HCB Chapter 229: Early Mobilization of Troops
Chapter 229: Early Mobilization of Troops
As if it had been discussed long ago, Tojo Hideki spoke again at this time: "Your Majesty, the offensive in Southeast Asia and the Pacific is like an arrow that has been shot and cannot be taken back. My opinion is just the opposite. Since we cannot confront the 88th Army head-on, we can find another way and start with other opponents!
The Tang Dynasty only has one 88th Army with a force of no more than 5. We can send a large army to defend against the 88th Army, and on the other hand, concentrate our forces to attack Burma and open up a route to the rear of the Tang Dynasty.
As long as the rear is breached, our imperial army can march straight into the rear of the Tang Dynasty. Then the entire Tang Dynasty will be ours, and his 88th Army will be of no use at all! "
Hearing this, Shan Sanyuan hurriedly interrupted Tojo Hideki: "The Tang Dynasty has sent troops to Burma. They will fight against us together with England. This is a force that cannot be underestimated. Even if we open up the road to the Dian Province of the Tang Dynasty from Burma, what is the terrain of the Dian Province like? It is impossible for the empire's army to be transferred in large numbers in a short time.
In this case, we need a lot of time, at least one year, at most several years. Will the 88th Army give us so much time?
What's more, we have a powerful enemy in the Pacific. The Eagle Sauce Country is not a country that likes to suffer losses. They will retaliate against us one day. What should we do?"
Emperor Showa had completely understood what was said. He signaled the two to keep quiet, and after thinking for a few minutes, he said:
"In short, we are facing at least four powerful enemies:
The first was the Soviet Union, where we deployed a million troops to defend the Kwantung Army;
The second was the Tang army, mainly composed of the 88th Army, which contained most of the empire's forces in North China.
The third is the British Army and its allies in Southeast Asia;
Fourth is Pacific Eagle Sauce. "
Neither Hideki Tojo nor the other person responded. Everyone was aware of the situation and were now waiting for the final decision of their emperor.
In fact, there is no other way to deal with it. Just like the emperor said, there are no resources. Otherwise, how could they invade the Tang Dynasty? How could they invade Southeast Asia?
If there is any problem, the two of them cannot speak first. If they say it, they will have to bear too much responsibility in the future.
Emperor Showa looked at the two men who remained silent, and finally sighed and asked, "What is our total military strength now? What is the age range for mobilizing troops?"
“Your Majesty, at this time at the beginning of last year, our army had 240 million troops. Due to the sudden appearance of the 88th Army, the military upgraded its threat to a high level. For this reason, we quickly recruited soldiers within half a year. The current army strength is 320 million.
The current male population of the Empire is 3500 million, and the age range we are currently mobilizing is between 17 and 45 years old, so there are still people who can be mobilized. "
The emperor thought for a moment and said, "Increase the mobilization efforts and recruit as many men between the ages of 17 and 40 as possible. If that's still not enough, relax the age limit to 50. Tell the training director that the training time can be shortened if necessary.
You should make a plan and send out all the troops that can be mobilized. You must defend against the 88th Army and speed up the offensive in the East Indies so that you can meet domestic needs.
As for Myanmar, you guys can make your own arrangements. Even if the Empire’s army cannot break through the Tang Dynasty from there, at least the Tang Dynasty should pay enough attention to it and disperse their forces.”
.......
A moment later, Hideki Tojo and Sugi Sangen left the Imperial Palace. They walked side by side outside, looking at each other with meaningful eyes.
"Mr. Prime Minister, do we really want to take that step ahead of time?"
"We are forced by the situation. Now that His Majesty the Emperor has given his permission, all we can do is follow the plan!"
"But Prime Minister, why didn't you tell His Majesty the true situation of the 88th Army? You seem to have forgotten to mention something, such as the 88th Army seems to have its own air force, and their fighter planes are something we have never heard of!"
Tojo Hideki shook his head helplessly and said, "The 88th Army has already shocked us too much. We haven't figured out their ground forces yet, and now they have air forces. What's the point of telling your Majesty about those things? Anyway, no matter what, the mobilization plan has to be brought forward. Your Majesty is already distressed enough, so don't add unnecessary trouble."
Shan Sanyuan thought of something and said worriedly, "The navy has always occupied most of the empire's resources. Now in order to fight against the 88th Army, the army has to snatch resources from the navy. I'm afraid the navy will cause trouble!"
In fact, in Japan, the power of Emperor Showa is one of the core of political and social life. However, his actual power is restricted by the political system and the military government, so his power is limited.
He does not have any decision-making power, nor does he have the power to perform any executive or legislative work. His duties are to approve laws passed by parliament and to appoint the prime minister and officials. The emperor's power is not enough to influence government policies and actions, let alone directly command the actions of the military.
The actual highest military and political leader of Japan is the Prime Minister, today's Hideki Tojo, and all national policies are decided by him.
However, Emperor Showa could decide the choice of prime minister to a certain extent and influence Japanese politics and social life through his symbolic role. His words and actions could convey the will and position of the Japanese government and shape public opinion.
Therefore, the link between the Prime Minister and the Emperor can be said to be mutually reinforcing. The Prime Minister needs to rely on the Emperor, but he also has the right to make independent decisions on military and political affairs.
This time, facing the changes in the battlefield situation, Hideki Tojo needed to adjust many deployments, but his cabinet was not united, so he still needed to use the name of the emperor to achieve some goals.
Hideki Tojo was the Prime Minister, that is, the Chief Minister of the Cabinet, commanding all the Japanese military, but he was also the Minister of the Army, so his heart was still inclined towards the Army.
Facing Sugi Sanyuan's concerns, he replied: "The situation in the Pacific is relatively stable, so it is reasonable to temporarily allocate resources to the army. But we cannot underestimate the Eagle Sauce Country. I will discuss with the Minister of the Navy to see how to severely damage the Eagle Sauce Navy and free up enough time for our next plan."
Just like that, a few months later, a large-scale naval battle broke out in the Pacific Ocean. It was the world's first aircraft carrier battle. Tracing back to the source, the cause of the naval battle was actually related to Xu Le.
Xu Le's previous guess was probably a little wrong. He didn't know that he had received so much attention from the Japanese headquarters.
Even though he had not yet launched an offensive against northern Shanxi or North China, Japan once again mobilized its troops in advance for him.
The strength of the Japanese navy has not changed, but the army has increased dramatically from the current 320 million to more than 400 million in a short period of time.
In order to deal with the armored forces under Xu Le, Japan reorganized its existing tank forces into three divisions, namely the 3st Tank Division, the nd Tank Division, and the rd Tank Division.
In addition, Japan transferred some of its naval resources to the army, increased the production of the Type 97 tank, and attempted to develop tanks with stronger firepower and better protection.
However, Japan's idea is doomed to be impossible to achieve. The military industry must be developed step by step and cannot be developed in leaps and bounds.
If China wants to deal with the Type 59 tank or the Type 69 tank with a more advanced fire control system, it will not be possible in a short period of time even for the United States.