Chapter 166: Insufficient Logistics? Then Eat Grass! (rd Update!)
"Cun, your Medal of Merit has been approved and will be delivered soon. Congratulations on your outstanding contribution to the Allied Forces." Stilwell seemed to remember something and spoke again.

Cun Yunsheng doesn't care about medals at all.

He was now quite curious about the organization of the task force. According to Stilwell, it should be between a division and a regiment.

How to do it specifically depends on him.

It looks like I'll have to poach more people when I go back. Should I have known this earlier? Wouldn't I have poached a few people last time?

After thinking about it, should I go back and continue to poach Yu Xiaoqing's girl?
I don’t know if He Shuguang brought what I asked him to bring last time.

I don't know if this guy can ever wake up.

Otherwise, you will just be a puppet in the end.

"Thank you for your generosity. Without you, I would not have been able to receive this medal." The superficial work still had to be done, so Cun Yunsheng acted very respectful, but he was disdainful in his heart and did not give any practical benefits.

"In addition to this medal, Admiral Wavell has also applied for the Order of Great Britain for you."

Huh?
This time it was Cun Yunsheng's turn to be surprised. He didn't expect that the stubborn old man would actually apply for a medal for him for the first time.
It is really rare!

But it is not surprising. After all, conquering Lashio would bring glory to the British army.

They must come up with something.

"Thank you, General Stilwell. Without you, I would not have received this medal." Cun Yunsheng repeated his previous words.

"You deserve this." Stilwell shook his head.

"General Stilwell, when will the counterattack in Imphal be launched? The main force of the Japanese army is here now. As long as these two divisions are annihilated, it will be just a matter of a click to retake Burma." Cun Yunsheng asked curiously.

If Cun Yunsheng's eyes had not been full of innocence, Stilwell would have definitely suspected that this guy did it on purpose.

"We are temporarily unable to launch a counterattack and can only maintain the existing order." Stilwell shook his head and sighed.

"Although the British 15th Army has good combat effectiveness, the Japanese army on the opposite side is very tenacious. It is not easy to barely maintain the defense line."

Hearing this, Cun Yunsheng sneered in his heart, that was more than just stubbornness.

People can eat grass!
Can you do it?

But Mutaguchi Ren'ya is too useless. If we can't defeat him here, we'll just go around.

Stab the British army directly in the belly.

Isn't such a vast land enough for him to display his talents?
What's the point of destroying the British troops here?

The key is to arouse India's talent for national independence.

"Ah? If that's the case, it's such a pity. Before I came, I received news from the Independence Volunteer Army. They wanted to attack Mandalay, drive out the Japanese army, and gain their own independence." Cun Yunsheng looked regretful.

Hearing this, Stilwell's eyes lit up and his eyes were spinning.

"Isn't this independent volunteer army a vassal army of the Japanese army?" Stilwell asked in surprise at first.

"You are talking about the First Division of the Independent Volunteer Army. This is the Eighth Division of the Independent Volunteer Army. They are formed by the families of the indigenous people killed by the Japanese army."

"It is said that the development is very good now. There are more than 10,000 people. The combat effectiveness is also very strong. They can fight the Japanese army in the field with great success."

"However, they prefer to pursue independence and freedom, but as you know, this land belongs to the British Empire, so I can only say sorry that I can't make any promises."

"I can only tell them that I will pass this matter on to General Stilwell, because the free America allows them to be independent and free." After saying this, Cun Yunsheng spread his hands to express his helplessness.

Stilwell remained silent because he was speechless after hearing what Cun Yunsheng said.

"Well, you're right. America supports their spirit of independence and freedom," Stilwell said.

“If they can retake Mandalay or even drive out the Japanese troops in Rangoon, we will support their choice.”

Hearing this, Cun Yunsheng showed a barely perceptible smile.

This is the promise he wanted.

If one wants to dismember the British colonial rule, one must bring in the American army as a backer.

"That's great. With your promise, they will surely work harder, but they hope to purchase a batch of weapons." Cun Yunsheng did not mention the aid because he knew Stilwell would never agree.

Because he also had to take care of the feelings of the British troops.

Sure enough, Stilwell's expression changed.

"You can sell it at the market price. Now it's a war period, so try to sell it mainly in gold, US dollars, and British pounds."

Cun Yunsheng was not surprised by this.

For a moment, Cun Yunsheng even had the idea of ​​faking it himself.

He clearly remembered that the German army had already begun to counterfeit British pounds in large quantities at this time.

The key is that the British army has not yet discovered it.

But the risk is too great and it can be easily detected.

"Yes, I will convey your opinion." Cun Yunsheng responded quickly.

At this point, Cun Yunsheng's purpose of this trip has basically been achieved.

On the other side, Mutaguchi Ren'ya, who was at the front line, put down the telescope in his hand and frowned.

"Lashio was lost? That guy Watanabe was killed in action?"

"What a stupid guy." Mutaguchi Renya said in a bad tone.

He originally thought that Watanabe Masao could still hold on for a month or two.

As a result, he was killed in battle after only ten days, which was indeed beyond his expectations.

Now there are only two choices before him: either continue to attack Imphal regardless of the consequences and try to capture Imphal before Mandalay is lost.

Or all previous efforts would be wasted, and they would give up the attack on Imphal, withdraw to Mandalay, and cooperate with the 55th Division to retake Lashio.

This means that all the efforts during this period have been in vain, and so many soldiers' lives have been sacrificed in vain.

Not only that, there are also the consumed supplies, ammunition, etc., which are astronomical figures.

This made Mutaguchi Renya very unwilling, so he angrily scolded Watanabe Masao.

"Sir, division commander, should we continue the attack? Those vassal troops have already expressed strong dissatisfaction, especially the First Division of the Independent Volunteer Army. They have many complaints." The chief of staff reported in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, Mutaguchi Renya sneered.

"How many people are left?"

"There are less than three thousand people left." The chief of staff replied quickly.

"Hmph, a mere 3,000 people want to cause trouble? Tell them to follow orders, otherwise let the Thai army deal with them." Mutaguchi Ren'ya has never been a merciful person.

Since the other party has ulterior motives, we will naturally find a way to consume him.

"Yes." The chief of staff hesitated for a moment, thought about it and said it reluctantly.

"Sir, division commander, should we retreat? We have been holding out here for a long time, and our supplies are running low."

In fact, if we hadn’t added some wild grass during this period, it would have been insufficient long ago.

The supplies shipped from Mandalay were not enough to feed tens of thousands of people and horses.

Especially the mules, horses and war horses, which are a bottomless pit.

And you must eat well, otherwise you can't go out.

It's not a good idea to keep wasting time like this. Hearing this, Mutaguchi Renya knew that the troops were almost at their limit, but he was really unwilling to give up like this.

After thinking for a while, Mutaguchi Ren'ya said to him.

"What do you think? If we bypass Imphal and penetrate directly into the belly of the British army, would it be better?"

"This kind of offensive war has caused us too much loss."

"First of all, our supplies can't keep up with consumption. There is no point in wasting time here."

"I originally thought that we could launch a surprise attack and take Imphal in one go, but I underestimated the strength of the Allies. They actually airlifted an army of fully armed troops within a week."

"This kind of logistical capability is truly horrific. We have no chance of winning a head-on attack."

It has to be said that Mutaguchi Ren'ya's military ability was absolutely outstanding.

After more than ten days of attacks, he had realized that there was no point in continuing.

They could have withdrawn and barely maintained the situation in Myanmar.

By the way, a new line of defense was built along Myitkyina and Mandalay to prevent the Allied counterattack.

The results of it?
Lashio is lost!

Even if we retreat, we will be defeated soon.

Therefore, the best way to change the situation at the moment is to bypass Imphal and directly attack the heart of the British army.

It is even possible to mobilize the British troops in Imphal, and if we are lucky, we can set an ambush and eliminate some of the British troops.

These are the solutions that Mutaguchi Ren'ya came up with after much thought during this period of time.

However, in order to implement this plan, we still need the support of Masamitsu Kawabe.

After all, once you go this deep, you may never come back.

So you must be determined to die.

"Forward this telegram to the military." With a sigh, Mutaguchi Renya asked the communications staff to send out the telegram he had already written.

"Let the Burmese army attack again. If they cannot take the position, kill them all." Now that the decision has been made, Mutaguchi Ren'ya will naturally not keep this traitor with ulterior motives any longer.

"Yes." The chief of staff nodded in response.

…………

On the other side, at the headquarters of the Japanese 15th Army, Kawabe Masamitsu received a telegram from Mutaguchi Ren'ya and remained silent for a long time.

I have to say, this plan is indeed perfect.

If successful, it can indeed change the current situation of the war.

But if they fail, the entire army of 50,000 to 60,000 people will be wiped out.

You have to know that these two are Type A divisions!
If all of this were gone, it would definitely have a huge impact.

His career as commander was over.

However, as Mutaguchi Ren'ya said, withdrawing to Mandalay would ultimately result in chronic death and would not change anything at all.

The Allied forces' logistical supply capabilities are simply too strong.

On the other hand, they have reached their limit and can no longer mobilize more elite soldiers.

Therefore, infiltrating the British army's rear is the best solution at present.

"Mr. Yahara, what do you think?" Kawabe Masazo asked after Yahara Hiroshi finished reading the telegram.

Hearing this, Yahara Hiromichi pondered for a while, and after thinking for a while, he spoke.

"From a strategic point of view, Vice Admiral Mutaguchi's plan is excellent. It can be said to be the key to breaking the deadlock, but from an emotional point of view, these tens of thousands of people may never come back."

Hearing this, Kawabe Masazo also sighed.

"You are right, but as Mutian said, if we don't do this, the only solution that awaits us is failure."

"This is absolutely intolerable."

"Commander, what about logistics? How do we solve this problem?" Yahara Hiromichi asked the most critical question.

"What Mutaguchi means is that we are a herbivorous nation and can completely overcome these problems by eating grass. We can even eat and drink the British army's food and drink. We can rely on captured spoils and learn the guerrillas' fighting methods." Kawabe Masamitsu shook his head and said.

Hearing this, Yahara Hiromichi was so angry that he was about to give up.

We can eat meat, but end up eating grass?
Is this really what Mutaguchi Renya said?

It's really a beast.

But when I think about it carefully, it makes sense.

After all, the thing this place has the most is grass.

It's still possible if you overcome it.

"In that case, Commander, I think we can give it a try. The Allied forces' logistical supply capabilities are indeed beyond our imagination. If we continue to consume them, we won't be able to hold on." Yahara Hiromichi followed.

"Well, in that case, let's send a telegram to Mutaguchi-kun and tell him that we support his decision."

"Hay."

…………

Cun Yunsheng, who was returning to Myitkyina by plane, saw Lin Yi and his men waiting on the side as soon as he got off the plane.

"Long time no see, Commander Ayi." Cun Yunsheng greeted with a smile.

"Commander, you are humiliating me again." Lin Yi said helplessly.

"Haha, what's going on? Is there any special situation in Myitkyina recently?" Cun Yunsheng laughed and then asked.

"Everything is normal." Lin Yi nodded.

"I'm talking about the Takeuchi United on the opposite side." Cun Yunsheng shook his head and said.

"They have been hiding in the cave and never come out. Occasionally, we would launch a sneak attack and fire a few shots, but there were no casualties. Instead, we found their artillery position and gave them a severe beating." Lin Yi explained.

"Commander, are you going to attack the Takeuchi team now that you're back?"

Cun Yunsheng was not surprised at all that Lin Yi was able to guess it.

"That's right. Are you ready?" Cun Yunsheng nodded and then asked.

"Don't worry, I have not been idle during this period. I sent some people across the river during the rainy season and gathered some intelligence. I have to say that Takeuchi Renzan is like a rat. He actually hollowed out the mountain, used those ancient trees as a fortress, and even reinforced it with cement." Speaking of Takeuchi Renzan, Lin Yi couldn't help but admire him.

This guy is really keen on digging mountains. He really hollowed out the entire mountain.

I don’t know how the other party did it.

"It's okay. When the time comes, we will use heavy artillery to bombard these fortresses. I want to see whether his fortress is stronger or I have more artillery shells." Cun Yunsheng didn't care.

"What I want to ask is, how are the training of the Fourth and Fifth Battalions going? We need to let them go on the field this time."

"All training programs have been completed, and their combat effectiveness is definitely not inferior to the previous three infantry battalions. In addition, according to your requirements, the new artillery battalion has also been formed." Lin Yi said seriously.

"Very good." Cun Yunsheng could hardly suppress the smile on his face.

　I stayed up late and fell into a deep sleep in the afternoon. It took me a long time to come back to consciousness!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)