On July 22, Bangkok was completely purged, and all participating units moved to rest.

At the cost of 16,000 casualties, the Allied forces basically wiped out the entire Japanese Burma Front, including the 5th, 20th, 21st, 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, and 110th divisions, the 418th, 431st, and 433rd mixed brigades, the 19th Air Army, and the 21st Independent Flying Group, eliminating a total of 194,000 people and 670 aircraft, recovering most of western Laos and Thailand, and perfectly completing the purpose of the campaign.

While the officers and men in the theater were celebrating their victory, Li Junhao thought about the direction of his next step. However, after analyzing the current situation, he began to hesitate! There are two future combat directions, and it is difficult for him to choose.

One direction is to sweep away Laos, Thailand and the French China region (Cambodia and Vietnam) with all its might, and occupy the entire South Asian peninsula, but in this way, the northern (Vietnamese) border of French China will directly face the Chinese province of Gui, where there are Japanese troops, and then it will be necessary to directly intervene in the domestic battlefield in China, and then you will have to deal with that Chairman Chiang, and the result is unpredictable!

On the other hand, it is naturally to move south along the Malay Peninsula and recover British Malaya and Singapore, which is more in line with the interests of the US Far East and can also open up contact with the US Far East Force as soon as possible, which is certainly what the Allied Far East Command hopes! But the problem is that it is easy to recover, but it is difficult to occupy!

First of all, this is a British colony, and it will definitely jump out and beep when the time comes; Secondly, the Malay Peninsula is close to the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) occupied by the Japanese army, and once he wields his army to occupy it, then the battle will have to be fought!

Just when he was analyzing the pros and cons and hesitating, a telegram came from Washington, demanding that he return home immediately......

——

After arranging the work in the Indo-Burma theater, Li Junhao returned to Washington on August 4.

At the August 5 Joint Chiefs of Staff, Lee was awarded the Army Cross for his victory in the Third Burma Campaign, and now he needs to consider the order in which to wear the medal watch on his chest.

At the meeting, a new member was present - Vice Admiral Thomas Holcombe, commander of the Marine Corps (because traditionally, the rank of Marine is up to rear admiral, and then you have to transfer to the Navy).

At the meeting, everyone first listened to Li Junhao's report on the situation in Burma and expressed warm congratulations on the victory of the Third Burma Campaign under his command.

General Marshall, who is also the commander-in-chief of the Allied Far East, said with a smile: "Auger's meritorious service is too fast and his achievements are too great, and I feel embarrassed not to give him an army general now!" ”

Arnold, deputy chief of staff of the army and commander of the Air Corps, was himself a lieutenant general, and at this time he deliberately said in a jealous tone: "I want to change the guard with General Auger now, so that I can raise a star as soon as possible." ”

The others suddenly burst into laughter, which made Li Junhao a little embarrassed.

After laughing, Admiral Leahy, who presided over the meeting, said: "Og, the work in the Indo-Burmese theater is very good, everyone has seen it, and the reward for you this time is still being studied...... Before I do, though, there's something else I'd like to hear from you. After speaking, he motioned for Lieutenant General Holcomb, who had been silent, to speak.

The 64-year-old Lieutenant General Holcomb, the 17th commander in the history of the Marine Corps, is a veteran of World War I, who took up his current post in 1936 with the rank of major general.

I don't know if it was stimulated, but Commander Holcombe's speech was a little excited and a little indignant......

As he spoke, Li Junhao understood that the problems facing the sea and land were very serious, and there were problems in military spending, equipment, personnel, training, logistics, tasks, and so on!

In particular, in the previous Pacific counteroffensive in the Kuah Island Campaign and the Marshall Islands Campaign not long ago, the Marine Corps undertook the most important task of landing on the island and attacking fortified positions, but the personnel training, weapons and equipment, and logistics support were the worst among all branches of the military, and these problems caused heavy losses on land and sea......

Listening to these words, Li Junhao understood the old man's mood very well, and in his previous life, he unanimously laughed on the Internet and said that the US Marine Corps was a "fourth-class person", using equipment that the army did not want, spending the remaining military funds of the navy, eating the worst meals, and fighting the hardest battles......

Because they are directly subordinate to the president, the Marines do not receive formal military funding from Congress, and can only pick up the leftovers of the Navy, which is like a "stepmother's support" in terms of treatment; But it is in this situation that every time the United States needs force, they are always the first to strike.

Of course, it's one thing to know this, but now the old man is talking about something else, this situation has existed for a long time, and the president can't solve it, what does it have to do with himself?

"Og, Commander Holcomb has made a suggestion, and the President has agreed......," at this point, Admiral Leahy said with some surprise, "I want you to transfer to the Marine Corps and help them turn these unfavorable situations around......"

Well? Li Junhao was stunned, and his eyes looked at this old man-hey! Do you say that as a friend?

Being watched by him, Admiral Leahy was also a little embarrassed, so he could only say: "Og, of course, this matter depends on your own thoughts...... After our research, we all believe that if you go to the sea and land, you will solve many problems of this army, make it operate better, and form ......combat effectiveness as soon as possible."

The other participants all had an attitude of "I didn't hear" and "I don't know what happened" at this time, those who read the documents read the documents, and those who drank coffee drank coffee, only Commander Holkum looked at Li Junhao with eager eyes, as if he hoped that he would agree immediately! ——

Until the end of the meeting, Li Junhao did not give a clear answer, not because he was angry or dissatisfied with everyone, but because he couldn't weigh the pros and cons of this matter now, and he needed time to think about it.

After leaving the conference room, he did not go directly, but went to Ayles's office, found him absent, hugged Mrs. Brown, chatted for a while, and then took the key to the villa and left; Then he went to his office and asked his assistant Vicky to give Xiaoyu some of the necessary documents before, and he wanted to take them back to see.

Back at Ayers' villa, he took a shower and sat in the smoking room to read the papers, which took only two hours to go through a large stack thanks to his current eyesight and brain power......

(End of chapter)