Inoue Narumi read in a trembling voice, "...... The situation in the South China Sea is as dangerous as an egg, the battle for each island is imminent, and the enemy no longer cares about the losses of warships and planes, and is focusing on the superior army and air forces to surprise us and carry out a war of attrition; if we take the battle on Kuah Island as an example, it is easy for the enemy to replenish after the enemy's losses, but it is difficult to replenish after our losses, the enemy's losses can be replenished from Australia nearby, and our losses need to be transported from the mainland 6,000 kilometers away.

Lost in three months: Guadalcanal

Lost in six months: Solomon Islands, Aleutian Islands

Lost in a year to a year and a half: the islands of New Guinea, the Marshall Islands, the Gilbert Islands

Lost in three years: Mariana Islands, Caroline Islands, Java and Sumatrara Islands (east-central Indonesia), Malayan Islands (mainly Borneo)"

If Hoffman is allowed to look at this analysis, he will know that the above judgment is generally in line with the actual historical situation, but the order will be slightly different - because the United States has implemented leapfrog tactics in the offensive, while Japan believes that the American counteroffensive will be carried out layer by layer.

"Speaking of which, the Philippines and the Ogasawara Islands can be defended until three years later." Yamamoto said with a smile, "The army still has a lot of confidence in the navy...... A little more optimistic than I thought, I thought that the enemy was going to attack the homeland by then. ”

And Inoue Narumi and Shimomura are about to cry, "Sir......"

"Ishihara-kun's statement is very clear, from the battle of Kuah Island, it can be seen that if there is no sea control in the island battle, there will be no logistics and supplies on the ground, and the battle will be lost. The crux of the whole problem lies in aviation operations -- but neither our pilots nor our planes are opponents of the United States, and we cannot withstand the continuous attrition of aviation operations. Therefore, ultra-long-distance aviation operations such as Kuah Island must not continue, and the front must be contracted. "According to his ideas and suggestions, I decided to draw a circle around Rabaul in the southeast sea, and the radius is calculated according to the one-hour flight range of the plane, which is about 500-600 kilometers, and the islands beyond this distance will be abandoned ......."

There is no map of the site though. However, they are all experienced generals, and they can understand it after thinking about it with their brains, Inoue Narumi asked tentatively: "Does the army mean to give up all of Solomon Island east of Bougainville Island, and then Calais City, and the islands of New Guinea south of the Salamoa region?" ”

"Almost. The Army intends to hold on to the triangle with Rabaul as the centre and Bougainville Island as its flanks with Lae and Salamoa, and to abandon the rest of the islands entirely. ”

"How long? How many troops? Yamamoto asked after a moment's silence.

"After the complete withdrawal is completed, hold on for another 6-8 months, and insist on waiting until the Combined Fleet completes the Indian Ocean strategy before launching a counteroffensive. As for the ...... troops," Tada Jun took stock. "Originally, it was planned to set up the Eighth Front Army to be responsible for the unified jurisdiction of the 17th and 18th armies in the southeast sea, and the main army strength included the 2nd, 20th, 38th, 41st, and 51st divisions, the 38th, 39th, 40th, and 65th brigades, the 4th garrison in the South China Sea, and four other flying divisions. If the downsizing plan is carried out, the number of flying divisions will not be enough, and the army will have a surplus of troops, so some can be drawn out - it is planned to add 2 more flying divisions and withdraw 2 more army divisions. ”

"The main strength of the 11th Air Fleet is on several islands centered on Rabaul, and whether it can give some reinforcements to Vice Admiral Ugaki also shows that the naval center is concerned about his transfer. In the future, if the main force is withdrawn, Mikawa Gunichi's 8th Fleet can stay near Rabaul and deal with the U.S. forces after reinforcing its ships, but then it will lose its offensive and counterattack capabilities. Is the Army sure to do this? ”

"Attack? Counterattack? Tada shook his head, "I didn't think about it. Vice Minister Ishihara is not this strategy, the idea of the army is very simple, once we make up our minds to carry out the Indian Ocean strategy, all areas in the South China Sea will be fully put on the defensive, and the defense policy in the southeast direction is to stick to the surrounding islands with Rabaul as the core, and use various ways to kill and injure the US troops, don't they want to fight a war of attrition with us, we will fight with them for their lives -- Rabaul has been operating for many years, has sufficient materials and favorable terrain, and can completely maintain a long-term war. The reason why I transferred two divisions and regiments back to the Philippines is because these two divisions are security divisions that have not been established for a long time, and their strength is not strong, and the consumption of materials is the same as that of the old divisions, which is a complete waste. ”

Tada said as he dipped his fingers in water and drew on the table: "You see, Rabaul, Bougainville and New Guinea form a triangle with a side length of 500-600 kilometers, and on Bougainville Island we are going to deploy the strength of one division and one brigade, Lae and Salamoa will also deploy one division and one brigade, and the Rabaul area will only need two brigades and garrisons. The enemy will not attack Rabaul directly until Bougainville and the Lae and Salamoa areas have been breached, otherwise they will be flanked by the two wings, and once the two flanks have been broken by the American forces after a protracted battle, the remaining forces can easily withdraw to Rabaul for a protracted battle. In summary, the army intends to deploy 9-100,000 troops in this triangle, plus 600-800 aircraft. Of course, this was an idea that Vice Minister Ishihara and I had personally discussed, and we had not yet formed a battle plan and issued it. ”

Shimomura asked: "If the Navy wants to withdraw the aircraft carrier and the main force of the fleet in the future implementation of the Indian Ocean Raid, we have no objection, but can we send more troops to the base air force?" ”

After exchanging views with each other, Yamamoto Isoroku and Inoue Narumi said: "We can also increase the number of naval aircraft to 600-800, but the fuel problem needs to be solved with the assistance of the army, and the navy's fuel must ensure ocean-going operations." ”

Originally, the resources of the Japanese army and navy were all in their own hands, and the army would never use what the army had in its hands, and vice versa, but now the atmosphere of the army and navy is unprecedentedly harmonious, and the bigwigs are sitting together and drinking, and the issue of oil is naturally easy to discuss -- besides, Yamamoto 56 does not have a lion to open his mouth, and compared with the oil-burning giants of the combined fleet, the fuel of hundreds of planes is indeed nothing.

While he was talking, Tada's adjutant suddenly hurried in and handed over a telegram, and then quietly withdrew, and Tada's face became ugly after glancing at it.

"How?" Shimomura must have looked a little nervous, and looking at Tada's appearance, he knew that it was definitely not good news.

"Hyakutake Haruyoshi has just sent a telegram to the base camp, saying that the enemy is strong, and the two attacks up to this evening have not been ideal, and he has asked for another increase in troops, and the 38th Division is given to him, and he himself is on the island, and he also said that the supply is seriously insufficient, and he asked the base camp to coordinate with the navy to increase the supply efforts."

"He still doesn't give up...... The naval supply can no longer be strengthened, we throw ten iron buckets of supplies, it would be good if they could get three, and if they are strengthened, all the destroyers of the fleets near Rabaul will be drained, and who will escort the aircraft carriers and battleships? Inoue Narumi muttered, and suddenly her face changed, "And ask for another division?" The 2nd Division is gone? Can you rely on refueling tactics to win against the Americans? The supply of materials for one division is already very difficult, and how many more supplies will be sent if another division is added? ”

Everyone knows that Kuah Island is currently under the control of American planes, and that Japan's transportation and supply can only be maintained by carrying out the rat express (Tokyo Express) through destroyers at night, and the destroyers cannot reach the island at all, so they can only take advantage of the approaching night to throw down the iron barrels containing logistics supplies, and automatically float to the shore for the use of the army by the force of the tides, and it is good to have a 30% arrival rate.

"Bastard......" Tada Jun couldn't hold back any longer, roared in a low voice, turned his head and said to Shimomura, "Talk to Vice Chief Ishihara, reinforcements will never be allowed." Cancel the arrangement for the establishment of the Eighth Front Army, directly abolish the 17th Army system, and assign the units under the 17th Army to the management of the 18th Army of Lieutenant General Anda 23, and the 18th Army will be directly under the base camp sequence, and when the time comes, the 41st and 51st complete divisions of the 18th Army will be withdrawn to me, and the 2nd Division is estimated to be disabled, and it will be withdrawn to the Philippines to sort it out. ”

"This ......," Shimomura said in embarrassment, "It's easy to give this order, and Vice Minister Ishihara probably means the same, is it possible to ensure that Hyakutake Haruyoshi will carry out the order to the letter?" If he doesn't do it, what can we do with him who is 6,000 kilometers away? ”

Tada Jun gritted his teeth and said, "Let Masanobu Tsuji go to deliver the order, isn't he very capable of acting as a lobbyist?" Last time, I said that I moved General Yamamoto, and this time I think I can also say that I can move Lieutenant General Baiwu, so let him convey it, and I will remove him when he comes back if he can't complete the task. Vice Minister Ishihara and Lieutenant General Hyakutake were classmates, and then asked Vice Minister Ishihara to find a way to communicate with King Minoru Higashikunomiya, and let the two of them take a private telegram to persuade him to tell him that if he continued like this, he would lose his face......"

Hyakutake Harumichi's third brother, Hyakutake Saburo, has been the chief of staff of Emperor Hirohito since 1936, and has a very close relationship with the imperial family.

"Okay, I'll do it right away." Shimomura turned around and left first.

"I've made you see the joke." Tada Jun picked up the wine glass and drank it down, "Originally, I didn't want to make such drastic adjustments, but the situation was really pressing, and there was no way." ”

Yamamoto Fifty-six sighed, "This is the dilemma you and I are facing, Lu Xiang, we all have a long way to go......"

"And the task of withdrawing troops from Kuah Island?"

"I see, I'll say hello to the Combined Fleet - now I'll only have to use a private telegram." Yamamoto Fifty-six smiled wryly and drank all the water in the teacup. (To be continued.) )