Excerpt from a diary

April 22nd

“…… The Meiji Army and the Hokkaido Army's fighting at the mouth of the White River continued to grow, and by April 22, three Meiji Army divisions had assembled in the area around the mouth of the Shirakawa in an attempt to break through the Hokkaido Army's defenses at the mouth of the White River. The military textbooks of the Liberation Army have repeatedly emphasized that it is necessary to gather superior forces and fight a big battle and a war of annihilation. From what I have observed, it seems that the Meiji government forces are simply trying to use a large number of troops to capture Shirakawa Castle. If the Liberation Army had such a large number of troops, it would have sent a small number of troops to contain the enemy in front of it, and sent elite troops to attack behind the enemy's back. Of course, the Hokkaido Army had been prepared for this, but I didn't hear much about enemy attacks on the flanks......"

April 28th

“…… After days of pointless confrontations, I felt irritable. The Hokkaido Army's stubborn attitude did not meet their needs, but the Hokkaido Army had mastered the basic tactics of launching an attack in columns, and the Meiji Army may have been afraid of being attacked from the flanks, so they paid more attention to the camp configuration. However, this configuration is not effective in defending against movement warfare with a larger range of maneuver. If the Hokkaido Army carries enough cans, it has every chance to carry out a large-depth interspersed maneuver with a regiment or even a division and launch an attack from the rear. I asked the leadership of the unit a question, and the leader told me to calm down......"

April 30th

“…… The leadership knows more high-level intelligence than I do. The Hokkaido Army took advantage of its naval superiority to capture the port of Niigata, and the troops of one army first circled southeast to the back of the Meiji army at the speed of a rapid march, and then continued south, entering the Gunma Mountains, appearing behind the three Meiji forces at the mouth of the Shirakawa. The Meiji army was bewildered by the sluggish movements of the Hokkaido Army at the mouth of the Shirakawa River, and was suddenly surrounded as they prepared to flee in a hurry. There must have been people from the Liberation Army who drew up the battle plan for the Hokkaido Army......"

May 2nd

“…… The encirclement and annihilation war ended, and basically no one escaped from the three Meiji divisions. However, according to what other comrades saw, it seems that the prisoners in Choshu and Satsuma were all shot by the Hokkaido Army. It is said that during the Boshin War more than ten years ago, the Hokkaido Army and the people of these two regions formed a deep hatred......"

May 4th

“…… The Hokkaido army was excited, and many people shouted slogans calling for the burning of Edo. With 70,000 troops on the front line, the largest artillery caliber is 75 mm, and I think it will be difficult to defend Tokyo, which has at least 50,000 men with such troops and firepower. If it was blocked under the castle of Tokyo, reinforcements from the Meiji army swarmed in. All previous victories have been a flurry, but it's also a good idea to take down reinforcements from the surrounding points. However, the inferiority of troops and the difficulties of fighting on the outside line must be taken into account......"

May 6th

“…… The upper echelons of the Hokkaido army bombed the nest, and it is said that the Meiji government in Tokyo arrested the upper echelons of the old shogunate and executed Matsudaira Yoho, the former lord of the Aizu domain. It seems that public information says that this is an act of retaliation against the Hokkaido Army's execution of officers and soldiers from the Choshu and Satsuma domains. The effect of this action was that even the commander of the Hokkaido Army, who had been relatively calm, began to shout that Tokyo would be burned......"

May 8th

“…… The navy of the Hokkaido Army began to march towards Tokyo, and it was said that it was going to shell Tokyo. After discussion, the Mission concluded that if this was a military operation in retaliation, it would be of limited significance. If this was to lure the Meiji Navy to come and fight the Hokkaido Army, it would be a good idea. The leader also asked us to reflect on one thing: whether the next development of the war was aimed at controlling Tohoku Japan, or whether it was planned before the war to destroy a large number of Meiji government forces in preparation for a decisive battle in the future. The most important quality of a commander in a war is firmness. Before the war, my idea was to control Tohoku Japan at first, but as the war progressed, there were more and more new situations and favorable results. I annihilated four Meiji divisions and sank three Meiji warships, and everything made me think that it would be easy to expand the results of the battle......"

May 9th

“…… I went to the military hospital again, and I felt very uncomfortable. As a soldier, I repeatedly said to myself that this was the sight I should get used to. But looking at the soldiers who were tortured by their wounds, I couldn't get used to it. My father once said that it is easier to get hurt yourself than it is to watch someone else get hurt. Because our own injuries are very materialistic, watching others get hurt, those injuries are all imagined in our own minds. Things in the realm of spiritualism are often more terrible than things in the realm of materialism. Thinking of my father's teachings and trying to eliminate the feelings that I imagined in my heart that were not my own, I unexpectedly felt a lot better in my heart.

However, every time I think of my father, I feel confused. It's not because of his great power, my father would never try to make a fool of himself. Just like our army, there was a brief time when the queue was shot in line, and there was also a period when the column simply attacked. The basic tactics of the current three-person combat team have been studied, trained, and now they have seen the real battlefield, and many of the previous confusions have been solved. After returning to the army, I already have a lot of new ideas for training.

What confuses me is my own attitude towards my father. Many people in the army were counting on the army for food, and many more were completely loyal to my father. I found myself as if I was the only one in the group who didn't want to think about my father's existence, and wanted nothing more than to be loyal to the army, only to the country. Compared to the real state and army, my father's 'sense of existence' seems to be a more real existence.

When I was in Nanjing, in the city where my father lived, I felt that everyone was living a normal life. Scold the pollution, complain about the crowding, work at sunrise and rest at sunset. But the farther I left Nanjing, the more I felt that my father was highlighted. On the battlefield, everything that happened proved that my father was right, right, right!

As his son, I just didn't seem to be able to inherit that. This distance seems to be that step, but that step is like the end of the earth. Perhaps, I should honestly ask him......"

May 11th

“…… The tide of the war changed dramatically, and the Meiji government's four divisions in southwestern Japan were mobilized to the plains south of Mt. Gunma. There was also a fierce debate within the Mission over whether it should suddenly cross the mountains of Gunma and attack the four divisions and annihilate them all. It would be best if it could be done, and the Meiji government army was naturally greatly damaged after being annihilated by eight divisions, and they were no longer capable of launching an attack on northeastern Japan.

If you choose to take the initiative, a weak strip tens of kilometers wide will appear on the left flank of the Hokkaido Army. If the Guards Division in Tokyo and the other three divisions assembled were to rush in from here, they would be able to cut off the rear route of the Hokkaido Army and fight in the mountains, with the attacking side at a natural disadvantage.

If we turn a blind eye to these four divisions, we will probably find ourselves in a situation of long-term confrontation. I hate ......."

May 15th

“…… The navy that shelled Tokyo met no resistance, and the Meiji government allowed the bombardment. After all, the Hokkaido army was unwilling to do too much, and the Meiji government had already propagandized that the Hokkaido army was a traitor, and it really flattened the emperor's palace, which may not be politically beneficial. What's more, the supply of artillery shells for the Hokkaido Army is limited, and the 125 artillery shells are probably at the limit if they bombard Tokyo and collapse dozens of buildings like dots. The sudden appearance of the Meiji Navy warships near the Tsugaru Strait, although they only chose to retreat immediately after a little harassment, had a great psychological impact on the Hokkaido Army.

The Hokkaido Army claims to have mobilized 300,000 troops, but only 120,000 were actually able to engage in a field battle in the true sense of the word. Some troops were left in Hokkaido, and some troops were in the northeastern region of Japan. The 90,000 troops on the front line are already where all the elite are. Not long after the war began, the troops were stretched thin. I didn't expect this to happen beforehand......"

May 17th

“…… The Hokkaido Army finally decided to annihilate the four divisions on the opposite side first, but everyone began to wonder if more enemy reinforcements would arrive after a few days of delay. I now suddenly understand a little bit of where the gap between me and my father is. My father may have been right, but he bravely took the responsibility of making a decision before the final outcome was correct. And before I make any decision, I can't help but think that the result is only right if the result is right. This is a question that my father told me many times, and I thought I understood. Faced with an unknowable future, I still coaxed ......"

May 19th

“…… As feared, enemy forces attempting to cross the Gunma Mountains and attack the plains were met with fierce resistance. The known number is no longer four divisions, but seven. At the same time, the surveillance system in the direction of Tokyo found that the Meiji military group in Tokyo was ready to move, and there was a great willingness to take advantage of the opportunity. The battle changed from a battle to a decisive battle in an instant. However, I do feel that 'the ball is facing upwards when people die, and I am more confident in the training and tactical level of the Hokkaido Army.

The Mission convened a meeting, at which the leaders asked us to calm down, analyze in detail the comparison between friend and foe, and conduct a paper deduction as a hypothetical staff department. Make a battle plan for the current situation.

Working and discussing with my comrades, I almost forgot to keep a diary. The reason why I hurriedly wrote a few strokes is because I remembered a quote from my father. We must believe in the organization and rely on the organization. If I were to make a decision alone, my limit would probably be to summon up the courage of the 'ignorant' who doesn't know anything, and give a self-absorbed order that 'I'm willing to bear the result'......"

May 21

“…… 40,000 reserve troops arrived at the front line and took on the task of monitoring the Tokyo group and ensuring logistics.

In the fighting in the south, the situation is favorable......"