Shadow Spy

Chapter 425 Adjustments to Future Tasks

Everyone present here are old politicians and veterans. After hearing this, they immediately understood the meaning of Li Junhao's words: Ogg is going to take all the responsibilities on the South Asian battlefield by himself!

Admiral Leahy said: "I think Ogg is right. The Allied forces in the Far East are jointly led by the three countries, not Chairman Chiang Kai-shek alone. From the perspective of the overall interests of the Allies, Ogg The proposed plan to conquer Southeast Asia is very feasible.”

Lieutenant General Arnold, deputy chief of staff of the Army and commander of the aviation force, said: "General Panson, I saw your report that among the troops under the control of the India-Burma theater, there are 10 mechanized infantry brigades that you requested from the China theater. Composed of 6.5 new soldiers, what I want to know is, if the Chinese Expeditionary Force is withdrawn by Chairman Chiang Kai-shek, will you be able to keep these 10 brigades?"

"Of course!" Li Junhao said, "General Arnold, these 6.5 recruits were obtained from the Chinese theater with the weapons and equipment left behind by the British army when they withdrew from Burma. They started from scratch and were trained with US military standards and equipment. Those who came out also received US military wages, so I think they are US military troops and outsiders have no right to take them away."

"Where is the Gurkha Brigade?" Arnold asked again.

"These Gurkhas were hired by me through Major General Youen of the British Army. They were armed with American equipment. To be precise, they are considered mercenaries!" Li Junhao said, "They are in Yangon this time. Excellent performance in combat."

At this time, Presidential Legal Counsel Pena said: "I heard that the wages of these Gurkhas have always been borne by you alone. Ogg, is that true?"

"Yes, Mr. Pena." Li Junhao said.

"This is against the rules." Pena said, "Mr. Roosevelt, the Gurkha Brigade is fighting for the Allies, and their wages should be included in the Allied military expenditure plan..."

"Yes, I think that should be the case." Roosevelt nodded in agreement, "In addition, all these heroic troops trained by Ogg should be included in the official establishment of the US military. Of course, Ogg cannot be allowed to pay them personally."

"I agree, Mr. President." General Marshall, Chief of Staff of the Army and Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Far East Theater, nodded. "In addition, I agree with Ogg. We cannot let Chairman Chiang of China withdraw the expeditionary force. The current situation is This force was equipped and trained by Oge for more than half a year, and they should continue to fulfill their mission of defending Myanmar."

Roosevelt nodded and asked: "Oger, do you think that after this major defeat, the Japanese army will give up seizing Burma?"

"NO, sir." Li Junhao said, "According to the style of the Japanese army, they will never be willing to give up their interests in Myanmar and will definitely come back. Moreover, even if they don't come, we should take the initiative to fight over and liberate Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, and strive to counterattack the Malay Peninsula!

"This also has another important purpose, which is to force the Japanese army to deploy more troops to the battlefield in South Asia and reduce the pressure on the Pacific battlefield and the Chinese battlefield. In order to achieve this goal, not only cannot the Chinese Expeditionary Force be allowed To evacuate, we need to increase the number of troops..."

Secretary of State Hull shook his head and said: "Commander-in-chief Chiang Kai-shek in the Chinese theater will not agree to continue to increase troops."

Li Junhao said: "Mr. Hull, there is also a deputy commander-in-chief in the Chinese theater!"    Huh? Everyone's eyes were fixed. They knew who was speaking, and they were a little moved, but also hesitant.

After a long while, Marshall finally said: "I think General Panson's suggestion can be considered."

General Leahy also said: "I heard that the underground party's troops are very capable of fighting, but their equipment is too poor. If we equip and train them, we should get a strong army."

Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Stark said hesitantly: "But they believe in red doctrine, will it affect the overall atmosphere of the Allied Forces - especially Commander-in-Chief Chiang, he will definitely not agree to this. "

National Security Advisor Ayers waved his hand and said: "He has no say in this! The Allies are led by the United States, and the underground party is an important anti-fascist force in China. We can take the opportunity to establish a good relationship, which is beneficial to us in controlling the situation in the Far East after the war."

The others thought about it and thought it made sense, so they agreed to Li Junhao's proposal.

No one at the meeting knew what Li Junhao was really thinking. He was worried that the current 14 Chinese Expeditionary Forces were elite troops of the Kuomintang. They had been equipped with all kinds of beautiful weapons, received mechanized army combat training, and then trained for two years on the battlefield in Southeast Asia. After many years, if he returns to China to participate in the civil war, it will pose too great a threat to the underground party; so he wants to train a strong army for the underground party!
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  In the next two days, two more meetings were held in succession. A joint meeting between the White House advisers and the Joint Chiefs of Staff agreed on the military policy for Southeast Asia and tasked the Far East Command, headed by General Marshall, to come up with a specific implementation plan.

On December 12, after spending a warm weekend with Ayers in Washington, Li Junhao set off back to the Far East, accompanied by Assistant Secretary of State Riggs McDaniel, the representative of President Roosevelt, and Army 14nd Division Commander Matthew. Maj. Gen. Ridgway, Maj. Gen. Raymond Wheeler, assistant chief of staff of the Army, and Maj. Gen. George Stratmeyer, chief of staff of the Army Air Forces.

Assistant Secretary of State McDaniel is an old acquaintance of Li Junhao. As early as October 1939, when he was the deputy director of the Far East Department of the State Council, he led a team to inspect the Shanghai Concession, and the two got to know each other. Later, he was promoted to director in 10. President, he was promoted to Assistant Secretary of State at the beginning of this year, and his promotion speed was no less than that of Li Junhao.

McDaniel's mission this time was to go to China to coordinate with Chairman Chiang Kai-shek on the Chinese expeditionary force, and was responsible for calming his anger after he learned that the Allies were negotiating with the underground party about sending troops. Only a professional diplomat like him knows how to litigate with the head of another country to deal with such a difficult matter. Li Junhao and other soldiers cannot do this. If they do it forcefully, it will definitely intensify the conflict.

Major General Ridgway will conduct an initial survey of the situation in the India-Burma theater this time, and then bring the 82nd Division, which he has reorganized into an airborne division, to Myanmar. He himself will serve as the deputy commander of the theater.

Major General Wheeler was Marshall's deputy to Li Junhao and served as the chief of staff of the theater.

Major General Stratmeyer took up a new position this time as commander of the Allied Forces Indo-Burma Theater Air Force, responsible for commanding the U.S. 10th Air Force and Colonel Chennault's "Flying Tigers" (the U.S. Volunteer Flying Team to aid China).

(End of this chapter)