Du Yuming dictated:
On the morning of April 18, when our expeditionary force abandoned the Battle of Pyongmana in the middle of the expeditionary force, it was the second day of the siege of the British 1st Division and the 7th Armored Brigade on the Western Route at Ringanqiang.
At this time, the main force of the new 38th Division of our 66th Army had reached Chok Badang, and Sun Jiguang's division of the 113th Regiment was transported by car to the front line of the British army being besieged overnight.
When they arrived, they found that the enemy had only one large group, and they made a detour to the vicinity of the bridge north of Ringanqiang, cutting off the rear route of the British army, while the 1st Division of the British and Burmese Army, with a total of more than 7,000 people and more than 100 heavy vehicles, were helpless.
After a fierce attack by our army, the enemy was repulsed by noon, and the British army was completely relieved of the siege, and this heroic action of our expeditionary force caused a sensation in the British Isles, and later, the British side issued many medals to Sun Liren, commander of the new 38th Division, Sun Jiguang, regiment commander, and battalion commander.
Wang Chuying dictated:
After the British army was besieged, Alexander, Wavell in New Delhi, and Churchill in London were all shocked and anxious when they heard the news, and they all asked for help from China.
Alexander took Major General Martin to the headquarters of the Chinese Expeditionary Force before dusk on the 16th to ask for help.
At this time, Du Yuming was in the military headquarters of Ye Xin's 5th Army, and Stilwell and Luo Zhuoying were all inspecting the battle situation on the Eastern Front and had not returned, so they sat in the commander's headquarters and waited for Shi and Luo to return, like ants on a hot pot.
At this time, I was driving Stilwell's car along the rugged and long mountain road, while the car of the commander of the expeditionary force, Luo Zhuoying, and his entourage followed closely behind, and did not rush back to the Driftback Chief's headquarters until late at night.
When Stilwell saw Alexander, his face was full of displeasure, and he immediately sneered and said: "Alex, you came late at night, you must have heard that we were about to launch the Pingmana offensive, and sent me tanks and artillery units to support the battle!
Stilwell is a very personal person, he is very considerate and caring for the soldiers, but he often speaks bitterly to the big people he destitutes, and in the upper echelons of the US military, he has the nickname "Vinegar Joe".
In the face of Stilwell's sarcasm, Alexander replied with a straight face: "Joe, I'm very sorry! Now, I can't bring out tanks and artillery units to support your offensive operations."
On the contrary, I would like to ask you to send the new 38th Division to rescue the 1st Anglo-Burmese Division besieged by the Japanese army in Ringanqiang, where more than 7,000 British officers and men are eager for you to send troops to rescue them from danger! London and New Delhi are calling for help! Please act quickly! Saving soldiers is like fighting fire!"
Stilwell saw that the situation was serious, and he had no intention of teasing the other party anymore, so he immediately found Luo Zhuoying and discussed the issue of Alexander's distress.
Luo Zhuoying happily replied: "Chairman Chiang has clearly instructed us a long time ago: we must provide timely and appropriate assistance to the British army, so as to avoid the pain of cold lips and teeth. Now, the British 1st Division is under siege at Ren'anqiang and is in danger, and it is incumbent upon our army to immediately send Division Commander Sun Liren to lead his troops to help. However, the Battle of Pingmana must also immediately turn to the offensive and break the enemy all the way first. ”
The problem had now been satisfactorily resolved, and it stands to reason that Alexander should immediately take his leave. However, he had to suggest to Shi and Luo inch by inch: "Give up the Battle of Pingmanna, withdraw the Chinese army to the areas of Taze, Mintila, and Dongsha, and hold the Battle of Mandalay." In this way, the odds are greater. ”
However, Shi and Luo categorically refused. At that moment, General Bai Yekong, chief of staff, first conveyed the gist of the order to Sun Liren by telephone, ordering Sun Liren to immediately lead the 112th and 113th regiments to rush to the aid of Ren'anqiang and rescue the 1st British Division;
At the same time, I and Major Merrill of the U.S. Army were sent to deliver written orders to Sun Liren and supervise their implementation, accompanied by two gendarmes.
Because Merrill had a heart attack and was highly myopia, I drove to Kyaukpadong, the meeting place agreed in advance, overnight, and we arrived at dawn on the 17th.
Liu Fangwu's old photos The picture comes from the Internet
At this time, Liu Fangwu, the commander of the 113th regiment, had already led the whole regiment to arrive at the place in advance and was burying the pot to cook rice. After a while, Slim and his assistant also drove here, and after he found the regimental commander Liu Fangwu, he said that the British 1st Division was besieged at Ren'anqiang and was in critical condition.
He asked Commander Liu to immediately lead his headquarters and continue to advance towards the Bin River in a British car, and Brigadier General Codes, commander of the 13th Brigade of the British Army, met with Commander Liu at this place (Kenye) and supported Commander Liu with tanks and artillery.
Regiment Commander Liu told Slim that without the order of Division Commander Sun Liren, the regiment could not act on its own. At this time, Merrill and I told Slim that the two of us had come to convey General Luo Zhuoying's order to the division commander.
Commander Luo has ordered Division Commander Sun Liren to command the 112th and 113th regiments to counterattack Ren'anqiang, rescue the besieged Ying 1st Division, and accept your command.
As early as 16 March, after Slim took command of the British 1st Army, Merrill and I had already met with Slim. Therefore, it was easier to talk about meeting, and he accepted my suggestion and decided to stay and wait for Sun Liren.
On the morning of the 17th, Sun Liren arrived with Colonel Chen Mingren, commander of the 112th Regiment, He Junheng, chief of staff of the division, and troops directly under the division.
I presented Sun Liren with Luo Zhuoying's order, and Merrill handed over Stilwell's letter to Sun Liren, and after reading Luo's order and Shi's letter, he asked Slim what instructions he had.
Slim couldn't wait to make a request: Commander Sun was asked to lead the whole division to the north bank of the Bin River to attack the Japanese army, and he would order the 13th Brigade and tanks and artillery to support Sun's division.
Sun Liren saw that Slim was in a hurry, so he calmly said to Slim: "According to the general's report, the Anglo-Burmese 1st Division was surrounded by only two wings of the 33rd Division of the Japanese Army, while the Anglo-Burmese 1st Division had two brigades of more than 7,000 people, more than 100 artillery pieces, and 58 tanks, and the enemy and us were equal in strength;
Moreover, the enemy is busy extinguishing the oil field fire and rescuing the oil field facilities, and at the moment, the enemy will not go all out to storm the British 1st Division, please tell General Scott to hold on and not surrender. After the division is assembled, it must rush to rescue them. ”
Slim was also a well-known general in the British army, known for his calmness, bravery, and good fighting. He once commanded the "Great Victory in East Africa" that defeated the army of the Italian Duke of Aosta and captured 230,000 Italian troops in East Africa, and was promoted from the commander of the 1st Indian Brigade to the commander of the 5th Indian Division due to his outstanding achievements.
He was convinced by Sun Liren's analysis, so he left Colonel Wells and Captain Robertson as liaison staff officers to follow Sun Liren, and he himself returned to the Treaty Headquarters to wait for interrogation.
Sun Liren's old photos The picture comes from the Internet
When Sun Liren saw that the troops had arrived and that Slim had gone, he summoned the officers to announce the situation on the part of the commander and Ringanqiang, as well as Slim's request, and asked everyone to express their opinions on how to accomplish the task.
I remember that at that time, the two regiment commanders fought over the battle plan. Chen Naruto advocated crossing the vicinity of Kannat in the upper reaches of the Bin River with two regiments to surprise the Japanese from behind, and at the same time, the British 13th Brigade attacked the enemy on the north bank of the Bin River in order to confuse the enemy in Nenganqiang.
Liu Fangwu believed that Chen Mingren's plan could surprise the enemy and achieve the effect of a surprise attack, but if our army penetrated deep into the enemy's rear, if the enemy attacked from the frontal Binhe Bridge and cut off our rear road, it would definitely put me in a desperate situation.
Therefore, he suggested that the 112th Regiment should surprise the enemy's flank and back from the Kannath side, and that the 113th Regiment should attack from the Binhe Bridge head-on, first clear the enemy on the north bank of the Binhe River, and then take advantage of the situation to attack the Renanqiang and seize the two commanding heights of 501 and 510, so that the Japanese army would break through without attacking and the British encirclement would be easily resolved.
Division Commander Sun decided to adopt Liu Fangwu's suggestion and ordered Deputy Division Commander Qi Xueqi to lead the 112th Regiment to Cannat in a British car, contact the British 17th Division and the 7th Brigade in Namaung, and actively flank the enemy at Ren'anqiang.
Commander Liu Fangwu sent Deputy Regiment Commander Zeng Qi to lead the 3rd Battalion, divisional engineers, artillery, three search companies, and a plainclothes team to set off by car to occupy a position south of Kenye, reconnoiter the enemy's terrain, and seize the bridge.
Division Commander Sun led our Chinese, American, and British liaison staff officers and the troops directly under the division headquarters to advance to the north bank of the Bin River with the main force of the 113th Regiment under the command of Regiment Commander Liu Fangwu, and arrived at the north of Kenye at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
At this moment, they suddenly heard the sound of gunfire in front of them, and Commander Sun and Regiment Commander Liu immediately ordered the accompanying troops to occupy positions on the hills on both sides of the road and prepare for battle. At the same time, the communications company was ordered to chase the telephone and set up a radio station in front of the company, and the six of us climbed to the top of the hill and used binoculars to observe the situation ahead.
After a while, the deputy head of the regiment in front sent a report:
"The Japanese troops occupying about 3,000 meters from the bridge to the old ferry port had at least four or five infantry companies, as well as about 12 mountain artillery, rapid-fire guns, and infantry guns, and more than 10 armored vehicles. Our Jiang Yuanlian and the search company have made contact with the enemy at the bridge and the old ferry crossing.
Now that the enemy was covering with artillery fire, two infantry companies accompanied by ten armored vehicles were dispatched to pounce on Chiang Company. I have set up an ambush on the east side of the road with two companies of engineers and artillery and the main force of the third battalion, and ordered Chiang Company to retreat along the west side of the road, lure the enemy to pursue him, and destroy the enemy with a rapid firepower. ”
After Liu Fangwu got the report, he wanted to use the main force of the regiment to copy the enemy's rear from the east side of the road, take advantage of the situation to seize the bridge, clear the enemy on the north bank of the Bin River, and then cross the river to attack Ren'anqiang.
Old photos of Slim and his wife The picture comes from the Internet
At this time, it happened that Slim also climbed the mountain, and after listening to Liu Fangwu's battle plan, he immediately suggested to Sun Liren that it be adopted.
He also complained that the British 1st Division had been besieged for several days, the casualties had increased sharply, and due to the lack of water and food, the officers and men were extremely tired and could not hold out for a long time, and asked Division Commander Sun to take immediate action to save the lives of more than 7,000 British troops.
After hearing this, Sun Liren calmly said to Slim: "I and all the officers and men are very anxious to save the British army from danger, and just now, Regiment Commander Liu's words speak very well, and his mind is exactly the heart of myself and all the officers and men.
However, because the enemy is outnumbered and the enemy is strong and we are weak, we are very confused about the enemy's situation and terrain, so we must first find out the enemy's situation and terrain, and then adopt appropriate steps and tactics to strive to win by surprise. Now it is important to clear the enemy on the north bank of the Bin River and then take Ren'anqiang. ”
Sun Liren hoped that Slim urged the British army to hold on and wait for reinforcements and not surrender. Seeing that Commander Sun and Regiment Commander Liu were high-spirited, confident, and had clever tactics and thorough planning, Slim said to Sun and Liu with confidence:
"I am confident that your army will be able to defeat the current Japanese army and rescue the British army, and I await your good news. ”
After that, he asked Brigadier General Kodes, the commander of the 13th Brigade, to report to Commander Sun and accept Sun Liren's instructions.
As soon as Slim left, Sun Liren told Regiment Commander Liu not to increase troops to the front line, and that Zeng Qi would deal with the invading enemy, and asked him to plan and organize the night battle and the attack at dawn tomorrow (18th).
And asked how many troops Kodes could send into battle. Kodes: You can send a battalion of infantry and a company of artillery and tank to participate in the battle. Immediately, he instructed him to directly discuss with Regiment Commander Liu Fangwu the specific combat operations and contact methods.
After Sun Liren gave a proper explanation, he immediately took his command post personnel and our four liaison staff officers to a densely forested hill on the east side of the road, two kilometers south of Kenye, at 15:30, where the command posts of Zeng Qi, deputy regiment commander, and Zhang Qi, commander of the 3rd battalion.
I saw that the troops were hiding in ambush positions and had mined the roads. Looking to the front right, I clearly saw hundreds of Japanese soldiers following behind the armored car, and under the cover of artillery fire, they followed and chased Jiang Yuanlian, who was fighting and retreating.
When the hour hand pointed to 15:56, Zeng Qi saw that the enemy had entered our ambush position and Jiang Yuanlian had retreated to the safe zone, so he shouted "fight" into the microphone.
Suddenly, the mines on the highway exploded, and the Japanese armored vehicles rushing in front immediately burst into flames, and guns and artillery also rang out on our positions, causing the Japanese troops to be either killed or wounded, and wolves rushed to the front.
The Japanese artillery on the south bank of the Bin River reacted very quickly, and as soon as our side fired, the artillery on that side came over, and the fire was very fierce.
At 16:40, the battle ended, and 112 enemy corpses were found in the battlefield, including the body of Captain Yoshiryu Nakaji, the leader of the 8th Squadron of the 214th Wing, and a batch of weapons and ammunition were also captured.