The First Part of National Humiliation: The Lonely City's Bloody Battle Chapter 41: Alexander's Worries

  A military meeting was held at the British Army Headquarters, where there were only two divisions of troops in Burma. However, the headquarters located in the Maymyo Flagstaff House had a large gathering of high-ranking officers, including one full general, one lieutenant-general, five major-generals, and 18 brigadiers. This made Song Yuhang remark that it was truly a case of "many generals but few soldiers", and that British generals were really not worth much!

  The chairman, General Alexander, was a typical Englishman, a descendant of an earl, sporting the Guards' mustache since the Dunkirk evacuation, looking very spirited! With an air of being in command and calm.

  Next to Alexander was a wrinkled old man with skin as dry as tree bark, General Stilwell, the Chief of Staff sent by US President Roosevelt to the Chinese battlefield. Although he was 10 years older than Alexander, there were fewer stars on his shoulders.

  Du Yuming, who didn't look surprised, sat quietly by the gate and beckoned Song YuHang and Sun LiRen to sit behind him.

  Song Yu-hang and Sun Li-ren sat down in their chairs after exchanging a courteous smile, and from the expressions on people's faces inside the venue, everyone felt the complexity of the relationship between countries.

  Song Yun-hang clearly understood that in terms of command authority on the Burmese battlefield, Du Yuming's position was lower than Alexander and Stilwell. Before going abroad, the chairman had entrusted him to follow Stilwell's command, while Stilwell had to obey Alexander. The complexity lies in the fact that Alexander only had two broken British divisions, while Stilwell was a commander without troops, and the person who actually held the real power over three Chinese armies was Du Yuming! Therefore, no matter when or where, as long as there were two superiors present, Du Yuming always wore an icy expression, like a thousand-year-old ice, and treated everyone with a gaze that could cut through flesh.

  The British gave him an evaluation of being a hard-boiled guy.

  Alexander departed from the usual British habit of beating around the bush and got straight to the point, stating that his 1st Division and 7th Armoured Brigade were surrounded by Japanese forces on the high ground at Nga Kyin.

  After introducing the situation, Alexander swung his whip and said: "That is a desert area, with scorching sun beating down. Don't mention the Japanese attack, just cut off the water source and in two or three days, the surrounded British army will collapse and lose its combat effectiveness! The situation has reached an extremely critical juncture!"

  "For God's sake, extend a helping hand!" Alexander dropped the whip and cast an expectant glance at Stidwell and the Chinese general.

  This British commander, renowned for his ability to cope with crises, had no other choice at this moment. The 17th Division of the two British divisions deployed in Burma was annihilated by the Japanese before the Battle of Rangoon, and 7,000 British troops were captured.

  Now over 7,000 men of the 1st Division are surrounded by Japanese troops, and the British have reached a point where they can no longer send any more troops. The only hope is the Chinese army.

  Steedie was calmly using a bamboo pick to dig out his antique carved pipe mouth, and after digging out all the tobacco ash, he inserted a cigarette and took a deep breath. Only then did Steedie raise his eyelids and ask Alexander: "Commander, the British army has been retreating at a steady pace, but I don't understand how they let the Japanese cut off their rear?"

  Stilwell's words were quite powerful, and many Chinese generals present who could understand English couldn't help but crack a smile.

  Alexander understood the meaning of the smiles of Chinese generals, British troops had occupied too many transportation resources recently, he himself was very tolerant, he knew that if the British army could not launch an attack on the Japanese army on the battlefield, then they should not make a counterattack at the conference table either. However, Stilwell's sharp sarcasm made him really helpless, and the performance of the British combat troops made him feel extremely depressed as the commander-in-chief.

  Under all sorts of helpless circumstances, Alexander continued to explain awkwardly: "The Japanese pursuit troops were really very swift and their speed far exceeded our expectations. The previously planned withdrawal speed of 50 miles per day was obviously too slow."

  Just as Alexander and Stilwell were at each other's throats, Song Yunhou fell into deep thought. The current situation in Burma seemed to have fallen into a strange cycle. He had held out against the Japanese for over ten days, but the British hadn't taken advantage of this rare opportunity to regroup their forces. Instead, they waited until the ancient city was lost before hastily retreating. They even set a standard of retreating fifty miles every day. Not to mention that Burma is not a big country, but this ridiculous retreat standard is probably also a unique innovation of the British in the world.

  Song Yuhang didn't know that it wasn't that the British didn't want to leave, but they really had too many things that couldn't be taken away. Some generals' personal belongings required more than a dozen trucks to transport! The Chinese army's desperate defense of Tengchow allowed the British to see the possibility of plundering property.

  Moreover, the British had a reputation for running away and to prevent his troops from doing just that and running out of radio contact range within fifty kilometers, Alexander was forced to draw up a withdrawal standard which filled him with dismay.

  Today's Stewie can be said to be very happy, the proud British finally bowed their heads, those guys who were full of pride every day are now bowing their heads and not speaking.

  After lighting a cigarette, Stilwell said with a soft "oh": "There's another question, sir!"

  As soon as Stewie had a problem, Alexander couldn't wait to kick this hateful 'old orange peel' into the juicer and squeeze it again to see where he got so many infuriating and embarrassing questions!

  "According to aerial reconnaissance two days ago, the main force of the Japanese 33rd Division on the western front is still south of Magwe. How could they suddenly appear in Yin'anqiao? And how many troops does the Japanese encirclement force have?" Stilwell furrowed his brow after finishing speaking.

  Alexander was equally perplexed by Stilwell's question and could only shrug his shoulders, saying "Heaven knows!"

  Steedie smiled and said: "Then may heaven bless your troops to break through smoothly!"

  Stilwell's typical American humor seriously hurt Alexander's self-esteem. When did the British Empire fall to the point of begging others? Moreover, he still held the so-called Allied Commander-in-Chief position.

  Alexander slammed his whip on the table and said, "The annihilation of the only main force of the British army is against the will of Britain and not in the interests of China and the Allied forces in Burma. The British have been tasked with covering the flanks of various Chinese troops, for which they have made great sacrifices. In times of crisis, they have the right to demand help."

  Stilwell was actually just trying to get a rise out of the British, since the Japanese invasion of Burma, the British army's performance was even worse than that of a third-rate country's militia, many good plans were ruined by the British army's incompetence. Didn't expect to have gotten under the British skin, so he went along with it and said: "Well then, let's hear what our Chinese friends have to say!"

  Song Yuhang took a glance at Stilwell, who was staring at Du Yuming, and cursed inwardly: "Old scoundrel!" He thought to himself: "You've messed with the British, and in the end, it's the Chinese army that has to pay the price?"

  Song Yu-Hang is now concerned about Sun Li-Ren's new 38th Division, historically Sun Li-Ren was the commander of the mutiny troops that rescued the British army, although he won great honor for himself, but it prematurely exposed the Chinese army's deployment in Mandalay, the Japanese army used the tactic of surrounding and attacking to continuously attract the Expeditionary Force to reinforce Mandalay, resulting in the rear being empty, allowing the Japanese infiltration units to take the opportunity to capture Bhamo and Myitkyina.

  Du Yuming did not have the Western sense of humor, and he had long been dissatisfied with the British army. He made up his mind that he could not send troops to Yan'an, Qinghai, and besides, the chairman had already issued an order, instructing that after the loss of Songhua, the next key point would be Mandalay, and the rapid retreat of the British army was seriously threatening the Pingmangnuan campaign. The British army was surrounded by more than 7,000 people, so how many should the Japanese have? This is something that doesn't need to be thought about, what if the reinforcements sent out don't come back?

  Du Yuming shot a glance at Stilwell, thinking to himself: You're from the US, you've lost battles and don't have to take any responsibility. The troops aren't yours either. I'm not in charge, I have to listen to the Chairman. There are over 7,000 British troops with tanks and artillery, plus two squadrons of Allied air support. If you can't fight your way out, then no one can pull you out.

  Du Yuming's expression made both Alexander and Stilwell feel that something was wrong! Sure enough, Du Yuming spoke up: "At present, the entire Burmese front is on fire, the Japanese army is pressing in with a large force, and the Pingmangnuo battle is unfolding. Our military is also short of troops and is under pressure everywhere!"

  Alexander and Stilwell both looked gloomy, waiting for Du Yuming's next words. Du Yuming took a sip of water and said: "Even if we can withdraw one unit, given the current transportation situation in Burma, it is impossible to arrive at Renanqiang within a week. You all know that in late March, our army went from Mandalay to Nanyang Railway Station to relieve the siege of Tonggu, a distance of 150 kilometers, and it took us 10 whole days? The heavy equipment and ammunition urgently needed by the 200th Division at Tonggu have only just been transported from Bhamo to Mandalay, resulting in the entire army being decimated. Moreover, the British still have two squadrons of planes providing support, while our side has not seen a single Allied plane assisting in the battle after dozens of days of bloody fighting. I believe the British will be able to break through smoothly, and our army is unable to provide assistance in its current state."

  In Song Yu-Hang's view, Du Yi-Ming's words were obviously excessive, but the British did indeed have to take some responsibility for General Dai An-Lan's martyrdom. A perfectly good tactic of luring the enemy had turned into a desperate last stand, and now the Chinese army was on the defensive everywhere.

  The railway was always in the hands of the British, who often gave Chinese troops bright red lights, and Du Yuming's words were equivalent to giving Alexander and Stilwell a big slap in the face.

  As Chief of Staff for the China Theater, Stilwell was also humiliated and hung his head in shame, smoking silently.

  The meeting has reached an impasse!

  The Chinese generals present were calm and collected in their observation, Du Yuming spoke out their minds!

  The only sound left was the humming of the brand new fan in the conference room, stirring up hot air that made the heat waves roll and even harder to bear.