"Your Excellency, Commander, we have drawn up a complete set of defensive operations plan." Japanese Army Southern Army Chief of Staff Noriyomi Shimizu took out the combat plan drawn up by himself and his staff and faced Sugiyama Genchi.

"We have deployed three main lines of defense around Fuli, Leshan, Fenshan, and the line from Shanxi to Maoxi. This includes eight circular bunker groups, four ground bunker groups, and ten tunnel-linked assembly points.

...Wait." Qingshui paused for a moment and said: "Standing there are four divisions of the 35th Army of the 14th Philippine Front and two divisions of the Annan National Army..."

"The 10th Division and the 19th Division of the 14th Front Army have entered the Yilu and can join Shanluo in defense at any time and can launch counterattacks against the National Defense Forces in front of Shanluo at any time..."

"The 14th Front Army belongs to: the 23rd Division and the 26th Division, which have now entered Mengxiong. On the one hand, they form an angle with Shanluo, and with Yilu, they form a triangle counterattack. Not only can they assist Shanluo in defense

, and we can even launch a counterattack with Shanluo and Yilu..."

"General Masaharu Honma of the 14th Front Army personally leads the 103rd Division, and the 105th Division serves as a support force in Dongying, radiating around Hanoi. Once problems arise everywhere, General Masaharu Honma will lead

The troops went to support. At the same time, the two divisions were also the last defense forces in Hanoi..."

Sugiyama Gen listened quietly. Basically, all the 14th Front Army has been dispatched. Except for the 68th, 55th Independent Mixed and 58th Independent Mixed Brigades stationed in the Philippines, all the remaining troops have been dispatched.

Transferred to the Annan battlefield.

"The 16th Army, the 25th Army of the Seventh Front Army, the 46th Division directly under the Front Army, and the 26th Independent Mixed Brigade have all arrived in the Muzhou area. The commander of the Front Army, His Excellency Yamashita Tobumi, is personally responsible for the defense of Muzhou...

…”

"The 29th Army of the Seventh Front Army is heading to Son Lo to assist the Burmese Front Army in defending Son Lo." After a pause, Qingshui continued: "The remaining troops of the Burmese Front Army have entered Son Lo and are working with the 29th Army of the Seventh Front Army.

Together we will assist in the defense of the Son Luo area, and at the same time, the Annan National Army has dispatched two divisions of the National Army to assist in the defense."

"As for the 18th Front Army directly under our Southern Army, all of them have entered the front lines of Mengwei, Palaug, Sangnu... to defend, and are ready to support the troops in Annan at any time..."

Qingshui closed his document properly and looked at Sugiyama Gendo: "That's roughly the situation, Your Excellency, Commander!"

Sugiyama Gen lit the table without making a sound. In fact, the original Southern Army troops were not that small. At least the Southern Army directly controlled the 2nd, 18th, 37th and 38th armies.

These units are also the most capable units of the Southern Army at present. For example, the Second Army, which has the Fifth Division, the 32nd, and the 35th Division, is a famous powerhouse in the Japanese Army.

.

Moreover, the Second Army also has the 36th Division and the 57th and 128th mixed brigades under its jurisdiction. This unit is very impressive in terms of military strength and combat effectiveness.

The 37th and other three armies are not bad either. Although their strength is relatively small, they are all composed of veterans. They are also quite commendable in terms of combat.

It is a pity that since Kanji Ishihara has opened the way to Afghanistan, in order to quickly form the combat effectiveness of the newly formed expeditionary force against the Soviet Union, Commander-in-Chief Kanin Miyazaihito, who is far away in Japan, chose to kill these few members of the Southern Army.

The army was directly filled into the sequence of the newly formed expeditionary force against the Soviet Union.

This suddenly increased the strength of the expeditionary force against the Soviet Union to more than 200,000. At the same time, the combat effectiveness of this unit was also extremely astonishing.

After these troops were divided into the Expeditionary Force against the Soviet Union, they began to leave the Southern Army and go to India to gather. Then, under the orders of Kanji Ishihara, they would gradually pass through Afghanistan to fight in the Soviet Union.

The separation of these armies does have a certain impact on the Southern Army, but fortunately these impacts are not significant. The Southern Army can still rely on the remaining front armies to execute its main strategy.

"The base camp has received full support from various companies. Now Mitsubishi, Nakajima and other companies have entered the Annan region. They are preparing to have certain contacts with Afghanistan. The base camp requires us to ensure transportation in Southeast Asia."

Seeing that Sugiyama Gen remained silent, Shimizu could only repeat the order sent from the base camp. Without resources, no matter how powerful a company is, it would be impossible to produce the weapons and equipment needed by the army.

Now how to ensure transportation has become the top priority of the Japanese army and navy. In addition to the aircraft carriers and some cruisers and battleships used in the combined fleet, the remaining half of the warships are used to escort transport ships.

The purpose is to ensure that these materials can be transported back to Japan smoothly, and then be produced into weapons and ammunition to feed various war zones in Japan. Corporations such as Nakajima and Mitsubishi have even moved part of their ammunition production to Thailand.

In order to support the Confederate Army's ammunition consumption nearby, Yawata Iron and Steel Works even sent part of its smelting equipment to forge the required materials on site.

Of course, some of the main weapons and equipment are still produced domestically. They are produced in Southeast Asia. Most of them are simple rifles, machine guns, mortars, etc. The Japanese are also on guard against Southeast Asia, for fear that these people will master the technology and rebel.

But at least the Japanese allies in Southeast Asia finally got the industrial equipment promised by the Japanese. Therefore, no one thinks there is anything wrong with this.

Instead, after obtaining these equipment, they began to work harder to organize troops to cooperate with the Japanese army in order to obtain Japan's full support.

For example, Thailand, after obtaining smelting, ammunition, and gun manufacturing equipment, organized three divisions and handed them over to Sugiyama Gento for command. Emperor Bao Dai of Annan was also very direct. After obtaining these equipment, he immediately sent his palace guards

Half of the allocation will be given to Masaharu Honma to take charge of the command.

In Thailand, Annan and other places, at least 3,000 apprentices went to Japan for three-month technical training. After completing their studies, they will return to their respective countries to operate the machinery to produce guns and ammunition for their country, and are responsible for

Smelting equipment.

"How is the situation with the aviation force?!" Sugiyama Gendao finally said his first words after listening to the report after a long silence. After hearing this, Kiyomizu immediately opened his folder and faced Sugiyama Gendao.

.

"The 3rd Air Force Lieutenant General Sugawara Michichi has completed the formation of the 5th, 9th and 55th Flying Divisions. At the same time, the 1st Aviation Education Team is stepping up training of pilots. I believe we will be able to obtain a group of pilots soon.

Join the fight…”

In the face of a shortage of pilots, the Japanese actually made the same choice as Tu Sanpao: they began to select people from the army infantry and join the air force for training.

Even for this reason, the Third Air Force under the Southern Army established the First Aviation Education Team specifically to train the pilots needed by the Japanese army. Of course, it still takes time for them to develop combat capabilities.

"The 4th Air Force is also currently improving its subordinate units, but they still lack fighter aircraft and qualified pilots. It will take at least three months to form combat effectiveness..."

Sugiyama Yuan frowned and said: "No need to say so much. Just tell me how many fighters we can fight now?!"

Qingshui Ruijie paused after hearing the words, and said after a moment of silence: "If it is a battle, then the three flying divisions under the 3rd Air Force can dispatch a total of 600 fighter planes for combat."

"Among them, there are 430 new Type 1 and Type 2 fighters. The rest are all Type 0 and Type 1 preliminary fighters." After a pause, Qingshui said calmly: "But this is only what we can draw. If

In terms of combat consumption, I don’t think we can have more fighter planes to fight..."

Sugiyama Gen could only sigh when he heard this. Although Japan is now stepping up the production of fighter jets, the navy and local fighter jets also need to be updated. This has resulted in the Southern Army receiving very few fighter jets.

With the continuous war, the Air Force has received more and more attention on the battlefield. Some people in the military department have proposed to separate the Air Force and form a new force to provide battlefield support.

But this voice was suppressed by the army and navy. The competition for resources by Japan's land and sea has reached a point where both sides are red-eyed. If there is another air force as a competitor, neither of them is willing.

"What's the current situation in the Navy?!" After a moment of silence, Sugiyama Moto continued to ask. Shimizu Noriki did not look through his folder this time.

Quite simply, it is impossible for him to get the current specific situation of the Navy. These are all reported to them by the Navy itself, and both the Army and the Navy have historically kept their true situations secret from each other.

"General Yamamoto said that they can dispatch 600 fighter planes to support us. At the same time, they can provide two battleships and eight cruisers for fire support. We have to figure out the rest ourselves."

Sugiyama Gen nodded and said nothing. In fact, Sugiyama Gen also knew that Yamamoto Isoroku's choice in that battle off the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang was the right one.

But unfortunately, the losses of the Army at that time were too great and it was difficult to seize the advantage of the Navy. Naturally, it would add insult to injury. But I still admire Moto Sugiyama very much for Isoroku Yamamoto.

Since Yamamoto can say that he can send 600 fighter planes to support, it also shows that he attaches great importance to this war. In fact, Yamamoto Isoroku has no choice. If Southeast Asia is unlucky, the navy itself will be affected.

Without resources, the construction of the Navy will come to a complete halt. The Navy is more dependent on oil than the Army. Without oil, the Navy's warships can only sit in the port and rust.

Sugiyama Gen rubbed his eyebrows without saying a word. Yes, the Japanese army is now fully prepared. Even at Sugiyama Gen's strong request, the base camp has promised to provide fifty fighter planes to the Southern Army every week starting next month.

.

In other words, as long as there are no battle losses, the Southern Army can guarantee that it will have two hundred more fighters every month. Even if there are battle losses, as long as they are not too serious, these fighters can supplement the consumption of general battles.

But Japan is preparing, and Sugiyama Gen believes that the defense forces on the opposite side are also preparing. This can be seen from their continuous tentative attacks during this period without launching a full-scale attack.

They are also preparing for a full-scale battle. The situation seems calm now, but once the battle breaks out, it will be a full-scale contest between the Japanese army and the National Defense Forces.

"How prepared are the tank troops?!" Sugiyama Gen is most concerned about the formation of the Japanese army's tank troops. The National Defense Forces used tanks as pioneers to forcibly break through many Japanese positions on previous battlefields.

Even in the current tentative attack, it is still the tank troops of the National Defense Forces that cause the greatest damage to the Japanese army.

The Wehrmacht's application of tanks and Germany's use of tanks to directly complete beautiful blitzkrieg battles in Europe have shown that the Japanese army has seen the role of tanks. The design plan for the new tank has been released and is now being trial-produced.

"The design of the Type III medium tank has been completed and put into mass production, but due to resource constraints of all parties, only fifty units have been produced." Qingshui Ruijie said with a wry smile: "These tanks are now equipped in the Korean theater.

The empire is still worried that the National Defense Forces' attack from North Korea will directly threaten the empire's homeland..."

"Malu! Why don't these bastards consider us?!" Sugiyama Yuan was angry and roared loudly: "If there are no resources in Southeast Asia, can the empire withstand the attack of the National Defense Forces?!"

Qingshui sighed and said: "The base camp has promised us that the next batch of thirty tanks will be allocated to us first. This must be the biggest decision that the base camp can make..."

Sugiyama Moto nodded with a gloomy face. He could only curse. After all, it was Hirohito who really decided this matter and not anyone else.

In Hirohito's view, the first priority is to protect the Japanese mainland from being attacked. The second priority is the attack by troops at all levels.

"Qingshui... I don't know why, I'm always very uneasy." After Sugiyama Yuan finished his rant, he sat on a chair and said with a gloomy face: "The National Defense Force has been too quiet recently. I'm a little scared when it's quiet!"

"This is not like their style. This is not North Korea. Both of us know that this is related to the direction of the war. If they cut off our resource supply, then the empire may not be able to support this war..."

"But they still maintained uninterrupted probing attacks. This made me confused and a little scared." Sugiyama Yuan rubbed his eyebrows and said: "I believe they are preparing something, but I can't guess what it is. I can

Definitely, once they launch another attack, it will most likely determine the success or failure of this battle..."

Both the National Defense Forces and the Japanese Army are silent, and both sides are silently accumulating their own strength. Tu Sanpao knows this, and Sugiyama Yuan also knows it. The next time the two sides attack, the losing side will be unable to fight again.

"Hahaha... De Lin. I have been waiting for you for a long time!" In the Southeast Asia Theater Command, Tu Sanpao warmly hugged Li Zongren, who had come from afar.

Li Zongren, who kept coughing while being hugged by Tu Sanpao, smiled bitterly and cursed: "Sanpao! Are you going to slap me to death, right?! You know how strong your hands are, and you slapped me to death."

Tu Sanpao laughed, let go of Li Zongren and asked him to sit on the chair. Bai Chongxi did not come with him for this meeting. Because the newly arrived South China Military Region needed to settle down and cooperate with everyone, Li Zongren had to stay in the military region after he left.

The next one can make the decision.

"Sanpao, our South China Military Region is all here this time. I have brought you all the air force that was originally going to stay in South China." After sitting down, Li Zongren smiled and said to Tu Sanpao: "Liu Cuigang, I heard that you

You are commanding the battle. All you have to do is write me a bloody letter asking to come over. No, our South China Military Region has left an aviation division stationed in South China and all the others are coming to support you!"

Considering the defense issues in South China, the National Defense Forces General Headquarters did not request the air force of the South China Military Region to come for support. After all, northern Guangdong, Minjiang and other places have a large number of coastlines.

Moreover, the Japanese troops in Qiong Province have not been cleared out. If they launch a counterattack at this time, the defense-empty South China region will undoubtedly be in danger.

However, Liu Cuigang, the Air Force Commander of the South China Military Region, and Li Zongren, the Commander-in-Chief of the South China Military Region, continued to send telegrams for instructions, and the General Staff reported that the Japanese troops in Qiong Province had not launched an attack on South China for the time being.

The Japanese Combined Fleet has been dispatched again, but now its main task is to escort those transport ships between Japan and Southeast Asia. Therefore, taking into account that there will not be too much offensive risk in South China for the time being, the General Headquarters agreed to the South China Military Region Air Force to launch an attack on the Southeast Asian Theater
To be continued...