Chapter 336
At this time, Yuri's guard also ran back. He probably saw the major general getting off the jeep, stopped and saluted the other party, and then prepared to walk towards Yuri's car, probably to open the door for him.
But the major general stopped him with his hand, and then walked quickly towards this side.
At this moment, the headlights from the front turned and swept across the major general's face, then disappeared. It must be that a vehicle turned around. With the help of the flash of headlights, Yuri saw the major general's face clearly. A joyful smile appeared on his originally serious face.
He reached for the door handle, ready to open the door and get out, but was beaten to it by the major general outside.
The door was opened by the major general from outside, and Yuri got out with a smile. Before he could stand firm, he heard the other party shout, "Comrade General, guard captain Arseni is here to report!"
That's right, the major general who appeared outside the car was Arseny, Yuri's former guard captain. To be honest, since the guard team was established, Arseny was the one who worked best with him. Since he left, Yuri has had two or three guard captains, but he always felt that none of them were easy to use, so that sometimes he preferred to bring Kryuchkov with him instead of the guard captain.
Yuri returned the salute and said with a smile, "Captain of the Guard, don't you understand your current status?"
Since being transferred to the Far East, perhaps because he had been with Yuri for a long time, Meretskov, the commander-in-chief of the Far Eastern Front, gave him face, and Arseny was promoted very quickly. Whether it was in the offensive campaign against the Japanese Kwantung Army, the battle to capture the four northern islands, or the battle to attack Hokkaido, Arseny's military achievements were reported to the General Political Department.
Therefore, up to now, Arseny's military rank is major general, and his position is deputy commander of the 35th Combined Arms Army - in fact, in many battles in the Far East, Arseny was indeed on the front line, but the position he held was always a deputy in the field command organization. He had never served as the supreme commander or chief of staff. The main reason was that since he joined the army, he had always been staying beside Yuri as a guard and had no front-line command experience.
Even if Meretskov gave Yuri face, he would not dare to joke with the fate of the troops, so he would not give Arseni the position of frontline commander, but he would not mind giving him enough opportunities for promotion.
Arseni himself was obviously self-aware. He had never sought a position as a frontline commander, nor had he fought for a say in the frontline command process. He just honestly gained experience and was promoted steadily. In less than a year, he was promoted to major general, which was considered to be officially entering the ranks of generals.
Speaking of which, Arseni is indeed a material for being an official. He has a keen eye and is good at handling things. This can be seen from the fact that he can always get along well with the front-line commanders of his unit. You know, officers like him who are just mediocre in qualifications are generally not well-liked.
"Hey," after hearing Yuri's words, Arseny scratched his scalp with a silly look on his face and laughed.
"Are your troops stationed here?" Yuri asked, looking around.
" The troops, ah, of course not here," Arseni looked around subconsciously and replied, "Our troops are deployed along the line from Ugo, Yokote to Shinjo, and the headquarters is currently located in Ugo."
Arseni took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took out a cigarette and handed it to Yuri , then continued: "The remaining Japanese troops in the Yamagata area are resisting very stubbornly. They retreated into the mountains and used the jungle and fortifications to resist stubbornly. It is very difficult for us to advance every step forward."
"Has the General Staff ordered you to stop the front line at the northern wing of Yamagata Prefecture? Why are you still attacking?" Yuri asked curiously, because he had received clear news before leaving Moscow that Comrade Stalin's requirement was to push the front line to the outer area of Yamagata and then stop the attack, leaving the rest to the Americans themselves.
Arseni took off his military cap, scratched his scalp, and said, "The order issued by the front army headquarters is to capture Tsuruoka within a week. I don't know the details, but I heard that the front army headquarters plans to capture that Ishihara..."
"Ishiwara Kanji?" As the former Chief of the Operations Department of the General Staff, Yuri naturally had enough understanding of some Japanese military generals. Therefore, when Tsuruoka and a person with the surname Ishihara were mentioned, he naturally knew who he was referring to.
Actually, Ishihara Kanji has some similarities with Yuri, because he once served as the Chief of Operations of the Japanese General Staff, which is exactly the same position Yuri once held. Of course, the reason why Ishihara Kanji is remembered by Yuri is not only because he once held the same position as him, but also because this guy is very dangerous.
This person was the actual planner of the establishment of Manchukuo, and according to his plan, Japan should stop its expansion after instigating the establishment of Manchukuo and concentrate its efforts on building Manchukuo into a heavy industrial base completely controlled by Japan.
At that time, Ishiwara Kanji was already the Chief of Operations of the Japanese General Staff. He believed that before Japan built a heavy industrial base in Manchuria, it should not launch a full-scale war of aggression against China. Instead, it should consolidate its foundation in Manchuria and then gradually erode China's territory, adopting a phased strategy of first attacking North China and then South China.
The reason for adopting such a strategy is that Ishihara Kanji did not believe in the theory of quick victory proposed by Tojo Hideki. He believed that the Japanese invasion strategy of China might force the Chinese government to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese army. At the same time, he also believed that the Japanese army could defeat the Chinese army in a large-scale decisive battle. However, he also believed that it was impossible for Japan to win quickly. Whether the Japanese army would be forced to fight a protracted war would be decided by the Chinese, not by the Japanese. In other words, before the Japanese army launched a full-scale war of aggression against China, he advocated that China's war capabilities should not be underestimated, and believed that it was impossible to defeat China in the short term by relying solely on Japan's military strength.
On the issue of launching the so-called Pacific War against the United States, Ishiwara Kanji insisted that war against the United States should be considered only after China was basically conquered. He also believed that Japan did not have the ability to launch a war against the United States and win before completely swallowing up China.
Judging from the outcome of the war, Ishiwara Kanji's proposition was obviously correct. Unfortunately, he was a thorn in the side of Tojo Hideki. Shortly after the full-scale war of aggression against China broke out, he was kicked back to his hometown in Tsuruoka and became unemployed.
However, judging from the battle reports sent back by the Far Eastern Front, the person who organized the resistance against the Japanese and the Soviet Army in Yamagata Prefecture was none other than Ishiwara Kanji. This guy, whose penis was cut off by his own saber, was obviously prepared to fight to the end.
"Yes, it's this Ishihara Kanji," Arseni nodded repeatedly, "The plan of the front headquarters is to capture this guy because he caused a lot of losses to our troops."
Yuri nodded. He did not think that the decision of the Far Eastern Front Command was correct. He was just an outdated Japanese general. Now, the Soviet army did not need to invest troops to fight against the enemy. It was enough to block the passage to Yamagata Prefecture and leave the problem to the Americans. As for the hatred with Ishihara Kanji, Moscow would naturally make him pay the price in the final trial.
Why did the Americans stay in Sendai and only arrange two regiments to launch a tentative attack on Yamagata Prefecture? If Yuri guessed correctly, the first thing the cunning Americans had to do was to receive the troops from all over Japan who had accepted the surrender order. Then, they would drive these surrendered Japanese troops to attack those Japanese troops that refused to surrender. This was the best way to solve the problem.
Well, perhaps it is necessary to call Comrade Meretskov and propose this feasible suggestion to him. After all, in Aomori, the Soviet army received a large number of Japanese troops who voluntarily surrendered, and letting those guys carry out the task of "suppressing bandits" is the right way.
"Get in my car, General," Arseni seemed to remember something. He turned around and made a gesture of invitation, saying, "Knowing that you are coming, I have specially arranged a temporary resting place for you in Yokote. You can have a good rest here for one night and continue your journey tomorrow."
Yuri nodded, but he didn't bother to be polite. He walked over and got into Arseni's car. Before he even sat down, he asked, "Since your 35th Army is still launching an offensive against Yamagata, where are the Americans? Have you made contact?"
"The Americans just deployed two battalions of troops in Yuzawa yesterday," Arseni got into the car, patted the driver's seat, and signaled him to drive. Then he said, "We arranged for someone to establish contact. According to the feedback we received, the two battalions belonged to the 4th Battalion of the 25th Field Artillery Regiment and the 4th Battalion of the 31st Infantry Regiment. We don't know the more specific situation yet, and the other side has not taken any further action. But last night, they had a firefight with the monkeys hiding in the forest, and we don't know how the battle is going now."
Yuri nodded. As the former Chief of Operations and the highest commander of the Soviet frontline who planned the Battle of Berlin, he still remembered the unit number in his mind. Therefore, he said, "This is the unit of the 10th Mountain Division of the Americans. They don't have much combat experience and are a unit that has only been in combat for a short time."
