For senior Japanese generals such as Umezu Yoshijiro and Yoshimoto Teiichi, they know very well what kind of virtues the Osaka soldiers of the Fourth Division have. Especially these guys are still within the Kwantung Army organization.
Stayed for quite a while.
What kind of gangsters are these guys? Would the Kwantung Army not know? Such an important battle makes the Fourth Division the scum of the imperial army. Even if they can win the battle, they can win it.
If the guy who made the battle a success or failure was involved, and the guy who might have caused some trouble was involved, could it be that the base camp wanted the Kwantung Army to lose the battle?
After hearing Major General Tanaka Shinichi's proposal to transfer the Fourth Division to the command of the Kwantung Army, Umezu Yoshijiro and Yoshimoto Sadao glanced at each other and coincidentally saw the disgust in each other's eyes. Undoubtedly, both of them firmly did not want this Fourth Division.
, this group of guys who have little success but more than failure.
This has nothing to do with who serves as the division commander. It’s simply that the division is rotten to the core. Even if the Prime Minister, who has the title of General Razor, serves as the division commander himself, I’m afraid he can’t change the division’s core character.
The businessman's aura exudes. Let alone make this fourth division become like other divisions, brave and loyal to His Majesty the Emperor.
It's just that this time Umezu Yoshijiro didn't speak, but Yoshimoto Teiichi refused directly: "Tanaka-kun, I think you should know what the situation of the Fourth Division is. From your feeling, there is an urgent need for elite soldiers and generals right now.
Is the Kwantung Army suitable for these Osaka soldiers to torment?"
"What the Kwantung Army needs now is troops who can fight for the Holy War and be loyal to the Emperor on the battlefield, rather than a bunch of rubbish. You Tanaka-kun don't know what the virtues of these Osaka soldiers are. A person in the Southern Army can only do
Is it appropriate for the reserve divisions, the divisions deployed in China, and the divisions that are not even allowed to be deployed on the battlefield, to be placed under the Kwantung Army's organizational structure when the Kwantung Army's war is intensifying now?"
"I would like to ask the base camp, what does the base camp think about a group of guys that no one else wants, but they are now handed over to the Kwantung Army? Is it really because the Kwantung Army's counterattack failed this time that it truly meets the base camp's tactical intentions?
Is it in the interests of the empire and conducive to the holy war?"
"Since the Fourth Division is an old subordinate of Commander Templeuchi, he only incorporated this Fourth Division into the reserve force. Instead, he asked the Kwantung Army to take in these guys who had brought considerable harm to the Kwantung Army. I
I want to ask what the base camp means. Since their old superiors have made them a reserve force that can rarely be used due to the power of the imperial army. Then let them continue to wait in Shanghai. The Kwantung Army is not a garbage collector.
.”
"In the previous battles, the Kwantung Army has suffered enough from the Fourth Division. The current Kwantung Army can no longer withstand the torture of the Fourth Division again. If this Fourth Division is
If the regiment cooperates with other divisions, I am afraid that no matter which division will express firm opposition."
What Yoshimoto Teiichi said was quite straightforward, and he did not care at all about the embarrassed look on Tanaka Shinichi's face who was sitting opposite him. It was obvious that he, like General Umezu Meijiro, did not welcome the arrival of the Fourth Division. Regarding this
They obviously didn't trust the guy who had been defeated repeatedly.
The reaction of Umezu Yoshijiro and Yoshimoto Teiichi did not go too far beyond Tanaka Shinichi's expectations. However, he had no choice but to supplement the fourth division to the Kwantung Army. At present, whether it is the Southern Army or the China Expeditionary Army, various field operations
Each division has its own tasks.
The China Expeditionary Army has the Eleventh Army with the largest number of field divisions. At this time, it is fully preparing to launch another attack on Changsha, the important town in the central and southern regions. It is also facing the Eleventh Army in Chongqing, which has the best equipment and the largest number of troops.
The army cannot mobilize any field divisions at all.
As for the North China Front Army, it is busy carrying out repeated raids on the various anti-Japanese base areas in North China that the Communist Army within its jurisdiction refers to. Moreover, because its jurisdiction is too vast, the North China Front Army itself is already short of troops, and it is even more difficult to mobilize troops into Manchuria.
More difficult.
The newly appointed commander of the North China Front Army even refused to transfer any divisions from the North China Front Army to other units. In his view, the North China Front Army's military strength has been stretched to the extreme. If any divisions are transferred from the North China Front Army, it will make the North China Front Army less capable.
After many large-scale raids, the North China Communist Army, which suffered heavy losses, resurrected.
However, the two most powerful units of the China Expeditionary Force were unable to mobilize troops to support the Manchurian battlefield. Since other armies also had to control the vast occupied areas under their jurisdiction, it was also difficult to mobilize troops to support other armies in a short period of time.
Battlefield. The territory of China is so vast that even if millions of Japanese troops were deployed in the occupied area, which only accounted for one-third of the territory of China, it would still seem so insignificant.
Unless Japan takes the risk of economic collapse and carries out nationwide mobilization and mobilizes millions of troops to invest in the battlefield in China. Otherwise, with the extreme force currently being used, all that can be done is to stabilize the occupied areas as much as possible. And
Even this attempt, at least so far, has not been achieved.
The China Expeditionary Army cannot mobilize troops to support Manchuria, and the various divisions that have been integrated into the Southern Army are even more difficult to mobilize. Nanyang is a tropical area, and the Japanese have always grown in the warm, humid northern temperate zone. Without adaptation
Sexual training, it is difficult for the Japanese to adapt to the hot climate of Southeast Asia.
Going south to fight is the national policy of the empire, and it is also the best way to solve the various difficulties that Japan currently encounters. It can even be said to be related to Japan's national destiny. If the troops going south fail due to climate reasons, it will be a disaster for the entire Japanese Empire.
All are quite dangerous.
What's more, the Imperial Field Marshal who has been scheduled to be responsible for commanding the entire Southern Army's operations is not easy to fool. The various divisions currently organized into the Southern Army's combat order are basically formulated by him personally. This allocation is easy, if
It was difficult to snatch the food out of his mouth.
Although a large number of new divisions are currently being formed in the country, these new divisions are either undergoing training or have already been scheduled for use. And this person is so annoying that no one dares to let them take the lead in combat wherever he goes.
Mission: The Fourth Division, which can only be in the reserve sequence, is almost the only division that the Japanese army can deploy and can fight on the move.
The Fourth Division, which is currently incorporated into the Southern Army but is on standby in Shanghai as a reserve force, is also the only division that the base camp can currently allocate to the Kwantung Army. Of course, this Fourth Division was finally kicked out of the Kwantung Army.
.It is not incomprehensible that the Kwantung Army does not want it.
If the Kwantung Army doesn't want it, then he really can't allocate other divisions to the Kwantung Army. He also knows that the base camp has indeed broken its promise to the Kwantung Army again and again since the battle started. Not only did it originally follow the
Several divisions planned to be transferred to the Kwantung Army were not transferred to the Kwantung Army in time. Instead, they were transferred to other parties.
As for the Kwantung Army, it can only wait for the scheduled southward combat mission to be completed before it can receive the divisions it was supposed to receive. Although the base camp attaches great importance to Manchuria, compared with Nanyang, which can solve Japan's lifeline, Manchuria's current importance can only be temporary.
Ranked second. Even the base camp rarely gave up its dignity and only asked the Kwantung Army to maintain the front line at the beginning of the year.
This was almost unimaginable in the past. But compared to Southern Manchuria, which concentrates the essence of Manchuria, the strategic location of Northern Manchuria is relatively minor. And compared to Nanyang, which has the oil resources that Japan urgently needs, Southern Manchuria has much-needed oil resources.
Man's status can only be temporarily placed in second place.
Therefore, when the Kwantung Army was facing a major war, its strength was repeatedly artificially weakened. This is because General Umezu Yoshijiro, who repeatedly emphasized that soldiers must not interfere in politics and must strictly obey orders, would have been replaced by anyone, or even any of his
My predecessor, faced with this situation, it would be really strange not to take the lawsuit to the emperor.
Major General Tanaka Shinichi also knew that facing a strong enemy, the Kwantung Army currently needed to replenish blood, rather than constantly bleeding. However, except for this fourth division, Tanaka Shinichi did not have any other mobile divisions to deploy. In general
The combat divisions cannot be transferred from the China Expeditionary Army to the Kwantung Army.
Just when Tanaka Shinichi was hesitating, Lieutenant General Okabe Naosaburo, who had been silent over there, suddenly said: "Tanaka-kun, don't hesitate. You first temporarily allocate the fifth division to the Kwantung Army. I will
Go ahead and tell them. Anyway, they are still on standby in the Kwantung Prefecture. Allocating them to the Kwantung Army can also enable the Kwantung Army to receive certain assistance in the shortest possible time."
"In addition to the 5th and 12th Divisions, Mr. Tanaka, please allocate a batch of special smoke shells and bombs to the Kwantung Army. As for how much this quantity is needed, in addition to ensuring the supplement required by the China Expedition Army, how much can be allocated
, just transfer as much as you can. Also, don’t transfer any more soldiers from the Kwantung Army until the end of this battle."
After saying that, Naosaburo Okabe turned to General Umezu Yoshijiro and Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadichi and said: "You two, I will make the decision to allocate the Kwantung Army to the use of the Fifth Division without authorization. I also hope that when will the Western Manchu war start?
The Kwantung Army can give me a satisfactory answer and let me go back and give an explanation to the base camp."
"You know, the marshal who is currently scheduled to serve as the commander of the Southern Army is not that easy to talk to. It is unjustifiable to dig out a fully organized field division from under him without a reasonable explanation. The Fifth Division
The regiment is a field division that he has always valued and is ready to take on major responsibilities in the next battle."
"When the Southern Army was formed, he personally asked for it by name. If I want to calm the marshal's anger and convince the base camp, I must get a positive answer. General Umezu, you should know the consequences of my doing this.
. But I did it in the end, just because of this incident, I didn’t want the senior I once respected the most to make the same mistakes as his predecessor.”
Lieutenant General Okabe Naosaburo agreed to temporarily allocate the 5th Division to the Kwantung Army, which undoubtedly surprised Umezu Yoshijiro and Yoshimoto Teiichi. Being able to get the 10th Division back was beyond their expectations. And Okabe
Saburo Saburo now also promised to transfer the Fifth Division back to the Kwantung Army, which undoubtedly surprised them even more.
The allocation of the fifth division to the Kwantung Army has been repeated many times. Almost every time, the base camp agreed to transfer this field division, which had been waiting in Manchuria, but leisurely, leisurely, not to be included in the Kwantung Army's organization. However,
In the end, they always broke their promises as a way of understanding.
This time, Okabe Naosaburo was able to kill first and then report, and transfer the Fifth Division to the Kwantung Army. It was undoubtedly a great courage for this guy. The Kwantung Army had no control over what the outcome of this guy would be if he killed first and then reported.
The arrival of this division will undoubtedly increase the chances of victory for the Kwantung Army's counterattack.