newbobooks Chapter 561: Stilwell is surrounded
Chapter 561: Stilwell is surrounded
561 Stilwell was surrounded
The British army, which was already on the brink of collapse, was no longer able to plug this gap in its defense line.
"Yaoxi, notify the Fifth Division and ask them to send out their best troops to expand the victory."
Yamashita Tomoyuki was also extremely excited when he heard the news.
They knew that whether they could win in the southern battlefield depended on this critical moment.
Soon, the Japanese Fifth Division sent out its most elite troops, following the gap in the British defense line and attacking northward.
The Japanese, consisting of only two thousand men, braved the heavy rain and broke through the defense line of more than 30,000 British troops.
On the battlefield, large-scale surrender of British troops occurred.
These British soldiers, both officers and soldiers, were really frightened by the brutality of the Japanese invaders.
Many British generals finally understood why their main British forces in the Malay Peninsula and Singapore surrendered to the Japanese a few months ago.
I guess the British commanders at that time were as desperate as they were.
The British army was defeated across the board!
"Damn, how could this happen?"
Stilwell was numb as he read the battle reports coming in from the front line.
This scene was a repeat of the British army's previous defeat on the coast of Yangon.
"General, our last position has also been breached by the Japanese army.
The Seventh Division was being routed.
Although the number of Japanese troops that infiltrated the enemy was small, their combat effectiveness was extremely strong.
The Seventh Division and the Eleventh Division were all defeated by it.
At this time, this Japanese infiltration force was heading towards Zelun Town.
Once Zelen Town is lost, the consequences will be even more serious.
Our army of more than 100,000 will be cut in half, with the front and rear unable to support each other."
An American colonel next to him spoke quickly to Stilwell.
Stilwell's hands were shaking slightly. He stared at the map and for a moment couldn't think of how to solve the trouble on the battlefield.
"General, it's bad. Zelun Town has been lost."
As a result, less than two hours later, new news came.
Stilwell almost fainted after hearing this.
“Damn it, isn’t the Fifth Division responsible for defending Zelen Town?
How could it be lost so quickly? "
“General, the commander of the Fifth Division, Michael, led his troops to retreat without permission.
The Japanese army occupied the town of Zelun without any resistance at all."
After hearing this, Stilwell sat down on his chair with a look of despair.
The loss of Zelen meant that the British army on the battlefield would never have a chance to reverse the situation.
On the 10th, more than 100,000 main British troops were divided into several parts by the Japanese and besieged on a front line of hundreds of kilometers in the southern battlefield.
In addition to the first few British troops that fled, about 20,000 to 30,000 people managed to escape.
Did not fall into the encirclement of the Japanese.
None of the other British troops were spared and were all surrounded by the Japanese.
Stilwell was forced into a corner and had to send a telegram to Ye Qingshan for help.
"What? The British army was completely defeated and is now surrounded by the Japanese?
How could we be defeated so quickly in just two or three days? "
When Ye Qingshan received Stilwell's telegram, he was also shocked.
However, Ye Qingshan has been maintaining telegraphic contact with Stilwell.
However, when the two sides contacted each other before, Stilwell only gave a brief overview of the situation on the southern battlefield.
Therefore, Ye Qingshan only knew that the British army was still holding off the Japanese attack and the defense line had not collapsed.
This is enough for Ye Qingshan.
As a result, Stilwell suddenly brought news that the British front line had collapsed and was surrounded by the Japanese.
Ye Qingshan felt incredible.
“Commander, this rainstorm has crushed the British army’s will to resist.
Why! "
Chief of Staff Luo Zhuoying knew the situation of the British army better and guessed the general reason.
“Well, Commander.
The battle on our side is almost over.
Commander Zhou just sent a message that they have launched the final attack on the Japanese 18th Division.
We should be able to annihilate the Japanese 18th Division this afternoon.
Now, there are only four or five thousand people left in the Japanese 18th Division, defending the city of Meiktila.
And they are almost out of ammunition and food, so it is easier to deal with them."
After hearing what Chief of Staff Luo Zhuoying said, Ye Qingshan's expression finally improved a lot.
“Okay, tell Zhou Pingkou.
This afternoon, they annihilated the Japanese 18th Division.
Then the troops were divided into two groups, one to support Commander Gan's Sixth Army, which was in a stalemate with the old Japanese devil Watanabe Masao.
Most of the Sixth Army are new recruits. It is unlikely that they alone can annihilate the tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers under Watanabe Masao.
We had done our best to stop Watanabe Masao from escaping to Taunggyi with the remnants of the Japanese 55th and 56th Divisions.
Another route goes south to Toungoo.
Join forces with the 7th Armored Regiment of the 5th Army in Toungoo to wipe out the Japanese armored regiment over there.
Let Black Bear's special operations regiment set out south first to support the southern battlefield.
We can’t let Yamashita Tomoyuki so easily wipe out the main force of the British army.”
"it is good!"
"and many more!"
Luo Zhuoying was about to go to the telegraph room to make a notification when Ye Qingshan stopped him.
"Commander, what else?"
"Contact General Stilwell again and ask him to tell us the current location of his headquarters.
I'll see if there's a way to get the special operations team to go over there and rescue General Stilwell first."
Compared with the British army, Ye Qingshan actually cares more about Stilwell's safety.
Even if the British army was wiped out, Ye Qingshan would not feel bad at all.
However, if Stilwell was captured, the impact would be huge.
After all, Stilwell was the commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces in Southeast Asia at that time. If he was captured by the Japanese, the consequences would be disastrous.
Moreover, Ye Qingshan and Stilwell have put aside their past grudges and have become closer during this period.
Ye Qingshan also did not want the Americans to send other generals to take over the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces.
It's good for Ye Qingshan to have Stilwell in this position.
So, if the British army cannot save him, then let him be.
But nothing could happen to Stilwell.
“Yes, Commander.
You are absolutely right, General Stilwell cannot afford to get into trouble.
I'll go ask right away."
Luo Zhuoying also had a very good relationship with Stilwell and agreed with Ye Qingshan's proposal.
Not long after, Luo Zhuoying came back from the telegraph room.
"Commander, General Stilwell has been contacted.
General Stilwell's headquarters, at present, is here."
Luo Zhuoying pointed to a location on the map and said to Ye Qingshan.
After seeing this, Ye Qingshan frowned immediately.
Because the command post where Stilwell was located was in a very bad location, not only was it surrounded by the Japanese.
More importantly, it was impossible for Black Bear's special operations regiment to pass through the tens of thousands of Japanese troops in the east and rescue Stilwell at his current location.
"Commander, General Stilwell's position is beyond our reach.
Fortunately, the Japanese haven't discovered the location of General Stilwell's headquarters yet."
"Sooner or later."
Ye Qingshan said in a deep voice.