Just when the Chinese Expeditionary Force was "difficult" to rush to the front, the situation in Burma turned sharply, and the British army was defeated. The British army on the Sidang Line had 10,000 men, and it was completely capable of fighting the Japanese army. However, when the Japanese broke through the defensive line, the British army and the Indo-Burmese army had no will to fight and immediately collapsed. The Sitang Bridge was the only way for the British to retreat westward, when two Japanese brigades interspersed with the Sitang River Bridge to block the main British force. The two Japanese brigades were interspersed quickly and did not carry heavy weapons, so the strike firepower was insufficient to hold back the retreating British troops.

However, the British army was in disarray and frightened, and the officers and men lost the will to fight, and they had only one belief, which was to flee. The 1st Division of the 7th Armored Brigade of the British Army retreated to the bridge of the Xitang River, and did not care about the lives of friendly and neighboring troops, and took the lead in rushing across the bridge to seize the road and flee. The Japanese army blocked the bridge with light and heavy machine guns, and at this time the main force of the British 14th Division reached the bridge of the Xitang River.

In the face of such a critical situation, the commander of the 51st Brigade of the British Army was quite bloody, and he shouted loudly: "As long as you swim across the river, I will reward you with 100 pounds." Perhaps the bounty had played a role, and the British and Indian soldiers jumped into the river and swam desperately to the other side. As a result, the British and Indian troops of the two brigades lost all their light and heavy equipment and bravely crossed the river first, while many Burmese and Nepalese mountain people were drowned and killed by Japanese machine guns because they could not know the water, and the river was full of corpses.

The British soldiers were strong in escaping and physically strong. Half of the British soldiers who climbed ashore were unarmed, and some were even bare-bottomed. Only a third of the British troops who escaped the river carried weapons and discarded large quantities of equipment and even clothing. The British army had been completely broken spiritually, and flight became their only option. The Siddang defense line was breached, and Yangon had become an undefended city.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill heard that the Japanese army had broken through the Tin Dang defensive line, and in a hurry, he immediately instructed Sir Will to quickly let the Chinese expeditionary force enter Burma and go to the front. In a fit of rage, Churchill dismissed the commander-in-chief of the British forces in Burma, Guo Dun, and appointed General Alexander as commander-in-chief of the British forces in Burma, hoping that he would turn the tide. Alexander was the commander who commanded the Dunkirk evacuation in France, and may have specialized in the safe evacuation of this monarchy, which shows Prime Minister Churchill's good intentions, and to put it bluntly, Churchill thought that Burma could not be defended.

On his way back to India from Chunking, China, Sir Will met with General Alexander, who had arrived in Calcutta, and gave him two verbal instructions: First, Rangoon is of great importance to our Far East, and to this end we should do everything we can to keep it alive. Even if it could not be maintained, the British army could not be cut off and annihilated, and it was necessary to resolutely abandon Rangoon. Second, the British army's combat effectiveness must be maintained for as long as possible in order to secure the Ringanqiang oil fields, maintain contact with the Chinese army, and cover the construction of the road from Assam to Burma. That is, to use the Chinese army as much as possible to complete our retreat plan to Burma.

The British were bound to set the tone from the first moment and abandon Rangoon. In fact, before the Chinese army entered Burma, the Yunnan-Burma road was cut off and defended, and the sinister intention of the British was to use the Chinese army as cannon fodder. The British had already made their aim quite clear, to abandon Burma and use the Chinese army to cover the retreat of the British army to India. This big joke was secretly manipulated by the British from the beginning, what else is there to talk about Sino-British cooperation in the defense of Burma? The real fact is that the British are not ready to fight at all, that is, to use your Highness.

Sir Will, a bastard, swore an oath when he was in Chongqing, but he was actually acting through and through, and at this time the Nationalist government had no idea of the conspiracy of the British. On March 5, Ouyang Jian and Bai Chongxi led their headquarters to Lashio, and some accidentally, the British General Alexander appeared in Lashio. The two sides did not have time to greet each other when they met, and immediately discussed the deployment of the expeditionary force. The situation was critical, and Bai Chongxi ordered all units of the 5th Army to immediately advance south along the railway line on foot, and use the railway to move south with heavy weapons.

At the same time, Bai Chongxi ordered the 6th Army to move to the east to set up defenses, and at this time Lashio was also very chaotic, while the units of the 66th Army were still squirming on the road behind. Alexander was polite to Ouyang Jian, after all, he was a legendary general in China with outstanding military achievements. The two sides quickly discussed the deployment plan of the expeditionary force, and when Alexander was about to leave, Ouyang Jian unceremoniously put forward conditions. "General Alexander, I ask you to meet the logistics supply and ensure that our expeditionary force fights."

"General Ouyang, please rest assured at this point, we will definitely do a good job in logistics and supply." Alexander was stunned for a moment, and his reaction was extremely fast. Ouyang Jian waved his hand, and a combat staff officer brought the drafted text. "General Alexander, please sign here if you have no evidence!" Alexan changed his face and said, "General Ouyang, you are insulting me!" I can't sign it. "If the general does not sign, I immediately order the troops to stop advancing." Alexander was a little dazed when he heard this, and his eyes were aimed at Bai Chongxi.

"General Alexander, the decision of the deputy commander represents my decision!" Bai Chongxi had a clear banner, and he knew in his heart that the conditions proposed by Ouyang Jian were very important for the expeditionary force's future operations, and the requirements were reasonable, which should be borne by the British side. Alexander faced Ouyang Jian and felt his unique aura, he was a man of his word. Moreover, there was an urgent need for an expeditionary force to resist the Japanese army, and Alexander had no choice but to sign the text. He was very dissatisfied and left, and Ouyang Jian didn't give face and didn't go to the airport to see him off.

Ouyang Jian did not have any good feelings for Alexander because of his foresight. He clearly remembered Stilwell's assessment of Alexander in his memoirs: the British army's two divisions and one brigade on the front line, after the initial battle, only less than 20,000 men remained. And the rear headquarters really still maintains a huge organization. There is a general, a lieutenant general, 5 major generals, 18 brigadier generals and more than 250 staff officers.

As if they were commanding a large corps of troops to fight, they drafted various standard military texts in accordance with the contents and procedures laid down in military textbooks. The British intelligence was terrible, they did not capture a single Japanese prisoner, and they did not conduct a systematic reconnaissance. This is what Alexander faced when he took office. Born in the Earl's House of Ireland, the former Royal Guard officer seems to have a sense of superior aristocratic superiority in addition to the usual British arrogance. The first time I met him, it was very unpleasant ・・・・・・.

"Brother Ouyang, you have a prejudice against General Alexander!" With the voice, Bai Chongxi walked in. "I should say that I have a prejudice against the British, and the British are still deceiving us, and if we hadn't deciphered the British army's radio, we would still be in the dark. Alexander was the commander of the Dunkirk retreat, and the rotten war situation in Burma asked him to clean up, which shows the good intentions of the British side. "The British are obviously bullying us, but we have to look at the bigger picture. If we report this situation to the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Defense will definitely think that we are deliberately engaged in friction. ”

Time passed in a suffocating manner, and at the end of February, the British fighters were crushed by the Japanese army, and more than 100 fighters were lost. Half of them were Hurricane fighters with good performance, but they were actually destroyed by the Japanese army. The British 7th Armored Brigade was an elite transfer from North Africa, and more than 200 tanks were frightened by the Japanese suicide attack and fled. It is unbelievable that the heavy artillery of the British army was left to the Japanese before it could be blown up, is such a force still the British army that was once invincible? ”

"Alexander's sudden arrival in Lashio is obviously intentional, could it be that the British army is going to retreat from Rangoon?" "Not to retreat, but to affirm! Alexander swore that he would transport 200 divisions to Tongguda on the 8th, in fact, so that we could block the Japanese army and cover its retreat. Defending Yangon is fucking bullshit! "It's rare to hear Brother Ouyang scolding, but it's just a relief!" Bai Chongxi seemed to think of something and said: "Brother Ouyang, I understand that you insist on letting Alexander sign, but the little ghosts below are more difficult to entangle, and we can't do anything." ”

Ouyang Jian smiled: "I asked Alexander to sign the text, just to deal with the little ghost." The British are in the same mind, and all kinds of difficulties are inevitable. We can tolerate anything else, but we must not be at the mercy of logistical support. With Alexander's black and white letters, we can use strong when necessary, even if we overdo it, it's not a big problem. The point is that we have our pulse on the pulse of the British to retreat, and the British will endure even if there is friction. ”

"So your mind is here, working cunningly. You think very thoughtfully, after the troops go south, the logistics and supplies will be completely handed over to the British side, which is what I am most worried about. Since Alexander gave Shang Fang the sword, why don't we do that. Come! A combat staff officer ran to the front and hurriedly opened the notebook. Order the departments, if the logistical supply is insufficient, to raise them on the spot, and all the consequences will be borne by the expeditionary force command! Bai Chongxi clearly told the ministries that if the British made things difficult, they could use force.

"Brother Bai, that's right, the British are playing with us, why should we bow down and be at the mercy of others. Your duty and mine are the interests of the country, the interests of the expeditionary force. As for the British, as long as we don't overdo it, we can be polite and courteous. "I know that in my heart, but I heard that the president is going to send General Stilwell to the battlefield in Burma to command the expeditionary force." "This is not surprising, there is a defeat in Myanmar, and the Americans are most anxious. Moreover, the president is also moving closer to the Americans, in order to curry favor with the Americans. ”

"But Stilwell is here, I'm afraid you and I won't have a good time!" "Stilwell is a pure soldier, and besides, the president won't give him real rights, don't worry! I'll deal with this! Ouyang Jian knew in his heart that Enlai accompanied General Stilwell to inspect Jiangxi's military enterprises and Xiaoshan base, which was enough for Stilwell to go on the road. In addition, the accidental exposure of the Airborne Forces shocked Stilwell. The scale of the Eighth Route Army's ordnance enterprises was so vast and the production technology was so advanced that Stilwell was not moved by it, and that he was an idiot.

In particular, the Xiaoshan Air Base, as a strategic point, the appetite of the Americans was 100 percent hoisted, and Enlai called to inform them of these situations. After Stilwell's inspection, he quickly drafted a detailed report and submitted it to the US Congress. The General Headquarters judged that the US Government has learned about the situation in Jiangxi and even in the great northwest, and that it will certainly make a drastic adjustment to its policy in the Far East.

The Americans will conclude that if the Chinese battlefield has air supremacy, the Chinese army is fully capable of a counteroffensive. The Burma battlefield is not very important in the eyes of the Americans. In fact, Ouyang Jian couldn't wait for Stilwell to come, because he was an indispensable and important role in the Burmese battlefield.