After receiving the telegram from Itagaki Seishiro, Nishio Hisoo was deeply aware of the seriousness of the matter and immediately convened a cabinet meeting.
Like any country or any army, when the Chief of Staff of the Condemnation Army from Central China, Shozo Kawabe, introduced the battle situation, the cabinet officials present at the meeting immediately divided into two groups and fell into a fierce quarrel.
One faction strongly supports Itagaki Seishiro's plan and believes that the offensive should be continued to intensify and form an oppressive situation against Wuhan. This faction is mainly composed of young officers. They insist that although the Japanese army is very difficult at the moment, the National Army is even more difficult, so as long as they persist, they will eventually
The victory must belong to the Japanese army.
However, the other faction believed that they should give up and decisively order the 3rd and 101st Divisions to break out eastward, and then order the 16th and 106th Divisions that were attacking along the south bank of the Yangtze River towards Fuchikou to turn around and head towards Fuchikou.
West, go to the direction of Xianning to meet the 3rd Division and the 101st Division.
When the two factions were arguing, the commander of the Second Army, Dong Jiuer Nianyan, unexpectedly requested a battle and asked Nishio Shouzou to allow him to parachute to the battlefield at the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains and lead the Ninth and Thirteenth Division of the Second Army to the front.
Exit Xinyang, cut off the land passage through Wuhan from the right wing, and give the National Army a fatal blow!
Dong Jiurenianyan was even willing to issue a military order. If he failed to win here, he would be willing to ambush the military!
The unexpected statement of Higashikaru Ninuhiko finally gave the young faction's opinion the upper hand, and also prompted Nishio Shouzou to make up his mind to fight against the Nationalist Army at all costs!
As a result, Nishio Hisao resisted the pressure and restored Higashino Higashihiko's authority as the commander of the Second Army, and ordered him to immediately take a long-range bomber to parachute to the battlefield at the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains.
The long-range bomber Dong Jiureyan took off from Nanjing Ziyuan Airport before dawn and flew over Gushi County after a two-and-a-half-hour flight. At this time, the 9th and 13th Divisions of the Second Army
The regiment has advanced to Guangshan and Xixian areas, and the division headquarters of the Ninth Division is located in Gushi County.
Dong Jiurenyan successfully parachuted outside Gushi County and quickly established the Second Army Headquarters.
Dong Jiurenianyan's airborne landing greatly boosted the morale of the Ninth Division and the Thirteenth Division. At the same time, the troops who faced off against the Thirteenth Division and the Ninth Division in the Guangshan and Xixian areas
Hu Zongnan's 17th Army Corps began to become passive and avoid the war. All this was due to Chairman Chiang's secret order.
After the Battle of Nanjing, Chairman Chiang's direct lineage of the Central Army suffered heavy losses. The only ones left now are Hu Zongnan's 17th Army and Tang Enbo's 20th Army. The others are almost all miscellaneous armies, so Chairman Chiang is a little uncomfortable.
I would rather these two legions fight a war of attrition against little Japan.
It was out of this consideration that Chairman Chiang issued secret orders to Hu Zongnan and Tang Enbo respectively, instructing them to act according to changes in the situation and to preserve their strength.
It was precisely because of this secret order that during the Battle of Xuzhou, it was not until Sun Lianzhong's Second Army was crippled and the situation became clear that Tang Enbo's 20th Army decisively participated in the battle.
However, the current situation of the Wuhan battle is far from clear. Hu Zongnan's 17th Army Corps is facing the fierce attack of the Japanese 9th and 13th Divisions. The battle situation has fallen into a war of attrition mode. Hu Zongnan began to waver. Hu Zongnan's wavering
, the army commanders, division commanders, and regimental commanders under his command all had other thoughts.
And in the end, it resulted in irreparable consequences!
The Japanese Thirteenth Division stormed Guangshan for several days but was unable to capture it, so it sent an infantry brigade to bypass Xinyang. As a result, Ma Zaiwen, the commander of a regiment belonging to the Seventeenth Army stationed in Xinyang, escaped first, resulting in the fall of Xinyang.
After the fall, Sun Lianzhong's third corps, which was guarding the front line of Guangshan, fell into a desperate situation where it was attacked from both sides!
Although Sun Lianzhong's Third Corps is just a corps, it is definitely not the same as Xue Yue's First Corps. Xue Yue's First Corps is a large corps, but Sun Lianzhong's Third Corps is just an empty corps. In fact, Sun Lianzhong can command it.
There is only one Second Army, and the Second Army actually only has two divisions, and both of these divisions are still crippled. They have not been fully replenished since they were crippled in the Battle of Xuzhou.
The result can be imagined. Once Xinyang was lost, the Third Corps was completely defeated.
The world is so paradoxical. The 3rd Division and the 101st Division, which had high hopes from Itagaki Seishiro before the war, failed to capture Jingzhou, but the 9th Division and the 10th Division unexpectedly captured Xinyang, but the result was the same.
, as soon as Xinyang was lost, Sun Lianzhong's Third Corps collapsed, and Wuhan was immediately exposed.
Because from Xinyang and Guangshan to the south to Wuhan, there is no longer an organized army!
As mentioned before, before the Battle of Wuhan began, Chairman Chiang learned the lesson from the failure of the Battle of Xuzhou and deployed heavy troops on the outer front. However, there were not many troops near Wuhan. This means that with the fall of Xinyang, the city of Wuhan was finally lost.
In fact, the countdown has already begun, and there is no way another miracle will happen.
(Dividing line)
When the news came, the siege of Gao'an by Xue Yue's regiment had also come to an end.
The 27th Division's outlying strongholds scattered outside Gao'an City have all been removed, and Xue Yue is already deploying a general offensive.
Xue Yue said to Wu Yizhi: "Chief of Staff, first withdraw Li Jue's 70th Army from the East Gate battlefield, and then let Yu Jishi's 74th Army prepare. This general attack on Gao'an City will be left to them.
The 74th Army is the main attack force. Whether the 74th Army can clear up its past humiliation in one battle depends on their performance in this battle."
"Understood." Wu Yizhi nodded, turned and walked towards the communications office.
At this time, a major staff officer hurriedly walked out of the communications office with a folder, and the two almost bumped into each other.
Wu Yizhi immediately frowned and asked in a deep voice: "Consultant Wang, what's the matter with you? Why are you so frizzy?"
Staff Officer Wang wiped the sweat from his forehead and said anxiously: "Advisor, as well as the chief, I believe Xinyang, Xinyang has been lost."
"What?!" Wu Yizhi's expression suddenly changed when he heard this, and he grabbed Staff Officer Wang's lapel and asked, "Xinyang fell?"
"Yes." Staff Wang responded sadly, "I just received an urgent telegram from the headquarters. Just half an hour ago, Xinyang fell."
"It's over." Wu Yizhi immediately deflated like a deflated rubber ball, then turned back to look at Xue Yue with a bitter look on his face, and said miserably, "Chief, it's all over now."
"It's not over yet!" Xue Yue was equally shocked in his heart, but his face remained calm as he said in a deep voice, "It's just that Xinyang has been lost. Hasn't Wuhan not been lost yet? As long as we can capture Gao'an before Wuhan falls, we can wipe out all of them.
With the Japanese 27th Division, we still have a chance to make a comeback!"
"Commander, there is no chance anymore." Staff Officer Wang handed over the telegram folder in his hand and said sadly, "The headquarters has issued a general retreat order to all the corps and armies participating in the war, limiting the number of participating corps and armies to the Japanese army immediately.
Disengage, retreat to preset positions, and step up efforts to build a new line of defense."
"What?" Xue Yue was stunned for a moment when he heard the words, then grabbed the folder and opened it. After reading the telegram, Xue Yue's always cold expression finally changed. The headquarters had issued a general retreat order, which meant
The battle in Gao'an has come to naught, which means that there is really no chance of a comeback in the battle in Wuhan.
After a long while, Xue Yue gritted his teeth and said: "I'm really unwilling. In two or three days at most, the 27th Division of the Little Devil will be finished, but Xinyang fell at this time, but even if Xinyang fell
, as long as the headquarters gives me two more days, I can at least win a battle on the Gao'an battlefield, but alas, I have failed in my efforts."
Wu Yizhi had already adjusted his mood at this moment and said: "General, the headquarters is also considering the safety of our First Corps. Now that Xinyang has been lost, Wuhan is in danger. The Third and Fourth Corps in Jiangbei must retreat immediately.
, the Second Corps in Jiangnan will also have to retreat. If our First Corps does not retreat in time, it is likely to fall into a tight siege by the Japanese army. At that time, more than a dozen Japanese divisions will pounce on our Corps, and the consequences will be disastrous."
Xue Yue shook his head and didn't want to argue too much with Wu Yizhi on this matter. Now that the deal is done, what's the use? Now let's think about how to connect the 799th Regiment of the Sichuan Army. The First Corps can come and go freely, but it is trapped alone.
The 799th Regiment of the Sichuan Army in Jiujiang is definitely not able to withdraw if it wants to.
At that moment Xue Yue said: "Chief of Staff, I ordered all the troops participating in the war not to retreat in a hurry. We should first besiege Gao'an City for two more days. Even if we want to withdraw, we must not make it easy for the little devils. In addition, immediately order the 70th Army
The Fourth Army, advance out of De'an, and then order the 799th Regiment to break out in the direction of De'an."
Wu Yizhi said: "General, the command from the headquarters is to immediately disengage with the Japanese army."
"That's nonsense. All the armies and armies of our corps are already entangled with the Japanese army. How can we say that we can withdraw if we withdraw? Chief of Staff, just call the headquarters back like this." Xue Yue snorted, and then said, "More
When I telegraphed Yu Ji, I told him to rescue the 799th Regiment no matter what."
Wu Yizhi whispered: "Chief, would you like to think about it again?"
"Don't think about it." Xue Yue said impatiently, "Just do as I say."
"Yes." Wu Yizhi had no choice but to turn around and walk into the communications office. According to Xue Yue's instructions, he first sent a telegram to the National Army Headquarters, and then issued new instructions to the group armies and armies of the First Corps, and clearly stated in the instructions
, if there is a conflict between the instructions of the General Headquarters and the Corps Department, the instructions of the Corps Department shall prevail.
Xue Yue did have the idea of rescuing the 799th Regiment of the Sichuan Army, but Yu Jishi had no such intention. After receiving the telegram from the Corps Headquarters, Yu Jishi just ordered the 57th Division to send a regiment to attack in the direction of De'an and do something.
It looked like that, and then withdrew with the main force of the 74th Army.