Age of Conquest Reborn

Chapter 430: The War Background of “8.13”

The harsh conditions proposed by the Japanese for a diplomatic solution to the Hongqiao Airport Incident were unreasonable and shameless. Once the news came out, public opinion was in an uproar and the whole country was indignant. The Japanese ambitions were also exposed. They wanted to occupy Shanghai and they refused to agree.

If the conditions are met, use force to resolve it.

Chairman Chiang Kai-shek in Nanjing saw the Japanese conditions transmitted from General Zhang Zhi of the Songhu Garrison Command. His face flushed with anger and he cursed repeatedly: "Mother Xipi, the Japanese are so greedy that they occupied Northeast my country and started a war in North China." Duan, is he deliberately trying to destroy our country? Who do you think I am, Jiang Zhongzheng? Li Hongzhang of the late Qing Dynasty?"

The Japanese were wolves that could not be fattened. Their plot in Shanghai aroused his deep vigilance. Shanghai was his foundation and there was no room for failure. The three divisions of the Central Army that were marching slowly on the road felt like they had been whipped.

Like a whipping horse, carrying billowing smoke and dust, it ran all the way to Shanghai. It seemed that it had received a strict order from the old man.

General Zhang Zhizhong received the order from Chairman Chiang: "Strictly reject the unreasonable demands of the Japanese and actively prepare for war. If you feel that the troops at hand are insufficient, you can ask Vice Chairman Tang to send effective troops to urgently assist Shanghai. The follow-up troops of the Central Army are being mobilized.

Among them, Shanghai must not be lost, and Brother Lao Wenbai will shoulder this important task."

After Zhang Zhizhong received Chairman Chiang's telegram, he couldn't help laughing out loud. The old man had previously rejected Vice Chairman Tang's request to send troops to reinforce Shanghai. This time, seeing that the situation was tense and the troops of the Central Army were still on the way, he became anxious.

, I am embarrassed to speak, so let me tell you, in fact, their troops have been here for a long time, and they are actively preparing for war.

After the 1st Regiment of the East Point Air Defense Brigade of the ** Division entered the Wusongkou Fortress, it took more than a day to clean up the mess left by the former Jiangsu Provincial Security Forces. Several trucks of garbage were cleared out.

Knowing how these security regiment soldiers were guarding, there were actually seabirds nesting in the barrels of the fortress artillery, and the parts were covered with dust and rust.

After cleaning up, the soldiers used the Japanese warships hanging on the sea as moving targets every day to practice aiming and master shooting skills. Fortunately, they were all artillerymen. Although one hit the sky target and the other hit the sea target, the principles were the same.

Dozens of anti-aircraft guns and dozens of anti-aircraft machine guns were also placed in vacant areas of the fortress to prepare for supplementary firepower, also to prevent Japanese aircraft from attacking.

On August 11, General Zhang Zhizhong issued a statement on behalf of the Chinese Shanghai authorities: "The conditions proposed by Japan are really unacceptable. Throughout the diplomatic history of various countries, we have never seen such unreasonable demands. Japanese soldiers invaded our important military locations.

Go ahead and injure many of my soldiers

People, the Japanese side ignores the facts and insists on making excuses, which is really bandit logic. If the Japanese side cannot face the facts and pursues a diplomatic solution, but insists on going its own way and resorting to force, our navy and civilians will fight bravely, even if they shed their blood.

, no regrets!”

As soon as General Zhang's statement came out, it also showed the attitude of the Chinese government, which simply refused to accept the Hongqiao incident. If the Japanese side does not withdraw its unreasonable demands, the Chinese people will not hesitate to fight.

In the afternoon, more than 15,000 Japanese Marines landed at Yangshupu. The total strength of the Japanese army in Shanghai reached more than 40,000. The Japanese army mobilized frequently. Various signs showed that the Japanese were ready to take action in Shanghai.

On August 13, Japanese ships anchored at the Huangpu River estuary first bombarded the Chinese defenders. Then, using the Shanghai Concession as a base, the Japanese army divided into three groups and launched a large-scale attack on Shanghai. After the July 7th Pingjin Incident,

Just over a month later, the Japanese started war again, and the August 13th Incident in Shanghai broke out.

What Tang Qiuli was worried about happened. The fuse of the Battle of Shanghai was easily ignited by the Japanese. They had planned it for a long time and were just waiting for an opportunity. On August 9, the Hongqiao Airport incident broke out.

The first spark appeared, and then the Japanese added fuel to the fire, eventually burning into a huge fire.

Speaking of which, the reason why the Japanese took action in Shanghai was very simple, almost ridiculously simple. It all stemmed from the long-standing internal dispute over land and sea within the Japanese army.

The Japanese Army's idea is to go north, enter the vast and sparsely populated Russian Siberian region, seek out the rich resources, and then attack the Russian hinterland with Germany and share the victory equally. Russia's industrial level is much stronger than that of China, which has been weak for hundreds of years.

There is a principle of leaving a wealthy neighbor to rob a poor neighbor instead of robbing him.

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 Imperial Japanese Empire to pick it, and then compete with the British, American and other established empires in the vast Pacific.

After all, China is just a land base for the Imperial Navy.

The internal land and sea disputes within the Japanese army also caused Japan's aggressive policy to waver. Later, in 1931, the Japanese Army took the lead in Northeast China, and at a slight cost, captured a large area of ​​fertile land in Manchuria. The adventure was successful, and the Army

After taking the lead and becoming famous in the country, the Navy secretly took a breath.

During the July 7th Incident, it was the Army that took the lead again. After learning the news, the Japanese Navy prepared to take action in Shanghai on July 8th. The Army could not steal all the limelight. However, in the following days, Tang Qiuli appeared continuously.

With a heavy hand, the Japanese Army in North China was beaten until blood flowed from the mouth and nose, and teeth were found all over the ground. The Japanese Navy was a little timid, and quietly retracted its extended claws, and followed the situation in North China with some gloating.

Later, Japan massively increased its troops in North China. Tang Qiuli withdrew from the Pingjin area and went on the defensive. The army reoccupied the Pingjin area. In the view of the senior Japanese navy, it was only a matter of time before the army went south. If it didn't take action, the navy would have no choice but to follow the army.

It's leftover food.

The Japanese Marine Corps Headquarters in Shanghai also received an order from Chief of General Staff Zai Ren. However, the top brass of the Navy were not too fond of the Emperor's younger brother, the Chief of General Staff of the base camp. This guy relied on himself

He had a special status, and his butt was obviously sitting on the side of the Army. He intentionally or unintentionally suppressed the Navy and prevented the Navy from taking action. They took action whenever they asked 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, so why bother struggling with that Tang Qiuli? The Navy took action and directly dug out the heart of the Chinese government, conquering Shanghai, and then Nanjing, the capital of China, to

Next is the most fertile Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions in China.

Based on the simple yet complex reasons mentioned above, the Japanese Navy chose to attack Shanghai on August 13, 1937, with the Marine Corps as the main force of the attack instead of the Army's intervention. This also changed the established structure of the Japanese base camp.

This strategy changed the basic pattern of China’s anti-Japanese battlefield.

Tang Qiuli fully understood the reason why the Battle of Shanghai broke out. He was suppressed by more than one million Japanese troops and could not make a move. The only mobile force, Brother Qiu Sheng's Sulu Mobile Corps, could not fully reinforce the Shanghai direction.

Xuzhou, that was a fatal eye. He always felt that something was going to happen somewhere.

At the beginning of the war in Shanghai, the Japanese Marine Corps could not take advantage. With more than 60,000 troops of its own, it was not difficult to kill more than 40,000 Japanese troops. I was afraid that Japan would gradually increase its troops in the direction of Shanghai, and it would take time for Chairman Chiang to mobilize the troops.

, unable to concentrate troops, going up to one division and being defeated by another became a fueling tactic. Once Shanghai was occupied, Nanjing would follow. The Nanjing Massacre in history made Tang Qiuli shudder.

Whether the millions of Japanese troops in North China are trying to contain themselves or have other intentions, they cannot spare any effort anyway. If they have troops to bear part of the pressure for themselves, the Japanese Army Division can also mobilize several brigades of troops to take over from Sulu.

For the defense of the mobile corps, this corps can move the whole army south to strengthen the strength in the direction of Shanghai, and the Shanghai battle will be worry-free!

Tang Qiuli couldn't help but think of the hundreds of thousands of Jin troops in Shanxi Chief Yan's hands. He had an arsenal, good equipment, and well-trained training. But, man, are you willing to take a trip into this muddy water? Just take a trip.

, that man is planning, calculating, thinking

Can he rest assured that he will not suffer a loss? Tang Qiuli felt really unsure about entrusting him with the defense of half of North China. Unless the Japanese kicked down his door and beat his people, Yan Xishan would not

He really worked hard to fight with the Japanese in the Hebei area.

There is also the Red Army in northern Shaanxi. Tang Qiuli also thought about it. It was a force with extremely strong combat effectiveness. It also had firm political beliefs and clear goals. It was willing to put aside all grudges and attack the outside world with guns blazing. He believed that,

As long as there is a call, the Red Army will march to the front line of Hebei without hesitation, and will never bargain. But there are only more than 30,000 people at best, and the weapons and equipment are not even a little bit inferior. Although I quietly replenished a few

Even once, the fundamental problem cannot be solved.

There is another fundamental reason. Tang Qiuli really couldn't bear it. He spent all the remaining seeds of his country on the North China front and fought for more than 20,000 miles. It was not easy to have a little family left, and he was also suspected of killing with a borrowed knife.

What's more, the Red Army is good at guerrilla warfare. This kind of face-to-face positional warfare is not what they can afford.

After thinking about it for a long time, the only thing I could use was the 29th Army. After the Battle of Peking, the army still has more than 48,000 troops. They are resting in the Shijiazhuang area. They were originally the general reserve of the ** division.

The reserve team was prepared to pull up at the critical moment when the Japanese army launched a large-scale attack. Now it seems that this reserve team must also be used.

On August 14, Tang Qiuli, as the commander of the 29th Army, issued an order that all units affiliated to the 29th Army immediately ceased their rest and reorganization and established the Sulu garrison headquarters, with General Zhang Zizhong, the former commander of the 38th Division, as the commander.

The commander-in-chief, the entire army quickly moved south along Jinpu Road and stationed in Zaozhuang, Linyi, Shandong, and Xuzhou, Jiangsu, to take over the defense of the Sulu Mobile Corps of the ** Division.

The remaining troops of the Sulu Mobile Corps of the ** Division, led by Commander-in-Chief Tang Qiusheng, immediately went south to join the previously arrived troops and join the Songhu battlefield, under the unified command of Songhu garrison commander General Zhang Zhizhong.

Tang Qiuli used all his troops. If something happened elsewhere, he would be helpless and worried.

At this time, the Songhu battlefield was already in full swing, and the defense of the urban area and surrounding areas relied entirely on the support of the leading troops of the Sulu Mobile Corps of the ** Division.

(To be continued)