Precisely because he was worried about being used as a scapegoat, the new Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army had been resolutely opposed to Umezu Yoshijiro's crazy military expansion plan when he first took office. Especially for recruiting so-called soldiers in Manchuria without the consent of the base camp.
The practice of replenishing demobilized soldiers for active service is even more fiercely opposed.
But after General Umezu Yoshijiro's move was acquiesced in disguise by the base camp, this guy who was extremely good at adapting to the situation suddenly changed his mind and worked hard for General Umezu Yoshijiro. Even the man who used the puppet funds,
It was he who proposed and presided over the implementation of the plan to purchase German trophies.
After all, this guy is an artilleryman, and he is the most outstanding artillery expert in the Japanese military. Although there are some shortcomings in the ability to lead the overall situation, this guy who has been engaged in artillery for many years and has presided over the introduction of Japanese artillery technology for many years still has very vicious eyes.
The development of artillery technology in the West is still very well understood.
Although I hate this guy's clumsy style, I am also quite dissatisfied with his ability. I think his ability is far inferior to that of his predecessor, Lieutenant General Iimura Jo. But looking at the man behind this guy,
As a land minister, General Umezu Yoshijiro could only tolerate this shameless guy.
Although he has the support of the emperor, General Umezu Yoshijiro believes that it is better not to offend the narrow-minded Prime Minister behind him at the moment. Otherwise, although that guy does not dare to conflict with the emperor, it will be too embarrassing for him. But that guy must repay his flaws.
, will definitely get some small shoes for himself and even the Kwantung Army to wear in other matters to regain his face.
Fortunately, although this guy has a very annoying personality, at least his ability is not so low that it is unacceptable. His mouth is not like the guy behind him who likes to shoot off random firecrackers, and he doesn't care about anything he says.
.And in the process of the Kwantung Army regaining its strength, it did several things that satisfied me.
At least the Kwantung Army was able to quickly make up for the large number of artillery losses last year when domestic production capacity could not keep up. Especially without using the army's precious funds, it was able to quickly fill the gap in heavy equipment.
At this point, Umezu Yoshijiro is quite satisfied.
But today, General Umezu Yoshijiro can break his habit of never entertaining military officers of all levels at his official residence after taking office. He does not appreciate this man, who he thinks is too incompetent compared to his predecessor, Lieutenant General Iimura Jo.
The reason why many chiefs of staff summoned him to his official residence to discuss matters was not that General Umezu Yoshijiro completely changed his attitude towards this guy. It was because he received a top-secret telegram from the Tokyo base camp yesterday.
Just when General Umezu Yoshijiro was preparing to avenge his disgrace, an extremely tough telegram from the base camp yesterday made General Umezu Yoshijiro's once extremely high adrenaline rush due to the smooth progress of the supplementary plan.
It was as if a basin of ice water had been poured on it during the third and ninth days of college, and it slid down quickly.
In the telegram from the base camp, the Kwantung Army was repeatedly asked to at least temporarily abandon its plan to advance northward and fight the decisive battle with the Anti-Japanese Alliance, and seize the time to stock up on ammunition and supplies to cope with the changes in the international situation. Although the base camp did not say it explicitly, it also told General Umezu between the lines that Japan
The German allies will make a big move this year.
Therefore, the meaning of the base camp is that the Kwantung Army can make certain preparations for the decisive battle northward with the Anti-Japanese Alliance, but it is not an urgent task. All plans can wait until the international situation changes and the Soviet Union itself cannot be protected behind the Anti-Japanese Alliance.
Execute again.
By sending troops at that time, it will be cooperating with the German allies in fighting and fulfilling its obligations as an ally. For Japan, it will not have to face the huge military power of the Soviet Union alone, which can greatly reduce the losses that may be caused to Japan. This
For Japan, it can be said to be a matter of killing two birds with one stone.
The base camp believes that as long as it loses the full support of the Soviet Union, it is not difficult to eliminate the currently strong Anti-Japanese Alliance. However, the base camp also believes that if the current war against the Soviet Union is entirely borne by Japan, it will not be difficult for the country currently trapped in the Chinese Civil War.
For Japan, this is not a good thing.
Instead of shouldering the responsibility of fighting the Soviet Union, Japan alone bears all the pressure. It is better to wait for the European allies to take action, and the Soviet troops stationed in the Far East will move westward before taking action. In this way, the resistance that the Japanese army may encounter will be much smaller. At the same time, in
Necessary losses on the battlefield will also be reduced to a range acceptable to Japan's national strength.
Moreover, the base camp clearly informed Umezu Yoshijiro in the telegram that the United States has begun to impose economic sanctions and embargoes on Japan. Japan, which relies heavily on imported resources from the United States, is now experiencing a shortage of strategic resources. To carry out large-scale operations, it is necessary
A long process of hoarding supplies.
Especially last month, the U.S. government summoned the Japanese ambassador to the United States and announced in a high-profile manner that it would continue to maintain the export license system implemented last year and ban the export of aircraft and parts. At the beginning of the year, it completely stopped exporting brass and all brass products to Japan. And
In addition to a series of sanctions including a ban on the export of steel products and aviation gasoline.
If Japan does not stop its so-called aggressive ambitions and accept the conditions of the Americans, this year the U.S. government will completely stop exporting all petroleum products to Japan, including basic crude oil, when the Americans deem it appropriate. In other words, the Americans
Be prepared so that the Japanese will not get a drop of oil anymore.
Although the Americans did not say clearly when the appropriate time will be, the Japanese also know that if they do not follow what the Americans say, such sanctions will be launched in the shortest possible time. And the Americans announced this
The sanctions are undoubtedly an ultimatum to the Japanese.
The Dutch and British governments, which occupy Southeast Asia, another important source of oil for Japan, are now extremely tough. The Dutch East Indies government even used the excuse that Japan and Germany, which invaded and occupied its homeland, were allies, and had already
The United States announced that it would stop all exports of oil and strategic metals to Japan, including rubber that Japan urgently needs.
With the support of the Americans, the British colonial government of Burma also changed from its weakness under the heavy pressure of Japan last year and summoned the Japanese envoy to Yangon to announce that if Japan continues to maintain its current aggressive posture, the British colonial government of Burma will freeze all
Japan's exports include all strategic resources such as oil and rubber.
Faced with the drastic changes in the international situation, the base camp requested the Kwantung Army in the telegram. Before the base camp has decided on the next strategic goal, the Kwantung Army should hoard its strength and stick to the front line in order to protect the industrial areas and major grain-producing areas in southern Manchuria. As for the
When to advance north will have to wait until the base camp makes a decision. The Kwantung Army must not act without authorization at the moment.
The base camp repeatedly emphasized in the telegram that this was the will of His Majesty the Emperor. Umezu Yoshijiro had no choice but to accept this point reluctantly. For Umezu Yoshijiro, who had always considered himself the most loyal samurai to the emperor, the emperor's holy will was heaven.
It is absolutely impossible for him to disobey the emperor's holy will.
And he has always considered himself a regular soldier. Unlike other Japanese soldiers who regard interference in politics as a common practice, Umezu Yoshijiro, who hates military interference in politics, hates the Japanese army very much, especially the style of the army that always defeats the superior. He joined the Kwantung Army
The first thing he did was to rectify the officers and put a stop to this trend.
Therefore, even if the base camp did not mention in the telegram that this was the Emperor's Holy Judgment, he would not be prepared to act like his colleagues who violated the will of the base camp and expanded the scope of the war without permission in the early days of the Sino-Japanese War. He defeated the superiors and came to Tokyo.
A fait accompli.
After receiving the telegram from the base camp, Umezu Yoshijiro was somewhat reluctant. However, the grim reality described in the telegram, coupled with the fact that he used his personal connections to privately obtain from the mainland the news about the quarrel between the south and north troops from the top military officials, made him deeply aware of the situation.
Feeling worried. As a senior officer of the Japanese army, he clearly knows what the current actions of the Americans mean to Japan.
Especially among the top brass of the Japanese army, he is even more pessimistic about the current trend of the southward march gaining the upper hand. Marching southward means that there will inevitably be a conflict with the United States. Once a war breaks out with the United States, will Japan be able to gain the upper hand?
Umezu Yoshijiro was far less optimistic than his colleagues in Tokyo.
Eighty percent of Japan's annual oil consumption comes from the United States, and the remaining 13% comes from the Dutch East Indies colonies. Except for a small amount provided by the South Sakhalin oil field, the rest comes from the British Empire.
Myanmar relies 100% on imports not only for oil, but also for rubber, tin, and other strategic metals needed to sustain the war.
The governments of the United States, Britain and the Netherlands announced a freeze on exports to Japan, especially strategic metals and oil exports, which almost dealt a fatal blow to the Japanese military's ability to sustain war. Although Japan's domestic energy consumption is still dominated by coal. But that is only for civilian use.
consumption, but for a modern army, oil is the blood. Especially for the huge navy that Japan needs to survive, if it loses the supply of oil, those warships will be no different from scrap metal.
Without oil, the Japanese military’s modern military equipment would almost become a pile of scrap metal. Without the strategic metals needed to manufacture weapon steel and precision machinery and equipment, Japan’s military industry would be paralyzed. Without nickel, chromium, Japan
Qualified steel for guns and armor will no longer be manufactured.
Losing the source of oil and rare strategic metals will be a fatal blow to Japan's war potential. But if the United States follows the request of the United States and allows the Japanese to spit out the fat meat that they have already held in their mouths, or even swallowed part of it, the Japanese will be
It is unacceptable in any case.
As soon as this news came out, compared with the military's previous insistence on advancing northward and completely defeating the Soviet Union's northward movement. After the U.S. government announced this statement, the military took advantage of the situation to occupy Southeast Asia to completely solve the problem of Japan's strategic metal and oil sources in the south.
After entering, the number suddenly increased.
Even some senior officials believe that instead of paying a certain price in exchange for going north, there is not much benefit except for the ice and snow of Siberia. In the eyes of a considerable number of people in the military, it has almost become a terra incognita.
Southeast Asia, which contains countless strategic resources that Japan urgently needs, is even more attractive.