Silence fell into a long silence in the conference room.
After a long while, Terauchi Shouichi said quietly: "However, the base camp is indeed unable to mobilize more troops, because the previous reserves and reserves have been almost exhausted, and the new reserve militia are still being recruited and formed. It may be difficult to carry out large-scale mobilization in a short period of time."
Juichi Terauchi has just returned from Kanto to inspect the preparatory work, and he has the most say in this matter.
Kanin Gongzaihito and Koiso Kuniaki couldn't help but look at each other. At this point, I'm afraid there is only one way, and that is to transfer Yamashita Fengfumi's Far Eastern Front troops back to Manchuria. Apart from this, there is no other way! But the problem is that Yamashita Fengfumi's Far Eastern Army is still fighting with the Soviet Red Army in the Siberian battlefield, and they are unable to cope with the situation.
Unless an armistice agreement can be signed with the Soviet Union in the shortest possible time.
Thinking of this, Xianyuan Gong Zairen announced the adjournment of the meeting, because what happened next had nothing to do with the military, but was entirely a diplomatic matter.
That night, a civil aviation objective took off overnight from Tokyo and flew directly to Vladivostok, which was still under the control of the Soviet Navy. After obtaining permission, it landed at the military airport in Vladivostok, and then opened the hatch to greet Soviet Union at the airport. Military guards, Japanese Foreign Minister Hirota Koki and his assistant walked down the gangway.
…
Meanwhile, in the Kremlin in Moscow.
It was already six or seven o'clock in the morning of the next day in the Far East, but it was still late at night in Moscow.
Although the night was already deep, Stalin was still awake and was still discussing some military-level issues with Timoshenko, commander of the Northwest Front Army, and the object of discussion was the German army.
In less than half a month, the Netherlands and Belgium surrendered successively. The German army bypassed the Maginot Line from Belgium and brazenly entered France. After that, the war situation took a turn for the worse. Hundreds of thousands of British and French allied troops were like a group of frightened rabbits. , and fled madly in the direction of Guo Keerke.
The British and French allied forces were defeated so quickly that it even exceeded the expectations of the German high command! So much so that the German high command was unable to respond in time, otherwise the 400,000 British and French troops might not have been able to board the ship from Dunkirk. If this were the case, the history of World War II would have been rewritten.
Closer to home, the blitzkrieg launched by the German army in Western Europe was sharp beyond imagination. In less than half a month, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg surrendered, and hundreds of thousands of British and French troops were defeated. This greatly shocked Stalin and the Kremlin. Suddenly he became nervous.
Although Moscow secretly signed a non-aggression pact with Berlin before the partition of Poland last year, both the head of state himself and Comrade Stalin knew that this was just a stopgap measure! Although Europe is big, it cannot accommodate two hegemons, so sooner or later there will be a decisive battle between Germany and the Soviet Union!
The Soviet Union invaded Finland before, and now the German army invades Western European countries, all just to prepare for this decisive battle. The Soviet Union hopes to first resolve the threat in the northwest before going to war with Germany, so as not to fall into the dilemma of fighting on two fronts, and the head of state also We hope to first resolve the threat from the British and French forces so that we can go all out to fight the Soviet Union decisively!
Stalin originally thought that the German army and the British and French allied forces would fight for a year or two. In this case, the Soviet Union would have enough time to solve the problem of the northwest border and the problem of the Far East. However, who could have imagined that under the fierce attack of the German army, , the British and French allied forces only lasted less than half a month. This is so scary!
Stalin took a deep breath from his pipe, and then asked quietly: "Comrade Timoshenko, do you think it is possible for the war situation in Western Europe to be reversed?"
"It's impossible, Comrade Stalin." Timoshenko shook his head and said, "The defensive focus of the British and French forces has always been on the Maginot Line, and their heavy troop groups are also on the Maginot Line. However, the German army made an ingenious choice In order to break through from the direction of the Netherlands and Belgium, from a strategic level, the British and French coalition forces have already lost."
After a pause, Timoshenko continued: "What's more, there are plains from Belgium to Paris, and the road network extends in all directions, which is very conducive to the advancement of the German armored corps. Therefore, the French army on the Maginot Line has no time to return reinforcements. Paris, the fall of Paris is inevitable."
Stalin said: "Once Paris is lost, the heavy French troops on the Maginot Line will become a turtle in the urn."
"Yes." Timoshenko nodded. "Once Paris is lost, the French army on the Maginot Line will become a turtle in the urn. But what is more fatal is the psychological shock and blow to the French soldiers after the capital is lost. If nothing else happens, France will surrender soon after the fall of Paris."
"Damn it!" Stalin said bitterly, "Is it because the British and French forces are too scumbag, or is it because the German army is too strong?"
"I'm afraid it's because the German army is too strong!" Timoshenko said. "The German army has indeed reached the forefront of the world today in terms of military construction and combat concepts!" After a short pause, he continued, "So Comrade Stalin , we in the Soviet Union may have to make arrangements in advance."
Stalin said solemnly: "We have deployed nearly five million troops on three fronts in a defense depth of more than 500 kilometers from Poland to Ukraine. Isn't that enough?"
Timoshenko shook his head and said: "Comrade Stalin, this is not a question of how deep the defense is or how many troops are deployed, but the external environment! I think we should try our best to find ways to fight against the Germans before a full-scale war. Create a relatively stable external environment to avoid fighting on two or even multiple fronts."
"You mean Siberia?" Stalin said quietly, "Actually, I have long wanted to call a truce. Due to the destruction of the industrial areas in the Far East and Zaboelga, nearly one million troops in the entire Siberia now have to rely on the fragile Siberian Railway. The line is used to transport supplies, the losses are too great, and the cost is too high!”
Timoshenko nodded and said, "Yes, the price is too high."
"As long as the Japanese agree, I would rather give them the vast territory beyond the actual control line! Of course, you know this is just a temporary measure. Once the Germans are dealt with, the Soviets will definitely have to turn around and deal with the Japanese in the end!" Stalin He sighed softly and added, "But the stubborn Japanese may not be willing to agree."
Timoshenko said: "Why don't you send someone to find out what the Japanese are saying?"
"That's the problem!" Stalin shook his head and said, "The Japanese have always been greedy. If we send people to contact them first, they will definitely open their mouths and put forward conditions that we cannot accept. For example, the Far East has not yet The areas controlled by the Japanese and even all of Siberia were ceded to them.”
After a pause, Stalin continued: "Now that the German army is overwhelming in Western Europe, the conditions Japan imposes on us will only be more stringent! After all, Japan now belongs to the Axis Alliance with Germany and Italy."
Timoshenko nodded and said: "The three major countries of the Axis Alliance basically have their own agendas. Japan may not necessarily consume the Soviet Union desperately for Germany, but it is possible to use Germany's self-respect and take the opportunity to blackmail us. That said , we really can’t take the initiative to send people to contact the Japanese, Siberia and the Far East, we can only continue to consume like this.”
While the two were talking, the female secretary Anna suddenly walked in with her waist twisted and reported: "Comrade Stalin has just received a secret message from the Navy's Far East Fleet Command, and it has been classified as top secret!"
The top secret was a telegram that could not be borrowed from others and had to be translated by Stalin himself.
At that moment, Stalin took the telegram from Anna, opened the safe and took out a small book. Then according to the secret code recorded in the small book, he translated the dots and dashes on the telegram copy paper into a series of Russian letters. Soon, The telegram was translated, with only one simple sentence. Stalin was overjoyed after reading it.
Timoshenko lost no time in asking: "Comrade Stalin, what's going on?"
Stalin did not hide anything and handed the translated message directly to Timoshenko.
After reading it, Timoshenko was also overjoyed and said: "Great, Comrade Stalin, I didn't expect the Japanese to be the first to show up. Now we can sign an armistice agreement with the Japanese!"
"Yes." Stalin nodded and continued, "In order to avoid long nights and long dreams, we must designate someone to negotiate with the Japanese as soon as possible. In order to reach an armistice agreement, it is not unacceptable to make some territorial concessions. Anyway, in the end we have to get the capital back with interest. Yes, what does it matter if we make Japan happy for a few years first?"
However, just as he finished speaking, the female secretary Anna hurried in again.
"Anna?" Stalin asked, "Could it be that the Japanese changed their minds so quickly?"
"No, that's not the case, Comrade Stalin." Anna said quickly, "Comrade Zhukov just sent a telegram, saying that Xu Rui's Chahar Independent Regiment won a great victory in Fengtian and defeated Ishihara Wanji's Seventh Army in one fell swoop. Army, and then the Japanese Far Eastern Army is likely to be forced to withdraw to Manchuria, and the Far Eastern Front Army will soon have a good opportunity to counterattack."
"So that's what happened." Stalin said, "Let me tell you, why did the Japanese suddenly change their temper and ask us to negotiate an armistice? It turns out that they suffered a defeat in Manchuria." After a pause, Stalin continued Said, "But this Comrade Xu Rui is really powerful. He actually defeated the Japanese Seventh Army."
Brother Timoshenko also nodded and said: "Yes, it is this old Seventh Army that has been guarding Chita for a whole year. The reason why our Far East Front is where it is today is all thanks to this Seventh Army! Xu Rui The defeat of the Seventh Army this time can be regarded as revenge for our Far East Front Army, thank you Chinese comrades!"
Stalin said: "What about armistice negotiations with the Japanese?"