Haruki Isayama nodded with a puzzled look: "It seems that the Chinese Tiger Army is going to defend Maolan to the death. Not only does it block the Imperial Army's route to cross the river and attack Yangon, but it also wants to pinch the Imperial Navy's throat up the river!

China has always been known for its good defensiveness. According to previous battle examples and experience, Maolmian is probably a hard bone that is difficult to chew!”

"Yang Fan tried to use Maulhammeng and Madaban as locks, to prevent the Imperial Navy and fleet from heading north to support the Imperial Army, and to establish a solid defense line in Xi'an, Salwin River to block the Imperial Army from crossing the river.

Such a strategic idea is good, but unfortunately, in front of the powerful Imperial Navy and Air Force, they can only have a delusion, and the end of the mantis arm blocking the car is only a dead end!"

Iida Xiangjiro waved his hand unconsciously, then pointed to the Mawmang on the map and the winding Salwin River Road:

"Let's take a step back, even if the Chinese army has built the defense line so strongly or strongly, such passive defense is at best a Maginot line of defense that is not useful!"

Iida's eyes were flashing fiercely. In fact, for the Japanese army, Mawampian was not a must-attack, because now the Andaman Sea has been basically controlled by the Japanese task force, and Myanmar's material transfer port has been stagnant.

The transfer port has been changed to Mumbai, India, and then transported to northern Myanmar by land, and then enters Yunnan via Myitkyina to Myitkyina Highway.

Japan's main strategic intention of capturing Myanmar was to cut off the Yunnan-Burma Highway and prevent the US aid from being transported from Myanmar land. Therefore, the Japanese army only needs to tear a hole in the Salwin River, which is more than 1,600 kilometers long, and continuously attack and capture Myanmar's inland, thereby achieving strategic goals!

Of course, if the Mawmuman-Madaban City lock defense line built by Yang Fan is unable to be opened, it will definitely be bad news for the Japanese army, and it will increase the difficulty of the 15th Army crossing the river.

Moreover, even if the 15th Army successfully breaks through a certain section of the Salwen River, it is very easy to become a lonely army and be deeply cut off from the rear, but it is gathered and annihilated.

However, Iida Xiangjiro would not consider "afterlife" at all, and his mind was full of confidence in breaking through the Salwin River at what time and location.

Haruki Isayama nodded and said, "That's true. The river surface at the lower reaches of the Salwin River is extremely wide. If you cross the river from here, you will inevitably need the full support of the Imperial Navy, otherwise it will be difficult to succeed.

However, above Maulanmian, the entire 110-kilometer river section to Mkpalin is suitable for crossing the river. I don’t believe that the Chinese army can guard such a long river section tightly!

Especially these river sections, the narrowest part is less than 100 meters. As long as we have enough ships to cross, we can forcefully break through the Salwin River at lightning speed!”

"Soga!"

Iida Xiangjiro nodded, then turned his head to look at the Japanese counselor Miyazawa and said, "How many ships have been collected to cross the river?"

Miyazawa replied quickly: "Report to the Commander, since the Chinese army had collected ships on the east coast before, most of the ships would not be destroyed and would be dragged to the west coast, so only 24 small fishing boats have been collected at present."

"Nani? There are only 24 small fishing boats?"

Iida Xiangjiro frowned and said, "How many imperial soldiers can be transported across the river that time?"

Miyazawa replied quickly: "About 200 people!"

"Baga!"

Iida Xiangjiro was so angry that his teeth were itchy, and he shouted loudly: "You can transport 200 people at one time. Are you trying to let the imperial soldiers die?"

Miyazawa shivered and said, "Commander, in addition to this, the imperial soldiers are stepping up the construction of rafts. In less than three days, they can build thousands of rafts. At that time, they can fully meet the imperial soldiers who carry one gang at a time!"

"Yoxi! The construction of rafts must be done in a step-by-step manner. We cannot just rely on the imperial navy and transport fleet. We must be prepared for both! We must also have good relations with the natives of Myanmar. The Great Japanese Empire will have many places to use them in the future!"

Iida Xiangjiro's expression was a little slow. The most important thing in Myanmar is high-quality wood. As long as you are willing to work hard, not to mention thousands of rafts, it takes ten days and half a month to make it happen.

Haruki Iasyama frowned and said, "Iida, I think not only should I be prepared to cross the river independently, but also to prepare for long-term combat!"

Iida Yoshiro raised his eyebrows and asked, "Isaiyama, what do you mean?"

Haruki Isaiyama said: "The straight-line distance between Tatsufu and Wankyo and Maudan is actually only more than 150 kilometers. If there is a road connecting, you can get there in one day!

It’s a pity that there is no road between Maudan and Bangkok, and it also has to bypass large areas of bumpy mountain jungle. The Imperial Army can only bypass the Bilao Mountain Range from Maodang Pass, and not only has to walk more than three or four hundred kilometers of roads, but it is difficult to follow the army with a large amount of heavy equipment."

After a pause, Haruki Isayama continued: "For various reasons, we were one month later than the Chinese army, and extremely strong and complete fortifications have been built on the west bank of the Salwin River.

I have a badly strong premonition recently, that is, if the Imperial Army wants to cross the river from the downstream plains, the difficulty will be beyond our imagination!

Therefore, I suggest that we need to make preparations in many aspects, first of all, we must build a highway from Dafu to Maulammian.

This will continuously supply materials, troops and equipment, which will help the Imperial Army and the main Chinese troops on the west bank of the Salwin River to form confrontation and restraint.

At the same time, I think it is entirely necessary to use a surprise soldier to attack from the northern Shan State Plateau, directly enter the northern Myanmar region to cut off the rear route of the Chinese army, and then encircle and annihilate the Chinese Myanmar Expeditionary Force."

"What Isaiyama said is extremely true, I have this idea too!"

Iida Yoshiro looked at the map for a while and said with sad thoughts: "The Empire should have crossed Thailand to attack the Malay Peninsula while crossing the British army in Burma.

Those arrogant and cowardly British men are simply a group of paper tigers. If we could launch an attack a month in advance, the entire Myanmar has fallen into the hands of the empire, so why would it be so passive now?

Alas, what a pity! The Empire has missed the best fighter to easily defeat Myanmar. Now, even if we pay ten times the price, it is difficult to win in the short term. We must make all plans!"

Hearing this, Haruki Isayama showed a hint of shame and said, "Our General Staff also has an unshirkable responsibility for this matter. He did overestimate the combat effectiveness of the British and the threat of the British fleet before.

If we could convince the General Staff of the Southern Expeditionary Army to launch an attack on Myanmar in advance, things would not have become so bad!

Moreover, before the troops set off, intelligence collection and analysis were not done well, and the lack of effective assessment and response to the traffic conditions in Thailand and Myanmar and mountain jungle climate environment led to a series of errors and passiveness!"
Chapter completed!