"Chen Jun, the reason why I was able to be successfully promoted to Dazuo this time is inseparable from your support, I will toast you first!" Nakasa Ono, no, it's Ono Osa now, who raised his glass.

The Military Command Department was very satisfied with the work of Ono Nakasa, the chief of the intelligence department, who was able to purchase 4,000 pieces of cotton cloth for the Japanese Navy at one time, and solved the big problem of military logistics support, and he was successfully promoted to the rank of Japanese Navy Commander.

On the night he received the promotion order, he hosted a private banquet for Chen Mingxiang, who was present in addition to Nakajima and Shimada Nakasa, as well as Kodama and Shifu and a senior officer of the Fleet Command.

"Chen Jun, let me introduce to you, this is the senior staff officer of the Front Fleet Command, Keisan Matsushima, you may not be familiar with it." Nakajima said with a smile.

"We have indeed met a few times, but we have not had an in-depth conversation, and during the New Year's holidays, I often receive red envelopes and gifts from Chen Jun." Keisan Matsushima said with a smile.

The Fleet Command is the highest command organization of the Japanese Navy in China, and Chen Mingxiang will give gifts and red envelopes to the senior officers of the headquarters during the New Year's holidays, and he will also give cigarettes and tea at ordinary times, and the admirals have a good feeling about him.

"Matsushima-kun just came back from Jinling, right?" Kodama and Shifu asked.

"I only came back yesterday afternoon, in fact, the meeting presided over by General Matsui was a meeting of the chiefs of staff led by the army, and I was just invited to attend it, and I went with my ears, and there was nothing to do with the navy." Keizo Matsushima said.

Matsui Taikuro, chief of the general staff of the Dispatch Army, returned to Jinling from Tokyo on 29 January, and on 3 and 4 February, a meeting of the chiefs of staff of the various armies of the Dispatch Army was held to convey the operational orders of the General Staff Headquarters of the Army.

Present at the meeting were Lieutenant General Miharu Oshiroto, chief of staff of the North China Front, Major General Tadao Teragaki, chief of staff of the 12 th Army, Takei Seitaro Osa, senior staff officer of the 11 th Army, Major General Shinnosuke Sasa, chief of staff of the 13 th Army, Major General Anda Yosuke, chief of staff of the 23 rd Army, and Hoichi Yoshii, chief of staff of the 3rd Flying Regiment.

"The meeting of the chiefs of staff is to draw up the battle plan, and according to you, the dispatch army has entered the stage of preparation before the attack?" Ono asked.

"The specific time of the offensive has not been determined, it is about April to May, this strategic offensive will first start from the North China battlefield, the North China Front will send the 12th Army to be responsible for this mission, reinforced by the 27th Division transferred from the Kwantung Army, and the 3rd Flying Division as an air force."

"At the same time, both the Eleventh Army and the Thirteenth Army will assist the Twelfth Army, and I have received news that the commander of the Thirteenth Army, Lieutenant General Shimomura, will soon return to China as the commander of the Western Army, and he will be replaced by Lieutenant General Nagatsu Sabi." Keizo Matsushima said.

"Although the temperature in the north is relatively low, the war will be able to start by the end of March, so why should it be postponed until April and May?" Nakajima asked.

"It's not that the North China Front is slow, but that the ammunition and materials needed for this big battle have not yet reached the standard, and for this campaign, the base camp has also devoted resources to support, each division has strengthened the share of ground ammunition by four times, and the aviation unit has ammunition and fuel for half a year, and the transportation of materials takes time." Keizo Matsushima said.

The navy has always been hostile to the army side, and there is no reservation in the dialogue, Chen Mingxiang has obtained a lot of information, which can be arranged in a targeted manner, and the most important point is that the time for the launch is roughly determined, and the other is that the lineup for the first round of attack is completely determined.

Even if Chen Mingxiang had not been trained in a formal military academy, he could have known that the focus of the North China Front's offensive was Henan Province, that is, the first theater of the Shancheng government.

Among them was Commander Tong's heavy group, which directly commanded the 15th, 19th, 28th, and 31st Group Armies, plus the 78th Army, 25 infantry divisions, and three provisional infantry brigades. In the First Theater, there were four other armies and one corps, with a total of 17 infantry divisions, all of which together numbered more than 400,000 troops.

The so-called Twelfth Army of the Japanese Army commanded the 32nd, 35th, and 59th Divisions, which were independently mixed into the 5th Brigade, the 7th Brigade, and the 4th Cavalry Brigade.

The division and regiment of the Japanese army is not fixed, but it will not exceed the current number, plus the 27th division, it is roughly the strength of four to five divisions plus three brigades, and most of the divisions and regiments of the North China Front are C divisions, with only more than 14,000 people.

"I heard that the government army in Shancheng on the opposite side is claimed to be four or five hundred thousand, and the number of imperial troops in the twelfth army does not add up to more than 100,000, so this battle is a bit difficult to fight." Chen Mingxiang said.

"The General Headquarters of the Dispatch Army this time has also estimated the situation you said, the North China Front has transferred a chariot brigade, mechanized infantry wing, mobile artillery wing and search team of the Third Chariot Division to the Twelfth Army to strengthen the strength of the offensive, and this half of the Imperial Elite Mecha Division can at least top the 100,000 troops of the Shancheng government." Keizo Matsushima said.

Chen Mingxiang had also roughly heard that the Japanese Army's Third Tank Division was one of the few mechanized units, and it was originally a cavalry division, and it had always been stationed in the Inner Mongolia region in the north.

Each tank brigade has two tank wings, and one tank has more than 1,000 personnel, 73 tanks and 27 vehicles. The motorized infantry wing numbered more than three thousand people, with twenty-two combat vehicles and eighty-nine vehicles.

The mobile artillery wing has more than 1,500 personnel, 12 75-mm field guns, 24 105-mm howitzers, and three combat squadrons for the search team.

Matsushima Keizo said that the 100,000-strong army of the Yamashiro government army could not defeat half of the Japanese chariot division, which was bragging, but with the current armament of the Yamashiro government army, it was really not easy for even one group army to defeat half of the chariot division.

Don't look at the weak armor of the Japanese tanks, but they can score against any opponents, if it is for the American army, which is already equipped with Bazooka anti-tank rocket launchers, of course, it will only be abused.

But the backward government of the mountain city does not even have anti-armor weapons, usually only some rifles and light and heavy machine guns, at most a few mortars, how to fight against armored forces in this case?

"The army is still on the offensive, but the situation facing our Imperial Navy is not optimistic, and the latest report from the Military Command Department says that the U.S. Navy is attacking Kwajalein Atoll and Eniwetok Atoll in the northern Marshall Islands, which is to prepare for an attack on the Mariana Islands." Shimada Nakasa said.

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