Age of Rebirth

The new commander-in-chief of the Japanese Kwantung Army, General Umezu Yoshijiro, revealed so many secrets in one breath. Of course, it was not just for the sake of conquering the number one confidant of the former commander-in-chief, General Minamijiro, Lieutenant General Matsuda Kenjiro, the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army. For this alone, the pattern is too small.

The purpose of General Umezu Yoshijiro is to convey the confidence of victory to all the generals of the Kwantung Army through Chief of Staff Matsuda, the old man of the Kwantung Army, and to tell the generals that I am prepared to take over the position of the Kwantung Army boss. Come, follow me, you have to adapt to my style of play.

Indeed, when General Umezu Yoshijiro was still in Japan, the newly formed Third Army, under his orders, marched out and gathered in Vladivostok, a place to look around. If Vladivostok is located geographically In terms of location, it can radiate the Liaoxi Corridor, Liaodong Peninsula and Ximan area, but the most convenient is the nearest route to reinforce the Far East dispatched troops.

However, General Umezu Yoshijiro has absolutely no plans to reinforce the Far East Dispatch Army. In his opinion, Prince Zaihito, the Chief of the General Staff of Japan, commanded more than [-] troops in the Far East Dispatch Army. In addition to the army, the empire's largest overseas military group, of course, the Kwantung Army now has more troops than the Far East Dispatch Army, but the pressure it faces is also greater than that of any heavy military group.

Moreover, General Umezu Yoshijiro has some criticisms about Prince Zairen’s insistence on including the Far East into the territory of the Empire of Japan. It’s not that it’s not feasible. The reason for the imperial army’s expedition to various places is to open up for the Empire of Japan. Is it a matter of expanding the territory, but a question of when?

As far as the current situation is concerned, the Korean Peninsula, Manchuria, and the Far East seem to be three different battlefields.In fact, it is connected as one, and the most important thing is Manchuria. What Prince Zairen did is tantamount to putting the cart before the horse. More than [-] imperial troops were dragged in the Far East. , but can't divide troops for reinforcements at all, this is a strategic mistake.

about this point.However, it coincided with the former commander-in-chief, General Nanjiro, Manchuria was not guaranteed, and the Korean Peninsula and the Far East became two separate war zones that were not connected to each other.That Chinese devil, Tang Qiuli, can command troops.Take it easy and break it.However, despite such foresight, General Umezu Yoshijiro could not command the Far East Dispatched Army, nor the North Korean Garrison.

But in this possible situation, a path was made for the Kwantung Army.But it can be done, and it is also a duty within the scope of authority, even though it is in the local area, it has not yet arrived in Manchuria.Prince Zairen made a request to himself through private channels. The newly formed third army went to the Far East battlefield to assist the Far East Dispatch Army to break the current deadlock on the battlefield. Then, the entire division of the Far East Dispatch Army withdrew to Manchuria. Kill two birds with one stone.

If the more than 50 troops of the Far East Dispatch Army retreat into the territory of Manchuria, there is nothing to fear from the external pressure of several corps in the independent division of China. The prospect is attractive, but it will take time, and what the Kwantung Army lacks is time. That The mortal enemy of the empire, Tang Qiuli, the devil of China, would attack the Liaoxi Corridor and Ximan area in Manchuria at any time around him. Moreover, the lost Liaodong Peninsula area was a serious problem for the Kwantung Army.

Based on the above considerations, General Umezu Yoshijiro rejected Prince Zairen's special envoy with a blunt but obvious attitude. The Third Army, which has recharged its energy, has a strong army, and is equipped with new weapons, is his only weapon to turn the tide of the war in Manchuria. How could he put down his own safety and go all the way to the Far East to make wedding dresses for others?

All the above scenes flashed through the mind of General Meijin like a movie. I have offended the powerful chief of the general staff by refusing Prince Zairen’s request. If there is nothing surprising in Manchuria, I’m afraid , the life in the future will not be easy, he knows very well that he has no foundation in the base camp, let alone any contacts, and is basically alone.

To be able to take over the position of commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, to put it bluntly, is the result of the compromise of various factions. I, a person who has nothing to do with any faction, has more roles, and may be a transitional figure. I don’t know how many people there are in the local high-level , staring at Manchuria with red eyes, just waiting for himself to stumble so that he could replace him.

Therefore, facing Chief of Staff Matsuda's absolutely admiring eyes, General Meijin was not at all complacent, but asked: "Matsuda-san, who is in command of the troops assembled in the south of Fengtian?"

Chief of Staff Matsuda, who was completely impressed by the tactics of Commander-in-Chief Meizu, replied respectfully: "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, is the Deputy Chief of Staff, Major General Inoue Imajima, but he has been in office for a very short time, and he has not had time to start. The reorganization of the troops, therefore, the current combat effectiveness of the Kwantung Army troops south of Fengtian is worrying!"

"No problem!" General Meijin said lightly: "Matsuda-kun, the three and a half brigades under the command of Major General Inoue can be used as a second-line force to counterattack the Liaodong Peninsula. In this way, they can be quickly integrated into two detachments and assigned to the [-]th. With the command of the [-]th Division, the original Fengtian Southern Defense Command was abolished, as for Major General Inoue, I will return to Fengtian immediately to assist you in your work!"

"Yes! Commander-in-Chief, I will issue your order right away!" Chief of Staff Matsuda said respectfully, "Commander-in-Chief, when do we choose to start the campaign to counterattack the Liaodong Peninsula?" He raised the most critical question .

General Umezu Yoshijiro pondered for a while, and said: "At dawn the day after tomorrow, the [-]th and [-]th divisions can reach the area south of Fengtian this afternoon. One day and one night of preparation time is enough. I will personally go to the front line to command the By the way, Mr. Matsuda, I proposed that the military meeting held tomorrow morning can be cancelled, but a small-scale, secret military meeting needs to be held."

"Participants, Lieutenant General Ono, Commander of the [-]th Division, Lieutenant General Kumamoto, Commander of the [-]th Division, Deputy Chief of Staff Inoue, and all officers of the General Staff Department, the smaller the scope, the better. Mr. Matsuda, the degree of keeping a secret is inversely proportional to the number of people who know it, the location of the military meeting is set in Liaoyang, you should rush to Liaoyang to prepare for it this afternoon!"

Chief of Staff Matsuda saluted, and left in good spirits. It seemed that after a short conversation with Commander-in-Chief Meizu, he gained great motivation. Looking at the back of Chief of Staff Matsuda, he disappeared in front of his eyes. There was a cold light, and his mind had already turned to the two divisions that were about to arrive.

In the sunshine at the end of June in the Northeast, on the rugged mountain roads in the East, the front and rear convoys could not be seen, and the dust rolled up all over the sky, like an earth dragon, meandering towards Liaoyang, the two divisions of the Japanese Third Army The regiment of tens of thousands of horses got off the train secretly at Mudanjiang, and then drove by land to the Fengtian area.

Before the Japanese army took action, according to the order of General Meijin, they had carried out almost cruel precautionary measures along the way, and even those villages on the main roads, which were easy to expose the marching targets of the troops, were completely erased from the map of the Northeast. "The dead will not reveal any secrets!" General Meijin told his subordinates.

At the same time, several empty trains covered with camouflage nets still galloped towards Harbin in the original direction. The stations they passed along the way were closely guarded like never before. Officials also have no right to approach the trains. The special troop trains, except for stopping to refill water and coal, go north all the way.

With such a high level of security measures, the speculation and discussions of the residents along the train naturally aroused the vigilance of those who cared, including the Intelligence Department of the Independent Division, and the special agents in various parts of the Northeast. The headquarters of Peking.

In Kailu County, Eastern Mengdong, in the headquarters of the North China Field Corps, Zhao Yu, the chief of staff of the independent division commander, and major general, walked into the extremely secret office of the division commander Tang Qiuli, "Master, we have received information from the intelligence department, and our troops in various parts of the Northeast The agents found that there were several camouflaged trains, and the places they passed were under strict security measures, running all the way to Harbin. The intelligence office judged that these should be the troop transport trains of the two divisions mobilized by the Japanese Third Army !"

Zhao Yuhe reported concisely, "Harbin?" Tang Qiuli raised his head from a pile of telegrams, frowned slightly, and said, "Yuhe, judging from the directions in which the two divisions of the Japanese army moved, it seems that they are going north to join the The possibility of the Far East battlefield is extremely high, what do you think?"

Zhao Yuhe obviously had a long-term judgment and replied: "Master, I always believe that the Japanese army with two divisions of tens of thousands of troops joining the battlefield in the Far East will not help the matter. However, since the destination of the Japanese troop train is Harbin , making this possibility even bigger, from Harbin to the Far East, there is a railway line that can maneuver quickly!"

"Moreover, from Jiamusi to the northeast border, the Japanese troops of these two divisions can directly enter the battlefield in the southern part of the Brea Mountains. Could it be that Nanjiro wanted to use the strength of the two divisions to disrupt the deployment of Deputy Division Commander Liu? And the Far East Dispatched Army who covered Zairen, withdrew to the Northeast?"

Tang Qiuli shook his head and said: "The strength of the two divisions is not enough to change the current situation in the Far East battlefield. For now, the intention of the Japanese troops mobilized by these two divisions is still unclear. I ordered the Intelligence Department to strictly monitor them. I want to see, what kind of medicine is sold in Nanjiro's gourd? Besides, have the other two divisions of the Japanese Third Army made any moves?"

Tang Qiuli also didn't believe that Nanjiro would lose his head. With just two divisions and no more than [-] soldiers, he wanted to break the deadlock in the Far East battlefield. No one except lunatics would do this. However, the Northeast region will The development of the situation has greatly deviated from his current judgment.

(to be continued) (to be continued...)