At 16 o'clock in the afternoon of March 31, the Tonggu Station of the Yangman Railway was surrounded by the armored troops of the 200th Division of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, and the troops directly under the Indian 36th Infantry Division and an infantry regiment who had withdrawn north by three trains were all dumbfounded as soon as they arrived - both sides of the platform were full of tanks, armored vehicles and heavily armed Chinese soldiers of the Chinese Expeditionary Force! Three trains were ordered to stop and stop and stop and not enter.

The interpreter of the 200th Division used the loudspeaker at the station to read out to the Indian 36th Division the order of General Pan Sen, the commander-in-chief of the Allied Indo-Burma Theater Front, demanding that the 36th Division immediately turn around and return to the Mengzhen station, otherwise it would be regarded as a deserter and would be killed!

Hearing this, several arrogant and irascible British officers cursed loudly, and even shouted loudly that they wanted the soldiers to get out of the car to meet the Chinese Expeditionary Force, and more than a dozen guys really jumped out of the car......

At this moment, a voice came from the loudspeaker: "All the troops are ready!" Then, the sound of bolt pulling and tank turret turning sounded on the platform, and the muzzles of hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles, and hundreds of light and heavy machine guns were aimed at the train cars.

Before the interpreter of the expeditionary force could warn again, dozens of British officers and soldiers ran down from the train and directly put a dozen trouble-seeking guys back on the train.

Ten minutes later, Major General Hawkes, the British commander of the 36th Indian Division, led several senior officers to get off the train, walked to the forward of the interpreter of the 200th Division in the middle of the platform, and issued a question......

The translator, who received the special order, was unmoved, and directly presented an order from the Allied Indo-Burma Theater Command signed by General Pansen and signed by General Stilwell, which was written in Chinese and English:

"At present, the Anglo-Burmese army, the British-Indian army, the Chinese expeditionary force, and the U.S. army on the battlefield in Burma must adhere to the operational area under their control in accordance with the orders of the theater command.

At this time, Major General Hawkes and others were dumbfounded, and some officers even argued that they had orders from the commander of the Anglo-Burmese army......

The translator of the Chinese Expeditionary Force replied to this: The Anglo-Burmese army is only part of the Allied Indo-Burma theater of operations, and the orders of the Allied command must be carried out, and the commander of the Anglo-Burmese army is no exception!

The situation is stronger than people now, Hawkes took a breath, took the order to take a few steps back, and discussed with the senior officers. In the end, it was agreed that the new commander of the Anglo-Burmese Army, Lieutenant General Alwin, needed to be consulted, and whatever his decision was, they would be responsible for implementing it! Depending on the situation, this is the Allied upper echelons fighting, and they can't afford to mix.

Then, after some negotiations, Hawkes was given an hour, and he immediately went back to the train to deliver the report, and at the same time asked the senior officers to pass down the order that the troops should remain on the train and stand by, and that no dangerous action should be allowed!

Hawkes, who returned to the carriage, immediately asked the communications staff officer to contact the Anglo-Burmese Army Headquarters in Ringanqiang and report the current situation of the 36th Indian Division to Lieutenant General Alwin and ask for instructions.

——

Lieutenant General Alwin, who took over the command of the Anglo-Burmese Army in the morning, immediately issued an order for the 17th Division and the 36th Indian Infantry Division of the British and Indian Army to withdraw northward.

After he calmed down a little, he asked the staff officers around him, who was the deputy commander of the Indo-Burma Theater of the Allied Forces and the commander-in-chief of the front line who gave the order? How did he have the right to give this order?

The communications staff officer immediately found the telegram sent by General Stilwell after noon, which prominently stated the appointment of Major General Panson of the Allied forces: Deputy Chief of Staff of the Allied Far Eastern Theater, Deputy Commander of the Indo-Burma Theater and Commander-in-Chief of the Front! I muttered in my heart: When the telegram was first received, didn't you, the new commander, not pay attention to it at all? At that time, he disdainfully said that this kind of appointment has nothing to do with the British army, so don't pay attention to it! Blind now, right?

Alwin immediately ordered: call Stilwell and the Chinese Expeditionary Force to protest their actions, and ask them to let the British troops go immediately, otherwise the British and Burmese troops will open the communication line to the north by force!

Stilwell and the newly appointed General Panson represent the United States and the Allied Forces, and the Chinese Expeditionary Force is part of the Allied Forces, and if the Anglo-Burmese Army disobeys the order or even uses force, it will destroy the unity of the entire Allied Army, and the consequences cannot be borne by the Anglo-Burmese Army.

Soon after, the communications staff officer came back and reported that General Stilwell was now ill and that the work of the Allied Indo-Burma Theater Command was under the sole responsibility of Deputy Commander Panson, whose orders would not be changed; In addition, the Chinese Expeditionary Force replied that the headquarters strictly carried out the orders of the Allied Command, did not accept any threats, and if there was an exchange of fire between the two armies, the British and Burmese forces must bear the responsibility for destroying the relations between the allies.

After another burst of rage, Alwin could only send a telegram to Lord Wavell in India, asking for instructions.

Wavell called back and said that he would liaise with China to put pressure on the U.S. government at the diplomatic level, but that would take time. During this period, the Anglo-Burmese Army was asked to exercise restraint, refrain from direct clashes with the Chinese Expeditionary Force, and if necessary, focus on ensuring the safe evacuation of personnel, and other ...... It can be given up temporarily.

The last sentence is vague and needs to be understood by Alwyn himself.

Alwin, who received the telegram, was also speechless, and he couldn't fight (and couldn't fight), and the Allies didn't give an inch, what else could they do? So, he pinched his nose and replied to the 36th Indian Infantry Division: The Anglo-Indian General Command was settling the dispute through diplomatic channels, and the 36th Division should give priority to ensuring the safety of its personnel, and if necessary, it could make appropriate concessions in the overall interests of the Allies.

The 36th Division, which received the telegram, Major General Hawkes and the officers looked at each other, what did this mean? To which level is a proper concession to be conceded? Evacuate to the town of Mong, where they departed, according to the orders of the Allies? Or directly to the Chinese Expeditionary Force to disarm into prisoner of war camps?

Seeing that the one-hour time given by the Chinese Expeditionary Force had arrived, and it was difficult for everyone to make a decision, a staff officer suddenly said: "General, we can explain to Chinese that the upper echelons are communicating and ask them to give them more time......

"This will not work, our soldiers have been in the stuffy tanker for hours, mentally and physically exhausted, and no one knows how long it will take to make diplomatic efforts after that, so it is inhumane to let the soldiers wait in the car like this." Another staff officer immediately spoke.

(End of chapter)