On 18 April, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet, and his attaché took off from Rabaul in the Solomon Islands on two Mitsubishi-1 land-attack fast transport planes and escorted by six Zero fighters to inspect the front line on Bougainville Island.

When the news came out, the whole world was shocked, and the US Pacific Fleet immediately announced that it had killed Yamamoto Isoroku, but the Japanese side resolutely refused to admit it and did not respond.

It was not until May 21, when the battleship "Musashi", which carried Yamamoto's ashes, returned to the mainland, that the Japanese side officially announced his death and posthumously awarded Yamamoto the title of Fifty-six Great Medals, the First Class of Merit, the Third Rank of Meritorious Service, and the title of Marshal; On June 5, a state funeral was held at Hibiya Park in Tokyo.

The whole U.S. military was jubilant about this achievement, and Li Junhao, who put forward this idea, was awarded a Navy Cross by virtue of his foresight and decision, and the Admiralty even proposed to promote him to the rank of Navy.

However, after discussing with Admiral Leahy and National Security Adviser Ayers, Roosevelt decided to suppress it for the time being, and the young man's continuous promotion was too fast, which was not conducive to his future development, so the latter application of the Admiralty was not approved for the time being. For this reason, Ayres also sent a special telegram to Li Junhao to explain the reason.

Of course Li Junhao doesn't care about this, his current military rank is enough, the army, navy, navy, navy, and land and sea, uniforms can be changed and worn, and with his current domestic status, the military rank is only a supplement, and it no longer represents his scope of power, so he is not in a hurry, the war will be fought for two years, and he has the opportunity to make meritorious contributions.

——

In the ensuing period, the Pacific war situation was a little quiet, and the U.S. military only recaptured Attu Island in the Aleutian Islands in May, and did not make any major moves; Although the Japanese counterattacked on several islands, it was in vain.

On the side of the Indo-Burma theater, after entering June, the rainy season is coming, and it is unrealistic to conduct a major battle, and the Allied and Japanese troops are intensively training and equipping their troops, waiting for the arrival of the cold season!

Compared with the current Allied forces with sufficient armaments and materials, the life of the Japanese army is a little miserable, food and clothing can still be guaranteed, but heavy weapons and equipment are extremely scarce, there is no need to think about tanks or anything, and even the number of artillery is insufficient!

The quality of the source of soldiers is also uneven, the number of veterans in the divisions and regiments is less than one-fifth, and there are all kinds of other recruits, and there are already 15 or 6-year-old young soldiers and 50-year-old old soldiers!

The newly formed 19th Air Force also has a shortage of fighters, and the number of 750 aircraft scheduled is only 500 in place by the end of June, of which there are only more than 100 Zero planes at the advanced point, and the others are all old things such as the 96 land attack, and in the face of the 10th and 14th Air Forces of the US Army using P-38, P-40, B-24, and B-25, it is not at all a level level, and air combat cannot be fought at all!

In this case, General Yamashita Fengwen, who had previously led the 25th Army to capture the Malay Peninsula and won the nickname of "Malay Tiger", had a big head and was really powerless!

During this time, the most he did was to ask the base camp for better soldiers, more heavy weapons and equipment, and more and better aircraft...... For this reason, he clashed several times with the commander-in-chief of the Southern Army, General Terauchi Shouichi, but the problem could not be solved.

——

In early June, Li Junhao received the latest domestic intelligence from the CIA headquarters: From May 12 to 25, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill led the chiefs of staff of the three armed services to visit Washington, and held a secret military meeting codenamed "Trident" with President Roosevelt and the Joint Chiefs of Staff to determine the "comprehensive strategic thinking for waging war" between the two countries. The meeting determined:

"1. Work with the Soviet Union and other allies to bring about the unconditional surrender of the European Axis powers as soon as possible.

"2. To cooperate with the other nations of the Pacific to exert sustained pressure on Japan in order to weaken its military to the point where it can force its final surrender.

"Third, after the defeat of the Axis powers in Europe, cooperate with the Soviet Union, give full play to the power of Britain and the United States, and promote the unconditional surrender of Japan as soon as possible."

The specific war strategy is as follows:

crushing the threat of German submarine warfare and intensifying the air offensive;

instructed Eisenhower, commander of the Mediterranean theater, to begin preparations for an attack on the Italian mainland as soon as he occupied Sicily, with the limit of forcing Italy to withdraw from the war;

concentrate manpower and material resources on Britain for landing in France in the spring of 1944 for a decisive attack on Germany, with May 1 of the following year as the date for the implementation of the "Overlord" plan;

Assist the Soviet Union and China to make China an effective base of operations against Japan for the allies, and prepare the conditions for Africa and France to participate in the war against the Axis powers;

The Pacific theater of operations to seize the Azores in order to provide a new naval and air military base, to launch a new offensive against the Japanese army......

Li Junhao knew that at this meeting, the allied army's major counteroffensive on various battlefields was about to begin! So, he decided to speed up the process on his side and make a good start for the Allied counteroffensive - he had to make a head!

——

Beginning on June 25, it was rare that there was no rain for three days, and Li Junhao watched an actual combat exercise of the 212th Division of the 121st Group Army composed of recruits from northern Shaanxi on the edge of the jungle northeast of Mandalay, and highly praised its performance!

Army Commander Lieutenant General Peng Xuefeng said that the other 213th and 214th Divisions were also at the same level, so he believed that the 121st Group Army was already considered an army and hoped to be able to undertake combat missions.

Beside him, Du Wenhua, commander of the 212th Division, Li Yunxiang, commander of the 213th Division, and Ye Shanzhong, commander of the 214th Division, are also looking forward to it.

Seeing their enthusiasm, Li Junhao nodded, he also felt that it was time!

——

On June 28, Mandalay convened a theater military meeting and announced the new reorganization order:

1. The 121st Group Army, composed of recruits from northern Shaanxi, completed its training and joined the theater combat unit.

2. The original 109th Gurkha Light Infantry Brigade was expanded into the 104th Division, with the 108th, 109th, and 110th Brigades under its jurisdiction.

3. The original 108th New England Battalion was expanded into the 102nd Special Operations Regiment, which is still under the direct jurisdiction of the Theater Command.

4. The original 105th Battle Group was reorganized into the 105th Division, with the 105th, 111th, 112th, and 113th Brigades under its jurisdiction.

5. The original 106th Battle Group was reorganized into the 106th Division, with the 106th, 114th, 115th, and 116th Brigades under its jurisdiction.

6. The newly organized 107th Division, under the jurisdiction of the 117th, 118th, 119th, and 120th Brigades.

The 7th, 104th, 105th, 106th, and 107th Divisions remained under the 101st Army.

In addition, the theater command is directly under the jurisdiction of: the 102nd Special Operations Regiment and the 82nd Airborne Division.

Theater Air Forces: 10th, 14th Air Forces.

Theater Army Units: 101st, 103rd, 121st Army.

Then, Chief of Staff Yang Shixiong began to arrange the operational plan for the Third Burma Campaign......

(End of chapter)