(sidenote: thanks for the compliments
there will undoubtedly be more drama in the future
)
Operation R - December 19th to 31st, 1939
South China Seas operation status, December 19th.
The Expeditionary Army command reviewed two plans for a landings in the Bay of Bengal. Each plan involved LGEN Tojo's 2nd Corps, but the locations were different. The Army supported landings at Rangoon, while the Navy was for landing at Chittagong, the first port in India.
Prince Kanin and General Kuriyabashi pointed out that the Navy was certainly open to putting a large number of IJA troops in a position to be cut off, the Army simply could not bring themselves to trust the Navy to keep them supplied so far up the Bay of Bengal.
Since the Navy would have no landings without Army troops, the landings would be made at Rangoon under the Naval Plan "R."
On the 19th LGEN Tojo's corps embarked at Singapore and by the 21st they were landing around Rangoon.
Having come ashore both on the east and west of the city, and with another division landing directly against the coastal defenses, the 1st division was ordered to cut off the defenders retreat and move on the city from the north.
On Christmas day the 1st division had executed their maneuver and were pressuring the defenders from the north; the Battle of Martaban Gulf was fought between the AF-1 task force and the HMS Eagle battlegroup as the British attempted to sortie from port.
The 6th Indian division continued holding out at Rangoon while the Royal Navy decided what to do with itself.
By the 30th the Japanese were in control of Rangoon.
In Yunnan the New Nationalists of China had deployed troops in support of their allies.