Iron Cross

"What do you want?" Yamamoto Isoroku was very patient. After seven days, it was not until the evening of October 5th, when the excitement brought about by the Navy Celebration Ceremony had basically dissipated, that he went to see Horikichi again, but the meeting The first sentence was very rude.

"Can't you understand my thoughts?"

"I understand, how could I not understand? Even if others don't understand, it's not that I don't understand." Yamamoto Isoroku's tone was very sincere, "I understand your eagerness for change, but your request is too fast and too fast. It’s urgent, you should take your time, and many of the methods you have taken are too dangerous and too rash in my opinion.”

"So you still don't understand." Horikichi replied slowly.

"You!" Yamamoto Isoroku was furious for a moment, but he immediately became calm the next second, "Okay, I don't understand, tell me what I should do?"

"This is something I wrote on the way, and I plan to submit it with a memorial on the curtain." Horikichi did not chatter with Yamamoto, and he did not care about the other party's attitude - the two of them are so familiar that they often don't need hypocritical politeness. , since he was appointed as the marshal and admiral of the navy, he naturally had to use this power.

""On the Reform of the Imperial Navy's Wartime System."" Yamamoto Isoroku began to read unconsciously, "In order to conform to the world trend, enhance the naval combat power, and ensure the future survival and development of the Empire, we propose suggestions on the reform of the naval system. as follows……"

He finished reading it in a few minutes, shook his head and said with a bitter smile: "You have finished the work that I should do. How about I resign tomorrow and you take over as my replacement?"

"Haha, this is impossible..."

"These reform regulations of yours are almost impossible..." Yamamoto Isoroku flicked the report paper, "If nothing else, the first article will not pass. You are poaching the lifeblood of the Fleet Faction."

The first reform idea proposed by Horikichi is to expand the scope of officer selection to the Naval Aviation School, stipulating that graduates of the school can enjoy the same qualifications as graduates of the Naval War School, and also requires that the teaching scale of the aviation school be expanded on the existing basis. Expand 2-3 times.

As the cradle of Japanese naval officers, the Etajima Naval Academy graduates less than 200 people a year, and in many cases even less than 150 people. These more than 100 people have to assume administrative staff duties, surface fleet navigation, torpedoes, and gunnery. , submarine force and other positions, there are very few people assigned to the aviation department. Many of the pilots who serve as officers in the aviation force are those who changed their careers halfway through the career. This has created a very strange situation: due to the huge loss of aviation talents, many officers responsible for aviation combat command in the joint fleet are not from the aviation department. , in other words, it is completely a layman directing an expert.

On a larger scale, mine warfare experts like Chuichi Nagumo served as mobile fleet commanders in the past. On a smaller scale, a large number of aviation officers, including shore-based aviation units, were actually trained according to traditional surface ship officers. This does not mean that surface ship officers must not be able to command aviation forces, otherwise there would be no possibility for Yamamoto, Horikichi, Tsukahara, etc. to exist. However, in Horikichi’s view, the consumption of pilots has skyrocketed, which has also affected officers, especially experienced middle and low-level officers. Huge consumption - far exceeding the rate of loss of surface ship officers. If we continue to insist that aviation officers can only be selected from the Naval War School, there will be two negative consequences.

First, the level of aviation officers is getting worse and worse, they are becoming less and less experienced, and even their qualifications are becoming more and more junior;

Second, outstanding aviation non-commissioned officers have not been promoted for a long time, which not only buries talents but also causes command failure.

"It is conceivable that if the old system continues to be used, it would seem natural for an outstanding pilot like Akamatsu Sadaki to obey experienced officers like Genda and Murata Shigeharu, and he himself would not have any objections, but if he is asked to do so in two days How can he have no grudges in obeying a new man who has just graduated and became an officer just because he has a diploma from the Naval Academy?

Horikichi's idea is very clear: in peacetime, soldiers are promoted based on their qualifications and diplomas, but in wartime, there is only one criterion for military promotion, which is military merit! As long as you have the ability and achievements, regardless of whether you have a formal diploma or not, you can become an officer or even a general.

It seems that this is a universal truth, but within the Japanese Navy, which has long adhered to the annual merit sequence and hammock number system, it is obviously extremely deviant. More importantly, Yamamoto knew very well that Prince Fushimi Miyahiro would never agree to such an arrangement. Maintaining the system was just an excuse. The deeper reason was that if aviation school graduates were also qualified to serve as naval officers in the future, the foundation of the Kantai faction would be undermined. Empty - the navy graduates less than 200 people a year, and the aviation school graduates at least 1,000 people a year. You don't have to think about it to know who will rule the world in the future. What's more, the Naval Academy is not monolithic, there are also many aviation factions.

In a word, if this resolution is passed, the naval traditionalists will be completely doomed.

The second reform suggestion proposed by Horikichi is to suspend the rotation system for officers below the rank of general in wartime unless necessary. In order to enhance the practical and comprehensive capabilities of officers during peacetime, the Navy usually implements a multiple-post rotation system, which basically lasts for two years and rotates within a few months. The starting point is good. In peacetime, a large number of generalists are trained and maintained. A small and capable team, but the wartime disadvantages were serious.

Take the Yamato as an example. After only two years of service, it changed four captains like a revolving lantern. Colonel Takayanagi Giya, who cooperated with Hori Teikichi in the South Pacific Campaign, was the longest-serving captain, but it was only a little over a year. How could such a new warship with such a rapid rotation of officers fully master the essentials of combat command? This is the case for surface ships and aviation forces. The relevant commanders basically switch positions between aircraft carriers, land-based and training aviation teams every year.

Hori Teikichi believed that some rotations were really unnecessary, and even rotations were made for the sake of rotation. This expedition lasted from November 1942 to September of the following year before returning home. He keenly discovered that in the later stages of the operation, although a large number of new members from shore and domestic bases were added, because the original command and combat structure remained unchanged, the main officers remained unchanged, the cooperation and tacit understanding of the members improved, and the combat capability continued to improve. Focusing on a certain position is more likely to improve the overall combat effectiveness in wartime.

"Does an aviation officer need to know about engine, gunnery and navigation?" Hori Teikichi said sarcastically, "It would be better to master aircraft technology, combat skills and formation command skills."

Yamamoto Isoroku smiled helplessly: Now the fleet only knows Hori Teikichi and not the Naval General Staff. If the rotation is stopped, I am afraid that the Naval General Staff will not be able to command the Combined Fleet in the future. How can Prince Fushimi Hiroku agree to this?