On September 15, 1940, at the Japanese Military Senate General Assembly, Oikawa Fushiro explained his views on the formation of a military alliance between Japan and Germany and Italy, and said toughly: "If the Navy insists on opposing the Three Kingdoms Alliance, the Guards Cabinet will have to resign. If the Navy does not want to assume the responsibility of destroying the cabinet, please agree to the Alliance Treaty!"
Rather than saying that this is a discussion on the opinions of the alliance, it is better to say that this is a mobilization meeting, and the cabinet's views represented by Kawako Shiro are already very clear: the three-country alliance is imperative, and you must agree, and you must agree if you do not agree!
Then, the Navy Military Senator Cen Sheng had no choice but to announce: "After discussion, all the Navy's consultants had no other opinions." However, no one has given a positive statement on the question "the establishment of the German-Italy-Japanese alliance and the opening of war with the United States" raised by the Joint Fleet Commander Yamamoto Irosaki .
That's it. On September 27, 1940, the Treaty of the German, Italian and Japanese League of Nations was officially signed, and the Three Kingdoms Military Alliance was established in such a "confused manner".
In fact, it is not only Yamamoto Iroji, but there are many Japanese generals who oppose the alliance with Germany and Italy. Among them, the strongest opposition is Navy Minister Yoshida Yoshigo.
Who is Yoshida Yoshigo? To be honest, this is also a capable man in the Japanese navy. Iroku Yamamoto served as the commander of the Joint Fleet and was the one who took over his squad. Since the Abe Cabinet in 1939, Yoshida Yoshigo served as the Minister of Navy in three cabinets. At the beginning of the outbreak of the war of aggression in China, it was he who was the commander of the Second Fleet to lead the Japanese Navy's offensive.
Therefore, Yoshida Yoshida has a certain status in the Japanese naval circle, both in terms of ability and reputation.
So, why did he strongly oppose the alliance between the Three Kingdoms?
In fact, Yamamoto Izuru's question was exactly his doubts. Judging from the international situation at that time, the alliance with Germany and Italy basically meant going to war with the United States. The Japanese's fighter jets, both in terms of quality and quantity, were far inferior to those of the Americans, and their production capacity was far behind. Without the support of fighter jets, how can the already weak navy fight? Isn’t this a dead end? It is precisely for this reason that Yoshida Shingo refused to nod at the alliance opinion.
But what gave him a headache was that he was also the Navy Minister of the Guards Cabinet at that time. If the cabinet could not even agree on internal opinions, it would be basically over. In order to convince Yoshida Yoshigo, Foreign Minister Matsugaki Yoshio, Military Affairs Director Oka Kei-ku and others ran to Yoshida Yoshida's house every day, and took turns to persuade him, never getting tired of it.
To the end, Yoshida Shingo almost drove him crazy by them. It is said that for this matter, Yoshida Shingo even suffered from depression and wanted to commit suicide several times. By early September 1940, Yoshida Yoshida had to agree to form an alliance with Germany and Italy, but only if he wanted to resign. Since you have to do it, then I can quit, right? Don't get in the way of doing things!
Interestingly, on the day the Three Kingdoms Alliance Treaty was officially signed, Japan wanted to send Yoshida Shingo as a representative to sign, but the man directly cursed: Whoever loves to go, I won’t go!
However, although Yoshida Yoshigo announced his retirement from the position of Navy Minister, how could the tension in the Pacific War be without talents like him? Therefore, less than two months after his resignation, Yoshida Shingo returned to the battle and served as the Navy Military Senate, and did not withdraw from the navy until the end of World War II.
Facts have proved that Yoshida Yoshigo, Yamamoto Izuru and others have very accurate visions. They have successfully foresaw the war situation after the establishment of the Three Kingdoms Alliance. In the end, they were beaten to pieces in a confrontation with the United States and are doomed.
But on the other hand, we should actually thank those who support the alliance of the Three Kingdoms. It is because of their ambition that has too great ambitions that have also pulled the Americans to Pacific battlefield , which greatly alleviated the pressure on the Chinese battlefield and accelerated the demise of Japanese militarism.
History Inn Author: Shuimu
