Iron Cross

The so-called contradiction between Japan and Germany, in fact, both the army and the navy understand that it mainly lies in the northward advance. To put it more bluntly, it is the issue of the final ownership of the Russian Far East and Siberia.

Kanji Ishihara's strategy was to wait and see the Soviet-German war for the time being. If he was convinced that the Soviet Union would fall, the Kwantung Army would move north to seize the Far East and Siberia - if not the whole thing, at least half of it.

The strategy formulated by Hoffman was: peace between the Soviet Union and Germany, the Soviet Union's territory was limited to the east of the Ural Mountains, and 500 kilometers of no-man's land was left to the west as a natural dividing line, to transform the Soviet Union into an Asian country, but it was not necessary to completely eliminate the Bolshevik regime. , and also suggested that Stalin go to Afghanistan and North India to get a share of the pie.

Neither goal is easy to achieve: the realization of Japan's goal requires the Soviet Union to be completely defeated, and Germany is obviously unwilling to shed so much blood. As long as Russia can retain more than 2 million troops, and Germany does not cooperate to continue the offensive, Japan's North Hopes of progress will be in vain; the difficulty in Germany's goal is to make Stalin accept the fact that the Soviet Union has become an Asian country, and at the same time prevent the Soviet Union from swallowing up China - if the Soviet Union invades from Xinjiang and Mongolia, China will definitely not be able to withstand it. The Soviet Union would have a lot of room for maneuver, and both Japan and Germany would face Soviet counterattacks in the future.

Of course, there is a very small risk for Japan and Germany: the Soviet Union holds back on the Ural front, and then the United States sends a large number of land forces (including Army aviation) to the Soviet Far East, storms the Manchurian and Korean fronts, and first eats or suppresses Japan. The basic requirement of this strategy is that the United States does not care about the loss of personnel (at least 500,000 level). Japan and Germany believe that as long as the Americans are in their right mind, they will not choose. However, they cannot but prevent the Americans from having sudden brain convulsions or Possibility of breakage.

Therefore, the northward advance is a thorn between Japan and Germany: Germany does not mind letting Japan share some benefits in the Far East, but swallowing it up is impossible. It's not that Germany is stingy and refuses to give Japan this part of its territory, but that Germany wants to prevent Japan from indigestion. The current top brass of the Army may also pursue rational goals, but those at the bottom are not so easy to talk to. So when Horikichi said it would be postponed to May and tried to prevaricate the Germans, Ishihara Kanji immediately reacted - he was also troubled by this matter, so he simply did not consider advancing northward and only attacked in the direction of India, hoping to use India to defeat the enemy. The grassroots Red Deers should release more energy to prevent them from overthinking.

After listening to Horikichi's macro-strategic analysis at the Naval Operations Seminar, everyone was silent. Everyone discovered the fact that Japan is too small and its national power is too weak. It is not easy to gain the upper hand now. The best choice is to immediately The armistice gave Japan the opportunity to quickly turn the currently occupied areas into part of its productive forces. At the same time, it encouraged a large increase in population, effectively strengthened regional control, and consolidated and improved long-term strength. To achieve this goal, it doesn't matter even if you temporarily give up a little territory, but it's a pity that the Americans will not appreciate it.

"The Navy is now stuck in the same vicious circle that the Army has on the China issue - whether it wins or loses, the other side just refuses to make peace and won't let go!" Horikichi sighed, "The Army can still be in China. Retreat and shrink the front, because retreating does not have to worry about the Chinese counterattack, but the United States is different. As long as we show the slightest sign of retreating or wavering, we will pounce on us like hungry wolves. It is difficult... it is difficult..."

"Sir..." Nishimura Shoji took a step forward, "If the United States is unwilling to make peace, then we will defeat him."

"Yes! Let's defeat him!" Everyone said in unison.

Horikichi shook his head: "It's impossible to conquer. It would be ideal to let the Americans retreat despite the difficulties. That's why I want to seize power, reform, and concentrate all my efforts. Those who know me say that I am worried. Those who don’t know me say that I have wrong ideas.”

Yamamoto Isoroku nodded. His old friend's words must be sincere - he is 60 years old, already at the peak of his power, and also has great martial arts skills. He neither wants to usurp the throne nor open the palace, what else do he want? I just want this country to be on a more stable path.

"Sir, please give me the direction. We will sink our boats and die."

"I heard that in the past two days, some people have been discussing the strategy of counterattacking in the direction of Solomon and even seizing Australia?"

"Indeed." Takasu Shiro nodded. "The army and navy have been in frequent contact in the past two days. Many people in the army said so. There are also many mid-level staff officers in the Navy Ministry and Military Command who are ready to make a move. Some people say this is His Majesty's idea. Let's see the reason. It's very simple to get up there: the US military is dragged in the Atlantic by the Germans, Panama is blocked, and the Falkland Islands are blocked by Germany. Isn't the Pacific still free for us to roam freely? If we miss a territory like Australia, we won't have this opportunity. The combined fleet is now in full swing, and the army is in full swing. There is also spare power to cooperate with the Australian strategy. Some people even said that if Australia can be captured, mainland China's rights and interests will not be forgotten except for a few key ports and islands. "

Onishi Takijiro added: "Of course this is the idea of ​​young people. The top army officials, including Prime Minister Tada and Commander-in-Chief Ishihara, are very cautious. They only talk about completing the Indian strategy and never mention Australia, and even counterattack the Nanyang Islands. They didn’t mention it either. But they were very cunning and didn’t say no, they just said they would wait for the navy to make a decision. If the navy is determined, the army can cooperate.”

Horikichi nodded: "I understand. To sum up, in this situation, the old men are already trembling and walking on thin ice, and want to retreat and defend for a while, while the young men still complain that their steps are too slow and too timid. They can still go on. Rush forward."

Everyone didn't know how to answer this sentence. It was obviously wrong, but they didn't know how to refute it.

Inoue Narumi laughed and said: "What do they know? When the war situation is unfavorable, they are extremely pessimistic, thinking that the country will be destroyed in two days; when the war situation is favorable, they are extremely optimistic, thinking that Japan is omnipotent, and God is the boss of us. After listening to them The country is really ruined.”

"It is not impossible to conquer Australia and New Zealand, but the way they are considering is wrong. If we start from the direction of Solomon and New Guinea, we will not be able to win in a year, let alone half a year. In a war, we must find the enemy's weak points." Hori Tiji smiled slightly and said, "Can you guys tell me what are the weaknesses of the US military?"

"I think it's because I'm afraid of death." Kakuji Tsunoda was the first to stand up and speak.

There was a lot of discussion at the scene. Some people agreed, while others believed that judging from the two years of fighting, the US military was not as afraid of death as previously estimated, and Caribbean and Tarawa also fought very tenaciously.

"Kakuda-kun, tell me your reasons."

"Let me give you an example. U.S. carrier-based aircraft pilots often have a numerical advantage, but their skills are not good enough to defeat our army. If they are not afraid of death, they can completely narrow, level or even reverse this gap." Tsunoda explained, "If I were in command , I will let the pilots engage in collision battles. The American aircraft is not slow and the body is very strong. If it can't defeat us, it can be rammed. One aircraft for one, two lives for one. As long as we can crash 500 of them, our army's outstanding pilots will be basically finished. Without these elite pilots, how can we compete with the Americans in terms of the number of aircraft? There is absolutely no chance of winning..."

Yamamoto Isoroku nodded, thinking that what Tsunoda said made sense, but based on his understanding of the US military, he believed that this was unlikely. Unless they hit the United States and the Americans were facing life and death, they would not do this.

Others also mentioned several aspects, including: the command tactics of US military generals are relatively rigid; the US military is spread across two oceans and is too distracted by allies; the current unit combat effectiveness of the US military is too low...etc.

"Everyone's opinions are very pertinent and clear-headed. Only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you win every battle." Horikichi nodded, "Let me tell you what I think. I think a fatal problem of the US military is that it relies too much on supplies and has too high logistics requirements. Have you seen the US military's rations? If the US military's individual rations are paired with some rice balls, it will be enough for our soldiers for a week, and no one will think that if the US military uses our military's logistics standards, their morale will have collapsed. …”

"That's why they say the American Young Master Soldier..." Someone made a humorous comment, and everyone laughed.

"In this case, wouldn't it be better to cut off their logistics? Why do we have to go to all the trouble to fight?" Horikichi strode to the map, pointed at the chart with his pointer and said, "The US military in the direction of Australia and New Zealand, except for food and parts In addition to the daily necessities provided by Australia and New Zealand, the rest of the heavy equipment, supplies, and ammunition must be shipped from the mainland. We can completely cut off this line! Let the US military have no oil, no tanks, no aircraft, no artillery shells, and lose protracted operations. ability!"

Everyone's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Kakuharu Tsunoda, Shoji Nishimura, Masafumi Arima!"

"I'm here!" The three of them stepped forward respectfully.

"Order the three of you to lead the Second Air Battle to attack in 15 days!" Horikichi pointed at the map, "The Zuihe will be completely repaired in 10 days. I will incorporate it into the Second Air Battle to strengthen its strength, and the slow Taitaka will withdraw. In the second aviation battle, I will incorporate Musashi and Kongo into the second aviation battle. You go to the waters east of the Marshall Islands to break diplomatic relations and intercept all US military transport fleets coming from the United States to Australia and New Zealand, especially oil tankers. You cannot use a single It has slipped through the net! It is estimated that the U.S. Pacific Fleet currently has no or only one regular aircraft carrier, so you can fight with confidence! In terms of artillery battles and aviation battles, you are fully confident!"

"yes!"

"Remember to avoid the U.S. military island airport! You are here to break the relationship, not to fight with the Americans. Take it when it's cheap, take it when it's good, and don't fold your capital into it. I won't control it if you break the relationship. The three of you make your own decisions, remember the essence of breaking ties you learned from the Germans, and I will ask the German army to send a few advisers to go with you."

"clear!"

"Other forces of the Combined Fleet continue to train and adapt in China. When they return to China from the Second Air War in May, we will hit a big goal together."

"Sir, where are we going to fight?"

"Attack Midway first, then attack the West Coast, and avoid Pearl Harbor!" Horikichi said confidently, "During this period, I must advance the reform first. This is a major event that will benefit us in the long run!"