Stilwell, whose full name is Joseph Stilwell, is a well-known China expert in the US military circles. He has a strong connection with China. He served as the attaché of the US Embassy in China at a young age, and later served as the 15th step of the US military stationed in Tianjin. The battalion commander and acting chief of staff of the Corps had lived in China for a long time, and it was precisely because of his military experience in the 15th Tianjin Infantry Regiment that he met Marshall, who was the commander of the infantry regiment at that time, and worked in After becoming Chief of Staff of the Army, Marshall began to rise rapidly and became the chief decision-maker of the US military in dealing with China affairs.
If there were no Ouyang Yun, no Xuebing Army, and no Koizumi Minichiro, Stilwell would have become the chief of staff of the Chinese theater at this time, and with US aid in hand, he would have become a well-known real power figure in Asia. However, time travel is so magical, and one or two pairs of butterflies Wings actually changed the direction of history, and Stilwell could not come to the forefront of history for a long time.
The United States' aid to China began with the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. At first, it was indirect financial aid, such as buying Chinese silver at a price higher than the market price, and allocating US$20 million to the Chinese government in the name of increasing the capital of the Export-Import Bank. , and after the Lend-Lease Act came into effect, the United States directly announced that China also enjoyed the status of a Lend-Lease Act borrower, and began to provide unconditional material assistance to China. However, because the Japanese army's offensive direction changed, Yangon, Myanmar, fell early, causing China to lose In order to obtain the only land channel for US aid supplies, and the British arbitrarily withheld the US aid supplies transferred through the Middle East and transported by air, the US aid supplies China actually received were very scarce, so Stilwell's right to speak was correspondingly Shrunk a lot,
Churchill had ulterior motives and proposed to establish the Allied Southeast Asia General Command in Burma, and proposed that Stilwell be the commander-in-chief. It was based on his understanding of Stilwell and knowing that he wanted to command the army to rush to the front line. Sure enough, his plan When it was proposed, Stilwell, who saw the hope of defeating the battlefield, immediately jumped out. He first suggested to Marshall to accept the British proposal. After arriving in Cairo, he gathered a group of officers every day to formulate various plans. He was very busy. Very happy,
Stilwell acted too obviously, for fear that others would not know his intentions. No matter how stupid Hull was, he could still feel it, but he was not optimistic about this plan. The performance of the British army in Malaysia and Singapore had already proved that they were fundamentally It is useless, and the U.S. Army is stuck in the quagmire of the Philippines and Australia, and is currently unable to send troops to the Indochina Peninsula. Then the Southeast Asian war situation can only rely on the Xuebing Army. The problem is that the Xuebing Army does not care about US aid supplies at all. In addition, it controls more than 40,000 U.S. troops in the Philippines, so why should the United States make the student army obey its orders? Based on this understanding, he was opposed to it from the beginning.
Among the delegation members, Hull had the most dealings with the cadet army, so Roosevelt attached great importance to his opinion. When he saw him shaking his head, he asked: "Does Secretary Hull have a different view?"
Hull nodded and said: "General Stilwell is too optimistic. I don't think Chiang Kai-shek can restrain Ouyang Yun. If we have to implement this plan, I think it is better to cooperate with the Northeast Army. However, I need to remind you that the Northeast Army The Northeastern Army was originally driven out by the Japanese from the three northeastern provinces of China without firing a single shot, so their combat effectiveness is very questionable. If we really want to cooperate with the Northeastern Army, we must ask them to reorganize."
McIntyre responded: "What if we provide all the materials and let the National Government send people to accept our training."
This is exactly what they were talking about just now, but it has not been put on paper, mainly because Stilwell thinks this cycle is too long. Stilwell's plan is to build a team with strong mobility and technology. In his opinion, the only Chinese army that could implement his advanced tactical guiding ideology was the Xuebing Army. Hull's view on this point coincided with his. He asked rhetorically: "Where is the training location? Burma is now in the hands of the Xuebing Army and the Northeastern Army. Based on my understanding of Chiang Kai-shek, it is impossible for him to hand over the troops to Marshal Zhang and Ouyang Yun. If it is arranged in India, the cycle will be too long. Even if the army can be assembled quickly, it will not be possible. How to ensure the quality of soldiers? The training of mechanized troops cannot be completed in a few months."
Stilwell shouted at McIntyre: "No, no, I have done a survey. In the Chinese army, only the student army is qualified, and the others are not good. Mechanized soldiers must have certain cultural qualities. If I were asked How long does it take from the start of each command to train, and by that time, I think Australia has fallen."
"Xue Bingjun." Hull shook his head again and said sternly to Stilwell: "General, you don't understand Ouyang Yun. He is not an easy person to get along with."
"That's why we need to exert pressure through the Nationalist Government. The Chinese people are asking Ouyang Yun to step down. I don't think he will defy the Nationalist Government's orders now."
"It's not that simple. As far as I know, the Nationalist Government has used many methods to solve the problem of the Xuebing Army's separatist rule in the south. But what is the effect? The Xuebing Army is getting stronger and Ouyang Yun's prestige is higher. General Stilwell, you You should know the situation in China better than I do. The Central Army is currently on full defense, while the Xuebing Army is launching a counterattack in Zhejiang and Jiangxi. Which one is stronger and which one is weaker? Isn't it obvious?"
Hull was persuading Stilwell earnestly, when suddenly someone outside reported that Prime Minister Churchill had arrived.
When Hull, McIntyre and Stilwell were bickering, Roosevelt had not expressed his opinion. At this time, he interjected: "We cannot form a joint force in Burma without the help of Britain. Look what Prime Minister Churchill has brought us." No good news."
Churchill came with the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in India, Wavell. Churchill held a thick cigar in his hand. After entering, he greeted Roosevelt and others politely, looking like a gentleman. Wavell, who was following him, had an expression on his face. He was a bit solemn, with a hint of depression in his eyes from time to time. Hull noticed this detail and suddenly remembered a rumor. He looked at Churchill and Wavell with two inquiring eyes.
"Mr. President, didn't Ouyang Yun come to visit you? It seems that my worry is correct. As China warlords (China's name originated from the British), they have no diplomatic experience at all. Well, in view of this, I think they can be forgiven for their rudeness." Churchill said, looking confident.
Roosevelt did not take up the topic, but asked them to sit down, served coffee, and then said: "Mr. Prime Minister, we have prepared a banquet tonight, and we ask you to come by then. General Wavell, you must attend."
Wavell nodded to express his gratitude, while Churchill frowned slightly and asked: "Mr. President, isn't this banquet held for the Chinese?"
"I regard it as a meeting before the official meeting begins, and of course I will invite General Ouyang Yun and his close entourage to participate." Roosevelt indirectly admitted,
"But this will encourage the arrogance of the Chinese people. In China, General Ouyang Yun is famous for being domineering." Churchill said,
Hull suddenly asked: "Mr. Prime Minister, I heard a rumor that your government is preparing to move to India to continue resisting Nazi Germany. I don't know if this is true."
"No, no, we will never abandon our homeland." Churchill quickly declared, while secretly cursing in his heart: "How could the Americans know such a confidential matter? It seems that we will need to strengthen counterintelligence work after we return."
Hull just wanted to change the subject, and smiled and said nothing after hearing what he said. This made Churchill more and more uneasy, and he became more and more convinced that the Americans had mastered the entire situation.