Chapter 69 Dilemma
Chandler's judgment was correct at all. His crushing defeat in the fierce battle of sea and air caused a devastating blow to the confidence of Japanese soldiers.
After receiving the final battle report, Taro Arakawa returned to the office alone and found the samurai sword that his great-grandfather had used.
This knife was not expensive because at the end of World War II, Taro Arakawa's great-grandfather was only at least at Sato and spent a disgraceful time in Huludao. After the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations, Taro Arakawa's great-grandfather returned to China and spent a lot of money to buy the samurai sword from a collector.
From then on, this samurai sword, which had a less reliable origin, became a family heirloom of the Arakawa family.
Inspired by this samurai sword, thirteen males from the Arakawa family joined the army.
However, the twelve people did not do well before.
At least after the official position, Taro Arakawa got the knife from his uncle, thus establishing his position in the family.
Now, Taro Arakawa only wants to do one thing, something his great-grandfather wanted to do but failed more than 70 years ago, but after plucking up the courage, Taro Arakawa still couldn't do it.
This general command knife is too long and is not suitable for septum.
In the struggle for self-destruction, Taro Arakawa also figured out some things. As long as he lives, he would not fail, and there would be the capital to turn defeat into victory.
Arakawa Taro survived very bravely.
Although Taro Arakawa as the supreme commander of the Air Self-Defense Force, he believes that the biggest problem is not at the command level, nor is it that the officers and soldiers of the Air Self-Defense Force are not fighting hard, but that the weapon system has serious performance defects.
No matter how outstanding a soldier is, he cannot win a battle without the right weapons.
Sea and air combat is not ground combat, and the role of technical weapons far exceeds that of personnel quality.
At this time, the Japanese cabinet was in a dilemma.
The person who submitted the war report was not Arakawa Taro, but General Kojiro Kimura, the commander of the Maritime Self-Defense Force. As the commander-in-chief, Kojiro Kimura was very active. When Arakawa Taro refused to stand up, he took the initiative to submit the war report and reported the situation of the war to the Prime Minister by phone.
However, Kojiro Kimura didn't say anything to death.
It wasn't him who favored Taro Arakawa. After all, the two had great differences on combat issues. Kojiro Kimura always opposed the Air Self-Defense Forces' single combat. He deliberately left room for himself, mainly leaving a way out for himself. If he said too much, Kobayashi Koichi felt that the problem was the Air Self-Defense Force, and it was very likely that the Maritime Self-Defense Force would be sent. Kojiro Kimura was not stupid, and without air cover, the fleet was nothing.
More importantly, Kojiro Kimura hopes to win this war, and hopes to win this war under the leadership of the fleet.
For this reason, Kobayashi cannot be desperate. He must be confident in his victory against the head and face the structural defects of Japanese military power.
Only by filling these defects can we win the war.
During the phone call, Kojiro Kimura emphasized the combat capabilities of the fleet, and at the same time emphasized that the fleet was not hit and still had enough ability to challenge the Chinese navy and seize the power of the sea. However, before this, the Air Self-Defense Force must be reorganized and the Air Self-Defense Force will play its original role.
What is the "original character"?
It can be seen from the name of Japanese military forces.
When forming military forces, the "Defense Force" was not used, but the "Self-Defense Force" was used, indicating that Japan's military forces were mainly national self-defense and did not have the ability to attack foreign countries. For decades, Japan has been pursuing the "self-defense policy", especially before the Second Korean War, almost all national defense construction was serving to enhance national defense forces. Even a few offensive military forces, such as the F2 multi-purpose fighter of the Air Self-Defense Force and conventional submarines of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, were built according to offensive defense tactics.
In this way, the "original role" of the Air Self-Defense Force is air defense.
According to Kimura Kojiro's proposal, the main task of the Air Self-Defense Force is to provide air defense for the fleet and assist the fleet in seizing sea control.
Because Taro Arakawa refused to show up, Kojiro Kimura represented the military.
The information conveyed by him is very clear: the Self-Defense Force has not yet lost its combat capability. As long as it is used reasonably to effectively make up for existing defects, there is still hope of winning the war.
Now, Kobayashi Koichi was a little embarrassed.
As a rational politician, Kobayashi Koichi knew very well that even if Japan lost the war on the first day of the war, it would be difficult to turn the situation around even if it could regain some face in the next military operations, and it would be even more difficult to regain the Diaoyu Islands. As for defeating the Chinese Navy and Air Force, there was no way to talk about it.
If we continue to fight, Japan will have to pay a huge price, but the benefits it obtains are very limited.
The wisest choice is to truce with China, end the conflict before losing all its capital, and leave a valuable military foundation for a comeback.
As the saying goes, keep the green mountains and do not worry about burning firewood.
The soul of an army is not advanced weapons and equipment, but well-trained soldiers.
If you fight, only more soldiers will sprinkle blood on the battlefield.
Unfortunately, Kobayashi Koichi is not a soldier, and he is not very clear about the situation of the army, and he is even more unlikely to know whether the army still has the confidence to fight.
At this time, he could only listen to the opinions of the soldiers.
When Kobayashi Koichi was in a dilemma, Taichiro Kida sent a crucial news: The US authorities have agreed to provide more comprehensive military assistance. In addition to weapons and equipment, they also intend to send some US military officers and soldiers to participate in the war as military advisers of the Self-Defense Forces.
"Chandler called me and asked me to go to Washington to discuss specific matters."
"The United States intends to join the war?"
"It's not about participating in the war, it's just sending military personnel to the war, and it's in a volunteer manner. The details will be discussed before I can discuss them in detail when I arrive in Washington."
Kobayashi Koichi breathed a long sigh and did not rush to express his opinion.
The help from the United States is certainly crucial, but Kobayashi Mitsuichi also knows that this is a poison wrapped in sugar.
From the beginning, the most active one was the United States, not Japan. Although there was no conclusive evidence, Kobayashi Mitsukoshi had long suspected that the United States had created the war.
The United States' goal is very simple: to completely get China and Japan into a bridgehead to fight against China.
In fact, the United States has been doing this for decades.
Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Japan was a bridgehead against the Red Empire. During the Cold War of the United States and the Soviet Union, Japan not only provided the United States with a military base and endured huge pressure from the Red Legion, but also spent a lot of money to purchase hundreds of billions of dollars of arms from the United States for decades. Although it used the US-Soviet confrontation, Japan also gained many benefits, such as getting out of the post-war haze during the Korean War, achieving economic takeoff during the Vietnam War, becoming the world's second largest economic power, and creating a world-renowned economic miracle in just over twenty years. However, the wealthy Japan also contributed a lot to the Western world. For example, after the end of the Gulf War, Japan, which did not participate in the war, became the largest war fund-sharing country, and contributed 80% of the total cost of the coalition forces' war.
Even after this, Japan was unable to escape the control of the United States.
During the global financial crisis that lasted for seven years, Japan became the biggest victim, while the United States successfully overcomes the difficulties with the help of the Second Korean War.
The United States will definitely not stop until it is squeezed dry the last drop of oil and water from Japan, or even knocks on the bones and sucks the marrow.
Facts have proved that in addition to South Korea and North Korea, Japan was the biggest victim of the Second Korean War.
As the United States contracted strategically, Japan was pushed to the forefront. The United States refused to confront China head-on, and Japan became the vanguard.
Kobayashi Koichi refused to stand up, but he couldn't help but decide the situation.
From the beginning, Kobayashi Koichi realized that even if he didn't want to fight, this war would break out, and it would definitely be even worse during the term of other prime ministers.
Seeing that Japan was about to withdraw from the war due to the 29th defeat, the United States stood up impatiently, clearly not allowing Japan to end easily.
So, how to deal with it?
Kobayashi Mitsuichi looked at Kida Taichiro and said, "Kida, do you think we can win?"
"prime minister……"
"I need your sincere answer, don't bring any emotional factors," Kobayashi Mitsui sighed again, saying, "You can take all factors into consideration, such as the military aid provided by the United States and the military's performance in this war, but don't add personal feelings."
"This..." Kida Taichiro was very embarrassed.
Although he is the Minister of Defense, Kida Taichiro is a civilian official and has no experience in service. He is also the first pure civilian minister of defense since the Defense Department was upgraded to the Ministry of Defense. Kobayashi Mitsuichi nominated him as the Minister of Defense because he did not have a military background.
More importantly, Kida Taichiro is a person who doesn’t have many opinions.
Perhaps, he was a wise politician, and had the same views as Kobayashi on many issues, but he had a serious lack of the ability to deal with major events independently.
In normal times, this is not a problem.
A weak defense minister can allow the prime minister to control military construction more effectively and to engage in more calm quarrels with soldiers. For example, when reviewing the military budget, Taichiro Kida often sings with the soldiers on stage, and then Kobayashi Koichiro came forward to mediate.
But now it has become a problem.
If Taichiro Kida had no opinion and went to Washington, he would definitely be merciless at Chandler.
"Xi Tianjun..."
"Prime Minister, no matter what, now is not the best time for a truce." Kida Taichiro knew that there was no way to avoid it, so he could only say, "If we lose in one day, the consequences will be unimaginable. Domestic political turmoil will be inevitable, and foreign relations, especially relations with the United States will be affected. More importantly, if we lose, our relations with the United States will become more important, and we need the security guarantees provided by the United States. If we persist, in addition to winning, we can also maintain an alliance with the United States."
Kobayashi Mitsuichi nodded thoughtfully, which was exactly the issue he had to consider.
If defeated, Japan will gain an important international status and at least gain the greatest voice in the Western Pacific region.
If defeated, Japan will have to build its national security on the US-Japan alliance, so it cannot offend the United States at this time.
Chapter completed!