introduction
Sun Tzu's Art of War Yun: "Soldiers, devious ways also." "The way to use soldiers is to change and surprise, so that you can confuse your opponents and win by surprise." The flexible application of tactics is undoubtedly a magic weapon for victory in war.
As we all know, if one side is caught in a circle of encirclement in the battlefield, then usually this army has the upper hand. Take the case of the most famous "Battle of Changping" in Chinese history, Bai Qi lured Zhao Kuo's 400,000 troops into the encirclement through layers of inducement, in order to annihilate them at a very small cost. It can be seen from this that, as a matter of common sense, the one who initiates the encirclement war is generally the dominant side on the battlefield, and the chance of victory is also greater.
However, during World War II, there was one of the strangest and funniest sieges in history, that is, a battle that took place in 1944. At that time, the person who commanded this alternative battle was the famous Japanese "ghost animal general" Mutaguchi Rinya, who relied on his "superior" analytical ability to turn the encirclement battle that was usually said to be a sure victory into a stable victory for the enemy. The enemy was well fed in the encirclement, while his own army endured the harsh natural environment outside the circle, starved on an empty stomach, and almost starved to death, and fought a war that could be easily won.
▲Former Teru Mutaguchi Renya
On January 7, 1944, the tide of the war was gradually reversed, and the Axis powers began to be at a disadvantage. In order to be able to defuse the crisis, the Japanese army planned the "Imphal Battle Plan", which was headed by Japanese Army Lieutenant General Ryoya Mutaguchi.
According to Mutaguchi's vision, the Japanese army entered India from Burma, so as to quickly capture the Imphal area (also known as Imphal), and then completely destroy the anti-war bases established by China, India and Britain, as well as the defensive warfare projects built by American and Chinese soldiers. In this way, the Japanese army can take advantage of the opportunity to firmly stabilize its power in the Indian region, both for the Indian battlefield and for the Indian battlefield. However, during the attack on Imphal, Mutaguchi also made a wrong decision that was incomprehensible to everyone: to attack from the direction of Burma and enter the northeastern Indian state of Assam.
▲Old photos of the Japanese army during World War II
The reason why this was a wrong decision was because the Japanese army not only had to cross the Chin Dun River, but also crossed the Naga Mountains at the junction of India and Burma, which made it impossible for large military weapons such as advanced Japanese tanks and trucks to penetrate deep into the battlefield, which was extremely unfavorable to the Japanese army. As a result, Mutaguchi's plan was unanimously opposed by his subordinates. However, Mutaguchi was also very optimistic that supplies could be snatched from the enemy, that he could not use bullets to fight bayonets and fists, and that even if he really did not have any weapons, he could still fight with flesh and blood, and the tenacity of the Japanese soldiers would certainly be able to overcome these difficulties.
▲Chin Dun River
In this way, the confident Mutaguchi Lian also set out for India with the Japanese 15th Army and more than 9,000 Indian captive soldiers. The Japanese had no tanks, no aircraft, no car transport to deliver supplies, and the soldiers were able to rely on their few guns and ammunition and two weeks' rations. Until this time, Mu Tian Koulian did not realize that not everyone was the King of Western Chu. You must know that in the war, it is extremely important to ensure the supply of grain and grass for soldiers, as written in the "Song of Nanpi County Chronicle, Customs and Soil History": "The soldiers and horses have not moved, and the grain and grass have gone first." Ensuring adequate logistical supplies is the key to winning a protracted war, and Mutaguchi's desire to win a war without being able to guarantee food supplies for soldiers is obviously a difficult dream to achieve.
Illustration of the Battle of Imphal
On 8 March, the Japanese launched an official offensive against the enemy, and two divisions marched from the north to the south, forming a joint siege of Imphal. According to normal logic, the British army was already at a disadvantage at this time. However, due to the long journey of the Japanese army, the boats and cars were tired, and when they arrived, they were already exhausted, and their combat effectiveness was naturally greatly reduced. Moreover, imphal not only the Anglo-Indian coalition and Chinese troops, but also the US Air Force invited by the coalition forces. The Allied side not only completely occupied air supremacy, but even cut off the Supply Route for the Japanese. Soon, with the support of a strong air force, the defenders began to counterattack, and the Japanese army, which was short of ammunition and food, was difficult to cope with, and it did not take long to lose.
▲ U.S. Air Force during World War II
The war was quickly dragged on into June. India ushered in the rainy season in June, and the abundant rains caused the water level of the nearby rivers to rise rapidly, and even the Japanese positions were submerged in the river. However, the Japanese army, which was already embattled, was still not dead-hearted and continued to launch this attack. But the depleted Japanese army was already overwhelmed not only to continue fighting, but also to endure hunger and flooding. On the other hand, the Allied forces besieged by the Japanese army in the encirclement had the powerful material support brought by the US Air Force to the Allies, so the soldiers could eat and drink every day, not to mention how moist the days were. The war ended in a total rout of the Japanese army, which had been hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops, but later only more than 20,000 people remained.
epilogue
Since ancient times, the situation on the battlefield has changed rapidly, and it is not only weapons, armies and strategies that determine the victory or defeat of the battlefield, but also grain and grass. This siege war later became a big joke in the history of Japanese warfare, and Mutaguchi also became the most laughable general in the world, and his deeds made people realize the importance of food and grass supplies on the battlefield.
Resources:
The Art of War of Sun Tzu
《Nanpi County Chronicle》