Chapter 131 The slap in the face came too quickly!
"Assign the 33rd Division to Mutaguchi-kun and let him be responsible for commanding the Battle of Imphal." After pondering for a long time, Kawabe Masamitsu felt that this plan had a great chance of success.

If more than 100,000 British troops could be forced to land in Imphal, there would be no more war in almost the entire eastern India.

Relying on the Indian rebels, we can sweep across most of India.

Able to completely cut off the Allied forces' supply to the mountain city.

It can even force the mountain city to surrender completely.

The blockade of supplies in recent years has put the mountain city in a precarious situation.

Therefore, if Imphal is lost, it will probably become more difficult to transport supplies.

As for the serious threat of Myitkyina, Kawabe Masamitsu could only let the Takeuchi United stabilize the defense line.

It is simply impossible to withdraw more troops now, and the base camp has been asking us to transport various supplies back.

The next situation will be to stabilize the existing defense line while plundering various materials, such as oil, food, gold, silver, iron ore, etc.

The navy's gold-eating behemoth requires a lot of steel.

But without the scrap steel from Mi Hu, their local steel production continued to decline.

Therefore, they frantically plundered various resources such as iron ore in every occupied area.

"Ah? Hand over the 33rd Division to Mutaguchi-kun?" The Chief of Staff was stunned. Wouldn't this be too abrupt?

Hearing this, Hebian Zhengsan knew what the other person was thinking. He glanced at him and said lightly.

"Mutaguchi-kun's military achievements are enough to qualify him as the commander of the 15th Army. Commanding an additional 33rd Division is nothing."

After hearing this, what else could the Chief of Staff say but to express his understanding.

In fact, after forcing the landing of more than 100,000 British troops, Mutaguchi Ren'ya's military achievements were enough to be promoted to general.

However, some people at the headquarters suspended the promotion order due to the urgency of the war.

But in this Burma campaign, the 18th Division performed mediocrely.

The main reason was that the British army collapsed at the first blow and had no chance to perform.

So I didn’t get promoted again.

But this time it’s different, if we can defeat Imphal.

Then he will definitely be the commander of the 15th Army.

This is why Kawabe Masamitsu was willing to assign the 33rd Division to him for command.

With the support of one division after another, Mutaguchi Ren directly ordered the 33rd Division to dispatch two infantry regiments, carrying 20 days of rations, and directly go to the rear of Imphal through a small road.

On the front battlefield, the vassal army still had to consume the enemy's ammunition.

At the same time, Mutaguchi Ren'ya received support from the air force and began to bomb Imphal.

For a time, the battle in Imphal was very fierce.

The newly formed 38th Division also began to demonstrate the combat effectiveness of an elite force.

We repelled more than ten enemy attacks, including several attacks by the Japanese army.

Thousands of people were killed, most of them were vassal troops.

Even so, the British and Indian troops in Imphal were impressed.

Even General Wavell spoke to Sun Liren in a much more polite manner after learning about the battle record of the newly formed 38th Division.

Of course, it's just politeness.

After all, after Cun Yunsheng cheated him of the fighter plane, he didn't have much good feelings towards these expeditionary forces.

Even now, the delivery of those fighter jets has not been delayed on the grounds that the war is stalemate.

Even Stilwell's intervention was useless, as he said fighter planes needed to be allocated and that this would take time.

This made Stilwell very angry.

If Chennault's Flying Tigers had not needed transportation and supplies, he would have directly withdrawn fighter planes from the Flying Tigers.

"Commander, something is wrong." On the front line, at the position of the newly formed 38th Division, Deputy Commander Tang Shouzhi frowned as he looked at the Japanese troops that had just been repelled.

As a veteran who has fought on the battlefield for many years, his sense of the battlefield is still very keen.

He could tell something was wrong right away.

In the past, the Japanese army would always cry out and would not retreat without suffering a certain amount of casualties.

And what about the Japanese troops in front of us?
They started to retreat before they had even started fighting.

He seemed absent-minded and had no intention of attacking by force.

"What's wrong?" Sun Liren looked at the other party and asked casually without paying any attention.

"The Japanese army's will to fight is not strong. It seems that they are doing it for show to someone," said Tang Shouzhi.

Hearing this, Sun Liren was stunned, then picked up the telescope and found that the Japanese troops on the opposite side were retreating very quickly.

Looking back at the previous battle, it wasn't very intense.

If you think about it this way, it does seem like acting.

"Now that you mention it, it's true." Sun Liren frowned slightly.

"Commander, could it be that the Japanese have some conspiracy?" Tang Shouzhi asked speculatively.

"Conspiracy? What other conspiracy could there be? There are more than 100,000 British troops in Imphal now, and countless supplies. The Japanese army wants to break through this city, unless they make a detour and cut off our logistical supplies." Sun Liren said casually.

But as I was talking, I felt something was wrong.

No way?
Is it really a roundabout way?

For a moment, Sun Liren broke out in a cold sweat.

Seeing Sun Liren's expression, Tang Shouzhi immediately understood that the Japanese might try a roundabout way to encircle the enemy.

This is the Japanese army's signature skill.

"Commander, they're not really going to encircle us, are they?" Tang Shouzhi said uncertainly.

"Map, map." Sun Liren didn't care about anything else and directly called the combat staff to open the map.

Looking at the map, Sun Liren kept gesturing on the map, his brows furrowed even more.

He was even muttering to himself.

“I don’t think so!”

"What can't you do?" Tang Shouzhi was confused and didn't quite understand what it meant.

"We will encircle them in a roundabout way. There is only one 18th Division in the front, and tens of thousands of vassal troops. However, thousands of them have been killed in this period of time, and their morale must be extremely low. If we want to attack again, we will only force them to rebel." Sun Liren's words made Tang Shouzhi nod subconsciously.

But what does this have to do with outflanking?

Tang Shouzhi still didn't quite understand.

"Do you suspect that the 18th Division has already split up and moved around?"

"There is such a possibility. If it is just a small force, there is no need to worry too much." Sun Liren nodded, then looked at the map and said.

"I'm afraid it will be a regiment. I'm afraid it will be troublesome then. You have to know that the combat effectiveness of the British army is not as strong as imagined."

"Then report this quickly?" Tang Shouzhi urged.

"Well, we should report it, but we should also make some preparations to see if the Japanese are planning to encircle them." Sun Liren stared at the Japanese positions in the distance.

"You mean, we should launch a counterattack?" Tang Shouzhi also followed his gaze, looked over, and asked subconsciously.

"Well, we can't just defend all the time. We have to fight back and let the Japanese know how powerful our newly formed 38th Division is." Sun Liren said solemnly and confidently.

"It can't be that our earliest American-equipped regiment is worse than a ragtag army?"

Hearing this, Tang Shouzhi's eyes also revealed a hint of determination.

That's right! They had just formed the 38th Division. Although the number was new, it was originally the Tax Police Corps, the first American-equipped regiment. How could it be worse than a ragtag army?

When Sun Liren's telegram was delivered to the Allied Command, Stilwell was quite serious, only Admiral Wavell looked disdainful.

He felt that the so-called analysis was nonsense.

The Japanese army encircled Imphal?
First of all, without mentioning the road problem, how do we solve the supply problem?

If you don’t bring enough, you’ll probably collapse before you even get halfway there.

If you bring too many, the Air Force will definitely find out.

Therefore, Admiral Wavell believed that it was the newly formed 38th Division that wanted to use this excuse to ask for more supplies.

It was Cun Yunsheng who set a bad precedent and made Admiral Wavell so disgusted.

As a result, he did not have a good attitude towards the expeditionary force.

"Admiral Wavell, the Japanese are indeed good at outflanking us. If they do, then we must pay attention." Stilwell said seriously.

Hearing this, Admiral Wavell still looked disdainful.

"Outflanking? I have set up five military stations on the road from Chittagong to Imphal. In addition to a regiment of soldiers stationed in them, there are also a large amount of supplies. If we really encounter the Japanese army, as long as we hold on, the Japanese army will collapse without a fight. This is a tropical rain forest, General Stilwell." Admiral Wavell finally showed a sarcastic expression.

This is the reason why he is confident.

He believed that those military stations were sufficient to stop the Japanese attack.

As mentioned before, if the Japanese army did not bring much supplies, they would not be able to hold out for long and would have to retreat.

Add to that the tropical rainforest and all kinds of snakes, insects, rats and ants, and I'm afraid that few people can retreat.

After listening to Admiral Wavell's words, Stilwell also felt that it made sense.

"Is there really no problem?" Stilwell asked with some concern.

If something really happens, it will have a huge impact.

It may even affect the war situation in Southeast Asia as a whole.

"Don't worry, General Stilwell, there will be absolutely no problem. There are more than 100,000 British troops here, and we can dispatch reinforcements at any time." Admiral Wavell said confidently.

Seeing this, Stilwell said nothing.

At this time, the communications staff officer came running in hurriedly with a telegram, his face pale. Stilwell's heart skipped a beat. Could something have happened?

"Sir, something happened." The communications staff said hurriedly.

"What happened?" Stilwell took a deep breath and asked.

"Japanese troops appear in Chittagong."

"what?"

The communications officer's words were like a thunderbolt, shocking everyone in the headquarters.

Stilwell in particular looked at the other party in disbelief.

Seems like you're sure it's true or false?

Admiral Wavell opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

The slap in the face came so quickly.

To the point that he couldn't even feel his own heartbeat.

Did those damn yellow monkeys really guess it right?

damn it!
This is impossible!

Absolutely impossible!
It must be fake!
Admiral Wavell roared madly in his heart.

"Chittagong has just sent a telegram saying that Japanese troops were spotted outside the port. About a regiment of Japanese troops are approaching Chittagong." The communications staff repeated.

This time, neither Stilwell nor Admiral Wavell knew what to say.

The Japanese army did not make a detour to encircle the enemy, but instead headed straight for Chittagong.

If there is a problem in Chittagong, the aid will be completely gone.

So how to solve the problem of horse brisket for more than 100,000 people in Imphal?

Transported from the rear?
In that case, the loss rate would be alarming.

"Admiral Wavell, we need to send reinforcements to support Chittagong." Stilwell couldn't help but speak first.

"But at present, there are only two understaffed divisions in the Imphal area, namely the British Indian 4th Division and the British Indian 17th Division of the 20th Army commanded by Lieutenant General Schooners." Admiral Wavell frowned and said helplessly.

“???” Stilwell looked at the other party with a dull expression.

Didn’t you tell me that there were more than 100,000 British troops in Imphal?

Why are there only two dissatisfied division commanders now?

Are you kidding me?
"Aren't there more than 100,000 British troops? How come there are only two incomplete divisions? Where are the rest of the troops?" Stilwell asked in a bad tone.

"The rest of the troops are on their way, and it's expected to take another three weeks."

"The main force of the 15th Army is still 300 miles away and will take at least three weeks to arrive," Admiral Wavell explained.

"In other words, the apparent number of troops in Imphal is over 100,000? But now there are only tens of thousands?" Stilwell finally understood. It turned out that these over 100,000 were only over 100,000 on paper.

"Yes, if the United States can provide transport planes, the troops can be transported to the front line quickly." Admiral Wavell looked at the other party with an almost pleading expression.

In fact, there were still some troops in Imphal, namely the British and Burmese troops, but they had been frightened by the Japanese army and had no will to fight.

There is also the British Indian Army composed of indigenous people, whose combat effectiveness is very low, so it is still okay to let them garrison there.

Only elite troops can handle a rescue like this, facing the elite Japanese troops.

"You know that the Hump Route is at a critical moment now." Stilwell frowned.

Withdrawing transport planes will delay the reorganization of the troops stationed in India.

"I know, but if Chittagong is lost, the transport planes will have no supplies to transport." Admiral Wavell said fiercely.

After hearing this, Stilwell weighed the pros and cons and finally agreed to his request.

Prepare to dispatch forty to fifty transport planes to help transport British troops.

It can be seen here that Stilwell still sided with the British army.

If he had dispatched transport planes earlier, the equipment needed by the Sichuan Army would have arrived long ago.

Unfortunately, the development of the war situation far exceeded Stilwell's imagination.

When Mutaguchi Ren'ya learned that the British army began to mobilize troops, he knew the time had come.

Immediately send the two regiments that had already been in position, carrying twenty days of rations, to encircle Imphal through the designated path.

If the intelligence is correct, there will be a large amount of supplies here.

Mutaguchi Ren'ya also specifically instructed them to prevent the British army from burning those supplies.

Those were their life-saving supplies. If they were burned, their plan would be completely ruined.

Hearing this, Lieutenant General Shozo Sakurai, who led the team, looked at Mutaguchi Renya seriously.

"Mutaguchi-kun, please rest assured that I will complete the task."

He still had great faith in Mutaguchi Ren'ya.

After all, his outstanding command ability has been proven by his impressive record.

"Okay, let's meet in Imphal." Mutaguchi Renya patted the other's shoulder and said in a serious tone.

"Yes." Lieutenant General Shozo Sakurai also nodded, then waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to set off.

　There is one more chapter. If you don’t like the long chapter, then I’ll just write a small chapter of 4,000 words!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)