After answering Umezu Yoshijiro's question, Seitaro Takei hesitated for a moment and dropped a bombshell: "Sir, if you want me to be honest, I think that if we can abandon Xinjing and withdraw the northern defense line to
The Gongzhuling line is the most beneficial to us at the moment."
"Judging from the course of this battle, the Anti-Japanese Alliance has been taking advantage of our inability to accept giving up or throwing away Xinjing, and using the Xinjing battlefield to make a fuss. They took advantage of the Kwantung Army's idea that it was impossible to give up Xinjing, and in Xinjing
The front line contained a large number of Kwantung Army troops and was unable to mobilize to other battlefields."
"However, they can take advantage of the mobility advantages of the tank cluster, attach a large number of trucks and cavalry, and form a cavalry mechanized cluster, which can penetrate our hinterland without being too threatened. At the same time, they have the advantages of aviation and heavy artillery.
With their cooperation, they can contain a large number of the Kwantung Army's effective forces by deploying only part of their troops on the Xinjing battlefield."
"Xinjing is now of almost no value to the Kwantung Army except in name. The Xintu Railway and the Xintao Railway have been captured by the Anti-Japanese Alliance. The strategic transportation hub here is actually no longer affordable.
Its role is actually not as important as Siping Street.”
"Now our defense has to be restrained by the defense of Xinjing. A large number of troops and equipment cannot be used on other battlefields. Offensive, the mechanized clusters of the Anti-Japanese Alliance can use their high mobility to break through the two wings of our army at any time and disrupt the situation.
Even dividing and encircling the Kwantung Army's attack force."
"If we continue to hold on to the salient point of Xinjing, and Xinjing has become the front line, for us, the situation that occurred in this battle may happen again at any time. This greatly limits the Kwantung Army's ability in the future
The force that can be deployed by a mobile corps that can be put into the battlefield."
"But I think this suggestion cannot be accepted by either the Kwantung Army or the base camp, or even the entire Japanese people. Since this is not possible, we can only strengthen Xinjing's defense forces. We must not only maintain a strong force on the front, but also on Xinjing's
A large number of troops must also be left on both wings to ensure that the city and the two wings will not be separated. The defenders in the new capital will not be surrounded by enemy forces that can appear at any time."
"The 18th Division will be withdrawn to the front line of Xinjing. First, it will strengthen the defense force of Xinjing. Secondly, judging from the current location of the 18th Division, the distance to withdraw to Xinjing will be closer, and the number of possible threats will be reduced.
The threat they encountered. Of course, if the Anti-Japanese Alliance dispatched troops from the left wing of Xinjing to block the attack, they would have no time to retreat southward to the territory of Lishu."
"But there is only one word for the retreat of the 18th Division, and that is, the faster the better. As long as we act quickly, I think there will be no problem with the safety of the 18th Division. If it doesn't work, we can mobilize new troops
The defensive forces on the left flank of the Beijing battlefield moved westward to support the retreat of the 18th Division."
"Actually, judging from the current situation on the battlefield, there is no chance for the Kwantung Army. In my opinion, the Anti-Japanese Alliance has adopted such a posture, which is actually unsustainable. The various measures they are taking now
The confusion tactic is to force the Kwantung Army to stop counterattack."
"Siring officers and colleagues, what Chief of Staff Teichi Yoshimoto said is correct. Although the current battlefield situation is more powerful for our opponents, please don't forget that tanks need fuel and aircraft also need fuel. The enemy is here
Although the Linxi and Tongliao front lines have an advantage on the surface, their supply lines have also been extended to the extreme."
"This is an army of nearly 100,000 fully armed and equipped with a large number of tanks and heavy artillery. They are not ordinary Chinese people. If we need to maintain combat effectiveness, we need a large amount of fuel, ammunition and other supplies every day. If we add what they call
If we march forward, the consumption of materials will be an astonishing figure."
"Ever since they suddenly appeared on the Linxi battlefield, I have been monitoring their combat operations. Indeed, the anti-alliance forces in front of them are completely different from the anti-alliance forces that could only operate in the mountains and forests. Their firepower,
The equipment is even superior to that of the Kwantung Army. Since the Linxi battlefield started, I have estimated that the average daily consumption of artillery shells is at least tens of thousands of rounds."
"Their troops on the Linxi battlefield are all mechanized troops. Not counting anything else, the daily fuel consumption alone is a heavy burden. I once estimated that, not counting the anti-alliance armored forces on the Tongliao battlefield, there is only one Linxi
Anti-Union armored forces on the battlefield."
"Based on the number of tanks they actually invested in the Linxi battlefield, plus a large number of trucks, the daily fuel consumption is equivalent to the daily fuel consumption of the entire Central China Expeditionary Force since the China Incident. If we include their transportation
The fuel consumption of the supply vehicles during this period is almost equal to the fuel consumption of the entire China Expeditionary Force at the same time."
After continuously reporting a bunch of confusing figures, Takei Seijiro continued: "Just for their armored cluster on the Linxi battlefield, they must ensure at least this much fuel every day in order to maintain the most basic
Action capabilities. If they launch a counterattack with armored groups as the main assault force on the Linxi battlefield, then this number will at least double."
"And these oils, including other supplies and ammunition, and even the most basic grains, require them to transport them thousands of miles from places hundreds of kilometers away without railways. According to my estimation, with their
Financial and material resources, even if they try their best, they can maintain it in a short period of time."
"But this kind of maintenance method of selling iron can only be sustained for a while, but it cannot be sustained for a long time. If we add the battlefields in Tongliao and other directions, the daily consumption of materials, especially the consumption of oil and ammunition,
It’s an astronomical figure.”
"This kind of burden is difficult for even an ordinary country to bear. What's more, for an army that has almost no modern industry to support it and has only been established and expanded for a few years? Indeed, they now have their own arsenal
, can make guns, ammunition.”
"But maintaining a modern war cannot be solved by just having an arsenal that can produce weapons. It requires modern steelmaking, chemical industry, petroleum and other industries. And these industries, let alone they don't have them now, are under construction.
It cannot be completed in one or two years."
"What's more, there are no oil resources in the entire Manchu Empire. The large amount of oil they need on the battlefield can only be provided by Soviet Russia. But now the Soviet Russia, which has been supporting them behind their backs, is already overwhelmed and can no longer take care of themselves.
They may be providing them with these supplies.”
"As for re-exports from other countries, let alone whether they can be shipped in, how can they afford the cost of imports? Without the source of raw materials, no matter how large their arsenal is, it will still have
What's the use? Without the supply of oil, no matter how many tanks and planes they have, what will happen? Aren't they still a pile of scrap metal?"
"It is based on the calculation of their daily ammunition and material consumption, especially the minimum standard number of fuel, as well as the assessment of their current industrial production capacity. I can say that their supplies cannot be maintained for too long. If they continue to fight, they will
There is no way to guarantee the supply of front-line combat troops. I think they are doing this to cover up their true situation."
"So I say that the current situation is that the enemy is setting up a fascination array for us. Let the Kwantung Army take the initiative to give up the current counterattack in order to stabilize their current front and ensure their current control area. Because for them, if they want
In order not to damage your own vitality, it is most beneficial to maintain the current front under unsustainable circumstances."
"Once they captured Xing'anxi Province, which is adjacent to Rehe and Chahar, it can be said that they have taken the next step to attack Rehe, and finally opened up the offensive starting point to connect with the mainland of China. They will defend their current control area and maintain the current front line.
, which is quite beneficial to achieving their strategic goals in the future.”
"Second, maintaining the current front, especially maintaining the left rear banner of Tongliao and Horqin, can pose a considerable threat to Fengtian Province, the most important industrial base in Manchuria, as well as the empire's most important coal, metal and other resource bases in Manchuria.
If they deem it necessary, they can attack Fengtian at any time and destroy the empire's industries in Manchuria."
"The third point is also the most critical. By maintaining the current front line, they can reduce the threat from the Kwantung Army to its heartland, Northern Manchuria. Their presence in Western Manchuria will affect Beining, the main artery connecting Manchuria and mainland China.
Railways, and the South Manchuria Industrial Zone pose a threat."
"Of course, this also includes the safety of Xinjing's left wing and the entire Zhongchang Railway from Fengtian to Xinjing. It can even be said that Siping Street, where we are currently located, is within their attack target at any time. In this way,
The Kwantung Army will have a large number of troops contained on the front of Western Manchuria."
"Whether the Kwantung Army is willing or not, in order to reduce its threat to Fengtian Industrial Base, Beining Railway, and ensure the flank security of the Xinjing line, it must place its main forces around Western Manchuria. The attack on their so-called core base areas
The pressure will be greatly reduced. The most important thing is that if they can maintain the current front line, their room for maneuver will be much larger."
"But many things are often two-sided, with advantages and disadvantages. As Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadichi said, if they want to achieve this goal, they must maintain a large number of people in Western Manchuria without railway support.
The military strength. In the long run, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the long-term burden."
"The most important thing is that judging from the population base of the area they controlled before this battle, just as the two deputy chiefs of staff judged, the troops they dispatched at the moment are probably all they can. Therefore, this failure is not in our control.
It seems that not everything is a bad thing for the Kwantung Army."
"First of all, the larger the area they control, the longer the battle line is and the more troops they need. To control these newly occupied areas, they have to invest a lot of troops, which further aggravates the situation that is not very strong in the first place.
Strong military strength. In this way, it also left a considerable gap for the Kwantung Army in other directions."
"Secondly, although the Kwantung Army lost almost all of Western Manchuria in this battle, the total population of Western Manchuria is not even as large as that of Northern Manchuria, and there are a large number of Mongolians who do not agree with them. And several counties in Eastern Manchuria , the actual total population is not that large.”
"Except for a few counties south of the Sendhua River in Longjiang Province of the original Manchu Empire and a few counties around Xinjing, the total population of the rest of the vast areas is not much. The total population of these areas is very small. It is difficult to satisfy their large-scale expansion of troops."
"In other words, even if this battle is over, the territory they control seems to have increased. However, their real strength has not increased significantly. It can even be said that the potential number of soldiers in their actual control area has not increased. The additional troops needed to offset the increase in actual control area."