Chapter 29 Chapter Twenty-Eight Fighting for the Destiny of Our Country
Britain, an island country that made its fortune by expanding and plundering overseas colonies the first time, has accumulated a lot of wealth under the impetus of industrialization, constitutional system and colonial policy in modern times. It is the first old capitalist country to rise. British Empire.Matching the foggy weather in London, in addition to the toiling farmers and tired industrial workers on the British Isles, the black top hats, cramped tuxedos and social dances of the upper class in the British Isles have created a gloomy stereotype for the modern world. The "British Gentleman" image.
The "gentlemen" who hold the power of the British Empire are a group of selfish and cowardly people.
Since the late Qing Dynasty, the United Kingdom has always appeared as the top power in terms of interests in China.Therefore, after Japan invaded China, every action of the Japanese conflicted with the interests of Britain in China.However, in the face of Japan's aggressiveness, limited by its own national strength no longer strong, and even more limited by the deteriorating situation in Europe, the British are in a weak state in the Far East, and their status as the leader of the great powers has disappeared. All they can do to the Japanese is Compromise, forbearance and even pleasing are like a robber meeting a robber who is more fierce than himself-there is only one way for a robber to please a robber: "contribute" what he has robbed.
In China, the most coveted by the Japanese is the large amount of money owned by the British and the privileged concessions.The amount of money the British store in China is astonishing, as is the amount of customs revenue held by the British.After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident broke out, on October 22, 1937, under the pressure of Japan, the United Kingdom agreed to transfer all the customs duties deposited by the Chinese government in Tianjin and Qinhuangdao to the Japanese in Tianjin. In the Zhengjin Bank opened.In November, after the Japanese army captured Shanghai, the Japanese asked Britain to follow the example of Tianjin to deposit the Shanghai customs tax deposited in the Central Bank in the Bank of Japan.At that time, Shanghai was the largest treaty port in China, and the customs tax revenue accounted for more than half of the country.Under the pressure of the Chinese government, Britain negotiated with the Japanese for half a year, and finally excluded the Chinese government and signed the "Agreement on China's Customs" with Japan.According to this "Agreement", the United Kingdom agreed to transfer all customs taxes in the occupied areas of China and even all taxes that have been deposited in the British HSBC Bank to the Bank of Japan.The British claimed that this move was beneficial to China and threatened China not to oppose it. ——The rights and interests of Chinese people on Chinese soil are controlled by an old imperialist country and a new militaristic country together, and the Chinese do not even have the right to say "no". China in the 1980s.The cowardly British kept bowing their heads to Japan, which used force to fight fiercely, causing the British Empire to suffer "the first humiliation" in the Far East, and at the same time, China's customs revenue was used to "supply the enemy's need for ammunition."
After the end of the Opium War, China’s territory was dotted with foreign concessions, among which the British concession had the longest history and the largest rights and interests.Japan launched a full-scale war of aggression against China and occupied one city after another in China. However, the concessions in the cities were "enclaves" where the Japanese army could not effectively exercise their control. Therefore, they became gathering places for Chinese anti-Japanese forces in the occupied areas.Chinese patriots used the concession to create newspapers and periodicals, publicize anti-Japanese ideas, purchase anti-Japanese materials, set up secret radio stations and intelligence networks, and carry out activities such as punishing traitors.In February 1939, Chen Lu, the "Foreign Minister" of Wang Jingwei's Nanjing puppet government, and Li Guojie, a pro-Japanese financial figure, were assassinated in the Shanghai Concession. Two Japanese military officers were also attacked at the same time; Hong Lixun, chairman of the Xiamen Chamber of Commerce, was assassinated in the Gulangyu Concession, which led to the landing of Japanese marines on Gulangyu Island for search.The French currency issued by the national government was still allowed in the foreign concession at that time, and the concession authorities also kept in touch with Chongqing, even refusing the Japanese to enter the concession to arrest people.As a result, Japan continued to exert pressure on Britain, and the British concession authorities had no choice but to back down, announcing the prohibition of anti-Japanese activities in the concession.
Among the conflicts between the Japanese and the foreign powers over the concession issue, the "Tianjin Incident" caused by Japan's sudden announcement of the blockade of the Anglo-French concession in Tianjin had the greatest impact.
The Tianjin Concession covers an area of more than 6,000 mu. The foreign powers have opened banks, foreign firms and hundreds of factories in the concession, among which the four major British Royal Banks "Jardines", "Swire", "Ren Kee" and "Xintaixing" are all gathered , Tianjin Concession became the economic center of Britain in North China.In April 1939, the traitor Cheng Xigeng, manager of the Tianjin Branch of the Pseudo-United Reserve Bank, customs supervisor, was assassinated by anti-Japanese forces in the concession. The British concession authorities arrested four "suspects", but were unwilling to extradite them to the Japanese.The Japanese immediately took a series of severe measures, including sealing off the concession and conducting personal inspections on the British who came and went, and so on.The two sides have repeatedly negotiated to no avail.On June 19, the Japanese pulled up the power grid around the British Concession in Tianjin and connected it to electricity.The buzzing sound of electricity in a city in northern China frightened the gentlemen in the British cabinet far away—on the day the power grid was electrified, the British cabinet held an emergency meeting and believed that Britain had no power to deal with Japan in the Far East and had to fight with the Japanese reach a compromise.The negotiator sent by the UK is the ambassador to Japan, Craig, and the Japanese negotiator is the foreign minister Hachiro Arita.The prerequisite set by the Japanese is: Britain is required to recognize the fait accompli of Japan's aggression against China.On July 24, the two sides announced an agreement reached in London and Tokyo respectively. This is the "Arita-Craig Agreement" known as another "Munich Agreement"-the British announced to the world that, Japan's aggression against China is legal: "The British government is fully aware of the actual situation in China, which is in a state of extensive military operations. The maintenance of public order in the areas under its control should have special needs. The Japanese army has to suppress or eliminate any actions or factors that hinder the Japanese army or benefit its enemies. The British government has no intention of encouraging any detrimental to the Japanese army to achieve the above goals. In order to safeguard its own position, it instructs the British authorities and nationals in China to reject such actions and measures."
The "Agreement" caused an uproar in international public opinion and strong opposition from the Chinese government.Chiang Kai-shek called London's "News Chronicle" and pointed out that when the Japanese invaders' ambition to dominate Asia was fully exposed, the cowardice of the British government was "no different from feeding a tiger with flesh and blood":
...Even if we put aside the moral standpoint, but only in terms of interests, we can't imagine that Britain can really compromise with Japan.Because any concession to Japan will definitely harm China and will violate the provisions of the nine-nation pact.This is tantamount to helping Japan invade, and it is also tantamount to helping Japan tear up the Nine-Power Pact. How can Britain betray its trust and contempt, willingly attach itself to the aggressor country and give up its long-standing friendship with China? ...What's more, if any agreement does not have the commitment of the Chinese government, it will not be effective in law or in fact...Since the Japanese warlord's fantasies of ruling Asia with his so-called "sacred mission" are so deep, the British want to In order to protect its interests in China, even if it wants to make temporary concessions, it is tantamount to feeding a tiger with flesh and blood.Even if Britain cedes to Japan all the interests it has had in China for a century, the Japanese warlords will definitely not be able to stop their aggressive actions.Unless Britain completely abandons all its possessions in the Far East, in other words, even if it abandons India, Australia, New Zealand, and even all its influence east of the Red Sea, it may be possible to obtain peace for ten to twenty years.What's more, according to the agreement that is so vague and elusive that it is announced now, who will believe that it can be truly compromised?This time, whether it is Japan deceiving Britain, or Britain deceiving Japan, it only confuses the world's human beings as if they are in a fog...
The British would soon taste the consequences of their cowardice towards Japan.
The Japanese intensified their efforts: they asked Britain to ban the circulation of legal currency in its concession and issue fake "union bank notes", and handed over the silver ingots worth 53.5 million yuan stored by the Chinese government in the concession.At that time, China's legal currency was in crisis. Once the British banned the circulation of legal currency in the concession, it would inevitably worsen the credibility of the legal currency, and may even lead to the collapse of China's monetary and financial system. This is also immeasurable for the UK, which has investment interests in China. Loss.At the same time, handing over the silver temporarily stored by the Chinese government in the neutral bank in the concession to the Japanese will inevitably seriously harm China, and will naturally seriously damage Britain's commercial reputation in the world.In June 1940, the war situation in Europe began to deteriorate. The Pétain government of France surrendered, and the British Isles were at stake. Out of fear of Japan, the German ally, the frightened British agreed to all Japanese demands, not only in the concession The fake "Union Bank Notes" began to circulate, and the silver deposited by the Chinese government was finally added with the Japanese seal.What's more, after the British donated China's wealth, they agreed to another request of the Japanese: blockade of the Burma Road.This article is almost fatal to China, which is still fighting alone.Because with the Japanese occupation of the northern part of French Vietnam, the Yunnan-Burma Highway has become the only international foreign aid transportation artery in the rear of China's Anti-Japanese War.
China's Yunnan is located in the frontier, with criss-cross rivers, towering mountains and deep canyons.Although Yunnan’s southward route to the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean is geographically the only way for China’s interior to reach the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, until the early 1930s, there was no road in Yunnan leading to other provinces.In 1921, the Yunnan authorities began to build the road from Kunming to Xiaguan, but the progress of the project was extremely slow. After the "September 18th" incident, in response to possible accidents, Yunnan established the Provincial Highway Administration, which was supervised by the provincial chairman Long Yun in order to speed up the construction of highways.In 1935, the dirt road of the Western Yunnan Line was completed and opened to traffic.After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War in China, Long Yun suggested to Chiang Kai-shek to build the Burma Road, on the grounds that after the loss of the southeast coastal ports, the Burma Road would become a reliable passage to the Indian Ocean beyond the reach of the Japanese army.With the full support of the Nationalist Government, the construction of the Burma Road began in succession from December 1937 to February 1938.
No matter how you look at it, the Burma Highway is one of the steepest roads in the world.The highway has to cross huge mountains such as Yunling, Nushan and Gaoligong Mountains in the Hengduan Mountains, and also cross deep valleys such as the Yangbi River, Lancang River and Nujiang River.It is unbelievable that to build such a difficult and dangerous road, the subsidies from the national government and Yunnan’s self-raised funds are extremely limited. The construction was completed by ethnic migrant workers with unpaid labor and almost primitive construction methods.Migrant workers of more than ten ethnic groups, including Han, Zan, Bai, Dai, Hui, Miao, Zhuang, Jingpo, Achang, Benglong, and Lisu, who are located in the border area, brought their own dry food and simple tools, and crossed the canyon torrents to gather in the meandering village. on the road construction site.The high mountains are extremely cold in winter, and the valleys are hot and humid in summer. They have no clothes, no food, unkempt faces, and widespread diseases. The only reward is the government's daily supplement of two cents.In the struggle against the mountains and rivers, the migrant workers only used farming hoes, poles and baskets, and a pair of hardworking hands.Overwork, disease, falling off a cliff, falling into a river, and being buried with earth and rocks, etc., made this ordinary road of more than 800 kilometers leading to the outside of Yunnan Province take the lives of more than 3,000 people. More than three people died within one kilometer, and tens of thousands were injured.When the American ambassador to China, Johnson, inspected the construction of the Burma Road, he made such an astonishing evaluation: this spirit is beyond the reach of any nation in the world!
Ordinary Chinese people in the borderlands may not understand what international traffic lines are, nor may they understand that a road is vital to the life and death of China during the War of Resistance. They only know that the Japanese are coming, and this road is built for the country's final resistance. ——The blood and tears that Yunnan people shed for China during the Anti-Japanese War will be engraved forever in the annals of the Chinese nation.
The Burma Road was crucial to China's war of resistance.
In 1938, 6,000 tons of munitions to aid China shipped from the Black Sea port of Odessa were unloaded from Yangon Port in Myanmar, then transported by train to Lashio, and then transported to Kunming via the Burma Road. It was the first batch of foreign aid materials that arrived in China after its completion.By the end of 1941, there were thousands of cars driving on the Burma Road every day, and the monthly traffic volume was at its peak of more than 10,000 tons.Although the transportation capacity of automobiles is limited, and various materials hoarded in Lashio are backlogged like a mountain, after all, this dangerous road is still open and has become a blood vessel to support China's war of resistance.
However, the lifeline of China's war of resistance, built with blood and tears, was blocked by the British.
"The place name of Myanmar impressed Japan deeply, probably when it suddenly attracted the attention of the world as one of the routes to aid Chiang Kai-shek." The Japanese are very aware of the role of the Yunnan-Burma Highway in China, so when the highway was built, Just start planning how to cut it off.The main purpose of the Japanese army to occupy the northern part of French Indochina was to obtain an air base for bombing Kunming and the Burma Road.In September 1940, after the Japanese army occupied Hanoi, they established the "Burma Road Blockade Committee" and mobilized more than a hundred fighter planes to carry out continuous destructive bombing of the Burma Road. The main target was the achievements on the Lancang River Bridge and the Huitong Bridge on the Nu River.In order to quickly repair the bridges on the turbulent river, the Chinese side spent huge manpower and material resources, and the Burma Road was never completely broken.
The Japanese turned to threats against the British.
On June 24, 1940, Japanese Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Masaoyuki Tani sent a note to British Ambassador to Japan Craig, asking Britain to take measures to ensure that no strategic materials could be shipped to mainland China through the Burma route or the Hong Kong channel.In order to achieve this goal, the Japanese Chen Bing Hong Kong border.The timid British tried to embolden their ally, the United States, and asked the United States and Britain to fight against Japan together, but the Americans replied: "Neither make major concessions to Japan, nor take any action against him" to avoid provoking the Japanese "Starting War" - "As long as Britain continues to hold off Germany and the US fleet remains in the Pacific, Japan will continue to 'eat what it can eat' without risking a major war." - American When talking about letting Japan continue to "eat what it can eat", it is obviously referring to China.Therefore, on July 17, the British ambassador to Japan Craig and Japanese Foreign Minister Hachiro Arita signed the "Agreement on the Blockade of the Burma Road between Britain and Japan" and decided to stop sending weapons, ammunition, gasoline, and trucks to China through the Burma Road. and railway equipment.This agreement was announced by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the House of Lords on July 18.Churchill's explanation is: "Britain is engaged in a life-and-death battle in Europe, and it cannot create new enemies elsewhere."
On the second day after Britain signed the agreement with Japan, the Japanese cabinet issued a national policy statement of "Great East Asia New Order", which included all the British colonies in the Far East into the Japanese "Common Prosperity Sphere".
The cowardice of the British was even condemned by the Commonwealth countries Australia, New Zealand and Canada, who urged the British government to take a tough attitude towards Japan.Under the pressure of international public opinion, the British reopened the Burma Road.The British finally said "no" to Japan. The real reason is based on the change of the United States' attitude towards Japan.In 1941, the United States announced that the Lend-Lease Act would apply to China. All kinds of military materials that the United States aided China in the war of resistance were piled up in Lashio in northeastern Myanmar, waiting to be transported to China through the Burma Road. If the British still Closing the Burma Highway is tantamount to confronting the Americans.At the same time, Roosevelt's words touched Churchill a lot: "Think about it, if China surrenders, how many Japanese troops will get out? What will these troops do? They will occupy Australia, they will occupy India, and they will be like picking ripe Occupy those places as easily as a plum. Then drive straight into the Middle East... That will be a pincer offensive of Japan and the Nazis, meeting somewhere in the Near East, completely cutting off the Soviet Union from the outside world, carve up Egypt, and cut off all traffic through the Mediterranean Sea Wouldn’t it be like this?”——Speaking of “what” would the Japanese troops escape from the Chinese battlefield, Churchill would naturally think of those British colonies in the Far East.
The British Far East colonies are in jeopardy.
The purpose of the Japanese launching the Southern War was to "destroy the main bases of the United States, Britain and the Netherlands in Southeast Asia, and to occupy and secure important areas in the South", including the Philippines, Guam, Hong Kong, British Malays, Burma, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, Bismarck Islands, Dutch Timor, etc.In terms of the size of the colonies, although India has not been included in the above-mentioned occupied area, it is still the largest British colony.The Japanese army referred to the occupation of Malaya, the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies and Burma as the first phase of the four major campaigns - Britain thus became the main target of the Japanese attack.
The British invaded Burma three times in 1824, 1852 and 1885, making it a British colony. However, the largest British colony in Southeast Asia was India.The reason why the Japanese did not include India in the first phase of their operations in the south was that India was a large area of land and it was the focus of British defense; in addition, the Indians were continuously striving for national independence, which made the Japanese want to Win without a fight against India.To achieve this goal, the Japanese must occupy Burma——"Myanmar, as the northern stronghold of an important area in the south, not only has a strategic position that must be ensured, but also has the ability to cut off the road to aid Chiang for China, and for India to promote its strategic position." The great political significance of leaving the UK."
Myanmar is the largest country on the Indochina Peninsula.The land borders China, India, Thailand, Laos, and Bangladesh, and the southwest borders on the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, guarding the key point from the Strait of Malacca to the Indian Ocean.The whole territory is narrow and mountainous, with a length of about 2,090 kilometers from north to south and a width of only about 925 kilometers from east to west.Except for the coastal area facing the Indian Ocean, its east, north, and west are all mountainous plateaus, with a total land area of about 677,000 square kilometers.In terms of latitude, the northern part of Myanmar has entered the subtropical zone, while the central and southern parts are tropical, with rainy and dry seasons throughout the year.In the rainy season from May to October every year, the rain lasts for several months, and people and animals are very susceptible to diseases in the hot flashes; while the dry season from November to April of the next year is almost no rain.The topography of Myanmar is high in the north and low in the south. It is mainly divided into the Shan State Plateau in the east, the Ayeyarwady River Basin in the middle and the Arakan Mountains in the west. It runs through the whole territory from east to west.During the long historical development process of Myanmar, two parts, Upper Myanmar and Lower Myanmar, have been formed administratively: with Mandalay City in the middle as the boundary, Lower Myanmar in the south, mostly basin small plains; Upper Myanmar in the north, mostly For the mountains.The central city of Lower Myanmar is Yangon, the capital of Myanmar; Man, the central city of Upper Myanmar, is the second largest city in Myanmar and a water and land transportation hub in the hinterland of the country.
Most of the mountains and rivers in Myanmar run north-south. The railways and roads built along the river valleys together with the rivers form a special north-south traffic corridor in Myanmar.From a military point of view, this kind of terrain with easy north-south access and difficult east-west movement led to wars often taking place in deep valleys or intermountain basins running north-south.Therefore, Yangon and Mandalay, the gains and losses of these two cities are crucial.Once Yangon is lost, Myanmar is like opening the southern gate, and the army can rush north along the transportation corridor.From Yangon to Mandalay in the north, important towns such as Bago, Tonggu, and Binwenna stand on the traffic road; from Mandalay to the northeast to Lashio, and to the north to Myitkyina, it is not only the end of the Northern Myanmar Railway but also the Yunnan-Myanmar Railway. The starting point of the road.The above two important towns and Bhamo, another important town northeast of Mandalay, are both strategic hubs on the China-Myanmar border. If any point is breached, the army can go straight to China's western Yunnan region along roads or railways.
After the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Japanese army swept across the Philippines, Thailand, Malaya, Hong Kong and Indonesia.At the same time, Singapore, the British gateway to the Indian Ocean in Asia, was also occupied by the Japanese army.The terrified British looked to the Far East and found that they could no longer lose Burma, otherwise Britain would lose the southern barrier of the Asian continent, which would not only seriously endanger the security of India, but also shake the foundation of British colonialism in Asia.But for the Japanese, the occupation of Burma is inevitable: First, as a barrier on the west side of the southern occupied area, occupying Burma can prevent the Allied forces from counterattacking from the west, and at the same time, it can use Burma as a springboard to advance westward into India and go straight down to the Middle East and China. The German army joined forces; second, occupying Burma can gain sea dominance over the Indian Ocean, which can not only effectively support operations in the Pacific region, but also threaten India and the Middle East from the sea; third, and most importantly, after occupying northern Burma, the Yunnan-Burma The highway will be completely closed, and the Japanese army will be able to realize their attempt to encircle China from the southwest, so as to launch a direct attack on the rear of China's Anti-Japanese War.
When Japan launched the Pacific War, it suffered from a shortage of troops. Regarding the capture of Burma, the idea of the Tokyo Base Camp was: initially only capture the southern region, occupy the air force base, and then conduct operations in northern Burma when conditions permit.Based on this idea, the headquarters ordered the 15th Army of Shojiro Iida, who occupied Thailand, to prepare for the capture of Burma.
The backbone of the Japanese Fifteenth Army is the Thirty-third Division and the Fifty-fifth Division.
On December 9, 1941—the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor—Shojiro Iida, commander of the Japanese Fifteenth Army, arrived in Bangkok, Thailand.He ordered the Guards Division of the 25th Army that occupied Thailand to be restored; the 33rd Division landed from Bangkok by sea; Part of it gathered north to the west of Kanchanaburi on the Thai border.
On the 14th, the Japanese army captured Victoria Point, the southernmost point of Myanmar, seized the British airfield, and obtained the air force base for air strikes in Yangon.At the same time, the Japanese army forced the Thai people to build roads into Burma day and night, and changed the vehicle units of the first-line divisions into pack horse units according to the characteristics of tropical jungle operations.The Japanese army deployed a large number of fighter jets and bombers along the Thai-Myanmar border, and launched large-scale bombings on Yangon in Myanmar, Kunming in China, and the Burma Road.At this time, the Chinese Air Force has basically lost its combat effectiveness, and the British Air Force's combat effectiveness is low. The main combat against the Japanese army is the American Volunteer Air Force led by the American Chennault.On December 20, the Japanese army attacked Kunming, and the American Volunteer Air Force took off to meet the enemy.The unsuspecting Japanese army was suddenly intercepted head-on and hurriedly dropped their bombs to return, but was intercepted by the American Volunteer Air Force.The air battle lasted for more than an hour. The American pilots shot down nine Japanese bombers. Only one American fighter plane was injured and forced to land. The pilot was successfully rescued by Chinese farmers.This is the first time since the outbreak of the Pacific War that the Japanese army, which has frequently succeeded in various battlefields, has suffered setbacks.That night, a grand victory ceremony was held in Kunming. The Chinese, who suffered from the Japanese bombing, put on red and flowers for the brave American pilots, and praised them as "flying tigers in the sky"—the "Flying Tigers" became famous in the first battle!
On the 23rd, 15 fighters from the Flying Tigers and 10 fighters from the Royal Air Force faced 54 Japanese heavy bombers and 20 fighters who came to bomb Rangoon.The Flying Tigers shot down 25 Japanese planes and lost three of their own. Two American pilots were killed and one survived by parachuting. The British army shot down seven Japanese planes and lost eleven of their own.On the 25th, the Japanese army dispatched 60 bombers, escorted by 32 fighter jets, to take revenge over Yangon.The air battle continued for more than an hour again. The American and British fighter planes almost ran out of fuel and ammunition, and most of the fighter planes were damaged in the battle. However, the Flying Tigers still shot down 19 Japanese planes.On January 2, 1942, after the Japanese army captured Manila, the capital of the Philippines, they immediately transferred the Fifth Flying Group to Thailand in order to increase the intensity of the air attack on Yangon.In the air battle on the 28th, American and British fighter planes shot down 50 Japanese fighter planes, while the Flying Tigers only lost two fighter planes, and ten British fighter planes were shot down by the Japanese.The American Volunteer Air Corps helped China in the war of resistance. The team members were stationed in Kunming. These tough Americans fought against the Japanese army despite the disparity in the number of fighters.Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek eagerly asked the Flying Tigers to stay in Kunming, but Churchill asked the Flying Tigers to stay in Yangon.The Royal Air Force was no match for the Japanese. Churchill knew that as long as the American pilots left, the British would be finished.Regarding the contest between Chiang Kai-shek and Churchill for the Flying Tigers, Roosevelt's final verdict was: the Flying Tigers stayed in Rangoon to help the British.The record of the Flying Tigers is unbelievable: they stayed in Yangon for 70 days, took off for 31 battles, never had more than 20 fighters each time, and at least only five, but shot down a total of 210 Japanese planes Seventeen, only sixteen of which were lost.In the battle, five pilots of the Flying Tigers were killed, including the three squadron leaders when the team was founded.The British Royal Air Force, which followed the Americans, quickly lost both pilots and combat aircraft.The U.S. Volunteer Air Force, with very limited combat force, had to defend both Kunming and the Burma Road. It did not have lasting strength and sufficient reasons to ensure the air supremacy of its colonies for the British.The British who were used to living a pampered life in the colonies, their defeat in the Far East was inevitable.
Shojiro Iida, the commander of the 15th Army of the Japanese Army, decided to launch an offensive in early January 1942, first capture Rangoon, occupy southern Burma, and then advance to northern Burma.Its combat deployment is: "One of the 120th Infantry Regiment of the 55th Division (the Chong Detachment) is ahead of the main force, fighting from the Kanchanaburi side to the Dawei side to contain the enemy; the 55th Division The regiment used its main force to break through the Thai-Myanmar border near Mysore and occupied the vicinity of Mawlamyine; the 33rd Division followed the 55th Division to advance one after another, heading towards Baan."
At this time, the troops commanded by Shojiro Iida were the 55th Division without the 144th Regiment and the 33rd Division without the 213th Regiment, with a total strength of more than 20,000 troops.Compared with the Japanese army, the British army has an absolute advantage: the first division of the British Burmese Army has 15,000 people, the 17th Division of the British and Indian Army has 18,000 people, plus the reinforcements of the 63rd Australian Brigade and the British Army The Seventh Armored Brigade has a total strength of more than 40,000 people, and the number of artillery and tanks also has an advantage.
On January 4, 1942, the leading troops of the 15th Army of the Japanese Army crossed the Thai-Myanmar border from near Kanchanaburi and attacked westward. , seized the three main airports in the Tanasarim area, blocked the support of the British army from India and Burma to the Malay Peninsula, and the British troops stationed in Dawei were hastily withdrawn from Dawei Bay through the sea.A part of the 55th Division of the Japanese Army attacked from the area of Takfu, along the rugged mountain road on the Thai-Myanmar border, broke through the British defense line to the west, and occupied Gaojia, an important place on the Burmese side of the Thai-Myanmar border on the 22nd. force.The low resistance of the British army made the Japanese even more arrogant. On the day they occupied Gao Jiali, the Japanese army headquarters issued an order to the southern army to capture the entire territory of Burma: "The purpose of the Burmese war is to defeat the Burmese British army, occupy and secure Burma. important areas and strengthen the blockade against China. To this end, the 15th Army should clean up the line of the Salween River near Mawlamyine as soon as possible. Set off and quickly occupy important areas in central Burma." According to this order, on the 31st, the 55th Division of the Japanese Army, which occupied Gaojiali, continued to advance westward and launched an offensive towards Mawlamyine, the second largest port city in Myanmar. The British defenders panicked, and under the cover of the wide Salween River estuary, they managed to avoid the end of all being captured.On February 4, the 33rd Division of the Japanese Army captured Baan, north of Mawlamyine, and the British fled to the west bank of the Salween River.Since the 8th, the 33rd and 55th divisions of the Japanese army have forcibly crossed the Salween River successively, breaking through the first line of defense east of Yangon, and the British army fled westward to Milin.
On the 9th, the Japanese Southern Army ordered the Fifteenth Army: "We must continue to fight now, wipe out the enemy as much as possible, advance to the Yangon area, and must obtain territory in the area north of it, in order to prepare for the battle near Mandalay and Ren'anqiang. On the 17th, the Japanese army marched towards the Sidang River west of the Salween River and began to encircle Yangon, the capital of Myanmar.
At this time, Wavell, the commander-in-chief of the India-Myanmar Theater, flew to Yangon from the headquarters of the US, British, and Australian forces in Java. A line of defense.Commander Smith, who had no will to fight, tried his best to withdraw to the front line of the Sedang River for defense. Wavell and Hooton disagreed, demanding that the British army must carry out necessary blocking operations, otherwise the British Empire would be disgraced.As a result, the unconfident resistance made the British Empire even more embarrassed: on February 17, the 33rd and 55th Divisions of the Japanese Army advanced in two directions, and the 17th Division of the British and Indian Army marched along Mawlamyine to The road along the Xidang River ran for more than 160 kilometers in one breath.Smith tried to organize a face-saving blocking battle by the Milin River, but the defensive line he deployed was quickly outflanked by the Japanese army. The officers and men of the 17th Division of the British and Indian Army had to continue to flee, calling the Royal Air Force for cover on the way. , As a result, the British pilots mistakenly threw all the bombs on the head of the 17th Division of the British Indian Army.On the 22nd, Smith withdrew to the Sidown River, which had only one bridge over the river about 500 meters wide.At dawn, Smith and his guards crossed the bridge, and the Japanese pursuers had arrived near the bridgehead. Smith ordered the commander of the Gurkha brigade guarding the bridgehead to blow up the bridge.After a loud noise, the Xidang River Bridge was blown up, and all the officers and soldiers of the 17th Division of the British and Indian Army who managed to escape to the bridge were thrown to the Japanese army.As a result, of the 17th Division of the British and Indian Army with 18,000 troops, only 3,300 people escaped across the Sidang River.Commander Smith admitted that the operation was "terribly bad", and the news spread back to Britain, which filled the military and political leadership with bitterness.
When Yangon was in crisis, except for the three battalions that Wavell urgently transferred from India, the British had no troops to deploy—China was close at hand, but the British never thought of asking China for reinforcements—Churchill even asked for reinforcements from far away. Australia to help.He sent telegrams to Australian Prime Minister Curtin several times, asking him to agree to send the two divisions transferred back to Australia from the Middle East battlefield to Myanmar to defend Yangon: "Your advance division is the only one that can reach Yangon in time. To prevent the fall of Rangoon and the cut off of the communication line with China...the division will be able to land in Rangoon around the 26th or 27th...there is nothing else in the world that can fill the gap." However, even Churchill knew that the defeat of the British army in Southeast Asia had caused Australia to lose confidence in Britain, and Australia itself was also threatened by the Japanese army.Therefore, Prime Minister Curtin's attitude was very tough, insisting that the Australian troops return to the mainland. He did not think that the British Burma had anything to do with Australia.What's more, Australia has lost a division in Singapore, and another division has suffered heavy losses in Greece along with the British army.Churchill, who was extremely disappointed, had no choice but to send one general to Burma: Army General Alexander became the commander-in-chief of the British Burmese Army, and the former commander-in-chief Hooton became the chief of staff. ——At this time, the so-called U.S., British, and Australian coalition headquarters in Java was useless and could only be disbanded. Wavell returned to India and continued to be the commander-in-chief of his India-Myanmar theater, although in name the troops stationed in Burma belonged to the Wavell commanded, but he knew clearly that Burma could not be defended at all.
The Alexander sent by Churchill was no ordinary man. He had commanded the famous Dunkirk retreat before.It is said that in order to stabilize the morale of the army, he once braved the fierce German artillery fire, wore shiny military boots and straight breeches, sat on the beach to eat breakfast like no one else, and was the last one to leave the beach to retreat.And his composure greatly encouraged the soldiers, "the soldiers were willing to follow him closely".The reason why Churchill sent him to Burma at this time was to hope that he could create another Dunkirk-style miracle.
However, Alexander had not yet arrived. On March 3, the Japanese army had already begun to advance towards Rangoon.日军分成一支支小股部队，携带小口径武器使用的弹药，用自行车或耿马作为运输工具，靠背包里有限的食品充饥，脚穿胶底便鞋，轻装穿越缅甸的热带丛林，以惊人的机动性快速推进。四日，日军第五十五师团击溃英军装甲第七旅，突破仰光以东的最后一道防线——勃固河。五日，亚历山大抵达仰光，这位传奇人物死守仰光的决心只维持了一天，第二天他便下令炸毁仰光的炼油厂和港口设施，销毁港口来不及运走的大量军用物资，其中包括美国人刚刚运来的九百二十七辆军用汽车和五千只轮胎。然后，他命令部队沿着仰光通往卑谬的公路向北撤退。
一九四二年三月八日上午，日军第三十三师团步兵第二一五联队未经战斗进入仰光。
日军在码头上发现了大批英国人没有来得及销毁的威士忌酒。消息传到了位于曼谷的南方军司令部，司令部立即驰电第三十三师团要求他们送一车洋酒来。第三十三师团的官兵尽情痛饮，醉酒不醒，导致军事行动停止了一天——正是有了这一天，亚历山大率领的英军才得以侥幸北逃——英国的威士忌挽救了英国人。
仰光的陷落，对于中国来讲犹如晴天霹雳。
中国即刻失去了囤积在仰光港的大批军用物资，接受西方援助的途径也从远端的港口被堵死了。更严重的是，缅甸南部大门洞开，日军可以顺着数条河谷向北直冲中缅边界，不但滇缅公路将被切断，日军还可直接冲进中国的云南，而云南在中国抗战中枢重庆的背后。——抗日战争期间，中国方面之所以对与云南交界的缅甸格外关注，除了保护滇缅公路这条能够支撑中国得到外援的生命线以及防止日军从云南打进中国来抄重庆的后路之外，没有任何其他的原因。
中国的全面抗战爆发后，唯一支援中国的是苏联，但出于反苏反共的立场，蒋介石始终对苏联怀有戒心。在接受苏联援助的同时，由于东南沿海对外通道已被日军封锁，蒋介石把主要精力放在了经营滇缅公路方面，极力弱化苏联的援助而倒向美国。尤其是在苏德战争爆发后，苏联无暇顾及中国，保持从云南至印度洋的通道就显得格外重要。但是，云南不是蒋介石统辖的地盘，长期以来他与云南军阀龙云之间恩怨重重。云南的政治事务，蒋介石不能过问；经济上，直到一九四一年云南依旧流通着龙云发行的“滇币”；而在军事上滇军也自成体系，蒋介石的中央军未经许可不能入滇。但是，要保卫滇缅公路，中央军必须进入。一九四〇年九月间，蒋介石开始调动部队集结于云南四周：滇黔边境的第六军、滇川和滇康边境的第七十一军、滇桂边境的第五十四军以及待命川黔境内的第二、第六十六军等。直到一九四一年，出于对抗战大局的考虑，龙云终于同意中央军进入云南。
早在一九四〇年十月，英国迫于国际舆论的压力重新开放滇缅公路时，中英双方就开始酝酿建立军事同盟。一九四一年二月，英方邀请“中、缅、印、马军事考察团”，赴缅甸、印度和马来亚进行为期三个月的军事考察。考察团根据搜集的资料，制定了中国、英国和缅甸共同防御计划，编写出长达三十万字的《中国缅印马军事考察团报告书》。报告书得出这样一个判断：日军如果切断滇缅公路，将不是在中国境内发生，而是日军整个战略的一部分，即全面侵占马来亚和缅甸，达到既占领英国殖民地又封锁中国的双重目的。
毫无疑问，考察团之所以得出这一判断，是因为清楚地知道英军毫无抵抗力，因此报告书中对防御计划的拟订可谓含糊其辞。然而，英国人并不这样认为。在英国人看来，日本没有实力与大英帝国较量，如果日本人要截断滇缅公路，只能在中缅或中老边境方向发难，日本人是不敢深入缅甸境内的。那么，中国军队可以在中缅、中老边境陈兵防御，但不得进入大英帝国的殖民地缅甸。
英国人自欺欺人的傲慢导致了军事上的严重误判，并由此贻误了中国军队入缅布防的最佳时机。
英国人拒绝中国军队入缅之际，珍珠港事件爆发了。
当日，蒋介石分别召见美、英、苏大使，建议成立以美国为首的军事同盟，表示中国军队可以配合盟军作战。对于英国武官丹尼斯，蒋介石特别强调了中英两国共同保卫缅甸的重要性，同时询问英国到底需要多少中国军队入缅增援。丹尼斯说可能需要一个团或两个团。蒋介石说中国可以提供更多的兵力，比如三个师或六个师。是日，丹尼斯正式请求中国军队入缅布防。
蒋介石对英国提供军事援助，立即遭到苏联的强烈反对。十二月十四日，斯大林致电蒋介石，敦促中国不要派遣军队进入缅甸和泰国，理由是中国很可能会被英美出卖。但是，蒋介石拒绝了斯大林的建议。——“他完全清楚缅甸是中国和西方联系的唯一命脉。一旦缅甸失守，中国就只能全盘依赖苏联，而蒋介石担心这可能正是斯大林的真实意图。”
十六日，中国驻缅军事代表团进入缅甸，在腊戍与英军驻缅总司令胡敦会谈，提出了英军主力和中国即将入缅的第五、第六军联合起来，在勃固、毛淡棉地区与日军进行决战的建议，但遭到胡敦的拒绝。虽然如此，为确保滇缅公路的畅通，为使抗战中国继续得到外援，蒋介石还是命令杜聿明的第五军开赴大理、保山地区集结，准备入缅作战，限一月十八日集结完毕；同时命令甘丽初的第六军向芒市地区集结后推进至中缅边境，限一月二十二日集结完毕。
二十三日，中、美、英三国在重庆召开联合军事会议。蒋介石在会前着重强调：“中、英两国不可有一国失败，如中国失败，则英国之印度必危而不保。”蒋介石意在提醒英国人，缅甸失守必会危及中国，一旦中国的抗战难以支撑，英国人的印度也难以自保。会议期间，中方特地向英方代表、印缅战区总司令韦维尔表示，中国可派出八万人的部队进入缅甸协助英军作战。但是，韦维尔一口拒绝了，说他的部队只需要物资和空军支援，其他一概不需要。
蒋介石大怒。
英国人根本顶不住日军的进攻。一旦英军垮了，滇缅公路危在旦夕，重庆也将面临危险。英国人傲慢的拒绝实在令人难以理喻。蒋介石立即命令准备入缅作战的中国军队停止在边境线上。英国人不愿中国插手缅甸事务的主要原因，是担心一旦中国军队进入缅甸作战，本来就反感英国殖民统治的缅甸人就不会再让英国人返回缅甸了，而“大量的中国移民就会尾随而至”。同时，英国人更不愿中国由此在国际声望上压过英国。珍珠港事件爆发后，英国对美国如此重视中国感到极度失落，丘吉尔在写给韦维尔的信中表示：“在许多美国人的心目中，中国同大英帝国一样重要……他们认为同中国保持联系和使滇缅公路畅通，是全世界取得胜利的必不可少的条件……如果我可以用一个词概括我这次在美国所学到的东西的话，那就是'中国'一词。”——这对于大英帝国来讲无论如何都难以接受。
有舆论这样分析了英国人的阴暗心结：
丘吉尔可能认为一支强大的国民党军队会打破亚洲的平衡，使战后的亚洲不能再回到战前那种殖民地的状态。其他迹象也表明，在大战中英国的外交政策是希望在大战结束时，中国仍然是虚弱的，好像一个“被营救的少女”。那样，中国就会对营救她的大国充满感激，而英国人也就能继续占有香港。
对于英国人拒绝中国军队入缅的另一种分析是：懦弱的英国人怕由此激怒日本人。面对日军陈兵泰缅边境，英国人始终认为日本不会冒险招惹大英帝国。如果日军只进攻中国云南，而不攻击英国殖民地，英国就保持中立；哪怕在日本人的刀锋之下，只要能把殖民地保住，中国是否亡国与大英帝国有什么关系？——近代以来，列强无不期望中国永远积贫积弱，这样他们才能进行肆意的侵占和掠夺。同时，只要不触及自身利益，他们可以放任任何对中国的欺辱，甚至可以毫无顾忌地出卖中国的利益。
就在韦维尔拒绝中国军队入缅的那天，罗斯福总统致电蒋介石建议组成中国战区，指挥中、泰、越地区的盟军作战，并推举蒋介石为战区最高统帅。美国《纽约时报》对此评论道：“中国战场之重要，在一个月以前，殊难使多数美国人士了解中国战局与美国具有直接之关系；现则尽人皆知，中国之战事，即为我等之战事，中国对日本施用之压力愈大，则我麦克阿瑟将军愈有战胜之机会……”一月二日，蒋介石复电表示同意，并建议由美国派出战区参谋长。蒋介石也知道，缅甸并不在划定的中国战区内，他没有在缅甸境内指挥盟军的权力，或者说是英国人不归中国人指挥。
一月四日，日军越过泰缅边境直接冲进了缅甸。
十九日，缅甸南部要地土瓦被日军占领后，胡敦请求中国军队第六军第九十三师增援，这一请求被提交到韦维尔那里后，再次遭到拒绝。现在，连丘吉尔都觉得不可理解了：战局已经恶化到根本无暇顾及颜面的地步，既抵挡不住日军进攻又拒绝中国增援的韦维尔到底想干什么？二十三日，丘吉尔致电韦维尔：“我对你拒绝中国帮助防守缅甸和滇缅公路的理由，依然困惑不解。我知道，你现在已经接受了中国第四十九、第九十三两个师，但是中国第五军和第六军的其余部分就在边界那一边驻扎着。缅甸似有遭受蹂躏的严重危险。当我们想起中国人在孤立无援而武装恶劣的情况下，坚持抗战已经多久，当我们看到我们在日本人手下过着什么样的艰难日子，我就不能了解我们为什么不欢迎中国人的援助？”韦维尔辩解说，只要从印度和澳大利亚调来英国军队，他就能够抵抗住日本人的进攻。
韦维尔话音未落，日军已开始抢渡萨尔温江了。
英印军第十七师的一路狂逃，令大英帝国举国失色。
二月三日，英方向中国方面请求增援。
十六日，蒋介石命令杜聿明的第五军集结中缅边境畹町，然后由英方派汽车运输入缅。
从一九四一年十二月至一九四二年二月间，蒋介石曾三次下令第五、第六军入缅，前两次都因英方的拒绝而停止。现在第三次发布入缅命令，从军事上讲已经战机全失，这使中国军队日后在缅甸境内的作战中遭遇了巨大的磨难。
中国入缅部队日夜兼程。第六军先遣部队第四十九师从云南保山出发，沿着滇缅公路经腊戍南下雷列姆，在孟畔地区接替了英军防务，该地区的英军向缅甸西部转移；第五军抵达畹町后，等不及第六军输送，其先遣部队第二〇〇师附骑兵团、工兵团一路向缅甸南部奔袭，于三月八日抵达仰光以北的战略要地同古。
至此，一个至关重要的问题出现了：在缅甸的对日作战中，有中国、英国、缅甸、印度等国的军队，究竟谁指挥谁？
二月二十五日，蒋介石在昆明明确指示：入缅第五、第六军归杜聿明军长统一指挥，而杜聿明军长接受胡敦的指挥。三月一日，飞抵缅甸境内腊戍视察的蒋介石，再度确定了中国入缅军队的指挥系统：中国入缅参谋团团长、军令部第一次长林蔚负责战术指挥，后勤部长兼中缅运输总局局长俞飞鹏负责后方勤务；卫立煌任中国远征军司令长官，杜聿明任副司令长官，在卫立煌到任之前，由杜聿明统一指挥入缅部队。可是，就在这时候，应蒋介石的邀请，美国政府派出的中国战区参谋长史迪威将军抵达腊戍。蒋介石又指示杜聿明：中国军队要听从史迪威将军的指挥，这一点十分重要。——杜聿明被弄得有点糊涂了，问：“如果史迪威的命令不符合你的决策时，应如何办？”蒋介石说：“你打电报向我请示再说。”结果是，中国入缅作战的第五军和第六军，分别要听从中国的林蔚和杜聿明、英国的亚历山大和美国的史迪威三国四位将领的指挥——世界战争史上还从未出现过如此怪异的指挥系统。
史迪威的到来，使一个专门与蒋介石对着干的美国将军出现在中国的抗战史中。
约瑟夫·W·史迪威，毕业于美国西点军校。一九二〇年至一九二三年间，他受美国陆军部委派到中国北平学习汉语；一九二六年至一九三三年间，根据《辛丑条约》外国军队在华驻军条款，任驻扎在天津的美国第十五步兵团营长。一九三五年至一九三九年间，他任美国驻华武官，一九三九年五月卸任回国。珍珠港事件爆发时，他是总部设在加州蒙特利城的美国第三军团指挥官，军衔少将。毫无疑问，这位中国通在中国全面抗战爆发后，曾以美国武官的身份涉足各个战场，大量接触了中国军队的士兵和军官，与德国和苏联的军事顾问也保持着紧密联系，甚至与日本人之间也有互通消息的通道，而且对中国共产党人有着相当的了解和极高的评价。史迪威被认为是美国陆军中最了解中国战区的权威。同时，他的弱点在美国陆军中也人人皆知：他写给陆军部的报告常因文笔和逻辑的差劲而受到训斥；他往往屈从于个人冲动的情绪而欠缺周密的思考；他多疑而傲慢，说话善于使用尖酸刻薄的词语，因此与同僚的关系一直紧张；他几乎没有任何实战经验，缺乏卓越的军事指挥才能，在一九四二年以前所指挥的部队最高级别不过一个二线的陆军军团。
史迪威之所以被美国政府选中，除了他有丰富的在华经验之外，他与美国陆军总参谋长马歇尔私人关系密切也是原因之一。史迪威上任中国战区参谋长前，马歇尔给了他两条忠告：一是“团结不同派系，抓住兵权，让中国人努力干事”；二是“金钱不成问题”。马歇尔对史迪威赴任中国战区的奖赏是：“我们将任命你为陆军中将。”
有资料显示，史迪威上任前，对来中国战区任职有过规模宏大的设想。在他的设想中，西南太平洋将是美军与日军作战的主要区域。如果把战争导向日本本土，美国就必须在中国建立起巨大的进攻力量。于是，美国利用中国反击日本本土的基的建设任务，历史性地落在了史迪威身上。他动身前往中国的时候给美国陆军部写了一份备忘录，除了要求把他组建的部队命名为“美国在华特种部队”外，还要求美国给他提供足够装备三十个中国陆军师的装备，再有就是与装备美式武器的中国陆军师作战相配套的空军支持，等等。美国陆军部对史迪威提出的“长远目标”不感兴趣，但批准他可以称其部队为“美国在华特种部队”，同时承诺必要时可派遣运输机为他提供给养。
三月六日，史迪威到达重庆。
再次会见蒋介石时，他首先转达了罗斯福总统的当面叮嘱：“此去代予向蒋委员长夫妇致候，并告蒋委员长，目前战争为一世界战争，我等共同敌人，不问其在亚在欧，皆应一致施以攻击……故决继续以军用器材供给中国，非俟将日人逐出中国国境，中国完全恢复其失土不止也。”然后，史迪威阐述了自己前来中国的主要任务：一、奉命指挥中国、缅甸和印度的美国军队；二、奉命监督和管理美国对华援助物资的分配和使用；三、代表美国政府出席重庆的军事会议；四、担任中国与印缅战区总司令韦维尔之间的联络；五、管理、维持并改进滇缅公路，同时敦促英方改进缅甸境内的该公路；六、指挥在印度的美国空军。蒋介石顿感疑惑，因为史迪威没提他出任中国战区参谋长一事。在蒋介石的追问下，史迪威才说：“本人为钧座之参谋长，直接受钧座之指挥。”蒋介石还是有点困惑，进一步追问：“将军之确实地位，愿再详言之。”史迪威回答如下：
本人指挥在中国、缅甸、印度境内之美国军队，而印度只供我作根据地之用。英国已允我方应用其铁路及栈房等，此点，钧座可不再顾虑。我人对印度，除用为运输器材由美入华之过道外，别无其他企图，本人所得训令关于缅甸一节之原文如下：“在蒋委员长统率之下，指挥中国境内之美国部队以及拨交指挥之中国军队。此项部队如有开入缅甸参加联合作战之必要时，则应受ABOA区（今已沦陷）最高统帅之指挥，该统帅将指示美国代表所统率之部队与英国司令所统率之部队在缅甸境内如何合作之方案。”
显然，史迪威含糊不清的回答依旧令蒋介石摸不着头脑。
中国人与美国人的思路背道而驰：美国人认为中国军队急需美国人的军事指挥，美国将领绝对比中国将领的水平高。美国人严重忽视了近代以来一个受欺侮民族的民族主义情绪。按照常规来讲，多国联合作战时，出兵最多国家的将领理应担任最高指挥官，此次美国并没有出兵缅甸，却派来了一个指挥官。虽然史迪威是蒋介石邀请来的，但蒋介石邀请的只是一位中国战区参谋长，也可以说是他的参谋长，可现在美国人却给了史迪威更多的权力。
八日，仰光陷落。
十日，蒋介石再次会见史迪威。史迪威表示他知道：“缅甸对中国之重要甚于英国，英国可失缅甸而中国则否。盖英之欲守缅甸，目的只在保卫印度；中国如失缅甸，则与世界之交通路线将因而中断”。史迪威说，他深信亚历山大将军必能与他合作，“且能增强其部队的战斗意志”。蒋介石告诉史迪威：
我军此次入缅作战能胜不能败，盖第五、第六两军为我国军队之精锐，苟遭挫败，不但在缅甸无反攻之望，即在中国全线欲再发动反攻，滇省与长江流域后备不坚，亦将势不能。故此次出师之成就，绝不应视为二三个军战争之效果，其胜败之机不独足以决定全部军心之振颓，且足以影响全国人民之心理。
蒋介石拒绝了史迪威提出的立即向日军采取攻势的建议。蒋介石坚持必须弄清楚日军的动向之后再组织进攻，并主张把主力集结在曼德勒周围，诱敌深入加以击溃，然后反攻突破，一举收复仰光。蒋介石的这种战法，显然源于长沙作战胜利的影响。实事求是地说，面对战斗力很强的日军，或许这是较为合理的战法，但作为美国军人的史迪威无论如何也难以理解中国式的游击作战是怎么一回事。
蒋介石要求缅甸境内的英军必须归史迪威指挥，把那个无能且傲慢的总司令韦维尔拋到一边去。这让史迪威很满意：“我发现大元帅打算把缅甸的指挥权交给我，这使我松了一口气。现在我不必每天早晨惶恐不安地醒来，力图搞清楚我究竟能做些什么来证明我存在的意义了。”蒋介石给罗斯福发电报，请求美国人出面说服丘吉尔将缅甸的英军指挥权交出来。罗斯福明白蒋介石是想利用美国遏制英国，可他不愿意得罪丘吉尔，因此婉转地拒绝了蒋介石的请求。可是蒋介石态度强硬：入缅的中国军队绝对不能与无法信任的英军混合使用，如果英国人坚持两军混合使用，他宁可把入缅的中国军队全部撤回来。——蒋介石严重忽视了一个现实：英国人是不愿中国军队深入其殖民地缅甸腹地的，他们也从没有期望和准许中国军队一直打到仰光去。
一九四二年三月十二日，在各种矛盾交织下，中国远征军第一路司令长官部正式成立，卫立煌任司令长官，杜聿明任副司令长官。远征军共约十万人。其战斗序列是：
第五军，军长杜聿明。辖新编第二十二师，师长廖耀湘；第九十六师，师长余韶；第二〇〇师，师长戴安澜。
第六军，军长甘丽初。辖第四十九师，师长彭璧生；第九十三师，师长吕国铨；暂编第五十五师，师长陈勉吾。
第六十六军，军长张轸。辖新编第二十八师，师长刘伯龙；新编第二十九师，师长马维骥；新编第三十八师，师长孙立人。
十八日，蒋介石再次接见史迪威。当时，盟军希望沿仰光至曼德勒、曼德勒至密支那的南北铁路大动脉，于缅甸中部地带建立起一条自东向西跨越铁路的防线，以阻止日军向北推进。而实际上，这样一条防线已在缅甸南部，即仰光以北约一百六十公里处形成了：西边的卑谬由英军防守，中间的同古由中国第二〇〇师防守，东面的泰缅交界处也由英军防守。日军占领仰光后，开始向北推进，逐渐逼近同古。史迪威要求中国远征军主力迅速南下，集结于同古以北的彬文那一线，在增援第二〇〇师的同时准备反攻作战。对此，蒋介石坚决反对，其理由是：中英对各自的作战区域负有独立责任。在中国军队支持英军作战之前，英国人必须拿出具体行动证明他们是在努力作战而不是一味地逃跑。如果英国人不能证明这一点，那么中国军队就没有理由去填补由于英国人的溃逃而出现的战线缺口。实际上，蒋介石知道，如果中国军队集结反攻，有可能阻挡住日军的攻势，甚至有可能夺回仰光再度打开外援港口，但是成功的可能也同时意味着遭遇危险和损失的可能。特别重要的是，史迪威的计划成功，有赖于英军必须守住中国远征军的左翼卑谬，这对于逢战必逃的英军来讲可能吗？
第二天，蒋介石在又一次会见史迪威时作了一些让步：允许新编第二十二师向南推进增援第二〇〇师，同时在英国人失守卑谬时也可增援他们，但坚决不准远征军主力越过同古以北约百公里处的彬文那一线。蒋介石要求史迪威守住曼德勒，史迪威表示他无法作出承诺，只能尽力而为；如果坚持让他承诺，只能另派一个愿意承诺的人去。
在华多年的史迪威，对蒋介石政府积累了太多的