Umezu Yoshijiro was feeling complacent when a telegram signed by Tojo Hideki arrived. After reading the contents of the telegram, Umezu couldn't help but smile bitterly and was speechless. He secretly sighed in his heart, could it be that his military career was about to end here? Although there were not many direct interactions with the Bingjun, they witnessed almost the entire process of the rise of the Xuebing Army in Renqiu. Later, although the Xuebing Army fled far away from Guangdong, its popularity continued to increase, and it also hindered Japan's solution to the China Incident. It is getting bigger and bigger, and Meizu pays great attention to it even in North Korea. Of course, this process is destined not to be pleasant. Many times, when Meizu organized his men to conduct tactical deductions based on the intelligence he had before the war, he felt that this time The imperial army was certain to win, but not long after the battle report came, the result was completely different. Once or twice, Meijin could deceive himself and say that the Chinese were just unlucky, or that the commander on the front line was too incompetent, but then, As this situation gradually became the norm, he could no longer deceive himself.
"Perhaps, when we were in Renqiu, we should have dealt with the student army at all costs, otherwise the current situation would not have happened." More than once, Umezu said to his confidants. He was not the only one to have this idea. Okamura Neji, Sakai Takashi, including Tojo Hideki and Yamamoto Isoroku, no one has ever touched it. However, there has never been any regret medicine in the world. Therefore, after the second New Year's strategy failed and the situation in South China reversed, they could only I can sigh in vain, but I can't come up with an effective method.
After the Xuebing Army formed an expeditionary force and entered the Indochina Peninsula, Meijin gained a new understanding of the Xuebing Army. He was horrified to find that the Xuebing Army was like a natural enemy specially arranged by God for the imperial army. As long as they appeared wherever they appeared. , then, the empire will inevitably encounter misfortune there, and not only the army, but also the pride of the empire, the combined fleet of meritorious fleets that the empire has been able to rise in the east, this powerful ocean-going fleet with a history of more than a hundred years can actually be formed into history. The Pacific Fleet of the Xuebing Army, which lasted just over two years, was completely defeated.
All of the above made Umezu increasingly fearful of the Xuebing Army. He also became more aware of the strategic significance of an expedition to the Far East and a flanking attack on Soviet Russia by the German army. He felt that "the only way to completely resolve the China incident is to rely on the power of the Germans and send troops first." Helping the German army defeat Soviet Russia can speed up the process to prevent the war in China from getting out of hand. Even if the Germans can be invited, the overall situation may be decided...", this is what he wrote to Neiji Okamura. From what he said in a letter, it can be seen that he was not ready to fight with the Xuebing Army at all.
Tojo Hideki didn't know this. How could he have expected that Umezu Yoshijiro, a dignified general, had actually been frightened by the cadet army? So on the one hand, he solemnly asked Umezu to do it in a "prime minister" command tone. Within a week, he led his army to Zhangjiakou. On the one hand, he expressed his gratitude to him in a private name, claiming that "this will be a key battle that determines the direction of the China incident. If the northwest of the China army can be successfully eliminated, Legion, then he can convince His Majesty to shift the strategic focus to China again"...and so on,
Tojo used both soft and hard tactics, and Umezu had no room for objection. However, he did not just obey the order as Tojo expected. While ordering the 12th Division of the vanguard to take a train to Zhangjiakou, he Contacted Okamura Neiji to discuss countermeasures. The two talked on the phone for nearly two hours, and finally came up with a sound strategy.
Because of his experiences in Jiangxi, Okamura Neiji was more afraid of the cadet army than Umezu Yoshijiro, so he was also a staunch supporter of the strategy of asking German power to solve the China incident. In his opinion, during the expedition to Soviet Russia Letting the Far East Army move to Inner Mongolia when the combat plan has been approved is simply a strategic mistake and putting the cart before the horse. "Tojo-kun is really only suitable to be a superior soldier." Of course, I have worked with Tojo Hideki and am familiar with it. He is temperamental and knows that when Tojo has made a decision, if he openly opposes it, he will only bring humiliation to himself. He may be forced to retire from active service like Ishihara Kanji. Since the opposition is ineffective, then he will just To strive to win this battle, Tojo Hideki's sudden decision to commit the Far East Army to the defense of Inner Mongolia was not a whim, but he felt that the current Chinese battlefield, at least in North China and Northwest China, was still in a state of balance between China and Japan. Then, the investment of 300,000 Far East Legions armed to the teeth will be the winning force that can determine the direction of victory or defeat. They can definitely give the Xuebing Army a head-on blow. Then, not only will the situation in China war qualitatively change, it will also be crucial What is clear is that his position as Prime Minister will definitely be as stable as Mount Tai. Tojo Hideki has high hopes for the Far East Army, but Okamura Neji and Umezu Yoshijiro feel that it is not enough. Regarding the comparison of the combat power between China and Japan, Okamura and Umezu both have an account in their hearts. , if it is said that during the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the Japanese army still had the ability to fight one against three, now, as the veterans of its standing elite divisions have died and become disabled, although in terms of weapons and equipment, the Japanese army seems to have kept up with the school. However, Okamura felt that it would be good if the imperial army could maintain two enemies to one against the cadet army. As for Umezu, he felt that in the aviation force and tank unit, the artillery unit was enough to resist the cadet army. Before the formation of technical troops of the same type, the imperial army could at most outnumber the cadet army by three to one. The current awareness of the combat power ratio of the Chinese and Japanese troops was almost the same. Okamura and Umezu felt that just relying on 300,000 Far Eastern troops The legion is not enough to win this battle. To be on the safe side, at least 150,000 more troops are needed.
"Tojo-kun believes that if the Far Eastern Army is thrown into Inner Mongolia, the Northwest Army of the China Army will be able to be annihilated. This inference is basically correct, but there is a premise, that is, the Qinling Army of Tadamichi Ribayashi can stop the China Army before the Far East Army annihilates the Northwest Army. South of Xi'an, but is this possible? The Chinese Tiger General Xue Yue was responsible for the China Army's counterattack against the Qinling Army. When he was in Hunan, the equipment of the China Central Army was not as good as it is now, and there were many factions and it was difficult to coordinate. Even so, Xue Yue's troops were also It caused quite a lot of trouble for the Imperial Army, and now, Ouyang Yun has changed all their equipment. I heard that the Qinling Army already has a problem of insufficient ammunition supply, and our aviation forces are simply unable to fly over the Qinling Mountains to provide supplies. , Under such a severe situation, we must calculate such a disadvantageous factor. Perhaps, the Qinling Army may lose Xi'an tomorrow..." Okamura Neiji said when he mentioned that the North China Front Army should also participate in this war,