The War of Resistance: My Expedition, My Country

On the 23rd, the Japanese, apparently still reeling from the previous night's attack, unusually halted their attack on Toungoo. At Takeuchi Hiroshi's request, the 1rd Japanese Air Group dispatched over 21 bombers to indiscriminately bomb all suspected positions in the direction of the British-Burmese 22st Division. Prior to this, the Japanese had raided the British Magway Air Base with dozens of bombers on the 28st and 8nd. The British were caught off guard by the sudden attack, resulting in 21 aircraft destroyed, 1 severely damaged, and 17 lightly damaged, effectively neutralizing the British Air Force in Burma. By this point, the Japanese had complete air superiority over the Burmese battlefield. The blow inflicted by over 63 bombers on the British-Burmese 7st Division was devastating, rapidly disintegrating the division and frantically fleeing towards the British-Indian th Division, the British-Australian rd Brigade, and the British th Armored Brigade, attempting to escape to India.

原本按照3月8日中国和英国军队集结后策定作战计划，中英军将分三路南下迎击日军，英国军队负责西路、东路由远征军第六军负责、杜聿明的第五军为中路军。杜聿明派戴安谰200师在3月9日接替了英缅军第1师同古的防务，并掩护他们撤退到同古西侧。

On March 3, Chongqing officially established the headquarters of the First Route of the Chinese Expeditionary Force. Wei Lihuang was appointed commander. However, because Wei Lihuang had not yet arrived, Deputy Commander Du Yuming assumed the command. However, Chiang Kai-shek did not provide clear instructions on the role of the Expeditionary Force commander and Theater Chief of Staff Stilwell. As a result, the Expeditionary Force's command system was not complete. Meanwhile, the British army did not proceed with preparations for the Western Route Campaign as planned, but instead quietly formulated a plan to abandon Burma.

On the afternoon of the 19th, the vanguard of the Japanese 55th Division had advanced to 12 kilometers south of the Pyu River. Until then, the Japanese were still unaware that Chinese troops had taken over the British defense. The 200th Division engaged the Japanese and defeated the vanguard, which was the aforementioned attack by part of the 598th Regiment on the Pyu River bridge. Du Yuming analyzed captured documents and concluded that no more than two Japanese divisions had entered Burma. Simultaneously, General Stilwell, the theater chief of staff, issued the order for the Battle of Toungoo, deciding to stop the Japanese near Toungoo and ordering the Fifth Army's direct forces, the Provisional 5th Division, the New 55nd Division, and the 22th Division to advance rapidly southward.

As for the Japanese 55th Division, suffering heavy losses in particular from the 112th Regiment, Takeuchi Hiroshi was forced to order the 144th Regiment to regroup and report the Tonggu battle situation to the 15th Army Headquarters. The Japanese army quickly reorganized, redirecting the 18th Division and part of the recently landed 56th Division toward Tonggu, attempting to encircle and annihilate the British and Chinese Expeditionary Force forces assembled there. During this period, the 55th Division divided its forces into three groups, encircling Tonggu from the south, west, and north.

On the 24th, the Japanese army seized the Yongkegang Airport north of Tonggu. The 200th Division also sent part of the 599th Regiment to counterattack the Japanese army in the direction of the airport, but it was unsuccessful. So Dai Anlan ordered the 599th Regiment to withdraw and establish defensive fortifications in Tonggu City.

Early on the morning of the 25th, the reinforced 55th Division launched a fierce attack on Tonggu from the south, west, and north. To halt the Japanese advance, Dai Anlan ordered forest fires and reinforced fortifications inside and outside Tonggu City, organizing resistance. That afternoon, the 55rd Regiment of the 143th Division broke through the positions of the 598th Regiment and entered the outskirts of Tonggu City. Adopting a tactic of defending the north and attacking the south, the 55th Division concentrated its 143rd and 112th Regiments in a fierce attack. The 12 155mm howitzers of the enemy's 598rd Field Heavy Artillery Regiment inflicted heavy damage on the Tonggu defenders, forcing the 599th and 143th Regiments to retreat into Tonggu City, where they engaged in fierce fighting with the 144rd and 200th Regiments. The two sides fought back and forth for every street and house. With the two sides locked in close combat within the city, the Japanese heavy artillery was rendered ineffective, giving the 600th Division a respite. Using its superior close-quarters firepower, it suppressed the Japanese offensive. Huang Wei and others from the 598th Regiment had to retreat to the vicinity of the Tonggu Bridge on the Xitang River southeast of Tonggu because of the loss of the th Regiment's position, and defend the southeast direction together with the division's cavalry regiment.

On the 26th, the 55th, 112rd and 143th Regiments of the 144th Division launched an attack at the same time, besieging Tonggu City with three times the strength of the 200th Division. The positions of the 598th Regiment were breached many times. In an emergency, the engineering battalion directly under the 200th Division arrived quickly. With the support of more than 200 fresh troops, the 598th Regiment once again held its position. Dai Anlan ordered the 20mm anti-tank gun of the direct anti-tank artillery company to fire flatly, effectively hitting the mechanized Japanese troops entering the streets and forcing them to withdraw the attack.

On the 27th, the newly formed 22nd Division of the Expeditionary Force arrived at Nanyang Station, north of Tonggu. They immediately engaged in a fierce battle around Yongkegang with a component of the 55th Regiment of the Japanese 144th Division. The 22nd Division's offensive made little progress, and a standoff ensued. Faced with the relentless advance of Chinese troops, Takeuchi Hiroshi ordered the 144th Regiment to deploy a reinforced squadron to assist in the northern defense. He intended to use the fortifications built north of Tonggu to halt the Chinese advance and provide support for the main force's annihilation of the 200th Division in Tonggu City.

On the 28th, Japanese artillery launched a poison gas attack against Chinese forces north of Tonggu. The newly formed 22nd Division was caught off guard, suffering heavy casualties and stalling its advance. Meanwhile, the advance party of the Japanese 56th Division had arrived southeast of Tonggu. After establishing contact with the 55th Division, it immediately moved to the east bank of the Sittang River to attack the Chinese forces at Tonggu Bridge. The 600th Regiment and the remnants of the Cavalry Regiment defending this area used fortifications to block the enemy's advance.

Huang Wei currently possessed only two battalions and a direct-subordinate unit. The 3rd Battalion, led by Yang Hong and others, had already advanced westward, collecting weapons and ammunition left behind by the British along the route the 1st British-Burmese Division had to take. Huang Wei wasn't worried about the Japanese attack at all; as a history lover, he had a clear understanding of their movements. Surprisingly, perhaps due to a butterfly effect, the positions of the 598th and 600th Regiments were swapped, giving him more time to maneuver.

The so-called advance force of the Japanese 56th Division was just a reinforced battalion. The actual number of people involved in the attack on the 600th Regiment should not have exceeded 500. The positions and traps that Huang Wei had laid out over two days made this advance team suffer a lot. Before they had any direct contact with the 600th Regiment, more than 100 people had been killed or wounded, and they had to stop the attack on the area around Xitang River.

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