The atmosphere in the expeditionary force’s headquarters was as solemn as the dead silence before a storm.

On the wall, the large battle map was illuminated by the swaying lights, creating strange light and shadows. The dense lines and marks seemed like a complex maze woven by fate, and General Du Yuming was trying to find the thread to break the deadlock.

The telegraph machine made a monotonous and rapid “tick-tick” sound, echoing in this enclosed space. Each sound was like a heavy hammer hitting everyone’s heart, telling of the unrest and urgency of the battlefield situation.

General Du Yuming frowned, his eyes fixed on the map, his expression revealing determination and resoluteness. His fingers moved slowly on the map, trying to find a glimmer of hope to turn the tide in the complicated battle situation.

Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps broke the solemnity.

A signalman ran in hurriedly, holding a telegram tightly in his hand, his face full of anxiety, and even his military cap was a little askew.

His forehead was covered with sweat, and his rapid breathing was particularly abrupt in this quiet command center.

“Report!” the signalman shouted loudly, his voice trembling slightly due to tension and running.

General Du Yuming raised his head, his eyes as sharp as torches, as if they could penetrate all the fog. He looked at the signalman and asked, “What’s the matter? Why are you so flustered?” His voice was low and powerful, with the majesty of a veteran on the battlefield.

The signalman hurried forward, saluted, and handed the telegram to General Du Yuming, saying, “General, I just received urgent intelligence that the British evacuated without authorization!”

“What?” General Du Yuming stood up suddenly and slammed his hands on the table, shaking the teacup on the table and making the tea splash and soak the documents on the table. “The British actually retreated without authorization? When did this happen?” His voice was full of anger and shock. This sudden news made it difficult for him to accept it for a while.

The signalman quickly replied: “Intelligence shows that they started the operation last night without notifying us, and have now evacuated the designated defense line.”

General Du Yuming’s face turned pale in an instant. He paced back and forth in the room, the anger in his heart burning like a raging fire.

He never expected that the British would be so disregarding of the overall situation and evacuate without authorization.

This was not only a betrayal of the ally, but also put the Chinese Expeditionary Force in an extremely dangerous situation.

He knew very well that the British army’s unauthorized withdrawal would not only cause huge loopholes in the defense line, giving the Japanese army an opportunity to take advantage, but might also affect the direction of the entire war.

More importantly, this would be a heavy blow to the morale of the Chinese Expeditionary Force.

The soldiers were already in a foreign country, facing the powerful Japanese army, and fighting with firm beliefs and trust in their allies.

Today, the British people’s betrayal has made their efforts and sacrifices so worthless.

“This is simply ridiculous!” General Du Yuming gritted his teeth and said, “We came to fight together at their request, but they fled at the critical moment. Isn’t this pushing us into the fire pit?”

He stopped and looked out the window. The smoke of war filled the sky, like the shadow of fate, covering the entire battlefield.

He recalled the scene when the expeditionary force set out. The soldiers were full of passion, shouting slogans, and vowing to defend the motherland, fight side by side with the Allies, and drive the Japanese army out of Burma.

Those young and determined faces kept appearing in his mind at this moment.

But now, the behavior of the British makes all this so ironic.

“Prepare the car immediately. I will go to Lieutenant General Alexander in person to get to the bottom of it!” General Du Yuming gave the order decisively.

Soon, General Du Yuming’s car sped away in the dust, heading for the British army’s temporary headquarters. Along the way, the window was filled with flames of war, the roar of artillery shells was incessant, and the flames of explosions illuminated the night sky from time to time.

General Du Yuming looked at this tragic scene, and his anger grew stronger. He knew that this meeting with Lieutenant General Alexander would be a fierce confrontation.

The car finally arrived at the British headquarters. After General Du Yuming got off the car, he strode towards the headquarters.

The British guards at the door saw his aggressive look and wanted to stop him, but were frightened by General Du Yuming’s fierce eyes and dared not move.

“I want to see Lieutenant General Alexander, immediately!” General Du Yuming said loudly, his voice revealing unquestionable majesty.

A British officer hurried over and stammered, “General Du… Du, please wait a moment, I will go and report.” There was a trace of panic on his face, and he was obviously intimidated by General Du Yuming’s momentum.

After a while, the officer came back and said, “General Du, Lieutenant General Alexander invites you in.”

General Du Yuming snorted coldly and strode into Lieutenant General Alexander’s office.

In the office, Lieutenant General Alexander was sitting at his desk, leisurely smoking a cigar. When he saw General Du Yuming coming in, he just stood up slightly, nodded, and showed an awkward smile on his face. “General Du, please take a seat.” Lieutenant General Alexander said, trying to show enthusiasm in his tone, but it was difficult to hide his guilty conscience.

General Du Yuming ignored his invitation, but stared at him and asked loudly: “Lieutenant General Alexander, I want to know why your British troops withdrew without permission?” His voice echoed in the room, full of questioning power.

Lieutenant General Alexander’s smile froze on his face. He tapped his cigar, trying to delay time, and said, “General Du, don’t get excited. There are some complicated reasons…”

“Complex reasons?” General Du Yuming interrupted him and said angrily, “I think you are afraid of death and are deserting the battlefield! Do you know how much disaster your unauthorized withdrawal will bring us?” His eyes revealed anger and disappointment, as if he was looking at an unforgivable sinner.

Lieutenant General Alexander frowned and said unhappily: “General Du, please watch your words. We British troops are also motivated by strategic considerations.” He tried to justify his actions, but his voice sounded a little lacking in confidence.

“Strategic considerations?” General Du Yuming sneered. “What strategic considerations require you to withdraw without notifying your allies? Where do you put our Chinese Expeditionary Force? Where do you put our commitment to fight the Japanese together?” Each of his questions was like a sharp blade, piercing Lieutenant General Alexander’s heart.

Lieutenant General Alexander was silent for a moment, then said: “General Du, you must know that the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly. We have received intelligence that a large number of Japanese reinforcements are about to arrive, and our defense line may be difficult to resist. In order to preserve our strength, we have to make this decision.” He tried to use this reason to explain his behavior, but in the eyes of General Du Yuming, this was just a pale excuse.

“Preserve our strength?” General Du Yuming’s eyes widened with anger. “Then the strength of our Chinese Expeditionary Force is not strength? We have traveled across the ocean to come here just to fight with you, not to be abandoned by you! What you British army is doing is a violation of international morality and a betrayal of your allies!” His voice became louder and louder, and his emotions became more and more agitated. His many years of military career made him deeply aware of how important trust and unity are on the battlefield, and the behavior of the British was undoubtedly a destruction of all of this.

Lieutenant General Alexander’s face turned ugly, and he said impatiently: “General Du, war is so cruel. We can’t let the British army suffer a devastating disaster because of a momentary impulse.” He tried to use the cruelty of war to excuse his behavior, but General Du Yuming didn’t buy it.

“A momentary impulse?” General Du Yuming was shaking with anger. “You are being selfish! At the beginning, you asked us to send troops to Burma and vowed to fight together and support each other. But what about now? For your own benefit, you withdrew without caring about our lives. Are you worthy of those Chinese soldiers who fought bloody battles on the battlefield?” His words were full of grief and indignation. The figures of those Chinese soldiers who died on the battlefield kept appearing in his mind. Their blood should not be shed in vain, and the behavior of the British made their sacrifice so worthless.

Lieutenant General Alexander was speechless by General Du Yuming’s words. He was silent for a long time before saying, “General Du, I understand your anger. But it is meaningless to say this now. We still have to consider how to deal with the current situation.” He tried to change the subject and evade his responsibility.

“Deal with the situation?” General Du Yuming sneered, “You have made a mess of the situation, and now you want us to clean up the mess? You must be responsible for your actions!” His eyes revealed a firm determination, and he would not easily let the British betrayal go.

Lieutenant General Alexander sighed helplessly and said, “General Du, tell me, what do you want us to do?” He knew that he could no longer avoid this question and could only face General Du Yuming’s request.

General Du Yuming stared at him and said word by word: “First, you must immediately stop the evacuation, return to the designated defense line and fight with us; second, you must apologize to the Chinese Expeditionary Force and admit your mistakes; third, you must promise that similar situations will not happen again, otherwise, we will reconsider our cooperation with you!” Every one of his requests was firm and unquestionable. This was his bottom line to the British and his responsibility to the Chinese Expeditionary Force.

After hearing what General Du Yuming said, Lieutenant General Alexander’s face turned very ugly.

He knew that the demands put forward by General Du Yuming were almost impossible for the British army to achieve.

Returning to the defense line means facing the powerful offensive of the Japanese army, which is undoubtedly a huge risk for the British army; and apologizing is even more related to Britain’s face. As the commander of the British army, it is difficult for him to make such a decision.

“General Du, I need to report your request to my superiors, so I can’t answer you on the spot,” Lieutenant General Alexander said. He tried to use this excuse to delay time and find a solution to the problem.

General Du Yuming looked at him and said coldly, “Okay, I’ll give you time to report. But I hope you can give me a satisfactory answer as soon as possible, otherwise, you will bear the consequences!” After that, General Du Yuming turned around and strode out of the office. His back was firm and resolute, as if he was announcing to Lieutenant General Alexander that he would not compromise easily.

Lieutenant General Alexander looked at General Du Yuming’s departing back with mixed feelings.

He knew that the British army’s unauthorized withdrawal had seriously damaged the cooperation with the Chinese Expeditionary Force and made the situation in the entire Burmese battlefield more serious. He fell into deep thought, thinking about how to respond to General Du Yuming’s request and how to restore the reputation of the British army and its cooperation with the Chinese Expeditionary Force.

After General Du Yuming returned to the expeditionary force headquarters, he immediately summoned the commanders of various units to discuss countermeasures. Although he was angry about the British army’s behavior, he knew that the most important thing now was how to protect the safety of the expeditionary force and avoid suffering a major blow from the Japanese army.

“General, the British are going too far! How could they do this?” a commander said angrily. His face was full of anger and unwillingness. He felt extremely humiliated by the British’s betrayal.

“Yes, General, we can’t just let it go like this, we have to teach them a lesson!” Another commander echoed. His eyes revealed a firm determination, he was unwilling to be bullied by the British.

General Du Yuming waved his hand and said, “Now is not the time to act on impulse. We must calm down and think about how to deal with the current situation. The withdrawal of the British army has left a huge loophole in our defense line, and the Japanese army is likely to take the opportunity to launch an attack. We must adjust our deployment as soon as possible and strengthen our defense.” His voice was steady and powerful, revealing the calmness and decisiveness of a commander.

So the commanders began to discuss how to redeploy the defense line and formulate a battle plan. They sat in front of the map, carefully studying every terrain and every defense line, trying to find the most effective defense strategy.

They knew that the coming battle would be extremely difficult, but they were not afraid and were determined to fight the Japanese to the end.

At the same time, the British army was also caught in a heated debate over General Du Yuming’s request.

Some officers believed that they should accept General Du Yuming’s request and return to the defense line to fight together with the Chinese Expeditionary Force, so as to maintain the credibility and international image of the British Army.

They are well aware that credibility is of vital importance on the international battlefield, and if the British army evades its responsibilities in this way, it will be condemned by the international community.

“We can’t just abandon our allies. This is immoral and not in the interests of the UK,” said a young officer. His eyes revealed a firm belief. He believed that as allies, they should face difficulties together. (End of this chapter)