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Volume 1: On the Songhua River Chapter 1,449: Panic Retreat to the West

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    The Methikailing ambush battle lasted for more than two hours and ten minutes and ended successfully. In total, more than 140,000 British and Indian troops were annihilated and captured in this battle. The main force of the British troops stationed in India was all lost after this battle.

    The brigades directly under the ** Division that participated in the Meisikailing ambush battle lost no more than a thousand people. Most of them accidentally burned and bruised themselves when cleaning the battlefield. They were non-combat attrition. This battle fully demonstrated the Tang Dynasty's strength.  Qiu Li's battle theory is to use the most ferocious firepower to inflict maximum damage on the enemy in the shortest time.

    If the Methikailing ambush battle were carried out in a conventional way, the hundreds of thousands of British and Indian troops who were trapped and fighting would not be able to be completely resolved without lingering for a few days, and the casualties of the directly affiliated corps would also increase dozens of times, and the battle  The choice of location, time, and firepower equipment all made the Meskai Ridge ambush a classic battle example studied by military scientists in later generations.

    The most consumed items are artillery shells. At this moment, looking at several telegrams from the Logistics Department of the directly affiliated Corps urging ammunition, Lieutenant General Zhang Quan, director of the Division Logistics Department and commander of the Joint Service Command in Kunming, couldn't help cursing.

    "These losers don't care about ammunition. In two or so hours of fighting, they actually fired hundreds of thousands of artillery shells and tens of thousands of rockets. You losers, that one large-caliber rocket is enough for me, a lieutenant general."  I¡¯ve been receiving subsidies for several months, but it¡¯s just money! They don¡¯t feel bad, I feel bad!¡± Of course, things have to be done.

    Behind the telegram was the name of the division commander Tang Qiuli. The officers of the Joint Logistics Department were all used to this old man's nagging. That time, the old man was not the only one who signed for the delivery of ammunition and supplies from the Joint Logistics Department warehouse.  The flesh of my face hurt, as if I was selling blood, so tens of thousands of trucks began to rush around on the transportation line from Kunming to Myitkyina.

    Tang Qiuli didn't have to worry about these at all.  What worries him is that they have captured so many British and Indian prisoners of war, and they are all wounded. How to arrange them?  Like the Japanese soldiers.  Solving the problem with one bullet saves people's worries, but these captured British and Indian soldiers, especially the British soldiers, are their bargaining chips in negotiations with the British and have great use value.

    But tens of thousands of wounded people only consumed medicine.  It was a number that made Tang Qiuli feel distressed. Chief of Staff Zhao Yuhe saw the division commander's troubles, thought for a while and said: "Commander, regarding the placement of prisoners of war, leave it to our staff office. Just in time, the division commander  If we want to return to Magao, I will ask Chief of Staff Ge Zhenzhuang to lead the team and deal with the prisoner of war issue."

    Tang Qiuli said repeatedly: "Very good, but Yuhe, you must clearly explain to Ge Zhenzhuang that all expenses for treating British and Indian prisoners of war must be recorded in detail. We will not pay for this money, and we will eventually have to pay for it."  It falls on the British! In addition to the cost of medicine, there are also nursing costs, food costs, hospital bed costs, etc. But you can¡¯t be careless!¡±

    Zhao Yuhe was stunned for a moment. The teacher's current face looked like a profiteer. He quickly blinked his eyes hard, and when he looked again, he still had the same feeling.  He shook his head and remembered the purpose of coming to the teacher.

    Zhao Yuhe said: "Division commanders and brigade commanders called one after another to ask when the division commander would issue the order to pursue. All prisoners of war were sent to Magao overnight. All units were ready to go and were waiting for the order!"

    Tang Qiuli shook his head with a smile and said: "No rush, give Alexander a few hours to gather the troops, otherwise Le Yiqin and the others will have to waste their time tomorrow. After the army battle, the soldiers were tired, so they ordered the troops to  Rest for five hours, eat, drink, and sleep well. At two o'clock in the morning, with Xiao Jinshan's 9th Brigade and Fangyuanshan's 10th Brigade as the lead, we will pursue along the Hukang River Valley!"

    At three o'clock in the morning on April 29th, the unique morning fog in the Hukang River Valley shrouded the earth like a dream. It was incessant and unstoppable. The cliffs, jungles, and roads were all hidden in this endless fog.  , only the rapids of the Hukang River came from the mist with a slight whistle, giving people a real feeling.

    It is the darkest moment before dawn, and the morning fog adds to the darkness of the night. Only occasionally, the fog is blown away by the morning wind, revealing a few twinkling morning stars in the sky. Then, the fog closes, and the sky and earth fall into a vast white chaos.  .

    On the road leading to Xinduo, more than 80,000 British and Indian soldiers hurried on in silence. All vehicles turned on their headlights and tried their best to carefully look at the road with visibility of less than ten meters, also for the sake of the soldiers on foot.  However, in the eyes of the soldiers who looked dull and were exhausted mentally and physically, the vague light like a will-o'-the-wisp seemed to be likely to be blown out by the wind at any time, which made them even more frightened.

    Witnessing the squadron's all-destroying artillery fire during the day, all the soldiers, the joy of surviving the disaster was replaced by the fear deep in their hearts. The entire team was filled with an aura of frustration and failure, and bad luck.The same thing erodes the hearts of everyone from the commander to every soldier. They just want to escape from that terrifying place as quickly as possible, as far away as possible.

    Lieutenant General Adams, the chief of staff, looked at the soldiers who were moving mechanically like puppets with a worried face, and sighed deeply. He knew very well that the situation of the troops was now bad to a certain extent.  The force of a battle, even a few sudden gunshots, can cause the troops to collapse.

    The dignified Lieutenant General Chief of Staff of the Army in India, when arranging the rearguard troops, could not command a brigadier general. Without that troops, he was willing to take on the task of covering the retreat. He was afraid of making noises, bargaining, pushback, and stressing difficulties.  The ** division army suddenly came from behind, and the mission of the rear guard was to die.

    What chilled Chief of Staff Adams the most was the appearance of his compatriots, the ugliness of the usually arrogant officers, and the performance of those senior generals. They had completely lost the pride and confidence of the British Empire generals. In the end, Chief of Staff Adams had to  Ramgarh was forcibly ordered to guard the Third Brigade to serve as the rearguard of the retreating troops. This was a brigade in which Indian soldiers accounted for the majority.

    The brigade commander is vacant and is temporarily commanded by an Indian brigadier general, the deputy brigade commander. The Indian brigadier general does not dare to disobey the chief of staff's orders. The British officer can shamelessly shirk his responsibility and avoid death by being cunning, but he does not dare. It is said that it is  Lieutenant General Adams, the chief of staff, is a British major. He can also be removed from the brigadier general's job on the grounds of enforcing battlefield discipline.

    The brigadier general looked ugly and said nothing. Of course, Chief of Staff Adams did not treat him badly. He announced on the spot that he was officially appointed as the commander of the Third Ramgar Garrison Brigade, with full authority to command the troops.

    The newly appointed brigade commander showed no joy at all after being promoted. He was sealed on the spot, just to give himself a comfort as a cannon fodder. Only God knows whether he can come back again. He dejectedly took the person he knew to die.  The soldiers turned around and walked back, but no matter how they looked at it, there was no generous and tragic atmosphere. They looked more like a group of death row prisoners being led to the execution ground.

    What makes Chief of Staff Adams feel a little relieved is that there have been no reports of exchanges of fire with Tang Qiuli's troops from the rear guard troops. In other words, the terrible Chinese troops have not caught up yet, and the frightened British Emperor has  Team ** is safe for now.

    But looking at Commander Alexander on the side, Adams' mood became extremely bad. Since the retreat from Mesikailing, Commander Alexander, except for getting angry and grabbing himself by the collar once, has never said a word.  He had no choice but to bravely play the role of commander, but he knew that at this moment, how heavy was this burden?

    ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????The other officers saw that Commander Alexander could still remain calm despite such a huge defeat, and they secretly admired him for his general demeanor. If this matter had happened to them, he would have collapsed long ago, right?  Take his silence as a reflection on the ambush at Mesikailing.

    Only Chief of Staff Adams knew clearly that the Commander was probably on the verge of collapse. His eyes were blank and distracted, and he was mumbling to himself, seemingly deep in thought. When he occasionally glanced at you,  Only then will you realize that the general's eyes are empty and disorderly. In order to prevent Commander Alexander from violently injuring others or committing suicide, Adams arranged for four strong guards to guard the commander's side at all times.  around.

    Suddenly, Alexander stood up from the slow-moving military jeep, waved his hands nervously, and shouted loudly: "I understand, I understand everything, stop the car and get the map!"

    Adams hurried over and asked: "Your Excellency, Commander, please sit down. This is very dangerous! If you have any orders, just give them!"

    Alexander said eagerly: "Adams, I understand. This is a big conspiracy, a big conspiracy from beginning to end. The troops in other directions are very dangerous. Quick, order the troops in the direction of Ledo, Sujia, Jamai, and New Taiji to immediately  Stop the attack and return to East India! Order them to blow up all the areas along the way that can stop the pursuers. "

    After saying that, he burst out laughing, looking at the thick fog in the Hukang River Valley and the night sky in northern Myanmar with hateful eyes, and then said: "I just want that despicable and cunning Chinese Tang Qiuli to taste defeat."  It feels like my main force is gone, but the other troops are still there!¡±

    At this time, more than nine hours had passed since Tang Qiuli ordered the brigades of the Sulu Mobile Corps to launch a devastating attack on the British and Indian troops facing them.

    Such a long period of time was enough for Tang Qiuli to launch another large-scale battle. What's more, the four divisions Tang Qiuli assisted Alexander in prepared an encirclement that was far more powerful than the Meskai Ridge ambush battle.  How many more??, Alexander's belated awakening was nothing more than a heavier blow.

    (To be continued)
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