Chapter Thirteen: The Black Hole That Swallowed the Kwantung Army
The death of an army commander on the battlefield was almost unimaginable before. For the Imperial Army, it was tantamount to a great shame and humiliation. What's more, no one knows whether the commander was killed in action or captured. It would be better to die in battle, and it would be more embarrassing at best, but if the army commander is captured, then it will be a loss of honor for the empire.
The two divisions currently deployed on the Linxi battlefield are obviously in a very delicate situation. If they are not careful, these two divisions are very likely to become prey of the Anti-Japanese Alliance. Under this situation, the Kwantung Army They actually want to continue fighting, do they really not know what the most important strategy of the empire is now?
According to the current rate of battle losses, how many divisions does the Kwantung Army have to fill in order to achieve the Kwantung Army's goal? How many divisions does the empire have to mobilize to the Kwantung Army to make up for the current shortage of troops in the Kwantung Army? The empire is not On the battlefield of the Kwantung Army, it was impossible to swarm army divisions into them without limit.
The Kwantung Army made a lot of plans during this battle, which can even be described as crazy. However, several of these plans were successfully realized. For the Kwantung Army, they could waste the empire's precious resources in the north. Manchuria and the West are full of desolate mountains, grasslands, and deserts, but for the base camp, this is absolutely impossible to accept.
After Yoshimoto Seiichi expressed his opinions, Okabe Naosaburo not only believed that Yoshimoto Seiichi's opinions were in line with the current situation that the strategic center of gravity of the empire was shifting southward, but also more in line with the current situation faced by the Kwantung Army, but at the moment General Umezu Yoshijiro has been reluctant to express his opinion on Yoshimoto Seiichi. What on earth is he thinking?
Did he really think that the base camp would be confident that His Majesty the Emperor would not revoke his post as commander of the Kwantung Army because of His Majesty's previous support for him? Don't forget, General Yoshijiro Umezu, that the Emperor did have great support for him. Takashi, but His Royal Highness Prince Kanin Miya Zaihito, who has been Chief of Staff for nine years, is the great uncle of the Emperor, is a die-hard supporter of the current Minister of War, and has great influence among the imperial family and the army, is still alive in the world.
Although this person has resigned from the top leadership, he still actually controls the army and can easily make a general retire from active service. Without his support, it is impossible for anyone to secure the positions of chief of staff and land minister. A seal can force him to do so. The resignation of the Minister of War can easily bring down the former Chief of Staff of a royal family in a cabinet, but the Field Marshal is not interested in him.
Not to mention whether His Majesty the Emperor can tolerate the Kwantung Army's repeated defeats, whether it can tolerate the Kwantung Army's huge losses last year and today, even if His Majesty the Emperor will not treat your brother less favorably because of these disastrous defeats, the former Chief of Staff If so, the emperor still listens very well.
If the actual staunchest supporter behind the Southern Movement, the most important figure behind the plan to start a war against the United States and Britain, thinks that you have hindered the empire's national policy of moving south, and is seriously dissatisfied with you, the commander of the Kwantung Army. As for the location, it depends on whether you can sit down or not.
Now, as he gets older, the city is getting deeper and deeper, and the old guy who plays with the entire army is not a vegetarian. General Okamura, who is currently the commander of the North China Front, served as the commander of the 11th Army. He made outstanding achievements in the civil war and can be called the best army commander after the establishment of the Eleventh Army.
But just because a memorial annoyed the marshal who had already retreated to the second line, he was sent back to the country and kicked out of the largest troop group of China's dispatched troops. He sat on the bench in the Military Senate for a whole year and was only let go this year. came out and served as commander of the North China Front Army.
Now the old marshal, who has seemingly retired but is still actually controlling the army, has called three times to express his dissatisfaction with the Kwantung Army's current actions and his belief that the General Umezu Yoshijiro in front of him has detained two divisions in Manchuria. , has seriously affected the formation of the troops scheduled to go south.
Naosaburo Okabe did not want his old friend to single-handedly eliminate the common bad habits among the Japanese army, especially the Kwantung Army. He was the general in the army who he considered suitable to be the commander of the Kwantung Army. , resigned because he offended the marshal.
The base camp has decided that the main strategy for the future is to go south and seize Southeast Asia, which is rich in oil and rubber resources. At this time, if the Kwantung Army, which has always had a penchant for running wild and often acts without permission, causes trouble on the Manchu-Soviet border, it will have a strategic impact on the empire. It will be quite large.
Although General Umezu Yoshijiro has lost two battles since taking office, he still firmly controls the Kwantung Army and is still the most suitable commander of the Kwantung Army at present. This general known for his iron fist, at least until the empire's southward advance strategy is completed, He is also the perfect candidate for commander of the Kwantung Army.
When the battle south is about to begin, changing the commander is not a good choice for the position of commander of the Kwantung Army. Therefore, General Okabe Naosaburo still hopes that this man can wake up and don't offend the man who is now single-minded. When marching southward, God blocked the killing of God, and Buddha blocked the marshal who killed Buddha, so he was unlucky.
Lieutenant General Okabe Naosaburo, whose face was ashen, looked at the silent General Umezu Yoshijiro, and said in a rather unkind tone: "General, you are the commander of the Kwantung Army. What should you do next? You should make a decision. Every minute we hesitate here, the imperial soldiers on the frontline will pay more, and our losses may be even greater."
"I want to know right now what your Excellency is thinking, and when can we end this damn battle that has affected the destiny of the empire so as not to affect the future strategic development of the empire. The current battlefield in Linxi has become a place that swallows up the strength of the Kwantung Army. How many more troops does your Kwantung Army need to fill this black hole that will never be filled?"
Regarding Naosaburo Okabe's unkind tone, Umezu Yoshijiro, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke: "Okabe-kun, could it be that the war situation has developed to the point it is now? Why did you miss the most advantageous opportunity to save the war situation and even change the entire battlefield situation? The reason is You won’t know clearly there.”
"If you hadn't insisted on not allowing the Kwantung Army to use the 5th and 10th Divisions to participate in the war, causing the Kwantung Army to miss the last opportunity to win on the battlefield of Tongliao, the current war situation would have been so corrupted. It was your decision to The actions of the two divisions were strictly controlled, which caused us to lose our last chance."
"After the Fifth Division arrived at the front lines of Fuxin and Zhangwu in Xifu, it immediately went north to reinforce the 14th Division and launched a counterattack against the anti-alliance forces on the Tongliao front line. After the 10th Division arrived in Fengtian, it immediately went north to replace the 24th Division. Division, then the current battle situation is so miserable."
"Due to insufficient strength, the Kwantung Army missed the best opportunity to fight. As a result, the result of this battle completely deviated from the Kwantung Army's original plan. The Kwantung Bureau is partially responsible, but the base camp does not have any responsibility. This board is all hit. It’s inappropriate for the Kwantung Army.”
"Of course, we are not discussing the issue of responsibility attribution yet. What should be resolved most at the moment is what the Kwantung Army should do next. Should it immediately shrink its troops in accordance with Lieutenant General Yoshimoto's request and switch to full-line defensive operations, or should it continue to invest troops and carry out a comprehensive Counterattack and regain Tongliao and Linxi."
Speaking of this, General Umezu Yoshijiro looked at Seitaro Takei who had been silent on the side and said: "Makei-kun, you are the chief combat staff of the Kwantung Army. You are responsible for formulating combat plans based on the actual battlefield conditions. In this battle, all operations The plan was basically drawn up based on your suggestions, and now I want to hear your thoughts on the current battle situation."
Seitaro Takei was not surprised when his name was called by General Umezu Yoshijiro. He was the chief combat staff of the Kwantung Army and was responsible for formulating the entire combat plan of the Kwantung Army. In this battle, except for a few parts, it was led by Deputy Chief of Staff Ayabe. In addition to the plans made by Major General Jushu himself, most of the plans were drawn up by him.
In this operational meeting, he had more say than Deputy Chief of Staff Qin Yanzaburo, who was responsible for intelligence and policy formulation, and Tamura Yoshitomi, the first section chief in charge of operations. He raised his head and looked at the expressions on the faces of everyone present when his name was called. A group of different senior officers, plus Rear Admiral Takijiro Onishi who did not hide the gloating look in his eyes.
And the one who didn't dare to stare at General Umezu Yoshijiro and Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadichi, because the status of these two people was so different compared to him as a colonel, but he looked at them with murderous eyes when they insisted on using paratroopers for the purpose. On the battlefield of Tongliao, I wish I could have my skin and bones ripped out of my paratrooper brigade, which has always been a very skilled and experienced leader.
Takei Seijiro hesitated for a moment and then said: "Since the best opportunity has been missed by us, I think we should stop thinking about making up for it. No matter how stubborn we are to implement the plan, there is no hope anymore. If we forcefully make up for it, for Kanto The military as a whole is not a beneficial thing."
"I think Lieutenant General Yoshimoto's suggestion is correct and most in line with the current actual situation of the Kwantung Army. Instead of biting the bullet, holding on to unrealistic ideas, and paying a huge price to make up for it, it is better to think about it in the long term. , let’s end this battle now.”
"Retreat the two divisions on the Linxi frontal battlefield to the Jianping and Chifeng lines as quickly as possible. Lieutenant General Okabe is right. The current Linxi battlefield cannot be filled by the Kwantung Army that has become a force. Unless we mobilize a large number of troops in the short term, the Linxi battlefield has become a meat grinder for the Kwantung Army."
"At the same time, we should immediately order the 18th Division to quickly get rid of the enemy in front of them and withdraw quickly to prevent the 18th Division, which broke in alone, from repeating the mistakes of the 7th Division, because once the 18th Division appears Unexpectedly, it not only severely damaged the Kwantung Army's vitality, but also had a considerable impact on the overall future defense of Xinjing's front line."
"If we stop the counterattack along the entire front line according to the current front, under the circumstances that it is no longer possible to open the Xinjing to Tao'an railway line, and cannot restore the pre-war situation on the Jiutai, Dehui, and Nong'an front lines, the entire Xingjing front line will become a In the salient, the forces there, especially the forces behind the flanks of Xinjing, must be strengthened."
"Otherwise, this protrusion may be broken through from both wings at any time and formed into an encirclement situation by the resistance alliance. The terrain around Xinjing is not conducive to the Kwantung Army's defensive operations against its tank group. If the Kwantung Army wants to secure the front line of Xinjing, We must strengthen the defense on both wings of the medium-long railway behind us."
"At the same time, I believe that after the war is over, except for the Ninth Division, the remaining two divisions around Xinjing must be withdrawn for replenishment. Xinjing's defense strength will be greatly weakened, and the Kwantung Army will no longer be able to With other divisions sent north to take over, it would be more appropriate to withdraw this 18th division directly to Xinjing."
"Sir generals, I think Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadichi's judgment on the future war development is more in line with the actual situation of the Manchurian battlefield. Now for us, even if the enemy turns to defense, our counterattack will still cost a lot. The price, and this price is not suitable for us right now, so I think it’s time for us to end it.”