Anti-Japanese War: My equipment is infinitely refreshed

"What a joke? Forming a European Expeditionary Force? Is Stilwell crazy or am I crazy?" Cun Yunsheng took the telegram that had just been delivered, unfolded it and read the contents. He immediately became furious and jumped up and shouted loudly.

His eyes were wide open and his face was full of disbelief, as if he had seen something absurd like something from the Arabian Nights.

If he had not clearly seen Stilwell's signature on it, he would never have believed it was true. He would definitely have thought that some guy was playing a prank, or that Stilwell had gone crazy to come up with such an outrageous idea.

What kind of European expeditionary force should we form?
This is not something that can be done casually. It involves a series of complex issues such as manpower, supplies, logistical support, etc.

Meng Fanle was also a little confused when he heard this.

He scratched his head, his face full of confusion, and he was wondering in his heart.

Not long ago, we took great pains to form a Middle East expeditionary force. The troops have not yet settled down, and all matters are still in the process of running-in and coordination. Now, we are going to have a European expeditionary force? What is going on?

Meng Fanle couldn't help but wonder in his heart, are they going to dismantle their existing troops and redistribute them?
Or do you have any other plans?
If we really do this, it will be too much trouble. The combat effectiveness and cohesion of the troops will probably be greatly affected.

If this is really the case, it would be better to just turn against each other. It's no use going on like this anyway.

"Sir, is Stilwell crazy?" Meng Fanle couldn't help but wonder in his heart, and asked with a frown.

He really couldn't understand why Stilwell suddenly came up with such a confusing idea.

"I don't know. I also want to know if he is crazy." Cun Yunsheng shook his head helplessly, indicating that he had no idea what Stilwell was up to.

He was in a mess at the moment. On the one hand, he felt that this matter was too unreliable. On the other hand, he was worried that if this was really carried out, there would be big troubles in the future. But now he couldn't understand Stilwell's intentions, so he could only worry.

"Could it be that he thinks we are too strong? He wants to dismember us?" Meng Fanle frowned and expressed his guess while thinking.

In his opinion, the Nanyang Task Force's development momentum is too rapid. It is defeating the Japanese army on the battlefield and its power is constantly expanding.

Stilwell's idea of ​​forming a European Expeditionary Force might be because he was afraid of their growing strength and wanted to split them up and disintegrate them in this way.

"This possibility cannot be ruled out." After hearing Meng Fanle's words, Cun Yunsheng nodded thoughtfully.

He also knew in his heart that the performance of the Nanyang Task Force during this period was indeed too outstanding, and it was possible that it aroused some people's different thoughts.

After all, in a war, the balance and game of forces among all parties are going on all the time, and no one wants to see one party become too powerful and break the original pattern.

"Did something happen in Europe?" Meng Fanle raised his question again.

He felt that in addition to the possibility that someone was targeting him and wanting to dismember him, perhaps something major had really happened in Europe, which led Stilwell to the idea of ​​forming a European Expeditionary Force.

Hearing this, Cun Yunsheng immediately fell into deep thought.

Indeed, this possibility cannot be ruled out.

The situation on the European battlefield has always been complex and changeable. If there is any emergency there, it is possible that troops will need to be drawn from other places for support.

"Is there any information about Europe recently?" Cun Yunsheng suddenly raised his head and asked seriously.

He knew very well that in order to find out Stilwell's true intention, it was crucial to grasp the actual situation in Europe. Only by understanding what was happening there could he understand what the order to form a European Expeditionary Force was all about.

"Not yet." The officer in charge of intelligence was shocked when he heard this. He straightened up and said nervously. He was also helpless. Intelligence collection had indeed encountered some difficulties during this period, and he had not been able to obtain the latest intelligence about Europe in time.

"No? That's strange. If nothing major happened in Europe, there would be no need to form a European expeditionary force at this time. Are you really crazy?" Cun Yunsheng frowned so deeply that he could almost pinch a fly to death.

His face was full of confusion and anxiety, and he was really curious about what had happened that made Stilwell issue such a confusing order.

"Impossible, something must have happened in Europe, otherwise they wouldn't be so anxious and require the formation of no less than three divisions within half a month. Where can I get three divisions?" Cun Yunsheng picked up the telegram again, carefully reading its contents, and shook his head helplessly as he read.

His brows were tightly furrowed and his face was full of worry. He knew in his heart that it was simply a fantasy to gather the strength of three divisions in such a short time, but the requirements in the telegram were clearly stated there, and he couldn't help but worry.

"What could happen in Europe? Did the Allies lose again? Or did they lose Gibraltar?" Meng Fanle said hesitantly. He was racking his brains to guess what might happen in Europe. After all, in his opinion, if there was nothing serious, Stilwell would never give such an outrageous order. The most serious situation he could think of at the moment was that the Allies lost again or something happened in Gibraltar, a key place.

Hearing Gibraltar, Cun Yunsheng was stunned for a moment, as if a thought flashed through his mind. He then quickly walked to the side, took the map hanging on the wall, and then stared at the location of Gibraltar, his eyes revealing solemnity and thought.

After a long time, Cun Yunsheng suddenly seemed to understand something. He raised his head and said seriously: "Gibraltar, maybe something really happened here." He knew very well the importance of Gibraltar in the entire war situation. It was a key place guarding the throat of the Mediterranean. Once there was a mistake, the consequences would be disastrous.

When the German army landed on the British Isles before, the Allies had never been so panicked.

After all, it was only a small group of troops landing, only a few tens of thousands of people. If the British army really mobilized its main force there, they could still easily deal with it.

But Gibraltar is different. If it is lost, it would be a real disaster.

"How is this possible? Aren't there the main fleets of Britain and the United States here?" Meng Fan asked in surprise.

He had always thought that with the main fleets of Britain and the United States stationed in Gibraltar, it should be impregnable. How could something go wrong suddenly? "I don't know." Cun Yunsheng shook his head helplessly.

He is only making such speculation based on the current situation and past experience. He is still unclear about what exactly happened.

But he had a strong feeling in his heart, "Something must have happened here, otherwise it cannot be explained why a European Expeditionary Force would be formed at this time." In his opinion, only an extremely serious crisis in Gibraltar would make Stilwell so eager to demand the formation of troops to go to Europe to deal with it.

"But if something happened in Gibraltar, why didn't Stilwell tell us directly?" Meng Fanle frowned and asked again with a puzzled look on his face. He really couldn't understand why Stilwell didn't just tell us the truth if it was speculated that something happened in Gibraltar and that's why the European Expeditionary Force was formed. He was so secretive and confused.

Hearing this, Cun Yunsheng couldn't help but fall into deep thought. Yes, he was also curious why Stilwell didn't just explain the situation directly? There must be some reason behind this, but he couldn't figure it out for a while.

"Maybe it's a test." After thinking for a while, Cun Yunsheng spoke slowly, with a hint of helplessness in his tone.

"What do you mean?" Meng Fanle was even more confused. He looked at the other party with wide eyes, eager to know what this so-called "test" was all about.

"He is testing whether we will continue to obey his orders. After all, the Middle East Expeditionary Force has not made much progress. Maybe in Stilwell's eyes, we are manipulating everything behind the scenes." Cun Yunsheng explained helplessly.

He knew that after the formation of the Middle East Expeditionary Force, the results in combat operations might not have achieved the results Stilwell expected. Stilwell might suspect that these people were doing something behind the scenes and deliberately not cooperating fully, resulting in the unsuccessful progress.

Therefore, this time we are taking advantage of the opportunity of forming a European expeditionary force to test whether they will still be obedient and follow orders.

"Sir, the withdrawal of three divisions will inevitably affect the entire Southeast Asian war situation. Without these elite troops to suppress them, I'm afraid the Japanese army will make a comeback." Meng Fan said with a worried look on his face. This was what he was most worried about.

The Nanyang Task Force had finally managed to defeat the Japanese army in Southeast Asia, and the situation had just started to improve. If three divisions of elite troops were withdrawn at once, the defense here would be greatly reduced. The Japanese army would surely seize the opportunity to counterattack, and all previous efforts would be in vain.

Hearing this, Cun Yunsheng also sighed deeply.

He naturally knew that withdrawing troops would have a significant impact on the war situation in Southeast Asia, but he couldn't refuse Stilwell's order at the moment.

After all, nominally, he was still under Stilwell's command. If he really fell out with Stilwell over this matter, it would be a bad ending. More importantly, Stilwell knew the strength of the Nanyang Task Force very well. If they really fell out, and Stilwell used some tricks, the Nanyang Task Force would probably have a hard time in the future.

So now he is in a dilemma. He doesn't want to affect the war situation in Southeast Asia, but he dare not disobey Stilwell's orders easily. It's really worrying.

"And, My Lord, are three divisions really enough? That's Europe? There are millions, no, even tens of millions of troops gathered there. If we only have three divisions going there? I'm afraid they won't even be qualified to be cannon fodder," Meng Fanle said helplessly with a wry smile on his face.

He knew very well that the European battlefield was massive and the fighting was extremely fierce, with all parties committing extremely large numbers of troops, which was completely different from the situation in Southeast Asia.

Hearing this, Cun Yunsheng nodded silently without refuting, because he knew in his heart that what the other party said was indeed right.

Just three divisions sent there would not play a big role in the magnificent battlefield in Europe.

Apart from anything else, if you want to play a role on the European battlefield, you must have an armored division, right?

Armored forces play a vital role in modern warfare, and can provide key support in both assault and defense.

Infantry divisions are also indispensable. After all, infantry is the most basic and largest combat force on the battlefield, and undertakes a variety of combat tasks.

An artillery division is also indispensable. The power of artillery cannot be underestimated on the battlefield. It can provide strong firepower support for offense and defense.

These three divisions seemed very powerful in Southeast Asia. Relying on the tactic of concentrating superior forces, they attacked the Japanese army island by island. The Japanese army was naturally unable to withstand their offensive because of its dispersed forces.

But the situation in Europe is completely different. Hundreds of thousands or even millions of troops are involved in the war, and both sides are preparing for a large-scale military battle.

Tens of thousands of people attacking millions of people?

This sounds like a long shot.

Not to mention that the German army's air superiority on the battlefield was also quite obvious. They could dispatch hundreds of fighter planes at a time to bomb, strafe and attack the Allied forces in the air. This greatly restricted the Allied forces' actions on the battlefield, and their survival faced huge threats.

The advantages the Allies have gained in Europe are currently too small, and every step forward comes at a huge cost.

Take the later Operation Market Garden for example, Cun Yunsheng remembers it clearly.

At that time, the British Airborne Division was an elite force, but in the end, it was defeated by the German second-line troops. Oh no, to be precise, it should be the third-line troops, because there was only a German replenishment battalion stationed there, a group of recruits who had just completed training, and they inflicted heavy losses on the British army. The scene was really horrific.

Now think about it, it is indeed troublesome for them to go head-on with the elite German troops with just tens of thousands of people. It might really be like what Meng Fanle said, they won't even be able to be cannon fodder. They will just die in vain and will not provide any substantial help to the whole war situation.

When Cun Yunsheng thought of this, he couldn't help but frowned deeply, his face full of worry.

"A few tens of thousands of people is definitely not enough. It will take at least two or three hundred thousand people, and I have to go there in person." Cun Yunsheng shook his head and said.

"Hiss, so many people?" Meng Fanle couldn't help but take a breath. (End of this chapter)