Although he thought that the Japanese army in Mandalay was only more than 1,000 people, Rice still did not dare to be careless.

Because Rice knows very well what the soldiers in his hands are, for such a group of soldiers...... Despite the fact that there were more than 10,000 people and all kinds of advanced equipment, Mandalay could still be defended by more than 1,000 Japanese troops.

So Rice made several preparations:

First of all, further intelligence work was carried out on the defense of Mandalay, including the strength of the Japanese army in Mandalay, the distribution of firepower, and the defense points.

Naturally, this intelligence work was still done by the Chindit troops, but because the Japanese army had strictly forbidden idle people to carry out their fortifications and defensive areas, the results were not great, and even if some information was obtained, it was only a glance from a distance, and even some of it was falsely reported by the Burmese for reward.

The second was that Rice ordered a Chindit force of more than 300 men to infiltrate Mandalay and prepare to launch an attack on Mandalay in response to the outside world.

This trick is practical, you must know that the Burmese people at this time have seen through the true face of the Japanese army, and they even began to miss the colonial rule of the British army back then, so although the number of these 300 people who mixed in was small, they could easily provoke civil strife.

Unfortunately, by this time, the Burmese Independence Volunteer Army had been disbanded, and the Burmese people had little weapons in their hands, so the civil strife could play a very limited role.

Finally, it was a lecture given by Rice to his Indian soldiers.

However, it is not so much a lecture as an exchange of interests.

Rice clearly knew that the Indian soldiers had no motivation to fight on Burmese soil, and that fighting was a thing that would kill them, so let them die if they didn't have motivation...... Whatever you say is empty talk.

So Rice said to the Indian soldiers: "Do you know what is in Mandalay? There are piles of supplies in the warehouses, and you know, Mandalay is a logistics base for the Japanese, with food, equipment, brand new uniforms and helmets...... So. Throw away all the brass and iron in your hands. If you take Mandalay, you will take a mountain of gold! ”

Although these materials do not seem to be worth much, it would be another matter if they were resold to American GIs as souvenirs, and if they could bring some more, they would undoubtedly make a windfall.

Seeing the reaction of these Indian soldiers, Rice also secretly breathed a sigh of relief...... He finally found the motivation for the Indian soldiers to fight bravely.

In the end, Rice analyzed the situation in front of him with great anger: there was sufficient intelligence and internal response, and the enemy only had more than 1,000 people, but he himself had more than 11,000 people...... There was no reason not to win this battle, so I sent my troops with confidence.

Rice's siege tactics were to encircle three and one...... This tactic is no secret in this day and age. It can be traced back to the time of the Mongol cavalry.

The Mongols did not have many people, but they fought a big country, so the Mongol cavalry always tried to obtain the maximum benefit at the lowest cost on the battlefield, so they pioneered the tactic of encircling three and one.

The so-called encirclement of three and one refers to the encirclement of the enemy, not to encircle and die, but to vacate one side. This seems unscientific, if the enemy is not surrounded and killed, then there is still a way to survive and the supply will not be cut off?

But in fact, this tactic of the Mongol cavalry is very famous:

First of all, the Mongol cavalry was a high-speed mobile force, and if there were supplies and reinforcements that wanted to be brought into the city. Then the Mongol cavalry will soon come from all directions to defeat the reinforcements or baggage troops, and the food transported by the baggage soldiers will become a supply for the Mongolian cavalry.

Secondly, it was precisely because the besieged troops in the city knew that there was a way to live, so they had no intention of fighting...... There is a saying that the trapped beast is still fighting. If they were surrounded and killed, they would know that they had no way to live, but they would go out and fight the enemy with all their might, which was certainly not what the Mongol cavalry wanted. But if they knew that there was a way to live, the morale of the defenders in the city would be shaken, and many soldiers and civilians would even flee without obeying orders for fear of the murderous Mongols. So it didn't take long for the defenders in the city to lose their morale and have no will to fight.

In the end, in desperation, the defenders had no choice but to flee. However, the escape of the defenders was not so easy, because the Mongol cavalry would follow these deserters all the way to chase them...... It is conceivable that most of the deserters of the infantry were trekking through mountains and rivers, while the Mongolian cavalry was riding horses and shooting arrows on both sides as if they were playing in the mountains and rivers, and the final result was that the Mongolian cavalry easily killed the deserters.

This tactic has been very valuable until modern times, and during the civil war, **** often used this tactic on the Kuomintang army defending the city, and it often works wonders.

But here's the problem...... The use of tactics depends on the combat object.

For example, if it were used on the demoralized and poorly trained Kuomintang troops, it might be effective, but it would be used on the well-trained and tenacious Japanese troops who practiced the spirit of bushido...... That's obviously a bad tactic.

The reason why it is bad is because most of the Japanese, especially the officers of the 18th Division, have learned Genghis Khan's tactics, which is influenced by their former division commander Mutaguchi Ryoya, a fan of Genghis Khan, and they also often use this tactic when they play against **** in China.

The second is that the Japanese army often has the opportunity to escape in battle, but does not flee and chooses "jade shattering", so the tactic of encircling three and one is not very attractive to them at all.

However, this tactic did work a little, and that night Rice received a telegram from the Chindit forces that dozens of Japanese troops had escaped from the empty side of the British army in the night.

Rice couldn't help but be overjoyed, you must know that there are only more than 1,000 Japanese troops in total, and dozens of them have escaped at this time, so how many more escapes will Mandalay not become an empty city? As a result, he felt more and more that Mandalay was in the pocket of the British army.

But in fact, the dozens of Japanese soldiers who fled were actually Osaka soldiers.

The impression given by the Japanese army to outsiders is that they are cruel and murderous, not afraid of death, etc., but there are exceptions to this, that is, the Osaka soldiers...... Unlike the Japanese soldiers in other regions, most of the Osaka soldiers were vegetable merchants, and the merchants were driven by this psychology and habits, they were not willing to sacrifice their lives for the emperor at every turn like other Japanese soldiers, and even wondered to other Japanese soldiers: "Why do they play with their lives like this?" What's in it for them?! (To be continued.) )