On the other side, on the British luxury train heading north, the accompanying military doctor had already operated on Lieutenant General Thomas Hutton and removed two bullets from his back and legs.

Speaking of which, Hutton was absolutely blessed with a great fortune, and as soon as he heard the gunshot, he immediately lay down, although he was shot twice, but none of them hit the vital point, so after the operation, as soon as the strength of the anesthetic passed, he quickly woke up.

The first thing Hutton said when he woke up was, "Where is the train now?" ”

The adjutant waiting in the carriage immediately said: "General, there are still 20 minutes away from Tonggu, for the sake of your body, are we staying in Tonggu for a few days?" ”

"No, don't stop......," Hutton gasped, "after the train arrives at Tonggu...... Immediately turn to Ringanqiang ...... in the northwest"

"Yes, General!" The adjutant immediately said, and as he spoke, he prepared to get up and deliver the order.

At this time, a British lieutenant colonel knocked on the door of the carriage and came in to report: "General Hutton, we have already reported the assassination of General Alexander and General Smith to China...... Prime Minister Churchill has just received a reply that you have been appointed again as Commander of the Anglo-Burmese Army, commanding all British forces in Burma, and reporting to the Commander-in-Chief of the Anglo-Indian Army, General Wavell. ”

Originally, Hutton's adjutant was still worried about whether the order he had just received would be carried out by others, but when he heard that his commander had been reinstated as commander of the Anglo-Burmese army, he immediately became energetic and hurried out to convey the commander's order.

Hutton, who received this order, was not happy, and Alexander's previous actions in the line of fire and taking over his post had actually shown the meaning of London - to let Alexander, the general who had successfully commanded the retreat of the 1st Army from Dunkirk, command the Anglo-Burmese army's withdrawal to India!

To this end, they also agreed to take advantage of the Chinese government's desire to keep the transportation route of the Yunnan-Burma Highway to lure the Chinese expeditionary force into Burma to cover the retreat of the British army; As for the casualties of the Chinese, then leave them alone. In this respect, their British behavior was despicable, contrary to gentlemanly manners, and a loss of face for the British Empire.

Hutton himself still wanted to make a face, so after knowing London's intentions, he happily handed over the command to Alexander, and he was ready to take the plane back to China after withdrawing with the army to India, and then retire and go home, no longer paying attention to this side of the matter.

Unexpectedly, before leaving Yangon, Alexander was shot dead at the train station, and John Smith, the second-in-command of the Anglo-Burmese Army, also went with him, he luckily did not die, but was returned to the position of commander of the Anglo-Burmese Army by Prime Minister Churchill!

In this way, if the British army deceived the expeditionary force of its allies China to cover for the British army, and they themselves fled to India, he would bear the infamy that would appear in the whole world, which is really not good news!

However, since he has been put in this position again, he can only perform his duties seriously.

Commander Hutton, who had eaten a little and regained some spirits, summoned the staff officers of the Anglo-Burmese Army Headquarters on the train and asked them to contact the troops immediately to clarify their current position so that they could be deployed for battle in the future.

Ten minutes after the special train passed through Tonggu (Donghu), the situation of all the units of the British army in Burma was reported to Hutton, and he endured the pain in his body and ordered: "Reiterate the order of the previous headquarters:

"The 1st Division of the Anglo-Burmese Army was stationed in Tonggu;

"The 36th Indian Infantry Division was stationed at Mong Town (70 km southeast of Tonggu);

"The 17th Division of the Anglo-Indian Army was stationed at Degong (140 km northwest of Tonggu);

"The 63rd Brigade of the British and Australian Forces and the 7th Armored Brigade of the British Army were withdrawn to Ringanqiang as a reserve for the whole army."

The staff officers recorded the order, and some did not understand the meaning of Hutton giving the same order again, but before they could ask questions, Hutton added: "This is the final order, and it will be executed immediately." Tell the three division commanders that if they evacuate without the permission of the headquarters, they will be dealt with by military law! ”

"Yes, General!" Hearing this, everyone in the special train hurriedly stood up and answered, knowing in their hearts: The last sentence is the point!

In fact, what Hutton thought in his heart was: Anyway, we have to really fight with the Japanese army, and if more than 40,000 British troops fled to India without fighting a tough battle, it would really be a shame in front of the world!

If he fought a tough battle and then evacuated, no one would be able to say that it would be wrong for 40,000 British troops to lose to more than 100,000 Japanese troops in four divisions, and the British army and his personal face would be saved.

As for the Chinese expeditionary force that entered Burma to fight, he didn't think much about it, and in this regard, the arrogant British were the same.

——

Li Junhao's armored convoy traveled all the way north, and the target was temporarily set at Degong, an important town in the northwest of Bago province.

At this time, he did not know that the British army's command system and combat attitude had changed, because the British side did not notify the American side in time.

The telegrams sent to him by the embassy every six hours only asked about his location and security.

Ambassador Jensen in Chongqing was very unimpressed with Pan Sen's adventure in the battlefield in Burma, that is, he couldn't control Pan Sen now, otherwise he would definitely criticize the other party harshly and order him to go to Chongqing or Kunming immediately! Only now, all he can do is forward the report sent by Pan Sen back home, hoping that the White House will give him an order!

After receiving Pan Sen's report on the Burma battlefield transmitted through China, President Roosevelt specially attended the Joint Chiefs of Staff to discuss the situation in the Indo-Burma theater with the generals.

Lieutenant General Arnold, deputy chief of staff of the army and commander of the air force, personally read out several reports on the battle situation sent by Pan Sen, and combined with the map, outlined the current situation on the battlefield in Burma.

General Marshall, Chief of Staff of the Army and Commander-in-Chief of the Far Eastern Theater of Operations, said: "Mr. President, through these reports of General Pansen, we now know that the war situation in southern Burma has eroded, and the British army is retreating north!" This once again proves General Panson's previous inference, and I have to say, this young man is really outstanding! ”

"It's just too adventurous, and you dare to go deep into the battlefield with only 50 people!" Admiral Leahy, Chief of Staff of the White House, said dissatisfiedly, "This kid doesn't want to think about his current identity, if he has an accident on the battlefield, then the trouble is not small!" ”

Admiral Stark, Chief of Naval Operations, said with a smile: "William, I don't think you need to worry too much, I don't think with General Panson's military mind, you won't put yourself in danger!" Moreover, what he got from going deep into the battlefield this time was first-hand information, which far exceeded the speed of our administrative department and military intelligence system, and won us valuable time to adjust our strategy in the Far East in a timely manner. ”

(End of chapter)