The Japanese army adopted the combat tactics of roundabout, encirclement and decisive penetration into enemy lines. Because of this, the Japanese army's combat operations were more mobile and flexible than the British army.

Just when the Japanese 55th Division surrounded the British troops and General Alexander in Yangon City,

However, after the Japanese 33rd Division learned that the 56th Division and the 18th Division were coming to support them and participate in the Burma-India battle, the commander of the 33rd Division Sakurai Shozo made up his mind.

, and went to the Ren'anqiang oil field,

Yan'anqiang means "oil field" and "oil river" in Burmese. At that time, Yan'anqiang was full of drilling wells and oil fields, and its prosperity was not inferior to that of nearby Mandalay and Bagan.

It produces more than one million tons of oil every year. It is also the main power generation base in the Inyawaddy River Basin. The annual power generation accounts for 80% of Myanmar's total. It can be said to be Myanmar's most important energy base.

For the Japanese army, which lacked energy such as oil,

As long as they capture this place, they can obtain oil to supply their tanks, aircraft and fleets to maintain operations, which is undoubtedly a huge temptation.

In fact, the main reason why the Japanese army launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and started a war with the US military at all costs was because of these oils and other energy sources that they did not have in their own country.

In short, it faces the Yanangqiang Oilfield, the largest oil field in Myanmar, and the main power generation base for towns along the Irrawaddy River.

The Japanese army, suffering from a lack of oil resources, was already salivating.

Especially at this time, the British 7th Armored Brigade was no longer gathered here, but was sent back to Yangon City by General Alexander to resist the attack of the Japanese 55th Division.

Therefore, the defensive strength here was suddenly reduced by more than half, leaving only a British-Burmese division with poor combat effectiveness to defend here.

Therefore, it was the best opportunity for the Japanese army to occupy this place, although there was no way for the Japanese army to annihilate the British 7th Armored Brigade here in one fell swoop and capture the British heavy equipment.

But being able to occupy the oil fields here and continue to increase oil for the Japanese mechanized troops, fleets, and aircraft to travel and fight is also a great contribution.

It was also because of this that the entire Japanese 33rd Division planned to launch the Ren'anqiang Campaign.

This is also the reason why it was later dubbed "Dunkirk of the East".

Of course, it was Luo Zhuoying who sent Sun Liren's newly formed 113th Regiment of the 38th Division to rescue the expeditionary force that came to support them later.

The approximate troop strength is around 1,100 people.

At that time, Liu Fangwu, the commander of the 113th Regiment, led his regiment to the front line. He first reconnoitred the terrain and enemy situation, then concentrated his troops to fight with the support of the attached British tanks and heavy artillery.

And they still crossed the Binhe River in the dark, rushed towards the Japanese position, and took advantage of the absence of the main force of the Japanese 33rd Division to engage in fierce and repeated battles with the Japanese army, and finally won the victory.

Then, when the main force of the Japanese 33rd Division rushed to the southern part of Ren'anqiang, Liu Fangwu, the commander of the 113th Regiment, had already led his remaining troops to rescue the British troops besieged by the Japanese.

It was also because of this battle that all the rescued British troops were stunned and stunned.

It was also the first time that they faced the fighting style of these elite national army troops, which made them marvel.

The good news about Ren'an Qiang shocked the British Isles and quickly spread to all major powers in the world, and also received various praises from the allies.

It is also because of this that Sun Liren was awarded the "Congressional Medal" by President Roosevelt and the "Medal of Merit" by King George VI.

Of course, there is also the "Fourth Class Yunhui Medal" awarded by the Chairman of the Standing Committee.

Even the regiment leader Liu Fangwu was awarded the "Sixth Class Yunhui Medal" and "the Army, Navy and Air Force First Class Medal" each, and was specially remembered twice for his great achievements. Even after the war, former British Prime Minister Sarah

When Mrs. Chel visited the United States, she also made a special trip to visit Liu Fangwu and thanked him in person for rescuing the British soldiers and their families.

Even Zhang Qi, commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 113th Regiment who died in action, was posthumously awarded the Silver Star Medal by these anti-Japanese and anti-German allies.

This is recorded information available online in later generations.

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However, at this time, more than 7,000 British-Burmese Army 1st Division did not appear here. Instead, together with their family members, reporters, missionaries, and their General Alexander, they were surrounded by the Japanese 55th Division in Yangon City.

.

Even the 7th Armored Brigade, which the British army was proud of, was defeated and forced to retreat into the city to rest and recuperate.

The position where the Japanese 33rd Division is located,

The commander of the 33rd Division, Sakurai Shozo, was holding a military telescope and observing the environment near Nian Qiang. He was waiting for the reconnaissance unit he sent to come back and report to him on the reconnaissance situation.

"Is this the colonial oil field occupied by the British army?"

"As long as we can capture this place, then we will have enough oil for use! Then we will not need to be held back by these damn foreigners for precious energy and oil!"

"So this time we go south to fight, our senior leaders are correct!"

"And since the beginning of the war, we have seen that these foreign powers are not as powerful as they usually boast. No wonder the German army can sweep across these foreign countries. Such a vulnerable British army can't even defeat our imperial army.

It’s not even worthy of carrying shoes!”

Sakurai Shozo, the commander of the 33rd Division, looked at the surrounding environment of Nian Qiang and murmured to himself confidently.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, our reconnaissance force has returned!"

"According to their report, the British 7th Armored Brigade is really no longer here. They have been dispatched to the Yangon City side and are fighting with the 55th Division, and there is news from the 55th Division.

The battle news is still great news!"

"Because the 7th Armored Brigade of the British Army has been defeated by the 55th Division and has entered Yangon City, and has not continued to fight! So now we are alone here and there is no such big risk. We can definitely be bold.

Attack!"

"And there is a great chance to capture this place quickly!"

Just after the commander of the 33rd Division, Shozo Sakurai, was about to finish observing the surrounding environment,

His chief of staff, Takayuki Shibasaki, has also come to his side, conducting reconnaissance reports.

"Yo Xi! That's great. We must fully occupy this place as quickly as possible this time. After the battle is completed, our contribution will definitely be the greatest!"

After hearing this, Shozo Sakurai, the commander of the 33rd Division, also responded with a smile.

Because when the lone army penetrates deep here,

In fact, he was also very afraid of the counterattack by the British 7th Armored Brigade and the British-Burmese 1st Division.

You must know that the British army has almost tens of thousands of troops.

Moreover, it still has tanks and heavy artillery. The most important thing is that it can attack the Japanese troops crossing Binhe from both sides. It can directly use the shell groups of the heavy artillery to kill the Japanese troops.

Especially if the Japanese army still fights according to the usual intermittent operations, then there will not be too many Japanese troops here, and they still will not be equipped with much heavy firepower weapons and equipment.

So once there are not many Japanese troops coming, then so many British troops will really not be afraid of the troops of the Japanese 33rd Division. Of course, the prerequisite is that the British troops have the morale to fight and fight back, and

Still need to know how to fight,

Otherwise, it will still fail, or it will end up blowing up the oil field.

Of course, it might just be like in the original time and space, where the oil field failed to be bombed and was trapped in the oil field by the Japanese troops. They could only ask for emergency help from the expeditionary force.

It was not until Luo Zhuoying sent Sun Liren's newly formed 113th Regiment of the 38th Division to come to the rescue that he was able to be rescued by the troops led by Liu Fangwu, the commander of the 113th Regiment.

Otherwise, they would probably end up being killed by the Japanese army, or they would all be captured alive and sent to a concentration camp, where they would suffer inhuman torture to death.
Chapter completed!