ushernet Chapter 724 Reorganization
Chapter 724 Reorganization
Subsequently, the 49th Division of the Sixth Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force retreated to Nanzhi, the temporary 55th Division retreated to Cheli, the headquarters of the Sixth Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force retreated to Fohai, and the 93rd Division served as the rear guard of the Sixth Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, and finally retreated to Daluo.
So far, the Chinese Expeditionary Force's first campaign into Burma involved a total of 110,000 soldiers, but in the end only more than 40,000 soldiers successfully retreated and returned. During this offensive in Burma, the Japanese army not only occupied the entire territory of Burma, but also blocked the international material transportation lines on which the Chinese government relied, and opened the door to attack India to the west.
All the combat supplies needed by the Chinese government could only be transported via the Hump Route and the China-India Highway, which greatly increased the difficulty of transportation.
In June 1942, the Military Commission of the Chinese Government held a review meeting of the Chinese Expeditionary Force's campaign in Burma in Baoshan, Yunnan Province. At the meeting, the loss of Lashio, which resulted in the Japanese offensive forces cutting off the retreat routes of the Fifth and Sixth Armies of the Chinese Expeditionary Force that had entered Burma, and ultimately leading to the collapse of the entire army, was blamed on the 66th Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force that collapsed without a fight.
In the end, the highest level of the Chinese government and the Chinese government's Military Commission also revoked the numbers of the 66th Army and the newly formed 29th Division of the Chinese Expeditionary Force. Zhang Zhen, commander of the 66th Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, Liu Bolun, commander of the newly formed 28th Division, and Ma Weiji, commander of the newly formed 29th Division, were removed from their posts and investigated.
On May 2, 1942, in an urgent telegram from Chief of Staff of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, Stilwell, to the President of the United States, he mentioned for the first time the plan to establish a base in India to train the Chinese government's troops and the subsequent counterattack against Burma. Subsequently, the Chinese government reorganized the remnants of the New 22nd Division and the New 38th Division of the Chinese Expeditionary Force that retreated to India into the X Force, and reorganized the Chinese Expeditionary Force troops that retreated to Yunnan Province and the newly dispatched troops of the Chinese government into the Y Force.
In June 1942, after the defense line of Nujiang River was stabilized, the Chinese government began to actively train the army and prepare for the counterattack against Burma.
On July 15, 1942, the newly formed 38th Division of the Chinese Expeditionary Force set out from Imphal to Ramgarh. In early August, the newly formed 22nd Division of the Fifth Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force and the army's direct troops, which had escaped from the Savage Mountains in northern Myanmar and entered India, also arrived in Ramgarh.
In August 1942, the Military Commission of the Chinese Government established the General Headquarters of the Chinese Army in India, which was responsible for the training of the Chinese troops stationed in India. On August 26, the Chinese Expeditionary Force held an official opening ceremony at the Ramgarh Training Center. More than 9,000 officers and soldiers of the Chinese Expeditionary Force who retreated to India on foot became the first batch of troops to receive training.
By October, according to the agreement between the Chinese government and the United States, the headquarters of the First Route Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force was abolished and renamed the General Headquarters of the Chinese Army in India, with Stilwell as the commander-in-chief and Commander Luo as the deputy commander-in-chief. At the same time, the Chinese government took advantage of the opportunity of the return of planes during the Hump Airlift to airlift hundreds of soldiers to India every day to supplement the Chinese Army in India.
At the end of 1942, as the conflict between Stilwell, the commander-in-chief of the Chinese Army in India, and Luo, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Chinese Army in India, had become irreconcilable, the top leadership of the Chinese government was forced to transfer Luo back to the country for another job. After repeated consideration, the top leadership of the Chinese government decided to send Commander Zheng of the Eighth Army of the Chinese government to replace Luo as the deputy commander-in-chief of the Chinese Army in India.
At the same time, the highest level of the Chinese government decided to set up a newly formed First Army under the command of the Chinese Army in India, with Zheng Dongguo, deputy commander-in-chief of China, as the army commander, and under its command the newly formed 38th Division and the newly formed 22nd Division.
Subsequently, the highest level of the Chinese government incorporated the newly formed 30th Division into the combat sequence of the New 1st Army, and airlifted the troops of the newly formed 30th Division to India from the end of 1942 to the spring of 1944. In the first half of 1940, the troops of the 14th and 50th Divisions of the Chinese government were also airlifted to India for training.
On February 1, 1943, the highest level of the Chinese government appointed Commander Chen as the commander-in-chief of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, responsible for the training of the second batch of Chinese Expeditionary Force. At the same time, Stilwell, the commander-in-chief of the Chinese Army in India, also sent Deputy Chief of Staff Colonel Dorn to lead the personnel of the US military headquarters in the mountain city to set up an office in Kunming, and transferred US military instructors to the Chinese Expeditionary Force training in Yunnan Province to assist in training.
In March 1943, the 114th Regiment of the newly formed 38th Division of the Chinese Army in India advanced into the Savage Mountains to cover the engineering corps of China and the United States in building the Sino-Indian Highway from Ledo in India to the Savage Mountains, and gradually advanced to the north of Myanmar.
On March 28, 1943, the headquarters of the Chinese Expeditionary Force was established in Chuxiong, Yunnan Province. Commander-in-Chief Chen of the Chinese Expeditionary Force also flew from the mountain city to Chuxiong to take office. According to the plan agreed upon between Commander-in-Chief Chen of the Chinese Expeditionary Force and the Military Commission of the Chinese Government, the Chinese Expeditionary Force will draw troops from 12 armies and 31 divisions from Jiangxi Province, Hubei Province, Sichuan Province and other places to conduct concentrated training in Yunnan Province.
At the same time, in order to improve the combat effectiveness of the various units of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, the Chinese Expeditionary Force Command established cadre training regiments and training schools in Kunming, Dali in Yunnan Province and Ramgarh in India. Under the training of military instructors from the United States, the officers and soldiers of the Chinese Expeditionary Force were trained in weapons, shooting, tactics and other aspects. At the same time, the Chinese Expeditionary Force also began to fully equip itself with various new equipment provided by the Allied forces.
Among them, the New 22nd Division, the New 38th Division and the New 30th Division of the New First Army of the Chinese Army in India were all equipped with American equipment and were actively preparing for a counterattack in northern Myanmar.
By August 1943, the organization and equipment of five armies of the Chinese Expeditionary Force had been basically completed. The 54th Army of the Chinese government, which was transferred in later, was also being reorganized and trained with the help of the United States Military Training Corps. At this time, the newly formed 22nd Army had also received an order from the Chinese Military Commission, and the entire army was on its way to Yunnan Province.
At the same time, in order to strengthen mutual coordination in operations, the heads of England and the United States held a meeting in Quebec, Canada. At the meeting, the leaders of both sides unanimously decided to establish the Southeast Asia Allied Command and appointed British Admiral Mountbatten as commander-in-chief and General Stilwell of the United States as deputy commander-in-chief.
The newly appointed commander of the Southeast Asian Allied Forces, General Mountbatten, also proposed an operational plan to counterattack Burma, which was eventually agreed upon by the Allies.