"So... I have to rely on you to continue the counterattack in southern Myanmar. It is best to enter Malaysia before the end of the year. However, if you have any requests, feel free to ask for them. I can satisfy your team as much as possible."
Hearing this, Liao Mingyu's eyes immediately lit up, hehe... I'm just waiting for you to say this.
"General, you know that my troops need a lot of weapons and equipment, and the logistics and ammunition alone are astronomical."
"Don't worry, I will be responsible for all military expenditures of your ministry, including those of the armored forces and air force. The Indian 20th Air Force will also be your strong backing."
As expected, Stilwell made his promise very generously. Although the overall equipment strength of the 88th Army has far exceeded that of other units, and is even much stronger than some division-level units of their Marine Corps, the good news is that the number is not That's too much.
After all, Mr. President has decided to focus on support. In the future, material transportation will flow here. Compared with the entire Southeast Asian theater, it is not difficult to focus on arming an elite force. You must know that Stilwell himself can take advantage of the Allied forces. There are not many. Apart from the Air Force, there is only the New 88th Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, which has more than 50,000 people. The combat effectiveness of the British is almost negligible.
Liao Mingyu was unexpected by the other party's generosity. He thought it was another bargaining match, but he suddenly didn't know how to speak.
"Of course, the investment I have made needs to see a return, and your troops must also be responsible to me. They must always obey the commands and arrangements of the theater headquarters, otherwise..."
"Don't worry, general. Our department will definitely obey the arrangements, but in terms of logistical details... Do we have to sum up the details again? It's not that I don't believe you, but there are some situations that you may not understand well... Here is the schedule I just made two days ago. You have a look…"
Liao Mingyu quickly made a promise with a smile on his face. No matter what he said, he should agree first and then talk about it. The worst thing is that when the time comes, he will listen to the instructions but not the announcement. As long as the military power of the army is in hand, it will be difficult for anyone to use it.
However, in this regard, Americans are much better than Chiang Kai-shek. They will at least deliver on what they say they will do. Although they are all purposeful, they are still better than Principal Chiang who only pays lip service to praise.
Stilwell took the schedule and glanced at it suspiciously. He was startled when he saw it. The content written in front of him instantly gave him the urge to hit someone:
"What the hell!? You need 200 artillery pieces of all kinds for one company, fuck! Is this an infantry company? And with this number of rifles, do you want to arm an army group!?"
"Hey, General, you don't know. Our army's losses in the battle against Mandalay were quite heavy. More than half of the troops were killed and wounded, and there were countless lost and damaged weapons and equipment. If you don't believe me, go to my field hospital. There are wounded everywhere. I can’t even squeeze in, ugh…”
Liao Mingyu was able to keep his face calm and his heart skip a beat when it came to his bullshit skills. Anyway, the troops had the final say, and there was no way to verify these things. If the other party really went to investigate, he would have a way to hide it.
Although there are now arsenals that can achieve self-sufficiency, it still requires resources. Why not ask for more of the things that the Americans give for free?
Besides, now that the Burma Highway has been opened early, international aid will continue to be sent to Myanmar. Now with the full support of the President, Stilwell has absolute control over these supplies, even if the transportation to China is deducted. There will also be a lot of supplies left in Southeast Asia. Who knows the logistics of the Americans, which can make frontline soldiers drink Coke and eat ice cream.
As a result, the two had an in-depth exchange of ideas on the next supply policy of military supplies. The two sides came and went without giving in to each other, just like people in the market, just for one more zero or one less digit for the quantity.
Everything is a trivial matter. The reason why Stilwell suddenly became so fussy is because he knew that he could not give too much food at one time. If he fed the other party too much, he would lose his authority and it would be even more difficult to explain in the future. Talked.
Liao Mingyu also knew that this old guy was thoughtful, so he asked for as much material as he could, showing a greedy look, making the other party think that he was the kind of greedy person, so as to paralyze the other party's sense of vigilance.
It was not until the evening, after Liao Mingyu had finished a pack of cigarettes and Stilwell almost burned through his pipe, that the two ended their meeting and walked out of the office.
However, both parties in this conversation were quite satisfied. The Yankees are indeed rich and powerful. In terms of small arms, they agreed to provide 50,000 Garand rifles, 15,000 .45 caliber submachine guns, M1919 heavy machine guns and M2 Laoganma at one time. There are two thousand in total, including several 60-80mm mortars, as well as a large number of rocket launchers, grenades, mines, explosives, etc. The ammunition is tens of thousands of tons.
In addition, hundreds of wheeled trucks of various tonnages were provided as transportation vehicles for frontline troops, which also made road construction a more important issue.
But in terms of heavy weapons, Stilwell was unwilling to let go even after he was killed. A large number of artillery shells were replenished, but only 8 105mm howitzers were given, not a single 155mm howitzer, and tanks and armored vehicles were not mentioned at all.
Finally, at Liao Mingyu's strong request, he reluctantly agreed to give five short-barreled 75-gun Shermans and ten Greyhound armored vehicles. However, he also gave an additional 200 US military advisers and asked them to serve in the grassroots level of the 88th Army. A deputy or sergeant, preferably a sergeant major for each company, is euphemistically called to train and guide soldiers in combat, but its real purpose is self-evident.
Although Liao Mingyu agreed on the surface, he didn't care in his heart. At worst, when the people came, he would slowly let his gang of boys find a way to drive them away. Those who couldn't be driven away would be transferred to the maintenance department where Master Mai and Quanmin would assist. Do you want to be a gunsmith or military consultant and want to install supervisors in my grassroots troops? Just dream.
In addition to the early military supplies, the Allies also promised to bear a certain amount of food and medical supplies. In addition, the Merrill Commando will be temporarily integrated into the 88th Army and will be directly commanded by Liao Mingyu.
The supplies that will arrive later will also be continuously supplied. Anyway, the general meaning is that the United States will provide money and supplies, and the 88th Army will work hard to defeat Japan's invasion of Malaysia.
It should be said that Stilwell's position in the US military is very embarrassing now. Commander-in-Chief of the Southeast Asian Theater and General Staff of the Chinese Theater may sound awesome at first. In fact, everyone who understands knows that it is just a famous name. In fact, it is Wearing silk and eating chaff... surface light.
Since the troops stationed in India were transferred back to China, there are not many troops in the entire Southeast Asian theater that can really be commanded by Stilwell. Apart from the few logistics battalions in India, there is only the Mai Detachment with less than 3,000 people, followed by the Expeditionary Force. The New 88th Army is barely considered a force.
In addition, the 2nd Army and the 72nd Army of the Western Yunnan Expeditionary Force stationed on the China-Myanmar border are untouchable and don't care about him at all. The British idiots only listen to their General Mountbatten's orders.
In this situation...the only one left who can hope to fight and win the war is Liao Mingyu. The young man and his troops in front of him are like Sun Liren and the troops stationed in India.
Although Liao Mingyu is more shrewd and difficult to deal with, judging from his record...his personal ability and military strength of the army are also superior. The most important point is that this guy completely ignores the orders of the Kuomintang Central Committee. The "peanut" in Chongqing You can't even reach out your hand, this is the most important thing.
So Stilwell slowly began to regard them as his own, and worked hard to build them into an unstoppable army. In this way, he can have such a capable warrior and realize his lofty ambitions. Why not?
Stilwell couldn't help but think...if we could really take back Malaysia and the Philippine Islands, he would definitely have a place among the country's five-star generals!
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