Chapter 48 Defend Greater Wuhan

After Xuzhou fell, Wuhan became the first choice for the Japanese attack.The Japanese army was going to go straight to Zhengzhou and Kaifeng with the main force, and then go south along Pinghan Road to attack Wuhan with an army that was going to be used on the Yangtze River.However, because the Yellow River broke its embankment and blocked the Japanese army's offensive momentum in Henan, the Japanese army was forced to change its combat route and attack Wuhan with the main force along both sides of the Yangtze River, all the way westward along the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains.The Japanese base camp believed that capturing Wuhan and controlling key areas in the Central Plains would be the best chance to oppress the Chinese government to surrender and end the war.

In June and July of 1938, it was early summer, and the Yangtze River Basin ushered in a particularly sultry season. In mid-June, the Japanese army had already occupied Anqing in Anhui, and then went west along the Yangtze River waterway, and went straight to Madang, a Jiangfang fortress at the junction of Anhui and Jiangxi.Here, 39 ships were scuttled, lying on the bottom of the river as obstacles, and more than 1,600 mines were dropped, plus 30 artificial reefs.However, the Japanese army took advantage of the gap between the Chinese troops' defense changes and the slow reinforcements. It took 3 days to occupy Madang, and then quickly passed through Pengze, preparing to approach Hukou and Jiujiang.Due to the unexpected smoothness of the first battle, the Japanese side optimistically believed that Wuhan was expected to be captured in just one month.

On the morning of July 17, Lieutenant General Ningji Okamura flew from Nanjing to Pengze on the south bank of the Yangtze River, preparing to attack Hukou and Jiujiang, the gateways of Jiangxi.Two weeks ago, the Japanese headquarters had appointed Ningji Okamura as the commander of the 11th Army, commanding the 6th, 9th, 27th, 101st, and 106th Divisions of the Japanese Army, as well as other troops, with a total strength of 150,000. , Going west along the banks of the Yangtze River, it is the main force to capture Wuhan.The Japanese navy assisted his attack in the Yangtze River and was responsible for the transportation of supplies.Assisting him on land is the Second Army, which has the 3rd, 10th, 13th, and 16th divisions, as well as special operations forces, commanded by Lieutenant General Higashikurimiya Renyan, who has royal blood, with a total strength of 120,000. , it will gather at Hefei, and then attack westward along the Huaihe River and the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains, oppressing Wuhan from the north.Neiji Okamura was directly commanded by Commander Shunroku of the Central China Dispatch Army.As far as Hangzhou in the south and Baotou in the north, the Japanese army deployed troops everywhere, and was busy gathering the soldiers and weapons needed for the battle to the Yangtze River area.

The Chinese army has long been ready. On June 14, the Chinese government established a new Ninth Theater based on the Wuhan Garrison Command, responsible for the defense of the south of the Yangtze River and the banks of the Yangtze River.General Chen Cheng, the commander of the garrison, served as the commander of the theater.It was Neiji Okamura's Eleventh Army that this short, industrious general had to deal with.Before the war, he had reorganized the army in Wuhan and supervised the construction of national defense fortifications.Chiang Kai-shek handed over the elite main force to this beloved general. At the most, the Ninth War Zone concentrated as many as 70 divisions of troops, with a ratio of 10:1 to Neiji Okamura.His subordinates were divided into General Xue Yue's First Corps and General Zhang Fakui's Second Corps.The main force was assembled on the south bank of the Yangtze River in the area west of Poyang Lake to meet the offensive of the Japanese Eleventh Army.The defense of Jiangbei and the Dabie Mountains was handed over to the Fifth Theater.Li Zongren, the commander of the war zone, unfortunately fell ill at this time and handed over his power to his long-term partner and deputy chief of staff Bai Chongxi.The troops in the war zone were divided into two corps. General Sun Lianzhong, who had made great achievements in Taierzhuang, now led the 3rd corps to defend the Dabie Mountains. General Li Pinxian from Guangxi led the 4th corps to resist the Japanese offensive on the north bank of the Yangtze River.The Japanese Second Army is their main opponent.

Around the attack and defense of Wuhan, the Japanese army used 350,000 soldiers, navy and air force, and the Chinese side even invested millions of troops.The number of troops on both sides, the length of the front, the length of time, and the scale are unprecedented in any battle since the War of Resistance. In the early morning of July 25, under the cover of the sea and air force, Okamura Ningji's troops launched a general attack on Jiujiang.General Zhang Fakui, Commander of the Second Corps, was a famous general during the Northern Expedition and once commanded the famous "Iron Army".He deployed hundreds of thousands of troops in the Jiujiang area, but under the threat of Japanese aircraft, the army could only rely on the small road from Jiujiang to Mahuiling to supply food and ammunition. As a result, the soldiers starved and the wounded were difficult to transport.The joint firepower of the Japanese sea, land, and air forces also prevented the defenders from taking advantage of their numbers.Jiujiang's resistance lasted only two days, and on the evening of the 26th, they had to give up.The Xiaochikou Fortress on the other side of the Yangtze River was also lost.The offensive and defensive battle in Wuhan has reached its most intense time.

After occupying Jiujiang, the Japanese army in the south of the Yangtze River was divided into two groups. The main force marched westward along the south bank of the Yangtze River and detoured to the south of Wuhan; On the north bank of the Yangtze River, Neiji Okamura's Sixth Division stormed from east to west along the narrow strip between Qianshan, Taihu, and Susong, and captured Huangmei on August 3.General Bai Chongxi saw that the Japanese army was going deep alone, and decided to besiege the Sixth Division assembled in Huangmei, and achieved another victory in Taierzhuang.His troops succeeded in cutting off the overland supply lines of the 6th Division.The Li Pinxian Corps that besieged Huangmei once surrounded the 11th Brigade of the Japanese Army. The 11th Brigade ran out of food and ammunition, and was almost wiped out, which made the 6th Division quite nervous.It is a pity that the original natural moat of the Yangtze River has now become a smooth route for the Japanese army's logistics transportation along the coast due to the absolute superiority of the Japanese navy. The Sixth Division received supplies from Xiaochikou instead.After the siege failed, the Japanese army counterattacked and attacked Guangji. The Japanese army fought hard for 8 days for a distance of 30 kilometers.

Tianjia Town is located in Guangji County, 60 kilometers upstream of Jiujiang River.The river here is narrow and densely covered with hills and lakes.On the other side of it, there are Banbi Mountain and Fuchikou Fortress, which together guard the Yangtze River route.After Madang, Hukou, and Jiujiang were lost one after another, the stability of Jiang's defense depended on the fortress of Tianjia Town.This is the gate of Wuhan.After passing here, the river is open and there is no danger to defend.The fifth and ninth theaters are also connected here.Chen Cheng planned to stay here for two months, and Bai Chongxi also came to inspect it in person.

On August 6, Chiang Kai-shek asked the officers and soldiers of the fortress to prepare to live and die with the fortress.The second army is stationed here, and the original fortress troops are also under the unified command of the second army commander Li Yannian.They built hundreds of solid strongholds with cement, set up several barbed wire fences from the highlands of Siwang Mountain to the mountains of Tianjia Town, and deployed more than 20 field and mountain cannons in each area.Tianjia Town has become the strongest and largest river defense fortress in the Yangtze River, which is worthy of the name.The Japanese navy launched a fierce attack on the fortress. Under the command of Li Yannian, the 57th and 9th divisions of the Chinese defenders fought desperately, which dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese army.However, a mistake in the design of this fort ruined the results of the resistance.Because the design only considered the combat needs facing the Yangtze River, and there was hardly any solid defense design for the defense on the side and back.When the Japanese army attacked Tianjia Town from Guangji, the weakness of the whole fortress was exposed.

On September 28, the Japanese army invaded the core of the fortress, and the fierce artillery fire from both sides was rarely seen since the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War.On this day, the Japanese army dispatched 78 planes to bomb, and hundreds of cannons from the flanking army and naval warships dumped shells on this small position, and the Chinese fortifications were completely destroyed.During the fierce battle, the Chinese army shot down a low-flying Japanese aircraft with mortars, which became a war anecdote.The officers and soldiers of Shi Zhongcheng's division defended their positions, and the regiment leader Long Ziyu died in battle on the position. On September 29, the fighting fell silent.

The defenders, running out of ammunition and food, obeyed the order to evacuate.The fortress was captured by the Japanese army. Although the gates of Wuhan had been opened, the Japanese Sixth Division was also exhausted and needed to stop for a rest. The Japanese Second Army, which was in charge of attacking Wuhan from the North Road, originally played an assisting role in the strategic planning of the Japanese army's attack on Hankou. On August 22, when the Japanese army on the South Road had already fought in darkness, the Japanese army on the North Road began to attack westward along the Dabie Mountains.Because the terrain along the way is dangerous and not suitable for the movement and combat of large corps, the defensive force equipped for Sun Lianzhong's corps is also the weakest.When the smooth Japanese army arrived at Fujin Mountain, officers and soldiers of the 71st Army were already waiting for them in a dangerous position.Commander Song Xilian had experienced two Battles of Songhu. The Chen Ruihe Department of the 36th Division he commanded almost used up all the ammunition in the ten days and ten nights of the bloody battle at Fujin Mountain, causing the attacking Japanese 10th Army to attack. The three divisions suffered heavy casualties.Since then, the Tenth Division of the Japanese Army also joined the battle.The Japanese army suffered heavy casualties, and the entire army needed a large number of supplementary troops to continue fighting.In the Battle of Fujin Mountain, 2,618 officers and soldiers of the 71st Army were killed and 12,401 were injured.This battle also gave Sun Lianzhong dispatched soldiers and horses to fight, and bought time to prepare.After capturing the Fujinshan position, the Japanese army also divided into two groups. The north route attacked Gushi, Huangchuan, and Luoshan; the south route attacked Shangcheng and Shawo.Song Xilian's troops, which suffered heavy casualties, should have been withdrawn to rest, but because of the shortage of front-line troops, they had to continue to assist Sun Lianzhong's Second Army to defend Shawo and Xiaojieling. The Japanese army counted 4,500 casualties, while the 71st Army only 4 regiments.On the North Road, Zhang Zizhong's 59th Army fought a bloody battle against Huangchuan. The Japanese army released poisonous gas into the city, and the whole city was filled with poisonous gas.The division commander Liu Zhenshan was poisoned twice and still did not retreat. The tenacious fighting of the soldiers of the 59th Army caused heavy losses to the Japanese army.

During the Battle of Wuhan, the Japanese army released poison gas on many battlefields such as Fuchikou, Xiguling, and Fujinshan.At that time, China did not have any protective equipment against chemical warfare at all.In the face of poison gas attack, the only way is to cover the mouth and nose with a towel soaked in water. Of course, this method cannot withstand the attack of the Japanese army’s chemical weapons. Therefore, whenever the Japanese army attacks the Chinese army with poison gas, the battlefield situation is extremely miserable. , Often the entire position becomes a pile of bones.The most serious consequences were on August 22, when the Japanese army released poison gas in Zhuzhuang, northeast of Ruichang. Soldiers from two battalions of the Sun Tongxuan Division of the Third Army of the Chinese Army died, and only three survived. At the end of September, after breaking through the fortress of Tianjia Town, the Japanese troops along the river entered Hubei, and Wuhan was already in sight.On the battlefield along the Nanxun line in Jiangxi, the Chinese army cleverly used dangerous terrain such as Mount Lu to fight, leaving the Japanese army in a state of uneasiness and fear.On this front, Okamura Ningji suffered the biggest defeat in the battle. It was the 106th Division of the Japanese Army that attacked De'an along Nanxun Road, and it had been unfavorable since the end of July.It was facing the Second Corps of Commander Xue Yue.From Xingzi to De'an, fierce battles continued, slowing down the progress of the Japanese army like a snail.Neiji Okamura decided to transfer the 101st Division of the Japanese Army to land on Xingzi in an attempt to flank the Chinese army's position. The Chinese army took advantage of the steep terrain of Mount Lu to hold on. The Japanese army used all means, including poison gas, aircraft bombing, and gunboat fire support. However, resistance was encountered in Xingzi, Dongguling, Xiguling, and Aikou. The leader of the 101st Regiment of the Japanese Army was killed when he captured Dongguling, and the commander of the 101st Division, Ito Zhongpao, was injured.The fighting lasted for more than 40 days and reached a stalemate.The two Japanese divisions were beaten to the point where they almost lost the ability to continue fighting. Neiji Okamura had no choice but to take a risk.While continuing to exert pressure on the front, they dispatched troops, first stormed Ruichang on the right, and then turned south, making a big roundabout, outflanking the rear of the Chinese army, and preparing to encircle and annihilate the Chinese defenders.It is the 106th Division of the Japanese Army that is responsible for the roundabout task.This division was organized in Kumamoto, Japan in May 1938.It was temporarily formed by enlisting reservists.In the previous battle on Nanxun Road, they were hit hard by the Chinese defenders. 16,000 officers and soldiers participated in the battle, with 8,000 casualties, and more than half of the squadron leaders and squad leaders were killed or injured.The heavy loss not only caused the 106th Division to almost lose its combat effectiveness for a time, but also earned the reputation of Japan's number one weak division.Ningji Okamura transferred the 106th Division back to rest and added 2,700 recruits, and assigned the mountain artillery unit transferred from Hangzhou to the 106th Division.The 106th Division, which had initially regained its vitality, moved quickly according to Okamura Ningji's order. On October 2, the main force reached the Wanjialing area in the southwest of Ruichang, but because of unfamiliar terrain, they often lost their way.Xue Yue, the commander of the Second Corps, is a decisive general. When he saw the fighter plane approaching, he was determined to wipe out this lone army that had penetrated deep into the enemy. He mobilized the Fourth Army (Commander Ou Zhen), the 29th Army (Commander Li Han) Soul), the 66th Army (commander Ye Zhao), and the 74th Army (commander Yu Jishi) tightly besieged the 106th Division of the Japanese Army in Wanjialing. Later, Nasu Ryosuke, a survivor of the original 106th Division of the Japanese Army, recorded this terrible experience in his book "Three Weeks in Hell Valley" after the war: "Thundering Valley is a narrow basin surrounded by mountains. We marched towards this valley. I later learned that there are tens of thousands of enemy troops waiting for us in the surrounding mountains. "When I saw the enemy approaching, I heard the horrific sound of mortars exploding over my head 50 meters ahead. The shells hit the horses, which exploded like nests. Rushing around in the smoke of war. There were thousands of horses when we left Jiujiang, and there was not even a single horse when we arrived at Thunder Valley. From the second day on, our squadron hid around the mounds of the ditch with the enemy. Confrontation. However, because the surrounding mountains are full of enemies, bullets are flying from all directions. "Most of the comrades in arms were injured, and some fell down because of hunger and exhaustion. The faces of the comrades who died in the ditch all turned brown and swollen, and white maggots fell from their nostrils and mouths. A company I haven’t eaten for a few days, and I can only drink dirty water from the ditch where the corpses of my companions are floating. The living people are almost turning into ghosts. I also feel that my death is coming. Facing the moon in October, I Cry out loud." The Chinese army fought bloody battles in Wanjialing for more than 10 days. The 74th Army (served as the main attacker and sacrificed the most. The 58th Division of Feng Shengfa's subordinates had reached the point where all members went into battle. Even the army commander Yu Jishi also led the guard battalion to support the battle) .The 106th Division of the Japanese Army struggled left and right, but was still unable to break through.The Japanese reinforcements on the periphery were blocked and could not break through the encirclement.The Japanese army trapped in a position several kilometers away gradually ran out of ammunition and food.Lieutenant General Songpu Junrokuro, commander of the 106th Division of the Japanese Army, prepared to burn the military flag and commit seppuku several times.It was considered his fate, and the commandos of the Chinese army passed by his position several times.During the more than four months of the battle in Wuhan, China used a total of about 110 divisions to participate in the battle, and Japan did not eliminate a division that was formed in China.But in Wanjialing, the 106th Division of the Japanese Army is facing the danger of annihilation! The news spread to Tokyo, Japan, shaking the base camp of the Japanese army and Emperor Hirohito.The Japanese soldiers claimed that since the founding of the Japanese army in modern times, they have not yet been defeated by the encirclement and annihilation of the entire division, but this record is about to become a reality in Wanjialing.The commander of the Central China Dispatch Force, Shunroku Hata, personally intervened and dispatched all available aircraft over Wanjialing to drop food and ammunition, as well as a 200-member officer corps to the positions of the 106th Division.He also urgently dispatched all the reserve teams to the battlefield at all costs to rescue the Japanese army in Wanjialing. Seeing that the Double Tenth Festival is coming, Chiang Kai-shek hopes that Xue Yue's troops will use a complete victory as a grand gift for the National Day.There was a hand-to-hand battle on Wanjialing, and the two sides organized hundreds of death squads to fight each other.It's just that the Chinese army was exhausted at this time and could not send more reserve troops into the battle. In the end, they watched helplessly as the few remaining Japanese 106th Division was rescued by Japanese reinforcements from afar. The 106th Division of the Japanese Army, which escaped from danger, and the 9th and 101st Divisions participating in the rescue were all beaten to the point of losing their combat capabilities, and the entire division had to be rested.It is only 30 kilometers from Xingzi to De'an, but it took the Japanese army more than two months. The Japanese army on Nanxun Road did not reach De'an until two days after the Japanese army occupied Wuhan.The tenacity and bravery of the Chinese army made the Japanese army extremely confused and shocked.The Chinese army began its final retreat in mid-October, leaving the city almost empty.People in Wuhan have been moving to the mainland since June.The government agencies in Hankou were also relocated successively, the civil affairs agencies were moved to Chongqing, and the military agencies were moved to Changsha and Hengyang.When they finally withdrew, the Chinese army systematically destroyed Wuhan's heavy industry and military factories.Only one brigade (the 545th Brigade of the 185th Division) was left in Wuhan to make a symbolic resistance. On the night of October 25, the Sixth Division of the Japanese Army entered Hankou on the north bank of the Yangtze River. On the morning of the 26th, the Hata Brigade entered Wuchang on the south bank of the Yangtze River.Wuhan finally fell. The Battle of Wuhan lasted for more than four months from the fall of Anqing in June 1938. The Chinese army centered on Wuhan and deployed defenses along the Dabie Mountains and Poyang Lake on both sides of the Yangtze River. More than 120 divisions were invested in the battle. For the first time in military history, such a large force was used to fight in such a vast area.Unlike the Battle of Songhu, which was limited to a corner of the Yangtze River Delta, it took the vast middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River Basin as the battlefield, including the four provinces of Jiangxi, Anhui, Henan, and Hubei.During the attack, the Japanese army successively invested 12 divisions and supplemented them four or five times, with a total of 400,000 people.When the Battle of Wuhan ended, Japan had put 26 divisions into mainland China, leaving only one guard division in Japan, and it was still preparing to come to China to fight when necessary.After this battle, the momentum of the Japanese strategic offensive was greatly weakened, and the War of Resistance Against Japan entered a stalemate.From the fall of Wuhan to the Battle of Henan, Hunan, and Guangxi in 1944, the Chinese and Japanese armies on the frontal battlefield have been facing each other in Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, and Henan.