In the past few days, Zhou Weiguo has clearly felt that the atmosphere at the expeditionary force headquarters is different. There are cracks in the relationship between the Allies, and the contradictions are getting bigger and bigger, and will even develop to the point of being irreconcilable in the future.
The remnants of the expeditionary force have bypassed Lashio and are preparing to return home.
The Japanese army had no time to care.
The situation in Mandalay is tense and war may be about to break out.
However, only the British troops were in Mandalay.
"Listen, Du, we can only counterattack if we hold Mandalay now." Stilwell kept persuading, asking Du Yuming to let the soldiers of the expeditionary force go to Mandalay for support.
Du Yuming didn't even raise his head or answer. Some people did too much, and he didn't want to pay attention to it. What's more, although there were tens of thousands of people left in the expeditionary force, they had made a lot of gains against Japan, but this
The gains are earned by the soldiers of the expeditionary force with their lives!
"Du! I know you have grievances, but the overall situation is current, can you please take it into consideration for a little bit." As an American general who has been in China for a long time, Stilwell's Chinese is very good, but it is still a bit weird.
Du Yuming stood up, took the documents and walked out of the office, completely ignoring Stilwell.
No matter what Stilwell said, he would not let the remaining brothers go to Mandalay. Once they went to Mandalay, the main force might become an expeditionary force again, and the British might try to trick them again. This
Du Yuming didn't want to see the consequences, so he simply chose to ignore it.
Stilwell's orders alone are not effective, even if he is the chief of staff of the coalition forces.
Watching Du Yuming walk out, Stilwell knew that the expeditionary force would definitely not support Mandalay, and there was bitterness in his eyes. To be honest, after several battles in Myanmar, the Chinese army showed its own prestige, but
The British army really left him helpless. He could scold him, but he couldn't.
React to your superiors. Even if Churchill understood and ordered the British army to be obedient and defend Burma, what the people below heard and did were completely different things.
…
Chongqing
"Principal, the remaining soldiers of the expeditionary force have bypassed Lashio. The Japanese did not pursue them. Instead, they were gearing up to attack Mandalay." Dai Li stood next to Chiang Kai-shek and spoke.
The Chairman nodded, "Hey."
"The so-called Allies are nothing but bullshit!"
"You really think that the lives of my Chinese soldiers are not important! Why should we do the dirty work?"
"First Europe, then Asia! Niang Xipi!"
"It's not practical at all. The air force that we promised to support before is still not available! If it weren't for the independent division's air force, I'm afraid Myanmar's air supremacy would have fallen into the hands of the Japanese! Niang Xipi!"
Dai Li was silent, listening to Chiang Kai-shek's yelling. The Allied Forces were established, and they had negotiated with the British army, and a hundred fighter planes would come to support them. But in the end, there was nothing.
Everyone has a clear understanding of the importance of air supremacy. Without air supremacy, the war will be extremely difficult! Historically, the air supremacy on the Burma battlefield was entirely Japanese. Although there was an aviation volunteer team led by Chennault, the Japanese army
The number of aircraft far exceeds theirs.
"If we can't defend the city, we have to hold it back! If it weren't for these stupid people, how could Yangon be lost!" Chairman Chiang continued to curse. He didn't expect that the Burmese battlefield would be fought like this. Stilwell died.
We want the right to command, but what's the point of asking for the right to command the expeditionary force? The British army pretends to be a big-tailed wolf and listens to orders but not propaganda! With such an Allied force, it is strange that they can win!
After a long while, the Chairman calmed down and said, "Let the remaining expeditionary force guard the border. We will speed up the transportation of supplies and other supplies. As for Mandalay, we don't care about it."
"yes!"
…
In a certain foreign-style building, two middle-aged men were sitting.
"Sir, I'm afraid the Burmese battlefield is coming to an end."
"Um."
"By then, Zhou Weiguo will definitely be ready to return to Shandong."
"What's the meaning?"
"At this time, Zhou Weiguo's guards are at their weakest."
"Very good, go ahead and do it."
"yes."
…
On April 3, densely packed aircraft flew towards Mandalay and began a whole day of bombing.
Since the beginning of the Southeast Asian War, the Japanese army has been relatively complete in terms of equipment and supplies. The Southeast Asian battlefield is the rear area of the Japanese army's resources. Various resources are shipped back to Japan, processed and produced, and turned into aircraft and tanks.
, guns, and cannons are continuously shipped to Southeast Asia or China.
The huge explosion frightened the Burmese people in Mandalay and made the local British troops very angry, because many of them were Burmese.
And this bombing is just an appetizer.
In the next few days, the Japanese army began to advance towards Mandalay.
On April 13, tens of thousands of troops surrounded Mandalay, but the Japanese army did not attack first.
In fact, the Japanese army was tired after fighting so many wars and needed to rest and reorganize. They did not take the British army seriously, but it would be easier for them if the British army could retreat or surrender on their own.
Therefore, they want to put pressure on the British army.
Daily artillery attacks, aircraft bombings.
In Mandalay, people are already panicking.
Alexander looked at the soldiers with low morale and felt very uncomfortable. This morale was even lower than the morale he had commanded during the Dunkirk escape.
As the commander-in-chief of the British army, he knew what he had to do under great pressure. Either fight! Fighting could restore the morale of the soldiers and maintain the dignity of the British Empire; or retreat. In this case, retreating would actually help them recover.
Maintain military morale and preserve strength.
In desperation, Alexander could only send another message to ask the Prime Minister whether to defend or withdraw.
Mandalay has almost become an isolated city, and it is an isolated city with only British soldiers.
…
When Churchill received Alexander's telegram, his face became ugly.
In recent times, he has not had much thought about the Burma battlefield. Originally, Burma was not too important to them. What's more, the German offensive these days has become fiercer.
The bombings continued day by day, causing more and more casualties to the citizens of London.
He told Alexander more than once that he must obey orders and obey orders, but Alexander's performance was very poor. If he hadn't been free now, otherwise, Alexander would have been replaced long ago, because Roosevelt also complained to him more than once
.
As the middleman, it is very difficult for the United States to act.
Obviously, Mandalay no longer needs to defend.
But he couldn't give the order to retreat. The British still wanted to save face!
Therefore, he could only order Alexander to continue guarding!
After receiving the telegram, Alexander sighed slightly, "If you want to defend, then let's defend! Our warriors of the British Empire will not be so vulnerable! We will also let China and the world take a good look! We, and