Actually, the old man is not the only one who feels that he has lost, Okamura Ninji also feels that he has lost a little this time, but he can't say it. If the situation on the front line in Zhengzhou continues, the three paratrooper brigades of the Eighth Theater are likely to be completely annihilated in Zhengzhou at the very least, unless a large number of reinforcements can be mobilized to Zhengzhou in a short period of time.

Obviously, before the defeat of the Japanese army's 32nd and 35th field divisions, reinforcements could not arrive in Zhengzhou in time. However, due to some reasons that could not be publicized to the outside world, the North China Front had to retreat.

Why can't the reason for the retreat be announced? That's because Okamura Ninji himself didn't know what to do, and it was an urgent order from the base camp that strictly ordered the North China Front to end the fighting on the North China side within two days, but did not give any reason.

However, as Japan's most strategically far-sighted army officer, even if the base camp did not say it, he guessed the specific reason, but he couldn't be sure.

Okamura believed that the base camp had decided to start a war against the United States and Britain, and the time was just recently, so the base camp did not want something beyond their control in North China, and the war with Chen Feng's department was one of them.

Okamura Ninji's judgment is very accurate, in fact, the Japanese base camp and the government have been discussing for a long time when to start a war with the United States and Britain in writing, but there has been no result, but with the successive victories of Germany in the Soviet Union, the Japanese could not sit still, and they decided to act at the same time as they were moved.

The discussion about the war to the south has been going on for half a month, and during this month, many agreements have been reached between the Japanese base camp and the government. Most importantly, Japan has decided to go to war against the United States and Britain, and the time is focused on the near future.

However, the exact day to launch the attack is still being discussed, and the way in which to attack is also a matter worth discussing, which is also the most important thing to discuss in the base camp during this time.

At the Imperial Council on 5 June, Japan adopted its national defense policy and military program after the war against the United States and Britain, which was the first major revision of the Japanese government's national defense policy and military program since 1907. The fundamental significance of stipulating Japan's national defense lies in the fact that the emperor's grand plan is based on the general interests and carries forward the national prestige. Guarantee the promotion of the interests of the country and the happiness of the people.

Japan's national defense policy is to strengthen its national strength. In particular, armaments have become a force for the stability of East Asia, and at the same time, they have engaged in corresponding diplomatic activities to ensure the development of the country. As soon as something happens. Dominate the enemy first. Quickly achieve the goal of the war. Moreover, in view of the national conditions of the empire, it is particularly important to make every effort to increase the power of the initial stage of the war. In addition, future wars are likely to be prolonged. It is therefore necessary to have the awareness and preparation to withstand such wars.

In view of its original meaning, Imperial Japan's national defense should aim at the United States and the Soviet Union, which had a high probability of conflict with the Great Japanese Empire and possessed great national power, especially armaments, as well as China and Great Britain. To this end, the forces required for the Reich's national defense must be sufficient to control the East Asian continent and the western Pacific Ocean to meet the requirements of the Reich's national defense policy.

In addition, according to the program for the use of troops by the Japanese Imperial Army, the basic operational principle of the Japanese army is: "In accordance with the national defense policy, the army and navy should act in concert and adopt a preemptive offensive to seek a quick victory." To this end, the army and navy should quickly destroy the enemy's field forces and the enemy's main fleet, and at the same time occupy the required territory. In addition, as the war progresses or in view of diplomatic needs, the necessary forces may be used to occupy strategic positions. The Army and Navy shall jointly assume the responsibility for domestic defense, and shall do so to the extent that they do not contradict the basic principles of the above-mentioned operations. ”

Since the only countries that could pose a threat to Japan in East Asia were the United States and Japan, the Japanese headquarters and government at the Imperial Council on June 5 placed special emphasis on the essentials of war against the Soviet Union and the United States. When the Soviet Union was the enemy, the Japanese base camp believed that the goal should be to quickly defeat the Soviet enemy in the Far East and occupy the required territory.

In order to achieve the above objectives, the base camp demanded that the army should first quickly defeat the enemy on the Ussuri side, especially its air force, and cooperate with the navy to capture Vladivostok and other important places with the necessary forces, and then defeat the enemy on the Heilongjiang and Daxingling sides, and then crush the invading enemy as the battle progressed.

In addition, according to the situation, if necessary, we will cooperate with the navy to occupy important points in the northern part of Sakhalin, on the other side of Sakhalin Island, and on the Kamchatka side. In the initial stage of the operation, the navy should quickly annihilate the enemy's fleet in the Far East and control the coastal area of Russia in the Far East, and at the same time cooperate with the army to annihilate the enemy's air force on the Ussuri side, and then cooperate with the army to capture Vladivostok and other important points, and control the Heilongjiang River valley. If the enemy's fleet in Europe approaches, it should be annihilated.

When the United States was the enemy, the Japanese base camp believed that the initial operational goal was to annihilate the enemy in East Asia, destroy its operating bases, and annihilate its main fleet from its own country.

Of course, when making enemies with the United States, the Navy should be dominant. In order to achieve the above military objectives, the Japanese base camp demanded that the navy should quickly annihilate the enemy's fleet stationed in East Asia and control the East Asian side in the early stage of the operation, and at the same time cooperate with the army to capture Luzon Island and its nearby important places and the enemy's naval base on Guam, and wait for an opportunity to annihilate the enemy's main force when it appears in the East Asian seas.

The Army, in coordination with the Navy, should quickly capture Luzon and its nearby key locations, and the Navy should occupy Guam. After annihilating the main forces of the enemy fleet, the combat operations of the army and navy should be planned and determined on an ad hoc basis.

For the existence of a country, there must be national defense, and national defense cannot be without planning, which is the common knowledge of people with knowledge. Moreover, modern national defense planning must integrate political strategies and strategies in the political, economic, and military fields. Of course, this must be determined in accordance with the fundamental policy of the state, so it is not just a question of the military department, but a problem of the state; therefore, what kind of foreign policy a country adopts can be completely seen from its national defense plan and program for the use of troops.

By revising its national defense plan and military program, Japan has actually determined its next foreign policy, and has nakedly aimed the spearhead at the Soviet Union and the United States; because Japan has already signed a neutrality treaty with the Soviet Union, and in view of the uncertain factor of Chen Feng's department in the middle, the Japanese Government is in fact ready to take action against the United States and Britain.

But there is a very serious matter that must be resolved as soon as possible before we do it, and that is about the screening of war opponents, that is, the United States, Britain and the Netherlands can be separated and cannot be separated.

Japan. Tokyo. Palace.

The debate over the inseparability of the United States, Britain and the Netherlands continued, and the discussion lasted for a long time without any results. However, it was some less important ministers who were speaking before, and none of the people who could really influence the Japanese court spoke.

Seeing that the time was almost up, Prime Minister Fumima Konoe got up and said: "Having said all this, you still don't have a definite conclusion about the separability and inseparability of the United States, Britain and the Netherlands, but the main force of the southward operation is the navy, let's listen to the opinion of the navy, right?" ”

Hearing Konoe Fumima's name, the Minister of the Navy and Admiral Kawakoshiro stood up and said, "Your Majesty and your lords, the main target of the empire's southward march is the Dutch East Indies, because only there is the oil and rubber that the empire needs, especially oil. If the Empire wants to achieve its goals by force, the obstacles in its path are Manila and Singapore. Manila and Singapore are the strategic and strategic bases of the United States and Britain in the Far East, respectively. ”

"If the empire were to expand into the Dutch East Indies, it would be better to strategically break through the weak link of the power of the United States and Britain, and strategically limit the opponent to the Netherlands. But now that the Dutch government has gone into exile in London, Britain and the Netherlands have in fact formed an inseparable relationship, so it is absolutely impossible to use a strategy to drive a wedge, so the relationship between Britain and the Netherlands is inseparable. The problem is the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom. ”

"The political unity between the United States and Britain is a traditional fact, and it is an extravagant hope to separate the United States and Britain. In addition, the Army and the Admiralty, the headquarters of the Army, had repeatedly discussed the idea of resolving the southern issue, and concluded that Britain and the United States were absolutely inseparable, and stressed that the use of force to expand into the south must be premised on the use of force against Africa. If our side takes the initiative to use force against the Philippines and turns the United States into the main enemy, the United States, Britain and the Netherlands will inevitably all declare war on the empire, so the empire will take the United States, Britain and the Netherlands into account when starting a war. ”

Kagawa Koshiro analyzed the political relationship between the United States, Britain and the Netherlands, which was more convincing, so as soon as he finished speaking, all the ministers in the entire palace bowed their heads and communicated.

However, it was not without objections, and soon the former Minister of the Navy, Mitsumasa Minei, stood up and said: "Your Majesty, Your Excellency, Your Excellency, and Your Excellency Kazukawa's judgment is too absolute, and politics is rarely absolute, and there must be room for measures. Even if it is extremely difficult to separate the United States and Britain strategically, as long as strategic separation is possible, it is necessary to avoid the use of force against the Philippines and try to separate the United States and Britain from the overall viewpoint of guiding the war, and this is not necessarily impossible. ”

Senior Admiral Nagano Shusei, chief of the Naval Operations Department, stood up and retorted: "I think it is impossible to strategically separate the United States and Britain, and first of all, if we leave the Philippines to conduct a southern operation, we will inevitably be attacked by the US forces based in the Philippines, and the tough attitude of the United States has shown that it will not watch the colonies of Britain and the Netherlands be taken away by the Empire." In order to carry out operations against the south, the US military should not be allowed to use the Philippines as a forward base under any circumstances. ”

"Secondly, it was absolutely necessary to ensure maritime communication between the southern resource zones of Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and the mainland of the empire on the one hand. And the Philippines is a huge threat to this sea line of communication. Further, in order to facilitate the completion of the southern operation, it is advantageous to use the Philippines as an intermediate base and supply base for the operation. (To be continued......)