The warm sunshine of spring in northern Myanmar did not dispel the cold in Alexander's heart, and he was even a little afraid of the grass and trees in northern Myanmar, three years apart, the same land, different opponents, and the same fiasco.

The first crushing defeat at the hands of the Japanese, Alexander fled to the East Indies with more than 20,000 remnants of his army, and was placed on the edge of the circle of Indian colonialist domination.

The second defeat was at the hands of the Chinese Tang Qiuli, moreover, the defeat was very unwilling and unprepared, he lost more than 100,000 elite troops in the first battle, and he didn't even have the strength to fight back, Alexander didn't believe it anyway, the British Empire, which was advancing all the way, was defeated miserably at Meth Kailing, like a high-speed train, suddenly crashed into the mountain, all so suddenly, if it weren't for the change of the surrounding scenery, he always thought he was in a dream.

Alexander secretly lamented in his heart, "Is it another cycle of history?" Indochina is its own sad place? Defeat after defeat! "The first time, there were more than 400,000 troops, and only more than 20,000 people remained, and this time, more than 300,000 troops, brought back more than 80,000 people, and lost the battle twice, the result was almost the same, but the process was completely different.

Defeated by the hands of the Japanese, Alexander can also have a little comfort, the first battle of Singapore, the breakthrough of Mandalay, the bloody battle of Libao, and then the battle of the Dunjiang River, is with the Japanese soldiers step by step, to the East Indies, although more than 400,000 troops, only more than 20,000 remaining, but the Japanese also paid the corresponding price, tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers, fell on the way to encircle and intercept the British Empire garrison in Burma.

Defeated by Tang Qiuli, what is going on? The rapid advance along the Hukang River valley for several days, along the way, was a number of defeats, and the real battle suddenly broke out. In just over two hours, there was no bloody fighting between soldiers on both sides, no repeated battles for positions, only overwhelming artillery fire. The cannonballs flying in the sky, their own more than 100,000 main forces, were completely wiped out!

Defeated, defeated, so whenever Alexander was briefly awake, he used the most vicious language and vocabulary in the world. To curse that Chinese Tang Qiuli, now, he is finally completely sober, but he himself knows very well that the most urgent problem in front of him is how to deal with the consequences of this defeat.

The first fiasco, I can still have a chance to make a comeback, but what about the second time? Alexander himself didn't think for the best. Two major wars in three years, the loss of more than 600,000 troops in the overseas territories of the British Empire, the cabinet and the bigwigs at home. Can you spare yourself?

Alexander's only wish now is to spend the second half of his life peacefully, even if it is to be the most ordinary British citizen, as for finding Tang Qiuli for revenge, he has completely lost confidence, facing the Japanese, he can still have a fight, in the face of that sinister and cunning Chinese Tang Qiuli, he is full of powerlessness.

Chief of Staff Adams came, and saw that the commander had woken up. Although his body was still very weak, his mental state was obviously back to normal, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, stepped forward a few steps, and said with concern: "Commander, your body is important. Be careful, I've ordered the new supply base to prepare the best medical facilities. ”

Alexander shook his head with a wry smile, he knew very well that his illness was a heart disease, not a medicine that could cure it, but he was still very grateful to Adams for his care and loyalty, without him, during his coma of more than ten hours, the leaderless and defeated troops would become a plate of scattered sand, and the possibility of a mutiny among the soldiers was there. …,

Alexander looked at Adams gratefully and said: "Adams, you have only served as my chief of staff for more than a month, but in this short period of time, we have established a deep friendship, and your military conduct, I believe very much, is completely different from my previous chief of staff, Francis, he is a person who cannot be trusted." ”

Adams's face was calm, quietly listening to Alexander's low and weak voice, the commander's words, should be his heartfelt words, he is a general of the British Empire, he can't watch the troops collapse, in other words, this is the duty of a soldier, he instinctively felt that the commander's words seemed to be leaving a last word.

Alexander continued: "Dear Adams, for this fiasco in northern Burma, someone must be responsible, I dictate, you record, send a telegram to the cabinet, truthfully report the situation of the war, since it cannot be concealed, tell the truth, also, I take full responsibility for this, the troops are in your hands, I can rest assured, bring all the soldiers back to India, only you can do it." ”

Adams was not excited, let alone took responsibility, this is normal, someone must be responsible for the failure, General Alexander, as the supreme commander, has an unshirkable responsibility, and he took out the notebook he carried with him.

Alexander's voice seemed to float out of a grave, "All the members of the British Empire's wartime cabinet, Prime Minister Winston? Your Excellency Churchill, this time I was ordered to recover the Indochina Peninsula and lead more than 300,000 troops to northern Burma, but I was on a mission, and I was ambushed by Tang Qiuli's troops, resulting in heavy losses to the troops, and had to retreat to India. ”

"Before I hand over the command, I solemnly mention it one last time, and ask the cabinet and the prime minister to seriously consider it, and I recommend Lieutenant General Adams, the current chief of staff of the Indian Army, to take over the post of Supreme Commander of the British Empire Army in India, and only he can bring all the remaining troops back to India and restore the vitality of the troops!"

After Alexander finished dictating the message, he waved his hand weakly and muttered, "I can't go back to heaven!" Adams's lips twitched a few times, I don't know, in the face of the commander who is like ashes, what to say, Commander Alexander's position must not be kept, and it is natural for him to take over, but the commander also strongly recommends himself in such a situation, which makes Adams very moved.

On the morning of 29 April, General Stilwell, chief of staff of the US military headquarters in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, Manila, Luzon, walked into Commander MacArthur's office with an ugly face.

Stilwell handed a telegram to MacArthur and said in an angry tone: "Your Excellency, I have received an urgent telegram from the liaison officer of the British army, in the area of Methkailing in northern Burma, Alexander's troops were ambushed by the troops of Tang Qiuli's independent division, and the battle lasted more than two hours, and more than 140,000 British troops were wiped out, and the remaining more than 80,000 people retreated to the Hukang River Valley. ”

"On the front line of Ledo, Sugiya, Gamai, and New Taiji in northern Burma, four divisions of mixed Anglo-Indian troops were besieged by the superior forces of the independent division Sulu Mobile Corps, and the whole army was annihilated, and the commander, the battle between the Chinese and the British in northern Burma, as you might expect, ended in a crushing defeat for our allies, the British," Stilwell said very viciously in this last sentence.

He almost couldn't suppress the resentment in his heart, and blurted out, "You narcissistic old fellow, this time you are satisfied, the British have lost badly, and what have you gained?" Originally, we had a chance to salvage this situation! ”

The cunning MacArthur, how could he not hear the meaning of Stilwell's words, he took his pipe from his mouth, his iron gray eyes, stared at Stilwell without blinking, for a long time, before exhaling a sullen breath in his heart, revealing the usual condescending smile, in his heart, it was not worth it and the IQ on this political zhì, almost at the level of a young child's Stilwell theory, there are some things, he will never understand. …,

However, this did not prevent MacArthur from saying in a tone of lesson: "Dear Chief of Staff Stilwell, the outcome of the Northern Burma War can only show that the British chose the wrong opponent at the wrong time, in the wrong place, and if there was no imminent threat from the Japanese in Singapore, our participation in the Northern Burma War would have been different." ”

"Please remember that the interests of the United States of America always come first, and in the face of this general premise, everything is secondary, and I hope you can really understand this, well, this topic will not be entangled anymore, dear Stilwell, you can also be relieved, and you don't have to worry about the tedious logistics, aren't you happy?"

Stilwell was so angry that he almost kicked the table and scolded the old bastard, "I'm happy! It's just a matter of seeing death and not saving it, and seeing the fiasco of your allies, you're still happy and relieved, what the fuck is this bastard logic? ”

But Stilwell didn't dare, his anger could only be suppressed in his heart, and he listened with a blue face, MacArthur made a lot of nonsense, MacArthur was very happy, his own words made this Texas cowboy have nothing to say, and his face was as ugly as a dead fish, this kind of person just lacks lessons!

MacArthur let go of his right hand holding his left elbow, waved the pipe in his hand, and continued to teach Stilwell, "Chief of Staff Stilwell, the war between the British and Tang Qiuli is over, there is nothing else that can involve the energy of this unruly and very difficult Chinese, it is time for him to fulfill his promise, it is the end of April, before the end of May, his troops will launch a large-scale attack on the Japanese in Singapore to eradicate hidden dangers for us Americans!" ”

Speaking of this, MacArthur took a deep look at Stilwell, whose face was still ugly, and continued: "There is only one month, this matter is related to our vital interests, I still hope that you can go to northern Myanmar once, meet Tang Qiuli, and determine the specific problem of the tiger shark operation, the key is time!" ”

(To be continued) (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly passes, and your support is my biggest motivation. )