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People are most afraid of seeing hope when they are most desperate. Terauchi Hisaichi saw hope in the Showa 17-type heavy tank, but the hope he thought of did not bring him any light.

Thousands of tanks from two divisions were chased and attacked by 200 tanks of Xu's army for two days and one night, resulting in the loss of 500 tanks.

Moreover, when Terauchi Hisaichi learned that the fleet was almost destroyed, dozens of heavy artillery of the coastal defense forces were destroyed, and hundreds of mysterious Xu family army tanks were attacking Meiktila from the side.

He vomited blood and fainted, just like Kawabe Masazo before.

Chief of Staff Shigenori Kuroda took on the same heavy responsibility as General Yutaro Naka, and also issued an order for a full retreat.

Thus, this battle involving more than a thousand tanks ended in less than two days with the Japanese retreat.

However, this time it was not an encirclement. In line with the idea of ​​not pursuing a desperate enemy, Wei Li ordered all troops to advance slowly and not get too close to the Japanese.

Because they had no air superiority, the Japanese still had at least nearly a thousand fighters and bombers.

On December 12, the 3nd Destroyer Squadron took over the st Destroyer Squadron and continued to advance toward the lower reaches of the Irrawaddy River.

Except for the 1rd Mechanized Infantry Division led by Indo, the rest of the 3st Army, together with the 2nd Armored Division, gradually advanced towards southern Burma along a straight line.

On December 12, the army occupied Meiktila, the Japanese 4th Division in eastern Myanmar retreated to Thailand, and the 34st Motorized Infantry Division took control of the entire eastern Myanmar region.

That night, the main force of the Navy's Central Fleet arrived at Beihai, 250 kilometers southwest of Meiktila. The Marine Corps landed on the river bank without any resistance and moved closer to the Burma Central Railway.

Kuroda Shigenori knew that the situation was hopeless and had no choice but to issue a retreat order again.

On December 12, an infantry regiment of the 5th Division and the remnants of the 106th Tank Division were intercepted by the Marine Corps on the railway line, and a fierce battle broke out between the two sides.

The Japanese were already exhausted and their morale was completely gone, not to mention the powerful 63A amphibious tanks of the Marine Corps.

On December 12, the Marine Corps wiped out the 6th Tank Division and other units, and the rest of the Japanese troops all fled to the Irrawaddy River Delta and the Mawlamyine area in the southeast.

When Xu's army arrived at the city of 'Xingshida' on the outskirts of the delta, they stopped the attack because there was a big trouble in the central China area of ​​the Tang Dynasty.

A new type of tank appeared in the equipment of the Japanese in central China. It was light in weight, fast in speed, had strong firepower, and was available in large numbers.

In addition, a new type of bomber appeared in the Japanese Air Force, with a large bomb load, fast flying speed, and also in large numbers!

The defending National Guard's 9th Theater's million-strong army was defeated and lost dozens of important cities in succession, putting the mountain city in danger.

Commander Jiang sent an urgent request for help to Xu Le, hoping that Xu Le would send his main force to help fight the enemy!

.....

"The Japanese are so cunning. If we include the Indian Army, they actually launched a large-scale battle on four fronts at the same time!"

Wei Li slammed the table when he learned the news. Fang Yue, Guo Ditie and others were also indignant.

The Burmese Army was forced into the Inrawaddy Delta. The entire area was plain, making it very convenient for mechanized divisions to operate there.

Although there were many rivers, after the Central Fleet sank two Japanese heavy cruisers, the Japanese did not dare to move their main forces into the inland rivers.

It only takes a few days for the navy and the army to jointly wipe out the Japanese Burmese Front Army!

Xu Le held his breath in concentration. He was amazed at where the Japanese got the resources to launch campaigns with a total force of more than 200 million in four places: Shanxi Province, Central China, Myanmar, and India at the same time.

Although the Japanese defeated America in the Pacific, that only consolidated Japan's outer front and bought them enough time to plunder in Southeast Asia.

Although Southeast Asia is rich in resources, transportation is a huge problem, especially in the Dutch East Indies. Located in the ocean, even if there is enough manpower to develop resources, it would take a lot of transportation capacity to transport these resources back to the country and then produce them into weapons, ammunition and other military supplies.

Fang Yue said at this time: "Now is not the time to marvel at the devil's ability, what should we do now! The reason why the devil has not been able to completely break through central China in recent years is because the road to the west is blocked by continuous mountains.

But now, the Japs have thousands of new tanks and a total of nearly 50 troops, divided into two routes.

The northern route has reached Yichang in Hubei Province, and the southern route has reached Zhangjiajie in Hunan Province.

If this continues, within a month, the Japanese army will arrive at the mountain city, and then the Tang Dynasty's defense will completely collapse!"

Wei Li said with a heavy face: "Before, I thought that the Japanese's offensive in Shanxi Province was just to vent their anger and make a small fuss. Now it seems that the Japanese want to start a war in Shanxi Province and Myanmar at the same time to contain my Xu family army. The ultimate goal is Shancheng!"

"Shanxi Province is originally supported by the 88th Army. We must not retreat. Otherwise, if we rely on Commander Yan alone, I'm afraid the Japanese will break through again in a few days!"

Guo Diti also showed a rare look of worry. He had previously thought that the Japanese dared to cause trouble because the 2nd Armored Division was transferred away. Now it seems that he underestimated the Japanese.

Fang Yue said: "Shanxi Province is the origin of our Xu family army. We can't lose it no matter what. Moreover, Central China is already like this. If the devils advance from Jin Province again, then the Tang Dynasty will really be beyond salvation!"

...

Everyone was talking about it, and finally their attention turned to Xu Le.

The current situation is not something that their commander or chief of staff can decide. Only Xu Le’s decision is useful!

Xu Le shook his head slightly: "Although we pushed the Japanese Burmese Front Army to the delta area, the Japanese casualties were not heavy. They only lost a few hundred tanks and artillery, and at most 10,000 troops were annihilated.

The remaining Japanese troops had no strategic locations to defend in the delta. The only way for them to avoid being annihilated by us was to escape by land and sea, which would take at least 10 days.

If we waste time here, Huazhong won't be able to wait. The 2nd Army hasn't completed its training yet and can only perform defensive operations at best! Now the only one who can save Huazhong is our 1st Army of the Xu Family Army."

Guo Tietie spoke slowly: "Fortunately, the 2nd Army has the 2nd Armored Division, otherwise it would be very difficult to defend. The tank soldiers and artillery of the other three divisions do not have the ability to fight independently!"

Wei Li hesitated for a while, looked at Xu Le and said carefully: "Marshal, give up the Burmese Front Army and return to support the Tang Dynasty!"

He knew that Xu Le's plan was to establish an independent country, and he was already halfway there. If he transferred the troops back, there would inevitably be complications in the future.

Xu Le finally made up his mind and stood up and said, "No matter what happens to my Xu family army in the future, there is one thing that can never be changed. We are people from the Tang Dynasty. Now that the Tang Dynasty is in trouble, my Xu family army cannot just ignore it!

Pass on my order, the entire 1st Army will withdraw from the battle and rush to Lashio Air Force Base to take the opportunity to return to the Tang Dynasty!"

If they want to send reinforcements from the ground, the troops must cross Yunnan Province, and it may take more than half a month to arrive. The only way to resolve the Tang Dynasty’s predicament is air transport!

However, if all 1 troops of the 5st Army are to be airlifted, I’m afraid all the pilots of the Air Force will have to be used, and a large number of transport planes will have to be purchased!

This money must be spent, the Tang Dynasty must not fall!

On December 12, when the First Army began to retreat, Xu Le rushed back to Lashio first and ordered the Shanxi Air Force Base to transfer all pilots to Lashio to carry out transportation missions.

Myanmar's full-scale offensive operation had to be abandoned halfway.