The War of Resistance: My Expedition, My Country

Chapter 237 The Dilemma of the 6th Army

Kuang Zhengqi received a telegram from Sun LR stating that the 6th Army had departed for Africa with insufficient equipment. Furthermore, instead of heading to southern Egypt to rendezvous with him as planned, they were heading directly to Tunisia. Upon arrival, they would be under the command of the British North Africa Corps. This arrangement was completely unexpected. Sun LR was deeply concerned about their fate. The 6th Army had only completed basic training in mechanized warfare in India. Due to insufficient equipment, most tank crews received only a few dozen hours of simple training. Without their own tanks, they had no experience in actual combat exercises.

Sun LR was aware of the sudden turn of events in North Africa. He feared the 6th Army would be used as cannon fodder by the British and hoped that Kuang Zhengqi could leverage his good relationships with American and British officers at all levels to secure opportunities for the 6th Army. However, he could not demand anything from Kuang Zhengqi and his men. After all, the 2nd Army in southern Egypt was also in a dire situation.

"Damn the Brits, they're up to it again!" Kuang Zhengqi paced anxiously around the office, secretly blaming Sun LR. "Why don't you be more careful, you just let the 6th Army come over like that? That's or people, most of them young students from China!"

Kuang Zhengqi also somewhat wronged Sun. When he received the order, the Military Headquarters had already notified the 6th Army in advance. When he hurriedly arrived, the army had already boarded the ship and set off.

The leaders of both sides were furious, even considering executing the Chief of Staff who had signed the order. A farce! Such an important decision had been signed based solely on the verbal promises of the US and British representatives. It seemed these shortsighted individuals, with the slightest negligence, would always sow the seeds of disaster for the Flower Planters. This also made them resolutely resolve to reorganize the combat units and reform the central government!

Pu Zhengsong also got the news and was extremely anxious. He rushed to Kuang Zhengqi's office and said to him worriedly, "Second brother, what should we do? Seventy or eighty thousand people, without any equipment, fighting in the desert, isn't that just sending them to die in vain?"

Having experienced a series of thrilling battles in southern Egypt, they knew only too well that pure infantry was virtually powerless in such a harsh environment. In the desert, without any cover or strong positions, men were like lambs to the slaughter, unable to outrun armor. Once surrounded, there was no escape, not even a chance of escape.

Seeing that Kuang Zhengqi was also helpless, Pu Zhengsong shouted at him at the top of his lungs, "Second brother, we must find a way to get there. We can't just watch them die!"

That night, after some difficult negotiations, Kuang Zhengqi and Pu Zhengsong rushed to Tunisia on a US military transport plane. They wanted to plead with Eisenhower and Montgomery in person to buy time for the 6th Army to prepare.

At the same time, Stilwell and Wedemeyer also received telegrams from Yang Hong and Huang Wei, respectively, thousands of miles away. Every word in the telegrams hammered at their hearts. They believed that sending the unequipped and inexperienced Chinese 6th Army into battle against Rommel's corps would be a blasphemy of military ethics and undoubtedly a deliberate murder. They hoped that the two men could use their influence to prevent such a brutal act from happening.

The protests from the flower-growing countries reached both Washington and the British Prime Minister's Office, raising the crucial issue and even raising the issue to the level of Allied credibility. American and British high-ranking officials were forced to approach the matter with caution. They were also dissatisfied with the thoughtless handling of the matter by Montgomery and his colleagues. Under their pressure, urgent supplies were shipped from Britain and nearby American ports to Tunisia to equip the Sixth Army.

A week later, the 6th Army arrived at the port of Gabes, Tunisia, and was stationed at a nearby military camp. A batch of British tanks and armored vehicles were delivered to the camp for training. The 6th Army was also ordered to quickly familiarize itself with the use of British weapons. The 6th Army's equipment would not be entirely American; a significant portion of its tanks and armored vehicles would be British.

Three days later, the first batch of British-made Matilda II infantry tanks and Cromwell cruiser tanks arrived, along with some lightly armored vehicles and general-purpose vehicles. Support and anti-aircraft artillery were also readily available, having already been deployed during the Sixth Army's training in India. This meant that each of the Sixth Army's five divisions could be equipped with at least one tank battalion and motorized regiment.

Kuang Zhengqi met with senior North African theater officials such as Eisenhower and Montgomery one by one. After receiving their affirmative commitment, he and Pu Zhengsong and others drove to Gabes to meet with the commanders of the 6th Army.

By this time, Kuang Zhengqi had received his latest domestic appointment: Chief of Staff of the Second Expeditionary Force's Second Front Army and Commander of the Second Army Group. General Li Mo'an, who had been expected to be appointed Deputy Commander and Commander of the Sixth Army Group, failed to receive the appointment, meaning he would now have to obey the command of Lieutenant General Kuang Zhengqi, who was younger and of lower rank.

Kuang Zhengqi first saluted Li Mo'an with a standard military salute, in keeping with his rank, and then calmly accepted the salutes from the 6th Army's commanders, acting as their superior. After entering the temporary headquarters, the 6th Army's Chief of Staff briefly outlined the army's current situation. Finally, he expressed his concerns, "Chief of Staff Kuang, in just three days, 2384 personnel have developed various symptoms due to climate incompatibility. The first batch of tanks and armored vehicles the troops just received aren't the American-made equipment they received during training in India. I'm afraid it will take some time for them to adjust."

Kuang Zhengqi nodded slightly upon hearing this. He simply didn't have the energy to deal with these matters right now. He had a vague feeling that Rommel's North African Corps and the US-British African Theater would not give the 6th Army much time. Perhaps a combat order would be issued tomorrow. For now, it was best to prepare for the worst.

He asked Li Mo'an, "Commander Li, how many engineers are there in the 6th Army, and what is the current status of their equipment?"

Li Mo'an was completely surprised that the new chief of staff would ask about the engineers first, not the divisions, and was momentarily at a loss. Fortunately, the operations chief quickly intervened, replying, "Chief of Staff Kuang, the 6th Army has a direct engineering regiment of 2500 men. While they don't have any large-scale engineering equipment, they do have some supplies for excavation and blasting. Furthermore, each division has an engineering battalion."