In the 1940s, in the sixth year of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Chinese Expeditionary Force also fought valiantly against the Japanese in the Indo-Burmese battlefield, during which they staged a small but rather peculiar battle.
Why is it peculiar? Because the Chinese Expeditionary Force only had 1 platoon of troops, it annihilated 2 squadrons of the Japanese army in one fell swoop, and 2 squadrons were equivalent to 1 battalion, that is to say, the ratio of strength between the two sides was about 1:9.
Interestingly, the expeditionary force officers also found that the Japanese army had given them a "generous gift" at the end of the battle.
It was in early March 1943, when the 123rd Regiment of the New 38th Division of the Chinese Expeditionary Force was ordered by its superiors to advance along the South Eighth Highway towards Lashio Ka, with the goal of annihilating the Japanese troops along the route.
As the sharp knife battalion of the whole regiment, the 3rd Battalion marched all the way under the leadership of battalion commander Yang Xiazhong, and finally reached the designated combat area within the specified time.
However, Yang Xiazhong found that the position of the troops was an open field, which was not an ideal ambush location at all. He immediately observed the surrounding terrain and found that there was a relatively high mountain about 3 miles away, where a pocket array could be set up to "close the door and fight the dogs" against the enemy.
Yang Xiazhong quickly contacted the 123rd Regiment headquarters, and immediately led the whole battalion to advance further after approval, occupying the mountain.
But the plan never changed quickly, and the Japanese army was already in front of the 3rd Battalion and was approaching the mountain. Just as the troops were moving, the 8th Company and 3rd Platoon, which was the top platoon of the whole battalion, had already started a battle with the Japanese army.
After hearing the gunshots, Yang Xiazhong immediately ascertained the enemy situation, and then ordered the 7th Company to quickly penetrate the left flank and occupy a high ground; the 9th Company advanced to the right flank, cooperating with the 8th Company to attack the Japanese army.
Unexpectedly, the situation changed again, Yang Xiazhong had just issued combat orders to the 7th Company and the 9th Company, and found that there was no gunfire in the direction of the 8th Company.
Just when everyone was confused, a messenger of the 3rd platoon of the 8th Company came breathlessly to report that their battle with the Japanese army was over.
Yang Xiazhong asked in surprise, "Huh?" The gunshots didn't last long, so how did they finish so quickly? Are you fighting blitzkrieg? ”
The relieved messengers immediately told him the details of the battle.
It turned out that it only took a short time for the 3 platoons to advance to the mountain designated by Yang Xia. They reached the top of the hill and were preparing to set up machine guns at the commanding heights when they found a group of Japanese troops (it was later learned that they were 2 squadrons, equivalent to 1 battalion) assembling at the foot of the mountain, in addition to a dozen Japanese troops climbing towards the mountain, no doubt to reconnoiter the terrain.
The acting platoon leader of the 3rd Platoon, named Chen Qiwu, after learning about these circumstances, believed that the Japanese army must not climb up the mountain to seize the commanding heights with our army, and it is entirely possible to take advantage of their lack of preparation to launch a surprise attack, and this opportunity is fleeting, and there can be no hesitation.
To this end, Chen Qiwu immediately issued an order: Concentrate all heavy weapons, such as artillery and heavy machine guns, aim them at the enemy groups that are assembling at the bottom of the mountain, set a good ruler, and only wait for the command to sound the gun before firing fiercely.
At the same time, he ordered the 4th and 5th squads to the left and the 5th to the right, to encircle the past from both sides, and eliminate the Japanese troops who were climbing the mountain.
At this time, Chen Qiwu found a situation that made him overjoyed--judging from the clothing, several of the Japanese troops who were climbing the mountain were commanders, just as the so-called "capture the thief first capture the king", first solve the enemy commander, this battle is easy to fight.
Chen Qiwu once again ordered: The whole platoon should take their seats and quickly prepare for battle!
The Japanese troops climbing the mountain continued to approach the position where Chen Qiwu and the others were, but Chen Qiwu remained unmoved, until they climbed only about 50 meters, he raised his hand and shot, sending out a signal to attack!
As his gunshots rang out, the various weapons of the 4th and 5th squads of fighters opened fire at the same time, and before the 11 Japanese soldiers could return fire, they were all knocked to the ground.
At about the same time, the artillery, machine guns and rifles that had been waiting for a long time opened fire on the Japanese troops at the bottom of the mountain!
According to common sense, 1 battalion fights 1 platoon, and the ratio of strength between the two sides is equivalent to 9:1, occupying an absolute advantage, no matter how to fight, it will not be too ugly.
But it was such a coincidence that perhaps the Japanese army did not expect the Chinese Expeditionary Force to appear here, or perhaps they had been traveling for days in the deep mountains and dense forests of Burma, and they were already exhausted, so they were caught off guard by the expeditionary force.
The Japanese army did not expect that they would gather in a dense formation to rest at the bottom of the mountain, which just gave the Chinese Expeditionary Force the opportunity to easily annihilate the regiment from a commanding height, after all, the Expeditionary Force had seized the favorable terrain and organized heavy weapons, and the firepower was very strong.
In short, the 2 squadrons of the Japanese army were thus defeated by 1 platoon of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, so that Yang Xia's battalion and even the commander could not believe that it was so easy to win when he heard the news.
In fact, this was the first time since the entire 123rd Regiment entered the Indo-Burma battlefield that it won such a clean and clean battle with the Japanese army, and the soldiers were all happy.
When the officers and men of the 3rd platoon went down the hill to clean up the battlefield, they found another thing that surprised everyone.
It turned out that when the Japanese army assembled at the bottom of the mountain, it had already set up several large pots, cooked several pots of rice, and stewed a lot of beef. At the end of the battle, the rice and beef were also cooked, and the soldiers were surprised to smell the smell of beef and rice as soon as they descended the mountain!
When Yang Xiazhong arrived with a large army of hungry people, he just enjoyed this big meal while resting. The beef and rice were eaten by 2 squadrons of the Japanese army, and it was just enough for 1 battalion of the Expeditionary Force to eat a full meal.
When the soldiers of the whole battalion were feasting, they all praised the officers and men of the 3 platoons: "You have fought this battle so beautifully!" 1 platoon defeated 9 times as many enemies as you and prepared a big meal for us. Follow behind your platoon, brothers are really blessed! ”