Chapter 1113: The War Expands

The 18th Division launched a large-scale offensive, all the way like a bamboo, in just a few days, swept through almost half of Burma, defeated the British army and its servant army tens of thousands, Burmese civilians have also been colonized for a long time, so the Japanese army is regarded as a liberator, everywhere the Japanese army goes, there are local aborigines or civilians have revolted to welcome them.

Such a situation led to the rapid collapse of British rule.

Other Japanese troops who attacked Vietnam and other places together with the 18th Division, seeing that the 18th Division had already entered Burma, were not far behind, and sent troops one after another, not only attacking Burma, but also involving Siam, which was a neutral country, that is, Thailand in later generations, into the war.

The Siamese royal family was forced to order to stop resisting, change its flag, and submit to Japanese imperialism in exchange for the preservation of the country, and this appeasement policy directly led to the bloodless occupation of the entire territory of Siam, and through Siam direct attacks on Mandalay in central Burma and the southern capital Yangon.

It was not until the army attacking Southeast Asia was about to conquer the whole of Burma that the Japanese base camp learned of this astonishing news, and the Japanese cabinet was greatly surprised, especially a small number of high-ranking Japanese military leaders with strategic vision, such as Ishihara Waner, who bitterly shouted that the 18th Division was extremely stupid, and that this move would not only be of no benefit to the Japanese Empire, but could lead to the United States imposing economic sanctions and a blockade of resources against Japan.

As a result, the diplomatic achievements of Japan and the United States over the years have been in vain.

The reason is simple: the Yankees could allow the Japanese army to seize France's colonies in Southeast Asia, which had been effectively destroyed, but they could not sit idly by and watch Japan attack Burma and infringe on British interests.

Because the United States and Britain at this time were actually one, there were too many intertwined interests between the two countries. Moreover, the Japanese Army is lawless, and today it can fight Britain, and tomorrow it may hit the United States.

The Americans will be wary of this, so they attack Burma, and from a local point of view, the army has achieved brilliant results, occupying hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of territory, but from the perspective of the overall strategic situation, this is a completely bad move, and it is not beneficial to Japan today.

However, the little devil Emperor Hirohito did not blame him too much, because he lacked sufficient strategic vision, and like many narrow-minded Japanese high-ranking generals, Emperor Hirohito only saw the army re-expand its territory in Southeast Asia, occupying not only large areas of French Indochina, but also Siam and Burma, especially Siam, which was a truly rich land, rich in rice and other grains.

Emperor Hirohito was very pleased with this.

In fact, the Manchurian Incident, that is, the 918 Incident, was also done by Ishihara Waner, Itagaki Seishiro and others from the commander of the Kwantung Army at that time and the Japanese base camp.

Therefore, when Ishihara asked Emperor Hirohito to immediately order the 18th Division and other army departments to stop the advance plan, and to hold the commander of the 18th Division, Lieutenant General Hyakutake Haruyoshi, accountable for his unauthorized actions and expansion of the war.

Emperor Hirohito smiled and joked with him: "Did Ishihara Aiqing forget the Manchurian Incident back then?" ”

Ishihara was angry and anxious, and argued head-on: "Your Majesty, at this time and that time, the empire was at its peak, and China had been weak for a long time, and Manchuria was different from Southeast Asia, so these two incidents must not be the same day!" Please think twice, if you do not stop the expansion of the war in time, it is likely to provoke the British and declare war on us! ”

Emperor Hirohito was a little displeased and said, "As far as I know, the British are now being defeated and retreated by the German Empire in the European theater, and they are too busy to take care of themselves, where can they still take care of Southeast Asia?" What does he take to wage war against the Empire? ”

Ishihara said: "Even if the British army in the Far East is not to be feared, but what about the United States, what if the United States enters the war?" How can we resist? ”

"Aren't the Americans still trading with us now? How will war be declared on us? ”

"Even if the United States does not declare war on us in the short term, if they cut off the export supply of strategic materials to us, the empire will be in a difficult situation, and within three months, the empire's warplanes and warships will not be able to take off and sail due to lack of fuel!" Ishihara argues for an explanation.

Emperor Hirohito felt that Ishihara Waner was really alarmist, and he had the intention of destroying his prestige with the ambition of others, so he was a little angry, pretended to glare at Ishihara Waner angrily, waved his hand and said: "Okay, Ishihara Aiqing, you can step down, I will hand over the specific decision to the cabinet to discuss!" ”

Seeing that His Majesty the Emperor did not listen to his advice, Ishihara was gloomy, but he did not dare to disobey the Emperor's will, so he had to stand up and salute, and then turned to leave.

In the end, the fanatical Japanese militarism still defeated a small number of calm factions led by Ishihara Waner and others, and decided to acquiesce in the army's offensive operations in Burma and other places.

And the British, for the Japanese army's brazen attack on Burma, were naturally furious, if it weren't for the fact that they were beaten badly by the Germans in the European theater, the British might have immediately declared war on Japan! And they are also the world's largest number of Royal Navy fleets and the Devil's Combined Naval Fleet to compete with each other.

However, now that the Germans have controlled almost all of Europe and are actively planning to attack the British Isles, the British are really too busy to take care of themselves and have no time to increase their troops in the Far East, so they ask for help from their most important ally, the United States, and ask the United States for sanctions, preferably to send troops to defeat the Japanese army!

The Yankees were indeed surprised that the Japanese army was expanding its occupation zone and attacking the British colonies, but after careful consideration, the United States decided to hold its troops for the time being, and there was no excuse or reason for directly getting involved in the war.

This is different from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in history, which cannot mobilize the Americans' feelings to participate in the war, and once they are brazenly involved in the war, it may lead to a decline in the approval rating of Roosevelt and his cabinet.

Because it is a country of immigrants, it does not have much national cohesion, and without a suitable excuse, it is difficult to go to war with the Japanese Empire, which still has the largest naval combined fleet in Asia in all aspects.

Even if the United States is absolutely able to defeat Japan by virtue of its war potential, it will not be able to. Because if a rash war is started, the entire United States will be drawn into the war, and I don't know how many people will die.

Therefore, the little lame Roosevelt was waiting for a suitable opportunity, or rather, the rapid rise of China's Eighth Route Army made him temporarily not want to suppress Japan, China's number one enemy, after all, the Eighth Route Army was led by the Communist Party, and the Communist Party of China was in the red camp.