Age of Rebirth

Chapter 430 The War Background of "813"

The Japanese put forward harsh conditions for a diplomatic solution to the Hongqiao Airport incident. The reason and the shame were extremely serious. Once the news came out, the public opinion was in an uproar, and the whole country was filled with indignation. condition, it will be resolved by force.

Generalissimo Jiang in Nanjing, when he saw General Zhang Zhizhong of the Songhu Garrison Command, his face flushed with anger, and he cursed again and again: "Mother Xipi, the Japanese are greedy and disgusted, and they have occupied the Northeast. The start of the war is to destroy our country, who do you think I am, Jiang Zhongzheng? Li Hongzhang in the late Qing Dynasty?"

The Japanese are wolves who can't grow fat. The conspiracy in Shanghai has aroused his deep vigilance. Shanghai is his foundation, and he cannot afford to lose. The three divisions of the Central Army marching slowly on the road seem to have been whipped Like a whipping horse, it ran all the way to Shanghai with billowing smoke and dust. It seemed that it had received the old man's strict order.

General Zhang Zhizhong received the order from Chairman Jiang: "Strictly reject the Japanese's rational request and actively prepare for war. If you feel insufficient troops, you can ask Vice Chairman Tang to send effective troops to rush to Shanghai. The follow-up troops of the Central Army are being mobilized." Among them, Shanghai must not be lost, and Brother Lao Wenbai is responsible for this task.”[

After Zhang Zhizhong received Chairman Jiang’s telegram, he couldn’t help laughing out loud. The old man had earlier rejected Vice Chairman Tang’s request to send troops to reinforce Shanghai. Seeing that the situation was tense this time, the troops of the Central Army were still on the way, so he was in a hurry. , I am too embarrassed to speak, let me say, in fact, other people's troops have been here for a long time, and are actively preparing for war.

After the First Regiment of the East Finger Air Defense Brigade of the Independent Division entered the fortress of the Wusongkou Fortress, it took more than a day to clean up the mess left by the former Jiangsu Provincial Security Forces. I don’t know how many trucks were cleared out of the garbage alone. How did the soldiers of the security regiment guard the fort? There were actually seabirds making nests in the cannon barrels of the fortress, and the parts were covered with dust and rust.

After cleaning up, the soldiers took the Japanese warships dangling in the sea as active targets every day, practiced aiming, and mastered shooting skills. Fortunately, they were all artillerymen. Dozens of anti-aircraft guns and dozens of anti-aircraft machine guns were placed in the spare parts of the fortress to prepare for supplementary firepower, also to prevent Japanese planes from attacking.

On August [-]th, General Zhang Zhizhong issued a statement on behalf of the Chinese Shanghai authorities: "The conditions proposed by the Japanese side are really unacceptable. Throughout the diplomatic history of various countries, there is no such reasonable request. Japanese soldiers broke into our military important places First of all, many of our soldiers were injured. The Japanese side ignores the facts and insists on making excuses. This is the logic of gangsters. I will fight bravely, even though I have shed all my blood, it is a pity!"

As soon as General Zhang's statement came out, it also showed the attitude of the Chinese government. It simply refused to accept the Hongqiao incident.

In the afternoon, more than [-] Japanese marines landed in Yangshupu. The total Japanese army strength in Shanghai reached more than [-]. The Japanese army mobilized frequently. There are signs that the Japanese are ready to do something in Shanghai.

On August [-], the Japanese warships moored at the mouth of the Huangpu River first shelled the Chinese defenders. Immediately afterwards, the Japanese army used the Shanghai Concession as a base, divided into three groups, and launched a large-scale attack on Shanghai. After the July [-] Pingjin Incident, Just over a month later, the Japanese started fighting again, and the August [-]th Incident in Shanghai broke out.

What Tang Qiuli was worried about still happened. The fuse of the Battle of Shanghai was easily ignited by the Japanese. They had planned it for a long time, but they were just waiting for an opportunity. The first spark came out, and then the Japanese added fuel to the fire, which eventually ignited into a skyrocketing fire.

Speaking of it, the reason for the Japanese to act in Shanghai is very simple, and it is ridiculously simple. It all stems from the long-standing dispute between land and sea within the Japanese army.

The idea of ​​the Japanese Army is to go north, enter the vast and sparsely populated Russian Siberia region, seek rich resources there, and then attack the hinterland of Russia with Germany to share the victory equally. The industrial level of Russia is much stronger than that of China, which has been weak for hundreds of years. There is a reason why a poor neighbor should be robbed instead of a rich neighbor.

The idea of ​​the Japanese navy is to go south. Southeast Asia, which is rich and has excellent natural conditions, is a ripe fruit, waiting for the navy of the Great Japanese Empire to pick it up, and then compete with the old empires such as Britain and the United States in the vast Pacific Ocean. High or low, China is nothing more than a land base for the Imperial Navy.

The land and sea disputes within the Japanese army also made Japan's aggressive policy vacillating. Later, in [-], the Japanese army took the lead in Northeast China, and at a small price, they won a large tract of fertile land in Manchuria. The adventure was successful. The army After taking the lead and gaining fame in the country, the Navy secretly took a deep breath.

In the July [-]th Incident, the Army took the lead again. After learning the news, the Japanese Navy planned to attack in Shanghai on July [-]th. With heavy hands, the Japanese army in North China was beaten so bloody from the mouth and nose, and teeth were all over the place. The Japanese navy was a little timid, quietly retracted its sharp claws, and watched the situation in North China gloatingly.

Later, Japan massively increased its troops in North China. Tang Qiuli withdrew from the Pingjin area and took a defensive position. The army reoccupied the Pingjin area. From the perspective of the Japanese Navy's senior management, it was only a matter of time before the army went south. There are leftovers.

The headquarters of the Japanese Marine Corps stationed in Shanghai also received an order from the chief of the general staff Zairen. However, the high-level navy did not take too much notice of the Emperor’s younger brother, the chief of the general staff of the base camp. This guy, relying on himself He has a special status, his butt is obviously sitting on the side of the army, and he intentionally suppresses the navy and prevents the navy from doing anything. They do it when they say they want to do it in North China.

What's more, the Japanese navy also looked down on the army's style of play. North China in China was originally a remote area. Why bother with that Tang Qiuli? After that is the most fertile Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions in China.

Based on the above-mentioned simple and complicated reasons, the Japanese Navy chose to attack Shanghai on August [-], [-], with the Marine Corps as the main force of the attack instead of the Army intervening. This also changed the established Japanese base camp. The strategy changed the basic pattern of China's anti-Japanese battlefield.

Tang Qiuli was well aware of the root cause of the outbreak of the Shanghai War. He was overwhelmed by more than 100 million Japanese troops and could not make a move. The only mobile force was Brother Qiusheng's Sulu Mobile Corps. It was impossible for all of them to reinforce Shanghai. Xuzhou , that was a fatal eye, he always felt that something was going to happen.

In the beginning of the war in Shanghai, the Japanese Marine Corps could not take advantage of it. With more than 6 troops of its own, it is not difficult to kill more than 4 Japanese troops. I am afraid that Japan will continue to increase its troops in the direction of Shanghai, and it will take time for Generalissimo Jiang to mobilize troops. , unable to concentrate troops, go up to one division, and defeat one, which has become a refueling tactic. Once Shanghai is occupied, Nanjing will follow. The Nanjing Massacre in history made Tang Qiuli shudder. [

The millions of Japanese troops in North China, no matter whether they are restraining themselves or have other plans, anyway, they can't afford to take action. If there are troops, they can bear part of the pressure for themselves. The independent division can also transfer a few brigades of troops to take over Sulu's maneuver For the defense of the Corps, the Corps can go south with the whole army to strengthen the strength in the direction of Shanghai, so the battle of Shanghai will be worrying!

Tang Qiuli couldn't help but think of the hundreds of thousands of Jin troops in the hands of Chief Yan in Shanxi. He has his own arsenal, good equipment, and well-trained training. But man, are you willing to take this muddy water?It’s just a trip, the old man calculated and calculated, thinking that he will not suffer, can he rest assured?Entrusting half of North China's defense to him, Tang Qiuli really had no idea. Unless the Japanese kicked down the door of his house and beat his people, Yan Xishan would not really work hard to fight the Japanese in the Hebei area.

There is also the Red Army of the Communist Party of China in northern Shaanxi. Tang Qiuli also thought about it. It is an army with extremely strong combat effectiveness, with firm political beliefs and clear goals. With a single call, the Red Army of the Communist Party of China will drive to the front line of Hebei without hesitation, and will never bargain, but at most there are more than 3 people, and the weapons and equipment are not even a star and a half, although I quietly replenished it a few times, It doesn't solve the fundamental problem either.

There is another fundamental reason. Tang Qiuli really couldn't bear it. He wiped out the remaining seeds of the CCP on the front line in North China, and fought for more than 2 miles. Well, what the Red Army of the Communist Party of China is good at is guerrilla warfare. This kind of face-to-face positional warfare is not something they can afford.

After thinking about it for a long time, the only thing I can use is the established 29th Army. After the First World War in Beiping, the army still has more than [-] troops. It is resting in the Shijiazhuang area. It was originally the general reserve of the independent division. Pulled up at the critical moment of the Japanese army's large-scale offensive, it seems that this reserve team must also be used.

On August 29th, Tang Qiuli, as the commander of the 29th Army, issued an order that all units under the 38th Army should immediately stop resting and set up the Sulu Garrison Headquarters. It quickly went south along Jinpu Road, stationed in Zaozhuang, Linyi, Shandong, and Xuzhou, Jiangsu, to take over the defense of the Sulu Mobile Corps of the Independent Division.

The remaining units of the Sulu Mobile Corps of the Independent Division, led by commander-in-chief Tang Qiusheng, immediately went south to join the previously arrived troops and join the Songhu battlefield.

Tang Qiuli used all the troops in his hands. If something happened elsewhere, he could only do nothing to help him, and he was in a hurry.

At this time, the Songhu battlefield was already full of fireworks, and the defense of the urban area and its surrounding areas relied entirely on the support of the vanguard of the Sulu Mobile Corps of the Independent Division.

(To be continued)