Stilwell praised the Battle of Northern Yunnan and Western Yunnan in Burma as the first protracted battle against a first-rate enemy in Chinese history

In the spring of 1942, the Japanese invaded Burma. At the request of the British army, China sent an expeditionary force into Burma to support the British army in combat. After the defeat in the battle into Burma (see Battle of Dianxiang Road), one part of the Chinese Expeditionary Force entered India and was organized as the Chinese Army in India; the other retreated to western Yunnan and expanded into two armies. In October 1943, in order to implement the decision of the Allied Quebec Conference on launching an offensive against the Japanese army in Burma and opening up the international communication line in southwest China, the troops stationed in India, under the command of Commander-in-Chief Stilwell, gathered one after another in the Ledo area on the Border between India and Burma, preparing to launch an attack on the Japanese army in northern Burma; Wei Lihuang, commander of the Expeditionary Force in Western Yunnan, decided to launch an attack on the Japanese army with Tengchong as the goal. The Japanese army stationed in northern Burma and on the west bank of the Nu River had a total of 4 divisions, 9 infantry companies and 8 special forces companies, and carried out defense under the command of commander of the 33rd Army, Honda Masazai. [3]

Comparison of troop strength

On the Allied side

The Allied forces were jointly formed by the armies of China, the United States and the United Kingdom, of which the Chinese participating forces included the Chinese Army in India, the Chinese Expeditionary Force, and other units. The total strength of the army is about 260,000 people. The campaign commanded General Wei Lihuang, Commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, General Huang Qixiang, Deputy Commander of the Expeditionary Force, and General Joseph Stilwell of the U.S. Army.

On the Japanese side

The Japanese Burmese Front consisted of three corps, of which the 33rd Army of Hondo Masamune was responsible for defending northern Burma and was within the offensive range of the Chinese army, of which the 418th Division was mainly against the Chinese garrison in India, and the 56th Division was responsible for fighting against the Chinese Expeditionary Force in the direction of Yunnan. [4]

The war went through

On October 14, 1942, the newly formed 38th Division of the Indian Army broke through the first regiment of the 18th Division of the Japanese Army, captured Xinpingyang, and entered northern Burma. In December, yubang was captured. At the beginning of 1944, the newly formed 38th and 22nd Divisions captured Dajia and Tailuo respectively, and in early March they captured Mengguan and Waluban. The Japanese retreated to Jeb Pass and resisted with danger. The new Twenty-second Division was formed in the new Thirty-eighth Division and the 53rd In the United States Army. Seven detachments (two battalions) under the auspices of 14 days of fighting captured the 10-kilometer-long Jeb Mountain Pass (see Battle of The Munguan Jeb Mountain Pass). The remnants of the Japanese army retreated to the Menggong River Valley. Then the fifth third. Seven detachments, mixed with one each of the newly formed 30th and 50th Divisions, which had newly arrived in the Taikri area, formed a Sino-American assault detachment and continued to advance towards Myitkyina; the new Thirty-eighth Division advanced toward Goli.

The Japanese troops who retreated to the Menggong Valley were reinforced, and they held Gaoli, Yingkaitang and Kameng. At the end of April, the newly formed 22nd Division, with the cooperation of the first part of the newly organized 38th Division, attacked the Japanese army, and after a month of bitter fighting, on June 19, it conquered all the above areas. The new 38th Division then made a sharp advance toward Meng Gong, and the new 22nd Division detoured from the west to Meng Gong (see Battle of Meng Gong Valley). At this time, the 20th Army Group of the Expeditionary Force crossed the Nu River from Lichaiba in western Yunnan to ShuanghongQiao, and after fierce fighting for more than a month, it conquered Japanese strongholds such as Mamian Pass, Hokusai Public House, and Jiang Tho Street, and approached the outskirts of Tengchong. The Eleventh Army also crossed the Nu River with one unit in support of the Twentieth Army. On May 22, in accordance with the order of the Military Commission of the Chinese Nationalist Government on the rapid capture of Tengchong, Longling and the indian garrison in northern Myanmar and the opening of the Sino-Indian Highway, the Expeditionary Force attacked Tengchong with the Twentieth Group Army as the right group and the Eleventh Army as the left group to attack Longling and Mangshi. In early June, the Eleventh Army launched an all-out offensive against the Japanese. The main force of the Seventy-first Army crossed the Nu River and attacked Longling, and the fierce battle was fierce until the 21st, and the two sides formed a confrontation (see Battle of Qiangdu Nu River).

Schematic of the battle situation

The main force of the Second Army crossed the Nu River, besieging Pingjia with one unit and attacking Longling with the other with the Seventy-first Army. The Eighth Army of the General Reserve of the Expeditionary Force crossed the river one after another in early June and joined the Seventy-first Army in its attack on Longling. At the same time, the newly organized Thirty-eighth Division attacked and annihilated a Japanese army unit northeast of Meng Gong, relieved the danger of the first part of the Thirty-sixth Division of the British and Indian Army that had been attacked by the Japanese army, and forced Meng Gongcheng; the newly organized Twenty-second Division formed a siege on meng gong city. After two days and nights of fighting, meng gong was captured on the 25th. The remnants of the Japanese army retreated in the direction of Myitkyina. The important town of Myitkyina in northern Burma was garrisoned by two Japanese companies. The Indian army and the Mixed Chinese and American Assault Detachments that had arrived in the outskirts of the area attacked the Japanese army, and after more than two months of fierce fighting, they conquered Myitkyina on August 5. Most of the Japanese army was annihilated, and a few retreated to Bamo.

The 20th Army of the Expeditionary Force launched an attack on Tengchong, and the Japanese army resisted the danger, and after a bitter battle, it conquered Tengchong on September 14, and all the Japanese troops were annihilated. On July 13, the Eleventh Army launched another attack on Longling, and with the support of the Twentieth Army, on November 6, it captured Longling, most of the Japanese army was annihilated, and a few retreated to Mangshi. Subsequently, the Eleventh Army attacked Mangshi, Chafang, Hatamacho, and Mangyou. After the Indian army conquered Myitkyina, it divided its units into the newly organized First Army (with jurisdiction over the newly organized 38th and 30th Divisions) and the newly organized Sixth Army (with jurisdiction over the newly organized 22nd, 14th, and 50th Divisions). On November 14, the newly organized 38th Division arrived near Bamo, and with the cooperation of the new 22nd Division and the Air Force, after more than 20 days of fighting, defeated a reinforced company of the Japanese 2nd Division and captured Bamo. The newly formed 30th Division captured Nankan on January 15, 1945, most of the Japanese army was annihilated, and the remnants retreated to Lashio.

The Fiftieth Division, after taking over the task of the New Twenty-second Division near Muncak, attacked south and continued to advance towards Mauro after breaking the Japanese at Wanhao. The first unit of the British-Indian Thirty-sixth Division advanced in the direction of Qiao Mei. After the capture of Nankan, the newly formed 38th Division and the newly organized 30th Division attacked in the direction of Mangyou and Laolong respectively. The remnants of the Japanese stronghold along the newly organized 38th Division's Lianke Yunnan Burma Road (from Kunming via Nankan to Lashio) conquered Mangyou on the 27th, met with the Expeditionary Force division, and completely opened the Sino-Indian Highway (from Leiduo to Kunming via Nankan). The newly formed 30th Division, supported by the first part of the new 38th Division, after more than 50 days of fighting, captured Lashio on March 8, continued to pursue Kangsha, and on the 27th rendezvous with the first part of the 50th Division. Another part of the Fiftieth Division met the British and Indian troops at Jome. The remnants of the Japanese army retreated towards Jingdong. At this point, the battle is over. [5]

The outcome of the war

The Battle of Western Yunnan in Northern Burma lasted for a year and a half, and the Allies killed and wounded more than 25,000 Japanese troops at the cost of 31,445 casualties and 35,948 wounded. It opened up the Yunnan Burma Highway, china's southwest international communication line, which greatly cooperated with the Great Counteroffensive in the Pacific Theater of World War II. [6]

War evaluation

Reasons for victory

(1) The enthusiastic support of the people of Myanmar and the people of overseas Chinese and western Yunnan, striving to be guides, transporters, and road construction;

(2) Chinese officers and men have the confidence to win, a strong will to fight, and a strong morale;

(3) Active and flexible strategy and tactics, and adequate weapons and equipment;

(4) The vigorous assistance and cooperation of the Anglo-American allies. [7]

Battle significance

The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Western Yunnan not only entered the annals of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression as the first to recover lost territory and completely annihilate the Japanese army, but also exerted a major impact on the nationwide War of Resistance and made important contributions.

First of all, the victory in the counter-offensive war in western Yunnan broke the Japanese army's encirclement of our country, lifted the Japanese army's flank threat to China's rear, recovered a large area of the fallen land, enabled the people in the occupied areas to return to the embrace of the motherland, and further strengthened the confidence of the people of the whole country in the war of resistance.

Second, the counter-offensive in western Yunnan completely annihilated the enemy, changed the situation in which China's three battlefields were attacked by the enemy on their backs and divided their troops to deal with the crisis, so that the Chinese army was reduced from three battlefields to two battlefields, which made it easier for the Chinese army to free up troops, move its divisions to the east, shorten the front, and create conditions for the national counteroffensive in 1945.

Finally, the Burma Road was reopened, which greatly strengthened the strength of China's great counteroffensive. In the two years from 1943 to 1944, only 250,000 tons of aid materials were airlifted to China by the "Hump Route", an average of more than 10,000 tons per month, and after the breakthrough of the Yunnan Burma and China-India Highways, 500,000 tons of strategic materials were imported in only 7 months, an average of more than 70,000 tons per month. These strategic supplies equipped many corps. Coupled with the 200,000 elite divisions that moved east from the northern battlefield of western Yunnan and Burma, the combat strength of the Chinese army has been greatly improved, and a qualitative leap has been achieved, enabling China to grasp the initiative in the war and accelerating the arrival of the national counteroffensive. [8]