On March 30, the 1st Division of the Anglo-Burmese Army withdrew from Tonggu, and under the condition of abandoning all the heavy equipment, it boarded the train lightly and withdrew to Ringanqiang, where the headquarters of the Anglo-Burmese Army was located, and the equipment handed over and left behind plus the inventory of military supplies in Tonggu was enough to equip the 200th Division, the 22nd Division, and the 96th Division of the Chinese Expeditionary Force.

Li Junhao was very happy about this, and this result proved that his previous idea was right. Of course, Stilwell also cooperated very well, and after some operation, he actually accomplished what seemed impossible before.

After the completion of the comprehensive rearmament of the three divisions of the Fifth Army, it can be said that they are basically three medium-sized armored divisions, and after the unification of the standard equipment, the logistical supply of the three divisions will be greatly simplified, the efficiency will be improved, and the combat strength will be greatly enhanced.

Among them, the 200th Division is the strongest, with 4 heavy armored regiments and 1 heavy artillery regiment (with 6 German-made 150mm FH18-32/L heavy howitzers and 18 British BL5.5-inch (140mm) howitzers), and the other subordinate units are all mechanized, and the individual weapons are Lee Enfield rifles, Type Stern submachine guns, Bren light machine guns, Vickers Mark I heavy machine guns, 2-inch mortars, etc., and the fire delivery density is almost eight to ten times that of the previous one.

The new 22nd Division and the 96th Division were respectively organized into 1 light tank regiment, 2 armored regiments, infantry regiments, and 1 heavy artillery regiment (24 BL 5.5-inch howitzers).

If this situation continues, after all the 100,000 expeditionary forces are redressed, Li Junhao is fully convinced that with the bloody nature of the Chinese soldiers, it is completely possible to suppress and beat the Japanese troops of the four divisions - of course, this premise is that the top level of the Kuomintang should not blindly command!

But the fact is that it will always develop in an unexpected direction, and the top of the British army has come out of the demon moth at a critical moment! ——

On March 30, the 1st Division of the Anglo-Burmese Army, which was lightly armed, withdrew to Ringanqiang, and Lieutenant General Slim "sincerely" admitted to Lieutenant General Hutton, the commander of the Anglo-Burmese Army, that because the fighting in Tonggu was very fierce, the weapons and equipment of the 1st Division were greatly damaged, and even the military supplies stored in Tonggu were exhausted, so the defense of Tonggu had to be handed over to the Chinese Expeditionary Force, and the whole division was withdrawn for rest; Moreover, because of the lack of supplies such as fuel and accessories, the heavy equipment of the division could not be started and could only be discarded.

Commander Hutton accepted Lieutenant General Slim's explanation, praised the 1st Division for its morale and honor in the fighting for more than 10 days, and prepared to apply to the War Office for a commendation of the 1st Division.

General Stilwell, who was on the side, pointed out that under the command of General Hutton, the 17th Division of the British and Indian Army held on to Dragone, wiped out the 214th Wing of the 33rd Division of the Japanese Army, and the 1st Army of the Anglo-Burmese Army faced the 55th Division of the Japanese Army and held on to Tonggu for more than ten days, which played the morale of the allies and should be commended! He also said that if all the units of the British and Burmese troops and the Chinese expeditionary force have such a will and determination to fight, then the elimination of the invading Japanese army by the Allies is just around the corner! ——

On the morning of March 31, General Wavell, the supreme commander of the British army in Southeast Asia and the commander-in-chief of the Anglo-Indian army, suddenly sent Lieutenant General Alwin, commander of the British Eastern Garrison Corps, to Ringanqiang and brought the latest order:

"In view of the fact that Lieutenant General Thomas Hutton was still wounded, he was specially ordered to change the guard with Lieutenant General Alwin, and he was appointed commander of the Eastern Garrison Corps, and went to India to serve and recuperate. Immediately, Lieutenant General Alvin took over as commander of the Anglo-Burmese forces.

At the same time, because the appointment and dismissal of the commander of the 1st Division of the Anglo-Burmese Army did not conform to the internal procedures of the British Army, the previous order for Hutton to remove Scott was revoked, and Scott was reinstated as the commander of the 1st Division; After Lieutenant General Slim handed over command, he withdrew to India with General Hutton, which served another role. ”

After reading out the order, Lieutenant General Alvin said with a smile: "General Hutton, Sir Wavell has asked me to convey my respect to you, express my condolences for your wounded, and ask you to return to India to recuperate after handing over as soon as possible. Oh yes, I have a beautiful villa for you in Imphal that I'm sure you'll love. ”

Hutton, Slim, and Stilwell in the headquarters looked at each other, not understanding what was happening.

Alwyn turned to Stilwell and said, "Sir Stilwell, Sir Stilwell, has likewise brought you greetings and invited you to Delhi as a guest, to show us the warmth of our Englishmen for our friends. As he spoke, he took the initiative to salute a military salute.

"Thank you!" Stilwell's face was a little ugly and he returned the salute, and he said in his heart: What does this mean? In and out of the words, it is said that this is the territory of the British, which means that he, an American, should not interfere indiscriminately! At that time, he was angry and immediately said, "Wait a minute! General Alvin, have you forgotten that I am the commander of the Allied Indo-Burma Theater! Such a transfer of personnel, why not go through the theater command? ”

"I'm sorry, General Stilwell." Alvin said toughly, "This personnel adjustment is an internal affair of our British army, and there is no need to report to the Allies. And, after I took office, I was also under the command of the theater command, didn't I? ”

Stilwell was blocked so much that he couldn't say anything else, but he was scolding angrily in his heart: This group of bastards, it's strange that they can listen to themselves in the future! He was eager to talk to Panson now and see how to deal with it.

At this time, Hutton, who had already reacted preliminarily, squeezed out a smile and said, "General Elwin, please wait a moment, I will ask you to summon the commanders of all the units of the Anglo-Burmese Army to listen to Sir Wavell's order together, and then I will trouble you to read it out in public." ”

"No problem, I can wait." Alvin smiled. With Wavell's orders and support, he wasn't at all worried about Hutton getting something out, and in the tradition of the British army, there had never been a case of public disobedience—oh, losing a battle on the battlefield and surrendering didn't count.

Hutton nodded, pulled the somewhat resentful Slim out, and asked the commanders of the various units and the heads of various departments of the headquarters to come to the meeting, and then unified the caliber with Slim separately, especially the withdrawal of the equipment and stockpiles of the 1st Division that was handed over to the Chinese Expeditionary Force in ancient times, and could only adhere to the previous official statement. Although Scott will definitely know the truth from the officers and soldiers after he is reinstated as commander of the 1st Division, it cannot change the fait accompli.

Slim is very tough, thinking that he has done nothing wrong, and even if he is held accountable for this, it is not a big deal, at most it is just an early retirement.

Hutton didn't have any good way to deal with this, so it was the only way.

(End of chapter)