Shadow Spy

Chapter 434 It’s very difficult now on land and sea

On July 7, Bangkok was completely cleared, and all participating troops went into rest and recuperation.

At this point, the Third Battle of Burma was successfully completed. The Allies suffered 1.6 casualties and basically eliminated all the Japanese Burmese Front troops, including the 5th, 20th, 21st, 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, and 110th divisions. , the 418th, 431st, and 433rd mixed brigades, the 19th Air Force, and the 21st Independent Flying Group, destroyed a total of 19.4 people and 670 aircraft, and liberated western Laos and most of Thailand, perfectly completing the campaign objectives.

While the officers and soldiers in the war zone were celebrating their victory, Li Junhao was thinking about the next step. However, after analyzing the current situation, he began to hesitate! There were two future combat directions, making it difficult for him to choose.

One direction is to sweep away Laos, Thailand and French China (Cambodia and Vietnam) and occupy the entire South Asian Peninsula, but in this way, the northern (Vietnam) border of French China will directly face China's Gui Province, where But if the Japanese army exists, they will need to directly intervene in China's domestic battlefield. Then they will have to deal with Chairman Chiang, and the outcome is unpredictable!
  The other direction is naturally to go south along the Malay Peninsula and regain British Malaya and Singapore. This is more in line with the interests of the United States in the Far East and can also open up contact with the US Far East forces as soon as possible. This is definitely what the Allied Far East Headquarters wants. hopefully! But the problem is that it is easy to recover but difficult to occupy!

First of all, this is a colony of the British, and they will definitely jump out and beep when the time comes. Secondly, the Malay Peninsula is adjacent to the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) occupied by the Japanese army. Once they occupy it, there will be a war after that. Got it!
  Just when he was analyzing the pros and cons and hesitating, a telegram came from Washington, asking him to return home immediately...
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  After arranging work in the India-Burma theater, Li Junhao returned to Washington on August 8.

At the Joint Chiefs of Staff meeting on August 8, Li Junhao received another Army Cross for his victory in the Third Burma Campaign. He now needs to consider the order of wearing the medals on his chest.

At this Joint Chiefs of Staff meeting, a new member attended the meeting - Vice Admiral Thomas Holcomb, Commander of the Marine Corps (because of tradition, the highest rank in the Marine Corps is major general, and if you rise further, you must transfer to the Navy).

During the meeting, everyone first listened to Li Junhao's report on the war situation in Myanmar and expressed warm congratulations on the victory of the third Myanmar campaign commanded by him.

General Marshall, who is also the commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces in the Far East, laughed and said: "Ogg's achievements are so fast and his achievements are so great that I now feel embarrassed not to give him an army general!"

Arnold, the deputy chief of staff of the Army and commander of the aviation force, was still a lieutenant general himself. At this time, he deliberately said with a jealous tone: "I want to change posts with General Ogg now, so that I can get a star as soon as possible."

The others suddenly burst into laughter, making Li Junhao feel a little embarrassed.

After laughing, Admiral Leahy, who presided over the meeting, said: "Oger, you have done a very good job in the India-Burma theater. Everyone has seen it. Your reward this time is still being studied... However, Before that, I have something else that I would like to hear your opinion on." After that, he motioned to Lieutenant General Holcomb, who had been silent, to speak.

Lieutenant General Holcomb, 64, is the 17th commander in the history of the Marine Corps. He is a veteran who participated in World War I. He took up his current post with the rank of major general in 1936. He has been committed to the development of land and sea and has devoted a lot of effort. , has been working hard to expand the army, but encountered many difficulties in the process, which made him feel deeply powerless, so he specifically requested the president's help. I don’t know if he was stimulated, but Commander Holcomb’s speech was a little excited and a little angry...

Following his speech, Li Junhao understood clearly. He believed that the problems faced by the sea and land are very serious now, and there are problems in military expenditure, equipment, personnel, training, logistics, missions and other aspects!
  Especially in the Battle of Guadalcanal during the previous counteroffensive in the Pacific and the recent Battle of the Marshall Islands, the Marine Corps undertook the most important island landing and attack tasks, but personnel training, weapons and equipment, logistics support, etc. were all services. The worst of all, these problems have caused heavy losses to the sea and land...

Listening to these words, Li Junhao understood the old man's mood very well. In his previous life, the Internet unanimously laughed and called the US Marine Corps "fourth-class people", using equipment that the Army does not need and spending the rest of the Navy's military expenditures. Eating the worst food and fighting the hardest battle...

Because it belongs directly to the president, the Marine Corps does not receive formal military appropriations from Congress. It can only pick up the leftovers of the Navy and is treated like a "stepmother"; but in this case, every time the United States needs force When the time comes, they are always the first to take action.

Of course, knowing these is one thing, but what the old man is talking about now is another matter. This situation has existed for a long time, and the president cannot solve it. What does it have to do with him?
  "Oger, Commander Holcomb made a suggestion, and the president agreed..." At this time, General Leahy said somewhat impressively, "I want you to transfer to the Marine Corps to help them reverse these unfavorable situations. …”

Um? Li Junhao was stunned and looked at the old man - Hey! You say that, are you a friend enough?

Under his gaze, Admiral Leahy felt a little embarrassed and could only say: "Oger, of course this matter depends on your own thoughts... After research, we jointly believe that if you go to the sea and land , will solve many problems of this force, allow it to operate better, and form combat effectiveness as soon as possible..." He himself couldn't say any more later.

At this time, other participants all had an attitude of "I didn't hear it" and "I don't know what happened". Some were looking at documents and some were drinking coffee. Only Commander Holcomb looked at him with earnest eyes. Li Junhao seemed to hope that he would agree immediately! ——
  Until the end of the meeting, Li Junhao did not give a clear answer. It was not because he was angry or dissatisfied with everyone, but because he could not weigh the pros and cons of the matter now and needed time to consider it.

After leaving the conference room, he did not leave directly. Instead, he went to Ayers' office and found that he was not there. He hugged and chatted with Mrs. Brown for a while, then took the key to the villa and left; then he went to his own In the office, ask the assistant Vicki to give some necessary documents to Xiao Yu, and take them back for a look.

After returning to Ayers' villa, he took a shower first, then sat in the smoking room and read the documents. Thanks to his current eyesight and brainpower, it only took two people to go through a large pile of documents. Hour……

(End of this chapter)