The loss of Anqing had a huge impact on the Battle of Wuhan.
After receiving the report of the loss of Anqing, Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to Yang Sen. There were only two sentences in it: "Abandoning a famous city without fighting vigorously." Military Command Minister Xu Yongchang's telegram to the Director of the 27th Group Army's Hubei Office
In addition to quoting Chiang Kai-shek's two sentences "A famous city is abandoned without fighting hard", Yang Sen was warned to "work hard for the future".
Yang Sen couldn't care about that much at this time and was busy directing the troops to withdraw to Qianshan. When he felt a little safer, he hurriedly called back to the headquarters, saying that it was because Xu Yuanquan's group army retreated at will and exposed its flanks that Anqing was not defended.
Chiang Kai-shek ignored Yang Sen's excuse and ordered him to flank the Japanese army to prevent the Japanese army from advancing westward. At the same time, Chiang Kai-shek ordered aircraft to bomb Anqing Airport with the intention of destroying the airport and preventing the Japanese from using it.
As for the Japanese army, after capturing Anqing, they first put the airport into use. Dozens of planes landed at the airport and quickly replenished fuel and ammunition from supply ships, so that the airport could be put into use quickly. By the time the national army planes came to bomb, the Japanese planes were already able to
They took off to meet the enemy. The two sides fought desperately over Anqing.
Unexpectedly, the loss of Anqing was just the beginning.
After the death of King Higashikawa Nikihiko of Higashikata Palace, Emperor Hirohito revoked the designation of the Second Army in anger, and placed the Third Division, Thirteenth Division, and Sixteenth Division that were originally under the command of the Second Army under the Second Army.
Commanded by the Eleventh Army. Now, the Eleventh Army commanded by Okamura Neiji is extremely large, including the Third Division, the Sixth Division, the Ninth Division, the Thirteenth Division, the Sixteenth Division, and the
The 27th Division, the 101st Division, the 106th Division, and the Botian Detachment are eight divisions and one brigade-level detachment.
After the Eleventh Army pursued the main force of the Eighth Route Army's teaching division and lost ground in central Jiangsu, Liu Jianli led the Second Teaching Brigade, the West Shandong Security Brigade, and the Southwestern Shandong Security Brigade to make a big fuss near Bengbu, so they turned around and headed west towards the Jinpu Line.
.As a result, the Japanese army was defeated again. Although Okamura Neiji was very resourceful, he was fooled and taught a lesson by the Eighth Route Army instructors one after another, and the anger in his heart had already been burned to the extreme.
After receiving the order from the base camp to launch the Wuhan offensive, Okamura Neiji took the time to rest his troops and replenish ammunition and food. After the main force was replenished, Okamura Neiji could no longer bear it and immediately commanded the Eleventh Army to divide the troops.
Two routes, one heading west along the north bank of the Yangtze River and the southern foot of the Dabie Mountains, and one heading west along the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains, attempted to jointly attack Wuhan.
Shunroku Hata and the base camp were more thoughtful than Neiji Okamura. In addition to ordering the navy to organize the fleet to move westward along the Yangtze River, Shunroku Hata directed the Japanese troops on the south bank of the Yangtze River to begin marching westward along the south bank to support the Eleventh Army's operations. The base camp also ordered the North China Front to deploy quickly.
, with the Fifth Division and the Fourteenth Division as the main force, returned to the battlefield in eastern Henan and captured Kaifeng, Zhengzhou, and Luoyang. At the same time, the First Army, which had been supplemented, was ordered to launch a mopping up operation in Shanxi, consolidate communication lines, and contain the Shanxi side.
The Eighth Route Army, Jinsui Army and Wei Lihuang Group in Zhongtiao Mountain ordered Gangbe Naosaburo to mobilize troops to consolidate the situation in northern Henan and prepare to cross the river and move south to attack the Chinese army in eastern Henan.
In this way, the Japanese army began to attack across the board from the Yangtze River to the entire North China.
After Gao Jingting and Liu Yimin broke up, they rushed back to Shucheng in central Anhui, conveyed Liu Yimin's instructions to the troops, and reported to the New Fourth Army headquarters via the radio that they would join the cavalry brigade of the teaching division and meet Liu Yimin, secretary of the Shandong Bureau of the Communist Party of China and commander of the teaching division.
situation, and also reported on the variety and quantity of supplementary supplies given by the instructor. Then the report said that according to Comrade Liu Yimin's analysis, the main force of the New Fourth Army should move eastward to central Jiangsu to establish a base area, and requested approval for the main force of the four detachments to move eastward.
They are all troops led by the Communist Party, and they should support each other. Therefore, the military headquarters' reply to Gao Jingting's telegram did not mention the supply of instructors. It also approved the eastward advance of the main force of the four detachments, but mentioned that the main force of the Japanese army was gathering in front of them.
Suzhong and Wandong are not the best times. It is best to wait until the Japanese army's next combat intention is exposed before heading eastward.
After Gao Jingting received the telegram from the military headquarters, before he had time to study it, the Japanese army rushed towards Jinpu Road. At this time, it was impossible to advance eastward, so Gao Jingting had no choice but to lead his troops in central Anhui, while publicizing and mobilizing the masses and mobilizing strong walls to clear the country.
Monitor the movements of Japanese troops in Hefei.
On the morning of September 3, the Seventh Regiment of the Four Detachments operating in the Taoxi area suddenly encountered the Japanese army.
Gao Jingting initially thought that the Japanese troops in Hefei were going to the countryside to raid the countryside. After receiving the report from Yang Kezhi, the commander of the Seventh Regiment, he ordered the troops to gather and prepare to teach the Japanese a lesson. But as soon as he gave the order, he received a second report from Yang Kezhi that the Japanese troops were
There are about 3,000 people in the large army, and the number is the 13th Division of the Japanese Army.
Gao Jingting did not dare to be careless and immediately ordered the forward troops to retreat immediately, and ordered the other troops of the fourth detachment to immediately prepare their positions to prepare for the withdrawal of the seventh regiment.
Gao Jingting's deployment was correct, but the Japanese army made a big move this time. The 13th Division and the 6th Division set out from Hefei, formed two attack arrows and advanced rapidly, and the troops split up to attack Lu'an.
By the time the Seventh Regiment withdrew, the vanguard of the Japanese army had already pounced on them. Through the telescope, we could see Japanese tanks, armored vehicles and cavalry appearing on both wings in the distance. Damn it, the Japs were so ambitious that they even wanted to take a detour from both wings.
When making Lao Tzu's dumplings, he didn't ask me who Gao Jingting was!
As soon as Gao Jingting saw this posture, he knew that if he didn't make a decisive decision, once he was surrounded by the Japanese, he would probably have to pay heavy casualties even if he tried to break out.
Gao Jingting immediately ordered his troops to retreat and avoid the enemy's attack before making any plans.
The order to retreat was issued, but the Japanese were elite troops and were fast in pursuit. They kept clinging to the rearguard of the Fourth Detachment and the Seventh Regiment. Fortunately, the Fourth Detachment had a high composition of old Red Army personnel and received supplies from instructors. The troops had strong combat effectiveness, and Gao Jingting was not afraid.
, immediately ordered all troops to retreat quickly in units of companies and battalions, and be sure to get rid of the little Japanese.
The main force of the four detachments was the old Red Army who persisted in the Dabie Mountains and the supplementary Old Red Army of Guidong. When it came to retreat, it was definitely their specialty. In addition, they were familiar with the terrain, so at Gao Jingting's order, the four detachments were divided into small units, and soon they were
Out of contact with the Japanese.
After getting rid of the Japs, Gao Jingting thought about it and felt that the Japanese troops were not just going to the countryside to sweep up, nor were they coming for the four detachments. Seeing the planes in the sky and tanks on the ground, the Japs must have a major strategic plan. Moreover,
There are only more than 3,000 Japanese troops in front of them. They are clearly a regiment. But looking at the number of Japanese aircraft dispatched, it is definitely not just to cover this Japanese army. It is very likely that this is just a flanking detour force of the Japanese army. The main force of the Japanese army should be in Shu.
To the north of the city. And this is the regiment of the Thirteenth Japanese Division. It also has tanks, armored vehicles, cars, and cavalry. The equipment is absolutely first-rate. Once it encounters the four detachments, no matter how many troops they have, they will immediately divide their troops to outflank them.
, intending to completely annihilate our army. It shows that there are strong follow-up troops behind the Japanese army, and reinforcements will come up soon. It seems that the Japanese army is going to encircle Lu'an, or rush to Huo Mountain.
Gao Jingting is a famous general in the Red Army. He can independently persist in the struggle in the Dabie Mountains, so he naturally has certain strategic concepts. After meeting Liu Yimin, he also knew that the Japanese army would definitely capture Wuhan, and Lu'an and Huoshan were both important military towns at the southern foot of the Dabie Mountains. If the Japanese army wanted to attack Wuhan
, these places must be captured.
Gao Jingting did not dare to neglect, and immediately reported the enemy's situation to the New Fourth Army headquarters. At the same time, he reported to the national troops stationed in Lu'an and Anqing, saying directly that the Japanese army would capture Lu'an and Huoshan, with the aim of targeting Wuhan.
Lu'an is located in the west of Anhui, at the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains. It is a veritable strategic location. An ancient poem praises it: "It blocks water and land from the southeast, and Liu'an is different from other states. It is surrounded by mountains and beautiful mountains, and the land controls the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers."
During the Red Army period, Xu Xiangqian commanded the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army to launch the Battle of Sujiabu, which took place here.
At this time, the 51st Army was stationed in Lu'an, the 71st Army was stationed in Huoshan, and the 77th Army was stationed in Shangcheng.
After receiving the report from the New Fourth Army, Li Zongren immediately realized that the war was coming, and strictly ordered all units to fight and consume the enemy step by step, but never defend the city. The purpose of everything was to delay the enemy's attack and eliminate the enemy's effective strength. In terms of tactics, choose the terrain that is favorable to us.
Combining mobile warfare and blocking warfare, we engage in protracted battles with the enemy.
Li Zongren only issued such an order, which was the result of being inspired by Liu Yimin in Xuzhou. He knew that fighting the Japanese army in a regular position battle would only consume the main force of our army under the Japanese aircraft and artillery. It was better to choose the battlefield and use the terrain to offset part of it.
The intensity of firepower of the Japanese army.
At this time, alarms came from various places one after another. Chiang Kai-shek in Wuhan had already concluded that the Japanese army had begun to launch a major campaign to capture Wuhan.
Judging from the current situation, the Japanese army is basically divided into three groups. The first group, with the cooperation of surface ships, marches west along both sides of the Yangtze River; the second group leaves Hefei and goes straight to Xinyang along the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains, with the intention of cutting off Pinghan Road and heading south to Wuhan;
The third route is the Japanese army in the Xuzhou area, advancing westward along Longhai Road and launching another offensive in eastern Henan. At the same time, the Japanese army in Shanxi and the Japanese army in northern Henan are cooperating in the operation.
In response to this situation, Chiang Kai-shek not only ordered Wuhan's peripheral troops to fight step by step according to the combat plan and slow down the enemy's attack speed, but also strictly ordered the first theater to secure Zhengzhou. At the same time, Chiang Kai-shek called the commander of the second theater Yan Xishan and asked him to closely coordinate with the Eighth Route Army.
, resolutely repelled the counterattack of the Japanese army in Shanxi, allowing Wei Lihuang's Ministry to deploy some troops to intimidate the Japanese army in northern Henan, forcing them not to cross the river and go south to support the battle in eastern Henan.
At this point, Chiang Kai-shek was still uneasy and called Xu Yongchang, the Minister of Military Command, and asked him to send a report to the headquarters of the Eighteenth Army, demanding that the Eighth Route Army must mobilize quickly to carry out guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines and must try to destroy Pinghan Road, Jinpu Road, and the eastern section of Longhai Road.
, to contain the Japanese army. At the same time, Chiang Kai-shek asked Xu Yongchang to sternly question the Eighteenth Army Headquarters, where is the main force of Liu Yimin’s instructors? Leading the heavy Japanese army group to the direction of Wuhan is moving the disaster eastward. Everyone in the world can see it, and Liu Yimin must be responsible for this.
.Order the instructors to act quickly and carry out surprise attacks on important targets of the Japanese army at critical moments in the battle. The attacking enemy must be rescued and forced to return reinforcements to support the defense of Wuhan. If Liu Yimin acts slowly and the Japanese army succeeds in attacking Wuhan, the situation of our country's war of resistance will be
It must be extremely difficult.
At this time, although Xu Yongchang, together with Minister of Military and Political Affairs He Yingqin, Minister of Military Training Bai Chongxi, and Minister of Political Affairs Chen Cheng, were known as the four giants of the Central Military Commission and won the trust of Chiang Kai-shek, he was an old man who had experienced the Beiyang Warlords and the Central Plains War, and he got along well with Yan Xishan and Chiang Kai-shek.
I have a profound taste of moderation. Before I went to the Military Commission, I witnessed with my own eyes Yan Xishan's sneak attack on Xi'an in Shanxi. In addition, I had great respect for the achievements of the Eighth Route Army since it entered the war. Therefore, after listening to Chiang Kai-shek's words, I felt that they were true.
Xu Yongchang thought for a while and then analyzed the inevitability of the Japanese army's attack on Wuhan to Chiang Kai-shek. He sincerely told Chiang Kai-shek that it was neither appropriate nor unreasonable to describe the Japanese army's attack on Wuhan as the result of Liu Yimin's disaster moving eastward. He implored Chiang Kai-shek to give it to Mr. Runzhi personally.
Send a telegram to Commander-in-Chief Zhu, explaining the dangerous aspects of the current war situation one by one, and urging all departments of the Eighth Route Army to fight bravely. Otherwise, it will not only chill Liu Yimin's heart, but also cause unnecessary arguments between the two parties, which will not help the war situation.
.
Now the Japanese troops used to fight in Wuhan are much larger than in history. Chiang Kai-shek is under great pressure. He just opened his mouth to blame Liu Yimin for the Japanese attack on Wuhan. After a little thought, he realized that this statement is not convincing. In fact,
If it weren't for Liu Yimin's fighting in the east and west, the Japanese army might have already begun to attack Wuhan. Without Liu Yimin's brilliant results, the main force of the national army would not have been able to win such precious time for correction and replenishment. Now the Japanese army is devoting all its strength to attack Wuhan. It is precisely the use of people.
Nowadays, we have to win over the Communist Party and the Eighth Route Army. At the very least, we have to let them hold back the Japs and prevent them from moving troops south from North China.
After thinking about it, a smile finally appeared on Chiang Kai-shek's cold face, and he asked Xu Yongchang to send a second telegram in his name to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Eighth Route Army Headquarters, informing him of the intelligence he had obtained, especially the situation in eastern Henan where the war situation was the most serious.
It is dangerous. Once the Japanese army succeeds, the entire Central Plains war situation will be completely corrupted. And our main defense line in the first theater is too wide to stop the heavy Japanese assault. All departments of the Eighth Route Army are required to increase their guerrilla efforts to force the enemy Henan Group to return to rescue North China and reduce the pressure on Wuhan.
.
As for Liu Yimin, Chiang Kai-shek instructed Xu Yongchang to send a separate telegram to Liu Yimin in his name, asking the 18th Army to forward it to him. The purpose was threefold. The first was to commend Liu Yimin for his achievement in wiping out the main force of the 116th Division in Lianyungang. The second was to inform Liu Yimin.
Liu Yimin, if the Japanese army attacks Wuhan with a large force as judged, this is a great opportunity for the general to make a contribution. He must wait and move, choose the place where the Japanese army has to save and launch a surprise attack, so that the Japanese army will lose sight of one thing and the other, and support the Wuhan battle. The third is to tell Liu Yimin, Ni
Ni Hua has achieved remarkable results in cooperating with his wife, but he misses Liu Yimin day and night and repeatedly asks to return to Liu Yimin. When the war situation eases, someone will be sent to escort Ni Hua to join Liu Yimin.
After receiving the telegram from Chiang Kai-shek from the headquarters, Liu Yimin read it over and over again and sat there quietly thinking for a long time.
During this period, all departments of the teaching division actively carried out cold-fire campaigns. Statistics show that the results were pretty good. Even the 108th Division and the 33rd Division that were besieging Jiaodong had to stop the siege of Jiaodong and return their troops.
Assisting the Qingdao garrison and the railway garrison to defend major towns along the Jiaoji Railway and Jiqing Highway, the situation in Jiaodong has basically reached a stalemate.
The Japanese 23rd Division stationed in western Shandong and the Japanese 24th Division stationed on the Hebei-Shandong border were transferred to the northeast and joined the Kwantung Army due to the Zhang Gufeng incident. However, the Japanese army's strength in North China was abnormal at this time.
It is powerful. In addition to the two permanent divisions of the Fifth Division and the Fourteenth Division, there are the 20th Division, the 109th Division, the 25th Division and the 20th Division stationed in Datong on the Shanxi battlefield.
The Sixth Division and the Eighth and Ninth Independent Mixed Brigades have recently established the Taiyuan Garrison, the Tongpu Railway Garrison, and the Zhengtai Railway Garrison, with a total strength of nearly 120,000. In Shandong and Hebei, the Japanese Army has recently established
There are six city garrisons in Qingdao, Jinan, Beiping, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, and Xuzhou and four railway garrisons in Jiaoji Road, Jinpu Road, Pinghan Road, and Longhai Road. These garrisons and garrisons are all brigade-sized. In this way
As soon as they arrived, the Japanese army had the 22nd Division, the 32nd, 33rd, 34th, 35th, 36th, 37th, 38th, 39th, 40th, and 4th Divisions.
A total of eleven garrison divisions and four four-unit ad hoc divisions such as the 108th, 109th, 110th, and 114th will cooperate with the 5th Division and the 14th Division
The total strength of the battle was 400,000. In addition to the 30,000 puppet Manchurian National Defense Forces deployed along the Longhai Road and the rapidly expanding puppet North China Security Army, the strength of the Japanese and puppet troops in North China exceeded any period in history.
No, after the 23rd and 24th Divisions were transferred, the 32nd Division stationed in Cang County immediately took on the defense of the Hebei-Shandong border area, and the 36th Division on Pinghan Road immediately started to
To Luxi, the gap left by the 23rd Division was filled.
After the Second Teaching Brigade, the West Shandong Security Brigade and the Southwestern Shandong Security Brigade completed their mission, the Southwestern Shandong Security Brigade returned to southwestern Shandong.
Restore the base areas that had been destroyed beyond recognition by the Japanese army. Since they returned to Shandong in a concealed manner, they could not engage in large-scale battle operations. The Japanese and puppet troops could not suffer a heavy blow, and their arrogance was still very arrogant. Especially in Jizhong and southern Hebei, the situation was still very serious.
Liu Yimin knew in his heart that it was impossible to win the Battle of Wuhan with the strength of the national army alone.
Of course, the Battle of Wuhan in history was also fought well. Due to the lessons learned from the Battle of Songhu and the Battle of Nanjing, Chiang Kai-shek adopted the strategy of defending Wuhan without fighting in Wuhan. The battle lasted for several months. Although the Japanese army captured Wuhan,
However, not even a single division of the Chinese army was wiped out. Although the Japanese army captured Wuhan, due to excessive losses and too long front lines, they had to stop their strategic offensive and enter a stalemate stage.
The current situation is very different from that in history. Due to the successful retreat of the Nanjing Defense War, part of the main force of the National Army was preserved and revised and replenished for so long. Its combat effectiveness is much stronger than in history. However, the strength of the Japanese army in attacking Wuhan is also greater than that in history.
Much larger, and due to the series of victories of the Eighth Route Army, the Japanese army will definitely learn a lesson. When the war starts, they will definitely use all their strength, the army and the navy will go into battle, and a large area of the country will fall into the hands of the enemy.
The most frightening thing is that if Wuhan falls, the domestic political situation will change. Not to mention the noise made by Wang Jingwei and others, even Chiang Kai-shek will probably change. Once the war turns into a stalemate, he will allow the Eighth Route Army of the Communist Party to do this
Develop independently?
After thinking about it, Liu Yimin felt that some things were difficult to grasp. For example, if the Japanese army won the Battle of Wuhan, the war would continue to develop as it did in history. If he fanned his butterfly wings again and prevented the Japanese army from occupying Wuhan, the Japanese would be furious.
, the next step is crazy revenge. Will they still go south to attack Britain and the United States as they did in history? If the Japanese army does not attack Britain and the United States and concentrates on attacking China, not only will China's suffering be more severe, but it will also affect the post-war period.
With the world structure, it would be a big problem.
However, the Japanese army's all-out attack on Wuhan is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the instructors. If done well, they can take the opportunity to drive out the Japanese army in Shandong.
Liu Yimin had absolute confidence in the combat power he was chasing. For example, the Japanese 108th Division and the 33rd Division on Jiaoji Road, and the Jiaoji Road garrison were simply hot Tianjin dogs in front of Liu Yimin.
The steamed buns are fragrant and tempting.
Liu Yimin knew in his heart that the Japs did not know that the main force of the instructors had returned to Shandong. If they had known, the Japs on Jiaoji Road, the Japs on Jinpu Road, and the Japs on Longhai Road would not have stayed in the base area like they are now. They would have asked
Like a rabbit, they ran back to the railway line and hid in the stronghold to defend, or they remobilized the army to clean up again. Even the Fifth Division and the Fourteenth Division that were transferred to eastern Henan might also return to Shandong and join the encirclement and suppression instructors.
Instead of going to the east of Henan to restart the offensive like now.
When Liu Yimin thought of the 108th Division, the 33rd Division and the Jiaoji Road garrison on Jiaoji Road, Liu Yimin thought of Jinan. He wondered how the little devils were doing in Jinan recently and whether Jinan's economic situation was good.
Somewhat improved.
Luo Ronghuan thought Liu Yimin was thinking about the war situation, so he didn't bother him and was busy dealing with his own affairs. But Luo Ronghuan's not interrupting didn't mean that others didn't bother him.
Wu Zheng and Yang Zhicheng have been very busy during this period. They are also really capable. The arsenal has already started production. Diesel generators are temporarily used for power. The factory buildings have not been built. They are using temples and caves deep in Yimeng to facilitate concealment. Wu Zhenghe
Yang Zhicheng came to Liu Yimin mainly because of Bill Clemen's idea. The reason was that Liu Yimin asked Bill Clemen to find ways to increase the range of the rocket launcher and imitate the Japanese high-level and flat dual-purpose artillery. Now Bill Clemen is leading several Americans to come
The engineers have been tinkering with it for a while and there are some technical problems. I would like to ask Liu Yimin to take a look and study it together.
Liu Yimin was thinking about strategic issues. When he heard Huang Wenhu reported that Commander Wu and Political Commissar Yang were here and wanted to see him, he felt a little unhappy because his train of thought was interrupted. He directly told them to go find the political commissar and leave me alone.