February 4, 1942, according to the Chinese lunar calendar, was the beginning of spring. There were still 12 days before the Spring Festival. As time went by, the flavor of the new year became more and more intense.
1940--1941 were two years of great significance for the development of the Eighth Route Army behind enemy lines.
First, the Eighth Route Army headquarters in Jinchaji, Jinsui and the 129th Division entrenched in Taihang dispatched a total of 110 regiments to launch a Hundred Regiment Battle to attack the Japanese transportation lines.
Later, Jinan, Tainan and other places defeated the stubborn armed forces and insisted on the anti-Japanese national united front with good reason. Under the leadership of Zhou Weihan, the Tainan base area suddenly emerged and snatched a piece of territory from the Japanese army and the national army.
In addition, the United Nations troops effectively defeated the Japanese offensive in the Zhongtiao Mountain area, allowing the National Army's largest military group north of the Yellow River to survive, maintaining the balance of power between the National Army, the Eighth Route Army, and the Japanese Army in North China, and beneficially ensuring the
Stable situation in the fight against Japan.
In the end, the Eighth Route Army took the initiative and changed its previous tactics of conducting guerrilla warfare in the valleys. It took the initiative to capture Heze, opened up the Eighth Route Army's own base area in southwestern Shandong, and established a democratic government in southwestern Shandong.
On the Yama Mountain.
After going into the mountains for hunting, a sudden heavy snowfall covered most of North China.
Despite the ice and snow, it did not affect the atmosphere on Yamawang Mountain, which became more and more lively. Everyone had a happy smile on their faces. The previously frozen meat was taken out, and the people left behind on the mountain began to prepare New Year's goods.
Within the headquarters.
Zhou Weihan's face was filled with doubts, and Zhao Gang, Li Yunshan and others also sighed.
According to Zhou Weihan's memory, in December 1941, the Japanese army should have launched a surprise attack on the U.S. fleet stationed on Pearl Island. Then the Japanese Southern Army, with more than 400,000 troops under the leadership of Juichi Terauchi, launched a large-scale attack on Southeast Asian countries.
But now there is still no news. Even if the Eighth Route Army's communication equipment is backward and it is inconvenient to contact the international community, the Nationalist Government should have made an explicit announcement.
The current situation made Zhou Weihan couldn't help but wonder if his memory was wrong. However, the intelligence gathered by the Eighth Route Army headquarters, the international situation and the dynamics of the Japanese army all showed that the Japanese army seemed to be targeting its Southeast Asian opponents.
"If the Japanese army has no intention of attacking its opponents in Southeast Asia, does it mean that the Japanese army will concentrate all its national power on our territory of China and continue to expand its war advantage in China?" Zhao Gang put forward a conjecture that made the people present feel increasingly heavy.
"It shouldn't be. Japan has always been a conceited nation. Arrogant ideas have filled the Japanese high-level officials. Besides, all the previous signs have shown the Japanese army's ambitions in Southeast Asia. How could the Japanese army just give up!"
"It is Japan's national policy to advance southward and northward. In the past few years, it fought with Big Brother on the northeastern border, but both ended in failure. It stands to reason that the Japanese army can only go south!" Zhou Weihan murmured to himself.
"Is it possible that after Germany went to war with Big Brother, it marched straight into Big Brother's territory? Will Germany and Japan, both Axis allies, reach a secret agreement to launch an east-west pincer attack on Big Brother?" Zhao Gang
Come up with a bolder idea.
"Impossible!" Zhou Weihan immediately objected: "Although Big Brother concentrates its military forces on the western battlefield, it also has troops deployed in the Far East. In addition, the Far East is vast and cannot achieve results quickly. If the Japanese army ignores the outcome of the previous defeat,
If we continue to wage war, our troops and resources will not be enough to wage a protracted war with Big Brother."
At this time, the treacherous international situation was attracting the attention of the National Government, the Eighth Route Army headquarters in Yanzhou, and even countries around the world.
The Nationalist Government and the Eighth Route Army are waiting, the United States is waiting for the opportunity, Germany is urging the Japanese army to take action, and Big Brother is strengthening its deployment in the Far East. Each has its own ideas.
However, the Japanese army was in full swing. Japan's attack on the US fleet on Pearl Island had been planned for a long time. However, changes occurred and a consensus was not reached for a long time, which led to the delay of the plan.
In the final analysis, the reason is that the war in China involved most of the Japanese army's energy, making the Japanese army trapped in the quagmire of the war.
Looking at China, the Nationalist Government's military group in North China not only did not lose Zhongtiao Mountain but became stronger despite repeated attacks by the Japanese army.
The Eighth Route Army, on the other hand, frequently launched offensives behind enemy lines, resulting in the North China Expeditionary Force's security war situation in the occupied areas being weak.
The above reasons have shaken the Japanese army's original support for moving south, and the United States has strangled Japan's resource lifeline, making Japan's top leaders hesitant.
In 1941, the United States began to implement a resource embargo in order to curb Japan's expansion.
The representative of the Japanese naval generals, Commander of the Combined Fleet Yamamoto Isoroku, boldly proposed to occupy the resources of Southeast Asia to solve the dilemma of the U.S. resource embargo.
And Japanese high-level officials understand that once it takes action in Southeast Asia, the United States will most likely not stand idly by.
Therefore, Yamamoto Isoroku proposed to eliminate the U.S. forces in the Pacific, such as the naval fleet on Pearl Island, before the war started.
At this time, due to the fatigue of the war in China, the generals of the Southern Army formed by Japan were wavering, and there were also strong objections within the Japanese Navy.
Finally, Yamamoto Isoroku and the generals of the main combat faction jointly stated that if the operation was suspended, many generals of the main combat faction would withdraw from active service.
In January 1942, at an imperial meeting attended by the Emperor of Japan, this action was officially approved.
On February 4, 1942, the day of the beginning of spring in China, as all forces were waiting, the Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on Pearl Island, where the U.S. fleet was stationed.
One of the main targets of the Japanese Navy was the three American aircraft carriers, but none of them were in the port at the time: the Enterprise was on its way back to Pearl Harbor, the Lexington had just sailed out a few days ago, and the Saratoga was undergoing repairs in San Diego.
.
The direct result was that on February 5, the originally conflicting opinions within the United States were unified, and the United States officially declared war on Japan.
Immediately, on February 6, the Nationalist Government followed suit and formally issued a national proclamation declaring war on Japan.
Since the September 18th Incident, the Sino-Japanese War has been going on for 11 years, but the Nationalist Government had not yet had the confidence to declare war on Japan.
The Eighth Route Army Shancheng Office then sent a telegram to report the matter, and the Eighth Route Army headquarters immediately notified all military regions of the matter.
"Great, this time the little devil is an old man who has eaten arsenic and will not live long!" Zhou Weihan looked at the telegram in his hand and wiped away the previous gloom.
"Old Zhao, just watch. From now on, the number of Japanese troops in China will only become smaller and smaller. Our Eighth Route Army's good days are coming. As long as we can survive the catastrophic year next year, we can start to carry out local counterattacks!