The Second World War finally reached a small climax near the end of the first half of 1942.

In the European theater, the German army's "ice and snow defense line" in Stalingrad has successfully completed its mission and is dying! Thanks to the strong ice and snow defenses, the Germans had already built permanent fortifications, which they had once again kept the Soviet army out of the line and still encircled Stalingrad...... And everyone in the world knows that if the Soviet Union cannot break through the encirclement of the German army in the short term, then the fall of Stalingrad is only a matter of time. Because after a winter of attrition and waiting, even if the Germans did not attack, the Soviet defenders in Stalingrad would not last long. According to reports, heating and food problems caused by fuel and food shortages throughout the winter have caused nearly 10,000 casualties in Stalingrad. If it weren't for Gordorf and Khrushchev, who were in charge of defending the city, who saw the opportunity quickly, forcibly collected the already small amount of fuel and food from the common people, and adopted a rationing system, the number of casualties would have only been greater, and perhaps it would have caused chaos in the city and given the German army an opportunity to take advantage of.

Either way, it was really hard for Stalingrad to hold on. And the performance of the Soviets also seems to prove it. Stalin's 62nd, 63rd, and 64th armies, which were urgently transferred to relieve Stalingrad from the Soviet reserves, began to move slowly towards the southwest of the city, and together with the 21st, 28th, 38th, and 57th armies, the 1st and 4th tank armies of the former Southwestern Front, which were disabled by the Germans, as well as the 8th Army of the Air Force and the Volga Flotilla of the Navy, they formed the Caucasian Front, with Marshal Budyonny as commander-in-chief and Timoshenko as deputy commander-in-chief. The aim was obvious: to secure Stalingrad in both the western and southern directions. Because from Stalingrad in these two directions, there are the most important grain-producing areas of the USSR. There are also the oil fields of the Caucasus, which supplied 95% of the oil of the entire Soviet Union. Once it was lost, the Soviet Union's strategic supply was gone. When the time comes, the Soviet Union will have only one way to go, defeat.

And while the Soviets were struggling to support themselves, Britain and the United States finally formed a common Allied Command. It's just that Eisenhower, who was supposed to be the commander-in-chief of the Allied forces, was overshadowed by someone this time and failed to succeed in taking office. "Replaced" him was another American general with only the rank of major general, Omar. Nelson. Bradley! It was also one of the candidates who tried to pull Qin Wei into the observation group but did not succeed, originally in time and space, this brother was one of the five-star generals of the United States Army, and later succeeded Marshall as the chief of the General Staff of the United States Army, and became the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

But the selection has changed. The problems faced have not changed. Bradley also only had the rank of major general at this time, and his name was unknown, so after he arrived in England, he was despised by many British colleagues. Although the United States kept sending its soldiers to Great Britain, the performance of American GIs, who had not experienced a major war, also made the British look very unpleasant to the British who had experienced a brutal war for a long time. In the eyes of the British. These American GIs wore fashionable and beautiful military uniforms and received a good salary. But his mind was not on the war at all. Instead, he only cares about jumping into bars and dance parties on vacation, and hooking up with beautiful women everywhere...... Where did the hell M come to participate in the war, this is to take advantage of the fact that the British men are on the battlefield to pry the corners, right? Therefore, the contradictions between the British and American soldiers quickly began to accumulate, and quarrels, brawls and other incidents occurred from time to time.

……

And at a time when one big drama after another was being staged on the European battlefield. The "actors" of the Asian battlefield are also not willing to be lonely.

The morale of the British army was further demoralized by the Japanese in the Malayan battlefield, and when the Malayan defenders retreated to Johor, north of Singapore, the British commander-in-chief of the Far East Army, Arthur Murray. Percival actually refused the request of the British military to set up a fixed defense north of Johor. Instead, the intention was to withdraw all troops across the Straits of Johor and into Singapore. Eventually, his request was approved by Wavell, who had become commander of the United States-British-Dutch-Australian Joint Command, and more than 80,000 British Commonwealth troops withdrew into the town in desperate demoralization in the hope of defending the city as far as possible.

However, Percival clearly miscalculated the situation. Not long after he withdrew into Singapore and ordered the sappers to blow up a hole of more than 20 meters in the Tan Johor causeway between Johor and Singapore, the Japanese army arrived and launched an attack on Singapore. The Japanese commandos took the form of residents of Singapore, crossed the Straits of Johor directly in small boats, attacked Singapore, and successfully entered the city. Later, because the Japanese Air Force completely controlled the air supremacy, the Allied side was extremely short of military supplies and goods, and a large number of refugees crowded into Singapore, which increased the difficulty of maintenance, and the Allied water source was cut off by Japanese artillery bombardment, and it was impossible to hold on...... So, in the end, Percival had to order the white flag to be raised.

In this way, in less than two months, from start to finish, the Japanese army swept 650 miles of land in Malaya until the capture of Singapore. In the whole battle, the Japanese army paid the price of nearly 10,000 casualties, while the British army, although the casualties were fewer than the Japanese army, but the surrender of the Japanese army was as high as 130,000. This victory was the largest land victory in the history of the Japanese army. Once again, they dramatically flexed their muscles to the rest of the world. Originally, this victory was won by Yamashita Fumi, who had served as chief of staff under the commander of the North China Front, Sugiyama Moto, and after this battle, Yamashita Fumimi received the rank of general, and even got the nickname "Malay Tiger". After capturing Singapore, he raised a butcher's knife against the Chinese in Singapore, just like when he was in North China, and created the tragedy of the "Singapore Massacre". However, this time, Yamashita Fengwen was blown up and killed by Qin Wei in Wuhan early in Wuhan with Sugiyama Yuan, and was buried in the fire, leaving not even a whole corpse, so the "Malay Tiger" was replaced by Jun Imamura, the successor of Seishiro Sakagaki, and the division commander of the fifth division of the former Japanese "Steel Army". Although the 5th Division he led was nearly wiped out at the Battle of Guinan, he himself rose to the top in the days that followed, rising to the rank of commander of the 16th Army and finally gaining command of the Malayan Campaign.

The First World War in Malaya left the Japanese ecstatic. Japanese newspapers publicized with great fanfare: "The overall situation of the Greater East Asia War has been decided; The capture of Singapore in just three days is a feat that only our Shenwu Imperial Army can achieve. And Hideo Ohira, the propaganda department of Japan's Tokyo base camp, even more directly declared: "Japan is the sun that illuminates the peace of the world." Those who bask in the sun thrive, and those who resist the sun can only destroy. Both the United States and Britain should ponder the fiery history of our country for thousands of years. ”

And just when Imamura was pushing all the way in Malaya, the Burmese side finally started fighting.

The British had already prepared for everything. But what they didn't expect was that it was their rear that was the first to have problems. Ringanqiang, an important oil producing area in south-central Myanmar, was suddenly attacked by a force known as the "Burmese Independence Army". This force was composed entirely of Burmese locals, and although it had previously attracted the attention of the Burmese British authorities, it had not been taken seriously by the British. According to the information obtained by the British, the "Burmese Independence Army" is poorly equipped, and the members of the unit have basically no military training, most of them are just civilians, and the leaders have no experience in military warfare. There are not many members, only a few thousand...... But it was precisely this force that they ignored that stabbed them at a critical moment.

With so much focus on the Japanese, Ringanqiang had few defenders, and the oil fields were soon captured by the Burmese Independence Army, which had suddenly arrived. Afterwards. The Japanese airborne troops, who had performed brilliantly in Siberia and in the battles to seize the oil fields in Indonesia, were reinforced in time. As a result, the British were unable to recapture this important place in time.

And immediately after. The Burma campaign began.

The first Japanese army to attack was the 15th Army, and the commander of the Shojiro Iida, that is, the brigade commander of the Taiwanese mixed brigade who was the first to enjoy the "hospitality" of the "unconscionable cannon" "invented" by Qin Wei in the Battle of Wuhan. Under the command of Shojiro Iida, the 55th and 33rd divisions of the Japanese army, under the leadership of their division commanders Takeuchi Kan and Sakurada Shozo, launched an attack from Thailand against Dawei and Mawlamyine in southern Burma. The soldiers were directed at Yangon.

**************

"The British are in a hurry! Urging us to fight in Burma. ”

He Jinhan left early. It didn't take long for him to agree to the task given by Qin Wei...... He took over the affairs of overseas Chinese who withdrew from the Philippines, Myanmar, Malaya, Indonesia, Singapore and other places to China. Most of these people are still concentrated in Myanmar and Vietnam, and a small number have entered Yunnan and Guangxi. However, this is only temporary. In the plan of Qin Wei and others, these overseas Chinese will be an important channel for the Nationalist Government to extend its tentacles into Southeast Asia. It is also an important assistant for them to control Southeast Asia in the future. This is also the reason why Lao Jiang agreed that He Jinhan should be in charge of this important matter after receiving the recommendation of Qin Wei and He Yingqin...... First, give two important subordinates; Second, in any case, this matter mainly involves foreign affairs, and there is no need to be afraid of how much threat He Jinhan will pose to him after he takes power; Third, He Jinhan is indeed capable and good at propaganda, and he has always done a good job in political work, and he can win the hearts of overseas Chinese better than many people by taking charge of this work; Fourth, show your magnanimity...... Wait a minute.

However, overseas Chinese affairs are only involved in the future, and Lao Jiang is most concerned about the present.

"They're not fighting well on the front?"

Because there was Yan Huiqing first, and then Song Ziwen, Song Meiling failed to get the opportunity to be in the limelight in the United States this time. But she still cares about national affairs.

"Not only is it a disadvantage, but without the help of external forces, the loss of the front line is almost certain. They're losing ground now! Wang Chonghui, who came to deliver the news, said disdainfully.

"Fortunately, I listened to Qin Wei's suggestion and didn't mix it. Otherwise, hum ...... "Lao Chiang never trusted foreigners, so as soon as Qin Wei told him that if the war was unfavorable, the British would definitely take the Chinese army as the top cylinder, and he believed it." And the current poor performance of the British on the battlefield has once again confirmed his ideas.

"You can't just look at it, can you? After all, we and they are allies. Song Meiling said worriedly.

"Madame, don't worry, isn't Stilwell still unmoved? He has 30,000 U.S. troops under his command, and he doesn't care, so we have no reason to worry. Lao Jiang said.

"But ......"

"Take a seat!"

Song Meiling wanted to express her opinion, but was interrupted by a person who suddenly broke in. She wanted to lose her temper, but when she saw the face of the person who came, she had to remain silent. There is no way, Mao Qingxiang, who came, is not only one of the three pillars of Lao Jiang's emotional governance system, but also Lao Jiang's family is a family friend, and when the two fathers did business together in Xikou, Zhejiang, the relationship was already very good.

"What's the matter?" Lao Jiang also glanced at this subordinate he had known since he was a child and asked.

"Just got good news." Mao Qingxiang said with a smile, "The assault force of the New 1st Army has successfully captured the Japanese airfield in Chiang Mai, Siam, and has captured forty-two jet planes they have placed there...... Bench, our Air Force is growing again! (To be continued......)