On May 5, 1946, a U.S. Marine Corps of nearly 3,000 men landed in Davao Bay in southern Mindanao, Philippines, awaiting them not Japanese artillery bullets, but soldiers of the Philippine Resistance League and ecstatic local people. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

After winning the naval battle in the Philippine Sea, the US Navy took advantage of the situation to launch a blockade operation on the shipping routes around the Philippines, and at the same time used carrier-based aircraft to carry out a sweep operation against the Japanese strongholds along the eastern and southern coasts. With the loss of air and sea supremacy, the Japanese withdrew the last garrison troops from Mindanao and the Sulu Islands in the southern Philippines. On April 30, the Philippine Resistance Alliance announced the liberation of Mindanao and contacted the U.S. military to send marines to assist in the defense.

On the day that US troops landed on Mindanao, US President Harry S. Truman made a radio speech, saying that the liberation of the Philippines would be a turning point for the United States to regain its responsibility for maintaining the international order in the Pacific region, and that it would be a landmark event for the United States to return to its role as a world-class power, and that the Filipinos' national will to pursue freedom, independence, peace, and openness was irreversible.

There is no doubt that the victory of the U.S. Main Fleet in the Battle of the Philippine Sea swept away the misgivings of the majority of the American people about the prospect of war -- before the U.S. declared war on Japan, many Americans were adamantly opposed to the government's involvement in the war again, and some even threatened to assassinate Truman in order to prevent a war that could bring the United States down completely, but most Americans, especially the middle and upper classes, saw it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. After the end of World War II, there was no room for expansion in the Atlantic and European directions, and direct or indirect control of as many resources as possible in the Pacific was seen as the only way for the United States to restore and maintain its status as a world-class power. Since the Japanese army and its puppet regime have successfully blocked the expansion of the Western allies in South Asia and limited their sphere of influence to the southwestern corner of the Asia-Pacific region, as long as Japan is defeated, the United States will be able to use the Philippine Islands as a stepping stone to extend its influence to Southeast Asia, which is rich in natural resources, and thus gain an advantage in direct competition with Japan.

After the Marines successfully landed on Mindanao, the US military pressed the start switch of a special assembly line, and hundreds of ocean-going cargo ships requisitioned by the military set off from the east and west coasts of the United States and the ports of Hawaii with supplies. In less than three weeks, the planes, accessories, supplies, and personnel of the 16 fighter wings and 8 bomber wings of the 1st Task Force of the US Air Force were all in place, while the Japanese army sent less than a quarter of the additional air units to the Philippines during the same period -- the main reason for this disparity was neither the indifference of the Japanese top brass to the deterioration of the situation in the Philippines, nor the self-respect of the Japanese generals sent abroad. From the end of April to the middle of May, the loss rate of Japanese ships transporting troops and supplies to the Philippines exceeded 30%.

Japan, Kyoto Imperial Garden, "Gozen" cabinet meeting in progress.

As the saying goes, a country cannot be left without a monarch for a day, and after confirming that Emperor Hirohito and the members of the imperial family who were in line with the succession line have all been killed, the "Prince of the Prison Country" Nobuhito is intensively planning to ascend the throne.

As for the admiral Nagano Xiushen, who was appointed to take charge of the cabinet at the time of crisis, he was distracted by various internal and external affairs during this time, and he was exhausted, and he looked as if he had aged ten years. What made him feel even more helpless was that despite his best efforts to coordinate, the Japanese navy and army did not buy each other's problems and the armies of all sides made their own decisions.

At the beginning of the meeting, as usual, the army and navy reported on their military situation and their next operational plans, and in the process, they naturally entered the stage of mutual accusation and criticism. Navy Minister Kantaro Suzuki, a veteran general who became famous during the Sino-Japanese First Sino-Japanese War for leading a torpedo boat into the Weihaiwei anchorage to sink the ironclad ship "Dingyuan," unceremoniously dismissed the army's operational plan for launching an all-out counterattack in the Philippines as a "delusion":

"At the beginning of the war, the navy had sufficient capacity, but the army could not quickly assemble reinforcements, and as a result, a great situation was missed, and now the southern fleet and the combined fleet have been defeated one after another, and it will take several months to repair the damaged ships, even if the navy ensures that 100,000 army units arrive in the Philippines, it will not be able to provide them with the supplies they need for the war, and the Philippine guerrillas have obtained a large amount of weapons and ammunition from the Americans, and have received direct support from American warplanes and naval ships. Therefore, we firmly believe that the army's all-out counterattack plan does not have the elements to succeed, and its forced implementation will not only cost the army, but also drag down the navy! ”

The veteran of the Japanese Army, Shunroku Hatata, who escaped the explosion in Tokyo because he commanded troops stationed in North China to guard against the Soviet and Russian troops, shot back with a contemptuous expression: "When competing for military funds, the navy is all first-class good hands, and if you want aircraft carriers to build aircraft carriers, you want planes to build planes, but in the end, what will happen?" If you hadn't taken it lightly and commanded poorly, how could you have lost to your former subordinates? ”

Seeing that a fruitless quarrel was about to heat up, Nagano hurriedly said: "The matter has come to this, you should not accuse each other of mistakes, but work together to tide over the difficulties." At this time, in order to avoid greater losses for the empire, it is necessary to show the courage of a strong man to break his wrist, endure for ten years, reorganize the army, and then try to dominate the cause! ”

As soon as these words came out, the generals present were all furious, ready to refute this compromise proposal with fierce words, but Nagano frowned and scanned everyone with a firm gaze: "I think that it is necessary to rejoin the League of Nations and accept the supervision of international treaties in order to eliminate the tongue of foreign countries starting a war against Japan and avoid being attacked by white countries in turn." ”

Kantaro Suzuki, who was also from the navy and Nagano, said in a slightly soothing tone: "I have always been worried that the white countries are attacking the Imperial State in turn, with the aim of abolishing the colonial territories that we have exchanged for the blood of countless soldiers for 50 years, and if they take the opportunity to demand that we withdraw our troops from all the occupied areas, will we not put ourselves in a position where we cannot advance or retreat?" ”

"Germany, which has tens of millions of square kilometers of colonies in Europe and Africa, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and other countries also occupy territories outside Europe, and even small Ireland occupies the oil-rich island of Bahrain, why should we be accused of stationing troops all over Asia? It is nothing more than a so-called humanitarian problem that grasps on the excessively strict control of the colonial population, and as long as the governments of these countries obey our orders, the relaxation of regulations will not prevent us from continuing to obtain all kinds of resources from these countries! Nagano replied unhurriedly.

Kantaro Suzuki clasped his hands in front of his chest: "However, Your Excellency, please don't forget that the Wuhan Wang government in China and the Delhi Rowu government in Indochina are scattered internally, and the Chiang regime that fled to the northwest and the Mainai regime that hid in Iran are as difficult to eradicate as rats in the sewers. ”

"Actually, I've thought about it in detail. In China, the Wang government of Wuhan encircled many veterans and controlled millions of well-equipped troops, while the Chiang regime nominally controlled a large territory in the northwest, and the population supporting him was less than 10 million, and the available army was only 200,000 or 300,000. In Indochina, the Royghur government basically controlled the entire territory, and as long as the border passages were closed and the border defense line was firmly entrenched, the infiltration of the Manai regime could be stopped. As long as we provide stable financial and arms assistance, there will be no danger of regime subversion unless Bai Yi directly intervenes with troops. ”

Seeing that Kantaro Suzuki nodded slightly, as if he was willing to compromise and compromise, Shunroku Hata sneered: "In this way, the navy is ready to abandon the Philippines, give up the glorious record of the imperial army that has won every battle since the Meiji Restoration, and accept an undefeated defeat?" ”

"That's a mistake!" Nagano turned his head and argued, "The Philippine archipelago is located at the choke point of the sea, a strategic hub connecting East Asia and South Asia, and the loss of this place is more painful for the navy than the army, but the Philippines has long been a colony of the United States, deeply influenced by American-style liberal ideology, and regarded as the most difficult ethnic group among the occupying powers of the imperial state. Instead of struggling in the quagmire, why not abandon the car and retain your strength. My suggestion, Your Royal Highness, is to send a diplomatic envoy to Berlin to enlist the support of the German Emperor and Prime Minister for our return to the League of Nations, and to ask Germany to broker an armistice between Japan and the United States. ”

Prince Xuanren, who was in the upper position, said: "This is exactly what I want! ”

As soon as these words came out, even if there were a hundred reluctant ones, the army and navy generals had no choice but to remain silent for the time being.

Nagano continued: "Ireland has been the most powerful of all European countries, and so far we have captured 400 Irish volunteers in China, including 79 pilots, 67 military instructors, and more than 200 non-combatants, and these prisoners of war have been treated favorably, and we may as a good weight to negotiate with the Irish government to demand that they stop their military aid to China and that their so-called humanitarian aid continue." ”

Shunroku Hata still had his meaningful smile on his face: "According to me, it is better to accept the request of the Scottish head, provide them with sufficient weapons and ammunition, let them provoke territorial disputes with their neighbors, and confine the attention of the Irish to the British Isles, which is probably more effective than exchanging a few hundred hostages with them!" ”

Prince Xuanren waved his hand: "Then do it both at the same time." ”

(End of chapter)