The third part of the Bloody War of Resistance, Chapter 9, Rushing, Section 1, Bow Pull

"However, Okamura-kun's request will not be supported by the military department" Muto Zhang's next sentence shattered the relief that Tatsunosuke had just revealed: "In the Northern Hubei Campaign, the imperial losses were too great, and it was nothing to lose Wuhan, and the jade fragments of hundreds of thousands of soldiers were the main thing, and the Chinese army is now going east along the river, and the commander of the west tail is under great pressure, and the base camp can only ensure the needs of East China first. Full // this // small // say // net"

"But I don't think so, although the danger in the Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou region is great, but the danger in North China is probably greater, in order to support the battle in northern Hubei, North China has transferred two divisions and two brigades, the strength is seriously insufficient, the material reserves are exhausted, there is no replenishment, and the North China Dispatch Army has never been weaker than this." Tatetakanosuke's tone was very sincere, mixed with a hint of anxiety.

"Litaka-kun, it's impossible in this situation," Muto Akira looked at Litakanosuke's disappointed look, sighed softly, and was about to comfort the other party, when the phone rang, he grabbed the phone, and after a few words, he put down the phone and said to Litakanosuke: "Litaka-kun, there is a chance, tomorrow a joint meeting will be held at the base camp, the cabinet, the General Staff Headquarters, the Ministry of the Army, the Ministry of the Navy, and in addition, His Majesty will send Mr. Kido of the Imperial Inner Province to observe, and you can state the requirements for the dispatch of troops from North China at the meeting." ”

Ishihara's strategy caused a huge shock in Tokyo, and there were many opponents in the Ministry of War, but it was also supported by many high-ranking generals, such as Tada Jun, the emperor's attendant, and the commander of the Southern Army, Terauchi Toshiichi, and the commander of the Kwantung Army, Umezu Mijiro, especially in the navy, the commander-in-chief of the military commander, Nagaya Shusei, and the Minister of the Navy, Shigetaro Shimada, all expressed their support.

The joint meeting failed to approve Ishihara's strategy and quickly reacted to the Imperial Palace, and Hirohito, who was anxiously waiting, quickly reacted and asked the Ministry of the Imperial Household to inform Koiso Kuniaaki that the strategy should be determined as soon as possible, and Koiso Kuniaki understood it and immediately informed all parties that a joint meeting of the Cabinet headquarters would be held at the Ministry of War tomorrow, and that the directors of the War Ministry's bureaus, the chiefs of the General Staff Departments, the Navy Ministry's bureaus, and the heads of the Military Command Divisions and above could attend the meeting as observers.

It was unprecedented for the bureau chief to participate in the joint meeting, but it also showed that Kuniaki Koiso was determined to determine the strategy for the next few years at this meeting.

This unprecedentedly large meeting was held in the conference hall of the General Staff Headquarters, and in the front half of the hall was a rectangular conference table, and the directors and section chiefs attending the meeting sat in three rows of chairs in the back half. At the front of the room is a projector and a huge screen on the wall.

There is also a special seat next to this table, which is reserved for the governor of the Imperial Household Province, Kido, who is a representative of the emperor and usually only attends meetings.

As soon as Koiso announced the meeting, Ishihara stood up and walked to the conference table and projected a production form onto the screen.

Ishihara knew that Koiso Kuniaki's decision to convene such a meeting was to support him, to lay out all of Japan's problems at this meeting, and to defeat the hardliners with facts.

"Since last year, the Imperial Army has suffered a series of defeats, first in Changsha, then in Lawu, then in Midway, and then in northern Hubei, and this series of defeats seems to be accidental, but in fact it exposes a serious problem, a problem that we do not want to admit, that the Empire does not have the strength to support such a large battlefield."

Ishihara's first sentence brought the atmosphere in the conference room to a freezing point, and the ministers at the conference table in front of him were still calm, and most of the bureau chiefs and section chiefs present in the back showed disgruntled expressions.

"This is the industrial production table of the empire last month," Ishihara walked to the screen and tapped the screen lightly with his command stick: "The steel output of 7.12 million tons is the highest in the history, and the output of grain, coal, and oil has exceeded that of the pre-war period; But what about our losses? Last year, the Navy lost xxx ships of various types, the total tonnage amounted to more than a million tons, the Air Force lost 2,700 aircraft of various types, and 3,600 tanks and armored vehicles, but what about additions? 1264 tanks were produced last year, 0 ships, the number of merchant ships converted into warships was four, and two more were under construction; There are 2,300 aircraft, including 870 fighters and 1,045 bombers. In the 14th year of the Showa era, on the eve of the Pacific War, the imperial army's armament reserve could equip 123 divisions, and the total strength of the imperial army at that time was only 141 divisions, and now the total strength of the imperial army is 182 divisions, but the reserve has dropped to 103 divisions. ”

Ishihara explains the figures on the chart one by one, and the table is divided into two columns, one for last year's production and one for last year's losses, and in all comparisons, the figures in the first column are greater than those in the back.

What do these numbers mean? It can only be said that the use of the empire's strength has reached its limit, but if it wants to defeat the allies, or if it wants to fully meet the needs of the army, the steel production must reach more than 12 million tons, and the shipbuilding capacity must reach one million tons per year, but the empire's current shipbuilding capacity is only 400,000 tons, and in short, the empire's production capacity of various materials must be doubled or tripled. Can the empire do it? ”

Ishihara's words made a buzz in the audience, and several officers almost stood up to refute it, Sugiyama Moto coughed lightly twice, and the buzzing suddenly disappeared, and Sugiyama Mototo stared at Ishihara proudly.

Ishihara ignored him at all, but released a second film, which is a map of East Asia and Southeast Asia and the Pacific: "The empire's battle line is very long, from the Great Khing'an Mountains to New Guinea, from Burma to the Marshall Islands, fighting simultaneously with China, the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union, the empire invested a total of 187 divisions, with a total strength of 3.6 million, 3 million army, 500,000 navy, and 100,000 air force; On the battlefield of Soviet Russia, there were 36 divisions and regiments, with a total strength of 450,000; The Southern Army had 500,000; China sent 1.45 million troops and 600,000 domestic troops. It must be noted that the battlefield of Soviet Russia includes Soviet Russia and its allies, and these 36 divisions are all Category C divisions, and the original Kwantung Army, which was brave and good at fighting, has long been emptied, leaving only an empty shelf. ”

This time, there was no sound in attendance, and part of the elite of the Kwantung Army was transferred to the Southern Army, and the last elite was transferred to the China Dispatch Army after the Northern Hubei Campaign.

"Now I'll talk about the various battlefields," Ishihara said at the beginning of today, not as strong as yesterday, but with the same facts: "First of all, the Shina battlefield. ”

What is displayed on the screen is a panorama of the battlefield in China: "The total strength of the China Dispatch Army is 1.45 million, of which 950,000 are in North China, including 200,000 in Shandong, 140,000 in Suiyuan Chahar, 260,000 in Shanxi, 200,000 in Hebei, 90,000 in Henan, and 60,000 in Rehe." 500,000 in East China, 220,000 in the former 11th Army, 40,000 in Shanghai, 50,000 in Zhejiang, 100,000 in Jiangsu, and 90,000 in Anhui. ”

"However, my lords, this is only on paper, the North China Dispatch Army reported that the total shortage of troops was 60,000; After the 11th Army withdrew to Anqing, there were only 42,000 people left in the whole army, with a shortage of 180,000, and the rest of the troops were short of 24,000. ”

"What about the battlefield of China, the army of China? According to the number of the China Army found by the various departments, the nine war zones of China, 600,000; five theaters, 800,000; three theaters, 400,000; Sulu theater, 400,000; War Zone I, 500,000; Leaving aside the question of whether these figures are accurate or not, the number of the Chinese army far exceeded that of the Imperial Army; In addition, in order to protect important strongholds and communication arteries, the Imperial Army could use no more than 600,000 troops for frontal combat, including a vast front from Suiyuan, Shanxi, and Anhui. ”

…

Ishihara made full preparations today, and he spoke for an hour and 20 minutes, and made detailed comparisons in every battlefield, from the Shina battlefield to the southern battlefield, from the army to the air force, and in each of the battlefields, the comparison of troops, firepower, and material conditions. Finally, he made a detailed analysis of the Battle of Northern Hubei and its impact on the war as a whole.

"In the Battle of Northern Hubei, the Imperial Army not only lost more than 100,000 troops, but more importantly, the change of the Chinese Army, through this campaign, we can find that the Chinese Army has surpassed the Imperial Army in terms of equipment, at least the Central Army and the Southwest Army of China have surpassed the Imperial Army; Secondly, the tactical capabilities of the Chinese army have been greatly improved; Think about it, in Xuzhou and Yucheng, the Chinese army had to have three to four times the strength to block the attack of the imperial army in the blocking battle, and in the attack, the Chinese army had to concentrate six to seven times the strength to break through the imperial army's defense line; But the Battle of Northern Hubei tells us that now the situation has changed, as long as China exceeds the imperial army by three times, it can break through the imperial army's defense line and block it, and the same force can block the imperial army's attack. ”

This conclusion once again made a buzzing voice in the audience, and countless angry eyes shot from that side, Ishihara was not there, and he did not give Sugiyama Gen a chance, but directly explained his strategy.

"The excessive use of national power, the excessive dispersion of the use of forces, has led to the fact that our forces are weak everywhere; The main purpose of this strategy was to concentrate the main forces and carry the Yin* Army to North China and fight a decisive battle in the North China Plain. ”

After speaking, Ishihara bowed slightly to Koiso Kuniaki according to Japanese etiquette, and then lowered the command pole and returned to his seat.

The ministers at the conference table did not speak, but the buzz from the audience became louder, and Koiso Kuniaki spoke softly: "Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that through Chief Ishihara's explanation, you have fully understood the current predicament facing the empire, and if you have any opinions, please speak freely." ”

As soon as Koiso Kuniaki's words fell, Sugiyama Yuan immediately spoke: "I don't agree with this strategy of defeat, although the Northern Hubei Campaign was frustrated, the imperial army did not reach the time when it was unbearable; Gentlemen, since the beginning of the Sino-Japanese War, the empire has been fighting the strong with the weak. War is not just about weapons, the soldiers of the Imperial Army not only have weapons, but also the spirit of bushido. ”

The corners of Ishihara's mouth twitched slightly, revealing a trace of contempt, Koiso Kuni Showa and other civil officials in the cabinet frowned slightly, and even Kido next to him couldn't help but shake his head slightly, these words have been said for six years, and there is no new meaning.

Yesterday was interrupted, I'm very sorry, I'll make up for it in two days

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