The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Chapter 226 Target: Plain Grain Production Area

In front of the huge map in the war room, Chief of Staff Tan Zhijie was nervously directing his staff, using long wooden sticks to push the markers representing the enemy and friendly forces one by one, quickly updating the battle situation.

"According to intelligence from the Allied Command, the 121st and 122nd Infantry Regiments of the Japanese 33rd Division have appeared in the Harinabad Heights area, 17 kilometers north of Imphal."

Chief of Staff Tan Zhijie explained the current situation to Zhang Chi in a steady but undeniable sense of urgency.

Zhang Chi stood in front of the map, his eyes fixed on the ever-changing marks. He took a deep breath and nodded.

"That is to say, the Japanese have concentrated their main forces in this area."

He stroked the stubble on his chin, and whispered with a hint of contemplation in his voice:

"Since the main force of the 33rd Division's infantry is there, the attached 33rd Field Artillery, Cavalry, and Transport Regiments must also be nearby. It seems the Japanese have invested heavily in capturing Imphal this time."

He raised his hand, pointed to the railway from Myitkyina to Mandalay on the map, and turned to Tan Zhijie and asked:

"So, according to this calculation, after the Japanese 33rd Division, originally stationed on the right flank of the salient and in the Homalin area, moved westward, there was only one Japanese 2nd Guards Division left on the front of the salient where Qi Quan was located?"

Tan Zhijie tapped the protrusion with his pointer:

"That's right, the Japanese have revealed their final trump card. According to intelligence gathered by frontline troops after continuous infiltration, apart from the 123rd Regiment and some puppet troops, only the 2nd Guards Division remains to defend the salient area."

Zhang Chi raised his brows slightly, obviously not understanding Mutaguchi's idea, and said bluntly: "So this guy Mutaguchi Renya is playing the empty city plan?"

In a large-scale battle, a slight negligence could result in tens of thousands of unnecessary casualties, so Zhang Chi had to think about it.

"Or is he planning to use water instead of soldiers? That's not right. It's the dry season now, the rain has decreased, and the river level has dropped."

"Using fire instead of weapons? Pegu is all rainforest, and the plants are very watery, so they can't be ignited."

The remaining half of the Shijie Province opposite the Western Route Army that had not been occupied was almost entirely plains and hills, with altitudes ranging from 100 to 300 meters. Apart from the dense rivers and rainforests, the terrain was not considered rugged.

Zhang Chi racked his brains but couldn't figure out how Mutaguchi Ren'ya planned to stop his troops with a 1 to 3 disadvantageous force.

Just based on the trenches on the contact line now?

What a joke! The only reason that line of defense still exists is because Zhang Chi hasn't launched an attack yet.

With planes, heavy artillery and tanks, that line of defense is like window paper that can be broken with a single poke.

"How is the air force reconnaissance situation? Have the Japanese gathered heavy troops behind the defense line to prepare for a counterattack, or have Mutaguchi torn up the railway in the area under his control, preparing to use distance to wear down our logistics?" Zhang Chi looked at Tan Zhijie.

Tan Zhijie shook his head: "The aerial reconnaissance report shows everything is normal. Part of the reserve force behind the Japanese has been transferred to the direction of Sindhu, which makes the situation even more empty."

"As for that railway, the Japanese also need it to transport supplies, so Mutaguchi Renya will not be willing to demolish it easily."

Zhang Chi thought about it and it made sense. If there really was something unusual, he wouldn't even need to ask, as Tan Zhijie would have reported it to him immediately.

"Mutaguchi Ren'ya might not have any backup plan..." After sitting down and thinking carefully, Zhang Chi sneered, "He's just gambling."

After all, Zhang Chi was just a college student before he traveled through time. Although he was a military fan who was familiar with all kinds of war history, he commanded battles many times after traveling through time and grew rapidly.

But this was a battle involving hundreds of thousands of troops after all, and he was not so proud and complacent as to think that he was better at tactics than the Japanese division commanders and army commanders who had survived hundreds of battles.

But who could have told him to meet Mutaguchi Ren'ya this time? In later generations, he was known as "Little Tojo". Zhang Chi knew that he was not a difficult character like Okamura Yasuji who took one step and looked three steps ahead.

On the contrary, according to various records of later generations and the experience of fighting with the enemy in Pegu for a year, Zhang Chi found that the "Little Tojo" fought in a reckless and gambled manner.

After thinking about it carefully, Zhang Chi put himself in Mutaguchi Ren'ya's position and quickly understood Mutaguchi's thinking.

Zhang Chi pulled Tan Zhijie to sit down together, took out a cigarette and passed it to Tan Zhijie, speaking slowly, as if reviewing the background of this battle:

"His bet is that before I can gather my troops and march south, he can capture Imphal, achieve great military success, and quickly rise to prominence based on his achievements, escaping the bitter sea of ​​Pegu. As for my subsequent conquests, that has nothing to do with him."

Tan Zhijie took the cigarette, a flash of realization in his eyes:

"So his whole strategy is to risk a victory, betting that we don't have the time, or the determination, to break his defenses?"

Zhang Chi nodded, with an inexplicable light flashing in his eyes:

"That's right. He's betting on speed. He's betting on being able to act in time and get rid of the blame for Pegu. After all, anyone with a discerning eye can see that with us there, the Japanese can't hold Pegu at all."

"But he was wrong." Zhang Chi's tone suddenly became firm. "He underestimated our reaction speed and our determination to move south."

"The defense of the salients around Gaolin and Wenduo will never be strengthened by his gamble. I'm ready, not only for victory, but also to make him understand that the price of playing war games will never be something he can afford."

Holding a lit cigarette in one hand, Zhang Chi took the pointer from Tan Zhijie and pointed at the railway line on the map.

"The Japanese don't have many reserves in the rear. Let's fight more aggressively this time. I want to take Sijie, Mandalay, and Lashio. I want to win the battle in one go."

When Tan Zhijie heard Zhang Chi's bold words, his mouth opened in surprise.

But after staring at the map carefully for a while, he found that this was a great opportunity.

After several rounds of reinforcements in Pegu, the Japanese now have nearly 200,000 troops. After another round of rest and mobilization from December to March, the main infantry of the An Min Army has expanded to about 300,000.

After excluding the rear garrison troops, the Anmin Army seems to have only a slight advantage in total troop strength.

But in fact, the Japanese troops were divided into two parts by the Chindwin River flowing north and south on the border. One part was the 10 Japanese troops of the Mutaguchi Corps heading west to Sindhu, and the other part was the 10 Japanese troops left to defend the central plains of Pegu.

"Great!" Without paying attention to the cigarette in his hand that was burning shorter and shorter, Tan Zhijie clapped his hands and exclaimed.

"The two Japanese regiments will not be able to coordinate with each other in such a short period of time. This will give us the opportunity to defeat them one by one."

Zhang Chi stood up, turned his back to the crowd, and cast his gaze towards the sunlight outside the window:

"We are no longer fighting an ordinary battle; this is a battle for the future. As long as we seize the rich central Bago Plain and annihilate a large number of the enemy's effective forces, the southern coastal areas will be within reach."

"By the time we have two large plains of grain-producing areas, and if we improve water conservancy and pesticides, we'll have no problem feeding 2000 million people."

Whether it is heavy industry based on steel, or light industry based on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, rubber products, and textiles in the future, a large number of industrial population is needed.

After acquiring two grain-producing areas, Zhang Chi planned to take advantage of the domestic war to immigrate a large number of people as quickly as possible, and carry out agricultural mechanization based on the plains, thereby increasing grain production and changing the population ratio of Pegu as quickly as possible.

On March 27, after some pre-war preparations, Zhang Chi's army took the initiative to attack.