In Mawangtang Town, Baoshan County, Yunnan Province, the headquarters of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, which was less than 80 kilometers away from the front line of the Nujiang River, the simple conference room was brightly lit.
Wei Lihuang, the commander of the Chinese expeditionary army, pointed at the west bank of the Nu River on the sand table and said,"
"This is Songshan, 2690 meters above sea level. It is the highest peak at the junction of western Yunnan and Myanmar. In order to pull out this poisonous fang, they had to eliminate the Japanese army entrenched on the mountain, which was known as the 561 Highland.”
Song Xilian, the commander-in-chief of the 11th Army, said,"
"The strategic position here is very important, but it won't be easy to take down Mount Song. Firstly, the terrain here was dangerous, and one man could hold the pass against ten thousand men. Secondly, the Japanese army had been defending this place for nearly two years. During this period, the Japanese army had divided their troops to guard it tightly and sent more troops to build fortifications. Presumably, the Japanese fortifications were very strong. If our expeditionary forces wanted to take this high ground, they could only attack from above, and attacking from above would expose all their targets to the Japanese's firepower. It was not easy!”
Wei Lihuang continued,
"Generalissimo Jiang ordered that Songshan must be taken down, no matter the cost, as soon as possible! If Songshan wasn't defended, then China's southern gate, southwest rear, and Yunnan-Myanmar highway wouldn't be defended. China would definitely be isolated and fight against the enemy. The situation would be extremely dangerous!”
He Shaozhou, the commander of the Eighth Army, said,"
"Yes, Generalissimo Jiang's worries are not without reason. However, the fortifications on Mount Song were too sturdy, and attacking from above would only lead to death. He could not attack blindly, he could only use his wits. What's more, the 561 Highland was guarded by the Matsuyama Garrison of the 56th Division of the Japanese Army. The commander was the young officer of the artillery.”
Mount Ri Song's garrison was a field force that was equipped with a mix of infantry and artillery. They were well-equipped with excellent weapons, and all of their personnel had excellent military professionalism. They had 100mm heavy artillery, mountain cannons, tanks, anti-aircraft machine guns, and other powerful combination firepower. Every general had heard of this garrison.
Everyone in the army knew that this garrison was the top of the Japanese army. In the annual military competition of the Myanmar Army, they had always been the first in rifle shooting, artillery shooting, and weight-bearing climbing. Especially the enemy chief, Jin Guang Shao Zuo, who was famous for his calmness and tenacity. During the battle of Nanchang, he personally commanded a field cannon to shoot at close range, causing the death of Lieutenant General Chen Anbao of the 29th Army of the Chinese Empire…
Wei Lihuang nodded.”
He Shaozhou, the commander of the Eighth Army, said,"
"Why don't we focus our main attack on Tengchong and only divert a portion of our forces to attack Songshan as a feint to distract the enemy and hold them back? The main force will take the opportunity to attack Tengchong from the side…"
Wei Lihuang pondered for a long time, then slammed his hand on the table and said,"
"An order!"
The generals stood at attention and waited for the commander's instructions.
"Divide the expeditionary army into two wings. The left wing will attack Mount Song to contain the enemy. The right wing took the opportunity to attack Tengchong. The 20th Army Group would attack Tengchong on the right wing, while the 11th Army Group would act as reinforcements. We must cross the Nu River by force at dusk on May 11th. This is the key point of this battle. If we fail to cross the Nu River by force, we will never go back to see the chairman! In order to ensure success, the US military sent more than 30 fighter jets to attack the enemy from the air.”
The generals said in unison,
"Yes, sir!"
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