Just as the Chinese and Japanese armies were fighting fiercely in Shanghai, the situation in North China fell sharply.

On July 20, the Japanese army deliberately expanded the Lugou Bridge Incident and launched a bombardment on Wanping City and nearby areas. On the 25th, the Japanese army attacked Langfang Station. On the 26th, Langfang fell, Beicang, Yangcun and other stations also fell one after another, and traffic in Pingjin was cut off. Then the Japanese army marched towards Guang'anmen and headed into Peiping.

On the 27th, the Japanese army launched attacks on Tongxian, Tuanhe, Tangshan and other places respectively.

On the 28th, the Japanese army launched a full-scale attack on the Chinese defenders stationed in Beiyuan and Nanyuan. The 29th Army, which was caught off guard, suffered heavy casualties. Deputy Commander Tong Linge, Commander of the 132nd Division Zhao Dengyu died heroically, and the 38th Division Special Regiment and the 114th Brigade retreated to Gu'an.

On the same day, Qinghe and Shahe fell.

That night, Song Zheyuan and others retreated from Tianjin to Baoding, and the 37th Division evacuated from Peiping from Wanping, Babaoshan and Mentougou.

On the 29th, Beiyuan and Huangsi were lost and Beiping fell.

In the early morning of July 29, the Battle of Tianjin began. Under the crazy attack of the Japanese army, the Chinese army retreated to Jinghai and Machang areas, and Tianjin was lost.

After the Japanese army occupied Ping and Tianjin, they immediately attacked Chanan to relieve its side-side threat and ensure that the main force headed south along the Pinghan Railway.

On August 8, the Nankou Battle started. Under the rotation of Japanese planes, cannons and poisonous gas, Nankou was lost on the 25th. On the 26th, Zhangjiakou, the Chahar Provincial Government, lost on the 26th. Liu Ruming's troops retreated to the right bank of the Yanghe River, Fu Zuoyi's troops retreated to Chaigou Fort, and Tang Enbo's troops broke through to the right bank of the Sangyu River.

In early September, the Japanese army invaded Chanan and Shanxi.

On September 6, the Japanese army launched a general attack on various positions east of Tianzhen, guarding Panshan, and all the Chinese officers and soldiers of Zhoujiashan died for their country, and Tianzhen was surrounded on all sides.

On the 8th, the Japanese army bypassed Tianzhen, which had a strong defense, attacked Yanggao. On the 10th, many places of Yanggao's city walls were destroyed, and the defenders suffered heavy casualties, and Yanggao fell. The next day, Tianzhen abandoned the defense, and on the 12th, the Chinese army abandoned Datong again and moved towards Guangwu.

During the fierce battle in Tianzhen, the Japanese army gathered in Zhangbei and launched an attack on Xinghe, Shangdu and Huade to support the offensive of Datong. On September 7, Shangyi was defeated, Xinghe abandoned the defense on the ninth, on the eleventh, Huade fell, and on the evening of the 16th, the Chinese defenders withdrew from Shangdu.

After the Japanese army captured Datong, they continued to invade the north.

On the 17th, Fengzhen fell, on the 24th, the Chinese army abandoned Jining, on the 25th and 26th, Liangcheng and Taolin fell, and the gate of Guisui opened.

While attacking Chanan, on August 15, the Japanese base camp issued a general mobilization order to invade China, sending the Japanese North China Front Army under the First and Second Army under the command of the dispatched troops to concentrate in the Pingjin area.

On September 14, the 20th Japanese Division launched an attack on Liulihe, the 6th Division was from Gu'an, and the 14th Division was from Yongqing to Yongding River, and attacked Zhuozhou.

On September 18th, Zhuozhou fell, on the 22nd, the whole city was lost, on the 24th, the Chinese army abandoned Baoding, on the 29th, Xinle fell, and by October 8th, the Japanese army had advanced to Changshou and attacked Zhengding and Lingshou at the same time.

It can be said that while the national army soldiers fought bloody battles on the front battlefield of Songhu, the Chinese army in North China took great steps and retreated while occupying absolute superior forces.

Looking at the Songhu battlefield again, from late September to mid-October, China and Japan carried out repeated tug-of-war around Luodian.

At the suggestion of a German adviser, the Chinese army concentrated 35 divisions and launched attacks on the Japanese army stationed in Luodian. In order to cut off the ties between the Ninth and the Fifteenth Army, the Japanese army continued to expand the war in the downtown area of ​​Shanghai while strengthening the defense of Luodian.

Starting at 7:00 a.m. on the 9th day, the Japanese 9th Division dispatched two corpses, one from Qiujiang Wharf to Hujiang University, and the other from Huishan Wharf to attack Gongda Spinning Mill.

As four heavy cruisers and twelve destroyers joined the attack on the Chinese defending positions, and dozens of carrier-based fighters flew from the sea, the 87th Division, which guarded Hujiang University and Gongda Spinning Mill, finally lost its support after continuous hard battles. Hujiang University was thrown away at noon on the 10th, and Gongda Spinning Mill fell at 5 pm that day.

While the main force of the Ninth Division was attacking Hujiang University and Gongda Spinning Mill, the 101st Division advanced from east to west to the Military Road.

In the morning of the 9th, more than 20 Japanese planes and more than 20 warships attacked the military industry. At around 8 o'clock, more than 4,000 Japanese troops attacked the Chinese defenders' positions in Shenjiaxiang and Lujiazhai under the cover of smoke. Both sides repeatedly rushed until noon, when the 57th Division retreated from Pudong came to the rescue and stabilized the positions. In the afternoon of the same day, the Japanese army launched another attack, and the defenders suffered heavy casualties. The battle was at dusk, and the two armies were in a stalemate. In this day's battle, the 57th Division alone suffered 43 officers and more than 1,100 soldiers.

On the same day, the 13th Japanese Division set out from Huishan Wharf and advanced along Wusong Road and North Sichuan Road towards Hongkou. The 88th Chinese Army that guarded the Hongkou area launched a continuous fierce battle with the Japanese army. However, since the entire Shanghai Concession had been fought in a regiment, the 88th Division, which was attacked by naval guns and aircraft, fought on their own and failed to form an effective defense system. Two days later, the building of the Japanese Marine Corps headquarters in Shanghai fell.

At this point, Wu Ming's new Second Division achieved strategic advantages through great efforts, and was left to waste in the face of high-level decision-making mistakes and fierce attacks by the Japanese army.

On the evening of the 11th, Yuepu and Yang Xing also fell behind Wusong, Baoshan, Luodian, Hongkou, Jiangwan, Miaoxing and Xinshi District became prominent parts of the Chinese military front. The side was threatened by the Japanese army on the north bank of Yunzaogang. The Ninth Army was ordered to retain a few troops in the original position. The main force moved to Yunzaogang, Miaoxing, Jiangwan, and North Station lines that night.

In fact, after the two fronts of war were launched in North China and Songhu, the Japanese government and military went all out without any luck. Among them, the Japanese Parliament issued an imperial decree of the nature of declaring war on China on September 4, and the next day, Japanese Prime Minister Komaki Komaki delivered a speech in the Japanese Parliament:

"China uses the empire's tolerance to insult Japan and fight against Japan to become increasingly high, and the war situation finally affected central China. At this point, the government believes that taking ever-passive and local measures can no longer control the situation, and finally had to actively and decisively deal a major blow to the Chinese army."

"The only way the empire may take today is to completely attack the Chinese army and lose its will to fight. If China still does not reflect on itself and continues to resist stubbornly, even if it conducts long-term operations, the empire will do whatever it wants."

To this end, the Japanese parliament approved more than 2 billion yen of temporary military expenditure to support its military operations.

As early as September 10, Japan issued a cabinet declaration announcing its turn to the national wartime system. By mid-October, the Japanese army had assembled a total of five divisions, including the south bank of the Yangtze River and the Huangpu River estuary, a total of five divisions, plus fifteen infantry brigades, a brigade of heavy artillery and other special forces, together with the puppet troops drawn from Taiwan, Northeast China and North Korea, with a total force of more than 200,000.

The Japanese army's rear supply line was also becoming increasingly stable and strengthened. The temporary airport was built at Sizhou Island, Shawo, Gongda Spinning Mill, etc. The conditions for coordinated combat between various military branches were gradually formed, and various conditions required for large-scale field battles were increasingly met. In short, the advantages of the Japanese army on the Songhu battlefield have been formed.

Pinghu, Mo Family Manor, New Second Division Command.

The schoolmen were seated neatly, and the Chief of Staff Dai Ziran held the instructions stick and compared the map hanging by the wall to explain the latest battle situation to everyone.

Faced with the current crisis, the generals and schools did not speak and their hearts were extremely heavy.

For the Battle of Shanghai, Chiang Kai-shek basically took time out the whole country's army and had a draw with more than 200,000 Japanese troops, and finally formed a confrontation.

But in Wu Ming's view, fighting in the Yangtze River Estuary in Shanghai, where the Japanese army has absolute naval and air superiority is very unwise. The best solution is to withdraw all the troops to the national defense line and carry out rotational battles based on carefully constructed national defense fortifications. This can increase the strategic depth of the Japanese army, stay away from the giant ships and cannons of the Japanese army, and consume Japanese troops.

As long as more than 100,000 Japanese troops can be eliminated near the national defense line, the entire situation between China and Japan will undergo a tremendous change. I dare not say that the enemy is outside the national gates, and at least the fertile land in the Central Plains and the Yangtze River will not be occupied by the Japanese army. It is too unpaid to consume elite troops under the bombing of naval gun shells and aircraft like now.

Seeing that no one was interested in speaking, Wu Ming coughed gently, and when everyone's eyes were gathered on him, he said:

"The Battle of Songhu has been going on for more than two months, and the situation is very obvious. We mobilized nearly 700,000 troops from 68 divisions, but we tied with 200,000 Japanese troops. I believe everyone knows the various reasons. I have some experience here, and I will share them with you. It is considered a way to attract jade."

"Since the first shot was fired on August 13, Nanjing has no clear understanding of Japan at all. Although it opposes peace talks with Japan, it does not oppose international mediation. Once Britain, France, the United States and other countries propose mediation, they will immediately stop the front-line attack. As a result, the national army loses its early advantage, which is undoubtedly a big failure."

Although Wu Ming did not mention Chairman Chiang's name, he wanted to express his meaning. The generals and schools of the New Second Division here understood that Chiang Kai-shek, who was used to the three-point military and seven-point political, always wanted to win the three-point win-win situation of politics, economy and war, which was almost impossible.

In the subsequent explanation, Wu Ming believed that the National Government made the following major mistakes: First, the combat thinking was unclear and hoped to mediate by European and American empires, resulting in missing fighter jets; second, in terms of strategic and tactical policies, the thinking was rigid and the advantages of the existing side were not well used, and the command was ordered not to take a step back, which directly led to the troops being held on the position and being bombed by Japanese naval guns and aircraft, causing heavy casualties; third, the command was not carefully considered, and Hangzhou Bay was a key place on the strategic side, but it was not taken seriously at all.

To the last point, someone has different opinions.

Han Tiecheng stood up and said carelessly: "Teacher, I agree with your previous opinion, but I reserved my opinion on the last point. From the terrain of Hangzhou Bay, there are shallow beaches and large ships cannot be docked. Moreover, Nanjing sent people to inspect and came to a similar conclusion. For such a terrain, even if it is landed, there can only be one division at most, and the battle situation in Shanghai will not have much impact."

What Han Tiecheng said is the current mainstream view of Nanjing, or it can be said that it is Chiang Kai-shek's view.

"Iron City didn't regard my words as a golden rule. It's good to know how to question it."

Wu Ming still welcomed Han Tiecheng and explained to everyone patiently: "Why did I judge that the Japanese army would land in Hangzhou Bay? It's just a sentence: Those who fight are in line with the right combination and win with the strange. Therefore, those who are good at making strange things are as endless as heaven and earth, and as endless as rivers."
Chapter completed!