Shadow Spy

Chapter 407: Demanding True Command

Just when Li Junhao had expanded his thinking, from preparing to win over the front-line leading generals of the British army to preparing to completely control the British-Burmese Army and the British-Indian Army, the Commander-in-Chief of the British-Indian Army, General Wavell, who was far away in Delhi, India, was preparing for the British in Burma. Angry and worried because the military evacuation was blocked!
General Archibald Percival Wavell, the Commander-in-Chief of the British and Indian Army, who is over [-] years old, is a typical "British Empire supremacist". In his mind, nothing is more important than British interests. Yes, he presided over the formulation of the previous British-Burmese military strategy against Japan.

To this end, he specially transferred Lieutenant General Hadro Alexander, who had successfully commanded the British 1st Army's retreat at Dunkirk, to take over as commander of the British-Burmese Army, replacing Thomas Hutton, who could not understand his strategic thinking. !

But what Wavell didn't expect was that Alexander was assassinated at the station not long after he took office and only organized the evacuation of Yangon. He still hasn't figured out who did it!He had no choice but to reinstate the injured Hutton as commander of the British and Burmese forces.

Then, something happened that made Wavell even more angry. Hutton actually ordered the British troops in Myanmar to stick to the Degong, Tonggu, and Mengzhen lines in central Myanmar. He led his reserve team to station in Ren, Myanmar's largest oil field. An Qiang, never retreated an inch from now on!
Of course, Hutton's order bought time for the British troops in Burma to withdraw more British property and materials in Burma, and at the same time allowed the Chinese Expeditionary Force to successfully reach the front line. From this aspect, it was good.

What Hutton did subsequently was intolerable to Wavell. He actually teamed up with the American Stilwell and Slim, the new commander of the 1st Division of the British-Burmese Army, to transfer a large number of British weapons, equipment and military supplies to China. People - although they used some methods to hide it, how could they hide it from him, a "veteran general"?
Of course, Hutton used this to successfully withdraw the 1st Division of the British-Burmese Army northward to Ren'anqiang, but this could not at all make up for the damage he caused to British interests!Therefore, he sent Irwin to Burma to replace him, reinstated Scott as the commander of the 1st Division, and transferred Hutton and Slim to India.

However, the situation in Myanmar is still out of Wavell's control. The unknown American observer actually served as the deputy commander and frontline commander of the Indo-Myanmar Allied Forces. He directly ordered the British troops not to retreat and mobilized the Chinese Expeditionary Force. The threat of force is difficult to handle!
Under such a situation, Wavell had no other choice but to urgently call the British Ambassador to China Sir James Snow, the U.S. Ambassador to China Johnson and General Stilwell, Chief of Staff of the Allied China Theater and Commander of the India-Burma Theater. Let them come forward to coordinate the situation in Myanmar. This time his tone in the telegram was much gentler.

He didn't even dare to report this matter directly to the domestic cabinet, fearing that he would be scolded by the tough prime minister, and then his lordship would lose all his dignity! ——
In fact, Li Junhao had anticipated the difficulties faced by Sir Wavell, so he dared to do so.

During this period of time, in addition to China and the people of Southeast Asia, the eyes of other major powers in the world were focused on the European battlefield, especially the Soviet battlefield!
Britain's Prime Minister Churchill was working hard to expand the British army, arm the people, cope with the German Air Force's bombing of the British Isles, oh, and resist German attacks on the battlefields of the Middle East and North Africa.

US President Roosevelt is considering whether to send ground troops into Europe or launch a war to punish Japan in the Pacific in accordance with the Navy's plan?
Not to mention Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union. With half of the country occupied, he must firmly lead the army and the people to resist and counterattack the German army.

The Chinese Kuomintang and the Communist Party are working hard to deal with the spring offensive of the Japanese invaders...

In a word, apart from China and the British-Burmese army, which have fundamental interests, only a few Americans like Stilwell and Li Junhao are paying attention to the current Burmese battlefield.

Under such circumstances, even if Wavell now asked for help from the country, Churchill could only let him think of a solution besides scolding others, and it was impossible to provide him with any actual support.However, in order to add an extra layer of insurance, Li Junhao drafted two telegrams himself, and sent one to Washington, focusing on showing it to White House Chief of Staff General Leahy and Commander-in-Chief of the Far East Theater General Marshall and others.

In the telegram, he gave a detailed explanation of the current situation in the India-Burma theater, asked the Joint Chiefs of Staff to support his actions, and at the same time put pressure on the British to help him obtain the command of the Allied forces in the India-Burma theater.

Another telegram was sent directly to Ambassador Johnson in Chongqing, briefly describing the situation in Myanmar, and asking him, as the chief assistant to the national security adviser and director of national intelligence, to cooperate with his actions and to diplomatically deal with the Kuomintang government. In order to use influence, they requested to obtain the command authority of the Chinese Expeditionary Force and reduce the influence from the Kuomintang government, especially the "unfavorable" influence from Chairman Chiang Kai-shek.
-
At this time, the British Ambassador to China, Sir James Xue Mu, who was in Chongqing, had just taken office (at the end of January 1942) and did not have a deep understanding of the complex relationship between China and Burma. At this time, he heard that the Chinese Expeditionary Force actually intercepted the British and Burmese troops in Burma. He was very surprised and puzzled!
But no matter what, he could not turn a blind eye to Sir Wavell's request, so he summoned Major General Dennis, the military attache of the embassy, ​​and asked about the situation on the Burmese battlefield. After understanding the situation clearly, he planned to visit Chairman Chiang. After all, the other party was the The real commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Force.

Major General Dennis introduced the current war situation in Myanmar to Xue Mu, and vaguely revealed Wavell's real plan for the battlefields in India and Myanmar, which surprised Xue Mu. He personally did not understand this plan!

In Xue Mu's view, Britain has formed an alliance with China, the United States, and the Soviet Union. The most important thing now is to unite to fight back the aggressive war of fascist countries. Under this premise, other contradictions and differences can be put aside first. aside.

After having this idea, Xue Mu didn't want to pay attention to Wavell's request for help.

Dennis persuaded him that Wavell's plan should have been approved by the Prime Minister. If he ignored it, it might cause dissatisfaction in London.

Dennis finally suggested that since the war situation in Myanmar is currently led by the Allied Indo-Burma Theater Command, it is better to go to the theater commander General Stilwell. It does not matter whether the matter is successful or not, just express their attitude.Of course, it is best to reach a consensus with Mr. Johnson, the US Ambassador to China, beforehand.

Xue Mu readily accepted Dennis's suggestion and immediately took him out to the car and rushed to the US Embassy.

　Chapter 404 has been blocked. It has been revised. I am applying for its release and a special chapter will be released.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)