Taiyuan, Headquarters of the First Army of the Japanese North China Expeditionary Force
After Yamamoto Kazuki took over the position of commander of the First Army, he immediately started to reorganize the First Army. With ruthless means, he quickly took control of the troops and eliminated some long-standing ills in the First Army. The cohesion of the First Army has been greatly strengthened, but the improvement in combat effectiveness has not been great. There is no other reason. The First Army has too many problems. 33
First of all, there is a serious shortage of personnel. Both the garrison and the field troops are facing huge shortages. The actual shortage of many troops has even reached 40%. The impact of the Eighth Route Army's massive attack here is only one aspect, and more is As a result of long-term accumulation, some units have experienced two or three chief officers in the past few years but have not been able to make up for the losses in 1938. The limited troops have already been stretched thin. It is simply a miracle that they can maintain the current situation. If the Eighth Route Army did not become stronger, Yamamoto Kazuki might have turned a blind eye to this situation, but the fact is that the Eighth Route Army is constantly strengthening. If it does not increase its strength, the First Army's situation in Jin Province will inevitably collapse.
Secondly, corruption, the most prominent one is the issue of military pay. After the Japanese army entered China, military spending became tight, so the military pay structure also changed. Part of the military tickets and Federal Reserve bonds will be used to replace military pay. This gives There is room for manipulation by the subordinates. By 1940, the pay structure for soldiers of the First Army was 40% Japanese yen, 30% Federal Reserve bonds, and 30% military stamps. However, in actual implementation, ordinary soldiers could only get 10% Japanese yen, 20% Federal Reserve bonds, and the remaining 70% are all military coupons. But what are military coupons? They are things that the division-level troops can print by themselves. They are not valuable at all. In the army, privates can only receive 6 yuan in military coupons per month. As for "increased pay for duty", don't even think about it. Under this situation, the morale and military discipline of the grassroots units of the First Army have been greatly affected.
Thirdly, there is a lack of food. In fact, long before the great invasion in 1940, the Chinese army's attacks on the Japanese army's communication lines were the norm. Coupled with the repeated food requisition and anti-food requisition struggles between the two sides, the Japanese army never had much military food reserves. Like the first Most units like the First Army only have half a month's ration reserves in areas other than Taiyuan, which forces the First Army headquarters to frequently transport supplies. This gives the opponent more opportunities to attack, and continues to be in the controlled area. The grain requisition also increased the resistance of the people, forming a vicious cycle. But even so, the troops still did not have enough to eat. Ordinary soldiers may not be able to eat rice once a month, and even rice balls during battles are not enough. It is made from sorghum rice.
Finally, there was a shortage of weapons. I had the impression that the Japanese army was always well-equipped and well-supplied, but in fact it was simply not possible. In the early days of the war, the Japanese army arrogantly believed that the war could be ended quickly, so they stopped production at the Taiyuan Arsenal. Therefore, the weapons and ammunition of the First Army needed to be transported from the Northeast or the mainland. Not to mention the long cycle, the quantity was simply unsatisfactory, which made Many troops have very little ammunition reserves. In many places, soldiers do not even have backup ammunition except for portable ammunition, and they do not dare to take the initiative. Coupled with the concealment of reports by grassroots officers, the general shortage of weapons in the Japanese garrison reaches 30%. , the field troops have also reached 10%. Do you dare to think that the Japanese troops are actually collecting and building 65 rifles for their own use? As for the Imperial Alliance Army, it is even worse. A company of one hundred people only has more than forty rifles and one machine gun. This configuration is not even comparable to the current Eighth Route Army guerrillas.
At this time, Kazuki Yamamoto and the new Chief of Staff of the First Army, Colonel Hirata Ichiro, were studying how to break the current situation. Yamamoto Kazuki was actually very troubled by the old ailments of the First Army.
"Hirata-kun, the military headquarters once again rejected the request to add an armored division to the First Army. Lord Shinozuka said that he could not convince the military headquarters." Dropping a message on the desk between the two, Yamamoto Ichiki seemed very powerless. In the past, he felt that he could not change the current situation because he was humble. But now that he has become a senior general of the empire, he still cannot completely reverse the situation. This makes the always arrogant person Kazuki Yamamoto was frustrated.
"Your Excellency, you should look on the bright side. After all, the military has recognized our losses in supporting Peiping." Ichiro Hirata persuaded in a low voice. The First Army definitely did not support Peiping, but after the war, Yamamoto Kazuki He promoted his actions of looting the base area into a military operation to attack Peiping, and at the same time reported all the shortages of the First Army at once. Only then did the heroic First Army lose 20,000 imperial troops in the process of rushing to the aid of Peiping. Along with the number of 30,000 Imperial Alliance troops, massive losses of weapons and ammunition were also reported.
In the past, the military would have directly dismissed the responsible person, but Yamamoto Kazuki was different. This was the rising star of the Imperial Army and His Majesty the Emperor's favorite general. If it was really because of "this little loss", he would be dismissed and investigated. If so, what will happen to the Army’s face? What should I do to save His Majesty the Emperor’s face? The First Battle of Peiping has already disgraced the Army. If Kazuki Yamamoto is captured again, the Imperial Army will really lose face. In view of this, the Military Ministry can only hold its nose and admit it. Yamamoto Kazuki's battle report, but Yamamoto Kazuki's request for additional troops was directly rejected.
Are you kidding, those soldiers are indeed worthless, but the problem is that equipment costs money, and raising soldiers costs money. All aspects involved in transferring a division to the First Army are definitely not a small amount of money, plus the losses of the North China Expeditionary Force during this period , the Imperial Army's pants were all pawned. Yamamoto Kazuki asked for a division of reinforcements at this time, and he was simply indifferent to the extreme.
"" Mr. Hirata, it seems that if we want to increase the strength of our troops, we will eventually have to fall on the Chinese people. "My fingers were tapping on the desk rhythmically, and Kazuki Yamamoto seemed to be muttering to himself.
"Your Excellency, the combat effectiveness of the Imperial Alliance Army may be improved, but the situation in Jin Province is too complicated. We cannot prevent the infiltration of the Eighth Route Army. Blindly expanding the size of the Imperial Alliance Army is very dangerous." Ichiro Hirata couldn't help but He comforted that in recent years, rebellions by the Imperial Association Army can be said to be commonplace. Mutinies at the company and platoon levels occur every day. Even mutinies at the division and brigade level are very common, so that the Japanese army has been weakening the Imperial Association in recent years. Army equipment.
At its peak, the Imperial Army was equipped with artillery, heavy machine guns, and even tanks. But now, each company of the Imperial Army only has dozens of old guns and one capable light machine gun. The Japanese army has its own There are not many standard weapons, but there is no shortage of captured national army equipment. There is definitely no shortage of equipment for the Imperial Association Army. In the final analysis, they are worried that the Imperial Association Army will rebel.
"I'm not talking about soldiers from Jin Province. I want to recruit 'educated soldiers' in the Black Province through the Manchukuo government." As he spoke, Yamamoto Kazuki turned his attention to a huge map next to the two of them, thinking in his heart Full of emotion, compared to China, Japan's mainland is still too small. The two are not at the same level of power. Originally, after occupying China's Koryo Province, Wan Province and Dongsi Province, the local population could make up for it. The imperial army's strength is insufficient, but due to various reasons, the empire has not done a good job in this regard. Up to now, it only dares to recruit soldiers in Koryo Province and Wan Province, but how can those soldiers compare with those from the four eastern provinces? At least, it can't be compared in terms of physical fitness.
"Your Excellency, the Military Ministry has evaluated this matter many times and generally believes that it is not feasible. You must know that even now the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces led by the Eighth Route Army are still fighting against the Imperial Army in the Fourth Eastern Province?" Hirata Ichiro reminded with concern. .
"First of all, I hope to recruit soldiers between 15 and 18 years old. Soldiers of this age have experienced the empire's education, have a certain foundation in Japanese, and are not too hostile to the empire. They are better than those of the Northeast Army of the Manchuria Army. Veterans are more reliable.
Secondly, they must have household registration, family, property, and guarantor. These "four have young people" will be more considerate and worried about how they will affect their families. As long as we control their families, these soldiers will be even better than those in the Gulf. Those mountain people in the province are more reliable.
Finally, they must be the residents of the northern part of the Black Province, which is far away from North China. Even if the soldiers want to be deserters, it is difficult to return to their hometowns on their own. The only thing they can rely on is the empire and the First Army. , it can only be you and me. "Yamamoto Kazuki said a lot of things to himself.
In the past, Yamamoto Kazuki looked down on the Imperial Association Army at all, but since Qian Bojun led his troops to join Yamamoto's army, he gradually changed his view on the Imperial Association Army. In fact, the Imperial Association Army can also have combat effectiveness, as long as it is allowed to The soldiers don't have too many messy thoughts, and at the same time their retreat is cut off. They can also fight. Not to mention that compared with the elite troops of the imperial army, at least Qian Bojun's command now has a front-line Osaka division. group capabilities.
"Your Excellency, you are talking about the 'educated soldiers' and not the Imperial Association Army. Under what name should we recruit and organize the troops?" Hirata Ichiro nodded and felt that what Yamamoto Kazuki said made sense, but he soon discovered To solve the problem, the "educated soldiers" belong to the Japanese army's order of battle, which requires establishment. However, after the military department replenished the number of personnel for the First Army, the First Army already had no shortage of personnel.
"His Majesty the Emperor once said personally that the Yamamoto Force can organize temporary troops of the size of a large group on its own. I plan to use this to form a new force within the framework of the Yamamoto Force." Kazuki Yamamoto feels that he is getting better and better at playing. Of course, this is also thanks to Lieutenant Colonel Yuichi Watanabe, the new chief of staff of Yamamoto's unit. It was because of Yuichi Watanabe's constant reminders that Kazuki Yamamoto made his current decision.
"But a brigade can only have more than a thousand people at most?" Hirata Ichiro was a little confused. How many people can a brigade of more than a thousand people have? With Yamamoto Kazuki's current status, he just wants to form a pure Japanese There is no problem with a human brigade, there is no need to go to the Black Province to recruit troops.
"I plan to recruit 100,000 people and form 100 temporary brigades!" Kazuki Yamamoto smiled and said the answer in his heart. In fact, the situation in Jin Province is far from being solved by just one division. Since a new army needs to be formed, , he plans to add 100,000 "educated soldiers" in one fell swoop.
"One hundred thousand people! Your Excellency, the military headquarters will have opinions." Ichiro Hirata couldn't help but exclaimed, and then whispered a reminder. Yamamoto Kazuki was also startled. His boss is so cruel. He suddenly increased the army by 100,000 troops. The department will go crazy.
"The original Imperial Association Army in Jin Province must be rectified. The Imperial Association Army should also be the 'four young people', instead of the current state of being dominated by local ruffians and defeated troops. In the process of rectifying the Imperial Association Army, During this period, I need troops to maintain the situation in Jin Province. I believe the military headquarters will understand, and the newly formed troops will not require additional military expenses and supplies." Yamamoto Kazuki smiled confidently, and the military boss did not When I come to Jin Province, I still have room to operate if I want to. As for the original Imperial Alliance Army, it will not really be cancelled, but will continue to be strengthened.
Some people died, but not completely...
