In December 1939, a shocking piece of news exploded in the air like a thunder, rolling rumble across the land of China, and the world also felt its tremor. This thunder cut through the thick haze over China, and the
A ray of hope shines on the earth.
On December 26, when the last gunfire in the suburbs of Yingtan fell silent, General Su Rui, deputy commander of the Fourth Theater Zone and commander of the Seventh Army, proudly announced to the outside world: The Seventh Army had completely annihilated the Japanese Army in the Yingtan area.
The 92nd Division wiped out more than 11,000 enemies and captured alive the division commander, Lieutenant General Nishiyama Yuta. This was another senior Japanese officer at the level of division commander after the commander of the 18th Division, Saito Risaburo, was captured alive.
The spread of this news immediately pushed the Seventh Army and Suri to the forefront.
Guilin, Guangzhou, Changsha, Chongqing and other major cities in China that have not yet fallen were all filled with joyful people on the streets. They carried lanterns and held fires to light up the city. Especially Chongqing, the capital of China, was full of people and fire dragons.
Everyone was beaming, talking, laughing, and shouting happily. Exaggerated, even ridiculous news spread in the most primitive way, but at an extremely fast speed. At this time, people seemed to believe this.
Everything is true.
"You know, Commander Su's troops are about to take back Jiangxi and Fujian. The little devil will be eliminated this time even if he doesn't jump into the sea."
"The Chairman of the Generalissimo has prepared to lead his troops to launch a massive counterattack. It seems that the day has come when the Chinese will defeat the Japanese."
"Oh, that would be great. Let's see if the little devil dares to send a plane to go wild in Chongqing."
"Of course the little devils don't dare anymore. I heard that the Japanese in Nanjing and Shanghai are also busy preparing to run away. You see, the day when China will be fully restored is not far away!"
Su Rui's Seventh Army is in full force in Jiangxi. This news also excites Western countries, but it is also full of curiosity. In the past few days, military attachés, military observers, and journalists from various countries in China have flocked to Guangzhou and Jiangxi. They all want to
A glimpse of General Su Rui, who caused the Japanese a lot of trouble. Of course, they wanted to know the actual combat effectiveness of the Seventh Army. It is no wonder that the elite troops of the Kuomintang Central Army have suffered consecutive defeats in recent years and have lost thousands of miles. But the Seventh Group is in Su
Under Rui's command, Lien Chan won such an overwhelming victory, which is really incredible. In their view, the actual combat effectiveness of the Chinese army is as mysterious as China, a thousand-year-old country. But one thing is unanimous: the Chinese can also defeat the Japanese.
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On a boiling night, a light was on in a second-floor window in the center of Chongqing. Under the light, Colonel Stilwell, the military attache of the U.S. Embassy in China, was working hard to write a report to be sent to the country. In the report, he was busy writing
A conclusion drawn for many days: China has the best soldiers. In the long run, the Chinese will definitely be able to defeat the Japanese. This "Sharp Joe" who would later become a famous general in the U.S. Army did not know at this time that his role as a soldier
His glorious period would be in China in the future, on the battlefield in the Far East, but there was one thing he was better than many other soldiers, and that was his judgment of the war situation in China.
1939 was an unusual year for the Japanese and a very memorable year. During this year, Su Rui and his troops continued to attack, recaptured Guangzhou, and annihilated the 21st Army.
Annihilated the 5th Division, severely damaged the 18th Division, and captured alive his division commander, Lieutenant General Saito Rikisaburo. Then he recaptured Guangzhou and occupied Guangdong. He killed the commander of the 21st Army, Lieutenant General Furushuo Chiro. Originally, this was
The incident had already caused the Japanese army to lose face, but not even a few months after the incident, Su Rui boldly went to provoke the Central China Front Army and marched towards Jiangxi. Now he has captured alive the division commander of the 92nd Division.
Lieutenant General Nishiyama Yuta, this is no longer a slap in the face of the Japanese, this is simply spitting in the face of the Japanese government!
When Terauchi Juichi received the news, his already pale face turned even more livid. He locked himself in the office alone and saw no one. Even the chief of staff, Major General Tsukada, came over several times and ate it.
The door was closed, and it wasn't until noon the next day that I saw Juichi Terauchi slowly walking out of the office.
Juichi Terauchi's office is next to the command hall of the headquarters. When Juichi Terauchi came out, all the busy staff officers turned their attention to the supreme commander of the North China Front.
Terauchi Juichi is a typical Japanese man: top-heavy and short in stature. In the words of later generations, he looks quite secure. But after all, he was born in an aristocratic family. Terauchi Juichi is also famous for paying attention to appearance. On weekdays, his appearance
His clothes were always neat and tidy, and his chrysanthemum saber given by the Emperor was always polished. But today, his appearance made all the staff officers who were familiar with him widen their eyes, and they all showed a look of disbelief.
.
At this time, Temple Shou's appearance was withered, and his originally combed black and shiny hair and the Danren beard on his lips were as messy as a chicken coop, and his eyes were red and red, just like a gambler who had lost everything.
Juichi Terauchi, who came to the center of the command hall, looked around and waved to Major General Tsukada.
Major General Tsukada hurriedly walked up to him and bowed: "Your Excellency, Commander, what are your orders?"
Terauchi Shouichi asked in a hoarse voice: "Is Wanji Ishihara here?"
"No!" Major General Tsukada suppressed the jealousy in his heart and said: "Report to your Excellency, Commander, the commander of the Ishihara Division is still in the military camp at Purple Mountain. He has not come to the headquarters building for several days."
When he came to the word "Ishihara Division Commander", Tsukada Gong especially emphasized his tone, as if telling Juichi Terauchi that even though Ishihara Wanji's military rank was higher than his, Tsukada Gong was only the division commander, but he
Tsukada Gong is the chief of staff of the Central China Front.
Terauchi Juichi ignored the meaning of Tsukada Gong's words, but said in a tone that could not be refused: "Send him over immediately, I have something to discuss with him."
When Tsukada heard this, he couldn't help but hesitantly said: "This..." At this time, Tsukada was unwilling to let Ishihara Kanji enter the headquarters building again, so he was very dissatisfied.
Seeing Tsukada Gong's look, Terauchi Juichi's eyes immediately became sharp: "Well... do you have any more questions?"
Seeing the sharp look in Terauchi Juichi's eyes, Tsukada Takashi was immediately shocked and shouted loudly: "Hai, there's no problem."
Soon, Ishihara Wanji appeared in Juichi Terauchi's office an hour later, and Juichi Terauchi's first words were: "Ishihara-kun, the 92nd Division is gone, and Jiangxi will no longer be able to be saved. You have
Is there any way to stop the Chinese offensive?"
As the current division commander of the 16th Division, Ishihara Kanji would naturally not be unaware of such a major event as the annihilation of the entire 92nd Division, but at this moment, he didn’t know what to say and remained speechless.
After a while, he said: "Your Excellency, Commander, I think what you should consider now is not how to protect Jiangxi, but how to protect Fujian and Zhejiang."
"You are so presumptuous!" As soon as Ishihara Wanji finished speaking, Tsukada Gong's roaring voice immediately rang out, "Ishihara-kun, don't forget your identity. You are the division commander of the empire. You are not someone who is afraid of death.
Chinese people, Your Majesty the Commander asked you to come here to listen to your opinions, not to sing praises for the Chinese people here!"
Ishihara Wanji slowly turned around, a flash of light flashed in his eyes, and he stared at Tsukada Gong with a chill in his heart before saying: "Of course I know my identity, I am a Lieutenant General of the Army of the Empire of Japan, and you are just
As a major general, shouldn’t your tone of speaking to me be more respectful?”
"idiot!"
Tsukada Gong was so angry that he was trembling all over. He pointed at Ishihara Wanji and was speechless for a moment. However, he could not give any reason to object. No matter which country in the world, people with low military ranks are born to be like those with high military ranks.
It is an internationally accepted rule to show respect to others. As for the position held by an individual, that is another matter.
Although Tsukada is only a major general, his position is the chief of staff of the Central China Front. Daily troop mobilization, supplies, and combat deployment all have to go through his hands, precisely because he holds the information of all divisions in his hands.
Logistics supplies and personnel transfers, so on weekdays, any of the division commanders below would not be polite to him. Today, it was the first time that he was reprimanded on the spot by a division commander.
He was usually arrogant and now he was scolded by Ishihara Wanji, which made him feel a little embarrassed. But what made him even more angry was that he couldn't refute it. Who said that Ishihara Wanji's military rank was really high?
Taller than him.
Shaking with anger, he pointed directly at Ishihara Wan'er's nose and cursed: "You arrogant bastard. I will never let you go."
"Pah!" Ishihara Wanji slapped his finger off and said disdainfully: "Want to teach me a lesson? Wait until you become a general or marshal."
What Ishihara Wanji said is too poisonous. You must know that Japan at this time is not the China of warlords. They dare to call themselves marshals and governors with just a few guns, so that generals fly all over the sky. In Japan where the conglomerate aristocrats are in power, unless you
There is a particularly strong backing, otherwise the average soldier will have no chance of becoming a colonel or a major general in his lifetime. It is basically impossible to become a general. As for the marshal... that is reserved for relatives of the Imperial family, and others
Just don't worry about it.
"bass……"
Tsukada was able to defeat him easily. He drew his command sword and shouted: "Baga, I want to duel with you!"
Ishihara sneered and simply turned around. He knew that someone would stop this boring behavior. Sure enough, Terauchi Shouichi's roaring voice immediately rang out: "Baga Yalu, Tsukada-kun, what do you want?"
What are you doing? You are a soldier of the Japanese Empire, not a samurai from the Heian period. This is not a place for you to duel. If you really feel that there is no place to vent your energy, I don’t mind reporting to the base camp and sending you to the Jiangxi battlefield and China.
It’s been a big fight, now get out of here right now!”
After hearing Juichi Terauchi's scolding, Tsukada's face turned blue and red, and finally he glared at Ishihara Wanji bitterly, then turned and left.
After Juichi Terauchi scolded Major General Tsukada, he turned to Ishihara Wanji and said apologetically: "Ishihara-kun, I'm really sorry. If only I had listened to you last time, the 92nd Division would not be in pieces.
Mr. Xishan doesn’t know how to...sigh..."
Speaking of this, Juichi Terauchi's face was full of bitterness. Originally, when Suri completely annihilated the 5th Division, severely damaged the 18th Division, captured Saito Ritsaburo alive, and even annihilated the 21st Army, he also
He could watch the fire from the other side, and even despised Furusou Chiro in his heart. But when it happened to him, he felt so bitter. Although Saito Ritsaburo had set an example before, no matter what, a division commander
Being captured alive is also a shocking event. If something like this happens that brings shame to the base camp, then someone must be responsible for it. And if he guessed correctly, he, the commander of the front army, will bear the brunt. If no longer
Do something, I'm afraid his situation will be worrying. What's even worse is if someone reveals that some people have opposed him before sending the 92nd Division to aid Nanchang, but he insists on going his own way. Then his days in this position will be
The countdown is probably about to begin.
Originally, he thought that Ishihara Wan'er would take the opportunity to ridicule him, but unexpectedly Ishihara Wan'er shook his head, Chang took a breath and said: "Your Excellency, Commander, I don't blame you for this. I didn't think about the Chinese armor either.
The swarm turned out to be so ferocious that the 92nd Division could not survive even one day. It seems that Nanchang and Jiujiang cannot hold on."
Originally, although Ishihara Kanji opposed the 92nd Division to rush to aid Nanchang, he only thought that even if they could not defeat them, they could retreat safely. However, he did not expect that China's armored clusters were so powerful. One division had more than 10,000 people for a day.
He couldn't hold on. Even the division commander was captured. Even with Ishihara's calmness, he was shocked when he heard the news.
Although he had been prepared in his heart, Juichi Terauchi was still unwilling to accept it, and finally asked: "Ishihara-kun, is Jiangxi really undefeated?"
Ishihara Wanji nodded affirmatively: "Yes, Jiangxi cannot be defended without a large number of reinforcements!"
"Then what do you think we should do next?" Terauchi Juichi's face was so serious that he could cry out, but he still held his breath and asked Ishihara Wanji.
Ishihara Wanji said without hesitation: "I think the 180th Division stationed in Jiujiang should be ordered to immediately withdraw from Jiujiang and return to Anqing and Huangshan in Anhui to preserve its strength. In addition, the 3rd and 13th should be ordered
The divisions were transferred to Zhejiang and Fujian respectively to strengthen the strength of the Zhejiang defenders, so as to ensure the security of Zhejiang and Anhui."
Terauchi Shouichi became even more depressed after hearing Ishihara Wanji's plan, and said in a deep voice: "Ishihara-kun, has the matter reached an irreversible point?"
"Irreversible?" Ishihara smiled bitterly and said: "Your Excellency, Commander, do you think Jiangxi can still be saved? In fact, my idea is to mobilize no less than eight divisions from the North China Front Army or the South China Front Army to attack China.
The Seventh Army launched a comprehensive encirclement and suppression campaign to completely eliminate the empire's most serious trouble."
"Mobilize eight divisions from the North China Front Army and the South China Front Army?" Terauchi Juichi was startled by Ishihara Wanji's words, and then he burst into tears and laughed: "You really dare to think about it, do you know? If the base camp is
If we really do this, all our troops in North and South China will be exhausted, and the Chongqing government headed by Chiang Kai-shek will jump for joy. I estimate that even cities like Taiyuan and Peiping in Shanxi will be in danger by then.
Already."
Ishihara Wanji said resolutely: "This is inevitable. If you want to completely eliminate the Seventh China Army headed by Su Rui, you have to do this! In fact, if it is possible, I would also like to suggest that three more people from the Kwantung Army be mobilized.
If we come with a division, we will be more confident."
This time, Juichi Terauchi no longer smiled bitterly, but looked at Ishihara Wanji with eyes like a madman, and murmured: "Crazy, you are completely crazy, don't you know that Manchuria is the foundation of the empire?"
Huh? If your remarks are reported back to China, even His Majesty the Emperor will probably recall you back to China without hesitation and put you into reserve service."
Ishihara sneered: "Madman? Humph... Past history always tells us that geniuses will always be mistaken for madmen before they are recognized by people, because they can see things that others cannot see.
.We can occupy Manchuria once it is gone, but if we continue to wait for the Seventh Army to grow up, even if we mobilize the Kwantung Army by then, it will probably be of no use."
"Okay, I don't want to talk about this issue anymore." Terauchi Shouichi waved his hand, "I will adopt your suggestion, but you must not say it again, do you understand?"
"Hai!"
Ishihara Wanji didn't say anything this time. He knew that Terauchi Shouichi's words were for his own good.
After Juichi Terauchi finished speaking, he stopped talking. Ishihara Wanji was about to leave when he saw this. Juichi Terauchi turned to Ishihara Wanji and said seriously: "Ishihara-kun, the defeat of the Ninety-second Division this time is always
Someone has to be responsible. If I am transferred back to the mainland, I am going to recommend you to take over as the commander of the Central China Front. Are you willing to take my place?"
"Nani?" Ishihara smiled and was stunned.
Seeing Ishihara's stunned expression, Terauchi Juichi said seriously: "Ishihara-kun, the holy war in East Asia has reached this point, and we can no longer turn back. Just look at the current situation of the empire. The current empire's military strength has
All of them have been invested in the battlefield of China. There is only one left-behind division in Japan. This is already a very dangerous signal. For the sake of the empire and for His Majesty the Emperor, we must win this war to conquer China, otherwise Japan will collapse.
Danger. At this critical moment, the empire needs brave and resourceful generals like you to lead the empire out of trouble, do you understand?"
Ishihara smiled bitterly, "Your Majesty Commander, I'm afraid this matter is not something we can decide. It's too early to say this now. Now we should think about how to save the current situation."
"well……"
The long sigh sounded in the office again... (To be continued...)
ps: Thank you Pastor Huanhuan, Ben Ben Xiaohui, cjj71, abccd5432 and other students for their rewards!