We are the country’s armed force, we are the vanguard of the nation!
We grow up in the battle, and we follow each other in the fire.
We defended Luodian, and we fought against Lanfeng!
The Nanxun Line shows loyalty, and Zhanggu Mountain is stained red with blood.
We are the country’s armed force, we are the vanguard of the nation!————“Military Song of the 74th Army of the National Revolutionary Army”
In Wuhan, the temporary base of the Nationalist Government, the Hainan Army defeated the Japanese 13th Division in Zhenjiang and killed Japanese Lieutenant General Inoue Kawago. The news of the victory at the first stop reached here. Countless Chinese people cheered for it, which was really satisfying.
Even Chiang Kai-shek, who had a gap with the Hainan Army, couldn't help but marvel after receiving the detailed battle report. At the same time, he was amazed at the Hainan Army's wealth.
Even though the current National Government has the support of the Americans, Roosevelt agreed to increase financial aid to China this year. But so far, the only ones with full weapons and equipment in the Central Army are a few direct troops, and as the most elite armed forces of the Central Army,
Chiang Kai-shek would not be willing to use them in a bloody battle with the Japanese army unless absolutely necessary.
Looking at the equipment of the Hainan Army and comparing it with the equipment of the Central Army, Chiang Kai-shek suddenly felt that he was very poor. The poor were actually not as rich as a local government.
At the same time, Chiang Kai-shek's vigilance towards the Hainan Army, a local warlord who demanded money and was powerful in force, was further heightened.
The ministers are strong and the master is weak, and the Hainan Army cannot continue to expand like this. The orthodox status of the National Army cannot be questioned. Chiang Kai-shek is determined to limit the expansion of the Hainan Army.
However, how to weaken the expansion of the Hainan Army requires long-term thinking. Threats of force are very stupid and undesirable. When the Japanese have not settled things, whoever dares to fire the first shot in the civil war will be unlucky. Those who undermine the united front of the Anti-Japanese War
If the big hat is turned off, no one can hold it.
Since the use of force was not an option, we had no choice but to submit a letter. Moreover, Chiang Kai-shek was also very aware of the advantages of the Central Army. After all, the Hainan Military Government was only a local government and was still nominally a subordinate agency of the National Government.
Thinking of this, Chiang Kai-shek suddenly listened, picked up the good news on the table and read it again, his originally dull expression gradually became cloudy and uncertain.
Nanjing City! The center of the problem lies with Nanjing. Nanjing was originally a hot potato for the National Army. After the Hainan Army went north to join the war, it became a presence that he could not ignore.
At first, because the Japanese army was pressing down on the border, the National Army lost a large number of elite troops in the Battle of Songhu. At the same time, he also hoped that the Hainan Army would be in front to attract Japanese firepower, so he planned to abandon Nanjing.
Unexpectedly, the situation suddenly changed. When the Japanese army, which was like chicken blood, faced the Hainan Army's attack, it suddenly collapsed. The Hainan Army took the retreat without even being able to block it.
Stealing the chicken but losing the rice made Chiang Kai-shek slander the Hainan Army. He also scolded Inoue Kawaboshi of the Japanese 13th Division for "high hopes".
Can't you put in some effort? Even if you can't defeat them, you have to hold on for at least two days! Even if it's 10,000 live pigs, it will take two days to catch them! Why did the Hainan Army clean up the battlefield in less than half a day?
If there were headlines in major newspapers tomorrow, it would be said that the National Army suffered repeated defeats when encountering the Japanese army, while the Hainan Army suffered repeated victories when encountering the Japanese army. Where does this leave Chiang Kai-shek's face?
We can't go on like this! It's not a big deal to lose face, but people's support is the most important thing, and the people are not that easy to fool, and they will understand after a long time. If the Hainan Army is always the leader, the National Government will not be able to occupy its position.
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"Jingguo! Send electricity to Wei Lihuang and ask him to mobilize the 18th Army. The 74th Army will move south from Chuzhou and ensure the safety of Nanjing City!" Chiang Kai-shek made up his mind.
"Yes, father!" Jiang Jingguo immediately turned around and quickly left the chairman's office.
There is no room for loss in Nanjing! No matter who falls into the hands of either side, it is not good news for the Nationalist Government.
The Eighteenth Army of the National Revolutionary Army was founded in the autumn of the 18th year of the Republic of China. It is a veteran force in the National Army. It became famous in the melee wars between warlords. It is also one of the few elite units in the Central Army that can fight against the Japanese army. Its current commander is Huang Wei.
During the Battle of Songhu in Shanghai, the 18th Army of the National Revolutionary Army, under the command of Commander Wang Yaowu, resisted the attack of the Japanese Third Division commanded by Matsui Iwane and launched a bloody battle in the Luodian area of Songhu for nearly a month.
Thousands of soldiers were killed in the battle, and the entire Luodian was a river of blood, which was called a "flesh and blood mill" by the Japanese army.
As for the 74th Army of the National Revolutionary Army, many people should know that Zhang Lingfu, a famous general in the later period of the Nationalist Army, came from the 74th Army.
Directly under the Military Committee, the U.S. Army Advisory Group once praised "only the 74th Army can fight against the Chinese Communist Party." It is the most dazzling new star among the "ace cards" of the Kuomintang. It has achieved brilliant results in the Anti-Japanese War, including the "Forest Army" and the "Anti-Japanese Iron Army"
, known as the "Tiger Ben Division", won the "Flying Tiger Flag", the highest award from the Kuomintang [the highest honor awarded by the National Government to military units with meritorious service].
From the results of these two armies, we can see that Chairman Chiang has spent a lot of money this time. The Eighteenth Army of the National Revolutionary Army and the Seventy-fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army are both one of the five ace armies of the National Army.
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——————————[The dividing line between Chairman Chiang’s appearance]——————————
As the financial center of the Far East, Shanghai's importance is self-evident. After the Battle of Songhu, the headquarters of the Japanese Central China Expeditionary Force was established in Shanghai.
"Beep... beep...!" More than a dozen telegraph machines kept sending and receiving telegrams, and the messages fed back from the front line made Xiangyue Qingji feel extremely irritable.
The 100,000-strong Hainan Army in the south marched north to join the battle and crippled the 13th Division with one attack. The division commander Inoue Kawafeng was also folded in. Now he rushed towards Matsui Iwane fiercely, and the sharp bayonet was almost there.
The tip of his nose was broken.
The leak happened on a rainy night! But at this time, the National Army from Wuhan actually came to take advantage. Although the two armies only had a strength of 60,000 to 70,000 people, the two main forces of the National Army registered with the Japanese Army Ministry,
Its combat effectiveness cannot be underestimated.
In just two days, China and Japan gathered about 300,000 troops here. The National Army's 70,000 fresh troops plus the 20,000 remnants of Nanjing's troops totaled 90,000 troops.
The Hainan Army's troops heading north include three field armies, the Hainan Army's Third Field Army moving north along Wuhu, the tank brigade that won the first battle in Zhenjiang, and the subsequent main force of the Hainan Army's First Army. There is also the Second Army that is attacking Hangzhou. All of these combined.
There are more than 100,000.
The total number of the National Army plus the Hainan Army is 200,000. Although it is not as good as the Battle of Songhu, the combat effectiveness of these troops at this time has not improved by one or two points compared with that time.
In comparison, the Japanese army had an advantage in terms of strength. The total number of troops was 250,000, which was 60,000 more than the Hainan Army and the National Army combined.
But in fact, wars cannot be won by relying on large numbers of people. Otherwise, China in the next generation, with one-sixth of the world's population, won't it sweep the world over?
The 250,000 Japanese troops were divided into three places. The place with the smallest number of troops was Hangzhou, but it was suppressed by the Hainan Army's Second Field Army and had to seek emergency rescue from him.
The loss of the Zhenjiang Bridge made matters worse. The Hainan Army blocked about 100,000 Japanese troops on the north bank of the Yangtze River. If you want to cross the river, you must have ships, but those civilian ships are in the hands of Nanjing Garrison Commander Tang Shengzhi.
As for using warships? Forget it! The Nanyang First Fleet is keeping a close eye on the Japanese fleet in Shanghai. It is unable to defend Shanghai, so what ability does it have to help the army cross the river.
This means that the troops he can now use are only about 100,000 people outside Nanjing, and they are still sandwiched between the Hainan Army and the National Army.
A distraught Matsui Iwane walked around the headquarters. There were several Japanese officers beside him. They all lowered their heads quietly and remained silent for fear of offending the commander.
After wandering around for a long time, just when the Japanese officers were about to faint, Matsui Iwane said to the Japanese chief of staff next to him: "Send a report to Lieutenant General Kozuki Kiyoshi, the commander of the enemy's Chinese garrison in the empire, to request tactical support.
!”
But to be honest, if one hundred thousand troops were used to fight the National Army, there would be no problem, but if one hundred thousand troops were to fight against the Hainan Army, he, Koyuki Kiyoshi, was not sure. Most of the Japanese commanders who had fought against the Hainan Army did not dare to say that it was possible.
Be certain of victory.
The Battle of Songhu lasted for a year, and the Japanese Central China Expeditionary Force suffered approximately 200,000 casualties. Currently, all divisions are resting and recuperating, waiting for additional troops. It will take at least some time to restore the previous combat effectiveness.
However, from the corrupt situation in Nanjing, it can be seen that the current situation of the Japanese army in Jiangnan is not optimistic. The offensive troops in Nanjing are facing a double attack from the Hainan Army and the National Army, and it is not yet clear how much help the commander of the garrison troops, Xiang Yue Qingji, can do.
It can be known.
Maoshan is the headquarters of the Hainan Army Group Army. As the combat command headquarters of the Hainan Army Group Army, the security here can be said to be extremely tight.
Bunkers, trenches, intertwined wires and trenches are everywhere, and the Hainan Air Force even deployed a group of air force fighters in the outer areas.
Just two days ago, Li Weidong led the headquarters staff to Maoshan airstrip on a special plane. He will personally serve as the commander-in-chief of this battle.
In the group army headquarters, Li Weidong was marking the military map of Jiangnan. He raised his head and asked: "Where has the Third Army reached?"
"Report to the Commander-in-Chief! The Commander of the Third Army reported that the heavy rain last night washed away the road, and the engineer battalion is making emergency repairs! The troops are expected to arrive at the predetermined location the day after tomorrow morning!" A colonel staff member immediately replied.