But MacArthur now had to pay a heavy price for his catastrophic beach defense strategy. The quartermaster's report revealed a terrible truth: ammunition was plentiful, but food was running out. The rice brought with them during the retreat was not enough to eat for 20 days, flour for 30 days, and canned fish for 50 days. The food supplies 110,000 troops and 28,000 civilians who flocked to Bataan, not enough to feed for one month. The lack of medical supplies, from quinine to treat malaria to gauze for surgical procedures, made it even more difficult. When the siege began, MacArthur ordered the food ration to be halved per person. There is not enough food to produce 2,000 calories a day, it is literally starving, you know, the consumption of jungle warfare is staggering, and malaria and many tropical diseases kill and wound more people than my own bullets.

On the other side of Manila Bay, the headquarters of the 14th Army, which was located in the captured Philippine head, also had its own troubles. Masaharu Honma had a tight schedule, and he was ordered to completely conquer the Philippines within 60 days. Now, while he appreciates the scale of the military operations he faces, his most elite units are gone. The base camp concluded that the speed of the army's march to Singapore would allow him to advance to the next and most important phase of the operation, the occupation of the oil and mineral resources of the Dutch East Indies. Masaharu Honma's elite troops would serve as the vanguard of the assault on Borneo and Java, forcing Honma's inexperienced soldiers of the "Summer Brigade," who had just been transferred from the country, to take the lead in attacking the outnumbered U.S. Army, Chinese Volunteers, and Filipino forces on Bataan.

Lieutenant General Nara, who commanded the "Summer Brigade", was overconfident and underestimated the strength of the other party. On 9 March, he sent the "Summer Brigade" to attack the Abkai Line. His order to "pursue the enemy column on the road" did not work due to the enemy's artillery counterattack. At the same time, the regiment that had crossed the ridge of Mount Natib and surrounded the American line from the flank was trapped in the forest for a week. This setback was the first major military setback suffered by Ben since his first attack on Wake Island. It led MacArthur to hope that Washington would eventually meet his repeated request for "a surprise attack by the U.S. Navy" to bring in reinforcements from Australia.

The ships of the U.S. Asian Fleet are now part of the US-British-Dutch-Australian coalition, which has in fact abandoned the Philippines and is concentrating on guarding the Malay Barrier. The Chief of Naval Operations told President Roosevelt that there were not enough warships to protect a convoy through the blockade line. Still, Roosevelt sent a New Year's message to President Quezon: "I can assure you that every ship available at your disposal will be sent out...... We will finally crush the enemy and liberate the power of your Motherland. "Marshall called to say that a group of bombers arriving in Brisbane was unpacking and picking up cargo, and another 55 fighter jets were on the way, and that they would do their best to provide emergency air support; He added that the President "has read all of your letters and now instructs the Navy to provide you with all the support possible." ”

Washington has repeatedly assured that aid is on its way. But this guarantee was completely frustrated, and the warships and planes did not arrive, but the planes of Ben intensified their bombing of Corregidor Island. Leaflets in crude, incomprehensible English rained down from the sky on the soldiers guarding the Abukhai Line, urging them to surrender quickly, for their back roads had been cut off and they had become turtles in the urn. While the Tokyo Rose radio station was mocking the U.S. Pacific Fleet, planes of the Chinese Volunteer Air Force flew over the Philippines and attacked the planes that were dropping leaflets, suppressing the propaganda arrogance of their enemies and dispelling a fear that was common among the hungry soldiers in the foxholes on Bataan: Washington had decided to abandon them and leave them to their fate.

In fact, what MacArthur didn't know was that Washington's decision had already been made. Although Marshall telegraphed on New Year's Day that "we are hopeful that the rapid deployment of overwhelming air power at the Malay barrier will cut off the line of communication south of Borneo and enable the Allies to launch an offensive in the southern Philippines," neither the United States nor its new allies had the ships, troops, or aircraft to realize this plan. Three days later, General Eisenhower's military planning committee finally dismissed all ideas of sending a rescue convoy to the Far East, which he said was "totally unreasonable." Stimson wrote dejectedly, "There is always a time when people die. ”

Due to the cutting off of sea routes, Chinese non-governmental organizations and institutions aiding the United States began to hire large transport planes of various airlines to air various materials to the Philippines, and some Chinese shipping companies even used large transport submarines to transport food and medicine to the US military for the first time, which moved the Americans and impressed them by the wisdom of the Chinese. The strong support of Chinese non-governmental organizations to aid the United States has played an invaluable role in the Philippines' persistent resistance.

Unbeknownst to MacArthur, Washington's decision actually sentenced his command and many of his officers and men to death. On the contrary, he received more and more vague assurances: every effort would be made to bring in reinforcements. Bataan's often heard the West Coast Radio broadcast, "Reinforcements must be on their way." We must hold out until reinforcements arrive," MacArthur assured a group of officers as he inspected the Abukhai Line. When he returned to Corregidore, he told President Quezon with great optimism that he "could hold Bataan and Corregidor for a few months." Day after day, week after week, and the promised reinforcements did not arrive, and Director McAa realized that he had been abandoned by Washington, and he grew afraid to meet with his officers and men, feeling that he had failed their hopes.

Roosevelt and his military advisers had already made an unpleasant decision: the Philippines was now irretrievable. But the press and radio still held the belief that the public expected a major Allied counteroffensive against Baben and that General MacArthur and the brave warriors on Bataan would be reinforced. In his State of the Union address, Roosevelt unveiled the huge production targets he had set for the "Victory Plan," which gave the public more hope. Roosevelt had actually decided to double the production of planes, ammunition and tanks for the following year, in part the result of the efforts of Lord Beaverbrook and his group of specialists. The president of the United States waved a pen and laid out a large number of figures, and confidently said to his skeptical aides: "Oh, as long as the people involved in production really work hard, these outputs can be achieved." "He also addressed a joint session of Congress in which it was decided to give the American industrial sector the largest arms production in the world ever, and he demanded the production of 45,000 aircraft, 45,000 tanks, 20,000 anti-aircraft guns and 8 million tons of new ships in the first year." These figures, and those of a large number of other weapons, will make him and the Germans and the Bolsheviks think hard about how great they have accomplished. Roosevelt said to the stunned politicians. These figures symbolize the overall contribution of the United States to defeating the enemy and outsurpassing it in production in a total war that "permeates our lives all the time."

Winston? Churchill was convinced that the Anglo-American talks had succeeded in bringing American wartime production into the first place, and Marshall's proposal to establish a Anglo-American Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington to coordinate military command in the war was quickly approved. The British side in this body will be headed by Field Marshal Deere, who will be in contact with the newly formed US Joint Chiefs of Staff. However, the British and Americans made no progress in reconciling the conflicting requirements of the plan of action, except that they agreed to send American troops to defend Iceland and Ireland.

The limiting factor is the lack of capacity for ship transportation. The planner cautioned that this constraint "precludes the possibility of implementing one or no more than two of these action plans." "The lack of ships is a fatal factor," Churchill said, and because of this factor, Churchill's "sportsman" plan for a massive landing of 100,000 British and American troops in North Africa had to be shelved. Instead it became a priority to ensure the navigation of convoys in the Atlantic, which were carrying supplies essential to the continuation of the British war, and which were ready to fight German submarines. The Prime Minister has repeatedly stressed that this is a period of "being on the defensive" in the Pacific. He estimated that "Singapore could hold the sea fortress" and hoped to concentrate manpower and material resources on the defense of the Malay barrier and the Dutch East Indies by the United States, Britain, the Netherlands, and Australia. In an attempt to appease the Australian political axe, which Rommel threatened to withdraw three divisions in Egypt as Rommel launched a new offensive against Cairo through Cyrenaica, Churchill persuaded President Roosevelt to agree to send 20,000 American troops across the Pacific, promising another 50,000 American troops to leave the West Coast at any time if Ben continued the offensive.

Roosevelt also announced the establishment of the Donald ? The Bureau of Wartime Production headed by Nelson. The former vice chairman of Sears-Roebuck was an active Missouri who quickly built the wartime Bureau of Production into an efficient organization based on his experience in the Bureau of Supply and Production. Within weeks of his inauguration, the Wartime Production Bureau changed the lives of Americans by issuing order after order banning the production of 300 consumer goods, from iron molds for baking custards to toothpaste, canned beer, and automobiles. From then on, the supply of metal products was to give priority to the needs of the war. Factories across the United States have shifted from making toys and toasters to making guns and bullets.

When the industrial sector of the United States began to produce vigorously according to the "victory plan," the Americans clearly gained confidence that they would eventually be defeated, and that American industrial power would produce more products than it had produced in the first fierce attack. When Churchill said goodbye to President Roosevelt at his last working dinner at the White House, he was able to realize "the strength and willpower of the American people." The Arcadia Conference succeeded in increasing production by means of "extensive boiling" and unifying the command of the Central Powers. Most importantly, the Allies were determined to achieve the strategic goal of "Atlantic-first" in defeating Germany and the Soviet Union, and abandoned their improvised strategy of countering the continuation of the offensive in the Far East.

By the time Churchill decided to cross the Atlantic from Bermuda on a British Overseas Airways seaplane, submarine warfare in the Battle of the Atlantic had extended to the sea lanes off the east coast of the United States. He had just finished the Arcadia Conference, and was in a good mood, and was anxious to return home, for he had received news that a political storm was brewing in the country over his command of the war. The Arcadia Conference also marked a significant change in the "partnership of equals". The Americans have made it clear that they will not support British imperialist aims in the Mediterranean and are concerned about the civil unrest in India over the issue of reading. Ben's easy sweep across Malaya made both sides of the Atlantic wonder if the British Empire would survive the war. The focus of this panic now centers on the threat to Britain mainland and Singapore, as the Germans have begun to concentrate their forces in France in an attempt to attack the British mainland, and Singapore has become a symbol and test of Britain's ability to defend its empire against the invasion of Britain.

The "Gibraltar of the Far East" was already in a vulnerable situation, which made the mood of Wavell, commander-in-chief of the allied forces of the United States, Britain, the Netherlands, and Australia, very heavy, and his headquarters was located in the hinterland of Java, a Dutch island 600 miles from Singapore. Even in peacetime, coordinating the army, navy, and air forces of the four countries is a very difficult task; Not to mention Wavell, his chief of staff, General Bonnard, and Lieutenant General George of the US Air Force, who served as deputy commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces of the Four Nations? General Brett had to organize a nominal coalition army in a very short time under the fire of the enemy's offensive. The rivalry between the four nations, the wide range of the ring line of defense they were ordered to defend, and the increased pace of their offensive frustrated their best efforts. Air Force Lieutenant General Richard? Sir Pierce as titular Air Force Commander, Hein? Vice Admiral Tepultan commanded the ground forces, and Admiral Hart served as commander of the Combined Fleet. However, all of them were constrained by the directives of the Allied Command of the four countries, which required the troops of the four countries to fight as independently as possible, which made their forces widely dispersed and lacked experience in joint operations. At a time when it was extremely necessary to concentrate forces on dealing with the four nations, the Four-Nation Coalition lacked the indispensable principle of common operations.

The issue of transportation soon became one of the main flaws exposed when the four countries first tried to conduct a joint military operation. No part of the allied command of the four nations suffered greater losses than the naval command, which was located in the port of Surabaya at the eastern tip of Java, more than 400 miles from Wavell's headquarters. With Dutch, British, and Australian warships scattered across the vast sea from Singapore to the port of Darwin, the main supply base, Admiral Hart was in a precarious position. On March 11, 1942, he finally declared war on the Netherlands and began an attack on the oil city of Tarakan on the east coast of Borneo. The Dutch soldiers fought back as best they could, destroying extremely important installations with the occasional support of a small number of aircraft and American "B-17" bombers flying in on the orders of the Allied Air Force Command of the Four Nations. Over the course of a week, Hart tried in every possible way to concentrate a powerful naval force, also due to transportation difficulties and the Dutch naval commander Conrad? Emir? Admiral Herfrich was defeated, and the latter, in his capacity as Minister of the Navy, commanded his submarine forces.

His expansionist forces were seizing oil and mineral resources from the Dutch East Indies to the south, and to Thailand and Burma to the north. Burmese Prime Minister U Su was detained by the British on his way home after a visit to London, after "magic" intercepted a telegram from the embassy in Lisbon, revealing that he was plotting to betray his country to the invaders.

The intelligence agencies also reported that the army was massing at the border in preparation for an attack on Rangoon, with the goal of seizing the strategic port and cutting off supply lines to the outside world. Wavell now faced the daunting task of organizing the defense of a country larger than France and Belgium combined, with only the strength of the 17th Indian Division and the 1st Burmese Division. He sent John? Lieutenant General Smith went to Burma and ordered him to "guard Burma for me." Smith was hampered on two fronts. He discovered that the Indian 17th Division, which had been trained and equipped for desert warfare, was intended to sail for the Middle East. The local Burmese division is nothing more than an untrained group of recruits. Smith was even more troubled by the fact that Wavell had appointed Lt. Gen. Hutton as his immediate superior. Hutton was an able chief of staff in New Delhi, but his main field commander soon discovered that he was not the kind of crack combat commander that the impending war in Burma really needed.

Hutton made a mistake in meeting the Japanese attack when he ordered his troops, accustomed to fighting by road, 200 miles south of Rangoon, to defend a 400-mile jungle front. The situation is compounded by the lack of medicines to treat malaria in his army. Hutton knew that his soldiers would be targeted by the enemy's "hook heart" tactic, which had been successfully used in Malaya.

"I am driving at high speed; The British put up second gear, and there was no one to adjust or control the machine. That's Smith's assessment of "a terrible battle" he commanded in the border hills, where they faced two divisions of the 15th Army. When it became clear that Smith could not hold the forward position, he suggested that the troops should retreat and concentrate on the Siddang River bridgehead at the gates of Rangoon. Soon Wavell flew to Burma for an emergency meeting. He had learned the lesson of the Malayan retreat and agreed with Hutton that such a retreat was not ripe. Instead, they demanded a series of blocking battles. Smith thought that this would weaken his forces. It turned out that he was right. Over the next two weeks, the Japanese army advanced 100 miles and drove the British back onto the road from Mawlamyine to the Siddang River

(To be continued)