The War of Resistance: From Overseas Chinese Mechanics to King of Nanyang

"Commander, Yangon is now indefensible. Continuing to hold out will only lead to the annihilation of the entire army. We must abandon Burma." In New Delhi, the staff officers of the British Army Headquarters all believed that continuing to hold out was pointless and would even result in the loss of the last two divisions remaining in Burma. It would be better to retreat now.

"Is there absolutely no possibility?" British Commander-in-Chief General Wavell asked again, looking at the analysis report that had been handed to him.

"No." The adjutant shook his head.

"Our troops' morale is on the verge of collapse. If we continue to hold out, they will likely collapse even faster. It would be better to retreat sooner rather than later."

Upon hearing this, General Wavell nodded, acknowledging the other party's statement. However, even if he tacitly agreed that Yangon could not be defended, he had to pretend to be calm and at least protect the remaining tens of thousands of people in Myanmar, as well as destroy all the supplies.

Although Burma was just a colony and there was no need to pay much attention to it, it still had a lot of wealth, such as the port of Yangon. In addition, the arsenals and oil fields in other cities should not be left to the Japanese army. Anything that could not be taken away should be destroyed, otherwise these resources would be aiding the enemy. He was clear about this.

"What about the retreat plan?" Since we can't hold out, we naturally have to retreat. But there's a proper way to retreat. If there's no clear retreat plan, then the retreat will turn into a rout, and then we're afraid that not many of these tens of thousands of people will be able to get back.

Upon hearing this, the adjutant hesitated for a moment, then forced himself to speak.

"no."

"The reason?" General Wavell asked, his brow furrowed and his expression displeased.

"The general staff unanimously agreed that no unit was willing to be the rearguard," the adjutant explained.

Everyone knows that for an orderly retreat, a unit must be willing to cover the rear. And everyone is well aware of the cost of covering the rear: casualties will certainly be high, especially now that the morale of the troops is low. Sending anyone to cover the rear will likely result in a rout.

"What about drawing them from India?" General Wavell asked again.

"There's no time to prepare. Even if we arrive on time, we'll still need time to adjust. Time is what we need most right now. The Japanese won't give us that much time to prepare. Their troops are already heading towards Rangoon," the adjutant said quickly.

This time it was General Wavell's turn to remain silent, mainly because he hadn't expected a full-strength division to be wiped out in just three days, and he didn't know how that idiot Smith at the front was commanding the troops.

More than 10,000 pigs were left on the battlefield for the Japanese army to capture; they couldn't catch them all even after three days and three nights.

Everyone knows that during Chinese New Year, it can take four or five people to hold down a pig.

Not to mention in open areas, it's even harder to catch them.

The results of it?

In just three days, about 10,000 people have died, which is really infuriating.

If the opponent were the German army, he wouldn't have said anything, but the key is that the opponent is the Japanese army, the Japanese army that they used to look down on, so this feeling is naturally very uncomfortable.

"So, what alternatives are there now?" After a long silence, General Wavell finally asked.

He couldn't think of a good solution for the time being, so he could only pass the problem on to his subordinates to see if they had any good ideas.

"I'm afraid we need to find a commander with superior military skills," the adjutant said quietly, glancing at General Wavell's expression.

"Yes, that's right." General Wavell was completely disappointed with Lieutenant General Hutton's command abilities, so he was already planning to replace him. Even if his adjutant didn't say anything, he was prepared to send a telegram to the homeland requesting that a highly capable general be sent over.

As for why they didn't draw personnel from India?

forget it!

None of the commanders in India were a match for the Japanese army; sending them there would only be sending them to their deaths.

"The General Staff believes that if a fresh force can help us hold off the Japanese at this time, our troops in Burma can still be safely withdrawn." After thinking for a moment, the adjutant still brought up the previous discussion of the General Staff.

The reason why it wasn't mentioned at the beginning was because the British army did not want the expeditionary force to enter Burma. After all, it's easy to invite a god but hard to send him away. What if the expeditionary force was allowed to enter Burma and then refused to leave?

Or, to put it another way, the expeditionary force supported a pro-China armed force, and then all the trouble will be left to them.

Even if the other side doesn't have this intention, the British army still has to take it into consideration.

That's why they kept making excuses and preventing the expeditionary force from entering Burma.

But now the situation is different. They can't hold Yangon, and they might even lose the whole of Myanmar, so these factors are no longer a concern.

As long as someone can cover their retreat, that's fine. If the other side can hold their ground, that's even better. If they can't, it's none of their business. In their plan, the chances of them holding their ground are too small.

"What do they mean by 'new force'?" General Wavell frowned, already having a guess, but still wanting to be sure.

"According to intelligence, the expeditionary force in the north is ready to enter Burma at any time. Since they are so eager to enter Burma, let them cover our rear and be responsible for blocking the Japanese army so that all our troops in Burma can be withdrawn. After we have reorganized, we will consider taking back Burma." The adjutant repeated the plan in its entirety.

Upon hearing this, General Wavell did not immediately answer, but instead considered whether the plan was feasible.

In the past, given his arrogance, he would never have accepted such a plan, but given the current situation, he had no choice but to reluctantly admit that it was indeed a good plan.

After all, it's better to sacrifice your friends than yourself. The number of people the expeditionary force loses is none of his concern. What he needs to do is find a way to withdraw all the remaining troops from Burma.

After much deliberation, General Wavell became increasingly convinced that the plan was indeed feasible. The only requirement was that those who carried out the plan must be steadfast and put the vital interests of the British army first, without any wavering.

"Have the General Staff come up with a feasible plan, taking all factors into account," General Wavell instructed his adjutant after a moment's thought.

"Yes," the adjutant replied immediately.

After the adjutant left, General Wavell drafted another telegram, this time addressed to the homeland, requesting that a seasoned commander be immediately dispatched to replace the British forces in Burma.

Soon, the British forces in the UK received the telegram. After reading it, they quickly issued an order for Lieutenant General Alexander to go to India to prepare to replace the British commander in Burma.

Upon receiving the telegram, Lieutenant General Hutton in Yangon immediately boarded a plane to Delhi to prepare for interrogation.