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Volume 3, Chapter 487: Ambush from all sides

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    Although the New Second Army launched waves of more violent offensives in the Japanese-occupied areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the Battle of Wuhan still inevitably ended with the defeat of the national army.  The fundamental reason that led to the failure of the Wuhan Battle was that in addition to the aggressive Japanese offensive, all fronts of the national army were on the verge of collapse, and the main force could be surrounded by the Japanese army at any time, the fall of Guangzhou gave Chiang Kai-shek a blow in the head.  In the early morning of the next day after Double Ten Day, all the ships carrying the main force of the Japanese 21st Army sailed into Daya Bay and entered the planned landing area. They were neither shelled by the Chinese coastal defense forces nor found any barriers.  Before dawn, the Japanese troops began a forced landing under the cover of more than 30 aircraft.  The only battalion of the defenders collapsed at the first touch. After establishing a firm foothold and repelling the defenders near Tamsui, the Japanese army occupied Tamsui and the east-west area that day and night.  On the day the Japanese troops landed, Japanese Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fumi Konoe sent a note to the ambassadors of various countries in Japan, announcing that Japan¡¯s war in South China had officially begun and asking all countries to avoid all aid to China.  The great powers such as Britain, France and the United States had no choice but to adopt a default attitude. Chiang Kai-shek's wishful thinking that the Japanese were unwilling to offend Britain and France and would not open a new battlefield in South China went bankrupt again.  Afterwards, the Japanese army continued to advance northward from Tamsui, and reached near Huiyang on the evening of the 14th.  Yu Han, deputy commander of the Fourth Theater and commander of the 12th Group Army, urgently ordered his 151st Division to resist firmly in the Pingshan area. At the same time, he ordered Zhang Ruigui, commander of the 63rd Army, to command the main force of the 153rd Division and the independent 20th Brigade.  Occupy positions in Henggang and Shuangmeiji to stop the Japanese troops and cover the Guangzhou-Kowloon Railway. At the same time, a brigade of the 153rd Division was ordered to hold on to the coast from Bao'an to Humen.  On the night of the 14th, the 23rd Brigade of the 18th Division of the Japanese Army attacked Huiyang City in the rain. The defending 151st Division relied on the city's fortifications to resist tenaciously. After a fierce battle all night, the Japanese army relied on their superior firepower to break into the city at dawn the next day.  , the defenders withdrew to the vicinity of Baitang and continued to resist.  The Japanese army captured Huizhou at 7:00 on the 15th and then crossed the Dongjiang River.  After learning that Huiyang and Huizhou had been lost, Yu Hanmou was determined to use the concentrated forces to use the established positions in Guangzhou and Zengcheng to launch a decisive battle against the Japanese army. However, because Chiang Kai-shek deployed two divisions to assist Wuhan, the Guangdong army faced the Japanese 21st Army and the Third Army.  A division and a flying regiment do not have an advantage in terms of strength.  On the evening of October 16, the 23rd Brigade of the 18th Division of the Japanese Army captured Boluo and continued to advance. The situation in Guangzhou became serious.  After the Military Commission learned that the situation in Guangzhou was critical, Chiang Kai-shek regretted not following Wu Ming's advice, so he had to transfer the 64th Army and the 66th Army south of Jiujiang and transport them back from Nanxun Road to support Guangzhou.  On the afternoon of October 18, the rapid advance team of the 18th Division of the Japanese Army entered Futian, southeast of Zengcheng. On the morning of the 19th, they repulsed the first part of the defending 156th Division, crossed the Zengjiang River and occupied Zengcheng. Yu Han planned to deploy troops.  Went to reinforce and carry out counterattack, but the troops mobilized declined for various reasons and failed to arrive in time.  Subsequently, the main position of the 156th Division was broken through by the main force of the Japanese 18th Division.  On October 20, the 18th Division, after repelling the 154th Division west of Zengcheng, approached Guangzhou along both sides of the Zengguang Highway. The 104th Division also captured Guangzhou after the 18th Division.  Visit Shilong on the Guangzhou-Kowloon Railway.  Yu Hanmou led his headquarters to retreat to Qingyuan that night, leaving only the tax police regiment and a few military police and policemen to guard Guangzhou. The Japanese 18th Division occupied Guangzhou without a fight on the afternoon of the 21st.  The main force of the fifth division of the Japanese follow-up force arrived at Daya Bay on the 20th. Because the first phase of the operation went surprisingly smoothly, the Japanese fifth division, which was originally scheduled to land at the Pearl River Estuary on the 27th, landed on the 22nd ahead of schedule.  On the afternoon of the 22nd, the Japanese troops landed on Dajiao Island on the west bank of the Pearl River Estuary, and Dajiao Island was subsequently lost.  In the afternoon of the same day, the Japanese army crossed the Pearl River again and, in coordination with the Japanese Navy's Second Joint Special Marine Corps, attacked the Humen Fort on the east coast. The defenders were bombarded by Japanese aircraft and naval artillery for two consecutive days and withdrew that night. The Humen Fortress was completely destroyed.  Japanese occupation.  At this time, the Japanese Ninth Brigade and the 104th Division had successively occupied Pingling, Conghua and other places.  By the 29th, the Fifth Division occupied various places south of Guangzhou. The Japanese army had completely controlled Guangzhou and nearby areas, and the entire Pearl River Delta had fallen.  After achieving the combat objective, the Japanese army turned to the defensive. Yu Hanmou's 12th Army retreated to the west bank of Beijiang to confront the Japanese army. At this time, the 64th Army and the 66th Army sent by Chiang Kai-shek for reinforcements had not yet arrived, and the situation in Guangdong was rapidly eroding.  .  People from all walks of life at home and abroad reacted strongly to the Twelfth Army's neglect of Guangzhou. Hu Shi, the Nationalist Government's ambassador to the United States, sent a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek on the 23rd, saying: "Guangzhou fell without a fight, which is a very bad feeling abroad." Looking again at the battlefield in Wuhan, along the coast of Jiangxi  The invading Japanese troops entered Yangxin, Daye and other places in mid-October. Afterwards, the Japanese troops divided their forces and advanced all the way along Xintanpu to Tongshan, all the way along Sanxikou to Xianning, and all the way along Daye and Jinniu to Hesheng Bridge.  To the north of the Yangtze River, the Chinese defenders braved poisonous gas and fought hard. Due to heavy casualties,?Can stop the Japanese army from advancing.  On October 24, the Japanese army entered Huangpi. At this time, Wuhan's peripheral fortresses and defensive positions were captured by the Japanese army. The north, east, and southeast sides were heavily surrounded by the Japanese army. Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek had no choice but to order the Chinese defenders on both sides of the Yangtze River to attack all fronts.  Withdrew and left Wuchang that night and flew to Hengyang.  On October 25, the 23rd Regiment of the Japanese Sixth Division occupied the Daijiashan position in the northern suburbs of Hankou that night. The Botian detachment broke through the defensive position of the 50th Division and occupied Gedian.  That night, all units of the Chinese garrison in Wuhan evacuated the city as planned.  On the 26th, the 23rd Japanese Regiment occupied Hankou, and the Botian Detachment occupied Wuchang.  On the 27th, the 60th Regiment of the 15th Division attached to the Botian Detachment occupied Hanyang, the 9th Division captured Hesheng Bridge, and the 27th Division occupied Taolin Town and officially cut off the Guangdong-Hankou Railway. However, at this time Wuhan  The defenders have withdrawn to northern Hunan and western Hubei.  After the Japanese army occupied Wuhan, the Second Army of the Central China Front was responsible for clearing out the Chinese troops in the areas east of Anlu and Yingcheng. At the same time, it ordered the Eleventh Army of Okamura Neiji to continue the pursuit and capture Yuezhou.  The Tenth Division of the Japanese Second Army occupied Anlu, Huayuan and other places on October 28. On the 29th, the Eleventh Army formulated a three-pronged attack plan on Yueyang. Among them, the Ninth Division started from Wuchang.  Attack Yueyang along the Guangdong-Hankou Railway. The 11th Brigade of the 6th Division, in coordination with the navy, took a boat up the river from Hankou to attack Yueyang. The 27th Division moved south from the north of Xianning to attack Chongyang and Tongcheng.  Support and cover the left back of the attacking Yueyang troops.  At this time, most of Zhang Fakui's troops of the Second Corps of the Ninth War Zone had moved to the Mufu Mountain area, so the Japanese army did not encounter strong resistance along the way.  The 9th Division and the 11th Brigade of the 6th Division, supported by the navy, captured Yueyang City on the evening of November 11th. The 27th Division captured Tongshan and Chongyang from November 4th to 6th.  , the troops of China's Ninth Theater faced each other across Xiushui in Jiangxi and Xinqiang River in Hunan.  After the Japanese army occupied Yueyang, the Changsha garrison, which was still more than 130 kilometers away from Yueyang, according to Chiang Kai-shek's secret order at 9 a.m. on November 12, in order to carry out the "scorched earth war of resistance", at about 2 a.m. on the 13th,  , hundreds of fires were set simultaneously in Changsha City, turning the city into a sea of ??fire.  The fire burned for three days and three nights. Nine-tenths of the city was burned, more than 50,000 houses were destroyed, and more than 20,000 people were killed.  The situation on the front line in Wuhan has calmed down a bit, and the Japanese generals on the Central China Front have turned their attention from Wuhan back to the rear.  Okamura Neiji handed over the battlefield command to Chief of Staff Major General Yoshimoto Sadichi and rushed back to Nanjing by transport plane.  Nanjing, the former seat of the National Government, is now the headquarters of the Japanese Central China Front.  In the office on the second floor of Zichao Building, Yan Junliu looked at the map, and Major General Hebian Zhengsan, chief of staff of the front army, softly explained the topography of western Zhejiang, eastern Jiangxi, southern Anhui and other places.  "The Qianligang Mountains where the New Second Army is located is mountainous and watery, and the mountains are rolling, which is very unfavorable for the deployment of large corps and heavy equipment. Wu Ming placed the New Second Army in the deep mountains and old forests. It seems that he had already anticipated today's situation.  "After Yan Junliu finished speaking, there was a hint of coldness in his eyes.  "From my point of view, Wu Ming hid the New Second Army garrison in the mountains mainly to guard against Chiang Kai-shek. Wu Ming is not a direct descendant of Chiang Kai-shek, nor is he a fellow Zhejiang fellow. Since the Anti-Japanese War, Wu Ming has repeatedly committed crimes and has long been separated from Chiang Kai-shek." Riverside  Zheng San was thinking and analyzing: "If Wu Ming had predicted this day a few years ago, I don't believe it, because even I didn't know that the war would break out last summer. It was just a coincidence that it happened to coincide with the Battle of Songhu. He  The strategy of building high walls and hoarding supplies is just right for us. "Wu Ming is really a devil, a lucky devil who doesn't play by common sense. He always appears when you least expect him to."  Yan Junliu felt a headache when he thought of Wu Ming and cursed bitterly.  With the end of the Wuhan Battle, the Chinese army was compressed to the southwest and northwest inland areas. Wu Ming, entrenched in the central and eastern regions of China, has become the most worthy opponent of the Japanese government and army.  Not to mention anything else, since the Battle of Xuzhou, the New Second Army's troops behind enemy lines have repeatedly launched attacks. Especially in the recent period, they have spread from all sides, trapping almost the entire Japanese and puppet troops in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions in the city. The vast countryside is about to become a  The New Second Army has its own private land.  Now the Japanese and puppet troops in Jiangsu and Zhejiang have turned pale when talking about Wu Ming and the New Second Army.  Due to the heavy losses of the Guards Division, the Japanese Emperor Hirohito, who received the bad news, held a special imperial meeting. Chief of Staff of Kanin Palace, Chief of Military Command of Fushimi Palace, Deputy Chief of Staff Tada, Prime Minister of Konoe, Prime Minister Sugiyama Riku, Prime Minister Mineuchi,  The meeting was attended by the Chancellor Baba, K¨­k¨­ K¨­k¨­, and the Chairman of the Privy Council Hiranuma, who was ordered to do so.  After coming out of the palace, every big boss was sweating coldly. The civilian officials stared at the military generals with sarcasm and ridicule.  For this reason, the Chief of Staff of Xianyuan Palace and Prime Minister Sugiyama sent strict orders to Yan Junliu, ordering the Central China Front Army to destroy Wu Ming and the New Second Army as soon as possible.  Hebian Zhengzo comforted him: "Commander's PavilionNext, based on the characteristics of Wu Ming and the New Second Army, our staff department formulated a detailed combat plan.  Although Wu Ming is cunning and the New Second Army is difficult to deal with, I believe that as long as the Imperial Japanese Army fights steadily, they will be able to wipe out Wu Ming and the New Second Army." Yan Jun's face brightened slightly, and he nodded: "Tell me about it.  "Hai¡ª¡ª" Hebian Shozo came to the map, raised his baton and was about to explain, when an unexpected voice came. "Report to the commander, General Okamura is asking for a meeting." The confidential staff member came in and saluted, explaining his purpose.  "Let him come in.  " Yan Shunroku's face was very ugly, and he muttered: "It is said that Okamura Neji is extremely capable, but he was first defeated by Wu Ming, and then by Xue Yue. I think it is nothing more than that." Okamura Neji commanded the eleventh  As a result, the 106th Division was surrounded and annihilated in Wanjialing, causing a huge loss of face for the Central China Front. As a result, Yan Shunroku was not very fond of Okamura Neiji. If Okamura Neiji was not deeply loved by Hirohito, he would have been  He was removed from the position of commander of the 11th Army. However, Kawabe Shozo had always been on good terms with Okamura Neiji, and immediately advised: "Commander, compared with the defeat of the 106th Division, the overall performance of the 11th Army is better.  Good. The final victory in the Battle of Wuhan is proof. After all, we are at an absolute disadvantage in terms of numbers. It is already very good to have such a performance.  " After a while, Okamura Neji came in with a document in his hand, saluted Yan Junroku, and gave Kawabe Shozo a look, and then reported to Yan Junroku: "Commander, with the situation in Wuhan  The battle situation in Jiangnan has gradually become more and more stable. I have some immature ideas that I would like to express to the commander, and I would like to ask him to criticize and correct them." "Oh?  What suggestions do you have?  " Yan Junliu raised his eyebrows and asked with feigned concern. "Commander, the Jiangnan region was originally the most economically developed province in China. Most of the National Government's finances and taxes were supported by Songhu and Jiangsu and Zhejiang.  Now that we have completely occupied Jiangnan, we must restore order as soon as possible and establish effective rule to collect taxes and supplement military supplies.  " Okamura Neiji's words have only one meaning: to support war with war, and to support the subsequent aggressive war by searching for wealth in China. "How to establish effective rule?  " Yan Shunliu disagreed in his heart, but asked in his mouth. Okamura Neji's plan is very simple: to establish a strong traitor government in the occupied areas and implement a strict Baojia system for the Chinese in the occupied areas. Divide the regions and limit the time to consolidate  In the security areas, troops in the quasi-security areas are concealed, and they enter the security areas in a planned manner, and use the remaining troops to advance into the un-security areas, making them develop into quasi-security areas. At the same time, the ultimate goal is to enslave the people in the occupied areas.  It is to draw nearly 100 million people in the Jiangnan area into the pro-Japanese camp. ¡°The premise of all this is to eliminate the Chinese guerrillas active in the Jiangnan area. Do you have any good suggestions?  "Yan Shunliu became a little interested and continued to ask. "If we follow these steps, neither rush for success nor miss the opportunity, and at the same time launch targeted operations, the situation will slowly improve," Okamura Neiji said.  Talk: "We can hand over the defense tasks of general counties and important towns to the Goodwill Government, and at the same time deploy the imperial army to attack the New Second Army, New Fourth Army and Jiangsu and Zhejiang Rangers in the occupied areas.  Judging from the information obtained by the intelligence agencies, these Chinese guerrillas are like maggots attached to their bones, growing rapidly as soon as the drug wears off. Therefore, the suppression of them must not be relaxed.  " "Sounds good" After the Wuhan battle, the hope of forcing Chiang Kai-shek to surrender was shattered again. The Sino-Japanese war is obviously not going to end in the short term. Now Okamura Neiji has put forward such a suggestion, which can solve many practical problems. "Shunroku Yan is a rare compliment.  In one sentence, he told Kawabe Shozo: "Chief of Staff, please introduce the battle plan you have drawn up to Okamura-kun." Kawabe Shozo's plan is to divide the Central China Front Army into two armies, the East and West. The East Route Army is dominated by Yan Shunroku.  , commanding the Japanese army to attack from eastern Zhejiang to western Zhejiang. The West Route Army, led by Okamura Neiji's 11th Army, marched from northern Jiangxi to central Jiangxi. The navy entered Poyang Lake from the Yangtze River Channel to coordinate operations and wait for an opportunity to capture Nanchang.  A force was left behind the enemy lines in Nanchang and surrounding areas to defend Nanchang, and the main force marched eastward along the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway, and finally joined forces with the East Route Army in Quzhou to annihilate Wu Ming and the New Second Army in one fell swoop. This plan sounds feasible.  The probability is extremely high. If it is strictly implemented, it may not be possible to wipe out the New Second Army in one fell swoop. Okamura Neiji affectionately patted Kawabe Shozo on the shoulder and said loudly: "This plan is very good. The Imperial Japanese Army is ambushing from all sides.  Even if the New Second Army has wings, it will not be able to escape our strangulation." Junroku Yan and Shosan Kawabe both laughed when they heard this. In late November, various departments of the Japanese army began to rest and reorganize, and ordinary soldiers began to enjoy this rare leisure.At that time, the top brass of the front army were busy, and the divisions began to change defenses.  By the end of 1938, the recruitment work in Japan had temporarily come to an end. Four of the fifteen newly formed divisions were transported to Shanghai and included in the Central China Front Army sequence.  After this addition, the strength of the Japanese Central China Front reached its peak.
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