The October night was already slightly chilly, but the war room of the Wuhan Military Commission was still brightly lit.
Senior staff members and staff officers came in and out, constantly summarizing battlefield conditions from various places here, and soon rushed to the confidential room with new orders.
There are also staff members surrounding the huge sand table in the center of the war room, constantly adjusting the strategy of both sides based on intelligence, taking down mini flags one after another and replacing them with other strongholds.
Since the Wuhan Great War broke out in June, frontline soldiers have fought bloody battles with the Japanese in vast mountainous areas, plains, lakes and swamps in four or five provinces.
And in this spacious and bright Supreme Command, the busy staff and staff have been tense and constantly making adjustments and arrangements for various battlefields.
Unfortunately, the Japanese soldiers were very sharp. Although nearly one million Chinese troops suffered huge casualties, the Japanese troops who attacked Wuhan from the north and the south continued to approach Wuhan.
"Commissioner, most of Wuhan's factories and schools have been relocated, but the people must also be prepared to evacuate at any time. If the front line is breached by the Japanese, we cannot let Wuhan repeat the mistakes of Nanjing, otherwise we will not be able to explain to the Chinese people."
In a small, exquisitely decorated room on the left side of the war room, senior staff members were advising the Chairman.
"I know about this, and I will arrange it as soon as possible." Seeing the exhausted staff, the chairman agreed.
Seeing that the staff was still talking, the Chairman waved his hand and interrupted him: "You should go back and rest early. You have been running around these days and are very tired."
Seeing that the chairman of the committee issued an order to expel guests, the staff who hesitated to speak could only leave in a sensible manner.
Looking at the staff who shook their heads and left with a sigh, the chairman walked back to the chair behind the table and sat down, putting his hands on the table and rubbing his temples.
The staff reminded him that he never knew that Tang Shengzhi, the commander of the Nanjing garrison, left hundreds of thousands of civilians and troops to escape alone and faced the extremely vicious Japanese, which led to the Nanjing tragedy.
Although the main culprits are the extremely vicious Japanese, they also bear a great responsibility and naturally know not to let Wuhan repeat the same mistakes.
But now they have put forward the slogan of "defending Wuhan", and millions of troops are fighting bloody battles across the front.
If we organize the people to evacuate at this moment, once the news reaches the front line, it will inevitably affect the morale of the military. Once the morale of the military is lost, the battle will be impossible to fight, so we cannot mess up our position now.
So now we can only move factories, schools and party and government agencies first. After all, we have already said that we will move to Chongqing, and it is hard for others to say anything. But once the people leave, there is no point in guarding an empty city. As the supreme commander, he has to consider the overall situation.
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"Tuk tuk tuk..."
Just when he was worried about all kinds of complicated affairs, General Bai Chongxi, deputy chief of staff, stood at the door and knocked on the door with his hand.
"This is Jiansheng, please come in and talk."
The Chairman saw General Bai Chongxi, Deputy Chief of General Staff, and hurriedly invited him to sit down in the room.
"What's the situation in the ninth theater? Is there any news from Xue Boling?"
As soon as General Bai Chongxi sat down, the Chairman couldn't wait to ask.
Fighting is now difficult on every battlefield. A few days ago, Tianjia Town, which was guarded by the Fourth Army, was still lost after more than ten days of bloody fighting.
Nearly 20,000 officers and soldiers were martyred, which led to serious consequences. The last line of defense on the Yangtze River was gone, and the current situation was worrying.
Fortunately, the Xue Yue First Corps of the Ninth Theater on the Southern Front surrounded the Japanese 106th Division in the Wanjialing area. This finally gave them a glimmer of hope in the gloomy sky, so he was very concerned.
"Commissioner, Commander Chen Cheng of the Ninth War Zone has just sent a telegram, and I was about to report it to you."
General Bai Chongxi's eyes were sunken and his face looked haggard because he was worried about the war at the front these days.
"Oh? How's the situation?" the chairman asked hurriedly.
"Chief Chen Cheng said in the telegram that Xue Boling has surrounded the 106th Division, but the 106th Division has strong combat effectiveness, and the besieging troops have been fighting hard on the southern front battlefield for several months without any rest. At this time, they are exhausted and must all
It will probably take at least half a month to annihilate the 106th Division."
Hearing that it would take at least half a month to completely annihilate the 106th Division, the Chairman frowned and stood up and walked to the window.
Looking at the guard standing straight under the night, silent and not speaking, General Bai Chongxi also sat there and looked at him, not disturbing his thinking.
Although half a month is not a long time for a war that has been going on for a summer, but now in order to avoid long nights and dreams, he still wants to annihilate the 106th Division as soon as possible. The situation everywhere is worrying, and now they urgently need a big victory.
"I heard that Okamura Neji has dispatched several divisions to relieve the siege in the Wanjialing area. Can the blocking force stop it?"
After the Chairman was silent for a long time, he looked back at General Bai Chongxi and asked.
General Bai Chongxi replied: "The 18th Army is responsible for blocking the Japanese reinforcements. They have always been brave and good at fighting. Blocking Ban Yue should not be a problem."
"I have just received information that Japanese ships have appeared in the sea near Guangdong recently. I am afraid that the Japanese army has an operational intention to land in Guangdong. And now the Guangdong troops are all on the Wanjialing battlefield, and there is not a single soldier guarding Guangdong. What I mean is
End the Wanjialing war as soon as possible and mobilize the Guangdong troops to return to the defense, otherwise if we lose the outlet to the sea, we will fall into greater passivity..."
Hearing what the Chairman said, General Bai Chongxi was also worried. Since the fall of Shanghai, all the northern seaports have been blocked by the Japanese army.
If the current only outlet to the sea is blocked again and the weapons and ammunition purchased from abroad cannot be transported back, it will be even more difficult.
"Besides, the battles on all battlefields are difficult now, and the Double Ten Day is coming soon. If we achieve a great victory on Double Ten Day, it will be a great encouragement to the morale of the military and the people, and our chances of winning in defending Wuhan will be very low."
A little more."
Although what the Chairman said made sense, General Bai Chongxi sighed and said: "Commissioner, the 106th Division is stronger than imagined. Don't act too hastily."
"We don't have much time left. You can send a telegram directly to Xue Boling, asking him to wipe out the 106th Division before October 10th as a gift for Double Tenth Day!"
Seeing the Chairman's unquestionable tone, General Bai Chongxi had to bite the bullet and agree.
"Commissioner, the Japanese 6th Division is attacking Huangpo, approaching Hankou..."
While they were talking, He Yaozu, director of the Military Commission, hurried over.
The Japanese 6th Division is a genuine old division, with a complete range of cavalry, infantry, armored tanks and other arms, and is strong.
Hearing that the Sixth Division was approaching Hankou, both the Chairman of the General Committee and the Deputy Chief of General Staff all changed their colors. If Hankou was lost, Wuhan would be threatened.
"Jiansheng, go quickly and send a telegram to Commander Li of the Fifth War Zone, asking him to immediately mobilize troops to keep the 6th Division out of Hankou."
"Yes!" General Bai Chongxi, deputy chief of staff, stood up quickly, turned around and walked out.