Therefore, for Umezu Yoshijiro, he will never change his plan at this time, and he plans to take advantage of the hidden conditions brought about by the continuous rain for these three days and take advantage of the inherent ability of railway transportation south of Xinjing not to be affected by rainfall. At the favorable opportunity, troops were mobilized in the direction of Tongliao and Kailu, and at the same time, they used these three days to make every effort to repair the railway lines that had been damaged by the Anti-Alliance bombing and have not yet been repaired.
He understood the warning that represented the will of the base camp in Okabe Naosaburo's words, but understanding it did not mean that he would accept it. Umezu Mijiro, who was always known for being easy and unwavering, once made up his mind, It cannot be changed easily.
In response to the pressure exerted by the base camp, Umezu Yoshijiro was not prepared to change his plan, because he believed that the Kwantung Army was currently unable to launch counterattacks against the Anti-Japanese Alliance in at least two directions at the same time, and this had not yet reached the edge of Jilin City on the eastern front On the east line, even the Fengman Reservoir has been lost.
If all three directions are included, the Kwantung Army currently does not have the strength to launch a full-scale counterattack. According to Umezu Yoshijiro, no matter which direction the Kwantung Army chooses to counterattack, it must concentrate its forces and equipment as much as possible. In particular, technical equipment such as heavy artillery and tank troops, as well as support and cooperation from aviation.
On the surface, the forces invested by the Anti-Japanese Alliance in each offensive aspect are not much. It seems that the use of forces is extremely scattered. However, in fact, each offensive direction is actually complementary and interlocking. One direction is affected by Counterattack, and troops from other directions will immediately respond.
For Umezu Yoshijiro, the anti-alliance offensive is like a tangle of poisonous snakes. No matter which direction you attack, you will be bitten, not even a bite, and there is a possibility of being entangled to death, so no matter it is Whichever direction you choose, you must concentrate your absolutely superior troops and equipment.
In the Guanci Civil War, the Japanese army's habitual tactics of outnumbering the enemy did not dare to be used in Manchuria. As for the example of a brigade defeating an opponent's division, not only has it never happened, but it has even been defeated by a battalion of the Anti-Japanese Alliance. , an example of defeating a brigade when the forces were roughly equal.
After the battle last autumn, the Kwantung Army's intelligence department came to the conclusion that, not counting firepower on the battlefield, a regiment of the Anti-Japanese Alliance was enough to fight against a regiment of the Kwantung Army. If defended on relatively favorable terrain, a reinforced regiment could even completely It can block the attack of a mixed brigade of the Japanese army.
In terms of the establishment of divisions and above, the conclusions reached by the Kwantung Army's intelligence department surprised the Japanese army even more. The Kwantung Army's intelligence department believed that at the so-called column level, it had two divisions of columns under its jurisdiction. In combat, as long as the command was Without any surprises, it is fully capable of defeating a fully-equipped Japanese field division. Its three-division column, if the tactics are used successfully, can even annihilate or defeat a Japanese division.
In terms of the quality of individual soldiers, the current advantage of the Japanese army is very little. In terms of squad tactics, the Japanese army's previous advantage has even disappeared. The Japanese army's current advantage is slightly more obvious in the quality of officers above the brigade. Compared with the Anti-Japanese War There are still some advantages, but they are not obvious.
In addition to the large gap between the two sides in the level of staff literacy, the Kwantung Army currently has no absolute advantage in facing this anti-Japanese armed force. After conducting in-depth analysis of the performance of the Kwantung Army, the intelligence department believes that the progress of this army, which has now become the strongest opponent of the Japanese Empire on the battlefield in China, can be described as rapid.
In view of the current situation, although the training of its officers can only be carried out through so-called crash courses, there is no doubt that the opponent has put a lot of effort into training officers at all levels. Its so-called promotion standards for cadres are not comparable to those of the Japanese army. However, compared with the armies of other factions in China, it is undoubtedly quite rigorous, and can even be said to be a bit harsh.
It is precisely for this reason that its tactical level and the overall combat effectiveness of its troops have improved extremely rapidly. Although its senior generals are still a little immature in modern synthetic command, their learning and enterprising spirit are very strong. , although there is still a certain gap between it and the Japanese army, it is able to concentrate either a large number of superior troops or superior equipment in a certain direction.
And judging from their performance on the battlefield, although their senior generals are young, they are very receptive to new things. Their grasp of the battle situation is at least an average or above average level, and in terms of strategic layout, they are also very capable. I dare to take risks and have a strong enterprising spirit.
After this analysis was concluded, not only the Kwantung Army, but even its Tokyo base camp was in an uproar. For the Japanese army, which had always looked down on any Chinese army since the Sino-Japanese War of 1884-1894, this conclusion was undoubtedly quite embarrassing. For decades, we have always adopted a policy of elite troops, but we never expected that our opponents would surpass us in just a few years.
It is for this reason that this time the Kwantung Army changed the Japanese army's always more adventurous combat style and formulated relatively conservative tactics. However, although it originally formulated defensive counterattack tactics, this counterattack direction appeared in Linxi, Western Manchuria. After the accident, the Kwantung Army had no choice but to reselect the entire focus of its original counterattack.
For the Kwantung Army, the two directions to the north of Xinjing and Western Manchuria were the most violent anti-alliance offensives. They were also the two most critical positions for the Kwantung Army in the entire strategic layout of Manchuria. No matter which direction they chose to launch an all-out counterattack, they would be A careful consideration must be made.
Otherwise, this almost all-out counterattack by the Kwantung Army would not only fail to stabilize the war situation, but would very likely fail. However, the most severe situation the Kwantung Army currently faces is precisely the new fighter jets that can compete with the anti-United States-made fighter jets. Due to insufficient numbers and a serious lack of armored forces, the existing numbers can only be said to be barely enough to ensure a counterattack in one direction.
Compared with the situation north of Xinjing, the Kwantung Army believed that it seemed that the Anti-Alliance force had the largest number and concentrated most of the Anti-Alliance armored forces, but in fact the deployment was relatively scattered and the distance between them was the largest in the Western Manchuria battlefield. There are more gaps and opportunities for the Kwantung Army to take advantage of. Starting from here, the success of the counterattack will be greater.
Moreover, in the view of the Kwantung Army, as long as the main force of the Anti-Japanese Alliance on the battlefield in Western Manchuria is defeated or even annihilated, the battlefield north of Xinjing will also have a chance to solve the problem. As for the rebels currently appearing in Rehe, Although marching troops is the largest input of troops on each battlefield, the Kwantung Army did not attach great importance to it.
In the view of the Kwantung Army, especially the operational staff officers of the Kwantung Army who were transferred from the North China battlefield, it is okay for those Tuba Road to engage in cold shots, plant mines, and use sap to engage in some harassment operations, but they have to engage in this kind of face-to-face combat. In regular offensive and defensive operations, they are still far behind.
In the opinion of these staff officers, the Rehe battlefield is the weakest link in the entire western Manchuria battlefield starting from Rehe in the south and Tongliao in the north. It is enough to temporarily let the Rehe Independent Guards hold them back. As long as they are defeated Without the anti-alliance forces in Linxi, the tens of thousands of enemy troops in Rehe who have lost their support will no longer be a problem.
Adhering to the view of looking down on all Chinese troops, they believe that regardless of the entire deployment of the enemy's troops, the largest number of troops in Rehe is far from being comparable to the Northeast Anti-Resistance Alliance in terms of equipment, soldier quality and command capabilities. Judging from the capabilities of the Kwantung Army and the fact that the Japanese army has been fighting against the Chinese army, a strengthened brigade is enough to solve all problems.
After careful research and consideration of the entire war situation, these staff still suggested that the focus of the counterattack should be on the Anti-Alliance forces, especially the anti-Alliance roundabout troops in Linxi who had no direct land contact with the Anti-Alliance forces in other directions. As long as this anti-alliance force, which was the link between the previous and the next in the entire Western Manchuria war situation, was defeated, other problems would no longer be a problem.
This is why after new situations emerged in Western Manchuria, the Kwantung Army even hesitated to harm the so-called bushido spirit and made plans as quickly as possible to use air strikes to destroy the Songhua River embankment, create a man-made flood, and cut off the resistance alliance north of Xinjing. The army's retreat is the reason for temporarily focusing on Western Manchuria.
On this point, Umezu Yoshijiro is extremely stubborn. For him, the time for a full-scale counterattack has not come yet, but it has not come yet. There is nothing to discuss on this point. Even if he is removed from his position as the commander of the Kwantung Army, He will make the same decision.
Because as a general of the Imperial Japanese Army and the commander of the Kwantung Army, he could not accept repeated defeats. What was even more intolerable was that he was dismissed from his post due to defeat. This was undoubtedly a shame for him. He didn't want to visit Maicheng again, what he needed was a successful attack.
Lieutenant General Naosaburo Okabe had nothing to do with Yoshijiro Umezu's insistence. For Naosaburo Okabe, he knew the stubborn character of this old superior as early as when he served as the deputy minister of the Army Ministry. At the same time, from the bottom of his heart He also agreed with Umezu Yoshijiro's thoughts.
Before coming to Manchuria, he had conducted a comprehensive study of the current situation of the Kwantung Army. He did not believe that an overly hasty counterattack would fundamentally change the situation of the war. Since the Kwantung Army was at the forefront, he had no control over the entire war situation. Still far beyond the Tokyo base camp, which is thousands of miles away, it is more appropriate to let the Kwantung Army decide on its own when to launch a full-scale counterattack.
However, the newly appointed Prime Minister of the Ministry of War did not think so, and his opposition was extremely strong. The new Prime Minister, who was nicknamed General Razor when he was the commander of the Kwantung Army Military Police, believed that as the flower of the Imperial Army, , the Kwantung Army, which has always only attacked and never been passively beaten, no matter how bad the situation is, is no reason for delay.
In his words, who once served as the commander of the military police and chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, he would never tolerate the former flower of the imperial army. The Kwantung Army had fallen to such a point that it was almost unable to fight back after being beaten by a motley crew of Chinese armed forces. , even New Kyoto, where the Kwantung Army headquarters is located, is in danger.
What he couldn't tolerate even more was that the situation in Manchuria would affect the overall strategic layout of the Japanese Empire in the next step. He couldn't bear that a large number of new fighter jets and a large number of elite divisions were contained in Manchuria, so the Prime Minister insisted on doing so for three days.
Within a short period of time, the Kwantung Army must fully engage in counterattack.
As for whether the weather conditions will affect the counterattack, the prime minister's famous saying and reply is that the Japanese Imperial Army is the army that can endure the most difficult conditions in the world and is also the most tenacious army. Let alone heavy rain, even if it rains heavily,
Knife, imperial soldiers will also complete the combat missions assigned by their superiors without hesitation.
Although Lieutenant General Okabe Naosaburo disagreed with the Prime Minister's words, as an imperial general, he believed that regardless of whether he agreed or not, he must complete the task assigned by his superior, even if the task was very unreasonable.
, but as an imperial soldier, you should not bargain with your superiors.