready to help Britain defend Burma. . However, at this point, the British were still afraid that China would take a share of their colonies, so they resolutely refused to allow the expeditionary force to enter Burma. The Chinese can't come, but the Japanese are coming. In January 1942, the Japanese Fifteenth Army invaded Burma, and more than two months later, it had reached the vicinity of Yangon.

At this time, they took the initiative to ask China for reinforcements, but the fighter plane had long been missed. If you don't have enough time to familiarize yourself with the terrain and build fortifications, you won't even have the slightest confidence in fighting. In the three Changsha battles, the reason why Xue Yue was able to achieve one win and two draws was that it would have been impossible to achieve without a clear understanding of the terrain. Myanmar is neither Hunan nor Changsha, and the road ahead is long and uncertain. Even so, we can't just sit back and watch Myanmar fall, and try to find a way to restore it if possible.

On March 12, the Chinese Expeditionary Force was formally established, and Chiang Kai-shek sent Stilwell to command it. Master Wang is back On the Burmese battlefield, the British and Burmese troops continued to flee. Except for high-level officers, most of the low-level officers and soldiers of the British garrison in Burma were Burmese and Indians. These locals were usually treated as slaves by the British colonists and were bullied. On March 8, the Japanese army took Yangon lightly. The situation was not life or death, but it was already at stake. On the same day, Dai Anlan led the vanguard of the Chinese Expeditionary Force to Donggua, north of Yangon, where Chennault trained the Flying Tigers. Dai Anlan, nicknamed Haiou, is from Wuwei, Anhui Province, and he is from the same hometown as his former senior officer Xu Tingyao. This young general who graduated from the third batch of Whampoa had made his mark as early as the Great Wall Anti-Japanese War. At that time, he was the regiment commander under Du Yuming. When Du Yuming founded the Fifth Army, he was specially appointed as the commander of the 200th Division. After entering Myanmar, Dai Anlan discovered that the locals in Myanmar were generally hostile to the British, and some even acted as spies for the Japanese army.But there are also many people, including overseas Chinese, who do not believe in Japan's deceptive propaganda, and welcome and support the troops from China very much. If you look through the history books, you will know that ancient Myanmar was also within our southwest border. It is said that when Marquis Wu of the Three Kingdoms came here on his southern expedition, he was extremely worshiped by the Burmese people and regarded him as a god. When Zhuge Liang was about to return to the north, the people came in groups to persuade him to stay. Zhuge Liang comforted them and said, "I will come back." But when will you come back again? Zhuge Liang pointed to a kind of grass in the field, "This grass is blooming, and it will come back again." It is a kind of grass that does not bloom, so year after year, the Burmese people who look north are greeted with only disappointment. The local people told Dai Anlan that the grass miraculously bloomed not long ago, and they thought it was an auspicious omen, indicating that "the king's master should arrive." Dai Anlan was deeply moved by it, and immediately wrote a poem: "Raise the whip and point at the flowers like a load, Zhuge's predecessor is here again." Dai Anlan, known as "General Seagull" Dai Anlan's task is to guard Donggua. From the perspective of combat terrain, Donggua is not an easy place to defend. The outside of the city is dominated by plains, and there are open areas on three sides for the opponent to attack. If you want to defend the city in this terrain, you can only rely on strong fortifications. Speaking of fortifications, Myanmar has one advantage, that is, there are many forests and trees.There are a lot of ready-made sleepers in Dongguacheng, which were originally intended to be used for laying railways, but now they are just made locally. Under the command of Dai Anlan, the officers and soldiers of the 200th Division dug tunnels on the ground, and then covered them with sleepers to build closed fortresses. On March 20, the battle to defend Donggua started. It was the 55th Division that invaded Donggua. This new division has been stationed in Japan since its establishment and has never fought a war. However, after entering Burma, the powerlessness and incompetence of the British Burmese Army made it improve While gaining self-confidence, he also accumulated combat experience. But in Donggua, their life was not easy, and Dai Anlan's carefully constructed fortress group made them suffer a lot. These fortresses are comparable to the bunkers during the third Changsha battle. The light and heavy weapons are properly configured, and the cross-fire nets make it impossible for the rushing Japanese troops to escape, so that every time the attack is repelled, Japanese soldiers will be left in front of the fortress. dead bodies. On March 28, seeing that the 55th Division had made no achievements, the headquarters of the 15th Army urgently transferred the 56th Division to join the offensive camp. The two divisions joined forces to attack Donggua, and in the end even used poisonous gas as a damaging move, but they were still unable to achieve a breakthrough from the front. On April 1, the 200th Division finally decided to abandon Donggua. It wasn't that the front could not be defended, but that the flanks were exposed and had to be evacuated under Du Yuming's order.When evacuating, despite being double-teamed, this veteran force was still in order, fighting while walking, and did not allow the pursuers to find any opportunity to take advantage of. Since the Japanese Fifteenth Army entered Burma, it can be said that it has been marching fast all the way, running faster than anyone else. The defense of Donggua was their first setback. Even the Japanese themselves admitted that this was "the worst battle in the Burma campaign." A tough fight." The Fifty-fifth Division was almost completely defeated. A Japanese commander who was killed exclaimed in his diary: "Since the southward advance, I have never encountered such a strong enemy. Who is the strong enemy? That is the Chinese army." Only then did the Fifteenth Army Command know that the "China Army" on the opposite side was the famous Fifth Army in the Kunlun Pass Battle. The British, who were already running wild, were very surprised that the 200th Division could withdraw from Donggua so calmly, but Dai Anlan himself was not without worry, especially after receiving the notice that Chiang Kai-shek was going to summon him. He thought he would at least be scolded, because after all, Donggua failed to defend. Unexpectedly, Chiang Kai-shek had already heard the report. He was very satisfied with the results of Donggua's defense battle, "Donggua's fall is not your responsibility, this battle was well fought ,very beautiful." In order to express his praise, Chiang Kai-shek specially stayed with Dai Anlan for dinner, and arranged for him to live in the room next door to him at night. Chiang Kai-shek has so many subordinates, which is an unprecedented courtesy. life or death The fall of Donggua had nothing to do with Dai Anlan, the British were the ones who lost the chain first. On the western flank of Donggua, even if the British and Burmese troops had the superiority in weapons and numbers, they could not stop the 33rd Division.The latter was defeated by Luo Zhuoying and the 74th Army in the Battle of Shanggao, but after changing his opponent unexpectedly, he was full of majesty, repeatedly breaking through the British and Burmese defense lines. Once the flanks were broken, Donggua's rear was seriously threatened.But at this time, because the British refused to provide enough vehicles-it was too late for them to withdraw their retreating troops, the other troops and mechanized equipment of the expeditionary force could not arrive for a long time. At this time, after 12 days of hard work, the 200th Division began to run out of food and ammunition. If the backup was not enough, surrounded by the Japanese army on all sides, it would inevitably face the danger of annihilation. Du Yuming, the commander of the Fifth Army, felt that it was impossible to retreat, so he proposed to Stilwell to retreat. His suggestion was quite tactful, "Withdraw, you can fight the enemy again at 'another time, another place'." "What, you want to withdraw?" Stilwell became angry when he heard it, and rolled his eyes, "We must not withdraw, we must attack, attack, attack!" As the two talked, their voices became louder and louder. After a while, they fell out. Du Yuming is such a gentle and honest person, he has always weighed and weighed his words, and he can fall out with him, so one can imagine what kind of person Stilwell is. That's right, Stilwell's character is even more irritable and irritable than "Guan Meng", and it's even hard to believe how he has been a military attache of the embassy for so many years. Finally, Stilwell couldn't help but slapped the table, "I am your superior, you must obey me." In order to be afraid that the other party would violate his will and not carry out his attack order after returning to the barracks, Stilwell actually sent an American staff officer to follow Du Yuming's ass. The 200th Division is now the basic unit of the Fifth Army. No matter how honest Du Yuming was, he would not be able to watch his life fall into the jaws of death without doing anything. Therefore, he decisively issued an order to retreat to Dai Anlan. in the face of the Americans. Du Yuming's decision was correct.In fact, the follow-up troops of the expeditionary force did not assemble until half a month later. After half a month, the 200th Division might have been wiped out long ago, with no bones left. It was originally Stilwell's fault, but this old man complained first, and went to Chongqing to find Chiang Kai-shek. He first scolded Du Yuming, and then threatened to resign. Heed the order. Of course resignation was not an option. Chiang Kai-shek approached Du Yuming for a heart-to-heart talk, but the latter was still full of resentment, "If Stilwell had followed Stilwell's order, the 200th Division would have been ruined long ago. Not only did he not understand the situation of the Chinese army, but he seemed to..." Don't know tactics yet. If we only talk about the fall of Donggua, it can be said that Chiang Kai-shek and Du Yuming had exactly the same idea, otherwise he would not have rewarded Dai Anlan much.However, as the saying goes, "Don't be suspicious of someone, don't be suspicious of someone you employ." Besides, fighting is a very complicated job, and you can't judge a hero by winning or losing a game. The fall of Donggua doesn't mean anything. The American lieutenant general should have two brushes. It is absolutely impossible for him to really understand tactics. The problem may still lie in communication. Chiang Kai-shek interrupted Du Yuming, "I see, with Chief Luo around in the future, the situation will improve." This "Officer Luo" refers to Luo Zhuoying, whom Chiang Kai-shek appointed as the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force.Luo Zhuoying's mission was very simple. He had to obey Stilwell in everything. Whatever Stilwell said, he had to convey to the expeditionary army. In fact, he used his familiarity and understanding of the Chinese army to act as a mouthpiece. Before coming to China, Stilwell was purely inferior in actual combat, but Luo Zhuoying fought countless battles, and a high-level battle became a recognized classic.But the things in the world are so dumbfounding. You are obviously a master, but when you meet a self-proclaimed "foreigner expert", you have to bow your head in front of him, and even play the humble role of a waiter. Since then, Stilwell has formally obtained the upper sword of commanding the Chinese Expeditionary Force, with the power of life and death, and no one in the Burmese army dares to disobey orders. Chiang Kai-shek pinned all his hopes on the foreign chief of staff in front of him. He solemnly told Stilwell, "All I give you are the most elite troops in China. The Burma campaign is very important. You must fight well!"