The Fifth Army of the National Revolutionary Army was an elite unit with strong combat effectiveness in the Kuomintang Army, and this unit made outstanding achievements during the War of Resistance Against Japan. In 1942, Du Yuming led China's number one ace army into Burma, fighting with the British army to resist japanese aggression.
After the Fifth Army entered Burma, it quickly played its own prestige, the 200th Division of the Fifth Army was the only mechanized division in China at that time, and the division commander Dai Anlan graduated from the Whampoa Iii Phase and was very talented. On March 20, 1942, Dai Anlan led more than 10,000 officers and men of the 200 Division to kill more than 5,000 people under The Commander of the Japanese 143rd Wing, Okada Daisaku, at the cost of more than 5,000 casualties, severely damaged the Japanese 55th Division, and played the prestige of the Chinese soldiers.
At the end of March, the newly organized 22nd Division of the Fifth Army used the tactics of virtual reality, mobile defense, and successive resistance to resist the repeated attacks of more than 50,000 Japanese divisions and regiments with 200 cannons and more than 100 tanks in the Burmese Swa Blockade Battle, which lasted for 18 days, killing and wounding more than 4,500 Japanese troops, while only losing more than 2,000 people. In April, the 96th Division of the Fifth Army resisted two main Divisions of the Japanese Army alone for 8 days in the blockade battle of the Battle of Pumannah in Burma, killing and wounding nearly 2,000 Japanese troops, and successfully completing the task of blocking.
However, due to the unauthorized retreat of the British army, the flanks of the Chinese army were exposed and had to be evacuated in a hurry. Du Yuming led the Fifth Army to retreat to northern Burma, the 96th Division served as a cover mission on the right flank, due to the strong artillery fire, the 96th Division soon killed a bloody road for the large troops, but due to the new 22nd Division and part of the army's direct subordinates, it had to retreat in the direction of Da Luo. If you want to return home, the only passage in front of you is Savage Mountain.
Savage Mountain is located at the junction of China, India and Burma, stretching for thousands of miles, 200 kilometers deep, the mountain trees cover the sky, wild grass overgrown, all year round, flocks of beasts, poisonous snakes, malaria, ants everywhere, the mountain area is still in the primitive tribal era of barbarian groups, Savage Mountain in Burmese means "the place where the devil lives".
Before approaching Savage Mountain, Du Yuming ordered all the officers and men of the Fifth Army to throw away their cars, artillery, and tanks, leaving only light weapons and medicine, food, and light loading into the mountain. Du Yuming took out a bottle of red wine that he was reluctant to drink and said, "Soldiers of the Expeditionary Force, this bottle of red wine is a practice wine given to me by Chairman Jiang, and I am not willing to drink it, so today we will drink it." Because, we are crossing the Savage Mountain of Nine Dead Lives. Each of us is facing the test of life and death, Savage Mountain, which is not only our way to the gate of the country, but also the ghost gate of our death, I wish you all good luck. ”
When Du Yuming burned the military vehicles and heavy loads, the officers and men of the Fifth Army hesitated, and everyone was reluctant to do anything, because these weapons and equipment were the most advanced in China at that time. Du Yuming ordered: "It must be burned, if it is not burned, it will be cheap to the Japanese!" ”
According to Du Yuming's prior plan, no matter how dangerous the Savage Mountain was, the Fifth Army had so many people going in, even if it was 10 kilometers a day, after 20 days, the Fifth Army would be able to get out of the Savage Mountain and return to China. However, the harsh and dangerous natural conditions of Savage Mountain still exceeded the imagination of Du Yuming and all the officers and men of the Fifth Army.
First of all, the swamps of Savage Mountain are not unlike the swamps of other places, which have formed large areas of wet swamps due to long-term rainfall. The top of this swamp is not only full of leaves, but also full of all kinds of low plants, and it is difficult for people to distinguish where the swamp is and where is the safe land, and once stepped into it, it is difficult to be rescued. What is even more frightening is that there are also a large number of blood-sucking ants in the swamp, which can quickly multiply and spread a large number of diseases after entering the human body, which will soon cause death.
Because no one is active, Savage Mountain is full of trees that have been in the sky for hundreds of years, even thousands of years, and the canopy of trees covers the sky. Sometimes, the officers and soldiers walked for a week, it was difficult to see the sun, and they all groped forward in the dark. There are also many large trees that have fallen to the bottom of the hillside because of lightning strikes, and it is not an easy task for the warriors to cross these trees.
Before entering the mountain, Du Yuming asked the warriors to bring grain for five days, because in their opinion, the Savage Mountain was full of wild beasts, pythons, wild vegetables, and there was no shortage of food. However, after more than 50,000 horses of the Fifth Army entered, these birds and beasts were immediately frightened and disappeared without a trace, and many officers and soldiers died of mushrooms because they had accidentally eaten poisonous wild vegetables. Warriors occasionally hunt monkeys, but the monkey meat is sour and difficult to enter.
After the officers and men of the Fifth Army entered the mountains, they soon caught up with the terrible rainy season, and the clothes worn by the officers and men of the Fifth Army were not dried, and the grain they carried was moldy and deteriorated. Heavy rains also often trigger mudslides and flash floods, which greatly hinder the march of officers and soldiers.
The most terrifying of the Savage Mountains are miasma and plague, and in the jungles of Savage Mountains, dead leaves, rotting corpses of animals, miasmas can form in hot and humid conditions. In addition to some poisonous gases, this miasma also includes some viruses, such as cholera, scarlet fever, dengue fever and other plagues, which are invisible killers that cannot be prevented, and once the officers and soldiers are infected, it is difficult to survive.
The harsh environment in the primeval forest made the officers and soldiers sleep badly, and at night, whenever the officers and soldiers were exhausted and fell asleep lying on the wet ground, poisonous snakes, wild beasts, and ants would crawl out. By the next day, many officers and men may not be able to get up.
During the march, Du Yuming also fell ill and became unconscious, the commander of the 200th Division, Dai Anlan, could not be treated in time after being injured, and Hu Yibin, deputy commander of the 96th Division, died while covering the retreat of the main force. Before setting off, in order not to drag down the large troops, more than 1,500 wounded soldiers died on self-immolation. There were also many wounded soldiers who fainted and were swallowed by flies, ants, and poisonous snakes, and the scene was very tragic.
Chiang Kai-shek has always been very concerned about this number one ace army in China, constantly sending US transport planes to reconnoiter over Savage Mountain, and finally found the traces of the remnants of the Fifth Army, and parachuted a large amount of first aid food, medicine and other materials, saving the lives of the remnants of the Fifth Army.
At that time, the US army also dropped a high-power radio, and Du Yuming immediately used this radio to make contact with the Chongqing side, and after Chiang Kai-shek determined the position of the Fifth Army, the first order he gave to Du Yuming was to go to Rido, India, to rest and prepare for the second operation into Burma. This order caused a huge blow to Du Yuming, because du Yuming and Sun Liren, the commander of the New 38th Division, had been arguing for a long time on the issue of going to India or going to the Savage Mountain to return to China, and finally Du Yuming still took this road.
After determining the location of the Fifth Army, Sun Liren immediately sent the new 38th Division to receive the remnants of the Fifth Army, and sent all the grain and medicine that were usually ordered to the remnants of the Fifth Army. At this time, the Fifth Army had less than 20,000 men, of which more than 20,000 were killed at Savage Mountain, and most of the remaining officers and men were dressed in rags, holding sticks in their hands, and one by one they were shaped like beggars.