Umezu Yoshijiro, who was feeling a strong gust of wind, suddenly turned around and said to Hattori Takushiro: "Hattori-kun, you are still the chief operational staff officer of the Kwantung Army. You know the current situation of the Kwantung Army very well. Do you think we can dispatch that person?"
The division will go to the second phase of the battle?"
Hearing Lieutenant General Umezu Yoshijiro's rhetorical question, Hattori Takushiro pondered for a moment and then said: "Your Excellency, Commander, the huge losses of the 24th and 25th divisions have left a considerable gap in our military strength.
.Unless we are willing to take the risk of weakening the strength of the Manchu-Soviet border, we will not be able to deploy any division except the Second Division to participate in the war. [.Com text]"
"Although Soviet Russia's energy is now attracted by the war in Europe, its Far East Military District still deploys hundreds of thousands of troops. It has not deployed the troops of the Far East Military District because of Germany's invasion of Poland. Compared with the behemoth of Soviet Russia, in
With the China War still unresolved, the strength of the Kwantung Army is still very different."
"On the premise that the Far East Military District still maintains its offensive capabilities, we cannot mobilize more troops from the Manchurian-Soviet border to participate in the war. Although we have signed an agreement with Soviet Russia, this agreement will only be used when necessary.
A piece of waste paper. For the Soviet Union, which has never been loyal, we must maintain a strong force on the Manchu-Soviet border to maintain sufficient deterrence."
Having said this, Hattori Takushiro added: "Of course, if you dare to risk another failure and deploy the fourth division to participate in the battle, we can still deploy two divisions to participate in the battle in the second stage. But I still
It is recommended that you do not use this fourth division easily, lest these Osaka soldiers cause trouble. Your Excellency Umezu, General Ueda Kenkichi has learned from the past, so I hope you will be more cautious."
"Your Excellency, Commander, our army has indeed suffered heavy casualties in previous battles. But there is no doubt about one thing, that is, with the combat effectiveness of our imperial army, even if the opponent causes heavy casualties to our army, its own casualties will never be
Light. Judging from the fact that it poses a threat to the 14th Regiment but has yet to launch an attack, it has at least lost its offensive capabilities."
"If the Kwantung Army cannot take advantage of the fact that its current strength is damaged and it is far from being fully replenished. Once it makes up for the casualty gap, our army will be forced to deploy more troops for the campaign."
General Umezu Yoshijiro quite agreed with Hattori Takushiro's level of strategic analysis. Otherwise, he would not have insisted on keeping him as the chief staff officer of the Kwantung Army despite the transfer order from the Tokyo base camp after the failure of the Battle of Nomonhan.
.As a result, Lieutenant Colonel Geno Nakayama, who had just been transferred to replace him, had nothing to do but work as an idle member of the Kwantung Army.
However, Umezu Yoshijiro was a little hesitant about Hattori Takushiro's suggestion of recruiting the Second Division to participate in the war. In the Battle of Nomonhan, the 7th Division and the 23rd Division suffered heavy losses, and they have not yet been able to complete their repairs.
Under the circumstances, the 24th and 25th divisions that were originally part of the general reserve suffered heavy blows. The second division, which has been moved to Mudanjiang, has almost become the general reserve of the Kwantung Army. Once the second division
If the division suffers another heavy blow, the Kwantung Army will no longer have mobile forces.
Suddenly he discovered that he had seemingly a lot of troops on hand, but actually had almost no troops to send, which made General Umezu Yoshijiro feel very troubled. The second division arrived in Manchuria before the 14th Division, which Tokyo agreed to transfer to the Kwantung Army, arrived in Manchuria.
, the only remaining mobile force of the Kwantung Army cannot be used in any case, General Umezu Yoshijiro is sure of this.
But if the second division is not mobilized, Umezu Yoshijiro pulls the divisions at hand here and there, only to find that none of them can be used easily. Especially in the main 7th and 23rd divisions of Western Manchuria, the vacancies have not yet been filled.
It will take a long time to recover, and he will not be able to fight for at least half a year. General Umezu Yoshijiro, who was once proud to be the largest heavy force group of the Japanese army, found that he is now very short of money. Although he has a lot of troops, but
Not many can be mobilized.
Lieutenant Commander Hattori Takushirō was right. Although the huge polar bear in the north was currently attracted by the war in Europe in the west, he had no interest in this polar bear, which was similar to the Empire and had never known the word "Xinyi".
But it still cannot be taken lightly. The hundreds of thousands of troops in the Far East Military Region and the huge armored cluster are always hanging over the head of the Kwantung Army like a sharp sword.
But if we wait for all the 14th Division to arrive, it will take at least half a month. As a soldier and a famous Japanese general, Umezu Yoshijiro knows that the two armies will fight, and the most important thing is the fighter plane. Once the fighter plane is lost, what will happen to him?
But it's not that easy to get it back.
Looking at Umezu Yoshijiro's uncertain face, as the chief operational staff officer of the Kwantung Army, Lieutenant Colonel Hattori Takushiro, who was well aware of the Kwantung Army's troop deployment, naturally knew what his boss was thinking? Hattori Takushiro hesitated and said: "Commander
Your Excellency, do you think this is okay?"
"The leading unit of the 14th Division has arrived in Xinjing. Although it will take half a month to follow up, you can send a telegram to the Tokyo base camp to urge the 14th Division's actions. In addition, send the leading unit of the 14th Division
The regiment was transferred to Mudanjiang to take over the defense of the Second Division."
"The Fourteenth Division is a veteran division of the empire, and its real combat capability is no less than that of the Second Division. Its division commander, Lieutenant General Kita Seiichi, is energetic and experienced. Although only one regiment can only partially take over the second division,
The defense area of the division, but we can temporarily transfer some of the troops of the 12th Division stationed in Dongning to the west to assist the 14th Division in taking over part of the defense area. Completely replace the 2nd Division. After all the 14th Division arrives
, the troops deployed by the Twelfth Division will return to their original garrison."
"I think Jiangbei won't make any big moves in half a month. Unless Germany completely ends the war in Poland, Jiangbei will not take action at this juncture. Who knows what Hitler's next step will be after occupying Poland.
Go straight to Moscow?"
"Your Excellency, Commander, there is a saying in China that soldiers are valuable and quick. If we cannot make up our mind as soon as possible while our opponent's top commander is vomiting blood and comatose and loses top command. When he recovers, our army will carry out a clearing campaign, and we will have to pay more.
The price is too much."
"Furthermore, if we cannot get rid of this group of ruthless bandits that the Emperor rarely names to be eliminated as soon as possible, not only will the Kwantung Army's energy be affected by it, and it will be unable to complete the plan to fight the Soviet Union from the base camp north, even His Majesty the Emperor will not agree to it.
This group of people holds the highest secrets of the Japanese Empire, which have not been leaked yet. But once leaked, it will cause a huge blow to the empire."
Having said this, Hattori Takushiro stood at attention and bowed deeply to Umezu Yoshijiro and said: "Your Excellency, Commander, the fighter plane is fleeting. Please make up your mind as soon as possible."
Lieutenant Colonel Hattori Takushirō's words that even His Majesty the Emperor would not agree to were like a revelation to General Umezu Yoshijiro. After the February 26th Incident, he had been serving as the Undersecretary of the Ministry of the Army and he understood what the power of the Emperor in the military had now reached.
The situation. The emperor's control over the military, especially the army, is now almost the highest among all emperors since the Meiji Restoration.
If the Emperor becomes angry, it will be a disaster for every military general. The fate of General Ueda Kenkichi has clearly explained everything. Originally, the Army Ministry and the General Staff Headquarters wanted to let Ueda Kenkichi go.
He retired peacefully and settled the matter. But it was His Majesty the Emperor's reluctance that caused Ueda Kenkichi not only to be deprived of all medals, but also to have his military rank directly demoted from general to major general.
Having learned from the past, Umezu Yoshijiro, who did not want to make the same mistake as his predecessor, finally nodded slightly and said in the expectant eyes of Hattori Takushiro: "Hattori-kun, just do what you want. Let the 14th Division take the lead.
The team took over the defense of the Second Division and ordered the Second Division to immediately carry out general mobilization. It will all arrive in Jiamusi within five days, not three days."
"In addition, the 11th Division was ordered to allocate two brigades as the backbone to form a detachment to cooperate with the 14th Division. The 14th Regiment of the 25th Division under Shiro Kuwahara was ordered to hold on to the front line of the Haoliang River without the commander of the Kwantung Army.
The Ministry of Defense ordered the 25th Division not to take a step back. The 25th Division was ordered to search for the regiment, and the engineering regiment immediately crossed the river and went north to join the main force of the division."
At this point, Umezu Yoshijiro hesitated and said: "Give Lieutenant General Sawada Shigeru the power and order him to immediately mobilize two infantry brigades and one cavalry brigade to form a detachment, which he will personally command. Tell Sawada Shigeru that this time the Fourth Division
If we continue to fight in vain, I will directly ask His Majesty the Emperor to cancel the establishment of his Fourth Division."
Hearing that Umezu Yoshijiro actually had his mind set on the shabby household of the 4th Division despite being somewhat short of troops, Hattori Takushiro smiled bitterly and said: "Your Excellency, Commander, I'm afraid you won't be able to give orders to Lieutenant General Sawada Shigeru.
You don’t know yet, but Lieutenant General Sawada Shigeru has been transferred to the position of Deputy Chief of Staff, and his transfer order will arrive in the next half day. And Lieutenant General Yamashita Tomofumi who will replace him is still serving as Chief of Staff of the North China Front."
"In addition, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Major General Otozaburo Yano, will be transferred soon and will be replaced by Major General Saburo Endo, who is affiliated with the Army Flight School. In addition, there have been great changes in the base camp. Deputy Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Tetsuzo Nakajima, and Chief of Operations, Gunma Hashimoto
All will be removed from their posts. The deputy chief of staff will be replaced by Lieutenant General Sawada Shigeru, and the chief of operations will be replaced by Major General Tominaga Kyouji."
"The Tokyo base camp has become extremely impatient with Geno Nakayama's delay in taking over my job. My order to be transferred to the Army Infantry School has been issued, and the base camp has repeatedly urged me to take office immediately. Your Excellency, Commander, I'm sorry, I
I can’t accompany you to finish this battle.”
Hattori Takushiro has a good relationship with the former land minister, Lieutenant General Seishiro Itagaki who is currently the Chief of General Staff of the China Expeditionary Force, Lieutenant General Hideki Tojo who is the current Director of Army Aviation, and quite a few people in the Army Ministry and General Staff Headquarters. In Tokyo
The base camp has its own extremely sensitive sources of information. Some things he knows even earlier than General Umezu Yoshijiro, the commander of the Kwantung Army.
Hearing Lieutenant Colonel Hattori Takushiro talk about the personnel changes in the Kwantung Army and the Tokyo base camp, General Umezu Yoshijiro frowned slightly. He knew the reason for Nakajima Tetsuzo's resignation, and it was not too unfair to say it. But his replacement, Sawada Shigenaka
However, it was difficult for General Yoshijiro Umezu to satisfy him.
In Umezu Yoshijiro, Ueda Kenyoshi was repeatedly placed in the hands of the anti-Manchu anti-Japanese armed forces, and even until he was defeated, a large part of the reason was that he used the wrong fourth division. Umezu Yoshijiro once carefully studied Ueda Kenji
General Ji's several clearing operations.
In his opinion, General Ueda Kenkichi's several combat plans were not wrong and were completely in line with the situation at the time. However, he used the idiot of the Fourth Division as the main force to suppress, and he was unable to do anything, and even had some indifference to death.
The performance of the rescue resulted in repeated defeats. The Kwantung Army missed the opportunity to annihilate it in one fell swoop when it was weak, leading to its growth.
Ueda Kenkichi was saddled with the most serious punishment for the Japanese army since Emperor Meiji established the new army. To be honest, it was not unjust. Just neglecting the personnel was enough. What's more, this guy also concealed the truth about Qun Ceshan, the largest commander of the Kwantung Army.
The matter of the secret arms depot being lost.
However, as one of the culprits of repeated failed campaigns, Sawada Shigeru not only was not implicated, but was even promoted. Not only did he lose the battle, but he was also implicated several times and caused heavy losses to friendly forces. How can such a person still serve as a staff officer?
Deputy Chief? This really made Umezu Yoshijiro a little puzzled and annoyed.
However, as a superior, his emotional control is far beyond that of junior and mid-level officers. General Umezu Yoshijiro quickly controlled his emotions and hid all his dissatisfaction without showing any signs of it.
come out.
As for Hattori Takushiro's transfer, he knew very well who was behind it. But he just laughed it off at that person, Umezu Yoshijiro. After all, that guy had a grudge against him for opposing his appointment as Army Undersecretary. Before he left,
He also wants to plot against himself.
However, in the one-third of an acre of land of the Kwantung Army, he has the final say. When will his confidant Lieutenant Colonel Geno Nakayama take over? It is not his turn to say that he has resigned. Since Geno Nakayama is willing to join the Kwantung Army, he can
Let's keep it there for now.
When he takes office depends on his mood. At the moment, Hattori Takushiro cannot leave yet, at least not until this battle is completed.
After suppressing his emotions, Umezu Yoshijiro said to Hattori Takushiro: "Hattori-kun, don't worry about that Nakayama Geno for now. Tell Isomura Takehiro and Okubo Shunjiro that they must do a good job in intelligence protection. We must."
Know the trends in Jiangbei. As for you, go to the front line and supervise the battle for me. I will go and talk to you at the Tokyo base camp. After this battle is over, your military academy affiliate will take up his post."
Looking at Umezu Yoshijiro's uncertain face, Hattori Takushiro did not dare to say anything. He just nodded slightly and exited Umezu Yoshijiro's office. He went down to draft a joint letter to the Second Division and the Fourteenth Division.
The team's orders have gone.
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