"Commander-in-Chief, do you need to prepare a mobile force in advance to join the Ukrainian battlefield? According to previous war games, if the main force of the German army attacks Kharkov, we will not have the advantage in terms of military strength and firepower. Is it enough to have a stalemate? ?" Jiang Fangzhen, deputy chief of staff of the coalition, pondered and put forward his own thoughts.
When Tanaka Yi heard this, his eyes lit up again, he patted his chest and said, "Commander-in-Chief, Chief of Staff Chiang's suggestion is very good. I wonder how about dispatching the mechanized 8th Group Army?"
Wang Geng was surprised when he heard this. Jiang Hongyu and Jiang Fangzhen beside him both laughed. Jiang Hongyu teased, "It's enough to mobilize five Chinese mixed brigades to cross the river and march westward. General Tanaka, your mechanized Eighth Army is now The tanks and armored vehicles are still on the Trans-Siberian Railway, so how can we go into battle?¡±
? 11:30 on August 1, 1918, Volga Federation Kursk Oblast, Rylisk, Western Route Army Headquarters of the Allied Southwestern Front
"Your Excellency, Division Commander What is going on! Why does Samara want to dismantle our division-level establishment??!" The atmosphere in the conference room in the small building of the train station was quite solemn. Everyone present was the Japanese Seventh Division. The general, the former enemy commander of the West Route Army and the 7th Division Division, Fujii Yukizuchi, was sitting on the side with a livid face. Standing in the middle was the 7th Division Chief of Staff, Watanabe Teutaro, the official rank of Colonel, the 17th Japanese Continental Army. He graduated in the first semester and was originally a military attache at the embassy in the Netherlands. When the 7th Division marched into Siberia, he was asked by Fujii Yukitsuki to serve as the chief of staff of the division. He is only 44 years old this year.
The position of Chief of Staff Watanabe is relatively awkward with that of the Chief of Staff of the Third Division, Hisashi Karitaka, Colonel Yiy¨¤ng. Although they are the Chiefs of Staff of the Seventh and Third Divisions respectively, they serve as the Chiefs of Staff of the former enemy of the West Route Army and the Central Route Army. , but it was Colonel Ishihara Kanji and Major General Hata Shunroku who were parachuted from the coalition headquarters, especially Hata Shunroku, who even served as the chief of staff of the coalition's Southwest Front The importance Samara and the Japanese Third Army paid to the entire Ukrainian campaign It¡¯s evident!
Of course, it can also be considered that this is the need for the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces or General Utsunomiya to directly control the following two divisions. It can also be considered that it is the need for the Southwest Front to coordinate the relationship between the Japanese divisions, the Federal Group Army, and the Chinese Armored Forces. .
The telegram was sent directly from the Samara Allied Forces Headquarters to all the armies of the Southwest Front, with a copy sent to the Southwest Front Army Headquarters. Strictly speaking, starting from the time when the Samara Allied Forces Headquarters sent this telegram and issued the order, the organization and command structure of the West Route Army And ceased to exist. Of course, the coalition headquarters did not interfere with Taro Utsunomiya's personnel appointment power. The chief officer and establishment of the mixed brigade are still decided by the Southwest Front Army Headquarters and then reported for filing
The mood of the two infantry brigade commanders here is much more complicated. In peacetime, Japan's brigade-level generals are actually quite idle, because the basic combat unit of the Japanese Army is the division, and the regiment is the backbone of the battle. , in contrast, the brigade commander does not have many opportunities to act independently. Most of the time he is doing errands assigned to him. Now, just a few days after the first phase of the Ukrainian campaign, once Kharkov is captured, the coalition headquarters It was necessary to reorganize the troops on the front line This caught everyone off guard
"Chief of Staff Watanabeyou thinkcould it be Datong and the others who are causing trouble here? Because we refused to hand over the command of the West Route Army, this guy simply took the plunge and suggested that the Allied Forces Headquarters disband the division-level establishment. Form a mixed brigade to isolate you and me?" Captain Fujii said with a sullen face.
"Uh this it's hard to say but the two brigades of Da Ting's third division have been crippled. No matter how they are reorganized into mixed brigades, the third division always replenishes its troops from other places. This It has little impact on the 3rd Division, but our 7th Division is not fully equipped yet. Does this disarm the division-level command? I think we must raise objections to the front army and the coalition headquarters! Say what?"
While answering the questions from his own division commander, Colonel Watanabe turned his attention to the two main brigade commanders for help. Unexpectedly, he did not expect the commanders of the 13th Japanese Infantry Brigade, Kunsi Wuqi, and the 14th Brigade Commander. The group leader, Tatsujiro Uchino, looked at each other, an awkward smile appeared on the corners of their mouths, but neither of them expressed their opinions immediately!
Fujii Yukitsuchi snorted dissatisfiedly upon seeing this, knowing full well, how could these two brigade commanders oppose the opportunity to increase the artillery firepower of the brigade and expand it into a mixed brigade? Japanese generals are generally looking forward to the opportunity to stand alone, and because divisions are the organizational structure with complete long-range artillery firepower, this leaves the Japanese infantry brigade with very few opportunities to stand alone. Now the coalition headquarters has sent timely rain and spring breeze. , as the brigade captains, Kuniji and Uchino, the treasures, were too late to be happy, so how could they object?
A brigade commander who doesn¡¯t want to be a division commander is definitely not a qualified brigade commander. However, a brigade commander who doesn¡¯t want to be a division commander obviously doesn¡¯t meet the standards of a qualified division commander!
"Are you all mute? Kuniji and Naito, have you heard that??They were so happy that they were expanded into a mixed brigade? I can tell you that the mixed brigade is an establishment of the Southwest Front Army, not the Imperial Army, and the candidate for the chief officer of the mixed brigade is proposed by the division! "Fujii Yukitsuchi gritted his teeth and said.
"Hey! Where is this going? Division commander, chief of staff, of course the 13th Infantry Brigade accepts the command of the division But they say they want to strengthen the artillery battalion of the Federal Infantry Division to us This is always a good thing, right? Let¡¯s talk about it, my arm can¡¯t twist my thigh. The Front Army Headquarters must have coordinated with the Samara Headquarters. If you ask me, the telegram draft in the Chief of Staff¡¯s hand is not a draft for comments, it is directly an order from the Allied Forces Headquarters. ?¡±
Major General Wu Qi grinned, his straight temper revealed. Regardless of whether it was an infantry brigade or a newly formed mixed brigade, the main force was the Japanese brigade anyway. As a major general brigade commander, he changed his identity and continued to serve as the commander of the mixed brigade. This Of course, there is no suspense about it We can't let Captain Fujii personally serve as the commander of the mixed brigade, right? This is unscientific! Therefore, this master was really not intimidated by his immediate boss.
Tatsujiro Uchino, the commander of the 14th Infantry Brigade, said with some disapproval, "Division Commander, I think Kuniji-kun is right. There are now 4 infantry brigades in the 7th Division and the 3rd Division. Then four mixed brigades will have to be formed, and they will definitely be unified under the command of this new "Kharkov Cluster" headquarters. Let me tell you, you and the Chief of Staff will definitely have to go to the cluster headquarters to hold important positions, such as the cluster. Commander or deputy commander, etc., the mixed brigade below will definitely have to be picked up by several brigade commanders"
"What you said is simple Kharkiv is now the leading role of the Third Division in Da Ting. Our Seventh Division rushes over. How can we get a good position in the cluster headquarters? How can the Seventh Division's headquarters be Isn¡¯t this just a stand-in?¡± the division¡¯s chief of staff, Osaka Watanabe, said angrily.