Roosevelt was woken up in the middle of the night again. The Army Chief of Staff and the Navy Chief of Staff came together to introduce the battle losses of the Philippines Command after the air battle in the Sulu Sea to Roosevelt. Of the 1,000 pilots from the 10 US Air Force groups sent to aid Singapore, after rescue, 217 returned alive to Manila, of which 156 were wounded. More than half of the wounded could not return to service in the Air Force due to severe injuries. The United States lost 900 pilots.

For the US Air Force, which now had 38,000 pilots, this loss was still within the acceptable range. The most important thing at this stage was the powerful air power demonstrated by China. Since the start of the Singapore campaign, the US military had lost 900 pilots, and the British military had lost about 700 pilots. The total was as many as 1,600. This number had exceeded the total number of pilots in the entire UK before the outbreak of the Western European campaign.

Roosevelt was quite happy with this number. Based on Roosevelt's understanding of the American people, such huge casualties were enough to cause great damage to the self-esteem of the American people. As long as this matter could be fully utilized, it was enough to pull the United States into the war.

At this moment, US Secretary of State Hull rushed to the White House. He was also woken up in the middle of the night. The British government informed the US State Department that Kuala Lumpur had fallen. The British Singapore Theater now only had the Singapore Fortress left. If more aid was not obtained, the Singapore Fortress would likely not be held.

This news put Roosevelt in a better mood. Republican Congressmen were not stubbornly adhering to isolationism. If China launched an attack on Australia and New Zealand, Republican Congressmen would turn to support the war. Politicians only pursued political interests. China occupying all Pacific islands except the Philippines and Hawaii constituted an extremely realistic and major threat to US interests, and Republican Congressmen could no longer choose isolationism.

Of course, Roosevelt could not show happiness at this time. He immediately asked Secretary of State Hull to contact China and demand that China explain the air battle in the Sulu Sea.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was 6:00 AM on November 13. At this time, except for the surrendered ANZAC Corps, the main forces of other British units had retreated into the Singapore Fortress. The Chinese Air Force, having completely mastered air superiority, began to bomb the Singapore Fortress and port violently.

The bombing was carried out from 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM. The Chinese Air Force had dropped thousands of bombs and launched more than 600 rockets. The entire British defense line in northern Singapore had been destroyed. Chinese commandos crossed the Johore Strait in small boats and landed in the north of Singapore Island, directly destroying the reservoir supplying water to Singapore.

Singapore was an island with insufficient local water sources. After the reservoir was destroyed, water was cut off immediately in the whole city. This impact was not prominent in the morning, but it showed up in the afternoon. Because of the war, 90,000 Commonwealth troops gathered in Singapore City, as well as more than 60,000 foreigners who had fled to Singapore from other places. So many people completely exceeded the carrying capacity of Singapore Island.

Hunger affects human mobility, but lack of water has a fatal impact on humans. Under the violent bombing of the Chinese Air Force, ships in Singapore's port were either sunk or fled the port. The Singapore Command's idea of using ships to transport water from the opposite bank came to naught.

The defenders of Singapore were under the threat of death at all times, and blood circulation was higher than usual. Thirst came faster. Soon, the local area of Singapore fell into a severe water shortage situation.

At this time, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Shiguang scolded Japan in front of He Rui, then met the US Ambassador to China angrily. Seeing Li Shiguang's angry expression, the US Ambassador to China thought Li Shiguang was going to fly into a rage. Unexpectedly, Li Shiguang's tone was relatively calm. He just informed the US Ambassador to China that it was the Japanese Combined Fleet that launched the attack. The reason for the attack was that the Japanese Combined Fleet learned that a British Air Force unit fighting in Singapore was flying fighters painted with US Air Force markings to the US Philippines.

After introducing the situation, Li Shiguang asked, "The Chinese side cannot understand why the US Air Force appeared in Singapore. According to the US government, the United States only provided fighters to Britain under the 'Lend-Lease Act.' No American pilots participated in the war between China and Britain."

Seeing Li Shiguang's calm expression when saying this, the US Ambassador to China also knew that Li Shiguang was really not suppressing his anger. Both China and the United States were very clear about whether the US Air Force participated in the war. Washington was now trying hard to promote the war, but restricted by domestic pressure, Washington did not want to actively declare war on China. That was why such a knowingly asked question appeared.

In order to complete his diplomatic mission, the US Ambassador to China strongly reprimanded China for actively attacking the US Air Force. Li Shiguang would not be fooled; he always adhered to the initial statement: "The Japanese Air Force attacked the British Air Force. After the operation was completed, the US Air Force suddenly launched an attack on the Japanese Air Force. This unreasonable attack by the United States is obviously a despicable sneak attack!"

Diplomats fought a war of words, trying to find words that could be used from the other party's words. On this day, He Rui suddenly took a special plane to visit Seoul. On the same day, Prime Minister of the Republic of Japan Ishiwara Kanji also arrived in Seoul to visit Korea.

Ishiwara knew that He Rui was expressing politeness. If Ishiwara was called to Beijing, China, it would make the upper class in Japan who demanded war with the United States feel unhappy.

The meeting naturally had to go through the process. Korean President Kim Gu received the heads of state of China and Japan. The heads of state of the three countries exchanged views on the current status of the war and issued the *Seoul Declaration*, expressing the declaration to bring liberation to the people of the world. After the talks, He Rui stated at a press conference that within a week, China would liberate Singapore. The entire Indochina Peninsula would be completely liberated.

Although in China's view, fighting the war for two weeks was already considered very slow, in the view of the Korean people, occupying the entire Indochina Peninsula in at most three weeks meant that imperialism was completely vulnerable in front of the coalition forces led by China. As a member of the coalition, Korea was also honored.

After answering the questions of enthusiastic reporters, He Rui held a separate meeting with Ishiwara. At this time, Ishiwara put on an attitude of a dead pig not afraid of boiling water, and even took the initiative to say, "Teacher, the US government protested to Japan, so I let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reply to the US government with Chairman Li Runshi's words: Imperialism has always been unreasonable; once it starts to reason with you, it means it has been forced into a corner with no other way."

He Rui knew the character of this guy Ishiwara. When he started to play the rogue, he was really thorough. In order to prevaricate He Rui, Ishiwara even dragged Li Runshi out to use.

Although he felt both annoyed and amused, He Rui did not blame Ishiwara. The purpose of coming here this time was not for such a trivial matter. He Rui asked, "Ishiwara, is Japan preparing to fight independently, or mixed with the Chinese army?"

Ishiwara answered decisively without thinking, "Japanese logistics equipment needs China's help, but in combat, we still hope to be able to fight independently until the Teacher thinks it must be mixed."

He Rui did not force it either, answering, "When mixed, it will be the stage of forming the World People's Liberation Army. Since you hope to fight independently at this stage, I have only one request: before the United States actively declares war, Japan must not take the initiative to attack the United States again!"

Ishiwara could still clearly distinguish the impact of whether the United States actively declared war. He hurriedly replied, "I have reprimanded Yamaguchi Tamon and ordered Yamaguchi Tamon to lead the Combined Fleet back to Japan."

"I know," He Rui replied. He Rui was not unhappy about the withdrawal of Japanese troops. Ishiwara's judgment was correct; the United States was unlikely to take the initiative to attack the Chinese army at this stage. But the United States had the courage to take the initiative to launch small-scale attacks on Japan.

Roosevelt was an old fox. If it weren't for Korea's geographical location between China and Japan, and Japan's defense circle providing protection for Korea, Roosevelt might be more likely to launch an attack on Korea directly. As long as Korea confronted the United States slightly strongly, the United States would threaten to declare war on Korea. Then use any action of Korea to complete the declaration of war on Korea.

The way to deal with this old fox Roosevelt was simple. If the United States wanted confrontation, China would confront the United States. But China would absolutely not actively declare war. Of course, this did not mean that China would not declare war. Once China liberated India, Australia, and New Zealand, the time for China to declare war on the United States would arrive.

Ishiwara could understand He Rui's thoughts, but Ishiwara was unwilling to endure the pressure Japan had to bear in this process. Geographically, Japan was the geographical barrier for the entire East Asian region. Any force wanting to invade Asia would consider Japan as a springboard to enter East Asia.

Just before Ishiwara wanted to explain a few sentences, He Rui spoke here, "Ishiwara-kun, the return of the Japanese fleet can defend against possible US provocations. However, if some of Japan's outer islands are subjected to provocative attacks by the United States, I ask you to endure it."

Seeing that He Rui allowed the Japanese fleet to focus on defense at this stage, Ishiwara agreed to He Rui's request. After all, if Iwo Jima was bombed by the US military, most Japanese citizens would be angry. But if Tokyo was bombed by the US military, Japan would fall into panic.

At the end of the meeting, Ishiwara suddenly remembered something. "Teacher, how long do you think it will take to take Singapore?"

"I said, within a week. There are 6 days left now," He Rui smiled.

Seeing He Rui like this, Ishiwara didn't continue to ask. In fact, Ishiwara wanted to ask how long it would take to take India. But this question was really a bit far off, and it was indeed inconvenient to ask now.

On November 14, the bombing of Singapore continued. Singapore's rainy season was from November to March every year, but Singapore, which should be in the rainy season, was not raining at this time. The previous dry season left all rivers in Singapore basically in a state of cutoff. Singapore had only been cut off from water for half a day, and it was already in a state of comprehensive water shortage.

Under the cover of bombing, the Chinese army began to build pontoon bridges. The bridge troops progressed very fast and completed more than half of the work in the morning. The Singapore defenders' positions in the north had been completely destroyed. The British army tried to carry out two small-scale counterattacks, but they were crushed by the long-range artillery fire of the National Defense Force as soon as they started to act.

The artillery of the Singapore Fortress had also been destroyed by Chinese rockets. The British army could only watch helplessly as the Chinese Army completed the bridge construction at 3:00 PM. A Chinese army crossed the Johore Strait and landed on Singapore Island.

Although the sky darkened, the attack of the Chinese army did not unfold. But the British army knew very well that as long as the sun rose tomorrow, the final battle would begin.

At night, Chinese planes fired flares from time to time, illuminating the area in front of the beachhead position occupied by China brightly. Until the early morning, the British army unexpectedly had no chance for a night raid. In the darkness before dawn, flares were fired continuously. The exhausted British army had worried all night and was drowsy at this time, or simply fell asleep sitting up.

The Chinese army launched an attack at this time. After a whole night of preparation, the high-spirited Army began to advance. The British defenders returned fire immediately, and what caught the eyes of the British defenders was the figure of the Type 59 tank.

The commanders on the defense line were all British Army regulars, many of whom had participated in the Western European campaign. Seeing Chinese tanks start to break through, they immediately pulled out anti-tank guns to return fire. 37mm caliber shells hit the Type 59 tank and bounced off. The 100mm gun of the Type 59 tank returned fire immediately, and the British anti-tank gun and the gunner were blown to pieces together.

52mm (likely 2-pounder/57mm) anti-tank guns also fired, also with no effect. The anti-tank gun that exposed its position was immediately taken out by a shot from the Type 59 tank.

At this time, the British Army dragged out 75mm guns and began close-range direct fire. In terms of basic ground combat skills, the British army was indeed good. The 75mm gun could see the Chinese tank even retreat a little. But the British gunner immediately discovered that the frontal armor of the Type 59 tank resisted the 75mm gun hard and was surprisingly not penetrated. Now the British officers and soldiers were all dumbfounded.

When seeing the Type 59 tank for the first time, the British army felt that this kind of tank must be very fierce, but they didn't expect it to be so fierce. 75mm guns could not destroy the armor of the Type 59 tank.

Of course, the Type 59 tank couldn't just take a beating; a subsequent shot blew the British 75mm gun and the gunner away. Seeing that they had to fight such steel monsters, the British infantry had long wanted to retreat. At this moment, the Chinese Air Force began to drop bombs on this area. With this round of bombing, the British soldiers, who didn't want to die in vain, couldn't care about the officers' orders and retreated to the more solid rear one after another.

Junior officers were actually just hindered by face. Seeing that the soldiers had retreated and battlefield discipline was not enforced, they retreated with the soldiers.

Under China's storming attack, the British army retreated into the urban area of Singapore by 8:00 AM. With the coordination of the Air Force, the Chinese Army captured all surrounding key points of Singapore. And completely cut off Singapore's water supply.

There were many civilians in Singapore City, and casualties from a forceful attack would inevitably be large. Just cutting off the water supply could greatly weaken the resistance will of the British troops in Singapore. During this period, the Chinese Army could also make more complete preparations for the subsequent battles.

In the afternoon, the temporary headquarters of Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, Commander of the Singapore Theater, was crowded with various people. Yesterday, the Theater Headquarters was attacked by Chinese Air Force rockets and destroyed. Lieutenant General Arthur Percival was luckily not injured, but the casualties of personnel inside the headquarters were heavy, so effective resistance could never be organized.

At this time, a group of people in the temporary headquarters, including people from the Army, Navy, and Air Force, all wanted to say something, but didn't know what to say. Singapore City was now completely surrounded, with no food and grass inside and no rescuers outside. London kept saying, "Hold on for a while longer; reinforcements are on the way."

As professional soldiers, just looking at the map knew that London was lying. Under the coverage of the Chinese Air Force, no fleet could reach Singapore smoothly. Even if there were, it would take at least half a month to arrive. Water had been cut off in Singapore City for a day, and everyone's throat was smoking. If this situation continued, within at most 3 days, all troops in Singapore City would lose all combat effectiveness. Holding on for 5 days, people in Singapore City would probably all die.

Finally, Lieutenant General Stephen, Commander of the Singapore Air Force who had basically become a commander without troops, said in a dry voice, "Commander, let's tell London that given the current situation, we will decide our actions on our own."

When the British Cabinet received the message that the Singapore Command would "decide its actions on its own," no cabinet member spoke. The so-called "deciding actions on its own" meant surrender. The cabinet members did not blame Lieutenant General Arthur Percival. Before the war, no one thought that China's offensive would rely on the Air Force, and that the Chinese Air Force actually had the ability to undertake the heavy responsibility of attacking. This made all British plans fall through.

Looking at Prime Minister Attlee who said nothing, the cabinet members felt that the Prime Minister must have suffered a heavy blow. Some cabinet members who could still think calmly at this time knew clearly that even if Prime Minister Attlee did not resign because of losing Singapore, he would resign because of losing India later.

Losing India would mean bearing infamy in British history. The best way for Prime Minister Attlee was to say nothing and resign voluntarily after Singapore fell. Although this resignation was very humiliating, it was decent enough compared to losing India.

Sure enough, Prime Minister Attlee did not mention the telegram from the Singapore Command at all next, but began to discuss with cabinet members how to aid Singapore with a gloomy face.

Facing this useless behavior like hatching unfertilized eggs, the cabinet members all cooperated to offer advice and suggestions, as if they could really successfully rescue Singapore through current efforts.

At 6:00 PM Singapore time, the Singapore Command sent another telegram: "...Our army has been completely surrounded, and the enemy has cut off all our water sources. Personnel have already died due to lack of water, and more lives are threatened with death. Our army has met with the enemy and demanded that the other party restore water supply, but was refused.

"Since the enemy has already entered Singapore, if assistance cannot be obtained within 12 hours, the Singapore Command will have to decide its subsequent actions on its own."

This telegram did not make the British Cabinet feel panic; it even made many cabinet members feel a big stone fall from their hearts. To this extent, the Attlee Cabinet had come to an end. Thinking of the candidate for the next Prime Minister, most cabinet members thought of the war maniac Churchill. Others probably had no interest in serving as British Prime Minister at this time.