Chapter 35: Kwantung Army Operations Meeting
Apart from the high-level staff officers of the Japanese Army Kwantung Army, Major General Seishiro Itagaki, one of the planners of the September 18 Incident, and the “Eleven-Man Club” civilian faction of Emperor Hirohito in Tokyo, whose members included high-level officers such as Kōichi Kido, Fumimaro Konoe, and Akinori Makino, also participated in the operation planning for the January 28 Incident.
However, there are still several months before the First Battle of Shanghai erupts, that is, the January 28 Incident.
And this January 28 Incident was also secretly plotted and planned behind the scenes by this group of Japanese high-level officials.
Kwantung Army Headquarters,
Kwantung Army staff officer Kanji Ishiwara, Major General Seishiro Itagaki, Chief of Staff Major General Mitsuharu Miyamoto, and Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Masao Okamura, as well as Commander Lieutenant General Shigeru Honjō and other Japanese high-level officials, also began a secret meeting.
“The Northeast already belongs to our Imperial Army, but there are still many scattered resistance forces here that have not been completely pacified!”
“Therefore, we must quickly stabilize the situation here and use it as our Empire’s grain and resource development base!”
“However, recently the opinions and attention of the foreigners have been focused more on our every move here!”
“Therefore, Staff Officer Kanji Ishiwara and Major General Seishiro Itagaki have proposed to me to launch the Battle of Shanghai to divert the attention and focus of all foreign powers!”
“Therefore, the purpose of this meeting is to discuss this operation plan and decide whether to implement it comprehensively!”
“I want to know your personal opinions!”
“Should I launch the Shanghai Operation Plan, and if so, when to launch it and how to plan it best!”
“If not, then how to handle the attention and warnings from the foreign powers!”
After all the Japanese high-level officers were seated in the headquarters conference room,
Commander Lieutenant General Shigeru Honjō, with a sharp gaze, scanned everyone and then spoke in a serious and earnest tone.
“So desu ne! I support launching the Battle of Shanghai to divert the attention of all foreign powers, to guard against these foreign powers having an excuse to interfere in our warfare here in the Northeast occupied territory!”
“The natural resources here are very important to our Imperial Army and even to the Homeland!”
“Therefore, we absolutely will not allow any foreign powers to snatch these resources from our hands!”
As soon as Commander Lieutenant General Shigeru Honjō finished speaking, Major General Seishiro Itagaki was the first to eagerly express his opinion, supporting the invasion Shanghai operation plan he and Staff Officer Kanji Ishiwara had proposed.
“I also support Major General Seishiro Itagaki’s suggestion! However, we must carefully plan all the strategic and tactical deployments for launching the Battle of Shanghai, ideally inflicting severe damage on those Chinese Army forces and attracting the attention of all foreign powers, so that they have no energy or mind to continue paying attention to the battle situation here in the Northeast!”
Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Masao Okamura also nodded in agreement.
“I also support it! Commander Your Excellency!”
Staff Officer Kanji Ishiwara also nodded seriously in agreement.
As the initiator, he naturally had no reason to disagree with the secret Shanghai operation plan he and Major General Seishiro Itagaki had plotted.
Seeing that almost everyone agreed with this Shanghai Operation Plan,
Commander Lieutenant General Shigeru Honjō also exchanged a glance with Chief of Staff Major General Mitsuharu Miyamoto, hoping to see each other’s opinions in their eyes.
However, soon their eyes confirmed that both agreed with this proposal for the Shanghai Operation.
“Alright! This matter, I need to report to His Majesty and see his opinion!”
“You know, we have only occupied the Northeast not long ago, less than two months, if we launch a new war now without His Majesty’s approval, it would be hard to explain!”
“If we win, maybe nothing happens, but if the warfare doesn’t go smoothly, then who will explain to His Majesty and the Homeland?”
After making a decision,
Commander Lieutenant General Shigeru Honjō did not immediately agree, but responded very cautiously.
Hearing this, all the Japanese high-level officials present, being seasoned veterans, could understand the meaning of Commander Lieutenant General Shigeru Honjō’s words.
“Hai!”
“Everything is up to Commander Your Excellency!”
Thus, all the Japanese high-level officers nodded in unanimous agreement.
Seeing this, Commander Lieutenant General Shigeru Honjō also nodded and waved his hand signaling them to leave.
Except for Chief of Staff Major General Mitsuharu Miyamoto who was asked to stay for a brief discussion, all other Japanese high-level officers quickly left the headquarters.
“What do you think? Do you think His Majesty will agree to our troop deployment to attack the Chinese Army in Shanghai this time?”
After leaving the Kwantung Army Headquarters,
Major General Seishiro Itagaki said to Staff Officer Kanji Ishiwara and Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Masao Okamura.
“We have to wait for His Majesty’s reply!”
“His Majesty’s thoughts are hard to guess!”
“At least I can’t guess them!”
“So we can only wait and let nature take its course!”
Staff Officer Kanji Ishiwara shook his head in response.
“Ishiwara-kun is right, let’s wait well for His Majesty’s reply!”
“Also, during this period, we can’t idle; we have only just occupied the Northeast not long ago, and there are still quite a few Chinese forces that need to be completely eliminated!”
“We must quickly fully control the entire Northeast, for our Empire’s future prosperity and the Homeland’s resource supply; this is something we must accomplish as soon as possible!”
As for Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Masao Okamura, after adding a sentence,
he turned and got into his car without looking back, returning to his workplace under the protection of his guard unit.
In response, Major General Seishiro Itagaki and Staff Officer Kanji Ishiwara exchanged a glance.
Then, without saying much more, they each got into their cars and left.
And that evening, after deep consideration,
Commander Lieutenant General Shigeru Honjō also sent a telegram to His Majesty the Emperor in the Homeland, explaining their operation proposal from this meeting and awaiting His Majesty’s reply.
And that same night, Commander Lieutenant General Shigeru Honjō also sent an encrypted urgent telegram to Major Ryūkichi Tanaka, the Army Attaché at the Japanese Army Embassy in Shanghai.
The telegram content was: “The Northeast Incident is developing as originally planned, … Please take advantage of the current tense situation between the Empire and the Chinese Central Army to prepare for the Shanghai Operation Incident, shifting the gaze of various foreign powers from the Northeast and Man–churia side to Shanghai.”
When Army Attaché Major Ryūkichi Tanaka received this sudden encrypted urgent document from Commander Lieutenant General Shigeru Honjō,
he immediately burned the telegram and swiftly carried out Commander Lieutenant General Shigeru Honjō’s order.
That very night, he summoned the famous Japanese female spy Yoshiko Kawashima for a discussion on intelligence collection, and how, once ready to initiate the war, to stir up trouble in Shanghai to ignite the fuse for the war.
