Glorious Mission 1937

In addition to adjusting the organization of the troops, Chen Feng also made large-scale adjustments to the military and political personnel of the troops in the eighth theater, especially the commander-in-chief of the six major armies.

In the adjusted eighth theater, the commander of the theater is of course Chen Feng, the deputy commanders are Yang Yi and Li Wensheng, the chief of staff is Shi Jianfei, the chief of security is still Hua Rong, and the chief of logistics is still Sui Jinguang.

第40集团军总司令李斌、副总司令张志刚、参谋长李福海。集团军下辖：步兵第1师、第2师、机械化步兵1师、炮兵1旅、2旅、防空1旅、装甲1旅、警卫旅、后勤保障旅、陆航1旅，利剑特战大队。

第49集团军总司令李逸风、副总司令**沙、参谋长李海平。集团军下辖：步兵第3师、第4师、机械化步兵2师、炮兵3旅、4旅、防空2旅、装甲2旅、警卫旅、后勤保障旅、陆航2旅，飞虎特战大队。

第52集团军总司令徐虎、副总司令李浩强，参谋长周永华。集团军下辖：步兵第5师、第6师、机械化步兵3师、炮兵5旅、6旅、防空3旅、装甲3旅、警卫旅、后勤保障旅、陆航3旅，天狐特战大队。

第59集团军总司令张敬俊，副总司令陈铁豹、参谋长王基铭。集团军下辖：步兵第7师、第8师、机械化步兵4师、炮兵7旅、8旅、防空4旅、装甲4旅、警卫旅、后勤保障旅、陆航4旅，草原狼特战大队。

第61集团军总司令安德烈、副总司令胡铁生、参谋长李建华。集团军下辖：步兵第9师、第10师、机械化步兵5师、炮兵9旅、10旅、防空5旅、装甲5旅、警卫旅、后勤保障旅、陆航5旅，利刃特战大队。

第69集团军总司令毕力格、副总司令乔巴山、参谋长李宜生。步兵第11师、第12师、机械化步兵6师、炮兵11旅、12旅、防空6旅、装甲6旅、警卫旅、后勤保障旅、陆航6旅。铁拳特战大队。

Reorganized Division 1: division commander Xu Fufu, deputy division commander Hai Liang;

Reorganized 2nd Division: Division Commander Lin Yong, Deputy Division Commander Chen Bing;

Reorganization of the 3 divisions: division commander Xu Dazhuang, deputy division commander Sun Yifeng;

Reorganization of 4 divisions: division commander Zhang Fei, deputy division commander Huang Haibo;

Reorganized 5 divisions: division commander Cai Ming, deputy division commander Li Yang;

Reorganization of 6 divisions: division commander Liu Zhiqiang, deputy division Changjiang Yubing;

Reorganized 7 divisions: division commander Liu Li, deputy division commander Qin Lu;

Reorganized Division 8: division commander Xu Fufu, deputy division commander Hai Liang;

Reorganized Division 9: division commander Xu Fufu, deputy division commander Hai Liang;

Reorganization of the 10th Division: Division Commander Lai Pingfu, Deputy Division Commander Huo Jinyuan;

Reorganization of the 11th Division: Division Commander Liu Guodong, Deputy Division Commander Li Jian;

Reorganization of the 12th Division: Division Commander Li Qiang, Deputy Division Commander Niu Hu;

Reorganization of the 13th Division: Division Commander He Huajian, Deputy Division Commander Xu Lang;

Reorganization of the 14th Division: Division Commander Feng Zhen, Deputy Division Commander Yang Bing;

Reorganization of the 15th Division: Division Commander Chen Youliang, Deputy Division Commander Zhou Jianming;

Reorganization of the 16th Division: Division Commander Ao Riguga, Deputy Division Commander Li Erhai;

Reorganization of the 17th division: division commander Zhu Xiashui, deputy division commander Chang Guorong;

Reorganized Division 18: division commander Xu Fufu, deputy division commander Hai Liang;

Reorganization of the 19th Division: Division Commander Wu Yanming, Deputy Division Commander Hai Rihan;

Theater Guard Division: Division Commander Ma Cao, Deputy Division Commander Wu Yanming.

Armored Army: Commander-in-Chief Lu Hanghai, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Li Haihan, Chief of Staff Xu Guangrong.

Air Defense Army: Commander-in-Chief Victor, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Chen Haitao, Chief of Staff Li Erwa.

Ma Xiong, commander of the 1st Artillery Division; Hai Rihan, deputy commander.

Artillery 2 Division Commander Zhao Tiezhu; Deputy Division Commander Bazat Dorji.

Li Haoqiang, commander of the 3rd Artillery Division; Ouyang Hai, deputy commander.

Xu Wen, commander of the 4th Artillery Division; Jiang Tao, deputy division.

Liu Nijia, commander-in-chief of the Northern Air Force, Xue Chenghu, deputy commander-in-chief, Ma Yun, deputy commander-in-chief, Yang Chengang, chief of staff, Li Tianle, deputy chief of staff, and Qin Yiwu, commander-in-chief of the Airborne Forces.

The commander-in-chief of the navy is personally served by Chen Feng, the deputy commander-in-chief Chang Zhiguo, Tian Haiyang, and the staff officer Jiang Haitao.The commander-in-chief of the Yellow River Fleet Chang Zhiguo, the deputy commander-in-chief Zhao Baojia, and the commander of the Marine Corps Tie Moore.Tian Haiyang, commander-in-chief of the Yangtze River Fleet, and Liu Shun, deputy commander-in-chief.Li Ba, Commander of the Marine Corps.Jiang Haitao, Commander-in-Chief of the Heilongjiang Fleet.Hu Haibin, deputy commander-in-chief, and Wu Qianglong, commander of the Marine Corps.

Yan Changxi, commander-in-chief of the Nanyang Armed Forces, deputy commander-in-chief Wang Hansheng, and chief of staff Hu Yi.

In addition, the eighth war zone also has a secret force in the Northeast. This secret force is led by Ye Helina and Xu Bao.Although the number of people is not many.But all are elite.

After this reorganization.The Eighth War Zone removed all traces of the national government left in the army, including the army number and establishment, all of which were formulated by Chen Feng referring to the establishment of later generations.Since then, this army has been deeply branded with the brand of the Chen family from top to bottom, from the inside to the outside.

At the same time as the reorganization of the troops, more than 5 remnants of the original Mongolian People's Army and more than 8 police troops were organized by Chen Feng into the battle order of the eighth war zone. The total strength of the army, navy and air force under the theater exceeds 16 million.

On September 9, Chen Feng held a military meeting at the commander level of the group army in Guisui, and formulated a battle plan for advancing to the northeast and recovering southern Hebei.

While Chen Feng was tossing about on his own territory, Japan also took a decisive step after a long debate. On September 9, the Japanese army invaded the northern part of French Indochina, forcing the French colonial authorities to recognize the right to station Japanese troops and Has the right to control Haiphong Airport and the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway.

After more than a month of wrangling with the United States, Japan finally realized that the peace talks were not as easy as they imagined. The attitude of the Americans gradually became tougher, which directly caused the Japanese high-level leaders to lose confidence in the US-Japan peace talks.

In fact, the Japanese Foreign Minister Matsuoka, who was in charge of the negotiations, did not have any confidence in the peace talks from the very beginning, as Japan's foreign minister.Matsuoka is well aware of the foreign policy and basic national policy that Japan has implemented in the past few decades or even the past century.It can be said that during the formation and rise of Japanese imperialism, from the Meiji Emperor to the Taisho Emperor to the current Emperor Hirohito implanted imperialist ideas in the brains of all the people from the very beginning.

In all the propaganda of the Great Japanese Empire, the "imperial country" not only wants to annex China and North Korea, but also wants to rule Southeast Asia. Such remarks are spread all over Japan.In recent years, the upper echelons of the empire have tried their best to promote the seizure of the rich resources of Southeast Asia to ensure future expansion to mainland China.Moreover, this policy has been secretly implemented since the early 30s. While Japan launched a war of aggression against China, it also carried out economic and political infiltration into Southeast Asia.

In August Showa 11, the Hirota Koki Cabinet made the expansion and development of the southern seas an aspect of the basic national policy in Japan's "National Policy Benchmarks".Showa 8 July.The Konoe Cabinet proposed an expansionary policy to establish a "Great East Asian New Order".And clearly put forward the expansion plan of the so-called "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere".This plan includes not only the occupied North Korea and the invading China, but also the whole of Southeast Asia, as well as India, Australia, New Zealand and the islands in the Southwest Pacific.In this aggressive plan, occupy Southeast Asia.Dominating the Southwest Pacific Ocean is a key link.

In the face of such a systematic national policy that has been implemented explicitly or secretly for decades.Even if the upper echelon of the empire wants to adjust, it will definitely not be adjusted in three or two days.Moreover, the vast majority of people in the country do not agree with such an adjustment, so the US-Japan peace talks are simply a farce, at least Foreign Minister Matsuoka thinks so.

There is another important reason why Japan lost confidence in the US-Japan peace talks.That is the change in the attitude of the United States.With the strengthening of the US wartime system, while strengthening its aid to Britain in Europe, it continued to implement the policy of aiding Chiang Kai-shek in the Far East.

On August 1940, 8, President Roosevelt delivered a speech, proposing that the United States could lend arms, and explained with a vivid metaphor: "If a neighbor catches fire, I can only lend him the garden hose to put out the fire, and I should not let him He paid for the hose in advance, and after the fire was extinguished, the neighbors just returned the original.” At the same time, Roosevelt also deliberately emphasized: “The United States must become the arsenal of a democratic country.”

Considering that the United States is increasingly threatened by the aggression and expansion of Nazi Germany, the US Congress passed an important bill on providing assistance to anti-fascist countries on September 9.After Germany invaded Western Europe, the Roosevelt administration considered and expanded its sphere of influence for the sake of the United States' own security and defense system, established the leading position of the United States in the post-war world, and decided to strengthen aid to the difficult and financially strapped Britain.

On September 1940, 9, the "Lend-Lease Act" passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives came into effect after being signed by Roosevelt.The bill authorizes the president to provide weapons, military supplies, food and other military supplies to countries whose defense is considered to be of great significance to the security of the United States in the form of sale, exchange, transfer and lease.The passage of the bill buried the neutrality law and was a decisive and important step for the United States to go from isolationism to war.

At the beginning of September in Showa 15 (1940), the U.S. government sent Special Envoy Curry to Chongqing. Then the U.S. government announced that the Arms Lend-Lease Act was applicable to China, and signed a Sino-British military agreement. According to the agreement, the U.S. government will start in October, successively Provide the Chinese government with US$9 million in stable legal currency funds, and the US government invites the Nationalist Government and the Nanyang Territory authorities to participate in the 10th military talks held in Singapore in November.

Through Curry’s visit to China, the Chongqing government quickly closed its political and military relations with the United Kingdom and the United States, and the original influence of the Japanese-American peace agreement in the Japanese-American understanding plan quickly disappeared.

In addition, since Japan mediated the Far East crisis in the dispute between French Indochina and Thailand, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France and other countries have not only worked hard to strengthen the combat readiness in the southern regions, but also conducted joint military operations on behalf of the military in Manila, Singapore and other places. At the meeting, according to the information collected by Japanese spies, these countries are promoting the formation of the so-called four countries a) and the Netherlands (dutch) to encircle Japan.

At the same time, Japan also received news that secret forces in French Indochina and Thailand were plotting anti-Japanese plots, which put Japan in great danger of being overthrown after mediating the dispute.

In order to ensure that Japan's interests in French Indochina and Thailand will not be damaged, the Japanese government and military decided to immediately carry out limited strikes on these two places.

September 1940, 9.Japanese troops invaded northern French Indochina and at the same time sent troops to advance towards Thailand.Like their compatriots far away in Europe, the French army has insulted the reputation of the French army for its bravery and fighting skills, and it even insulted the reputation of Napoleon. After only a simple resistance, they were forced by the Japanese to sign an alliance under the city , the French colonial authorities not only recognized the right of the Japanese army to station troops in the northern part of French Indochina, but also recognized that Japan had the right to control Haiphong Airport and the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway.

The Thai army was even more unbearable. After only a symbolic resistance, they agreed to sign an alliance treaty with Japan, and the treaty also included a secret clause.It stipulates that Japan will help Thailand recover the territories lost to Britain.According to this treaty, Thailand will provide all obligations such as the right to transit the Japanese army and important supplies in Japan's war with China and Western countries.The alliance treaty replaced the previous "Thai-Japan Agreement", and the Japanese army gained more privileges in Thailand.

Since it was only to deter France and Thailand before, the Japanese army withdrew after only a little testing.Therefore, although the French colonial authorities recognized some of Japan's privileges in French Indochina.But the attitude is not very respectful.There is a great posture of non-violent non-cooperation.Coupled with the sudden change in the attitude of the United States, especially after the visit of the US special envoy to China, China and the United States announced a series of actions on the US aid plan to China and so on.The attitude of the French colonial authorities changed radically.

In the eyes of the French, the United States is a prelude to entering the war.Although the target of the United States' participation in the war was Germany, the relationship between Japan and Germany is now known to all countries in the world. The two brothers and Italy were wearing the same pair of pants, and Emperor Hirohito, Hitler and Mussolini were like brothers.Once the United States declares war with Germany, Japan will certainly not stay out of it.

What's more, it has been found that it is now fighting Germany. Although the resistance of the French mainland has basically ended, the French colonial authorities do not mind being a French fighter once it is far away from the German mainland and within the strike range of the German army.The American team's declaration of war is helping the British as well as the French. The French colonial authorities have realized that their confrontation with the Japanese is inevitable, so after obtaining the consent of the United States, the French began to make trouble for the Japanese. .

In French Indochina, on September 9th, the economic agreement signed by the Japanese Foreign Minister and General Amway in French Indochina was less than one month old, and it was less than 14 days before the French colonial authorities recognized Japan’s right to garrison troops and control Haiphong Airport and the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway , proposed to halve the 1 tons of rice export contract to Japan in October to 10 tons.At this time, the domestic situation in Japan was extremely bad. Japan's grain was already in short supply, and about 10 million shi of rice had to be imported from French Indochina and Thailand.Wasn't it poking the Japanese ass by proposing to reduce the export volume at this time?

Japan was very helpless about this. After deliberation, the Japanese government decided to agree to the proposal of the French colonial authorities.But what makes the Japanese feel depressed is that Japan just agreed to the proposal of the French colonial authorities, and the other party proposed to reduce the contract volume in November and December by half.

The Japanese government has realized that this uncooperative attitude of the French colonial authorities may be due to the instigation of the United States, Britain, French de Gaullists, and local overseas Chinese.It can be expected that it will become increasingly difficult for Japan to obtain rubber, tin, manganese and other strategic materials from these countries and regions from now on.

Sure enough, as expected by Japan, Britain made a decision on September 9 to ban the export of rubber from Malay to Japan and the Yen Group.

In view of the series of measures taken by the United States, Britain and France in Southeast Asia, especially the failure of the three-month Japan-Netherlands negotiations and the failure of the Japan-US negotiations, coupled with the strengthening of war preparations against Japan by various countries, it is deeply felt that China, the United States, Britain, and the Netherlands are increasingly aggravated. With the political, economic and military pressure on Japan, the Army and Navy, the headquarters of Japan, fell into the anxiety of having to take quick countermeasures.

Therefore, the headquarters of the Army and Navy Department is determined to take some actions to make the United States, Britain and other countries face up to the Great Japanese Empire. Even if the Supreme Council of the Empire postpones making a comprehensive decision on the south, it must first promote the long-standing dispute between Japan and French Indochina. Military cooperation, stationed part of the troops in the south of French Indochina.In other words, the Japanese military has decided that before the highest level has made a decision to fully invade Southeast Asia, they will have a limited military confrontation with the United States, Britain, France and other countries, and decided to launch a military attack on the southern part of French Indochina.

However, Japan is a strange country. Although Japan’s military power is now controlled by the military headquarters headed by the Showa warlords, they have to pay attention to the opinions of the foreign minister in terms of foreign relations. Southern Indochina launched a military offensive, but the leaders of the navy and army were worried that Foreign Minister Matsuoka would oppose it.

Because they know the thinking of Foreign Minister Matsuoka very well. The old guy's consistent view is that as long as there is no determination to fight against the United States and Britain, they cannot start to attack the southern part of French Indochina.It is nothing to attack the northern part of French Indochina. After all, it is close to Guangxi and Guizhou in China, and there is also the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway connecting there. There are sufficient reasons to march to the Great Japanese Empire there.

But the southern part of French Indochina is different. Wherever it is close to the Malay Peninsula, it is the inherent traditional sphere of influence of the United Kingdom.Moreover, it is not far from the Philippines, a colony of the United States. Once it attacks there, it will inevitably make the British and American governments panic. Foreign Minister Matsuoka has expounded his views on different occasions many times.

On September 9, when the two chiefs of military affairs of the Army and Navy held talks with the Foreign Minister on the issue of the military agreement, the Foreign Minister made it clear that as long as there was no intention to capture Singapore, he would stick to it.Therefore, the base camp expressed its attitude that if the United States and Britain obstructed the implementation of the above measures, it would "not hesitate to fight against the United States and Britain."

But as a practical issue, although the Japanese army and navy thought about going to war with the Western countries in Southeast Asia at that time, Japan was not prepared for a full-scale war at all.They believed that the march to the south of French Indochina was just a warning to the United States, Britain and France, and they did not hope that it would cause a full-scale war between Japan and the above-mentioned deeds.

Of course, neither the army nor the navy nor Prime Minister Konoe thought that Japan's entry into southern French Indochina would be the starting point for an immediate resort to force against the United States and Britain.

However, Foreign Minister Matsuoka warned the Japanese government at the subsequent imperial meeting: "The actions of the empire may lead to the danger of conflict with Britain. Furthermore, regarding the stationing in the southern part of French Indochina, whether the United States, Britain, and the Netherlands will start a war." The issue of a total embargo against Japan has not yet been thoroughly studied by the empire. This is a serious mistake, so marching into the southern part of French Indochina is likely to be a step that will affect the fate of the empire.” (To be continued..)