Chapter 9 Chapter Eight No Survival Outside the Anti-Japanese War

In the bleak autumn wind, the generals of the Japanese Tenth Army could almost see the city of Nanjing, the capital of China.They all believe that being able to capture the capital of another country first is the supreme glory of the imperial army of the Japanese Empire. At this moment, the Japanese army on the Songhu battlefield attacked near Suzhou at a speed beyond expectations.Although the Tokyo Army Staff Headquarters issued an order to "designate the combat area as the east of the Suzhou-Jiaxing line", and believed that the operations of the Central China Front Army should not "go beyond this line", the generals of the Central China Front Army of the Japanese Army-especially the Tenth Army Commander Yanagawa Hirasuke—strongly demanded that the Japanese government declare war on China immediately and issue an order to attack Nanjing.The Japanese generals believed that it was basic military common sense not to allow the opponent to take a breather and pursue the victory.If the government does not officially declare war, the Japanese army will have no role in fighting in China; more importantly, the Japanese people will misunderstand the fighting power of the Japanese army if they have already advanced to the Chinese capital and did not occupy it.The Central China Front Army stated in its report to the General Staff Headquarters:

Now that the enemy's resistance is extremely weak in all positions, it is difficult to conclude that there is any intention to completely defend Nanking.At this time, if the army stays on the front line of Suzhou and Jiaxing, it will not only lose its fighting opportunity, but also restore the enemy's fighting spirit and reorganize its fighting strength. As a result, it will be very difficult to completely dampen its fighting will.As a result, the resolution of the incident will be delayed, and the people will not be able to understand the military's combat intentions, which will harm the consensus of public opinion among the people.For this reason, take advantage of the current situation to capture Nanjing, and end the battle in central China... To resolve the incident, capturing the capital Nanjing is of the greatest value... The front army will not hesitate to make the greatest sacrifice with its current strength, and it is estimated that it will be within two months at the latest The goal can be achieved... We believe that the Tenth Army will continue to leap forward with the establishment of the rear, and the Shanghai Dispatch Army will be able to pursue Nanjing after ten days of rest.

Since the start of the war between China and Japan, there have been debates within the Japanese cabinet and military regarding whether to expand the scale of the war.Now that the Japanese army has arrived at the Chinese capital, how the war will evolve has become a huge entanglement in the Japanese political and military circles. As far as the war itself is concerned, the Japanese Central China Front Army believes that if it is fought in one go, the prospect of victory is immeasurable.However, the politicians in Tokyo realized that occupying a country’s capital is not just a military issue, but a political issue that must define the purpose of the war—how to define a war against China, or whether to formally report to China The Japanese cabinet found it very difficult to declare war.

Undoubtedly, in the state of non-declaration of war, the war cannot be carried out smoothly, and the ultimate goal of the war is also difficult to achieve: the military is restricted by various aspects, and force cannot be used to the maximum; Administrative systems are also non-functional.In addition, not declaring war would also lead to China’s lack of enthusiasm for establishing a political power due to doubts about Japan’s determination.11. Japan cannot really rule China, so what is the point of going to war with China? However, the reality of Japan requires an undeclared war.After the declaration of war, it goes without saying that Japan was unanimously condemned by international public opinion; more importantly, Japan’s most important strategic materials—oil, steel, cotton, and nonferrous metals—must all rely on imports, especially from the United States.Once war is officially declared against China, the import of strategic materials will be severely restricted by international law, and the United States is very likely to refuse to export strategic materials to Japan first.If Japan loses its import supply, not to mention supporting the war, even its own people will not be able to survive.

Therefore, after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident broke out, the Japanese cabinet and the military had repeated discussions to weigh the pros and cons, and even set up a "Fourth Committee" to discuss the matter. The "Fourth Committee" finally came to the conclusion that declaring war would be detrimental to Japan. ——This is why the Japanese cabinet decided to replace the edict of war declaration with the edict of the opening ceremony of the 72nd Imperial Diet after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. Since modern times, the Japanese have never been willing to clearly define the purpose of their wars of aggression. The reason why they always vaguely refer to wars launched abroad as "incidents" is that most historians believe that "it is more a matter of spirituality." The problem:

There is an official theology in Japan, and a large number of theologians, including university professors, Zen and Nichiren Buddhist monks, and government bureaucrats, are believers.According to its interpretation: the Emperor is a living god, a descendant of Amaterasu.Japan is the embodiment of morality and justice.Its war is naturally just, and it will never be aggression.Therefore, its efforts to establish the "Imperial Way" in China, by means of "compassionate killing"-killing the few problematic people for the survival of the majority, keeping the people there under the benevolent occupation of the emperor, It is a blessing for the occupied people, not colonial expansion.Naturally, those who resist must be brought to their senses.However, formally speaking, there is no "war", just an "incident".

The wishful thinking of Japan's political and military circles is that the occupied country will willingly submit to Japan's rule without bearing the stigma of launching a war of aggression.Take the Japanese official statement: the incident was resolved satisfactorily. ——After occupying Beiping, Tianjin, and Shanghai, the Japanese believed that the time was at hand for the surrender of the Chinese, who were about to lose their capital. In the eyes of the Japanese, there are two ways to achieve the demise of China and world hegemony: military destruction and political forced landing.At the beginning of the invasion of China, it was Japan's idea to use strong force to bring China to its knees within two to three months.However, even though Beiping and Shanghai were occupied, and even though they were approaching Taiyuan and Nanjing, the Japanese army failed to wipe out the main force of the Chinese army, failed to destroy China's main defense system, and the Chinese government and the Chinese people showed no sign of yielding. .Coupled with the increasingly severe pressure from international public opinion, the embarrassing Japanese political circles began to explore the possibility of implementing another method, that is, to negotiate with the Chinese government through a third party, forcing the Chinese government to accept the conditions proposed by Japan in view of strong military pressure.This is the reason why the Japanese Army Staff Headquarters urgently ordered the Central China Front Army to stop attacking Nanjing on the Suzhou-Jiaxing line.

Who should be the competent "third party"? The Japanese think that the Germans are the most suitable. On October 21, 1937, Japanese Foreign Minister Koki Hirota met with German Ambassador to Japan Dixon, expressing Japan’s willingness to negotiate directly with the Chinese government—“If a big country with friendly relations with China, such as Germany Or Italy, if you can persuade the Nanjing government to seek a solution to the conflict.” Dixon reported Japan’s intentions to the German government, and immediately got the approval of the German Foreign Ministry: “Germany is willing to contact Japan for direct negotiations with China. But at the same time, the German Foreign Ministry also reminded the ambassador to China, Tautman, "At present, we don't want to go beyond the status of a courier." More importantly, the Japanese judged that the Chinese government not only has the willingness to negotiate with Japan, but also that Germany is also a "third party" that China can accept.

Germany has maintained close ties with the Chinese government since the 1920s.Germany sells weapons to China and sends military advisers; China exports important industrial raw materials to Germany.In the face of the Sino-Japanese War, Germany faced a dilemma: supporting China would definitely offend Japan, and it had a global strategy that violated the Islamic State; supporting Japan would seriously damage Germany's interests in China.Germany is therefore willing to act as a mediator between China and Japan. As early as the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, the Nationalist Government had sought diplomatic mediation from the international community, trying to limit the war to a local area through international forces.Xiao Zicheng, Secretary of the Nanjing Chairman’s Attendant Office, once revealed to Song Xilian, Commander of the Seventy-eighth Army, Chiang Kai-shek’s true intention of letting Germany act as a mediator: “Germany hopes that China will join the anti-communist and anti-Soviet front, and since it does not want the war between China and Japan to turn into a long-term Japan's policy towards China does not want a long-term war. It adopts a strategy of annexation one by one, so there is a high possibility of peaceful negotiations. Negotiations will take some time, and the Japanese army will probably not attack Nanjing during this period. In this way, we can take advantage of this opportunity to reorganize and enrich the troops." - "Although these are Xiao Zicheng's words, they are actually Chiang Kai-shek's ideas."

On November 2, Hirota Koki listed the conditions for negotiations between Japan and China to Dixon, and at the same time emphasized that if China did not accept these conditions, "when Japan is forced to continue this war, Japan will go all the way to China." until it completely collapses, when conditions will intensify considerably." 1. The people of Inner Mongolia shall establish an autonomous government.Its international status is similar to that of Outer Mongolia. 2. In North China, demarcate the demilitarized areas from the border of Manchukuo to Tianjin and the south of Beiping, and the Chinese police force will be responsible for maintaining law and order.If the peace treaty is concluded immediately, the administrative power in North China will still belong to the Nanjing government, but it is hoped that a pro-Japanese head will be appointed.If peace cannot be established now, it is necessary to establish a new regime whose functions will continue to exist after the conclusion of the peace treaty.In terms of economy, the development of minerals that had been negotiated before the incident required to meet Japan's requirements to a certain extent.

3. The demilitarized area of ​​Shanghai must be expanded and controlled by an international police force.There is no attempt to change anything else. Fourth, demand that China stop its anti-Japanese policy.This is the same requirement as in the Nanjing negotiations in 1935. 5. Joint defense against communism.This does not conflict with the Sino-Soviet Nonaggression Pact. 6. Reduce the import tax on Japanese goods. 7. Respect the rights of foreigners in China. No matter from which aspect, it is impossible for Chiang Kai-shek to accept the above conditions listed by the Japanese.However, he still had one hope: the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Nine-Power Pact was about to be held in Brussels, at which the issue of Japan's aggression against China would be discussed. If international forces could stop Japan, all crises might be resolved.However, even Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Chonghui believes that the meeting of the parties to the Nine-Power Pact is not worth looking forward to.Japan withdrew from the Nine-Power Pact in 1933. At the moment, Japan and Germany have clearly declared their refusal to participate in this meeting in any capacity. ——The history of the world has repeatedly proved that the so-called "international conferences" where the great powers gather have never brought any "justice" to the international community.Especially since modern times, when it comes to issues involving China, China has never obtained its due rights and interests, and only encountered deeper humiliation and disasters. Sure enough, on November 3rd—the second day after Japan proposed negotiation conditions to China—China, the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Canada and New Zealand, the parties to the Nine-Power Pact, Representatives from 19 countries including China, Australia, South Africa, India, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Mexico, Bolivia, and the Soviet Union gathered in Brussels, the capital of Belgium.However, before the meeting even started, Britain, the United States and other countries tried to shirk each other, and no one wanted to be the protagonist of the meeting. Finally, the host Belgian Foreign Minister was persuaded to preside over the meeting, but the member states were not interested in the issue of Japan’s invasion of China.Chinese representative Gu Weijun exposed the atrocities committed by Japan in aggression against China, and implored all countries to put pressure on Japan morally, materially and economically, and at the same time provide assistance to China.Except for the Soviet Union’s approval of sanctions against Japan, the representatives of all countries have reasons for fear of offending Japan: Britain believes that the focus of their prevention is the fascist forces in Europe rather than the Asia-Pacific region, and Britain’s interests in China are intertwined with those of Japan Therefore, Britain will never take the lead in imposing condemnation and sanctions on Japan; France is worried that if Japan is condemned, it may bring about the consequences of Japan’s invasion of French Indochina; Neither go to the foreground to act as a leader, nor be the "tail on the British kite" swaying in the wind - only talk about peace in Asia, not sanctions against Japan; as for Italy, which itself is an ally of Japan, it not only opposes sanctions on Japan, but also Strongly defend Japan. The Brussels meeting is still going on ambiguously. The Japanese army began a large-scale landing in Hangzhou Bay, China. On November 4th, German Ambassador to China Tautmans called on Chiang Kai-shek in Nanjing.Chiang Kai-shek said that he agreed to negotiate on the basis of Japan's conditions, but the premise was that Japan could not regard itself as a victor, China would not accept any form of ultimatum, and China's sovereignty should not be violated in any form.Chiang Kai-shek told Taudman that if he accepted the conditions set by the Japanese, it would be tantamount to suicide for the Nationalist government—"The Chinese government will be overwhelmed by the tide of public opinion, and there will be a revolution in China." Chiang Kai-shek's toughness made the Germans Some surprises.Taudman persuaded Chiang Kai-shek to accept the lessons of Germany in World War I, and not allow the war situation to evolve into a protracted war of attrition, otherwise it would lead to the decline of resources and soldiers and even collapse.Japan's negotiating conditions should be accepted as early as possible at the right time, otherwise it will be too late when the entire country is exhausted.However, Chiang Kai-shek still insisted on his position.At the same time, Chiang Kai-shek cunningly asked Taudman to remind the Japanese of another possibility: if the Nationalist government was really dragged down by the war, Japan would have to face the Chinese Communist Party. At that time, there would be no possibility of any peace talks. Because the Communist Party "never surrenders." The Chinese government is dumped, then the only result is that the Chinese Communist Party will prevail in China.But this means that it is impossible for Japan to negotiate peace with China, because the Communist Party never surrenders. The Germans continued to put pressure on the Nationalist government.The idea is still what Chiang Kai-shek meant, but they said it in reverse.Toddman described such a prospect to Kong Xiangxi, Bai Chongxi and other high-level Chinese military and political figures: If China does not seek to negotiate with Japan, the current "war situation will be dragged on", then when China's economy collapses, "communism will be in China. occur". Japan’s method of putting pressure on the Nationalist Government was still a powerful military offensive: on the fourth day of Chiang Kai-shek’s meeting with Taudman—November 8—Japanese tanks and infantry rushed into Taiyuan City. The fall of Taiyuan was a military tragedy. Judging from the Chinese battlefield at that time, the local battlefield of Taiyuan was the most promising to contain the Japanese offensive and inflict heavy losses on the Japanese army.The Xinkou blockade in the north of Taiyuan continued tenaciously until the end of October. The Japanese army had suffered numerous casualties, was exhausted, and almost lost the courage to continue attacking. ——If the Japanese army on the Shanxi battlefield suffered serious setbacks, would Hirota Koniki still be so tough when he listed the negotiation conditions? However, Niangziguan on the side of the Xinkou battlefield, a strategic point that Mao Zedong regarded as a fatal hidden danger, collapsed at a critical moment in the Shanxi battle. On October 21st, all the 20th Division of the Japanese Army went to Niangziguan to fight.Under the command of the head of the division, Kawagishi Wensaburo, the Japanese soldiers attacked Niangziguan in two ways.The position of the 88th Brigade of the Chinese garrison on the frontal defense line of Niangziguan was breached by the Japanese on the same day.A Japanese army broke into the gap between Jiuguan and Niangziguan, cutting off the railway line leading to Niangziguan, and the troops of Sun Lianzhong and Feng Qinzai were trapped in Niangziguan station.At this time, there were no other troops nearby to call in. If the Japanese army continued to attack, the fall of Niangziguan was imminent.Huang Shaohong urgently asked Yan Xishan for help on the phone. When Yan Xishan was at a loss, another voice came in on the phone. Yan Xishan heard that it was Li Zhenxi, the head of the 38th Army Teaching Corps.Head Li said that his troops are about 50 kilometers away from Niangziguan. If they set off now, they will arrive at the battlefield tomorrow.Yan Xishan and Huang Shaohong were overjoyed at the same time: "This is Yang Hucheng's guard regiment, let them come here!" The Teaching Corps of the 38th Army of the Chinese Army was originally the Teaching Corps of the Shaanxi Appeasement Administration. It was an organization for Yang Hucheng to reserve cadres.After the Xi’an Incident, Yang Hucheng was forced to go abroad, the Shaanxi Appeasement Office was abolished, and the troops of the Appeasement Department were reorganized into the 38th Army. Among them, there were nearly 3,000 officers and soldiers in the teaching regiment, and they were all well-equipped, and they were all young students. Li Zhenxi is especially brave." Li Zhenxi's teaching group rushed forward with a kind of generosity to die. At dawn on the second day, when the battalion at the forefront was about to approach Niangziguan, it found hundreds of Japanese cavalrymen lighting a fire and cooking. Into the narrow gully. ——A few days ago, the Japanese army was beaten once in this narrow and deep ditch leading to Niangziguan.When Li Zhenxi arrived with follow-up troops, the first battalion chasing into the ditch was fighting with the Japanese army.Sun Lianzhong called the head of Li Zhenxi to the cave dwelling of the national defense fortification, saying that the two divisions of Feng Qinzai's 14th Army Corps "has not yet been contacted", and the 31st Division of Chifeng City "has only just arrived in Xiyang". There are no soldiers to adjust near Guan, and there are even no soldiers to adjust in Taiyuan. Now "it's up to you. Your regiment has more combatants than the average brigade, and your melee weapons are good. The enemy will charge you in front of you today." , hastily got into the ditch, now strike while the iron is hot, it is best to rush out of the old pass. As long as it lasts for two or three days, the reinforcements from Chifeng City will arrive, and the battle will be stabilized. If you keep Niangziguan, you must apply to Nanjing to teach Regiment expansion." Lieutenant Leader Li didn't care about these things at all, because the second battalion also rushed into the ditch at this time, there was a lot of shouting and fighting in the ditch, and the wounded who were carried out were all bloody and bloody, which was horrible. The Guangou was twenty miles long, with steep cliffs on both sides. Thousands of enemies crowded in the trench, and cavalry, artillery, heavy soldiers and chariots blocked the road.Even though the enemy was huddled and retreated, due to the constraints of the terrain, we couldn't attack. Head Li decided to change his desperate tactics, concentrate his firepower, and turn the narrow Guangou into a living coffin for the Japanese army.The specific tactics are: take the battalion as a unit, gather forty-eight light machine guns and eight heavy machine guns in each battalion, and then divide them into four fire assault groups, with more than forty people in each group forming a shock wave.In the afternoon, the infantry assault group attacked Guangou under the cover of machine guns. One group suffered too many casualties, so they replaced it with another group, wave after wave without interruption.At dusk during the battle, the 78th Regiment of the Japanese Army and the cavalry brigade, artillery brigade, and chariot brigade that entered the ditch were "annihilated by my first and second battalions. There were more than 200 horses, hundreds of machine guns, and rifles lying on a gun cart and a baggage wagon that the enemy had blown up. The enemy’s corpse was still burning. Our regiment suffered five or six hundred casualties. After dusk, teach The regiment completely controlled the old pass, and the remnants of the enemy retreated to the mountains outside the pass." After taking control of Jiuguan, Captain Li analyzed that the Japanese army would definitely come to reinforce him: "If we don't drive the enemy out tonight, the enemy will drive us out tomorrow. Instead of staying in this dead end and waiting to die, it is better to go out and fight." If you succeed, you can keep the old pass, and if you fail, the enemy will pay a great price." Feng Qinzai was amazed at the bloodiness of the young officers and soldiers of the teaching regiment, and immediately promised to reward the ocean with five thousand for every mountain he recaptured. This was a partial counterattack that even the Japanese army did not expect. In the night, the officers and soldiers of the teaching regiment were killing loudly, and before the Japanese army could react, the big swords fell on their heads.In the fierce battle all night, Li Zhenxi's regiment paid the price of more than 300 casualties, but the Chinese officers and soldiers actually took down eight hills in a row.When the victory call was sent to the headquarters, Feng Qinzai was both pleasantly surprised and embarrassed by the promise of rewarding Dayang. However, since the 22nd, the Japanese attack on Niangziguan became more violent.Hand-to-hand combat occurred in various positions of the Chinese defenders, including the teaching regiment.The position of the 30th Division was broken by the Japanese army, and the 178th regiment of the division was surrounded by the Japanese army in Beiyu.The 79th Brigade of the 27th Division suffered heavy casualties and was forced to move back.Li Zhenxi's teaching group defended the position and did not retreat, and only received the order to change defense when the casualties were exhausted.The 3,000 officers and soldiers of the teaching regiment are all student soldiers. Soldiers who have read books should know that Chinese ancestors once left a poem that says "loyal bones are buried everywhere in the green hills".The teaching group fought in Niangziguan for three days, and only a few hundred officers and soldiers survived. ——"Sun Lianzhong sent Chen Chunren, deputy director of the battalion and teaching regiment, to gather more than 2,000 officers and soldiers who died in battle, and buried several large tombs in Jiuguanguangou. With tears in my eyes, I silently wish the soldiers The patriotic spirit will always be shown." The bloody battle between Chinese officers and soldiers did not ease the battle at Niangziguan. The Niangziguan position is 170 to 80 miles wide in front. The Chinese defenders who have suffered heavy casualties after continuous hard battles cannot fully hold on, and every point of the position is breached, which will put the entire line of defense in jeopardy.Especially when the right column of the Japanese army assaulted the front of Niangziguan, the rapid advance of the left column seriously threatened the back of Niangziguan.In this direction, Liu Bocheng, who was ordered to reinforce the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, desperately blocked it.The 772nd Regiment of Chen Geng's 386th Brigade of the division attacked the flanks of the Japanese attacking troops, slowing down their movement speed significantly.Then, the brigade fought another blocking battle near Shimenkou, annihilating more than 200 Japanese troops. Yan Xishan, who had been suffering all day without soldiers to reinforce Niangziguan, suddenly learned that a unit had arrived near Taiyuan: the 22nd Army Group Army of the Chinese Army—all Sichuanese—under the leadership of Commander-in-Chief Deng Xihou came out of Sichuan to fight with the Japanese. There is a war. Wei Lihuang told Yan Xishan that now is the time to give up his family and take out all the equipment and ammunition in the warehouse to equip the Sichuan army and let the Sichuan army go to the Jindong battlefield to block the Japanese army at Niangziguan.Yan Xishan said repeatedly: "Okay, okay, okay, let's post it right away, post it right away, and spend all our money, let's forget it!" After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the Sichuan army asked to kill the enemy one after another. The Military Commission of the Nationalist Government combined the 41st, 45th, and 47th armies of the Sichuan Army into the 22nd Group Army and ordered them to come out of Sichuan to fight against Japan.The weapons of the Sichuan Army were simple, and the 41st Army had no cavalry and artillery. Except for the infantry regiment, which each had a mortar company, the whole army did not have a single field artillery or mountain artillery, and a brigade had only eight heavy machine guns and two light machine guns. Moreover, both light and heavy machine guns and rifles are made in Sichuan, because rifles do not have bayonets, and each soldier is also issued with a broadsword.Almost everyone in the Chinese military circles knows that the Sichuan army wears only one suit and two guns, one of which is a bong-eating opium is very common among the Sichuan army.When the Sichuan army came out of Sichuan, except for a few troops who took the stuffy tank train, most of the officers and soldiers walked.They walked more than 1,000 kilometers along the Sichuan-Shanxi Road, and traveled over mountains and mountains for more than 50 days before arriving in Shanxi.At this time, Shanxi was already very cold, but the Sichuan army not only had no cotton-padded clothes, but still wore straw sandals on their feet, and everyone was shivering from the cold.When they received the order to go to Niangziguan, the commanders at all levels did not even have a map—"Huang Shaohong ordered us to set off immediately to fight back against the enemy advancing westward. It is not clear whether our brigade has any troops to cooperate with the battle, and who is in command." Wang Mingzhang, the commander of the 1st and 2nd Division of the Sichuan Army, put forward the moral principles for the officers and soldiers: accept orders without humiliation, be steadfast in the face of difficulties, never retreat when wounded, and never surrender when captured. ——Whether it is possible to reach this moral height needs to be tested in actual combat, but people in Sichuan are born with the character of enduring hardships and fighting hard.The place where the 364th Brigade of the 41st Army of the Sichuan Army collided head-on with the westward Japanese army was called Donghui Village.The deployment of the Sichuan army has not yet been completed, and the Japanese attack has already begun.The officers and soldiers of the 728th Regiment blocked the attack with grenades, and when they ran out of grenades, they fought hand-to-hand with the Japanese army.The Japanese army used poison gas bombs, and the position of the 728th regiment was lost.The Japanese army then attacked the main position of Nanshan. The machine guns of the 727th regiment were suppressed by the Japanese artillery fire, and the officers and soldiers lay down in the trenches and waited.The Japanese infantry gradually approached. At that moment, the Sichuan army jumped out and swung their swords and began to fight hand-to-hand.Shao Xianzhi, commander of the 1st Battalion and 2nd Company of the 727th Regiment, was pierced through his left hand by a Japanese bayonet, and he cut off the devil's head with a big knife in his right hand.The Japanese used flamethrowers, and the first battalion was forced to retreat to the second line when it was out of casualties. ——"The enemy took advantage of the situation to attack me on the second line, and the two sides fought hand-to-hand again, charging repeatedly. At five o'clock in the afternoon, Nanshan was still in my hands." The Sichuan army rushed into battle, defending recklessly, without any cover or coordination. When the troops suffered heavy casualties and were forced to move back, they were intercepted by the Japanese army. ——Unknown to the Sichuan army, the Chinese defenders on the Niangziguan defense line had begun to retreat in an all-round way at this time. When the 364th Brigade retreated to Changning Town, east of Yuci, it met with the commander.Once in contact with the enemy in Changning Town, they camped in Beitian Town that night.Only then did I know that the various units of the 41st Army were divided into regiments and even camps by Huang Shaohong, and they were used successively to fight in Xicun, Yangquan, Ceshi, Saiyu, and Qinquan in Pingding County.The troop organization was divided into fragments and scattered, and the result was broken by the enemy in batches... When the division commander Wang Mingzhang arrived at the front line, the 1st, 2nd and 2nd divisions had already been smashed; The army was already out of shape; when Deng Xihou, commander-in-chief of the group army, arrived in Taiyuan, only half of the strength of the 22nd group army remained. Don't blame Huang Shaohong, the defense of Niangziguan has been "weak everywhere, and there are gaps everywhere" from beginning to end, so reinforcements are needed everywhere. On October 26, the Japanese army entered the Kashiwagi Well behind Niangziguan and Xinguan, and the frontal defense troops of the Chinese defenders began to retreat due to the enemy's flanks.Seeing that the front line was in danger, the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, which was struggling to resist the enemy, immediately ordered the 772nd Regiment of the 386th Brigade to open a position to meet the enemy.The 772nd Regiment chose a place called Qigen Village as the blocking location.This is a pass, located at the junction of Pingding County and Xiyang County in Shanxi and Jingxing County in Hebei. It is a dangerous mountain pass.Three days ago, also at this pass, the 771st Regiment was attacked by a regiment of the Japanese army and hundreds of cavalry, causing more than 30 casualties. Mao Zedong sent a telegram to Zhu De for this reason, warning the officers and soldiers of the Eighth Route Army to overcome the idea of ​​underestimating the enemy: After repeated victories, he will be arrogant all his life, despise the enemy, and think that he is great.The attack on Qigen Village of the 771st Regiment was the result of this victory.It is advisable for you to communicate the order to the entire army, all the way to the soldiers in the company, explaining that the war against Japanese imperialism is a long and arduous process.For those cadres who claim to be number one in the world, are full of pride, and have no eyes, they must be told in a profound way that they must link bravery with prudence and oppose one-sided views and mechanism in the army. Choosing Qigen Village to fight again, Liu Bocheng arranged it very carefully. At dawn on the 26th, when the other Chinese defenders at Niangziguan began to retreat, the Japanese army came towards the position set up by the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army. When the vanguard of the Japanese army approached the camp, the heavy troops were just in front of the ambush of my 12th company.Deputy head Wang immediately ordered heavy machine guns to shoot at the Japanese army, and the ambush troops then fired violently at the Japanese army.In an instant, swarms of grenades and dense bullets tended towards the enemy group like a waterfall cascading down from a cliff.The marching Japanese army was stunned by the sudden attack, and before they figured out what was going on, a large number of them were killed or injured.At this time, according to the original plan, our eleventh company quickly seized the two sides of the south road of Qigen village and the Dingpan mountain in the southwest of the village, and cut the Japanese infantry and heavy troops into two sections.When the leading infantry of the Japanese army tried to turn around to reinforce the supply troops, they were blocked by our 11th company; the rear covering troops were killed by the 12th company, and the lying horses, camels and abandoned military supplies blocked the road.The supply troops intercepted in the middle had no way to go to the sky, no way to go to the ground, and completely lost their ability to control.The mules, horses and camels were frightened and ran around. Animals bumped into animals, people bumped into people, people and animals collided, trampling each other on the narrow road, dust was flying, and flesh and blood were everywhere.The remnants of the Japanese army fled in the direction of Dongshimen in a swarm. As soon as they reached Jiananyu, they were violently attacked by a platoon of the spy company I had ambushed there in advance.At this time, deputy head Wang ordered the ninth and tenth companies to go into battle.Immediately afterwards, under the leadership of the deputy instructor You Taizhong, my 11th and 12th companies, like tigers descending from the mountain, pounced on the Japanese army regardless of their own safety, and started hand-to-hand combat.Yang Shaoqing, a soldier of the 12th company who rushed to the front, had no fear in the face of the seven enemies who surrounded him. He stabbed left and right, and became more courageous as he fought.There was also a soldier who was wounded in five places and persisted in fighting the enemy. When he was fighting with a Japanese officer, he was exhausted, but he had a quick wit and swished the rifle in his hand to the enemy. At the moment when the enemy was stunned, he swooped over and crushed him to the ground, bit off the enemy's nose with his teeth, and shot him to death when the enemy was in unbearable pain. In this battle, the Eighth Route Army wiped out more than 300 Japanese soldiers and captured more than 300 mules, horses, camels and a large amount of military supplies. Liu Bocheng is determined to "fight another battle in Qigen Village"! The next day, the follow-up troops of the Japanese army came up and were ambushed again in Qigen Village, at the cost of more than a hundred people. The 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army suffered only more than 30 casualties in the two battles. Among the seized items, what pleased Liu Bocheng the most were several Shanxi military maps printed by China—Liu Bocheng once asked Yan Xishan for Shanxi military maps, but Yan Xishan said he did not have them—before that, Commander Liu commanded the The map is from a middle school geography textbook. The Eighth Route Army's operations could not save the entire battle situation in Niangziguan. On the 26th, the Japanese army occupied Niangziguan. Wei Lihuang called Chiang Kai-shek to inform Yan Xishan that he had decided to abandon Xinkou: Immediately.Nanjing Chairman Jiang.dense.1. In the past week, the situation in the east of Jinan has been extremely chaotic.Last night, our army retreated near Shouyang on the front of the railway, and the situation on the two wings is unknown.According to the railway report, our army passed Shouyang Xiluo last night and this morning, and there were not many remaining soldiers in each department, and Taiyuan was extremely panicked.2. Although the battles here will last until January, although they are all victorious, the defense will be in danger, and the soldiers will be consumed too much, and the traffic will come to a standstill early.According to the order of the commander-in-chief Yan, in order to ensure the plan of Taiyuan, he had to reluctantly decide to move to the east-west line of Qinglong Town, north of Taiyuan, tonight.I would like to hear.Occupational health Lihuang kowtow. Wei Lihuang's words of "enduring pain" are painful to the bone: nearly 100,000 officers and soldiers have sacrificed their lives in the Xinkou battlefield. The original plan was to fight tenaciously to prevent the enemy's victory, but now the huge sacrifice will be in vain. The defeat of the Chinese defenders in the direction of Niangziguan made Huang Shaohong, the deputy commander of the theater, extremely anxious.He told Sun Lianzhong on the phone that if the defense and resistance in the Yangquan area were not re-fortified, the Japanese army would directly rush into Taiyuan City, and we would have to bear historical responsibility!Sun Lianzhong called Feng Anbang, commander of the 42nd Army, and said that if you retreat again, you will be shot.Feng Anbang's answer was: "I will do my best, but I only have one company in hand, and the rest of the troops are out of control." Sun Lianzhong and Feng Anbang are relatives, and they can say the word "shooting", which shows that How far the situation has deteriorated. On November 3, Yan Xishan convened a meeting of senior generals in Taiyuan to study the defense of Taiyuan City.Yan Xishan's plan is: use the established positions around Taiyuan City to implement "field battles against the city" to block the enemy's attack, and launch a counterattack to gather and annihilate the enemy after the follow-up troops arrive.The specific deployment is: use Fu Zuoyi's department to undertake the task of city defense in Taiyuan; use Wei Lihuang's department to undertake the task of flanking the east and west sides of Taiyuan; Huang Shaohong commanded the troops retreating from Niangziguan to continue to block the Japanese army advancing west; Tang Enbo, who was ordered by Chiang Kai-shek to reinforce the Shanxi battlefield The Ministry "advances to the vicinity of Yuci" and forms a situation of encircling and pinching the Japanese army with the Taiyuan guards. So, who will command the Battle of Taiyuan? Yan Xishan was the commander-in-chief of the second war zone, and Wei Lihuang was the commander-in-chief of the former enemy in the second war zone. Yan Xishan wanted Wei Lihuang to take on this task, "it's hard to say clearly", so he waited for Wei Lihuang to recommend himself.However, Wei Lihuang sat there, just "not saying a word". "Most of the other generals bowed their heads in silence."At the last moment, "Fu Zuoyi stepped forward." ——The reason for Wei Lihuang's silence is: Whether it is the troops retreating from Xinkou or Niangziguan, they suffered heavy losses and were exhausted. How could it be possible to "have another battle in a hurry after a big retreat"? Then, there is the question of how to defend Taiyuan City. This issue was fiercely disputed among the generals.Yan Xishan’s plan was to deploy defenses outside the city in the form of a field battle, but most of the generals present at the meeting believed that the most likely reason for the retreating troops to re-arrange blocking positions was that the Japanese army had not waited for them to enter the position. It was already under the city of Taiyuan.Moreover, those so-called defense fortifications can be judged to be vulnerable almost without on-site inspection.At present, the only feasible way is to concentrate troops to defend the city walls.Yan Xishan insisted on his plan.The two sides argued until early in the morning, Yan Xishan told the generals that the battle plan had been assigned to the commanders of each unit.This concludes the meeting. Yan Xishan appointed Fu Zuoyi as Taiyuan's garrison commander.他告诉傅作义：太原城中储备的“粮食弹药够半年之用”，期待傅作义能够“再显一下身手”。 阎锡山决定离开太原城，没人知道他要去哪里。 黄绍竑也准备离开，但太原城内已混乱到了连他这个战区副司令长官都找不到车的地步。于是，只有去找负责守城的傅作义。只是，黄绍竑甚至不知傅作义的指挥部在哪里。副官周士杰怕迟了被封锁在城内，劝他赶快走。——“我带着十多个卫士摸到南门，幸城门还开着，这大概是因为阎锡山还有许多贵重东西没有运完，汽车仍在进进出出。”出城到了汾河桥上，这里已经乱成一团，车辆和人流壅塞在一起。黄绍竑充当起临时交通指挥，这才截住了一辆卡车。天亮以后，他到了交城县城，得知阎锡山竟然也到了这里。阎锡山走的时候并未告诉黄绍竑他去什么地方，两人完全是“无意中”遇到的。——中国第二战区的司令长官和副司令长官，就这样在远离部队远离战场的小县城里意外地相逢了。 共产党人周恩来也参加了阎锡山的军事会议。周恩来不同意以多数兵力在太原城与日军决战，认为这样只能带来巨大伤亡，而太原最终还是要丢失。正确的方法应该是背靠山地，以运动战方式与日军展开周旋。会议结束时，周恩来特别对傅作义说：“我愿代表中国共产党，还有全民族，诚恳地对你说一句话：抗日战争胜利的基础，在于广大人民群众之深厚的伟大力量，请你保重。”十一月五日夜，周恩来带领八路军驻晋办事处人员撤离太原城。 板垣征四郎得知中国守军开始撤退后，立即命令部队自忻口一线大举向南追击。日军推进得异常迅速，导致中国守军无法在预设阵地立足，不得不再次向后移动。同时，从娘子关方向撤下来的中国守军，绝大多数因遭遇日军截击无法靠近太原，只有继续向西南方向退去。卫立煌命令中国守军主力转移到交城、太谷一线，防止日军继续南下；同时命令孟宪吉的独立第八旅、郭宗汾的第七十一师和马延守的独立第七旅等部队进入太原城以厚守城兵力。但是，命令的下达已经晚了，除独立第八旅的一个营最终进入了太原城外，其余部队均被日军阻击在汾河西岸。 六日，忻口方向的日军从北面逼近太原城垣，娘子关方向的日军插入太原以南切断了中国守军的退路。太原已成为一座被日军包围的孤城，孤城内傅作义的守军仅有第三十五军的九个营以及陈庆华的独立旅等部的十个营。 傅作义守太原，与其说是在指挥作战，不如说是承受身心煎熬。 明知守城也是死路一条的傅作义，还是把仅有的部队进行了部署，并封闭了太原城门。封城之前，傅作义将部队集合起来，然后他对官兵们说：留下来守城，等于躺在了棺材里，就等着把棺材盖盖上，各位就当自己已经死了，我们与太原城共存亡。 这天，日军的“几十架飞机循城墙一线，轮番以巨型炸弹进行轰炸”，太原“三丈六尺高的城墙，已经成了不满两丈的土坡坡”。接着，日军以飞机和火炮猛轰太原城，城内的建筑物纷纷坍塌，到处燃起冲天的大火，供电线路和通讯线路均被摧毁，全城的商店都被抢劫一空，到处是为非作歹的散兵游勇。更令人惊心的是，太原城内潜伏着大批日本特务和汉奸，他们到处开枪制造出更大的混乱，太原戒严司令部的警宪部队根本无法捕捉到这些特务汉奸，戒严官兵反而受到黑枪的射杀。 七日拂晓，日军对太原城发起攻击，步兵在坦克的掩护下从坍塌的城墙处向城内猛冲。中国守军拼死抵抗，激烈的拉锯战导致双方死伤严重。第二天，日军以更大规模发起全面进攻，直打得中国守军的阵地上弹片与血肉横飞。傅作义去前沿督战，守卫城角的代理连长告诉他：“从忻口会战到现在，我们连已经换了十二个连长，现在全连参加战斗的只剩下七个人了。” 残酷的守城战几近两昼夜时，太原守军的将领开始动摇。第三十五军副军长曾延毅从傅作义的防空指挥部里出来，并没有回到指挥岗位，而是直奔向他的马： 马已备好，曾立即上马，向大南门驰去。戒严司令部的参谋副官及勤杂人等也都闻风赶来。跑到大南门跟前，发现早经封闭的域门前，土囊沙袋层层堆积原封未动。曾令跟来的卫士随从们搬移沙袋。守城官兵知道他是第三十五军副军长，当然不敢拦阻。没想到，封城时惟怕不牢固，现在才发现土囊沙袋积累得太多，移动不便。结果卫士们费了老大力气，城门仅仅打开一个小缝。好在两扇城门稍稍向后移动了一些，门头上甩出一个较大的三角空隙。曾延毅舍掉坐骑，爬上沙袋，让力气大的几个卫士把他举上门顶，钻出城去。出城以后，狼狈地向南赶路，恰巧遇上四三五团受了重伤的连长张霁浦，骑着一匹瘦弱的劣马。曾向张连长把马要了过来，骑上这匹劣马往正南方而去……曾出城打的是第三十五军副军长的旗号。他这一折腾，看见他的人都说：副（与傅同音）军长出城走了。消息很快传遍了靠近南城的部队。戒严副司令马秉仁不甘落后，也立时乘着“李牧号”装甲车赶到大南门，利用炮兵掩体钻出城外，落荒逃命。于是“副司令出城走了”的消息，又不胫而走传进守城官兵的耳朵。由此辗转相传，以讹传诜，把“副军长”当成“傅军长”、“副司令”当了“傅司令”，因而军心开始动摇……十二时以后，除过北城东城与敌人对峙胶着的部队无暇他顾外，其他城上的守军逐渐稀少，有些地段已看不到部队的踪影了。 傅作义坐立不安，脸色铁青，但就是不说“撤退”二字。 这一天的中午左右，防守东北城角的四三五团李登明营长和大部连长都已牺牲，战士也伤亡过半。敌人就从这个菅的阵地前面，在坦克的掩护下，伴随步兵利用城墙缺口突入城内，其后续部队也蜂拥入城。董其武旅长得知情况后，立即率领预备队驰援，在小东门、小北门之间的大教场、坝陵桥一带与敌人展开激烈的巷战。四三六团二营营长王建业受伤坚持指挥战斗。这个时候，上下级之间、比邻部队之间的通讯联络已全被敌人炮火破坏，彼此隔断，形成了各自为战的混战状态。就这样一直坚持到黄昏后。 天黑了，傅作义接到了南京相机撤退的命令。 太原城南面的城门尚还完整，傅作义一到这里立刻被卷进了溃兵的人流中： 城门跟前，有一部分人正在挪动沙袋，预备开门，但满门洞的人越挤越紧，妨碍着他们的工作。停在门洞外面的，有装甲车、载重车、马匹、驮骡、骆驼；门洞里面，满地是土囊沙袋、踏烂的自行车、挤死的骆驼、死人等等，一绊就倒。有力的猛力向前，绊倒的被践踏在地。有人哭喊叫骂，有人开枪瞎打，简直乱成一锅粥。被踏死踏伤的很多，四三五团少校团副解致信，就是在这里被踏死的。宪兵排长张大个子，腹部被踏起碗大的伤痕，几乎丧了性命。经这一乱，总部的行列只有宪兵第十队队长刘如砺，紧紧的掌握着自己的部队（刘出城后带队抢过汾河桥时被敌人机枪射死），其余都五零四散，自寻出城门路……有从城门缝挤出来的，有从炮兵掩体钻出来的，有从重机枪射击孔爬出来的，还有用绳缒城出来的，五花八门，不一而足。傅作义出城之后，落了个只有特务连排长薛文一人跟随保护。 从守城到失城，太原在极度混乱中仅坚持了四天。 山西抗战，是中国抗战初期规模最大、持续时间最长、战斗最激烈、官兵牺牲最多、战绩也最显著的会战。 但是，太原的最终失守，使得华北的侧翼完全暴露在日军的控制下，华北彻底沦陷的结局已经不可避免。 板垣征四郎的第五师团和川岸文三郎的第二十师团攻占太原的消息，不但令日军华中方面军攻占南京的欲望更加强烈，也令日本政界和军界相信中国臣服之日已为期不远。 日本人充分利用这一筹码，进一步对国民政府施压。 太原陷落一周后，十一月十五日，广田弘毅外相召见美国驻日本大使詹鲁，要求美国人转告蒋介石：“战争再继续的时候，条件就更苛刻了。”德国人也趁势告诫蒋介石：“不要不加考虑”就拒绝日方的条件，依目前局势看，中国就是“尽最大的努力”也无法“将日本的军事胜利扭转过来”。 接着，一个令国民政府压力倍增的消息从东京传来：为了支持更大规模的战争，十一月十七日，日本战时大本营正式设立。 近代以来，日本军人——海军部和陆军部——始终对内阁干涉军事持抵制态度。一九〇八年，日军参谋本部条令规定：“参谋本部掌管国防及用兵事项，参谋总长直属天皇，参画帷幄之军务，掌管国防及用兵计划”。“参谋总长与军令部长，得不经由内阁或内阁总理大臣，可径行上奏天皇”。这种连内阁总理都不得干涉军事，国家军事事务只由陆军的参谋总长和海军的军令部长负责的制度，被称之为“统帅权独立制度”。 卢沟桥事变爆发以来，日军参谋本部曾研究过是否成立大本营一事，但因是否宣战等问题尚未议决而被搁置。随着对中国发动的战争逐渐扩大，设立大本营的建议被内阁再次提出：“大本营作为统一政略、战略机关，是指导战争的最高机关。它不仅仅是统帅机关，而是把大本营中军部大臣处理军政事项的范围扩大，并使之发挥促进军部内外的国务机关协调一致的作用。”然而，建议遭到陆军部和海军部的一致反对，他们认为这将导致内阁干涉军事。但是，战事规模的演变与战场地域的扩大，确需一个确保政令与战令统一的军事大本营为统帅部。于是，海军方面首先松口，表示“如果中国仍旧再高呼抗日，坚持长期抵抗”，成立一个大本营“大概可以”。接着，陆军向海军作出说明，阐述成立大本营对持续战争是必要的，并明确战争事宜将完全由陆军和海军做主：“收拾时局问题等主要政务固在政府，但应先在大本营由陆、海军当局对其基本原则取得一致意见，然后移交政府。”——把军人们的意见“移交政府”，政府实际上只是一个为军方办事的机构——于是，海军同意了。 日军陆军参谋总长和海军军令部长，就设立大本营事宜联合上奏天皇得到批准。十一月十七日“军令第一号制定大本营令”下达： 第一条在天皇旗之下，设最高统帅部，称之为大本营。大本营战时或事变之际，按其必需而设立之。 第二条参谋总长及军令部长各为其幕僚之首长，运筹军务机密，策划作战，基于最终之目的，以图陆、海两军之册应与协同。 大本营的设立，使得日本军人进一步掌控了国家的决策权力。它给世界——特别是中国——发出一个明确的信息，那就是没有任何力量能够阻止或改变日本军国主义者武力征服中国、称霸亚洲乃至世界的决心与意志。 日本方面还是没能得到蒋介石臣服的任何表示。 因此，华中方面军被要求“以其航空部队与海军航空兵力协同，轰炸南京及其要地，并不断表现出进击的气势”，同时“整顿好该方面军新的准备态势，使其攻击南京或其他地区”。——日本政界与军界在此达成一个共识：只要从各个方面不断武力威逼南京，中国政府总有彻底支撑不住的那一刻。 在华北战场上，停止在德州—石家庄一线的日军开始向南推进。谷寿夫的第六师团在平汉路东侧追上了万福麟部的第五十三军，将其击溃；土肥原贤二的第十四师团沿平汉路西侧南下，在石家庄以南的元氏附近与中国军队商震部的第三十二军接战，两天后攻克元氏，接着向南占领了邢台。中国军队第六十七军吴克仁部，为掩护中国军队各部后撤，沿平汉路东侧迎着日军而上，与谷寿夫的第六师团激战两天后，两军对峙于漳河两岸。十月十九日，日军炮兵猛烈轰击漳河南岸，日军步兵化装成中国农民混在难民里偷渡漳河，日军骑兵也发动了强渡，战至二十日上午，漳河南岸中国守军阵地相继失陷。前来增援的第五十二军军长关麟征指挥两个师向日军发动反击，两军在漳河南岸滩头逐渐进入白刃混战状态，第五十二军伤亡士兵达三千以上，日军也伤亡惨重，双方再次形成对峙。由于西面娘子关吃紧，汤恩伯的第十三军奉命入晋。华北战场上平原地势本身就无险可守，平汉路上的中国守军又逐渐兵力单薄，以至于日军长驱直下越过邢台、邯郸，向冀豫交界处的安阳大举进攻。固守安阳的中国军队第一四一、第一四二师连日苦战，官兵伤亡殆尽后，安阳陷落。 日军在华北已经纵贯河北直抵河南在华北的西面，日军攻占了太原。 而在中国的南方，日军占领上海后正向南京逼进。 国民政府承受着难以撑持的军事压力。 然而，一直等着中国屈服的日本人，等来的却是一个晴天霹雳般的消息：中国政府决定迁都。 中国国民政府把首都从南京迁走，这到底意味着什么？ 一九三七年十一月二十日，中国国民政府发布迁都文告： 自卢沟桥事变发生以来，平津沦陷，战事蔓延，国民政府鉴于暴日无止境之侵略，爰决定抗战自卫。全国民众，敌忾同仇，全体将士，忠勇奋发，被侵各省，均有极急剧之奋斗、极壮烈之牺牲。而淞沪一隅，抗战亘于三月，各地将士，闻义赴难，朝命夕至，其在前线，以血肉之躯，筑成壕堑，有死无退。暴日倾其海陆空军之力，连环攻击，阵地虽化煨烬，军心仍如金石。临阵之勇，死事之烈，实足昭示民族独立之精神，而奠定中华复兴之基础。迩者，暴日更肆贪黩，分兵西进，逼我首都，察其用意，无非欲挟其暴力，要我为城下之盟。殊不知我国自决定抗战自卫之日，即已深知此为最后关头，为国家生命计，为民族人格计，为国际信义与世界和平计，皆无屈服之余地。凡有血气，无不具宁为玉碎、不为瓦全之决心。国民政府兹为适应战况、统筹全局、长期抗战起见，本日移驻重庆。此后将以更广大之规模，从事更持久之战斗，以中华人民之众、土地之广、人人本必死之决心，以其热血与土地凝结为一，任何暴力，不能使之分离。吾人外得国际之同情，内有民众之团结，继续抗战，必能达到维护国家民族生存独立之目的。特此宣告，惟共勉之。 蒋介石同时给全国所有部队的军事将领发去了通电： 各战区司令长官、各总司令、各军团长、各军长、师、旅长钧鉴： 密。国民政府为适应战略、统筹全局起见，业于号日（二十日）移驻重庆，公布宣言，谅已周悉。此项措施，在使中央中枢不受敌人暴力之威胁，贯彻我持久抗战之主旨，以打破日寇之妄想与狡谋。我前方军事，不但绝无牵动，必更坚决进行。首脑既臻安固，则手足百体，更能发挥充分之效用；后方展及全国，则军事筹济，更有永久确实之根据。就整个抗战大计而言，实为进一步展开战略之起点。敌人狡恶之企图，已失作用。倾兵深入，其困难必愈甚，而我方主动之地位亦愈强。我前线将士自兹一心杀敌，更无顾虑，宜抱破釜沉舟之决心，益坚最后胜利之自信，寸地尺土，誓以血肉相撑持，积日累时，必陷穷寇于覆灭。遵有计划有步骤之策略，作更坚决更勇敢之奋斗。中正必与我全体将士，共安危、同生死，以尽我革命军人之天职。而策光荣之胜利。其各辗转晓谕，一致奋勉，有厚望焉。Zhongzheng. 面对日本强大的武力侵略，面对日本“狡恶”的政治威胁，除了抱着“破釜沉舟之决心”誓以血肉“撑持”国家的“寸地尺土”之外，蒋介石不可能再有任何别的选择。 布鲁塞尔会议终因开不下去宣布休会了——国联这个国际组织以后再也没有开过会，从此在国际舞台上消失了。但是，对于中国而言，这是一次开比不开更坏的会议，因为会议不但没有形成对日本制裁的任何决议，国民政府的代表甚至没能说服各国“把日本定为侵略国”。 十二月一日，日军参谋本部下达了“大陆命第八号命令”：“华中方面军司令官须与海军协同，攻占敌国首都南京。” 这时，蒋介石的态度突然出现了某些变化——或许是已经获悉再也无法指望布鲁塞尔国际会议，或许是同时获悉了日军决定攻击南京的情报。十二月二日下午，蒋介石在南京召集高级将领会议，研究是否存在与日本进行谈判的可能性。由于此前与日本方面通过“第三者”进行的沟通高度保密，绝大多数高级将领第一次听到了日本方面的议和条件。出乎蒋介石预料，徐永昌、顾祝同等人认为可以在这个基础上谈一谈，而白崇禧说得更直白：“如果只是这些条件，为什么非打仗不可呢？”最后，蒋介石的态度是：既然认为日本人开列的条件并不是亡国的条件，那么让德国作为中间人的谈判可以继续。只是，华北的主权和领土完整定要保证，“开发经济及供给资源可以作相当的让步”；如果日本不能放弃驻兵权，那么只能按照之前《辛丑条约》“规定的区域执行”；另外，“上海恢复八月十三日以前的原状”。当天傍晚，蒋介石再次会见陶德曼，转达了上述立场。 出乎蒋介石预料的是，日本人突然改变了态度。当德国人把中国的立场转告日本方面后，广田弘毅外相十分诡秘地说：“能否在最近取得伟大军事胜利以前所起草的基础上进行谈判有疑问，将在征求军部意见并进行研究后给以答复。” “最近取得伟大军事胜利”，显然指的是攻占南京。 中国抗日战争史上最严峻的时刻到了——尽管国民政府已经宣布迁都，但无论如何南京仍是中国的首都——国都被敌国军队攻击甚至占领，不但是国际关系史上的严重事件，对于被侵略的国家来讲更是一场空前深重的灾难。 南京，中国最具温情色彩的城市。自战国时期的楚国设金陵邑后，三国吴、东晋、南朝宋、齐、梁、陈、五代南唐、明初、太平天国和中华民国，均建都于此，素有十朝古都之称。蒙蒙烟雨中，巍峨的城墙，华美的宫殿，葱茏叠翠的紫金山，秦淮河边亭台之上传出的琵琶套曲，还有遍布在街衢市井中的吴侬软语——这座“江南佳丽地，金陵帝王洲”的千年古都，处处弥漫着一种安然与奢靡相互交映的情致。 一九三七年十二月，中国首都南京即将面对战争的残酷蹂躏。 从政治伦理上讲，中国政府没有任何理由不死守南京。南京城的处长江下游的一个大弯道内侧，东边是紫金山，北边和西边是长江，南部是开阔地带，如此特殊的