Chapter 3: Headache (I)

Due to the situation, Britain and the Soviet Union's actions to seek reconciliation with the People's Party and Government were earlier than Zhao Zhenzhong expected. The British sent people to Chittagong, Shannan for preliminary contact on March 7, while the Soviets expressed their intention to peacefully resolve territorial disputes between Central Asia, Outer Mongolia and the Far East to the People's Party on March 10 and 12, respectively through the ambassadors of ** and Lan Fang to the United States.

However, because Churchill still had fantasies about the expeditionary forces sent by the British and Burmese army and Chiang Kai-shek, and the two sides had disputes over territorial issues and India, Myanmar and other issues, the British finally got up early and went to the market late, and fell behind the Soviets in the time to reach an agreement with the People's Party and Government.

In fact, as early as early as early February when the Japanese army swept the Malay Peninsula and launched a large-scale attack on Singapore, the situation faced by the British in Southeast Asia had reached a precarious level. Even Hopkins, the presidential adviser who had just recovered from the US Naval Hospital, suggested to Churchill as a friend: "The Kingdom of Great Britain should reconsider its relations with the Shannan People's Party to ease their opposition and use its power to fight against the Japanese invading Malaya and Myanmar..."

But Churchill was still unwilling to bow his head to the People's Party and government until now. He knew that compromising with the People's Party now means that there is no possibility of returning to the control of the United Kingdom, and even the territory that Britain obtained from southern Yunnan in the past would be lost. It would even involve the issue of Hong Kong's ownership that had fallen into the hands of Japan, which would affect India and Myanmar. Although Churchill declined Hopkins' suggestion for interest, he had to think about how to save the war situation between Singapore and Myanmar.

However, the development of the battle situation once again exceeded Churchill's expectations!

Faced with the attack on Singapore by more than 30,000 Japanese troops, Pasir commanded the British, Indian and Australian coalition forces with an advantage of more than 85,000 troops. With sufficient food and ammunition, the Australian and Indian troops fled the battlefield in a large manner. After only one week of persistence, they had to surrender to Fengwen of the Yamashita!

The loss of Singapore not only marked the loss of the British strategic base in Southeast Asia, but also marked the complete fall of the British Malay Peninsula in the hands of the Japanese army, but also meant the beginning of the Japanese army's large-scale march into Myanmar. With Myanmar's current limited military force, the outcome can be imagined in the face of the continuous increase in the Japanese army!

The furious Churchill then refuted the pessimistic argument of the British Far East Army commander-in-chief Waiville, who said that "Myanmar cannot be defended" with fierce words, and claimed that "although we cannot send an army no matter what, we can at least send one person!"

In this case, General Harold Alexander was sent to Myanmar by Churchill to replace the British and Burmese commander Hutton, who was ineffective in commanding the war in Myanmar.

Churchill placed his hope of saving the situation in Myanmar on the expeditionary forces sent by Alexander and Chiang Kai-shek, but the development of the war situation in Myanmar once again made him realize what the plan is without changing quickly!

On March 5, as soon as Alexander arrived in Myanmar to take command, he ordered the British and Burmese army to defend Yangon and organize front-line troops to launch an attack on the Japanese army in order to restore the situation. Although the British Seventh Armored Brigade and some infantry fought bravely, they did not achieve much actual results. After the Japanese army ended the Malayan War, their subsequent troops were continuously advancing towards Myanmar. Faced with the increasingly unfavorable situation, Alexander had to accept Hutton's suggestion and instead withdrew from Yangon on the afternoon of March 6.

"I long to win on the battlefield, but fate arranged for me to organize troops to retreat again and again! First Dunkirk, and now it is Myanmar!" Facing the mess in front of me, Alexander lamented unwillingly, "And we must now have a life-and-death competition with the damn Japanese and the coming rainy season!"

"General, at least we will not be Japanese prisoners!" Hutton sighed faintly, "Thinking about poor Pasir, our situation is undoubtedly much better now!"

"Yes! We can retreat to China when the war is unfavorable! What can we do? Should we be trapped in China for a few years and wait safely for the war to end?" Alexander waved his arm and said loudly, "No! That's not what we need! Don't forget our mission! If Myanmar can no longer hold on, then India and Great Britain in the west still need us to defend!"

From the current perspective, it is indeed feasible to withdraw from the British and Burmese army to Yunnan, China when they had no choice but to withdraw from mainland China, and the People's Party armed forces are in India and Burma, once the British and Burmese army withdraws to Yunnan, it means that they are isolated from ties with the Commonwealth and will have to trap China in the future.

"General, we have to convince the head to agree to negotiate with the People's Party and reach an agreement with them before we can retreat to India!" Hutton smiled bitterly, "But that also means that the kingdom will lose a large tract of territory in Shannan and northern Myanmar!"

"We have no better choice!" Alexander was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "If the situation is really unfavorable, even if the kingdom does not negotiate with the People's Party, Myanmar may be occupied by the Japanese. Instead of the Japanese occupying Myanmar, we gain nothing, it is better to reach an agreement with the People's Party to allow them to participate in Myanmar's war against Japan!"

Smith, the British-Burma Army front commander who had just commanded the troops to evacuate Yangon, asked unwillingly: "General, can't we still defend Myanmar with the joining of the Chinese political army?"

Alexander sighed speechlessly, while Hutton shook his head and analyzed with a sad expression: "As soon as Yangon was occupied by the Japanese army, we basically lost foreign aid! Although we can still retreat to Yunnan when the war is unfavorable, it is just a matter of escaping from a small encirclement and jumping into a large encirclement! Don't forget that in addition to Shannan controlled by the People's Party, mainland China is also facing a complete blockade by the Japanese!

As for the expeditionary forces sent by the Chinese government, their purpose was to make the Yunnan-Burma material passage! When the passage was cut off and the Japanese army successively increased its troops, with the limited supply of materials from Chongqing, this government army would not last long! Moreover, if they could have the combat effectiveness of the People's Party armed forces, the Chinese government would not have to leave Nanjing and hide in Chongqing!"

"Okay!" Alexander interrupted Hutton's analysis and said, "We should think more about the current situation and how to convince the Prime Minister!"

On March 6, Churchill not only received a telegram from Alexander about the war in Myanmar, but also received a shocking news that the Soviet Union was lost to Moscow and Stalin led the party, government and military institutions to Gubishev as the war capital.

If there was only the frustrating news in Myanmar, Churchill's stubbornness would not bow to the Popular Party easily before seeing the worst outcome, but the news that the Soviet Union was forced to move the capital had to consider the greater threat faced by the British mainland and the effective way to solve this problem.

Although the German army occupied Moscow, it also paid a considerable price. It can be foreseen that before the arrival of spring on the Soviet-German battlefield, the German army would no longer continue to carry out large-scale combat operations to the east in order to rest and replenish combat supplies.

However, the Germans did not act on the Eastern Front, which did not mean that the Western Front would be equally calm. After Hitler won the victory of the Moscow Battle on the Eastern Front, it was very likely to mobilize troops to the Western Front. If Hitler was to restrain the Eastern Front from transferring the troops to the West, Churchill could only rely on the Soviet army to launch new combat operations against the German army to restrain the enemy's troops.

However, the news sent by Sir Clark Kerr, the British ambassador to the Soviet Union, disappointed Churchill. The Soviet Union's political fu not only made it clear that the Soviet army would be in a defensive operation stage before the fall of 1942 and was unable to launch an attack on the German army, but also accused the United Kingdom and the United States allies of poor aid to the Soviet Union and demanded that the United States and the United States allies should organize forces to land in France and open up the second battlefield in Europe to attract at least forty divisions of German troops from the Eastern Front to alleviate the pressure on the Soviet Union.

"The Kingdom of Great Britain now has less than six divisions that can be used for landing operations, but there are twenty-five German divisions in France, nine of which are first-class!" After reading the telegram sent by Sir Kerr, Churchill jumped up like a cat with his tail stepped on and shouted in dismay, "Don't mention attracting forty German divisions from the Eastern Front, France alone can swallow our pitiful power in one bite! Now that the second battlefield is being opened, are the Soviets kidding?!"

"The Soviets even lost their capital Moscow, and we can understand their feelings." Sir Alan Brook, Chief of Staff of the British Army, reminded with concern, "In the short term, the Soviet Union will carry out defensive operations, and the German army also needs to rest. If we want to avoid the Soviet Union, there are only two ways to form a ceasefire: one is to strengthen the existing Soviet troops so that they can fight against the German army in large numbers; the other is to increase the amount of materials aided by the Soviet Union so that the Soviets can fight wars. We are powerless in the former, while the latter can increase the material transportation force through the Arabian Sea, Iran, and the Soviet Union Central Asia, and to meet the requirements of the Soviets to a certain extent.

Of course, if the kingdom and the Soviet Union could alleviate the relationship with the People's Party, they might also open up a material channel through Shannan, northwest China, Central Asia or Siberia. The Soviet Union's trapped Outer Baikal Military Region and Far Eastern Front could also strengthen the Soviet Union's Western Front to alleviate the current pressure on the Soviet Union."

"Wait! Allen, what did you say just now? Easing relations with the People's Party can really open up new material channels? Increase the forces on the Western Front of the Soviet Union?" Churchill said in confusion.

"If the Soviet Union can really reach an agreement with the People's Party on territorial issues, then the forces of the Baikal Military Region and the Far Eastern Front in the Soviet Union can be transferred westward, which is used to prevent the People's Army from advancing westward and the re-established Central Asia Military Region, and can also draw a considerable number of troops to strengthen it to the Western Front of the Soviet Union." Brook nodded and analyzed, "If the Soviet prisoners of war were added to the People's Party's repatriation, it is estimated that there will be at least 600,000 troops. It can alleviate the situation of the Soviet Western Front. As for the new material channels, the railway and highway transportation system built by the People's Party in northwest China and south of Shannan, it is not a problem.

Of course, if we can resolve the hostility of the local Indian people, we will go north from Karachi Port in Sindh Province, pass through Pangpuzha Province, northwest province, Kashmir, enter Xinjiang, and then transfer to the Turkish-Western Railway, and the transportation route will be shorter and will be basically unaffected by the season."

Churchill looked at what he said for a while on the large-scale map Brook, then nodded and said sadly: "This is indeed feasible. But to achieve it, I am afraid that not only the Soviet Union will have to pay a considerable price, but even the Kingdom of Great Britain will lose many territories such as Shannan, northern Myanmar, and even Hong Kong! And we will become the sinners of the Kingdom!"

"Prime Minister, we are saving the entire Kingdom of Britain!" Brooke said seriously, "Hong Kong has been occupied by the Japanese, southern Myanmar has also been lost, and Alexander and others are in a state of cutting off foreign aid, and they will not last long! Instead of arguing with the People's Party on the issue of northern Myanmar on the issue of northern Myanmar, it is better to exchange the ownership of a small piece of territory for the People's Party's commitment to fighting against Japan, as Alexander and others suggested. This will not only alleviate the tensions faced by the Kingdom in Southeast Asia, but also concentrate its efforts on the local and North Africa directions, but also promote the easing of relations between the Soviet Union and the People's Party."

"Well, Allen, I admit what you said makes sense." After a long sigh, Churchill nodded helplessly and said, "Leo is in New Delhi now, so he will be responsible for negotiating with the Popular Party."

As Minister of India and Myanmar, Leo Emory is now dealing with the continuous movements in India and Myanmar. On the evening of the 6th, he received a call from London and learned that he was appointed to be responsible for negotiating the territory of the People's Army's Shannan Control District, northern Myanmar and other places. Emory knew that since ancient times, no matter how the outcome was, at least this reputation has been unpleasant since the signing!

Although Emory was worried about his future reputation, he did not dare to make things worse. Early in the morning of the 7th, he sent people to Chittagong to express his desire to resolve the territorial dispute between Shannan and northern Myanmar with the People's Party through peaceful means. After receiving the news, Lin Chenglou, the head of Shannan of the People's Party, did not dare to neglect it. He hurriedly called the Central Committee of the People's Party to ask for instructions on the countermeasures.

After receiving the telegram, Tian Yunyi could not hide his excitement at the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the People's Party, and said with a smile: "The British finally can't stand it anymore! Not only can the ownership of the Shannan controlled area be solved, but the former land loss in southern Yunnan and Hong Kong can be solved together!"

"Malaya is lost, Singapore is lost, Yangon is lost. Churchill doesn't bow his head anymore, I'm afraid the British and Burmese army will become prisoners of the Japanese army in a short time!" Zhou Mingyuan laughed and reminded, "However, the British people have a big appetite! Not only do they want us to send troops to Myanmar to help them deal with the Japanese, but they also want us to break the absolute Muslim alliance and advance the party and support from the Deqin Party! It's easy to say to fight the Japanese, but we can't agree to the future failure. Otherwise, this will be unfavorable to our future development of bilateral relations with neighboring countries and regions!"

"I think that if the British really insist on binding India and Myanmar forces to resolve the issue together, then we might as well let the Muslim alliance, the Progress Party, and the Deqin Party represent the various factions of the Deqin Party attend our negotiation meeting with the British, so as to show that our party's support for India and the Burmese people seeking support for national and national liberation, and force the British to make concessions!" After Tang Ming made the suggestion, he analyzed, "Of course, I personally believe that the British will not agree to let India and Myanmar achieve the success. But in this way, these forces will definitely further strengthen their ties with our party in the future."

"I think that when the British ask for a lot of prices, we will pay the money. Anyway, the critical situation in Myanmar is. The longer the time is delayed, the more unfavorable it is for the British!" Li Yunshan also suggested with a smile, "The construction of Shannan still requires a lot of raw materials. You might as well ask the British to provide some Australian steel, Indian cotton, etc. to make Shannan more vigorous in development!"

"With these things, it's basically the same!" Zhao Zhenzhong nodded with satisfaction and added, "However, although it is feasible to let India and Myanmar forces attend our negotiations with the British, we cannot just act like this. At least we must ask the British to propose a timetable to resolve India and Myanmar issues after the war, and strengthen the confidence of Jinnah, Boss, and Aung San in our party.

In addition, for the British, we also need to raise the price point, so as to prevent the Japanese naval forces from rushing westward into the northern Bay of Bengal and avoid it being unfavorable to our Shannan control area and most areas on the east coast of India, we require the UK to transfer the Andaman Islands to our Shannan control area. Of course, as compensation, we can transfer a 30,000-ton aircraft carrier to the UK."

"It's a pity. That aircraft carrier is basically brand new!" Zhou Mingyuan said reluctantly, "Anyway, the Japanese will not let go of the Andaman Islands. It's better for us to take it from the Japanese by then!"

"We now have the ability to design and build aircraft carriers by ourselves, and replace those modified by merchant ships one after another is also due to the consideration of sea survivability during wartime." Zhao Zhenzhong waved his hand and said, "We now have five aircraft carriers of three levels, but there are many levels and the pressure on logistics support is not small. It will be better to be unified in the future. Besides, we use an aircraft carrier to exchange for the Andaman Islands, which seems to be a bit of a loss now, but in the long run, we can make a lot of money!"

Before early November last year, the People's Party had five aircraft carriers modified by merchant ships, including three 30,000-ton and two 50,000-ton aircraft carriers. Although the People's Party transferred two of the 30,000-ton aircraft carriers to Lan Fang in November, two other self-designed and built 60,000-ton "Shannan" class aircraft carriers were equipped and officially put into service in February 1942, which made the People's Party Navy still own five aircraft carriers. The other three Shannan-class aircraft carriers have been built since late October last year and are expected to be put into service by June next year. This gives Zhao Zhenzhong enough confidence to realize the plan to replace the aircraft carrier island.

The Andaman Islands is located near the waterway at the northwest end of the Strait of Malacca and enters the Indian Ocean. The geographical location is very important. If it echoes Borneo, where Lan Fang is located at the southeast end of the Strait, it can effectively suppress the Strait of Malacca. Considering the urgency of war in Southeast Asia in the future, especially the reality that the British sea forces in the Far East are almost gone, Zhao Zhenzhong believes that the British will make correct decisions on the Andaman Islands issue.

Zhao Zhenzhong and others were planning how to use the current situation to obtain the greatest benefits, while Leo Emory was thinking about how to reach an agreement as soon as possible to avoid causing greater losses to the Commonwealth. Gubishev, who was thousands of miles away, had a debate with the People's Party on the proposals of the UK and the current situation.


Chapter completed!