Cross the Songhu battlefield and rise to become the most powerful warlord

Chapter 506 Stalemate

506 Stalemate

In the direction of Jiaomei, Long Wendong's 602nd Brigade and the two regiments of the th Division led by Watanabe Masao fought fiercely for a whole day.

Both sides suffered hundreds of casualties, and neither side could do anything to the other.

In this battle, both sides fought head-on.

The fighting took place in the jungles and mountains around Kyaukme.

As a result, in this head-on confrontation, both sides realized how difficult the other was.

"Baga, that damn Ye Qingshan, the firepower of his troops is even stronger than ours.

Their tactics are fast and fierce, and they are much more difficult to deal with than other Chinese troops."

Watanabe Masao was in the command center, his face livid, looking at the battle report in his hand.

The battle of that day turned out to be like this.

They did not advance a single step on several fronts in Jiaomei and were blocked by Long Wendong's 602 Brigade.

The two sides fought back and forth in the jungles and mountains.

Now, Watanabe Masao knew that it was unlikely that they would be able to retake Lashio.

At the same time, Watanabe Masao also knew that his 148th Regiment of the 56th Division and the th Engineer Regiment had been completely wiped out by Ye Qingshan in Namkham.

The other two main regiments were trapped in Bhamo and Myitkyina in the north.

Cut off from their main force in Mandalay.

He had been winning battles in a row and was about to become the biggest contributor to the Japanese's annihilation of the expeditionary force.

Suddenly, Ye Qingshan led his troops into Burma, which directly led to their 56th Division falling to its current state within a few days.

This made Watanabe Masao hate Ye Qingshan even more.

At the same time, they were even more worried about the other two regiments of their division that were separated in Bhamo and Myitkyina.

Fortunately, the headquarters had already sent him a telegram, saying that they were trying to open up a passage to Bhamo and Myitkyina.

The headquarters will not allow these two elite regiments of the 56th Division to be lost again.

"Your Excellency, the division commander, there is a new order from the headquarters."

A Japanese officer walked in.

"read."

“The headquarters judged that the main force of Ye Qingshan’s 86th Army, which had arrived in Lashio, would attack in the direction of Mandalay next.

Special order to the division commander to lead his troops to retreat from Jiaomei.

Go to the area from Meimu to Aniskan east of Mandalay and redeploy defenses.

Stop Ye Qingshan's 86th Army from entering Mandalay."

"Call the headquarters back, and I will immediately lead my troops to retreat to the Meimiu front.

We will never allow Ye Qingshan's 86th Army to attack Mandalay from the east."

The Japanese headquarters' judgment was almost the same as Watanabe Masao's.

He also felt that Ye Qingshan’s 86th Army’s main force had already captured Lashio.

Next, the most likely direction of attack is towards Mandalay.

At this time, if you look down at the entire battlefield from a high altitude.

You will find that at this time, the four divisions of the Japanese 15th Army and the four armies of the Expeditionary Force had more than 200,000 people.

This large-scale battle is now mainly taking place around Mandalay.

All the battles were fought in three directions: east, west and north of Mandalay.

And now, the Japs still have the advantage on both the northern and western fronts.

Only on the eastern front, because the 56th Division was ambushed by Ye Qingshan and two regiments were annihilated, the two main regiments were divided and moved to the north towards Myitkyina.

This led to the fall of Lashio and complete failure of the entire eastern front.

However, winning on the Eastern Front alone would not be enough to win the battle.

Only by conquering Mandalay can the expeditionary force secure victory in this battle.

However, this task is somewhat arduous.

On the 86th, Ye Qingshan's 601th Army, in addition to Lu Dahai's st Brigade's st Regiment and Black Bear's Special Operations Regiment, took another route with an artillery regiment.

Go around to the battlefield north of Mandalay to support the Fifth Army.

Ye Qingshan personally led the remaining main force to Jiaomei and first joined forces with Long Wendong's 602 Brigade.

Advancing towards West Mandalay.

At this time, in addition to the several troops that were separated, Ye Qingshan still had about 30,000 troops.

The six main regiments marched at the fastest speed.

Do not give the Japanese the opportunity to build a solid defense line east of Mandalay.

On the 86th, the main force of Ye Qingshan's th Army arrived more than ten miles east of Meimiao.

The 55th Division led by Watanabe Masao and the remnants of the 56th Division, totaling nearly 10,000 people, were building positions in the mountains and jungles around the road from Meimo to Aniskan.

Ye Qingshan summoned his generals and held a pre-war meeting.

"Commander, according to the intelligence sent back by the reconnaissance company.

The two Japanese regiments commanded by the old Japanese soldier Watanabe Masao built fortifications in the areas of Meimu and Aniskan.

This is our eastern front, the only channel to attack Mandalay.

These two cities are located at the most important position of this channel.

The north and south sides of here are all continuous mountains and covered with primitive jungles. It will be a disaster if the troops go in.

This battle is not going to be easy.”

Zhang Fa held the baton, pointed at the terrain on the sand table, and spoke to everyone in a deep voice.

Everyone looked at the sand table and the complex terrain on the only road heading west to Mandalay.

I also know that this will be a tough battle.

"It's not easy but we have to fight."

Ye Qingshan was firm in his attitude.

Then, he asked Zhang Fa, Long Wendong and others to formulate an attack plan based on the terrain and environment of Meimiao.

Listening to the discussion among the people in the command center.

Ye Qingshan walked outside and smoked a cigarette.

After a while, Zhou Pingkou also came out and Ye Qingshan handed him a cigarette.

After a moment, Ye Qingshan asked, "Any news about Zhao Dongsheng's mobile regiment?"

"No, it's been radio silence."

“Has it not turned on yet?

Two days have passed, and I don't know where the mobile regiment has gone to."

There was worry in Ye Qingshan's voice.

"Don't worry, Commander. Zhao Dongsheng is a very cunning guy. He has become more calm after coming out of the special operations battalion.

He will definitely get the job done.”

"Well, if you employ someone, don't doubt him; if you doubt him, don't employ him.

I believe in this kid's ability.

Once they turn on the phone and contact them, you must report to me immediately."

"Don't worry, Commander. I know."

Zhou Pingkou nodded in response.

Zhou Pingkou knew that even though Ye Qingshan's 86th Army's main force of men were marching towards Mandalay in a mighty manner at this moment.

But what really concerned Ye Qingshan at this moment was not the battle on the main battlefield.

Instead, it was the mobile regiment that was heading south and had been missing for two days.

That was the trump card that Ye Qingshan had been secretly preparing.

"Based on the current situation, it is unlikely that we will be able to capture Mandalay in the short term.

The battle will then reach a stalemate.

And if Zhao Dongsheng's mobile regiment succeeds in its operation.

It will break the deadlock on the battlefield.

In this battle, our expeditionary force may still have a chance to defeat the Japanese 15th Army."

Now, there are only Ye Qingshan and Zhou Pingkou here. Ye Qingshan rarely has a serious expression and speaks his true feelings.