A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

There was also heated debate among the island nation's cabinet and military leadership regarding whether to send troops, resulting in two opposing opinions: "no expansion" and "expansion." However, their fundamental goal of invading China was the same; the only difference lay in the timing of provoking a full-scale war.

The "non-expansionist" faction, represented by figures such as Kanji Ishihara, Chief of Operations of the General Staff, believed that the current troop strength and preparations were insufficient, and that once a full-scale war was launched, China's vast territory would only plunge the island nation into a protracted war from which it could not extricate itself.

The renowned Kanji Ishihara was the Chief of Operations, the third most powerful figure in the General Staff Headquarters after the Chief of the General Staff and the Vice Chief of the General Staff. The Operations Department was the core of the General Staff Headquarters and held the vast majority of core power.

On the morning of the 8th, when news of the incident reached the military headquarters, Kanji Ishihara immediately decided not to escalate the situation, instructing the North China Garrison to "prevent the situation from escalating and avoid further use of force."

The "expansionist" faction was large, with key figures such as Army Minister Gen Sugiyama and Army Vice Minister Yoshijiro Umezu believing that the international environment was very favorable at the time, and that the Western powers and the Soviet Union would only turn a blind eye and sit idly by. They believed that this "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" should be seized.

At an emergency meeting of the military headquarters, Sugiyama Gen was very confident in conquering the country by force. He even proudly held up three fingers and arrogantly declared: "With just three divisions, the incident can be resolved in a month, and within three months, the disorganized China will be completely subjugated."

Ishihara Kanji, who was still able to remain calm, opposed escalating the war. He expressed his concerns, saying, "If the situation is escalated, it will mean a total war. At present, our country is focused on completing the construction of Manchuria and preparing for war against the Soviet Union to strengthen national defense. At most, we can only deploy 11 divisions. This force is not enough to guarantee the conquest of China. A total war means that we will have to face a protracted war, but the Empire's material resources are not yet sufficient to allow us to wage a protracted war."

According to Ishihara's plan, China could only be dealt with gradually. The immediate priority was to manage Manchukuo, develop industry, allow the people to recuperate, and sustain the war effort through warfare. Once absolute strength was established, then preparations for war against the Soviet Union could be focused on. Defeating the Soviet Union and then conquering China would be a piece of cake.

The "strategist" Ishihara was indeed more strategically astute than his short-sighted colleagues. If the situation were allowed to escalate at this point, it would drag the country into the abyss of a full-scale war, and the island nation's national strength simply could not support such a large-scale and protracted war.

Long-term investment or short-term gambling?

Ishihara advocated avoiding a full-blown conflict and ending the incident quickly and simply.

Sugiyama Gen remained unmoved by Ishihara's opinion, saying expressionlessly, "Ishihara-kun, according to your plan, the attack will be launched 20 years from now. But the cooperation between China and Germany is evident to all, and China's overall strength has increased tremendously. In the long run, the Empire's cause will face considerable obstacles. 20 years is too long. If we let things run wild, it will be tantamount to letting a tiger return to the mountains, which will eventually become a great threat."

This was something no one could have predicted! Not even Ishihara Yukitomo!

Ishihara Kanji sighed inwardly, but had no words to say.

Sugiyama Gen's words are not without merit. You may want to buy yourself 20 years to grow stronger, but will your competitors remain stagnant? Things are unpredictable; what will happen in 20 years? Who can guarantee that they won't create an even stronger or more formidable rival for themselves?

A cold glint flashed in Sugiyama Gen's distinctive eyes, one large and one small. Before the rival could grow too powerful, disrupting its cooperative relationships with Western countries, nipping it in the bud, and interrupting its development and aspirations was imperative.

"I can't predict what will happen in 20 years," Ishihara Kanji sighed. "But who can guarantee that the China Incident can be resolved within a month or three months?"

Sugiyama Gen was taken aback and immediately fell silent.

This is another question that no one can answer!

However, Sugiyama Gen had already gone mad. He said coldly and resolutely, "This is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity for the rise of the empire. To be loyal to the cause of the empire is to make any sacrifice. What do personal honor and disgrace matter?"

The arrow has been drawn, and the flames of war have begun.

Due to insufficient manpower in the North China Garrison Army, the pro-war faction, including Sugiyama Gen, Muto Akira, and Shibayama Kenshiro, proposed an emergency reinforcement based on the fallacy that "not expanding means not expanding to the whole of China, not just North China." They also drafted a plan to transfer four divisions and two brigades from the Kwantung Army, the Korean Army, and domestic forces to reinforce North China.

The two factions reached a consensus on the principle of striking first to create a favorable military posture and establish a fait accompli, which would give them the upper hand in both fighting and negotiations, and allow them to seize the initiative.

In the end, Sugiyama Gen arrogantly declared in a memorial to Hirohito, the leader of the "locusts of heaven," that victory was assured and that three months would be enough to occupy China.

Under the influence of militaristic ideology, the entire island nation has descended into a frenzy.

In particular, the Kwantung Army has always shown an unparalleled fervor for conquering China by force, and has always acted as the vanguard in everything from the occupation of Northeast China, the invasion of Rehe, the attack on various passes of the Great Wall, and the Hebei-Chahar Incident.

The Kwantung Army Commander-in-Chief Kenkichi Ueda, Chief of Staff Hideki Tojo, and Operations Staff Officer Masanobu Tsuji, known as the "Jackal Staff Officer," were extremely excited and fanned the flames, as if they were afraid that a war wouldn't break out. They completely disregarded the military headquarters' instructions not to expand, and had already mobilized their troops. The Kwantung Army's 1st and 11th Independent Mixed Brigades, along with six air squadrons, were advancing in large numbers.

The troops stationed in Korea were equally enthusiastic. Commander Kuniaki Koiso telegraphed the Tokyo military headquarters that his 20th Division and three air squadrons were fully prepared and ready to reinforce North China at any time.

Three divisions and 18 air squadrons west of Kyoto, an island nation, also received orders from Sugiyama Gen to delay their demobilization and discharge.

Under pressure from radical factions within the military, the indecisive Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe naively believed that if he adopted a tough stance of sending troops, "China would yield," and the matter could be resolved in the short term.

On July 11, the Konoe Cabinet issued a statement on dispatching troops to North China.

The island nation rapidly increased its troop presence, making the situation increasingly dire.

The arrogant Japanese army believed that this incident would be like the September 18 Incident, with the Chinese army fleeing at the mere sight of them. However, they did not expect that after igniting the battle at Wanping, the Chinese 29th Army would quickly launch a tenacious counterattack, annihilating a Japanese company at the railway bridge and Longwangmiao, and recapturing the position.

The Japanese army initially pretended to negotiate a solution, but their calls for peace talks were merely a delaying tactic. In reality, they were waiting for reinforcements to arrive before launching another attack.

Ambassador Trautmann to China and Ambassador Dixon to Japan, acting on the instructions of the head of state, mediated the dispute. The two, who were originally pro-China and pro-Japan respectively, held opposing views but immediately reached a consensus: facilitating a ceasefire and peace between the two countries was their common goal.

The Führer's consideration was that he hoped the island nation would not focus its military attention on China, but rather use it to counterbalance the West and the Soviet Union. This way, Germany could protect its interests in China without breaking ties with the island nation, achieving the best of both worlds. However, Trautmann and Dixon believed that whether you negotiated peace or surrendered, as long as there was no more fighting, it was acceptable.

The Chinese leadership's attitude was to prepare for war but not to seek it, ordering the entire army to prepare for resistance and resolutely retaliate against any invasion. Because preparations for a full-scale war of resistance were not yet complete, the focus should be on a peaceful resolution for the time being, hoping for a diplomatic solution. If a peaceful resolution was possible, then efforts should continue to be made to achieve peace.

However, the island nations have no sincerity in seeking peace talks. The so-called peace talks are merely a pretext, used repeatedly to lull the defending troops into complacency when the war is going badly. They have become increasingly demanding, constantly escalating their demands and proposing ceasefire conditions that are more and more stringent each time.

The two sides engaged in alternating fighting and negotiations, resulting in a stalemate.

Efforts to maintain peace were repeatedly thwarted by the Japanese army, and the Chinese government had reached a point of no return, facing a critical juncture of life and death.

On July 17, the National Government’s highest military conference reached a consensus and issued the “Lushan Talks”: “If war breaks out, then there will be no distinction between north and south, no distinction between young and old, and everyone has the responsibility to defend the land and resist the enemy, and everyone should be determined to sacrifice everything.”

"There is no longer any chance for compromise. If we give up even an inch of land and sovereignty, we will be sinners against the nation for all time."

Since the Opium War, we have suffered humiliation at the hands of foreign powers. Finally, in the name of the nation and the people of the whole country, we mobilized the entire nation to say no to the invaders!

The Chinese nation finally united, the united front was finally formed, an indestructible Great Wall of Steel was built, and a situation of cooperation in resisting Japan was finally formed.

A new page has been turned in the annals of Chinese history.

When news of the Lushan Conference arrived, the entire delegation was filled with excitement and enthusiasm.

The Nationalist government issued new instructions, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and diplomatic missions abroad strengthened their contact with various countries and made every effort to seek support and assistance.

Kong Yongzhi’s special envoy has been ordered to return to Europe from the United States and visit countries such as Britain and France to seek loans and aid.

The island nation is continuously increasing its military presence.

Japanese reinforcements have been arriving from Tianjin and Shanhaiguan, and trains loaded with Japanese soldiers and heavy weapons such as artillery, tanks, and armored vehicles are constantly moving from outside the pass to inside.

By late July, the number of Japanese troops assembled in the Beijing-Tianjin area had reached over 60,000, and the Japanese army's operational deployment was basically completed.

Although Ishihara Kanji and others, who belonged to the "non-expansionist" faction, consistently opposed a full-scale war, advocating instead for short-term, small-scale "punitive operations" to force the Chinese government to back down and seize some benefits before stopping, the General Staff's troop deployment plans and operational scope were also based on the principle of limiting operations to the Beijing-Tianjin area.

However, the situation was no longer under Ishihara Kanji's control. He never imagined that it was he who had set a precedent for "subordinates overthrowing superiors" during the September 18 Incident, causing fanatical radicals to lose their minds and for lower- and middle-ranking commanders on the front lines to follow suit.

The situation began to deteriorate on July 27.

On the 28th, the Japanese army launched a large-scale offensive against the Beijing-Tianjin area, and quickly occupied Beijing and Tianjin the next day. Subsequently, they attacked various parts of North China along the Ping-Sui, Ping-Han, and Jin-Pu railways, and the war rapidly expanded, leading to the outbreak of a full-scale war.

Ishihara's "vision" was thus shattered, and Ishihara's wisdom could no longer stop the fascist militarists from dragging the island nation's mad war machine toward its ultimate demise.