“…… Each and every one of us, full of patriotic fervor, stood up to the face of war in our homeland, received the most rigorous training, and traveled thousands of miles to Egypt to prepare for the sake of the United States to fight against the most vicious enemy in the world, even to the point of sacrificing our lives. However, no one could have imagined that what awaits us on the other side of the Suez Canal and the Red Sea is not a great victory, but a nightmare that will never be forgotten, a nightmare that will leave countless Americans with loved ones. The United States fought the wrong war in the wrong place and against the wrong adversary. -- The above is excerpted from the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Eighth Army and Commander of the U.S. Army's 2nd Army. Lieutenant General Stilwell's memoirs, "The Wrong War".

However, Stilwell on February 2, 1935, was wrong not to know that the United States was about to enter the war of counteroffensive in the Middle East. He was on a business trip to Nanjing, seeking support from the Chinese government for his "Desert Gale" project. When he came to the Tangshan official residence, night had already fallen, because tomorrow was the Chinese New Year's Eve of the Chinese lunar calendar, and the shape of the recent Sino-Soviet battlefield was relatively calm, so the entire Tangshan official area was quiet, and the cold wind blew from the north of the Yangtze River, blowing the street trees on both sides of the road. The Tangshan official residence was brightly lit, and people from the US Embassy told Stilwell that the Chinese premier had just returned to Nanjing today after visiting Burma and Indochina a few days ago.

Stilwell got out of the car and saw U.S. Ambassador Nelson. Jensen's car was parked in front of the residence, and the U.S. ambassador was peeking out of the car. Seeing this, Stilwell hurriedly stepped forward and shook hands with Jensen, who had just gotten out of the car.

"Nelson, how is it, can you meet the Chinese premier?"

Jensen reached out and took the briefcase from the secretary in the same car, and made a gesture of invitation to Stilwell: "Chang Ruiqing has agreed to meet him, come with me, the sentry at the door will do some routine inspections, and you can't bring a gun in." ”

The gendarmes and aide-de-camps standing guard in front of the mansion had already been instructed to put away Stilwell's pistols, and after a routine inspection, they were allowed to leave. Jensen was a regular visitor to the residence. During the inspection, she chatted with a tall female secretary of the Secretariat who came to greet her. Then the two Americans walked towards the main building of the mansion under her leadership.

The female secretary led Stilwell and Jensen into the waiting room, and then smiled and said to them: "The Chancellor is receiving the heads of the German and Italian military delegations to discuss the joint operation in 1935. ”

"Hmm. Then thank you Miss Gao. Jensen nodded slightly at the 27 or 8-year-old Chinese woman, looking very respectful. Because he knows that although this Miss Gao Xiaowen is only Chang Ruiqing's personal secretary, she is also one of the three public lovers of Prime Minister Chang Da.

"Nelson, do you think the Chinese will support the Desert Gale Project?" As soon as Gao Xiaowen left, Stilwell couldn't wait to lean over and ask.

"I don't know. But in my personal opinion, it would be ideal if the Chinese did not agree to support your desert gale. Jensen said calmly.

"It's okay not to support it? Nelson, what do you mean? Stilwell's face was slightly angry, but his "desert gale" plan took me an unknown number of sleepless nights, carefully comparing the strength of the warring sides, making detailed reference to the main battle examples on the Sino-Soviet and Soviet-German battlefields, and comprehensively considering all possible variables to draw up the "perfect plan". This plan has been unanimously praised by the British and American allied high-brass, can Jensen, a diplomat who knows nothing about war, dare to question it?

Jensen sat down opposite Stilwell with a wry smile: "Major General (still Major General), according to my understanding of the Chinese government's Middle East policy, their goal is to support the caliph Hussein to establish a great Arab empire, if they agree to support our plan, allow us to use Port Sudan, and let the Red Sea Fleet support us, then they think that the Desert Gale plan will definitely fail!" ”

Stilwell's fingers tapped lightly on the armrests of the seat. Silent, Jensen took out a cigarette and lit it on fire, took two puffs, and continued, "General, do you know? I've been in China for many years, so I have a lot of friends, including friends from the military. I understand that the Chinese side is very unoptimistic about our and Britain's plan to counterattack the Middle East......"

"But they haven't seen the Desert Gale Project at all!" Stilwell interrupted coldly.

"Yes, they haven't seen it. But they fought side by side with the British for two years, and also fought with the Soviets and Indians, and they probably know Britain and the Soviets and India better than we do. Jensen looked at Stilwell meaningfully. General, there is such a saying in the ancient Chinese art of war. Know yourself and know your opponent, and win all battles...... Now we don't seem to know either the British team or our opponents, the Indian Red Army. ”

"No, no, no...... Mr. Ambassador, we know the British Army, we also know the Indian Red Army, and we have a lot of information about this. Stilwell retorted with a wave of his hand. The Chinese and Germans take it for granted, we will surprise them when the time comes! ”

At this time, a pleasant-looking girl walked in with two cups of coffee and some pastries, and left in a hurry after placing the coffee and pastries on the small round table in front of them.

Jensen took a sip of coffee on the small round table, shook his head, and did not persuade the confident American general in front of him again, after all, he was the US ambassador to China, and he was not the chief of staff of the US Army, so the war was not his responsibility. After chatting casually with Stilwell for a while, Chang Ruiqing's personal secretary, Gao Xiaowen, pushed the door in again, this time she had come to invite two American guests to meet Chang Ruiqing. When Jensen walked into Chang Ruiqing's study, he noticed that in addition to the adjutant Chen Xinrui, Zhao Zhen, the chief of the general staff of the Wehrmacht, and a young Lieutenant General of the Wehrmacht armored corps were also in the study.

Chang Ruiqing's face was a little tired, but his spirit was very good, the Indochinese Republic was on the right track, and the Indochinese Republic of China cabinet led by Ngo Dinh Diem was advancing the policy of full integration into the Great Chinese Federation step by step in accordance with Nanjing's intentions. The situation in Myanmar is also good, and thanks to the joint efforts of the Kuomintang, the Co-prosperity Association, and the intelligence services, the Association of Burmese has lost its ability to operate, and has not even put forward many candidates to run for political participation and legislative membership of the Republic of Myanmar. It seems that there is not much suspense about the outcome of next month's general election and referendum in the Republic of Myanmar, and the Republic of Myanmar will most likely be a political pattern in which the Kuomintang and the Co-prosperity Association are fighting against each other.

The next thing to be integrated is the Malay Peninsula and Northwest Borneo, Palawan and other places. The first two territories were mainly the domain of the Chinese and the Malays who believed in the Y Lamic religion, and now the head of the Y Lamic Religion, Caliph Hussein, was raised by himself, what threat could the Mslin in Malaya pose? As for Palawan, which was already sparsely populated, it was directly incorporated into the Republic of Malaya-Borneo. In this way, the shape of the Nanyang region is preliminary. In the future, it is enough to gradually use the assimilation policy to integrate the local indigenous people into the great Chinese nation......

"General Stilwell, Ambassador Jensen," Chang Ruiqing exchanged a few words of greeting with the two Americans, and then directly pointed to the young Chinese armored lieutenant general in the study and said: "This is Vice Admiral Lin Zuo, who is now employed by Caliph Hussein as the chief of the general staff of the caliphate, you can just talk to him about the matter of Port Sudan and the Red Sea Fleet." ”

Hearing this, Stilwell's eyebrows furrowed slightly. He was still somewhat prejudiced against the Caliphate, which he had heard had fled from the port of Jeddah on the Arabian Peninsula to Port Sudan. And the Sultan is the Kingdom of Egypt under British control and the condominium of the United Kingdom, so it is also a colony of the British Empire. The entry of more than 100,000 caliphs into the port of Jeddah without even saying hello was already a violation of the sovereignty of the British Empire. Later, he actually intensified his control over the entire coastal areas of Sudan, recruited troops in Sudan and North Africa in the name of the caliphate, expanded the total number of troops to more than 300,000, and formed a rather powerful Red Sea Fleet with the support of the Chinese. After the closure of the Suez Canal, this fleet, which had two old battleships (the original Northern Xinjiang and Southern Xinjiang), actually became the ruler of the Red Sea......

Even more hateful. Such an armed force entrenched in the British possessions did not obey the command of the British Empire, and even did not allow the British and American troops to use Port Sudan to transport troops to the Arabian Peninsula landing! If it weren't for the Chinese factor, Stilwell would even want to build the US Eighth Army to disarm those Arabs!

"Major General, I don't think you have figured it out, the caliphate's army is very strong, they have been fighting the Soviets on the Red Sea coast of the Arabian Peninsula for the past two years, and 90% of the caliphate's army officers and soldiers have at least one actual combat experience. 50% of the officers and men have participated in more than three battles. Moreover, their training and equipment are specially formulated and manufactured according to the terrain of the Arabian Peninsula, and they play very well in real combat. Lin Zuoda said in English, and then he opened the leather bag he brought, took out a copy of the text, and put it on the desk.

"From the fourth quarter of last year, the Soviet Red Army began to shrink its forces from the Middle East and India, but the Indian Red Army quickly filled their vacancies, and it is estimated that about 200 divisions of the Indian Red Army have been or are being stationed in the Middle East, if one takes into account the direct and independent units at the army group level. The total number of Indian Red Army troops entering the Middle East may well exceed 3 million! After 10 years of the baptism of the War of Independence, the combat effectiveness of the Indian Red Army is still very considerable, and their number is almost unlimited, and they are definitely a fierce enemy. As for their armament, they were not too bad, and their infantry equipment was roughly the same as that of the Soviet Red Army, but the artillery was smaller, and there was an artillery regiment at the level of the group army. Artillery battalions are deployed at the division level, and there is no artillery at the regimental level. In addition, the Soviet Air Force deployed in the Middle East did not retreat......"

Stilwell listened to Lin Zuoda's introduction and couldn't help sneering in his heart. Isn't it just 200 Indian divisions! What combat effectiveness can such garbage troops have? With the strength of the U.S. military, it can definitely hit ten with one blow! The Eighth Army would have been able to encompass them all if it had used all its might, not to mention the Seventh Army and more than a million British troops.

As soon as he wanted to open his mouth to refute, he felt a gaze lingering on him, and he looked up to see that it was Jensen, and the two of them met for a moment, and Stilwell already understood what the other meant. The Chinese are exaggerating the strength of the Indian Red Army, possibly to gain more benefits for Caliph Hussein.

"Mr. Lieutenant General, our Desert Gale plan has taken into account all kinds of difficulties," Stilwell pondered for a moment, then took a breath and said, "If you can convince Caliph Hussein to hand over Port Sudan and the Red Sea Fleet to the Anglo-American allies, we are confident that we can drive the Indians out of the Middle East within 6 months." ”

Lin Zuoda showed a crying and laughing expression and looked at Chang Ruiqing. Chang Ruiqing smacked his lips and said, "Mr. Stilwell, Mr. Jensen, the current Port Sudan and the Red Sea Fleet are under the control of Caliph Hussein, if you want to use it, should you give the caliph certain benefits?" ”

And so it was! Stilwell smiled coldly, took out a list from the leather bag he was carrying, and handed it to Lin Zuoda: "As long as the Hejaz King ** team can cooperate with the allies in the battle, the U.S. government can provide them with lend-lease materials in accordance with the Lend-Lease Act." However, all U.S. aid had to be used to fight the Soviet enemy under the supervision of the U.S. government. In addition, the Hejaz army had to transfer the territory of the Sultan under their control to British administration. ”

Lin Zuoda took Wen Jiàn and glanced at it, turned his head and said to Chang Ruiqing in Chinese: "Prime Minister, the Americans are ready to lease the equipment of 12 light infantry divisions to the Caliph Army, with a total value of about 250 million US dollars. ”

Chang Ruiqing shook his head, and Lin Zuoda immediately handed the Wen Jiàn in his hand back to Stilwell: "Major General, I don't think the caliph xià doesn't need those 13 light armor divisions, let alone pay 250 million US dollars for those equipment." He paused and said, "However, the Caliph is still willing to let the British and American allies cross the Red Sea through Port Guò Sudan, and he can also let his Red Sea Fleet cooperate in the battle, but on the condition that the British and Americans recognize the Red Sea Province as the territory of the Caliph." ”

Stilwell frowned, now the British are very jealous of this caliph Hussein, in order to prevent him from expanding to the whole territory of Sudan and Egypt, they have also deployed heavy troops in the Nile Valley and southern Egypt, how can they agree to the caliph to occupy the entire Red Sea Province! It seems that the desert gale plan had to be revised, and it was impossible to land directly on the Arabian Peninsula, so it could only land on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean.

Just as Stilwell and Jensen were about to say goodbye and leave, Lin Zuoda suddenly spoke again: "Major General, it's better to do this...... Your country provided the caliphate with equipment for 13 light infantry divisions, of course! In return, how about the caliphate army landing on the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula to cooperate with the Anglo-American allied offensive? ”

Before Lin Zuoda's words were finished, Stilwell was already furious in his heart, and the Chinese were too inauthentic, wanting the United States to exchange $250 million worth of equipment for a "promise to send troops" from the caliphate! You must know that most of the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula is the territory of the Hejaz Kingdom, where Hussein's lair is, I am afraid that there is no need for the Americans to provide a single shot, as long as the Anglo-American Allied counteroffensive starts, then the caliphate army will start a counteroffensive on its own, right?

Thinking of this, he forcibly suppressed his anger and said to Lin Zuoda in a calm tone: "Please tell King Hussein that the US government does not need his help, and will not regard the so-called caliphate as an ally in the anti-Soviet war, let alone recognize him as the suzerainty of the entire Arabian Peninsula and the Muslin countries of North Africa!" Because he has lost the friendship of the US government and the American people! ”

Stilwell's answer surprised Chang Ruiqing, although Britain has been trying to suppress the power of caliph Hussein, but the counterattack in the Middle East has not yet begun, at this time they really don't need an ally like the caliphate? He looked at the American ambassador Jensen.

Jensen understood what Chang Ruiqing meant, and nodded affirmatively: "Mr. Prime Minister, Major General Stilwell's words represent the meaning of the U.S. government. If Caliph Hussein refuses to surrender the occupied Sudanese territories, refuses to counterattack the Middle East under the command of the Anglo-American allies, and refuses to give up his so-called suzerainty over the Arabian Peninsula and the countries of North Africa, then the United States will not regard him as an ally in the anti-Soviet war! (To be continued.) If you like this work, (.) vote for recommendation, monthly pass, your support is my biggest motivation. For mobile phone users, please go to M to read.

〖