After the "Zhang ......" meeting, Stilwell called Zhang Chi: "We agree that your analysis is correct, the Japanese army's strategy is to block the advance of our army on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, and on the other hand, to step up the attack on Imphal, it is obvious that they are cutting off our army's supply line before us!" ”

"So what do we do next?" Zhang Chi asked.

"We should attack!" Stilwell replied: "Now it's a race against the Japanese to see if they take Imphal first or if we take Rangoon first." But now...... The Japanese have the upper hand, because they have already hit the city of Imphal! And you are still nearly 600 kilometers from Yangon! ”

"So we have more opportunities to get in the car!" Zhang Chi replied: "I like to ride in the car!" ”

Stilwell couldn't help laughing: "But I don't think the Japanese will let you ride all the way to Yangon, they will welcome you with machine guns and artillery!" ”

"Gladly!" Zhang Chi replied.

"Our reconnaissance aircraft detected the movements of the Japanese!" Stilwell said: "Do you remember the blocking battle that General Liao fought on the Swa River during the First Burma Campaign? ”

"Remember!" Zhang Chi replied: "General Liao's method was learned by the Japanese?" ”

"Yes!" There was some concern in Stilwell's tone: "The Japanese are building three lines of defense, the closest of which is thirty kilometers away from you, and then one every ten kilometers. Moreover, the bridges and roads along the road were damaged by Japanese sappers. On the other hand, the fighting in the direction of Imphal is in danger, and the British army is struggling to hold on, and it is not known how long they can hold out. So the situation is extremely bad, and it seems that we simply can't get ahead of the Japanese to take Rangoon! ”

Hearing this, Zhang Chi couldn't help but gasp.

Stilwell was right, just as the engineer regiment of the first Burma campaign broke the road and blew up the bridge to block the Japanese pursuers when they retreated, and now the Japanese army has also used this trick, so the Chinese army must build roads and bridges all the way forward, otherwise the tank supplies and so on will not be able to move forward.

But even so. After advancing, you will have to face layers of resistance from the Japanese army...... You must know that this is more than 500 kilometers, and if you fight all the way to Rangoon, I am afraid that the bones of the soldiers of the Chinese army will fall apart, and where will they have the strength to attack Rangoon again. By that time, the Japanese army was afraid that Imphal had already been taken.

"Does General Liao have any ideas?" Zhang Chi asked.

The reason why Zhang Chi asked this is because Liao Yaoxiang is the founder of this tactic, so what should he know.

But Zhang Chi was soon disappointed.

"I've already asked General Liao!" Stilwell replied, "There's nothing he can do about it!" ”

So, the one who invented the shield did not necessarily invent the spear.

"It's all to blame on the damn British!" Stilwell scolded: "It was they who revealed our plan to the Japanese, which made the Japanese well prepared!" ”

After a pause, Stilwell said, "What if...... If we can't continue south. Maybe it's time to think about another plan, and it would be an option to cross the Irrawaddy River west, so that at least we can rescue Imphal and relieve the pressure on Imphal! ”

Stilwell's words seem to have a point.

At this time, the Japanese army has been on guard against the Manyang line, it is too difficult to go south, and there are too many variables, if the plan is changed to go west to directly rescue Imphal, it is at least possible to keep Imphal and at the same time ensure that the supply line of the Chinese Expeditionary Force is not cut off, then the Chinese Expeditionary Force also has the capital to fight again.

But......

"I want to ...... The Japanese also expected that we would have such intentions! Zhang Chi replied: "And the Japanese troops on the west bank of the Irrawaddy River are very sufficient, and they only need to deploy defenses along the river." It's hard to find an opportunity to cross the river and fight! Even if we succeed in crossing the river, we may fall into their encirclement! ”

"You're right!" Stilwell replied a little helplessly: "We have received information that the 53rd Division, which was originally the reserve of the 15th Army of the Japanese Army, has been transferred to fortification along the Irrawaddy River!" ”

Zhang Chi couldn't help but sigh. Several roads were blocked by the Japanese in time.

Not only could they not go south to seize Yangon, but they could not even rescue Imphal...... The British can be said to shoot themselves in the foot, but it doesn't matter if the British die, Zhang Chi is happy to see this. But they were about to implicate the Chinese army, and they were also trapped in Burma by the Japanese army, becoming a lone army.

In the end, Stilwell could only say helplessly: "No matter what, let's try to attack first, I hope the Japanese army does not have enough time to prepare." Its defenses are not strong enough to hold you back! I'll send the air force as much as I can to match your fights! ”

"Yes!" Zhang Chi responded.

There's no way around it.

There are two reasons for this:

First, the 18th Division has been disabled by the Chinese army several times, and the combat effectiveness of the 18th Division, which has been replenished more than ten times, is no longer the elite division it used to be.

The other is that Mandalay was taken by the Sino-British coalition in just over a day, which means that the Japanese army only had about a day to prepare.

For these two reasons, it is very likely that the Chinese army will quickly break through the defense line of the 18th Division with more advanced equipment and air superiority, and if this happens, then the Chinese army may still force the city of Rangoon.

But at the same time, Zhang Chi also knows that the probability of this situation is very small. The reason is that even if the Japanese army is a new recruit, it only lacks military quality or combat experience, but its will to fight is very tenacious under the influence of the bushido spirit, so it is basically impossible for the Chinese army to run in the direction of Rangoon like a duck.

But at this time, he couldn't think of any other better way, so he had to use the dead horse as a live horse doctor.

Due to the urgency of the military situation, the new 1st Division did not even bother to eliminate the remnants of the enemy in Mandalay, leaving only one regiment to garrison in Mandalay, and then moved south.

Good news came while they were on the march...... The correspondent shouted in the direction of Zhang Chi: "Battalion commander, we have occupied Lashio!" ”

Suddenly, the whole army thundered with joy.

It is no wonder that the soldiers are so excited, the occupation of Lashio means that the Japanese 56th Division has been completely blocked in the China-Burma highway, so it is a matter of time before the China-Burma highway is opened, which means that the soldiers are one step closer to home and the motherland.

But Zhang Chi knew that things would not be so simple, and even Zhang Chi thought that it was very likely that the Japanese army deliberately abandoned Lashio, because at this time, the Japanese army was confident that they would win in this time race, so they didn't need to care about Lashio at all. (To be continued.) )