Quartermasters can also fight the devils

At the same time, Commander Chen, who had already assumed the post of commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, asked the Military Commission of the Chinese government to quickly send the New 22nd Army to the designated assembly point. Commander Chen was also anxious. As his own direct force, if the New 22nd Army could arrive in Yunnan Province as soon as possible and be incorporated into the Expeditionary Force, it would be of great help to his subsequent command and operations.

You must know that since the outbreak of the war between China and Japan, although the Japanese army occupied large areas of North China, Central China, South China and East China, at the same time, a large number of Japanese troops were tied down and consumed by the Chinese government on the Chinese battlefield. This seriously disrupted the strategic deployment of the Japanese military headquarters and the Japanese government, and also forced the Japanese government to continuously mobilize troops in Japan and increase combat forces in order to achieve the goal of winning the war.

As the main force of the Japanese government in waging war, after the war between Japan and China officially broke out, the Japanese Army increased its total strength to 24 divisions in order to meet the needs of the Chinese battlefield, and 21 divisions were deployed to the Chinese battlefield.

By 1938, the Japanese Army had expanded its total strength to 34 divisions, 32 of which were deployed to the Chinese battlefield.

In terms of economy, in 59.62, the Japanese government invested 76.8 billion yen in direct military expenditures in the Japanese army, accounting for % of Japan's total national expenditure. However, despite the huge manpower and material resources invested by the Japanese government in the war with the Chinese government, it still could not force the Chinese government to stop resisting and end the war.

In October 1938, after the Battle of Three Towns, the Japanese army was forced to stop its strategic offensive on the Chinese battlefield, which made the war between China and Japan enter a strategic stalemate. The focus of the Japanese government's foreign expansion strategy also gradually shifted from continental policy to maritime policy, that is, from the previous northward advance to the southward advance.

The Japanese government hopes to seize Burma, French Indochina and other places, cut off international aid channels from countries such as the United States and England, thereby threatening the southwestern rear area where the Chinese government is located, and forcing the Chinese government in the mountain city to succumb to the Japanese offensive and sign the armistice conditions proposed by the Japanese government, so that the Japanese army can get rid of the predicament on the Chinese battlefield.

Once the Chinese government surrenders, the Japanese government will withdraw Japanese troops from the Chinese battlefield to seize the rich natural resources in the South Pacific region, establish a self-sufficient war economic system, and enhance Japan's strength in competing for hegemony with the United States, England and other countries.

At the same time, Japan could also seize the colonies of the United States, England and other countries in Southeast Asia, thereby allowing Japan to occupy a favorable strategic position, forcing the United States, England and other countries to submit to Japan, and then divide the entire world.

In 1941, after the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Japanese army swept across Southeast Asia and other regions in a short period of time, and then directed its attack towards Burma, a colony of England. In 1942, the Japanese army used to attack Burma with a force of about 60,000, which far exceeded England's defense forces in Burma.

In early 1942, after the Japanese army occupied Malaysia, they officially launched an attack on Burma. On January 30, the Japanese army captured all the major towns in eastern Burma. Then the Japanese army continued to attack in two routes. On March 8, the Japanese army occupied Yangon, the capital of Burma.

Moreover, between March and April, the Japanese army began to attack the important city of Mandalay, attempting to cut off the Burma Road through which the Chinese government obtained aid supplies.

The Burma Road was the main international channel for the Chinese government to obtain material supplies. As early as January 1938, as the war between Japan and China gradually extended from China's southeastern coastal plains to the southwestern mountainous areas, the Chinese government began to build the dangerous Burma Road to ensure that after losing all foreign ports on the southeastern coast, China could still obtain various supplies from abroad, allowing the government and the army to fight the Japanese army for a long time.

Therefore, Yunnan Province became an international land and air channel for the Chinese government to communicate with the Allies and obtain assistance. The Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, the Yunnan-Burma Highway, the Hump Route, and the China-India Highway all started from Yunnan Province. This allowed the Japanese army to plan to attack the southwestern rear of the Chinese battlefield from the direction of the Indochina Peninsula to the north, cutting off the Chinese government's channel for obtaining assistance.

As early as June 1940, the Japanese government took advantage of England's difficulties on the European battlefield and forced England to close the Burma Road, the only foreign port of the Chinese government. England was being humiliated by Germany at the time and had no choice but to compromise in the face of the Japanese government's coercion and signed a road closure agreement with the Japanese government.

England also hopes to prevent Japan from seizing England's colonies in Asia at the expense of the Chinese government, because England is no longer able to take care of the safety of its Asian colonies militarily.

On September 23, 1940, the Japanese army entered the northern part of French Indochina by land and sea, completely cutting off the China-Vietnam international channel. This cut off the railways and highways between China and Vietnam and China and Myanmar, further increasing the difficulties of the Chinese government's war of resistance.

In 1941, in order to completely cut off the Chinese government's access to foreign aid, Japan's Army Minister Hideki Tojo assembled a force equivalent to ten divisions and launched a series of maritime blockade operations from Ningbo in Zhejiang Province in the east to the Leizhou Peninsula in the south.

Starting from February 4, 1941, the Japanese army cut off the transportation line from Hong Kong Island to Shaoguan, captured the Leizhou Peninsula on March 3, occupied and destroyed the ports in Shantou and Chaozhou in Guangdong Province at the end of March, and forcibly landed in the Mawei area near Fujian Province in mid-April. On April 19, they occupied Zhuji in Zhejiang Province, blocking the last gap from Ningbo to Wenzhou. This time, the Chinese government's international maritime channel was completely blocked by the Japanese army.

In order to achieve the final victory in the war, the Chinese government must ensure the Burma Road, the last international transportation line, which is also the last lifeline for the Chinese government to obtain foreign aid.

If the Burma Road is lost, international aid materials will not be able to enter China easily, and the battle between the Chinese army and the Japanese army will fall into the disadvantage of insufficient supplies. Therefore, the Chinese government is also trying hard to strive for military alliances with England and other countries, in order to ensure the capital for the battle between the Chinese army and the Japanese army.

The United States and England were also the main rivals of the Japanese government in its struggle for hegemony in Asia and the Pacific. After the Japanese government launched a war with the Chinese government, the Japanese government took advantage of the Japanese army's military victory to continuously exclude British and American forces in the Chinese-occupied areas, which deepened the contradictions between the United States, England and Japan.