On the battlefield of Luzon, the Japanese army with the advantage was forced not to attack, and the Americans were allowed to toss there, and this kind of cat-and-mouse game, whether it was MacArthur, Stilwell, who died in Chutian's plot, or even Tang Qiuli, who had insight into the development trend of all the war situation, made a wrong judgment.!89 Reading Network

To be able to dig such a big hole for the Americans, the leader should allow Senior General Ito Yanzaburo, commander-in-chief of the Japanese South Pacific Dispatch Force, but, wrongly, the current confrontation situation on the battlefield on Luzon Island is by no means what General Ito wants to see.

Obviously, he could effortlessly tear more than 300,000 US troops to shreds and drive the cunning MacArthur out of the Pacific Ocean, and moreover, Senior General Ito personally commanded the Luzon battlefield, and he believed that this battle to encircle and annihilate MacArthur's main force of the US army would definitely be fought very beautifully, and could even become a classic example.

However, it backfired, and just when Commander-in-Chief Ito had almost exhausted the troops defending Singapore, strengthened them to the Luzon battlefield, and rolled up his sleeves to prepare for a big fight, an order from the base camp poured a bucket of cold water on Admiral Ito's head-on, and this order was a trap designed by the Japanese decision-makers for the Americans.

In other words, the fundamental intention of the Japanese was to attract the British and Australian troops in Australia to the Luzon battlefield and create favorable conditions for the next attack on Australia.

However, Senior General Ito Yanzaburo scoffed at this so-called strategic plan, and in his opinion, this plan that anyone with a little military common sense can see through at a glance is not only absurd but also incomprehensible. Ito does not believe that the Americans will be fooled.

If, according to Admiral Ito's plan, the South Pacific islands are captured, the US forces in the region will have been completely wiped out. With the strength of the South Pacific Dispatch Army. With the threat of victory, the island currently occupied was used as the starting point for the attack, and Australia was attacked from several directions at the same time. In terms of the military strength of the British in Australia, it was vulnerable.

There is another layer of meaning, which is Ito's own thoughts, that is, the issue of face, as the commander-in-chief of the dispatch army. Serving as the commander of a strategic main direction of attack is itself unreasonable, and the only reason why Ito made this decision despite the criticism of his colleagues is that Manila, where the regional headquarters of the US military is located, is of extraordinary significance.

With Ito's idea, the Battle of Luzon. It should be the first to end, with all the troops of the 14th Army, plus the troops of the three divisions and two brigades transferred from Singapore, the black tiger digs into the heart and goes straight to MacArthur's lair. Destroying the command organs of the U.S. Army is not in vain to surrender his identity, and he can attack Imperial troops in other directions as a commander. Now that you've completed the campaign mission, it's time to recuperate.

Luzon Battlefield. But it has become such a situation, but the base camp has come again with this unknown order, which is no less than a resounding slap in the face to Commander-in-Chief Ito, not to mention anything else, that is, he was deprived of command and rushed to the front line, and Lieutenant General Yoshihiko Haruta, the commander of the 14th Army, who was not convinced, would laugh off his big teeth,

Therefore, after receiving this order from the base camp, the first thing Commander-in-Chief Ito said to the chief of staff, Major General Kawashima, was, "Kawashima-kun, have you ever seen such a ridiculous and unreasonable order?" Those guys in the base camp will only work behind closed doors, looking at the map to direct the battle, if they do this, they will lose the best fighters, no, I will send a telegram to the base camp, and fight for reason! If you don't change the order, I'll go directly to the Emperor's Majesty! ”

Major General Kawashima, who has followed Ito for many years, of course knows why Commander-in-Chief Ito reacts so strongly to the orders of the base camp and has such a big resistance, from his point of view, the plan of the base camp is absolutely meritorious, looking at the actions of the US troops on Luzon, it is obvious that he is putting on a posture of defending Manila, it can be said that the plan of the base camp has been half successful!

To put it bluntly, Commander-in-Chief Ito is just a face-saving man, of course, this cannot be said clearly, Kawashima hurriedly said: "Your Excellency Commander-in-Chief, please think twice, as a front-line commander, of course, you have the right and the obligation to reflect your opinions to the Supreme Command, but the general You should understand that the base camp can issue such an order, it must have been finally determined after many discussions, and moreover, it was approved by His Majesty the Emperor." ”

"Your telegram is tantamount to denying the collective wisdom of the base camp, and to put it deeper, denying the wisdom of His Majesty the Emperor, can you afford such consequences?"

Ito fell back into his chair like a deflated ball, with a depressed face, the answer is obvious, he can't bear it, any big guy in the base camp, as long as he makes a small trip, he will be uncomfortable, not to mention, there is also the thunderous anger from the emperor's majesty, the throne under the ass will be replaced immediately, it is a matter of the emperor's majesty's words!

But General Ito was not reconciled, so he was tied up his hands and feet, being a spectator of the battlefield, looking at MacArthur's old fox, tossing vigorously in Manila, while he had nothing to do, looked at Kawashima, and said in an unwilling tone: "Kawashima-kun, you should also see the actual situation on the battlefield, the base camp is doing this, it is tantamount to wasting the best fighters, and when the Americans operate in Manila, how many casualties will be added and how much time will be delayed?" ”

Kawashima smiled strangely, handed a report on the battle situation of the base camp to General Ito, and said: "Commander-in-chief, this is just received, the battle report of the General Staff of the base camp, after reading it, you may have a new understanding of the order of the base camp!" There won't be such anger! ”

According to the report of the general staff headquarters of the Japanese army's base camp, as of 15 June, all the battle conditions in the Pacific theater were as of 15 June, since the Japanese Navy's task force completely wiped out the US Navy's Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor and Midway, and after the Japanese Seventh Army attacked the Hawaiian Islands, seven first-class divisions and regiments were organized into the Eastern Pacific Front, and with the cooperation of the Japanese Navy's First and Second Fleets, it launched a number of offensives in the waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean.

By the evening of 15 June, the Japanese army had made multiple assaults, and the offensive was like a tide, and it had already captured Midway, Johnston Island, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Marshall Islands, and between the Japanese mainland and the Hawaiian Islands, a springboard composed of islands was erected, and the link between the Japanese mainland and the Hawaiian Islands battlefield, whether it was transporting supplies or soldiers, there was no worry about the barrier of the vast sea!

Moreover, the land-based fighters and bombers of the Japanese Army Air Force, whose combat radius can penetrate deep into the east coast of the United States and cover the entire eastern Pacific Ocean, the battle situation is absolutely favorable to the Japanese!

After reading the war briefing, Ito Yanzaburo stopped squeaking, his eyes rolled wildly, and he said to Kawashima: "Kawashima-kun, that is to say, the strategic intention of the base camp is to cut off the South Pacific islands, as well as Australia, and the United States mainland, if MacArthur wants to defend Manila, the only way to go is to draw troops from Australia, this way can be taken, the ultimate combat goal of the base camp in the southwest Pacific is to capture Australia!" ”

Kawashima high-fived and admired, "Your Excellency Commander-in-Chief, the department sincerely admires your strategic vision and judgment, and the department also judges in this way, but it is after a long period of thinking before coming to a conclusion, unlike Your Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, after reading the war briefing, you immediately came to a conclusion, which is beyond the reach of the department!" ”

General Ito Yanzaburo, with a gloomy face, showed a slight smile, and after a closer look, there was a hint of pride, obviously, it was very much used by Major General Kawashima's sycophancy, and after the mood improved, Ito further analyzed the battle situation in Luzon.

Ito pretended to be deep and said: "Kawashima-kun, with the current situation of the battle situation on Luzon, we can see the good intentions of the base camp, if the attack of the imperial army is very fierce, once MacArthur feels that Manila cannot be defended, the more than 300,000 American troops on Luzon Island will all withdraw south to Australia, adding a lot of difficulties to the Australian campaign!" ”

Major General Kawashima claimed to be kind, and countless words that were very useful to General Ito rolled out, but in his heart, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm tired to death, I finally let Your Excellency the General change your temper, otherwise, you have to stab Da Lou!" Wouldn't I be implicated too! ”

On the morning of 16 June, Zhao Yuhe, chief of staff, came in with a telegram in the temporary office of Tang Qiuli at the Guangzhou Garrison District Headquarters, saying, "Division commander, I have just received the latest analysis results on the Pacific Theater from the Intelligence Analysis Center of the Intelligence Department. ”

Tang Qiuli took the telegram, read it quickly, shook his head with a smile, and said to Zhao Yuhe: "What do you think of the series of offensives launched by the Japanese army in the eastern Pacific region?" There was a slight sly look in his eyes.

Zhao Yuhe smiled, and secretly thought to himself: "The division commander is testing me again, my judgment and analysis ability of the strategic situation, then let it go, anyway, if it is wrong, the division commander will not laugh at himself!" ”

Zhao Yuhe walked to the map, pointed to the location of the eastern Pacific Ocean, and said: "Judging from the series of offensives launched by the Japanese army in this area, the strategic intention of the Japanese army is to cut off the connection between the continental United States and the islands in the southwest Pacific, as well as Australia, so that MacArthur wants to keep the bridgehead of the future counteroffensive and defend Manila. ”

Tang Qiuli smiled and continued to ask: "Then how to explain the reason why the Japanese army was unable to attack for a long time in the battle of the Hawaiian Islands and fell into a bitter battle?" ”

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