What Rice didn't know was that, first of all, the information provided by the Hindit unit was wrong.

It is not Wingate's fault that the intelligence is wrong, on the one hand, because the composition of the Chindit force is complex, including British, Indians, and Burmese, and Wingate usually sends Burmese to do such things...... This is Burma, and the Burmese have a natural advantage in intelligence.

But the Burmese didn't really want to work for the British...... In the minds of the Burmese people, the British enslaved Burma and colonized Burma, so most of the Burmese who joined the Chindit army went for money, which would have a very serious consequence, and they would often provide false information in order to deal with the British.

This is also the reason why the information provided by the Chindit troops is often wrong, just like the previous battle of Lingbang, the Japanese army obviously had two wings, but the information of Chindit showed that the Japanese army only had one brigade...... This directly led to the miscalculation of the strength of the Japanese army by the American officers, but fortunately, there was no major mess in the end.

On the other hand, the Japanese army's secrecy work is in place, especially in such an important city as Mandalay, as early as half a year ago, the Japanese army strictly forbade Burmese people to enter and exit the area with Japanese fortifications, and it is even more impossible to let idle people enter and exit during wartime, so the Chindit troops did not really find reliable information, but only added or subtracted the troops stationed and transferred by the Japanese army, so it came to the conclusion that there were only more than 1,000 Japanese troops in Mandalay, but in fact there were more than 3,000 people. Moreover, these more than 3,000 people are still the elite of the 18th Division of the Japanese Army.

At this time, after the Chinese Expeditionary Force moved south and captured the two gateway towns of Mandalay, the Japanese army finally determined that the Chinese Expeditionary Force did intend to move south.

Among them, the most panicked was of course Tanaka Shinichi, although he was the commander of the 18th Division, but the main force was trapped in Lashio and could not move, and the soldiers he could command were almost only guard troops, baggage troops, and engineer troops, etc., and the main force that could be used for combat was only the search wing in Mandalay.

In desperation, he again asked Honda Masato for help.

"Your Excellency, Commander!" Shinichi Tanaka said almost pleadingly on the phone: "The Chinese army has attacked the outskirts of Mandalay. If Mandalay falls into the hands of the Chinese army, then the 18th Division and the 56th Division will be finished! ”

Tanaka Shinichi's words are of course reasonable, Mandalay can be said to be the rear of Lashio, and the loss of Mandalay means that the main force of the 18th Division and the 56th Division of the Japanese Army have been surrounded and cut off from the supply line, and the Japanese army has no ability to use a large number of transport planes to airdrop supplies to the encircled troops like the Yankees, so the besieged Japanese army has only a dead end.

Honda Masasai only woke up from a dream at this time, of course he also knew the seriousness of this matter, he himself was the commander of the 33rd Army, and the 33rd Army only had the 18th Division and the 56th Division under its jurisdiction. If both divisions were routed and scattered by the Chinese army, he would soon become the commander of the light pole.

So Honda Masasai hurriedly hung up the phone to Kawabe Masasan to ask for help, and then he heard a shocking news from Kawabe Shozo.

"Honda-kun!" Shozo Kawabe said on the phone: "We just got news that the British have allowed the Chinese to go south, not only allowed, but also without any restrictions!" ”

"What?" Honda Masashi couldn't help but be taken aback when he heard this, which almost confirmed the strategic intention of the Chinese army to attack Mandalay, and also proved that Tanaka Shinichi was right, and he fell for the Chinese.

"And...... We also get part of the Chinese program! Kawabe Shozo said weakly: "The Chinese army intends to concentrate its main forces and move south along the Irrawaddy River. Fight all the way to Yangon, and then take advantage of the fact that our aviation units are fighting in Imphal, and hold the river with superior air power! ”

Hearing this, Tanaka Shinichi couldn't help but gasp, the Chinese soldiers were going to drive the imperial army out of Burma in one fell swoop. However, looking at the map, Honda Masasai felt that this plan was indeed feasible, because at this time, most of the main Japanese forces were concentrated on the west bank of the Irrawaddy River to attack Imphal or prepare for the attack on Imphal.

If Mr. Zhang or Mr. Stilwell had heard Mr. Kawabe's words, they would have wondered how the Japanese had known about these plans. And it is known in such detail.

In fact, it is not surprising at all, because the British did not want the Chinese army to win the battle, and the purpose of the British was ...... It was hoped that the siege of Imphal could be relieved, but it did not want the Chinese army to advance and take Rangoon in one fell swoop. Even if they want to take Rangoon, that's what the British do.

So when Mountbatten got Stilwell's attack plan from Alexander, he had an idea: if this plan was revealed to the Japanese, would the Japanese urgently withdraw their troops from Imphal to stop the Chinese army? If this is the case, the British army will not only be able to relieve the siege of Imphal, but will also be able to sit back and watch the Chinese army and the Japanese lose both.

But in fact, Mountbatten was wrong, and the Japanese thinking was not something that he, a general who had hardly dealt with the Japanese, guessed.

Sure enough, in the next sentence, Honda Masako asked Kawabe Shozo: "Your Excellency General, then...... Are we going to think about ending the Battle of Imphal against the Chinese army's offensive? ”

Kawabe Shozo sighed and replied, "I also informed Mutaguchi-kun of this idea, but Mutaguchi-kun strongly opposed it, believing that it was a conspiracy of the British and Chinese, the purpose of which was to make us withdraw our troops from Imphal!" ”

"Hmm!" Hearing this, Benduo couldn't help but nod slightly.

Although Honda Masako knew very well in his heart that a large part of the reason why Mutaguchi was so anxious to launch the Battle of Imphal was that he wanted to be promoted to a general, and he even said to his subordinates: "If this Imphal operation is not successful, I will not be promoted to a general, and I will never turn back!" ”

But objectively speaking, there is still some truth in Mutaguchi's statement...... You must know that at this time, the battle of Imphal has been tilted in favor of the Japanese army, and who knows whether the Chinese army waved a shot in Mandalay in order to understand the siege of Imphal, forcing the imperial army to abandon the attack on Imphal on its own.

Shozo Kawabe thought the same way, and he continued: "Mutaguchi-kun's battle in the direction of Imphal went more smoothly than expected, they have captured a large amount of supplies and have seized the initiative on the battlefield, so it is a pity to give up at this time. At the same time, even if we withdraw Mutaguchi-kun's troops from Imphal, what will change? In the end, Myanmar still can't hold it! ”

Honda Masato agrees with this point, and passive defense will only wipe out the Japanese army little by little under the fire of the Chinese army.

(To be continued.) )