On the map shown by Yang Zhen, the troop strength situation of both the enemy and ourselves at the end of the battle was marked in considerable detail. He was born in a military family and graduated from the Royal Sanchester Military Academy in the United Kingdom. He also stepped up from the rank of second lieutenant step by step. , Admiral Wavell, who had an extremely solid foundation in military theory, could understand the contents of the map at a glance without the help of a translator.
The content on the military map is universal throughout the world. Although he cannot understand the place names on it, it is still easy for Admiral Wavell to grasp the intentions on the map. The only thing he needs is a translator for him. The place names on the map and the translator's words are just what they want to express.
After General Wavell's words fell, Yang Zhen couldn't help but give a thumbs up secretly in his heart. This man was undoubtedly the man who defeated hundreds of thousands of Italian troops in North Africa, both in terms of vision and knowledge of the battlefield. His views are more accurate and his vision is more sophisticated than those of Major General Stilwell who had never actually commanded an army on the front line.
Regarding the question about Major General Stilwell who could only talk about military affairs on paper and had zero experience in commanding large-scale corps operations, and had never commanded even a platoon on the battlefield until he had been promoted to major general, Yang Zhen asked himself how he could easily defeat him. Fooled Bei couldn't find it.
He has never commanded a battle, and does not have a comprehensive grasp of the ever-changing situation on the battlefield. There is no way he can know some things that can only be experienced on the battlefield. For such a general, some things can be fooled. It's not a very difficult thing.
But for the person who is asking the question now, he served as a frontline commander during World War I and lost an eye. During the two world wars, he also served as the commander and chief of staff of many British military regiments stationed overseas. He has actual combat experience. Rich, even more experienced in working in high command.
In North Africa, the 50,000-strong British army, which was extremely poorly equipped, poorly trained and poorly organized, defeated 300,000 Italian troops in one fell swoop and captured 130,000 of them. Whether it was actual combat experience or the ability to grasp the battlefield, it was absolutely superior to the United States. Above all others, a British general who could be called a famous general of the British Army in World War II, Yang Zhen knew that he had to be fully energetic to deal with it.
In fact, Yang Zhen has always believed that the level of General Montgomery, who almost took over the command of the British ground operations in the late World War II, was at most the level of commanding a group army. His real ability was better than that of the man in front of him, and the current commander of the Middle East Army. Auchinleck, the commander-in-chief of the army, and Slim, the chief of staff of the British-Burmese army who is also present and is still a major general, are far behind.
These few people just either didn't get along well with the big-bellied leader, or they were transferred to less important battlefields because of several failed battles that were not entirely their fault, or they were not as lucky as Montgomery and never got the reward. Opportunity, if they were given a chance, I'm afraid nothing would happen to the later British Marshal.
If before Admiral Wavell's words, Yang Zhen, who had always thought that the British army had no name in World War II and only had monkeys like Montgomery to call the king, he still had a little bit of contempt for this guy, but now, he But he had to pay attention to the general in front of him.
However, compared to Major General Stilwell's fluent Chinese, General Wavell could only translate his questions through the accompanying translator. In fact, with Yang Zhen's English proficiency, his words did not need a translator at all. , and then clearly understood the true intention of the admiral's words.
Even for some difficult military terms, he can translate better than the British second lieutenant who speaks Chinese with a Cantonese accent. Some of the translations are simply Cantonese. I am afraid that he is not a soldier at all and his military rank is also quite suspicious. Translate, translate Admiral Wavell's words more accurately.
At least they won't be pushed into talking about Cantonese that most of the Chinese people participating in the talks who are northerners can't understand, and the translation of certain military terms is inconsistent. Not to mention, the place names pointed out by General Wavell were translated in completely different ways. Fengtian was even translated by him as a place meant by God.
Apart from himself, I am afraid that only he knows where that place is. Even Yang Zhen, who is proficient in English, heard the two unidentified words of Admiral Wavell who was talking about the name of God and hot water forming a river. After thinking about the place names for a long time, I realized that this place was Fengtian and Rehe on my map, not some place in the sky that no one had ever seen.
But Yang Zhen, who obviously didn't want these foreign devils to know that he was proficient in English, did not immediately answer General Wavell after he stumbled through the translation. If he hadn't been able to understand General Wavell's English, he might still be still in Yunshan fog cover. He had no doubts, but put down the baton in his hand and took a look at the British Chinese translator who was obviously not qualified for his job.
Turning to Pearson, who was attending the meeting, he said: "Colonel Pearson, I hope you can serve as a translator at the meeting, or persuade the British delegation to use our translator. If they do not have a second translator, it is obvious that their This translator is obviously not qualified for his job."
"I don't know that the translator of the British delegation came from the corner of Hong Kong. Not only can't he read the military map, but I can't understand much of his Chinese. You are a China expert. But can you tell me where the place in the name of God is? Is it in the Northeast or the United States, or their little island in the UK?"
"Who else can tell me whether a considerable part of the Chinese he translated is Chinese or bird language, or whether it is the dialect of that place in China? You British people are too childish. Don't ask for such an important talk. The meaning of such a translation is Chinese or Chinese, English is not English, and the translation is not as good as the horse's mouth."
I really don’t understand what the British are thinking, or that the huge British army really can’t find anyone who is proficient in Chinese Mandarin. The translator of the British Military Observer Group previously spoke Shanghai dialect and half-understandable words. mandarin.
Now this one is even more ridiculous. He speaks Mandarin mixed with Cantonese. If he speaks Shanghai dialect, some people can barely understand it. But basically no one can understand this person's words. Even if he doesn't pay attention, he will understand. I can't hear what he said.
After Yang Zhen finished speaking, Pearson, who was obviously embarrassed, shook his head and said: "Yang, you should know that this time the American and British delegation came to Manchuria is a very confidential matter, and in the British mainland, a reliable person can be found in the army. , and being proficient in military Chinese translation is not an easy task.”
"In order to keep the confidentiality secret, the staff of the British Embassy in China could not be mobilized, and the time was very tight. There was no time to search carefully. In Moscow, the British had no place to find a Chinese translator who was proficient in Chinese and English and had proficient military knowledge, so they had to Use translators who are quickly drawn from the Hong Kong Garrison."
"China has many ethnic groups and a large area. Each place has different dialects. Even if they are all of the same ethnic group, the dialects in different places are also different. This translator was recruited from Hong Kong and only speaks Cantonese. It’s not an accident, I hope you can understand this.”
"I am an attendee and a party to the negotiation. It is not appropriate to act as a translator. I think if the British agree, it is better to let your beautiful secretary come. Her English is so good that if you don't look at me, I would even think that She is a pure-bred Saxon who grew up in England. She is now your English translator. I think she can do this well."
After that, Pearson turned around and explained Yang Zhen's meaning and attitude in detail to General Wavell and the British delegation. After hearing Yang Zhen's attitude translated by Pearson, General Wavell , he looked quite like a general and did not get angry.
However, he was obviously quite dissatisfied with this former British police officer of the Royal Hong Kong Police who was an interpreter. He finally accepted Pearson's suggestion and agreed that the female translator from the Anti-Japanese Alliance would serve as a bridge of communication between the two parties. He did not want The two sides, who were somewhat unhappy at the beginning, continued to widen the rift due to inaccurate translation.
After solving the translation problem, Yang Zhen was not in a hurry to answer Admiral Wavell's question. Instead, he put down the baton in his hand, walked to his seat at the negotiation table, sat down, and then said: "Admiral Wavell, indeed at least Judging from the map, our situation at that time was quite favorable."
"But you think that we still have the ability to carry out follow-up offensives after months of hard fighting. I cannot agree with this. General Wavell once served as the British Commander-in-Chief in the Middle East and had many battles with German and Italian troops on the North African battlefield. , although the result of the last offensive was not ideal, it was not the general’s fault.”
"Previously, the general completely annihilated the Italian army in North Africa with his absolute disadvantage and the troops and equipment that were constantly being taken away. Those few battles were extremely exciting. As for the last offensive before the general left the Middle East, it failed. , but the failure of an offensive does not mean that it is a defeat."
After praising the British general without any trace to ease the awkward atmosphere caused by the previous disagreement with Major General Stilwell, Yang Zhen continued: "As someone who once had several armored brigades in his hands, There are thousands of tanks, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Middle East Theater has constant local support."
"General Wavell, I think you should understand better than those empty talkers and theorists what is most needed when tanks are used on a large scale on the battlefield. I can tell you responsibly here that we could no longer fight at that time. The reason why we can still hold the current front line and are not driven back to the starting point by the Japanese army is because of our luck."
"Indeed, by the end of the battle, we had an armored brigade, a cavalry brigade, and a motorized infantry division equipped with trucks in Tongliao and Linxi each. However, General Wavell, as the leader, had a larger mechanized force in his hands.
You in the army should be aware of the daily consumption of materials to maintain such an army, especially the amount of fuel."
"Faced with the huge daily consumption on the battlefield, our pre-war oil reserves were almost exhausted before the end of the battle. By the end of the battle, the oil reserves had bottomed out, and all the oil was gathered together.
There are less than 100 tons left, and such a small amount of fuel can hardly sustain an offensive by a tank regiment."
"Moreover, our army is not only facing the consumption of oil, but also the consumption of other materials and ammunition such as artillery shells and aerial bombs. Under the situation that the original stockpiled raw materials have been consumed, by the end of the battle, all our army's reserves will be exhausted.
The ammunition can only last for one week of combat."