Iron Cross
Chapter 1098 1944: Speed and Lightning (48)
"Minister Yamamoto sent me a telegram with two pieces of news." Hori Teikichi raised the telegram in his hand, "First, the request for reinforcements of 2 infantry divisions and 4 aviation divisions has been initially approved by the army's top brass, and efforts are being made to mobilize them. They are expected to depart at the end of this month, but the domestic transportation capacity is insufficient, and the ships currently stranded in the direction of Midway Island must be returned first, so our landing operations must be accelerated;
Second, the US side has made a request for peace through diplomatic channels..."
"The Americans finally couldn't hold back and wanted peace!" The group was stunned at first, and then smiled and laughed, overjoyed.
Nishimura Shoji waved his fist and said, "The Americans have also come to this day!"
"Nishimura-kun..." Hori Teikichi smiled and pointed at his name, "If it were you, how would you set the conditions for peace?"
"Ah... this..." Nishimura Shoji was embarrassed, "This is a matter for politicians, the superiors should make the decision, how dare the subordinates make random statements?"
"Tell me, what would you be more satisfied with? Just tell me the main conditions."
"This..." Nishimura Shoji scratched his head, "In my opinion, the Hawaiian Islands and the Aleutian Islands should be ceded to Japan, and the United States should be asked to pay a sum of money... at least... at least... 10 billion US dollars."
"What do you think?"
Everyone expressed their opinions at once, and most of them added to Nishimura Shoji's. Some wanted to cede the California Peninsula, some wanted to cede Alaska, some said that the United States should compensate with 20 Essex-class aircraft carriers, and some said that 3,000 B-29s should be added... However, the mainstream view is that Nishimura Shoji's conditions are almost enough, and the United States will not agree to any higher conditions, which are beyond Japan's capabilities.
Chiaki Matsuda didn't say anything, just looked at Hori Teikichi's expression, and found that the latter sighed slightly and basically understood. The major generals and lieutenant generals who attended the meeting had basically finished speaking, and the atmosphere suddenly became very cheerful. The only one who didn't speak was Tsukahara Jishizo.
"Tsukahara-kun, what about you?"
Tsukahara Jishizo smiled and shook his head: "Although I really want Nishimura's conditions, my intuition tells me that this is impossible, and the Americans will never agree. It's good enough to give us the Philippines. Maybe even Guam, Midway Island and some other small islands will be required for us to withdraw, let alone Hawaii and the Aleutian Islands..."
Everyone looked at each other, and after a long time, Yano Hideo said boldly: "Isn't this condition a bit low? Now Hawaii is almost in our army's pocket. It's a little bit of a reason not to pay compensation. I think it makes sense not to give Alaska and California, but the conditions speculated by Commander Tsukahara are not to mention The Navy cannot agree. Even if the Navy agrees, the Army and the country will not agree. I think the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will never agree. Whoever dares to agree to sign will be killed by the idiots. "
Hori Teikichi remained silent for a long time and said, "What if I want to agree?"
"Sir!?"
A bunch of people stood up in unison, their faces full of worry: "Sir, think twice..."
"Sit down, sit down..." Hori Teikichi asked them to sit down again, "If you are now American generals, what conditions do you think the Empire can agree to?"
"This..." Everyone's face suddenly showed a strange look. How can this be said? It is definitely impossible to reach an agreement.
Shima Kiyohide stood up and said, "The peace talks will naturally be decided by the commander and the ministers. As soldiers, we only know how to follow orders. If the country wants to fight, we will fight to the end, no matter how much we sacrifice, even to Washington; if the country wants peace, as long as it does not harm the fundamental interests of the empire, we can accept it."
"Yes, we will follow the commander's lead. If the commander says war, we will fight. If the commander says peace, we will make peace!"
Hori Teikichi nodded, without explaining the peace terms in detail, and said, "The Jie 3 will attack two islands first to see the situation and weigh it up. The weight of the hand, consume the opponent's vitality, and attack the Aleutian Islands during this period. Intelligence shows that the United States and Russia have frequent movements through the Aleutian-Kamchatka line. In order to prevent accidents, the Aleutian must be reoccupied and the connection between the two must be cut off. This is the content of Operation Jie 4! "
When everyone heard that Jie 4 was going to attack the Aleutian, they suddenly realized: the Aleutian used to be easy to attack and difficult to defend. It was easy to fight, but difficult to defend. However, it is different now. There are many benefits after taking it. Thinking of the conditions for the Japan-US peace talks mentioned by Hori Teikichi, there is no intention to consider the future.
"In addition, we must prepare for a series of operations such as J-5, J-6, and J-7. After the domestic reinforcements arrive, strategic points such as Fiji, Samoa, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia must all be taken down in one fell swoop, leaving Australia and New Zealand alone."
Everyone is eager to fight, and the situation is much better now than after the first Battle of Pearl Harbor. At the beginning, they just wanted to paralyze the combat capability of the US Pacific Fleet and take the opportunity to sweep across the South Pacific. Now, not only has the US Pacific Fleet been basically annihilated, but the Panama Canal is unusable and Cape Horn is blocked by Germany. Japan can do whatever it wants in the Pacific.
However, Matsuda Chiaki saw something different: Hori Teikichi had taken part of Hawaii Island and the Aleutian Islands, and was preparing to take a series of islands to cut off the relationship between the United States and Australia and New Zealand. This showed that the commander had deepened his consideration of Operation Jiehao and had linked it to the politics of the Japan-US peace talks. If the United States could not satisfy Japan in terms of political conditions, these operational plans would become weights to increase Japan's negotiating power one by one, and at the same time, the Hawaiian Campaign could be turned into a war of attrition to siege a point and attack reinforcements. It would depend on how many troops and equipment the US military could fill in the bottomless pit of Hawaii...
"At the same time, the German side sent a note that the Brazilian and South African campaigns are about to begin. After the above-mentioned campaigns are completed, Germany will advance to Central America and the Caribbean. It hopes that our army will cooperate and put forward the requirement of joint operations. After the preliminary principle agreement, it is planned to launch the "Courtesy Operation" at the end of December to capture Panama!"
Kusaka Ryunosuke sighed: "If we have to fight so many battles in the future, I don't think personnel will be a problem, but the supply of materials and equipment may be fatal. Warships may also need time for maintenance and upkeep."
Everyone agreed, and gradually woke up from the enthusiasm just now: let alone landing on the US mainland and fighting to Washington, such a grand and somewhat unrealistic goal, just completing the series of operations and the courtesy operation may take a lot of effort. The commander's obvious concerns and thoughts on peace conditions seem to be justified.
After the meeting, Tsukahara Jishisan was left behind. Hori Teikichi handed him the complete telegram and asked him about his specific thoughts.
"From the reactions of the generals just now, they are definitely unwilling to accept such conditions in their hearts..." Tsukahara weighed his words, "Personally, I agree with your idea in principle, but there is one thing I think we must guard against."
"What do you think?"
"We are not afraid of the United States delaying the war now, because as long as the peace treaty is not signed, we will not stop attacking, and the Americans can't do anything about it. I am only worried about one thing..." Tsukahara lowered his voice slightly, "Even if the United States really wants to make peace now, who can guarantee that a new president will not regret it in a few years? Although they seem to have lost many times, their fundamental strength has not been affected, and their domestic industrial capacity is intact. Once the war stops, they can rebuild in a few years. What if the Pacific Fleet attacks us? Without Hawaii, the Empire cannot contain the powerful force of the US military. The imbalance in the power comparison between Japan and the United States also makes it impossible for us to maintain a fleet that can compete with the United States for a long time.
What's more, Japan and Germany are allies now. It is still unknown whether they will continue to be allies after the end of this war. Without Germany's containment, it will be very difficult for the Empire to deal with the United States alone. Whether the United States is sincere or not, I think Hawaii must be in hand. With this unsinkable aircraft carrier in hand, the Empire has a strategic initiative against the United States. "
Hori Teikichi nodded slightly. What Tsukahara Jishisan said just now was also his concern-not afraid of Americans playing tricks now, but afraid that Americans will regret it in the future! With Hawaii in hand, Japan can at least rely on Hawaii to build a strict defense system and delay it until the domestic emergency mobilization and reinforcement are completed. This is the only way for Japan, as the weaker party, to take the initiative while not having to maintain excessive expenditures on national defense construction.
In the final analysis, one sentence: With Hawaii in hand, Japan and the United States are in balance; without Hawaii, it is very difficult for Japan to maintain a defensive position in the confrontation between Japan and the United States.
"Then, we can only fight?"
"I know you want peace, I want peace too, but peace is not possible now - the conditions are too high, the United States will not agree, the conditions are too low, we will not agree..." Tsukahara Jishisan smiled bitterly, "Why do we always win? This vicious circle of always winning can never be broken! But we can't deliberately lose... It's difficult!"
"Let's take a look at the situation in Germany first. If Germany doesn't make peace, we can't make peace either. It's best to make peace with Germany and get a guarantee from the German side." Hori Teikichi asked, "After taking Hawaii, I want to talk to the head of state again. As long as Germany continues to support the Empire and agrees to our army occupying Hawaii, I can give them the Marshall Islands and some other places, and the South Indochina Peninsula can also be sold to France... Now the Empire owes Germany a huge debt, and this debt cannot be truly equal unless it is paid off."
Currently, Japan's overdue payments are worth more than 27 billion Reichsmarks, and the exposure is still expanding at 1.5-2 billion marks per month, far exceeding the credit that Germany agreed to give. Not to mention that Japan does not have so many precious metals to offset, even if it does, it cannot take them all out, otherwise the Japanese economic system will collapse. The other products delivered by Japan are not very salable. It is not that Germany deliberately lowers the price, but these products are actually only worth this price. Even the rubber that Europe lacks the most can be partially supplemented after Germany takes over South America. There is no shortage problem at all.
In the final analysis, this is still an era where industrial products, especially high-end industrial products, are expensive, and basic products and raw materials are cheap. Germany has firmly taken over Japan. Hoffman is not afraid that Japan has no means of payment. It is easy to deal with money. Hasn't Japan conquered a lot of territory? Wouldn't it be better to take out a few pieces and sell them?
Tsukahara Jishisan agreed with this, but he was more optimistic than Hori Teikichi: "Now we have to find a way to occupy more land. Even if we return it to the United States in the future, the other party must pay for it-then transfer the debt to Germany, let Germany ask the United States to collect the debt, and the Germans are not afraid that the Americans will not give it!"
Hori Teikichi gave a thumbs up: "Your business is good, I think it's okay!"
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