Chapter 63: Between the Peace and the War (9)

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Yamamoto Fifty-six understood Horikichi's thoughts, and also expressed his confusion at the meeting, and this confusion made the Ishihara Tada faction also listen, and now the problem is that the objective reality cannot reconcile the imbalance between land and sea is temporarily unsolvable.

After the observation group headed by Ito Eichi wrote a long summary report after his visit to Europe, the delegates interpreted all aspects of the information observed during their stay in Europe, especially the Blitzkrieg0 made a comprehensive analysis and extended thinking, and finally came to the conclusion that the Japanese Navy is at the world's advanced level except for the slightly inferior aviation equipment, and there is no problem of combat effectiveness; However, the gap between the Japanese Army and the world's advanced level is too large, and the observer group believes that the average equipment level of the Japanese Army is considered to be the second rate in the world, and in terms of tactical thinking, it is even lower, and if it were not for the fighting spirit of not fearing death to make up for many problems, the Army would be facing a profound crisis.

In terms of equipment level, the Japanese army is not only far inferior to Germany and the United States, but also lags behind Britain, France, Eastern Russia, and Italy. As for operational and tactical concepts, the Mission believes that the Army is still in the transitional stage between the two major wars, and has not yet fully comprehended the tactical thinking of the Blitzkrieg 0 spearheaded by Germany, and is completely overwhelmed in the face of 0.

After seeing the battlefield on the ground, the Japanese generals and colonels in the observation group frankly admitted that if the army were to build defense, the will to fight might be very tenacious, but the level of defense was not as high as 70 percent of that of the South African campaign. The overwhelming array of rockets and new bomb attacks (Japan did not know the essence of the cloudburst bomb, but could deduce that Germany had used new munitions), the complete coverage of communications jamming without leaving any dead ends, the proximity support, and the tactics of vertically maneuverable helicopters, all of which had been regarded as fantastical combat conditions, were now becoming reality in the hands of Germany.

Since it was not Ito who said this, but all the senior officers who had watched the exercise and inspected the battle site in South Africa said so, the top brass of the army became impatient. Ishihara Tada originally thought that a large number of armored vehicles and tanks and other mecha forces had been introduced from Europe, and that the armored assault operations in India had been able to make up for these shortcomings, but he did not expect that the gap was getting bigger and bigger, and Japan had not yet comprehended the plane mechanized warfare in place, and the three-dimensional modern war had begun, which made Ishihara very anxious.

If an old group of diehards like Hideki Tojo were in power, they might not have paid special attention to the fact that the army did not need to pursue these "minutiae," but for Ishihara, who has always liked to study new tactics and trends, this growing gap is unacceptable.

Therefore, the army took advantage of the situation to put forward a series of demands, although the specific content is fragmentary, and there is only one sentence to sum it up: increase support for the army. Either the Navy will give a portion of its proceeds to the Army, or the Army will reach out and take it himself. As for the first request, the Navy believes that it is impossible for the time being, and the Navy itself is now screaming about the shortage of budget, how can it be possible to supplement the Army again? Moreover, the army does not have any combat missions at present, so the size of the army should be further reduced; As for the second demand, the Navy also resolutely opposes it, believing that it will involve the Navy's energy and undermine the current situation.

Neither prepared to give benefits to the army, but also opposed the army to seize the benefits, the starting point and cornerstone of sea and land coordination were in danger of being shaken, and more than one person expressed his dissatisfaction in front of Ishihara and Tada, believing that the navy was too domineering, and there were even rumors that spread to the ears of King Minoru Higashikunomiya. Although they tried their best to suppress this idea, this sentiment was skillfully exploited by Hirohito, and the claim for a $100 billion claim was reached after discussion at the Imperial Council. It's not that Hirohito doesn't know that this request is impossible to achieve, but that he wants to use a high profile to unite the army faction, although the Ishihara Tada faction is powerful, it does not mean that the army is monolithic, and there is still a big difference between sea and land.

As for Isoroku Yamamoto, although he did not agree to accommodate the army in terms of military spending and expansion, he held that some of the army's requirements should still be satisfied, especially the rockets, which the army attaches great importance to, should find a way to get them from Germany, and as a guarantee for the navy to continue to maintain sea and land coordination, Japan-Germany coordination and alliance maintenance are of course very important, and sea and land unity should not be neglected either. So he agreed to the $100 billion claim with the Rockets for advice, but he didn't expect Horikichi to be so vehemently opposed.

"What should I do?"

"Let's make it clear to him first, the army is getting more and more restless now, at least give them a little sweetness to continue to stabilize." Yamamoto Fifty-six sighed, "I also know that sooner or later something will happen to the army red deer in such a twisted way, but now we can't afford a violent upheaval, this group of army leaders who are already the most friendly, cautious and far-sighted with the navy, can it be better to change another group of personnel?" I don't think so. ”

After receiving the complaint telegram from Yamamoto Isoroku, Horikichi was in a calm mood, and he had roughly guessed the real reason behind it, but it was impossible for Galapagos Island to change rocket technology, and it was also other conditions to change it.

He pondered for a while, and told Chiaki Matsuda a crying and laughing reply: "Telegraph to Yamamoto-kun, I am going to reorganize the personnel, I will no longer be the commander of the combined fleet, and Tsukahara will officially take over; Ito-kun takes over as vice admiral of the Navy、Inoue Kaida! ”

Chiaki Matsuda was startled and stammered, "Sir, are you dissatisfied with Minister Yamamoto?" Want to force him to resign? ”

"I don't have that idea."

"Then why are you doing this?" Chiaki Matsuda persuaded, "Chief Tsukahara is already the acting commander, and it is not alarming to officially take over as the commander of the combined fleet, but as soon as Vice Minister Inoue Narumi moves, the political wind will immediately move."

"Throwing stones to ask for directions, startling the grass and startling the snake, Inoue Narumi is not suitable for the position of vice admiral of the navy, his understanding of politics is still too naïve, and it is a good choice to teach and educate people." Horikichi smiled slightly, "You also said the direction of the wind, I'll take a look at the direction of the wind first." ”

"Does it really matter?"

"Do as I say, Yamamoto-kun and my friends for decades, he should understand." Horikichi stood up and paced in place, "Tell the Hawaiian side the news as well." ”

"Yes!"

"But that still won't solve the rocket problem." Chiaki Matsuda said sincerely, "I think Minister Yamamoto has a good point, but it's not okay to be too accommodating to the army red deer, and it's not okay to ignore it completely."

"Let Ito go and talk to Cole, I will consider trading rocket technology with the Solomon Islands of Samoa and Germany, and then share it by land and sea, and the southern part of Indochina (bounded by the 17th parallel) will agree to be ransomed by France, and half of the ransom obtained will be used to repay the German loan, and the other half will be distributed according to the ratio of sea 3:land 7, and the American ransom obtained from Hawaii will be distributed according to 55 taels of sea and land after deducting the necessary naval transportation consumption." Horikichi hesitated for a moment, "Then send my intention and idea for peace talks to the country, and let them discuss it together." ”

"Did you really decide to launch a general offensive on April 11? This seems to be a little inconsistent with the chief's explanation before leaving. ”

"The situation is changing, and we have to adjust accordingly." Tsukahara shook the telegram in his hand, "The chief has sent a clear signal, we should follow quickly, and strive to capture Hawaii before the chief officially arrives in Tokyo." ”

"When will the chief arrive in Tokyo?"

"He wants to comfort the officers and soldiers all the way, inspect the war zone, and escort supplies, which is estimated to be no earlier than April 20."

"Hawaii must be taken in 10 days!" Tsukahara quickly made up his mind.

(End of chapter)

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