Chapter 416: Chief Du! The Attack Has Begun

Expeditionary Force Headquarters, Myitkyina.

"General, we have intercepted a Japanese Army telegram from Mandalay; the situation is somewhat complicated," said Major Hank, head of the Myanmar American Army Intelligence Department.

Stilwell looked at the text above, "The content says Mandalay was attacked and suffered heavy losses."

Major Hank nodded, "Yes, General."

Stilwell's first reaction was to think of the Lashu direction, "Immediately contact the st Division and the th Division and ask whether they have already attacked Mandalay."

"Yes, General," the adjutant said.

Major Hank asked, "General, you mean the Huaxia troops have already launched an attack!"

Stilwell walked to the map, moved the st Division's flag near Mandalay, and said, "It's possible; the st Division's tactics differ from other Huaxia generals. He always likes to launch a campaign at an inopportune time."

Actually, after Stilwell returned from Lashu, he had been pondering whether launching a counterattack on Mandalay at this moment was correct.

But regardless, he must obey the Roosevelt government's orders.

At this time in the Pacific Ocean, the United States Navy's pressure was immense; shipyards in the United States mainland had already begun operating 24 hours a day, but all this takes time.

Roosevelt gave Stilwell a very clear order: use aid supplies to Huaxia to force Huaxia to dispatch troops to attack the Japanese Army in Myanmar, thereby easing Pacific pressure.

At this point it was no longer the "Europe first, Asia later" strategy; no one could guarantee whether the United States would win the upcoming battles.

If all resources were blindly shifted toward Europe and the Japanese actually reached the United States mainland, that would be unacceptable to the Roosevelt government.

Thus President Roosevelt could only grant Stilwell greater authority and also allow him to mobilize more supplies.

Fortunately, the second batch of supplies had successfully passed through the Timor Sea and was rapidly heading toward the Indian Ocean; this batch, like the first batch that Stilwell sent, consisted of United States stockpiles.

Jiang Anguo dismissed these stockpiles, but for other Huaxia units they were quite good.

Sure enough, the frontline telegram quickly reached Stilwell and Du Yuming.

"No ground troops were deployed; instead, air forces attacked Mandalay," Stilwell said, looking at the telegram from the th Division.

Unbelievable.

"Hank, the th Division also has its own air force now."

It turned out that Stilwell had sent telegrams to both the th Division and the st Division, and only received one reply, which was from Dai Anlan.

As for Jiang Anguo, he was simply annoyed by the old man: "I'll prepare for battle on the front line, you just wait behind for the credit."

He neither asks you for supplies nor for troop reinforcements.

Hank shook his head, "According to our current data, only General Jiang Anguo in Lashu commands a sizable air force, which includes not only our active aircraft but also German BF109 fighters and Stuka bombers."

Stilwell was very curious about this general, even though they had only met a few times.

"Have you investigated how these aircraft entered Myanmar?" Stilwell asked sternly.

Regarding the American and German aircraft appearing in Huaxia forces, Stilwell had long noticed them and had already ordered an investigation.

"No progress, General. So far we only know two people: William, an American, who provided P-38 fighter aircraft and P-40 fighter aircraft; reportedly both came from William, who is also one of the flight squadron leaders of the st Division."

"The German general in this Huaxia general's hand is said to be a German doctor named Lei Ao."

This is the intelligence Hank possessed, and also the information Jiang Anguo publicly disclosed.

Stilwell gave a mysterious smile, "Hank, do you believe this is true?"

Hank shook his head, "Impossible, General. The Germans are now trapped on the Soviet front and cannot attend to Asia, and there is no way aircraft could be delivered through the Middle East."

Hank was correct; German aircraft have short range and cannot fly from Europe to Myanmar.

"Hank, continue probing this Huaxia general. I'm flying over Lashu; I want to join this general to attack Mandalay, and also have the Yingpar Denary Air Squadron ready at all times for air raids on Mandalay. Tell Henry that there must be no slip‑ups; our allies are the Huaxia, not those damned British." Stilwell's words about Britain were spoken through clenched teeth.

Hank nodded, "Yes, General."

Henry, commander of the United States Denary Air Squadron, when withdrawing from Mandalay, the Denary Air Squadron followed the established plan and flew to Yingpar.

Du Yuming also received the telegram from the th Division; his situation was somewhat better, and Jiang Anguo also replied to Du Yuming.

Not only did American Army intelligence obtain news of Mandalay, but the Expeditionary Force's intelligence department also intercepted a Mandalay telegram.

"You mean Jiang Anguo really intends to attack Mandalay?" Du Yuming asked, eyes wide.

Chief of Staff Luo Youlun said, "It now appears they are preparing to attack Mandalay. According to a telegram sent a few days ago from Lashu by Ma Youwei, the st Division's units have been moving frequently."

Ma Youwei, who was previously Du Yuming's Liaison Officer sent to Lashu.

"Hiss." Du Yuming inhaled a cold breath.

Du Yuming had actually never met Jiang Anguo; even though Jiang Anguo defeated the airborne unit of Jiu Mi Jingyi in Myitkyina, Jiang Anguo did not stay there at the time.

Including the subsequent series of achievements, Du Yuming found it unbelievable, as if listening to a fairy tale.

"It seems our young general really intends to attack Mandalay," Du Yuming said with a wry smile.

However, this time Jiang Anguo did not disobey orders; it was a command from the Chongqing Military Committee to cooperate with the American Army's counteroffensive in Myanmar.

Mainly, the Chongqing side gained benefits and believed Jiang Anguo and Dai Anlan had the capability to counterattack.

But they did not provide sufficient rest time; Jiang Anguo's st Division, which could be said to have hastily assembled three regiments together.

They hadn't even conducted a single training session, and tactical coordination among them had not formed.

Thus he was taken onto the front battlefield.

"Chief, what do we do now—attack or not!" Luo Youlun asked.

At this moment, Du Yuming, as the actual commander of the Expeditionary Force, immediately said, "Radio Order the 96th Division's Yu Shao unit: increase marching speed, rush to Mandalay, and must reach the front before the th Division and the st Division attack Mandalay."

Still uneasy, Du Yuming added, "Tell Yu Shao that after reaching the front, everything follows the st Division's orders."

"Yes, Chief." The adjutant immediately issued the order.