Manchuria is the sphere of influence of the Kwantung Army, and he is the commander of the North China Front, which is not his own jurisdiction after all, and no matter how he says it, he is beyond the reach of the whip. The Kwantung Army did not have much interest in launching an attack first, and he, the commander of the North China Front, could not stretch his hand too long.

Without the cooperation of the Kwantung Army, it would have been impossible for the North China Front to carry out the offensive alone. At present, the vast majority of the base areas of the Anti-Japanese Union are in Manchuria. In the jurisdiction of the Mongolian Frontier Army, there are only two Mongolian flags. If you want to pursue across the border, let's not talk about whether the North China Front can defeat it with its own strength.

For a single cross-border pursuit, the Kwantung Army was not enthusiastic and even had a sense of vigilance, and the North China Front was helpless. Okamura Ninji was a very calm person, and the Kwantung Army did not want to take the initiative to attack. As the commander of the North China Front, he was not so arrogant as to use the strength of the North China Front to face an army that had repeatedly defeated the Kwantung Army, the flower of the imperial army.

With the strength of the Kwantung Army, they were defeated repeatedly. Now that their bodies and bones have become so strong, the North China Front Army is only a few divisions and regiments, and they still have to control the entire North China, so they are naturally not opponents. For the sake of today's plan, there is only a preemptive strike for the North China Front. However, for Okamura Ninji, he doesn't have that strength to fight against the Anti-League alone, but his focus is not only on the Anti-Alliance.

Okamura Ninji, who was very calm, looked at the lieutenant generals and major generals who participated in the meeting, and said in a deep voice: "After all sides go back, we must pay close attention to deployment and implementation in accordance with the operational plan of the front army. Before January 1, 42, the new divisions and regiments that are scheduled to participate in the battle are to arrive at the area where they are scheduled to operate. ”

"All divisions and regiments that have already arrived in the combat area should seize the time to build fortifications and stock up on ammunition. The baggage and baggage departments of the front army should seize the time to transfer sufficient materials. In particular, the artillery shells must meet the needs of the three battle parts. By February next year, all field fortifications will be completed. ”

"An Dajun should work with the first lesson of the front army to formulate a battle plan. The point is to develop tactics to deal with the enemy's concentrated tank cluster to carry out a breakthrough against us. After arriving at the designated combat area, all divisions and regiments should conduct targeted training, with the focus on anti-tank cluster shock training. ”

"The deputy chief of staff, Major General Yusue Jingsan, will work with the second and third sections of the front army to seize the time to collect information that can be used by us. The focus should be not only on the enemy army, but also on the intelligence of the communist army in North China. As for the Chongqing Army in North China, it was handed over to the Twelfth Army to deal with. In the future, the departments directly under the front army should focus on the communist army. ”

"At the same time, all divisions and regiments that have not been incorporated into the front army's operational plan, as well as independent mixed brigades, must concentrate their forces on the so-called base areas of the communist army in North China and continue to launch a continuous sweep. Even if it is impossible to completely eliminate the activities of the North China Communist Army, it is necessary to suppress its activity energy to a minimum. Ensure the stability of the rear of the front army when fighting against the anti-alliance. ”

"Whether the target of this so-called anti-union force is the south or the west, the North China Communist Army will be an important part of its battle plan. Even if it is not possible to completely eliminate the communist army in North China, it is necessary to defeat their tentacles that extend into the interior of China. I don't want the so-called Battle of the Hundred Regiments launched by the Communist Army the year before last when we were fighting against the Anti-Japanese Alliance. ”

"Beginning in late December, all divisions and regiments and independent mixed brigades and regiments should be mobilized to the maximum extent of mobile forces, and on the basis of the general sweep in the second half of this year, they will continue to carry out the winter sweep, so as not to give the North China Communist Army a chance to breathe. All the people in the mountainous areas of China in all the non-security areas of the various combat areas were forcibly relocated to the plains, and all their houses, grain, cotton, and other materials for the winter were burned. ”

"The Kwantung Army's suppression of the so-called anti-Japanese alliance in Manchuria adopted the group tribe policy, as well as the policy of returning to the cantonment and merging households, our North China Front Army also needs to use it. For some areas that are difficult to control, it is necessary not only to adopt group tribes and merge households, but also to create no-man's land. In a word, cut off the soil on which the communist army survived, starved to death, froze to death in the mountains, and collapsed without a fight. Completely cut off the arm of the anti-union to infiltrate into the interior of China. ”

Regarding Okamura Ningji's deployment, Lieutenant General Harem Jun was a little skeptical: "Okamura-kun, are you so sure that the Anti-United Nations will concentrate tanks for combat?" In the battle in the second half of this year, they transferred from the Kwantung Army, the number of tanks they had was not too many, and the total number of tanks was only a few hundred. ”

"And even if the Kwantung Army loses the battle of Ximan, the Imperial Army is not comparable to the scattered China Army. Although it did not resist the assault of its tank cluster during the battle, it also brought heavy losses to the armored group in which it participated, destroying a large number of their tanks. ”

"Now the Soviets behind them are reeling from the Germans. The Soviets, who had already been beaten by the Germans under Moscow, had a hard time providing them with new equipment. They also do not have their own modern industry, and it is impossible to make tanks. ”

"With so many tanks, and in addition to the previous battle damage, do they still have the ability to launch a tank cluster assault operation? Okamura-kun, to be honest, your requirements are not high. But in order to meet this requirement of yours, it is necessary to drain the rapid-fire guns of the various armies directly under the dispatch army. You'll have to give me a reason to convince the commander of the dispatching army, General Shunroku Hatata, as well as the commanders of other armies and divisions. ”

In response to Harem Jun's rhetorical question, Okamura Ninji only answered him with two words: "intuition". For Okamura Ninji's answer, the rather dissatisfied Harem Jun no matter how he asked, Okamura Ninji was these two words. And in the end, Okamura Ninji, who was a little annoyed by Harem Jun's questioning, directly told him to trust the intuition of a frontal commander who had been on the battlefield for a long time.

Although Soviet Russia does not have the strength to aid the Anti-United Nations at present, once the empire and the United States and Britain are in a full-scale war in Southeast Asia, the United States and Britain may not have the strength to aid the Anti-United Nations. The more the offensive launched by the Anti-Japanese Union in Manchuria and China contained the strength of the Imperial Army, the more advantageous it would be to the United States and Britain, which were unable to withdraw from the North African theater and were busy preparing for war, in terms of strategy.

Although it may not be too much, once the Southeast Asian battlefield starts, the United States and Britain will definitely give some military assistance to the Anti-Japanese Alliance. Both the British and the Americans are modern industrial powers. It is still easy to provide the ability to give hundreds of tanks to the Anti-United Nations. Compared with this equipment, the United States and Britain will pay more attention to the strategic benefits.

Although Okamura Ninji's reason is very perfunctory, it is enough for Harem Jun. After his opinion was refuted, this old man obviously seemed a little absent-minded. Since General Okamura has given a certain explanation, he has not asked the bottom of it. As Prime Minister Tojo's benefactor and classmate at the same time, the heart of this harem Jun Lieutenant General is obviously not in China.

After appeasing Lieutenant General Harem Jun, Okamura Ningji stared at the map for a long time and said: "I have a feeling that the target of this anti-alliance operation is not on the North China Front, if it is an offensive, it will definitely concentrate the greatest superior forces and equipment." Either don't move, or if you move, the sky will fall apart. ”

"It would be an exaggeration to say that the success or failure of jihad is here. However, for the North China Front, it is not an exaggeration to be able to maintain the stability of North China, a strategic material supply base, for the imperial holy war. If we are defeated, there will be no peace in North China. So gentlemen, for the sake of the Empire's holy war, please. ”

Despite this joint operations meeting, it was not very pleasant. In addition to the Kwantung Army, there was also a great deal of controversy between the North China Front and the China Dispatch Army, and even between the commanders and chiefs of staff of the North China Front on the overall operational policy and even the judgment of the direction of the main attack of the Anti-Japanese Union in the next step.

However, Okamura Ninji still resolutely pushed forward the pre-war preparations according to his expectations with his stubborn attitude. Okamura is a meticulous person who knows Chinese history very well. The biggest difference from other Japanese generals is that they are willing to accept new tactical thinking. And once he decides on something, no one can change it.

In the Battle of Nanchang, others opposed the use of two specially designed divisions that had repeatedly suffered defeats to serve as the main attack mission. However, Lieutenant General Okamura Ninji, who was the commander of the 11th Army at the time, stubbornly used these two divisions. In particular, the 106th Division, which was almost not completely annihilated in Wanjialing, served as the main combat attack, and concentrated all the heavy artillery and tanks under the jurisdiction of the 11th Army.

Although the battle in Nanchang was not very exciting, the 101st and 106th divisions that participated in the battle also stumbled. The reason why it was able to quickly break through the resistance of the Chinese army and take Nanchang was not so much the combat effectiveness of the two divisions, but the fact that the Japanese army, which had the upper hand in firepower, relied on artillery shells and poison gas to open up the offensive channel.

Nanchang has an important strategic location, and since ancient times, it has been known as the Guangdong Household Minting, Wutou and Chuwei. It is the barrier in the southeast direction of Wuhan, and it is also the intersection of the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line and the Nanxun line. If Nanchang is occupied, it will cut off the communication links of China's rear and threaten southern Gansu. This battle was extremely important and crucial for the Japanese army.

Okamura Ninji was able to take such an important battle with two special divisions that had been badly beaten before. In particular, the 106th Division was almost not completely annihilated in the first battle of Wanjialing. It also illustrates the character of this person who is difficult to change once he believes in something. However, in that battle, he relied on the absolute superiority in poison gas and firepower, and the risk was successful.

And at the moment, in the end, it is the opponent that Yang Zhen also values. It was these actions of General Okamura Ninji that brought great trouble to the Anti-Japanese Federation in the battle. If the intelligence network of the Anti-Japanese Federation has stretched out its tentacles long enough, even if it is known that the Japanese army has held such a meeting. With Yang Zhen's usual sense of smell, he will also taste the different meanings.

However, it is a pity that the Japanese army's tripartite joint operational meeting was extremely secret. Not only did all the participants in the meeting come to Peking by plane instead of taking the train. Moreover, the venue was also placed in the Summer Palace on the outskirts of Beiping, and the residences of all the participants in the meeting were arranged in the Summer Palace.

The entire perimeter of the Summer Palace is extremely heavily guarded, and it can be said that not even a bird can fly in within five kilometers of the surrounding area. All the vigilance units were carefully selected and directly transferred from the 12th Army. As for Beiping City, it has adopted a method of loose and dark tightness.

On the surface, there was no martial law and no precautionary action was taken. However, privately, the military and police members of the Japanese military police stationed in Peiping were all dispatched. Not only were all the telephone lines cut off and all the radio stations confiscated, but even people were not allowed to leave the barracks, otherwise they would be killed.

All the puppet security forces and police systems stationed in Beiping were strictly controlled by Japanese advisers. If an anomaly is found, the Japanese advisers and the military police stationed in the camp can arrest and execute them without notice. All the puppet military police gendarmes patrolling the streets were all transferred from other places. Or simply replace it with a puppet army by the Japanese army. Such a loose action on the outside and tight on the inside succeeded in confusing everyone.