Li Junhao felt that under such circumstances, if Britain and the United States could keep their promises, send the equipment supplies promised before, and strengthen the Chinese Expeditionary Force, then even without the contribution of the British Army (just don't make trouble), the 10 divisions of the Expeditionary Force of more than 100,000 people can completely fight head-on with the Japanese invasion of Burma in 4 divisions (the 18th, 33rd, 55th, and 56th divisions, plus the supporting troops, about 90,000 people), and the outcome of the battle is really difficult to say (if the high-level does not command randomly)!

After the visit, the three commanders had dinner at the division headquarters of the 200th Division, and in addition to rice, the dishes that came up were canned beef stewed with potatoes, stir-fried luncheon meat with tomatoes, and shrimp skin and wild vegetable soup, which made Slim very dissatisfied, thinking that the officers and men of the 200th Division were deliberately embarrassing him - how could this kind of meal be entertained by the Allies?

In this regard, Dai Anlan's explanation was that this was already the best meal that the cooking platoon of the division headquarters could make, and it was only provided to them, and the other officers and soldiers only ate rice and shrimp skin and wild vegetable soup.

Slim didn't believe it, so he sent two staff officers out to look at it, and came back to report to him: Indeed, it is so.

Slim, who was a little embarrassed, couldn't help but ask, "How can such a bad diet satisfy a soldier?" If the soldiers are not satisfied, how can they fight well? ”

Dai Anlan could only shake his head and said: "This is already the best food that I, the division commander, can provide to the soldiers, and I feel sorry for them, but there is no way, our 200th division is the vanguard of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, after arriving in Tonggu, the supplies and materials have not been replenished at all, and later there have been several battles with the Japanese army, and the limited supplies have lost a lot!" If two days later, the rear supplies can't be delivered, and you won't even be able to eat this! There was a lot of resentment in the words.

Hearing this, Lieutenant General Slim was a little strange, listening to General Dai's tone, this situation seems to be caused by him, is it a bit too much to speak?

Li Junhao is not a picky eater, after tasting the food, he feels that the craftsmanship of the cooking row of this division is still very good, and it is not easy to make the rice so delicious under such a simple situation! Immediately saw Slim's expression and understood what he was thinking, so he explained for Dai Anlan: "General Slim, you were only transferred to Burma from the Middle East battlefield at the beginning of this month, and you don't know some of the circumstances.

"Let's put it this way, when your Commander Hutton went to China to ask for help, he signed a Sino-British military alliance on the basis of the "Agreement on the Mutual Defense of the Yunnan-Burma Road" signed by the two sides, and decided that the Chinese side would organize an expeditionary force to enter Burma to support the British army in the war against Japan, and the British side would be responsible for the supply of weapons, ammunition and materials for the Chinese expeditionary force......"

Dai Anlan added: "As of today, our expeditionary force has been in Burma for more than a month, and we have not seen a single bullet or any supplies supported by your army!" ”

"Huh?" Slim was dumbfounded, this situation was something he really didn't expect, even if he organized the local servant army to fight in the Middle East before, he had to give enough weapons and supplies! Asking others to help fight the war without pulling out a dime, in his opinion, is unimaginable.

He thought he was an orthodox British gentleman, and he immediately said: "I'm sorry, General Dai, this is the first time I know about this situation, and when I go back in a while, I will immediately send a telegram to ask Commander Hutton, I think, he will definitely give your army an explanation!" ”

Hearing this, Dai Anlan showed a smile and said, "Then thank you so much General Slim, thank you." ”

“NO！ NO！ Now, Slim was a little embarrassed, "This is what I should do." To be honest, in the face of your army, I feel ashamed now! ”

"That's good!" Li Junhao said, "General Slim, when I called Hutton in a moment, I added my suggestion, and said that we in the United States do not want to cause instability in the Indo-Burmese battlefield because the British army does not fulfill its obligations!" This is even more heavyweight!

Slim did what he said, and immediately after returning to his headquarters after dinner, he personally drafted a telegram and sent it to Lieutenant General Hutton, who did not forget to add the words of the American observer.

——

That night, Thomas Hutton, the commander of the Anglo-Burmese Army, who was enjoying an after-dinner red wine with Lieutenant General Stilwell, who had come to visit him, received a telegram from Tonggu from Slim.

Stilwell took the telegram and looked at it, his face was a little unpleasant, and he said, "Your Excellency Hutton, you have done something wrong in this matter!" Now that the United States, Britain, and China are allies, China has fulfilled its promise and sent an expeditionary force to fight in Burma, and Britain is not ready to fulfill even the most basic promises? ”

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Hutton himself was a little embarrassed, and explained: "Your Excellency Chief of Staff, there is something hidden here, and I only learned about it after I was reappointed as the commander of the Anglo-Burmese Army.

"When General Alexander took over my post before, General Wavell, the commander-in-chief of the British and Indian forces in Southeast Asia, sent a special telegram asking the British and Burmese troops to beware of the Chinese troops remaining in Burma after occupying Burma, so they should not be given any help, but should only be used."

Speaking of this, Hutton spread his hands, "I am telling you this now because I do not agree with this view of Commander-in-Chief Wavell, and even more so that it is not correct to treat the Allies in this way, but after all, I am under his command and leadership, and I cannot fail to carry out this order. ”

"And such a thing?" Stilwell was surprised, "But this is a war!" What was Sir Weber thinking at this time to give such an order? ”

For the Americans, the most important thing in the Southeast Asian battlefield is to consume a large amount of the Japanese army's vital forces and reduce the pressure on the US army's subsequent war in the Pacific theater.

Hutton scratched his head very much, picked up the telegram and read it again, and found a piece of information that he had just ignored: "General Panson, an American observer, believes that we in the United States do not want to cause instability in the Indo-Burmese battlefield because the British army does not fulfill its obligations!" ”

He watched it twice, remembering that this American observer had appeared in the previous victory at Dragon, and the commander of the 17th Division of the British and Indian Army, Major General Yauen, even said that it was according to his suggestion that their 17th Division could take the initiative to attack and completely annihilate the 214th Wing of the 33rd Division of the Japanese Army!

Lieutenant General Hutton couldn't help but ask, "General Stilwell, can you tell me about this Mr. Observer of your country?" ”

(End of chapter)