Beiyang reactionaries

"What is the situation now? What is the situation of the Tenth Army and the No.16 Army of the British and Indian Army?"

"We don't have any specific information. But the Myitkyina line of defense is a very complete line of defense. As long as the British and Indian troops respond quickly, they can still keep the base camp. The biggest harm of gas bombs is panic, not direct casualties. Therefore, the most feared thing is The British and Indian troops were in disarray, and the entire defense line was shaken. Now the right-wing defense line has been breached, and the 33rd Corps and 34th Corps have suffered heavy casualties. If they don't respond in time, I'm afraid..."

Xu Yongchang made the worst prediction.

The stalemate between the Japanese army and the British and Indian troops in Myitkyina is the most beneficial to China.If the British and Indian troops fail miserably in Myitkyina, it is very likely that they will lose Myitkyina.This strategy is not conducive to China.

"The Japanese army defeated the British and Indian troops in Myitkyina, and their deterrent power has greatly increased among Southeast Asian countries. This is not a good thing. The General Staff should pay close attention to the situation in Myitkyina. I hope that the British and Indian troops will not lose too badly."

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"How is the current situation?"

Churchill scowled.

Churchill is an interesting man.Churchill was not a very good-tempered person, and he usually spoke swear words.When encountering some small things, even if things don't go his way, he will fly into a rage and curse.But the more important the moment, the more he can stabilize his temper, the more he can calm down.It is precisely because of this character that Churchill was able to lead Britain through the most difficult times.

The situation in the UK is really not very good now.

Although Germany stopped its previous large-scale bombing of the British mainland, it only canceled the large-scale bombing and did not stop competing with the British Air Force in the air.The British and German air forces have been competing, and the losses on both sides have been very large.Fortunately, the United Kingdom has the support of the United States. Tens of thousands of planes support the United Kingdom every year, so that the United Kingdom can maintain itself in the air.

Of course, what troubled Britain the most was that German submarines kept attacking the British navy and British transportation lines.

At sea, it looked like Britain had the upper hand, blocking German shipping lines.But Germany is not to be outdone, and Germany's submarine warfare has brought huge losses to Britain.In particular, the United States suffered too much losses in the Pacific battlefield, and the Japanese army put too much pressure on it.Therefore, in order to stabilize the Pacific battlefield, a large number of warships are deployed in the Pacific.Under the U.S. strategy of "first in Asia and then in Europe," the U.S. escort force on the Atlantic side is seriously insufficient.Historically, the United States has invested a large number of escort forces in the Atlantic Ocean, including escort aircraft carriers, escort destroyers, and a large number of aircraft into the Atlantic Ocean.Even under such circumstances, Germany's submarine warfare results are also very high.What's more, because of the choice of the United States, the escort force in the Atlantic Ocean is seriously insufficient.

The result was more rampant German submarines. Throughout 1941, German submarines sank more than 1300 Allied transport ships in the Atlantic Ocean, with a total tonnage of more than 800 million tons.At the same time, German submarines sank more than 600 transport ships in the Mediterranean Sea, totaling about 270 million tons.That is to say, in the whole year of 1941, German submarines sank about 1100 million tons of Allied transport ships.

Not only transport ships, but also German submarines attacking British Navy warships are also very effective.In 1941 alone, German submarines sank two British aircraft carriers, two battleships, and three cruisers.

If it were only the ships produced by the UK itself, the British communication line would have been cut off by Germany, and it would not be an opponent of German submarine warfare at all.The reason why the transportation line can still be maintained depends on the strong industrial strength of the United States.Regardless of the United States' "first Asia and then Europe", the scale of ships supported by the "Lease Act" to support the United Kingdom is still amazing. In 1941 alone, the United States supported 11 British escort aircraft carriers.However, even if the U.S. industry is very strong, losses of this scale still cause the United States a very headache.After all, although the total tonnage of shipbuilding in the United States exceeds 1000 million tons a year, it is so easy for Britain and the United States to replenish such a large loss.The United States lost so much in the Atlantic Ocean, and the loss in the Pacific Ocean is not small. Adding up, 90% of the ships produced by the United States every year will be sunk.Therefore, the United States can only increase its horsepower to produce more ships.What's more, with so many ships sunk, the loss of experienced crews was also great.

Not to mention the contest at sea, Britain has always been at a disadvantage in the contest on the North African battlefield.Rommel's German-Italian coalition defeated Montgomery's British army several times. If it weren't for the lack of logistics, Montgomery's British army would definitely not be the opponent of the German-Italian coalition.What was even more annoying was the Vichy French army in North Africa. Although they did not attack the British army with the German and Italian coalition forces, the British army tried to land in Morocco and Algeria several times, but was beaten down by the Vichy French army.Therefore, Britain can only turn to the United States for help, hoping that the United States will send troops to participate in the North African War.

The only thing that has the upper hand is the Middle East battlefield.However, Britain's ability to gain the upper hand in the Middle East battlefield is not only due to the British family, but also with the help of the French army and the Soviet army.

It is really very difficult for the UK to maintain the situation now.But I didn't expect that Myitkyina, which was originally extremely stable, had problems.News of the Battle of Myitkyina soon reached Churchill.

The situation is serious.

It is very likely to shake the layout of the entire UK, and Churchill was very angry.But Churchill was not an ordinary person, so he just endured it.And on the contrary, he became more and more calm, terrifyingly calm.Because Churchill knew that at this time, he could not be in a hurry.

"All our forward positions in Myitkyina were lost. The 33rd Corps and 34th Corps were defeated across the board, and the Fourteenth Army finally gathered less than 4 people."

"Less than 4 people?"

"Yes."

Aiden sighed.

The Fourteenth Army of the British Indian Army, this is the elite unit of the British Indian Army and the main force of the British Indian Army.However, the No.14 Army of the British and Indian Army was almost wiped out in this battle.An elite with more than 20 troops and nearly 30 troops only gathered 4 troops in the end.It can be said that after this battle, the entire Fourteenth Army has reached the point of canceling its designation.

Aiden continued: "It's not just the No.14 Army, the Japanese army is attacking across the board this time. The Tenth Army also suffered a lot of casualties. If it wasn't for General Auchinleck's quick response, he would shrink the front line as soon as possible and gather The troops, as well as the troops that sent the No.16 Army to block the Japanese army, otherwise we would lose even the core position. General Auchinleck was hit by stray bullets from the Japanese army in order to gather the troops. The current situation is not very good. General Wavell has already flown Arrived at Myitkyina and took over the command of Myitkyina. According to General Wavell's statistics, during the eight days of fighting, the troops lost more than 33 people. About 520 tanks, more than 1100 cannons, other guns and ammunition, There are countless logistical materials. The forward defensive positions 60 kilometers deep are all lost."

"Damn."

suddenly.

The British and Indian troops had never seen gas bombs at all.

The direct casualties caused by the gas bomb itself were not as great as imagined, not even greater than those caused by some heavy artillery.In other words, the lethality of gas bombs is not very great.But the suddenness and fear he brings are not comparable to cannonballs.

The British and Indian troops have fought wars for so many years, and their experience on the battlefield can be considered very rich.The British and Indian troops are fully familiar with the Japanese army's step-by-step attack.Relying on perfect fortifications, the British and Indian troops were not afraid of the Japanese.For the Battle of Myitkyina, the Japanese army deployed nearly 30 troops on the front line alone.

However, after fighting for more than a year, the frontline troops of the Japanese army were replaced a lot because of heavy casualties, but no matter how they tried, they could not break through the Myitkyina defense line.It is precisely because of the perfect fortifications and perfect defense in depth that even if the Japanese army breaks through one or two lines of defense, it will not cause the entire British and Indian army to be defeated.But this time Japan made a lot of preparations and secretly mobilized a large number of poison gas bombs.

And made the most careful calculations.

Because the use of gas bombs has many restrictions.Japan has never thought that the use of gas bombs can solve the battle. What Japan wants is suddenness.Sure enough, this tactic was very successful. The British and Indian troops were completely at a loss in the face of gas bombs, and they didn't know how to deal with them.

The Japanese army took advantage of this opportunity and broke into the defensive positions of the British and Indian troops.

The already flustered British and Indian troops were completely unable to organize defenses against the Japanese assault.It's not that one or two defensive positions have been breached, but that the entire defense line doesn't know how to respond.As a result, the tens of kilometers of defense lines of several divisions of the 33rd Corps of the British and Indian Army were completely defeated, allowing the Japanese army to drive straight in.

The fighting power of the Japanese army is still very strong.

After breaking into the British and Indian positions, the Japanese troops began to divide and surround the British and Indian troops.In a short period of time, the 33rd Corps and 34th Corps of the British and Indian Army had already received a devastating blow, and a large number of troops were surrounded by the Japanese army.

Moreover, the Japanese army did not give the British and Indian troops a chance to rescue.A large-scale attack from the other direction pinned down the Tenth Army.Had it not been for Auchinleck's quick response to quickly mobilize several divisions of the No. 16 Army to block the Japanese attack route, the entire Myitkyina would have been shaken.

This battle lasted for 8 days, and of course it is still fighting.But these 8 days are very important 8 days for the Japanese army. In these 8 days, the British and Indian troops were defeated.In just 8 days, the British and Indian Army lost more than 33 people. The No.14 Army and several divisions of the Tenth Army have completely lost their combat effectiveness.At present, the Myitkyina line of defense can be maintained, relying on the No.16 Army of the British and Indian Army.

In fact, there are not many deaths on the battlefield.

The loss of 33 in it was mostly collapsed and surrendered.

"These bastards should all be burned to death. How dare they use gas bombs?"

Gas bombs.

This is something that is forbidden by everyone.Under the fierce situation of the Soviet-German battlefield, neither Germany nor the Soviet Union used gas bombs.How dare you use poison gas bombs in Japan.

If it weren't for unpreparedness, how could the British and Indian troops have suffered such a disastrous defeat.Because everyone is not mentally prepared, there is no training in this area at all.

"Winston (Churchill), now is not the time to discuss this. Although General Wavell gathered his troops, the casualties were too heavy, and most of the troops have completely lost their combat effectiveness. The current situation in Myitkyina is very unfavorable. The troops The morale of the army was unstable. The Japanese army took advantage of the opportunity of the big victory to intensify their attacks on the Myitkyina defense line. Our main force is in Myitkyina. Once the Myitkyina campaign fails completely, the Japanese army may drive straight in. According to the information we have received, Chandra Bose's Indian National Army is already preparing to land in Chittagong with the Japanese army."

"Chittagong?"

Churchill looked at the map.

Chittagong is a very important port in the Bay of Bengal area, and it is also the largest port city in Bangladesh.Of course, there is no Bangladesh yet, which all belong to British India.

Churchill looked at the map carefully and said: "The next step for the Japanese army is to attack Imphal and threaten Calcutta."

"Yes. The Japanese army has attacked Imphal on a small scale before, but it was unsuccessful. This time the Japanese army won a big victory, they will inevitably send heavy troops to attack Imphal, and completely cut off the largest logistics base on our front line. At this time, a force came from Landing at Chittagong, attacking Imphal from south to north, there will be a pincer attack. Once Imphal is lost, then our campaign in Burma will be completely defeated. And the Japanese army landing from Chittagong will also directly threaten No.11 Army Command Calcutta."

If it landed from Chittagong before, then it is just a partial division and it will not play any role.But now that Japan is on the verge of a big victory, once the Battle of Imphal is launched, it will be very useful at that time.

Not to mention Chandra Bose, the former chairman of the Indian National Congress Party and the leader of the Indian National Liberation Movement, has a high prestige and influence in India.Once his troops enter India, they will inevitably attract many radicals from the former National Congress Party, and some young people will defect to them.

More importantly, the main forces of the British and Indian troops are in Myanmar.

Tenth Army, No.14 Army, No.16 Army, and only No.11 Army in Imphal.The headquarters of the No.11 Army is in Calcutta, which is five to six hundred kilometers away from Imphal.That is to say, the No. 11 Army's less than 20 troops are all deployed in places stretching five to six hundred kilometers.If the landing of the Japanese army is cut off, then Imphal is likely to become an isolated island.

"India cannot be lost."

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