Chapter 2471 The Japanese’s Final Preparations 9

? Yes, you read that right. Historically, German submarines did choose to launch attacks on nights with a full moon or clear weather. There was no way, it was too dark, and the submarines could not find the transport ship.

"The British approach does make sense. If there are large seaplanes or land-based aircraft hovering over the fleet, they can effectively curb the tracking of enemy submarines. But once they dive into the water, they will not be able to obtain information. , and at the same time the maneuverability will be greatly reduced. We must pay attention to this aspect, and I will try my best to solve the aircraft issue." Yamamoto Gonbei said.

"This is the crux of the problem. We don't have that many large aircraft now. The cost of a V1500 aircraft is about 6 to 8 times that of a fighter jet, and the maintenance costs are also horribly high. More importantly, the UK no longer allows production. There are new large aircraft, and except for a few that were smuggled out, most of the ones that stayed in the UK were destroyed. And we can’t produce them, so we lose one less aircraft." Shimamura Hayao said.

"Didn't the British transfer some machinery and personnel? Most of the aircraft are now made of wood. It shouldn't be difficult to manufacture, right?" Yamamoto Gonbei asked.

"An aircraft like the V1500 is too big, with a wingspan of 38 meters! Even if it is made of wood, such a huge mold is difficult to make. Such a huge thing cannot be brought out at all, and the Germans are very fond of special glue and adhesives. The mixture is very strictly controlled. Without it, we can only chop wood instead of airplanes. Although the British have brought out the formula and process, it will take some time to resume production. More importantly, the production of large airplanes A large number of skilled workers are needed, and where do these skilled workers come from? How to avoid German surveillance is a problem." Shimamura Hayao explained.

"It seems that we can't rely entirely on the British. We can only rely on ourselves." Yamamoto Gonbei said thoughtfully.

"Are you kidding me?" Hayao Shimamura looked embarrassed. I was complaining crazily in my heart: "It's not like you don't know the level of Japan's aviation industry. Let alone the 4-engine V1500, the current O-400 has not been completed yet!"

"I think it is not necessary for the Japanese Army to retain so much aviation power. Rather than letting the Army's aircraft be placed on the mainland or in the wilderness of Siberia, it is better to mobilize them directly to the Pacific battlefield. I talked about this with His Excellency Saionji Koumo. He has no objection to this matter." Yamamoto Gonbei paused and then said: "And this time, we went to see Saionji-kun just to finalize this matter."

"If it's just this matter, I'm afraid it's not enough." Shimamura Hayao understood instantly, and then said with some regret. In his opinion, it was easy for a top boss like Saionji Konobo to side with the navy. If you just want some planes, then the Army is too cheap! "There is also the right to command! The right to command the entire Pacific battlefield, we must let the army act according to the baton of the Imperial Navy!" Shimamura Hayao added.

"Do not worry,

I will consider these issues, but there is another issue, that is, the army's offensive against Russia and the division of future military expenditures. I think that under the current circumstances, it is not worth the gain for the Japanese Army to continue to maintain a large number of troops stationed in the Russian Far East. It was difficult for the empire to juggle both directions. " Yamamoto Gonbei said.

"Indeed, it is not good for the empire to start a war on two lines of defense at the same time. If we could gain some benefits from the civil strife in Russia before, then with the final victory of the forces within Russia, they will definitely go to the Far East. In this case, We might as well withdraw our troops and only control the northern areas of Vladivostok and Sakhalin. Then, the empire will defend in the north and concentrate its forces to fight the Americans in the southern Pacific area," Shimamura Hayao said.

In fact, the Japanese Navy did this not only because of the huge pressure from the United States, but also because of the dispute between Japan's navy and army over the northward advance and the southward advance. Needless to say, the northward advance, what the Japanese army proposed was to attack Russia. After all, Russia is now unprecedentedly weak after experiencing a war and then a civil war. It's not a big problem militarily, but it's also not a big problem from a profit perspective. After all, Siberia is also a barren land.

As for the southward advance proposed by the Japanese Navy? In fact, when the plan was first proposed, the military problems were not big. After all, the world's major powers were all in a mess on the European battlefield. The Americans had this idea but lacked confidence, especially after the two navies had a conflict in the Bismarck Sea. , the disadvantaged US Navy decisively chose to retreat. At that time, the powerful Japanese navy only had to face the weak Netherlands.

Therefore, under the conditions at the time, Japan took action decisively. According to Japan's assumptions at the time, if the Allies could win the war, then Japan's expansion would be considered solid! Most of the Dutch East Indies will be brought under Japanese control, and the former German Pacific colonies will also be controlled by Japan and become the first breakwater to resist American penetration into the Far East. If the Allies win, after the war, even if the United States is dissatisfied, it will never dare to cause trouble to Japan. Japan, based on the Anglo-Japanese alliance, will become the well-deserved overlord of the Far East! However, all this is based on if the Allies win!

However, the final result was that the Allies lost! Lost! Lost! Say important things three times! As a result, the Japanese suddenly discovered that tomorrow's originally good situation suddenly collapsed! The southward strategy immediately turned into a big pit! Because Japan invaded the Dutch East Indies, and because Japan occupied the colonies originally assigned by Germany to the United States, after the war, Japan was besieged by the two superpowers! The southward strategy not only failed to bring enough benefits to Japan, but also brought it to the edge of national subjugation!

Of course, it is absolutely wrong to say that Japan was not prepared at all. After the collapse of Russia, the northern offensive launched by the Japanese Army was actually used as a backup after the failure of the southward strategy. It's not like Japan didn't think about settling the matter after the Allied Powers failed. Even the Japanese are considering that if Germany is willing to let Japan go after the defeat, then Japan can withdraw from the former German Pacific colonies, be willing to return some Dutch colonies, and even be willing to pay compensation! The losses caused by the failure of the southward strategy were made up for by the northward strategy. This is why even now, although the war in the Pacific is approaching, Japan still maintains its military power in Siberia!

Two updates today~~~! Please subscribe and reward~~~! ! !

Reading URL: m.