Chapter 763: Ishihara Wanji was forced to take office
Ishihara Kanji was still at home idle when he received the order from the Japanese base camp to serve as the commander of the North China Expeditionary Force.
As one of the main planners of the September 18th Incident, after the Japanese occupation of the Kwantung Army, he had differences with Hideki Tojo and others who advocated continuing to expand the war. He was eventually abandoned and transferred from the position of deputy chief of staff of the Kwantung Army.
Return home.
Ishihara Wanji is a famous wise general in the Japanese army. He and Itagaki Seishiro are known as: Ishihara's wisdom, Itagaki's courage.
The two have known each other for a long time. Itagaki was Ishihara's immediate boss when they were in China.
Itagaki is an excellent bureaucrat with a high EQ and is familiar with the routines of officialdom, but his IQ is average and he doesn't have many tricks. Ishihara is just the opposite of him. He has a low EQ and never has good interpersonal relationships, but he has a high IQ and is good at strategies.
From all aspects, the two little devils complemented each other. Ishihara was responsible for coming up with ideas and looking for opportunities to make meritorious deeds, while Itagaki was responsible for promotion and increasing influence. As a result, the two became the most famous two generals in the Japanese army.
Itagaki Seishiro admired Ishihara's theory very much and wrote down every word in his notebook.
In 1928, Ishihara returned to China and served as a combat staff officer of the Kwantung Army. A year later, Itagaki was promoted to a senior staff officer of the Kwantung Army, and the two finally got together.
The September 18th Incident was actually a result of the army disobeying the country and the subordinates disobeying orders. This is called "lower overcoming superior" in Japanese.
It stands to reason that these soldiers who initiated the incident should be punished by military law, because it is clearly stipulated in the "Criminal Code of the Imperial Japanese Army", such as Article 37: "A commander who orders the troops to advance or retreat without any authority shall be punished by death or life imprisonment or not less than seven years."
Fixed-term imprisonment"; Article 38: "Anyone who does not wait for orders and fights without reason shall be sentenced to death or life imprisonment or fixed-term imprisonment of not less than seven years."
However, the September 18th Incident was a great success. Not only were these disobedient little devils not punished, they were all promoted to high positions.
Honjo Shigeru was promoted to general in 1933 and became the military attaché of Emperor Showa. Itagaki Seishiro was promoted to major general, and was later promoted to general in 1941.
Ishihara became a hero of the Imperial Japanese Army and a hero of the Japanese Empire.
In August 1932, Kanji Ishihara was promoted to the rank of eldest left officer. In August 1935, he was promoted to the chief of the Operations Section of the General Staff Headquarters. In June 1936, he was appointed the chief of the War Guidance Section. In March 1937, he was promoted to major general and the director of the Operations Department of the General Staff Headquarters.
.
This speed is like riding on a rocket.
Kanji Ishihara, who has entered the decision-making body and the top ranks of the military, continues to propose various strategic ideas:
"Japan's national policy is to become a leader in East Asia. To this end, it must have the strength to eliminate the oppression of the Soviet Union, the United States, and Britain. While enriching its armaments, especially its aviation force, that can resist the Soviet Union, the United States, and Britain, it must also stabilize Japan, Manchuria, and the Northern Branch (North China).
, complete the basic work of preparations for a protracted war.
After completing the enrichment of armaments and preparations for a protracted war, we first began to work actively to force Soviet Russia to give up its plan to attack the Far East as soon as possible. During this period, we tried hard to maintain good relations with the United States. After Soviet Russia surrendered, we established good relations with it and drove away the British power.
Go out of East Asia and liberate all the ethnic groups in East Asia.
After Soviet Russia and Britain surrendered, they led the cooperation of East Asian countries to develop their strength by leaps and bounds, preparing for a decisive battle with the United States."
First of all, abandon the offensive strategy towards the Soviet Union, and replace it with negotiations on military reserve, and do not antagonize the Soviet Union.
He "strives to maintain good relations" with the United States because Ishihara knows that although Japan and Manchuria are rich in coal and iron resources, they lack the most important strategic resources: oil and rubber, and need support from the United States.
Regarding China, it is to "stabilize Japan, Manchuria and the Northern Branch (North China), complete the basic work of preparations for a protracted war", and oppose the expansion of the war.
To sum up, it is: provoke a civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, step up the construction of Manchuria, consolidate North China, and block the Russians from going south; penetrate Southeast Asia to obtain rubber from Malaya and oil from Wenlai; fully develop the economy, and wait until the Asian power led by Japan becomes strong.
Fighting the "final war" with the United States.
Ishihara Wanji may be the only strategist cultivated in mainland China in the past thirty years.
If his strategy works, Japan will definitely not go to war with the United States during World War II because the time is not yet ripe. If this happens, China will definitely not be able to revive, at least, Northeast China will not be able to come back.
Japan, which owns Korea, Tohoku and Ryukyu, has a total population of more than 200 million and an area of more than 5 million square kilometers, which is enough to become a world power.
Ishihara has a profound insight into international politics and military affairs. After the July 7th Incident, the Sino-Japanese War broke out in an all-round way. Ishihara was the first to realize that a "protracted war" would form, even earlier than No. 1.
In Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, many Japanese officers were kneeling outside the home of Ishihara Wanji.
"Brother, many officers have gathered outside the door, asking to see you!" Ishihara Wanji's younger brother, Ishihara Saburo, said.
How could Ishihara Kanji not know the situation outside? After retiring from active service, he had a rare period of leisure. However, after 41 years, the situation of the Japanese army in China took a turn for the worse. The young officers within the Japanese army became more and more vocal about asking Ishihara Kanji to come out.
Coming higher and higher.
However, the Japanese base camp ignored it and instead continued to expand the war. This made Ishihara Wanji extremely dissatisfied, so he simply lost his temper and received guests behind closed doors.
The 53-year-old Ishihara Kanji is not in good health. The reason is that when Ishihara Kanji was serving in the Kwantung Army, he was stabbed in the crotch by his own saber, which caused the urethral opening to tear and he suffered a lot.
"So what if I am re-appointed, the Empire of Japan has no hope of victory, and besides, there are too many people in the military who are ostracizing me!"
"If the base camp cannot agree to my request, I will not leave the mountain!" Ishihara Wanji seemed still angry.
1937 was the peak of Ishihara's life. During the February 26th Mutiny, due to his quick response and outstanding performance, he was promoted to major general in March 1937 and was appointed as the director of the Operations Department of the General Staff Headquarters, commanding the entire military department.
However, the September 18th Incident was the most successful "lower to overcome superior" operation in Japan's modern history.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! After Ishihara Wanji became successful, he was very happy to be promoted to a noble rank. Therefore, the younger Japanese soldiers all followed his example and did not listen to domestic and high-level orders.
Everywhere a “down to overcome” incident is launched.
This was something Ishihara had not expected. What Ishihara originally thought was that Manchuria was very important to Japan. After taking Manchuria, the war should be stopped because it would take at least twenty years to digest Manchuria. Otherwise, Japan's weak national power would be unable to compete for other countries.
territory.
But there were too many disobedient subordinates. After the September 18th Incident, the Kwantung Army extended its tentacles to North China and took frequent actions.
Ishihara was unable to convince these young officers at all. The reason was very simple. Ishihara started his career by "controlling the superior", and Ishihara's superior officials at the time could not restrain him.
In the end, the July 7th Incident broke out, dragging Japan into the abyss of all-out war, and Ishihara's official career also came to an end.
After the July 7th Incident, Kanji Ishihara, who was promoted to head of the Operations Department of the General Staff Headquarters, made a strong speech at a military meeting, opposing the expansion of the war.
However, his subordinates said: "We are just following what Senior Ishihara did. Is there anything wrong with that?"
Ishihara was speechless.
After the outbreak of all-out war between China and Japan, Kanji Ishihara, who advocated no war, was squeezed out of the Central Committee.
In September 1937, he was transferred to the position of Deputy Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army. The then Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army was Tojo Hideki, and the two were at odds.
Later, Tojo was promoted to the deputy minister of the Army. He did not recommend Ishihara to be the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army. Instead, he recommended his close confidant Isotani Rensuke to take over.
Later, Ishihara continued to propose all kinds of fantastic ideas all day long, but Isoya didn't agree with them. Finally, he lost his temper and left without saying goodbye, returning directly to Japan.
Resigning is not just a matter of resignation in the army, and besides, you are still a major general, so leaving without saying goodbye is as serious as running away from the battle.
It is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge after ten years. After discussing with several confidants, Tojo Hideki wanted to punish Kanji Ishihara for "violating military discipline and escaping from battle".
However, Ishihara's old partner Seishiro Itagaki had already served as Minister of War. In order to protect Ishihara, he was admitted to the hospital on the pretext of his poor health.
In August 1939, Ishihara Kanji was promoted to lieutenant general and was reactivated as the commander of the 16th Division stationed in Kyoto.
The Sixteenth Division was stationed in Kyoto and was not stationed abroad to fight, so Ishihara had nothing to do. In addition, Japan had deviated from his strategic direction, and he was disillusioned with politics and the military.
In 1941, Ishihara Kanji was transferred to reserve service, officially ending his military career.
Ironically, before Ishihara Kanji retired, his name was only known within the Army. After retiring, his reputation rose nationwide.
Because Japan's current war in the Pacific is not going well, Ishihara, who had always claimed not to go to war with the United States before the war, has gradually become a Japanese myth.
In the next few days, Japanese young officers came to Ishihara's home again, but were not summoned by Ishihara.
This is also the reason why after Okamura Neiji received the order to be dismissed, Chief of Staff Moritake Tanabe of the dispatched military headquarters temporarily took charge of the work.
"Why doesn't Senior Ishihara see us? Does Senior Ishihara think that there is no hope for the Japanese Empire?"
"Everyone, the military headquarters can't wait any longer. Senior Ishihara ignored the military headquarters' orders. In this case, we no longer need to abide by the etiquette of juniors!"
As soon as these words came out, they immediately aroused the echo of the young officers present.
After Ishihara stayed at home, there were no guards at home, so these young officers broke in through the door.
"Who is it? Bagayalu, let me go!"
The nearly sixty-year-old Ishihara Wanji was grandly carried out of his residence by a group of young nephews. No one in the family dared to stop him. They could only watch as Ishihara Wanji was stuffed into a small car.
Thirty years in Hedong and thirty years in Hexi. At this time, Ishihara Wanji truly experienced the feeling of being overcome by the lower one.
All high-ranking Japanese military officials went to their posts with great splendor. Only Ishihara Wanji was escorted to Peiping by a group of young officers.
Peiping, North China Expeditionary Force Headquarters.
Tanabe Moritake looked at Ishihara Wanji in front of him in astonishment: "Ishihara-kun, I should pick you up at the airport. The welcome ceremony is ready!"
Ishihara smiled and stared, but the few young officers around him obeyed and left the room.
"Tanabe-kun, Okamura-kun has really..."
"Although there is no conclusive evidence yet, there is no news about General Okamura in the past, so it can be basically confirmed that something unexpected happened to General Okamura!"
"Well, yes, Okamura-kun is a rare colleague in the imperial army who shares my philosophy. This is a loss for the Empire of Japan. Those short-sighted guys in the military department dismissed Okamura from his post, otherwise this would not have happened.
!" Ishihara Wan'er was obviously very dissatisfied and said with a cold snort.
"The war situation in North China is corrupt, and we do have an unshirkable responsibility. We are ashamed of His Majesty the Emperor. I only hope that you, Ishihara-kun, can lead the Imperial Army out of this predicament!"
Hearing this, Ishihara Wanji sneered: "I didn't want to take office, because this war will not last long. Before China is completely digested, if I provoke the Americans, the defeat is certain, what can I do?"
"However, before I arrived, the base camp had already decided on a troop increase plan. Six garrison divisions are being formed, two of which will be deployed to North China!"
Hearing this, Tanabe Moritake couldn't help but be overjoyed: "In this way, we may be able to return to the situation before the big sweep!"
"Don't be too happy too early. The newly formed garrison division cannot compare with the previous division in terms of weapons and equipment or the quality of its troops!" Ishihara Wanji immediately poured a basin of cold water on it.
In the Army Central Committee's vision of military readiness at the end of January 1942, it was pointed out that according to the "1942 Annual Current Situation Military Readiness Outline Plan" and with the progress of the southern operations, new garrison divisions would be planned to be established in the south, China, North Korea and Manchuria.
regiment and gradually reorganize the field divisions.
According to this plan, the China Expeditionary Force will be reorganized into six divisions based on six independent mixed brigades.
During the Anti-Japanese War, the establishment of Japanese divisions generally followed the four-unit system and the three-unit system.
This time, the Japanese army reorganized six garrison divisions into a two-brigade system, with each brigade under the jurisdiction of four independent infantry brigades.
Each brigade has a quota of 1,233 soldiers (four infantry squadrons, one machine gun squadron, and one infantry artillery squadron). It is also equipped with an engineering team, a communications team, a baggage team, a field hospital and a sick horse factory.
The 59th Division (codenamed "Yi") is based on the independent mixed fifth brigade, supplemented by three reserve brigades and the 59th Division's engineering team, communications team, baggage team, field hospital and sick horse factory, etc.
The 69th Division (codenamed "Sheng") is based on the independent mixed 16th Brigade, supplemented by three reserve brigades, as well as the engineering team, communications team, baggage team, field hospital, and sick horse factory directly under the 69th Division.
wait.
The two divisions have a quota of 5,096 soldiers for each brigade and 1,274 for the independent infantry brigade.
There are also ten supplementary brigades to supplement the North China Expeditionary Army.
After the Eighth Route Army's series of major operations in North China, there were already speculations about the Japanese army's reaction.
One is to mobilize the Kwantung Army to enter the country, but in fact, the Kwantung Army's mission is mainly to defend against the big brother in the Far East, and elite divisions have been added to the Southern Army's combat sequence one after another, and it is unable to go south to support North China.
The other is to continue to recruit new soldiers from home. However, with the expansion of the war, Japan's domestic military resources have dried up, and the quality of its soldiers has generally declined. It is impossible to return to the situation 40 years ago.
