newbobooks Chapter 161 Luo Bing's Anger
Chapter 161 Luo Bing's Anger
The Second Column, led by Luo Bing, had already penetrated the Lashio front and met up with a small unit from the Third Column. Seeing the devastating plight of that unit, coupled with what he saw along the way—ruins everywhere and the bodies of many Zen and overseas Chinese women and children—he could no longer contain his anger. Ignoring his deputy commander's dissuasion, he decided to personally lead the Third Detachment to attack a nearby Japanese 3rd Division camp.
He ordered his deputy commander: "Send the 1st detachment eastward and contact the rd column as soon as possible. We must strike hard at the enemy's mopping-up teams, especially those of the Burmese Independence Army. We must annihilate them with all our might!"
Luo Bing continued, "Deputy Commander, you will personally lead the Second Detachment and the direct-subordinate team to deploy along the Nankan to Mansi highway. You must prevent the Japanese army from reinforcing in the direction of Bhamo. This is a major chess move. If you can pull it off, the situation in northern Burma will be resolved. Don't be afraid of sacrifice. Even if our Second Column is completely defeated, we must contain the enemy and not give them any chance."
When Luo Bing said this, the deputy commander immediately understood that Commander Luo was taking the risk to attack the Japanese heavy garrison, but in fact he was doing it to tie down the enemy. Think about it, if Commander Luo's sneak attack was successful, the Japanese army would definitely go crazy and would definitely dispatch a large number of troops to encircle Commander Luo and his men. Isn't this the biggest diversionary action?
The deputy commander knew that he did not have this ability, and only Commander Luo had this kind of courage and combat capability. It was impossible for the Japanese army to gain any benefits from Commander Luo, but he was still cautious, so he suggested that Commander Luo bring his own artillery battalion.
Luo Bing stopped the deputy commander and said, "Deputy Commander, I'm going to contain the enemy. The quality of our troops is more important than the quantity. You can't afford to lose anything there. Take as much as you can. Remember, contact the US Air Force through the US Liaison Group. Ask for support, ammunition, and anything else that can support your defense!"
The Japanese 53rd Division has received orders and is handing over its garrison to the 203rd Division. In the direction of Bhamo, a regiment of the 203rd Division has set out along the highway to reinforce. Originally, the commander of the 53rd Division was preparing to lead a regiment to rush there, but he received a phone call from the front commander Watanabe Shozo who scolded him personally. Watanabe ordered the 53rd Division to withdraw to the new station unconditionally no matter what happened, otherwise, they would be subject to military law!
When Luo Bing arrived at the Japanese military camp, the 203rd Division and the 53rd Division of the Japanese Army were handing over. People were moving around in the barracks, and dense troops were gathering, getting on vehicles, and moving in.
Luo Bing hadn't expected so many enemies in the barracks. Seeing the enemy was rotating, he came up with a plan. He immediately ordered the 3rd Detachment's artillery company and all the battalion companies to set up all their artillery, especially the twelve multiple rocket launchers. All the artillery fire was coldly trained on the dense and chaotic enemy troops moving.
"Swoosh, swish, swish, swish--", the rocket launcher flew towards the Japanese army like an arrow, dragging a long flame.
"Boom boom boom boom!" Hundreds of shells roared in, exploding among the enemy. The dense crowd of Japanese soldiers and the troops lined up waiting to board the vehicles became the perfect targets. A single shell might kill or injure a few Japanese soldiers at most, but now, a single shell blew up the enemy within a radius of more than 10 meters, leaving limbs and flesh flying everywhere. The Japanese army had never experienced such a tragic scene. With about an entire regiment of Japanese soldiers in the open field, such intensive shelling and explosions, you can imagine how much damage they suffered!
The Japanese army suddenly lost the will to resist. Many colonels and lieutenant colonels present were stunned by the explosion, some were even killed or trampled to death by the chaotic crowd. Luo Bing lost no time and ordered the entire detachment to charge forward, determined to seize this opportunity to stun, injure, and cripple the enemy!
One side was fighting deliberately, full of anger for revenge; the other side had been heartbroken by the thrilling artillery bombardment and had no fighting spirit. Many soldiers even stood or sat helplessly in the field as if in a daze, waiting for the soldiers of the 3rd Detachment to kill them mercilessly.
The enemies began to flee in all directions. Many of them had no weapons at all. How could they outrun bullets and guns? They were eliminated one by one.
The battle didn't last long. Luo Bing led the 3rd Detachment into the Japanese camp for just over 10 to 20 minutes before the Japanese defensive units reacted and launched a limited counterattack. The 3rd Detachment also suffered some casualties. Seeing the advantage, Luo Bing immediately ordered his troops to alternate covering positions and evacuate the Japanese camp.
The Japanese army was so frightened that they dared not pursue the 3rd Detachment. About half an hour later, the Japanese army from Lashio City arrived and began to count the casualties. After half a day of counting, more than 2700 Japanese soldiers were killed or missing, and more than 1000 were injured. Many of the casualties were not caused by enemy artillery fire and attacks, but by their own people trampling on each other in the chaos.
The commander of the 53rd Division, already on the march, heard the news and frantically jumped out of his car, ordering his troops to turn back and pursue the attackers. The chief of staff held him back. Watanabe Masao, commander of the 33rd Army, who happened to be in Lashio, heard the news and immediately drove over to stop the 53rd Division commander's irrational behavior.
The commander of the accompanying 203rd Division knew he had a great responsibility. He walked up to the commander of the 53rd Division, bowed deeply, and said, "Kume-kun, I must give you an explanation. The attacker has been identified as Luo Bingbu of the guerrilla army. If I can't take Luo Bing's head, I will take my own head as an apology!"
Kume, with regret and dejection, turned towards Rangoon with the rest of the 53rd Division. However, Watanabe Masao saw the decline of the Japanese Empire from the long queue of the 53rd Division.
After the 53rd Division left, Watanabe Masao called over to Tadoshima and whispered, "Tadoshima-kun, you were unwise. You shouldn't have made such a promise. You've seen the war situation. The Empire's abandonment of northern Burma is a foregone conclusion. The various units of the 33rd Army will soon receive orders to evacuate. You can't fulfill your promise to Kume."
Duodao smiled and said, "Commander Watanabe, the 33rd Army will not stay in Burma after its withdrawal. Our meeting with Kume is unlikely. Besides, with the war situation at this point, it is a big question whether the 53rd Division can evacuate Burma. Commander, you should consider how to prevent the 33rd Army from appearing in such a corrupt battlefield in Burma."
Watanabe Masao had actually received a handwritten order from the commander of the Southern Army. After completing the final battle in northern Myanmar, the 56th Division and the 203rd Division would retreat towards Laos. After entering Vietnam, they would board ships at Saigon Port and return to Japan. The Japanese military headquarters realized that they needed to retain a certain number of experienced combat troops on the mainland to deal with future situations.