Chapter 10 Chapter Nine Fighting for a Decent Ending with Spirit and Flesh

On New Year's Day in 1938, after the Nanjing City Entrance Ceremony was held, the Japanese occupying forces began to welcome the arrival of the New Year.They decorated the tanks that entered the Zhonghua Gate, cut pine branches from the outskirts of Nanjing, and erected the "Kadomatsu" used by the Japanese for the New Year.The cooks in the kitchen began to make rice cakes in large quantities, and the New Year's items were also shipped from Japan: oranges, seaweed, dried squid and Japanese miso.At the New Year's annual meeting, Japanese officers and soldiers held up wine glasses filled with sake and shouted "Long live the Emperor" over and over again.

Only five months after the start of the war, China's Beiping, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Nanjing fell one after another, and large areas of land including most of North China, central and eastern China, Rehe, and Suicha were successively occupied. More than 300,000 people.So, did China lose everything at the beginning of the war, while Japan has already won a decisive victory? Regardless of China or Japan, both sides seem to realize at this time that what they are facing is not so much a military problem as it is a problem of philosophy, politics, sociology and military affairs mixed together.

The core of the question is: What is victory in an engagement? On the second day after the Japanese army captured Nanjing, that is, on December 14, 1937, Japan held a joint meeting of the base camp and the cabinet to discuss how to continue to use Germany as an intermediary to negotiate with China.First of all, we must make a clear judgment: Will China surrender?Is it possible to negotiate?This issue has triggered a confrontation between the peace faction who advocates ending the war in a timely manner and the war faction who advocates continuing to implement a tough policy toward China.The capital of the country has been captured by the Japanese army. Don't the Chinese surrender?The Army insisted that the chances of China capitulating were slim.The Army's judgment was due to the tenacious resistance and the huge casualties it suffered on the battlefield.For this reason, the Chief of Staff specifically stated that the current situation facing Japan urgently needs to "enrich and reorganize" its national defense forces, and foreign countries should try to keep negotiations "uninterrupted."But the cabinet members believed that "we can't waste time waiting for the reply from the Chinese side." If we continue to exert strong force, the national government will collapse completely, and then the war will truly end.The meeting lasted for several days, and the opinions could not be unified. It was not until the participants repeatedly studied the attitude of the Chinese government, especially Chiang Kai-shek, since the Japanese side proposed the negotiation conditions, that they came to the conclusion that "the rhetoric used by China as a defeated country is really disrespectful" conclusion.As a result, the participants unified their stance on continuing to be tough on China.

On the 21st, Japan proposed more stringent negotiating conditions to the Chinese government, the basic content of which was: 1. China should abandon the policies of tolerance of the Communist Party and anti-Japanese anti-communist policy, and assist Japan and Manchuria in their anti-communist policies. 2. Set up demilitarized zones in necessary areas and set up special institutions in various places in the area. 3. Sign a close economic agreement among Japan, Manchuria and China. 4. China should make necessary reparations to the Empire. Additional verbal instructions are: 1. China should show its sincerity in implementing anti-communism.

2. China will send envoys for peace talks to the places designated by Japan within a certain period of time. 3. We consider generally replying within this year. The breakdown of conditions listed are: - China formally recognizes Manchukuo. 2. China abandons anti-Japan and anti-Manchuria policies. 3. Set up demilitarized zones in North China and Inner Mongolia. 4. North China is under the sovereignty of China. In order to realize the co-existence and common prosperity of Japan, Manchuria, and China, appropriate institutions should be set up and given broad authority. In particular, economic cooperation between Japan, Manchuria, and China should be realized.

5. An anti-communist autonomous government should be established in Inner Mongolia, whose international status is similar to that of Outer Mongolia. 6. China must establish an anti-communist policy and assist Japan and Manchuria in their anti-communist policies. 7. Set up a demilitarized zone in the occupied areas in central China, and cooperate with Japan and China to maintain law and order and develop the economy in the Shanghai area. 8. Japan, Manchuria, and China should sign necessary agreements on resource development, tariffs, trade, aviation, and communications. 9. China should make necessary reparations to the Empire.

Dividing and occupying Chinese territory, enslaving the Chinese regime, carrying out economic plunder, and ultimatum to the invaders to pay "necessary compensation" to those who looted by force. Japanese right-wing politicians and soldiers continue the way of thinking of the "Great Japanese Empire" in modern times. They believe that the Japanese army Wherever the iron hooves go, other countries will bow their heads and surrender—"China will send peace envoys to places designated by Japan within a certain period of time"—that is to say, within the time limit set by the Japanese, the Chinese must fly the white flag Go to the designated place to seek peace with Japan.

Dixon, the German ambassador to Japan, believed that: "These conditions far exceed the conditions of November 2" and it is "extremely difficult for the Chinese government to accept."The answer of Foreign Minister Koki Hirota was: "The military situation has changed, and there is pressure from public opinion. There is no other solution." The German Foreign Ministry forwarded Dixon's report to Taudman.Taudman asked to meet with Chiang Kai-shek, but was told that Chiang Kai-shek was "ill."Kong Xiangxi and Song Meiling met with Toddman. The two were first "extremely surprised" by the conditions listed by Japan, and then made it clear: "If the effort to hold peaceful negotiations is unsuccessful, China will continue to resist to the end, and even cause the country's economy to collapse. It doesn’t matter if the people fall into the arms of Russia.” China’s attitude made the Germans very embarrassed.Taudman continued to persuade the national government, and even warned that if the conditions of the Japanese were not agreed, the relationship between Germany and China might deteriorate.However, there was no reply from the Chinese side.

Without seeing Chiang Kai-shek, and without any valuable information from the Chinese government, Japanese politicians gradually became anxious.The Japanese Army Staff Headquarters worked hard to inquire, and only sporadically obtained the following information: 1. Dixon sent a telegram to Taudman in the evening after his meeting with Foreign Minister Hirota Koki, requesting an immediate reply from the Chinese government; General Howe has clearly advised Chiang Kai-shek to accept the conditions proposed by Japan; 3. The Chinese embassy in Tokyo said that they knew nothing about the domestic position and attitude; As to whether there is any answer to the conditions listed by Japan, Zhang Qun's answer is very Chinese: "It is still under study."

The Japanese are full of confusion and resentment. On January 11, the Emperor presided over the Imperial Council. ——"This kind of imperial meeting is the first time since the Russo-Japanese War." Attending the meeting were the commanders-in-chief of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of the Navy, the head of the General Staff, the deputy minister, and all cabinet ministers, "and the chairman of the Privy Council was specially invited to attend."The meeting finally determined the "Basic Policy for Handling China's Incidents". ".2. "If the Chinese central government does not come to seek peace, the empire will not use this government as the object of resolving incidents in the future. It will support the establishment of a new Chinese regime, sign an agreement with this regime to adjust the diplomatic relations between the two countries, and assist the newborn China. Construction. The imperial policy of the present central government of China is to seek its collapse and its integration into a new central power".

The next day, Japanese Foreign Minister Kensuke Horiuchi met with Dixon and said: "I hope to do my best to get the Chinese government to reply immediately. If no reply is received by the 15th, the Japanese government will have to reserve the freedom of action. Japan The time limit for reply has been relaxed again and again, but it is no longer possible to wait for two or more than three days. Also, the word "reply" means to express a clear attitude or to ask a clear question about each item. The so-called "is The 'responses in the study' are not enough." On the 13th, the Chinese side finally got an answer, and it was still "studying", but this time it became "studying carefully": After due consideration, we feel that the range of conditions that have changed is too broad.Therefore, the Chinese government hopes to know the nature and content of these newly proposed conditions, so as to study them carefully and make a definite decision. What exactly do Chinese people mean by "research"? On the 15th, the last day of the deadline, Japan once again held a joint meeting. At the meeting, the war faction and the peace faction quarreled even more fiercely.The main fighters believe that China has no sincerity. Even if Chiang Kai-shek is no longer an opponent and the Nationalist government is abandoned, it must use strong force until China completely surrenders.The peace faction believes that because of the deadline set by Japan unilaterally, "the whole country has neither made up its mind nor fully prepared to enter a long-term war with a bleak future."Foreign Minister Koki Hirota said: "China's reply is very similar to Japan's seeking peace with China. Speaking of it, the conditions for peace should have been proposed by China, but the result is that although Japan knows the basic However, the Chinese side did not express its opinion, but asked the Japanese side to explain the conditions. I think this can only show that the Chinese side is not sincere and is adopting a policy of delay.” The cabinet members immediately said: the foreign minister’s opinion is trustworthy, if the staff headquarters does not To trust the foreign minister means not to trust the government, and the government has no choice but to resign.The General Staff Headquarters considered that "the collapse of the government will have bad effects both internally and externally," so it had to "accept acquiescence and not object" to the cabinet's opinion.That night, the hard line of the war faction was presented to the emperor.The emperor asked several very practical questions, which made both the war faction and the peace faction realize that at this time, facing China, whether war or peace, is not just a military issue: 1. In the south, there are still Chinese forces The anti-Japanese army, what is the Japanese army going to do?2. Does the regime in North China that has already been supported have to be borne by Japan?3. How to deal with guerrilla tactics?4. It is said that the army has thought of "a solution to deal with it as best as possible". What's going on? On the 16th, the Japanese cabinet issued the following statement: "...the imperial government will not take the national government as its opponent in the future, but expects the establishment and development of a new Chinese regime that can really cooperate with the imperial government, and will adjust the diplomatic relations between the two countries with this new regime. Help build a revived new China..." The so-called "not taking the Nationalist government as an opponent" means that Japan no longer recognizes the Nationalist government as the Chinese government, and the Nationalist government that cannot represent China is at best a regime in exile.All subsequent diplomatic negotiations between Japan and China have nothing to do with the Nationalist government. Japan only has "diplomatic relations" with the "new regime" they supported in China, that is, the puppet regime. On the 18th, the Japanese government ordered Shigeru Kawagoe, the Japanese ambassador to China, to return home. The Nationalist government immediately ended its "research" and ordered the Chinese ambassador to Japan, Xu Shiying, to return home.At the same time, it announced: "Under any circumstances, the Chinese government will do its utmost to maintain the integrity of China's territorial sovereignty and administration. Any method of restoring peace that is not based on this is absolutely unbearable to China. At the same time, in the Japanese-occupied areas, If any illegal organization steals power, it will be absolutely invalid, both internally and externally." The so-called "Taudman mediation" ended here. China and Japan announced the severance of diplomatic relations. "Don't take the national government as an opponent" - it is impossible for the Japanese to realize that they will pay a huge historical price for their arrogance and ignorance. From a diplomatic point of view, Japan's arrogance and ambition have aroused the vigilance of the international community since it announced its withdrawal from the League of Nations.After the Japanese army occupied Nanjing, the capital of China, and announced the support of the puppet regime in Peking, the international community foresaw the danger of violent Japanese militarism. Britain, the United States, France and other countries considered this: Is it necessary to form a united front to curb the momentum of Japanese fascism?The Soviet Union, which Japan has always been "very fearful" of, began to openly and large-scale aid China's War of Resistance Against Japan at this time.When Nanjing fell, the Soviet Union gave China 80 115mm heavy artillery, 100 76mm field guns, 80 37mm anti-tank guns, 900 light and heavy machine guns, and destroyer aircraft. Sixty-two, and a large number of shells and bullets.At the same time, the Soviet Union also sent to China pilots who directly participated in operations, military advisers and instructors who assisted in guiding operations.Since 1938, the Soviet Union has provided China with loans of up to 250 million U.S. dollars to purchase 600 Soviet fighter planes and equip 20 infantry divisions. The Japanese exclaimed: "The Soviet Union provided material and technical assistance to China to fight against Japan. At the same time, it sought to strengthen the Far East's combat readiness to contain Japan from the north, and successfully divided the Japanese army's combat power into two. In other words, Japan fell into the trap of the Soviet Union's Far East strategy." .” In fact, it was not the Soviet Union but China that really made Japan fall into the quagmire of war from which it was ultimately impossible to break free. After the fall of Pingjin and Shanghai Nanjing, China not only did not surrender, on the contrary, the determination of the Chinese government to resist the war became firmer, and the will of the Chinese people to resist the war became stronger.When the Chinese claimed that they wanted to "study", they had already thoroughly studied the prospect of war, that is: dragging the Japanese invaders into the depths of China's vast land until the resource-poor island nation was completely dragged down.Although there are always people in Japan's political and military circles who strive to avoid being dragged into a protracted war, on the whole, the Japanese cannot overcome the long-standing "strong preconceived views of contempt for China" and "belittling the vast majority of China." China's national strength and the movements of the awakened people."This kind of "judgment like arteriosclerosis" presumes to be superior and upholds the arrogance of "seeing the opponent as weak and not taking the opponent's strength and activities seriously".Of course, there are times when the Japanese have to face reality, but their thinking at this time is also Japanese: "War is a relative thing, and there can be no one-man sumo." ——It won't take long, count on China The Japanese in the puppet regime will find that what they are doing is a "single-man sumo". From a military point of view, in the five months since China and Japan went to war, no matter what their views on the prospect of war are, at least when 1938 comes, the international community generally believes that the view that "Japan will be defeated by China" is a bluff.The reason is simple: the Chinese economy does not have the industry to support modern warfare, the Chinese society is not a modern society, and the Chinese military is not a modern army. China's adversary, Japan, commented five months after the war broke out: China's present army consists of more than 200 divisions, including many infantry regiments, with a total of more than 2 million soldiers.However, it is impossible to find a division that can be called a modern army and has modern equipment.Occasionally one or two brigades or regiments are better, but strictly speaking they are still outdated.During the 1.28 Shanghai War, although some lower-level cadres and soldiers were brave, this was just an accidental discovery, and they cannot be recognized as modern soldiers.The Chinese military must never, and will never, do so.Even if led by Napoleon's genius, it cannot be used.The Chinese army is completely centered on infantry, and it is still a colonial tactic, that is, a South American tactic.The weakness of the Chinese military is well known: China's top generals are ignorant and arrogant.China's coastal defense is equal to zero. In a war, Japan only needs to send a few warships to immediately blockade China's coastline, from Shantou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo, Shanghai, Yantai, all the way to Tianjin, and occupy all of China with only a small force. The economic center left him helpless and helpless.China has no air defense equipment. As long as the mobilization order is issued, Japanese aircraft can blow up all important cities in China within the shortest period of time.The Chinese army has no combat capabilities, and the Japanese can run rampant everywhere as long as they have three divisions. For example, in the Battle of Rehe, Chengde was occupied by only one company. Such comments are at least on the surface true. In January 1938, Chiang Kai-shek resigned from many part-time jobs and became the chairman of the Military Commission full-time.He flew to the front line of Kaifeng, Henan, and convened a meeting of military generals from the first and fifth theaters, focusing on summarizing the experience and lessons of the Chinese army in combat.Chiang Kai-shek’s speech lasted for two full days. Although Jiang’s prose, eloquent, and long-winded characteristics, his parents taught him the anger of unworthy descendants and the frankness of daring to face his own ugliness, which made his speech full of connotations. A lot of social and historical information and worth reading. Chiang Kai-shek first checked whether the senior generals who attended the meeting carried the "Infantry Exercise Code" and "Command Outline". As a result, among dozens of senior generals, only two carried the "Infantry Exercise Code", and none of them carried the "Command Outline" . "Everyone does not carry the basic books for commanding troops like this with them. They study and use them at any time. Why should they fight and resist enemies with new weapons?" Extending from this question, Chiang Kai-shek listed China's Twelve Achilles' heels of most troops: 1. Senior generals lack the excellent skills of wisdom and the spirit of hard work, and junior officers and soldiers lack training in new tactics. Second, military discipline is in shambles.As an army this is the number one scourge! Three, the general lack of hatred of the enemy, especially in senior officers! Fourth, lack of the spirit and technology of coordinated operations. Fifth, senior generals lack the determination to sacrifice. Sixth, the chief does not know how to inspire a sense of integrity and shame, and teach war with shame. 7. Failure to carry out orders. 8. Lazy and negligent, unable to determine the truth of the enemy's situation, not reviewing the battle process, ordering advance and retreat, and taking it lightly. 9. Senior generals lack firm self-confidence, and officers cannot share weal and woe with soldiers. 10. Weapons and ammunition equipment are only supported by the rear, and they are replenished without knowing the front, because the food is in the enemy's hands. 11. Lack of "private habits" - the use of telecommunications management is not strict, and it is easy to leak military information. 12. The general army lacks political training. Then Chiang Kai-shek, in the harshest terms, began to attack the most persistent defect of the Nationalist army, namely, that the local militarized forces put the country at risk in order to preserve their strength: ... Now we have lost a lot of land and sacrificed a lot of lives and properties. It is not because the enemy has paid a huge price and forced it in. It is because some of our senior generals are still waiting to move forward, trying to protect their strength and not working hard. Don't cooperate, so the enemy dares to come in!If you try to ask yourself, you will know that my words do not wrong you!To be honest, as long as we do not retreat, the enemy will not dare to advance; as long as we do not abandon our positions, the enemy will not be able to invade our territory.If we can die for our country like Commander Hao Mengling, Deputy Commander Tong Linge, Commander Liu Jiaqi, Commander Zhao Dengyu and other martyrs, and carry forward the attacking spirit of the revolutionary army, no matter how stubborn the enemy is, No matter how powerful the weapon is, we can destroy him and eliminate him... Therefore, we have to reflect on the failures of the past few months... It is not because our lower-level officers and soldiers are unwilling to sacrifice, but because our senior generals have no determination, or There is determination but not enough determination.In other words, among our senior generals, with a despicable mentality of preserving strength, regardless of the survival of the country and the life and death of the nation, they just retreated on the lookout and led the troops to retreat step by step.How can our country lose so much land, so much life and property, but our troops still exist, we ask ourselves, how to be worthy of the country, how to be worthy of the ancestors!What good is it that we have saved many troops?In this way, the soldiers do not fight, and the soldiers defend themselves. If the country dies in the future, will we die differently?For example, the puppet troops in the four eastern provinces were forced by the Japanese to go to Shanxi and Shanghai to beat up their compatriots. If you are afraid of death and you don’t fight, he will shoot you with a machine gun behind your back first, and then kill them all. Your whole family... When the life and death of this country and the nation are at stake, if we don't get rid of this outdated thinking of preserving strength, wash away this despicable and shameless mentality of subjugation, and support our troops for self-defense, we will definitely follow the same path as the puppet troops of the four eastern provinces , To be oppressed by the enemy to destroy the tombs of our ancestors, slaughter our own compatriots, and exterminate the lives of our descendants, there is really no place to live, no place to die, worse than slaves and cattle and horses! Chiang Kai-shek announced the "Ten Kill Order" on the spot: 1. Imprisonment for minor injuries and self-retirement! 2. Kill the fugitive with the fake injury picture! 3. Those who retreat without orders will be killed! 4. Those who trespass into private houses will be killed! 5. Kill the extortionist by force! 6. Those who molest women will be killed! 7. Those who report false information will be killed! 8. Those who spread rumors to confuse the public and disrupt order will be killed! 9. If the soldiers do not advance, those who fail to obey the order will be killed! 10. Sit back and watch friendly troops kill without assistance! Chiang Kai-shek's anger and anxiety stemmed from the fact that when the Central Plains was facing a major war, most of the Central Army in the Chinese army had relatively better weapons and equipment and combat capabilities, and most of the troops were in urgent need of repairs due to serious damage in the battles in Songhu and Nanjing. At this moment, on the battlefield of the Central Plains, he has no soldiers to deploy except relying on the troops of the local warlords. If you want to win the world, compete in the Central Plains. The Central Plains has been a battleground for Chinese military strategists since ancient times. After the fall of Nanjing, the Japanese army staying in the northern section of Jinpu Road and the Japanese army staying in the Shanghai-Nanjing area were separated by the Central Plains.Therefore, the Japanese army was eager to open up the Jinpu Road—the Japanese army in North China went south along the Jinpu Road, and the Japanese army in Nanjing went north along the Jinpu Road—to completely penetrate the Central Plains, so that the Japanese army can freely move from north to south and from east to west. Along Jinpu Road, the main point of the Central Plains is Xuzhou. Xuzhou is located between the Yellow River and the Huaihe River. It is the hub of the north-south Jinpu Railway and the east-west Longhai Railway. It occupies the hub of the four provinces of Shandong, Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu. It is actually an important town in Huaibei.Except for the mountains in the southeast, Xuzhou is surrounded by plains on three sides, with the tributaries of the Huaihe River densely covered in it, and the Grand Canal running from north to south.The capital of Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, is almost safe to defend. However, hundreds of large-scale wars have occurred since the Qin Dynasty. "Lu Yanzhe" is only because "Xuzhou's gains and losses determine the outcome".As far as the Chinese army is concerned, in the north-south direction, controlling Xuzhou can isolate the Japanese troops in Pingjin and Nanjing;As far as the Japanese army is concerned, the capture of Xuzhou can connect the northern and southern battlefields into one, and the southeastern part of China will be in its pocket; It can go west "straight to Xi'an". After the negotiations to force China to submit were suspended, Japan had to face the choice of expanding the scale of the war.On January 12, 1938, Japanese Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro delivered a policy speech, advocating that in order to completely surrender China, a national general warfare system must be established.In February, the Japanese Army General Staff Headquarters formulated the "Showa Military System Construction Outline", which specifically explained the general war concept as "the power of the country to carry out the war."In March, Japan passed the "National General Mobilization Law", requiring that in view of "the long-term persistence of the incident in China", especially the "movement" that the Soviet Union has cooperated with China, the Japanese Army must have 60 divisions.In April, Japan announced the allocation of 4.8 billion yen as a temporary military budget, which made Japan's war budget in 1938 as high as 8 billion yen. As far as the course of the war itself is concerned, the most difficult thing for the Japanese side is the shortage of troops.Although the Japanese General Staff Headquarters realized that sixty divisions were indeed needed to deal with the war, it also understood "the disproportionateness of national strength, economic strength, scientific and technological strength, and the number of cadres."Especially for newly formed troops, it is necessary to go through the whole process of recruitment, training, drills, actual combat, etc., in order to ensure the achievement of military orders in terms of combat skills and military quality.Therefore, the conclusion of the General Staff Headquarters is "extremely difficult."This view led to at least the beginning of 1938, the dispute between the Japanese army headquarters and the generals of the Japanese invaders.The focus of the dispute is: whether to fight in one go on the Chinese battlefield? "Since the end of the 12th year of Showa (1937), the North China Front Army has stated to the central government many times that in order to connect North China and Central China, it will carry out the Xuzhou Operation and exert coercion on the enemy in Wuhan, thereby occupying the stronghold on the right bank of the Yellow River. The importance of (Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, etc.).” The Tokyo Base Camp believes that before ensuring the formation of six new divisions, “absolutely no new operations” will be carried out, and only “the principle of strengthening the posture” will be used; After the end, "carry out a thorough and active battle, and seek to solve the incident in one fell swoop." …The local army, especially the North China Front Army, made such a strong request for the operation along the Jinpu line to connect the north and the south, and Umezu (Umezu Yoshijiro) Army Vice-Minister also strongly advocated it from the perspective of the new regime’s integration of the north and the south and other political strategies.However, starting from the overall goal of resolving the incident, no matter how small the scale is, even if the operation can be successful, in order to ensure the stability of the area, it is estimated that at least four divisions will be needed, so I gave up... …At Zhengzhou and Kaifeng on the south bank of the Yellow River, we are fighting to establish a foothold and to expand and expand Hankou in the future. The North China Front Army has this urgent hope. However, it was not adopted... In order to threaten Hankou, the navy hoped to capture Anqing so that it could use its airfield to bomb the interior of China.The Ministry of the Army also expressed support for this.However, after considering the capture, the connection between Anqing and Wuhu also required a considerable amount of troops and was also stopped. Terauchi, the commander of the North China Front Army, was very dissatisfied with Tokyo's prudence, and instructed Kawabe Shozo, the head of the Operations Section of the Front Army, to call Kawabe Torashiro, the head of the Operations Section of the General Staff Headquarters, to argue: On the north side of Longhai Road on the east and west sides of Xuzhou, including the west area of ​​the lakes and swamps in Shandong, there are tens of thousands of Chinese troops who have not been hit by our army. Using this as a base, plainclothes teams are often sent to sneak into our first Behind the line, attack everywhere.The front line, which has been attacked almost overnight, is getting exhausted.In this regard, from the perspective of military self-defense, it is necessary to strike hard at the above-mentioned enemy bases at an appropriate time.Especially in the area south of Jinan, we believe that the situation has reached the point where we have to go beyond the current occupation line to carry out counterattack operations.Please allow room for action on this point. The General Staff Headquarters in Tokyo knew very well that the so-called "attack overnight" was just a fabricated reason by the North China Front Army, so the tone of the reply was quite severe: Since there is no clear natural barrier to rely on, and facing a defeated enemy with a huge advantage in numbers, it is not difficult to imagine the situation described by Guidian.However, what we should consider is not to be induced by the enemy to cause the war to expand and all troops to be restrained, and to prevent the national army (domestic army) from comprehensively reorganizing and reorganizing to adapt to the next step... In the south of the currently occupied area, even if it is Offensive actions in self-defense resulted in the expansion of the occupied area and the containment of more troops. According to the general policy established by the central government, it is absolutely unacceptable. Please understand. However, the Japanese generals in the Chinese field decided to ignore the opinions of the base camp.The Central China Front Army occupying Nanjing believed that they had the ability to send troops to go north along Jinpu Road to cooperate with the North China Japanese Army; ——The generals of the Japanese invaders stubbornly believed that as long as they intensified their strikes and wiped out the main force of the Chinese army, the day when the northern and southern Japanese armies joined forces would be the time for the Chinese government to surrender. The order to continue fighting south was issued recklessly. At the beginning of 1938, the battle order of the Japanese North China Front Army was as follows: Commander: General Kotobuki in the temple. First Army, Lieutenant General Xiang Yueqing Division Commander.Jurisdiction over the 14th Division, Lieutenant General Kenji Doihara, head of the division; Lieutenant General Fumisaburo Kawagishi, head of the 20th Division; Lieutenant General Shimomoto Kumaya, head of the 108th Division; The 109th Division, Lieutenant General Yamaoka Shigehara; the Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Independent Machine Gun Battalions; the First and Fifth Independent Light Armored Vehicle Companies; the Second Tank Battalion; the First and Third Independent Mountain Artillery Regiments ; Second Field Heavy Artillery Brigade; Eighth Independent Field Heavy Artillery Regiment; Third and Fifth Mortar Battalions. Lieutenant General Hisao Nishio, Commander of the Second Army.Jurisdiction over the Fifth Division, Lieutenant General Itagaki Seishiro; the Tenth Division, Lieutenant General Isoya Rensuke; the Sixth and Twelfth Independent Machine Gun Battalions; the Tenth and Twelfth Independent Light Armored Vehicle Companies; First Field Heavy Artillery Brigade. The troops directly under the North China Front Army: 16th Division, Commander Lieutenant General Nakajima Kinzago; 114th Division, Division Commander Lieutenant General Sue Matsushige; The fourth and fifth independent mixed brigades. Lieutenant General Tokugawa Yoshitoshi, commander of the Provisional Air Corps.Jurisdiction over the first and fourth flying regiments; the third and ninth independent flying squadrons; the sixth field artillery team. In order to prevent the Japanese army from occupying Xuzhou and pass through the Central Plains, and open up the most important Jinpu railway line in eastern China, the Chinese side established the fifth theater during the Songhu battle, in order to be responsible for the war in southern Shandong and northern Jiangsu.In the fifth war zone, Chiang Kai-shek served concurrently as the commander-in-chief, and Han Fuju as the deputy commander-in-chief.However, because the battle in Songhu was critical, the troops in the area were ordered to rush to help, and the Fifth Theater was abolished on the day it was established.Until October 16, the fifth war zone was established again, with Li Zongren as the commander.The area under the jurisdiction of the fifth war zone: north to the south bank of the Yellow River in Jinan, south to the north bank of the Pukou Yangtze River, and east from the Wusongkou of the Yangtze River to the coast of the Yellow River mouth. Regarding the operation in the Xuzhou direction, Chiang Kai-shek considered it from the perspective of defending Wuhan: "Our military strategy now is to maintain the Jinpu Railway in the east and the Daoqing (Daokou to Qinghua) Railway in the north to consolidate the core foundation of Wuhan... …If our army wants to consolidate these two railways, we must not stay on the defensive. We must actively take the offensive against the enemy who threatens our army, maintain an active position at all times, attack the enemy, and trap the enemy in a passive position. The two railways of Daoqing and Qing Dynasty came to shield Wuhan." Based on this, the Military Commission of the Nationalist Government formulated a detailed operational guidance plan. The first part is to strengthen Luzhong and Huainan, actively harass and lure the main force of the enemy to the Jinpu Railway, so as to delay the enemy's crossing of the Jiangxi; The first theater in the direction of Pinghan Road, the third theater in the direction of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and troops from each of the two theaters were transferred to the fifth theater. Order of Operations in China's Fifth Theater: Commander Li Zongren, Chief of Staff Xu Zuyi. The Third Army, Commander-in-Chief Sun Tongxuan.Jurisdiction: Twelfth Army, Army Commander Sun Tongxuan (concurrently).Jurisdiction over the 20th Division, commander Sun Tongxuan (concurrently); the 22nd Division, commander Gu Liangmin; the 81st Division, commander Zhan Shutang; the 28th Brigade (Pistol Brigade), brigade commander Wu Huawen. The fifty-fifth army, commander Cao Fulin.Jurisdiction over the twenty-ninth division, division commander Cao Fulin (concurrently); seventy-fourth division, division commander Li Hanzhang. Twenty-fourth Army, Commander-in-Chief Han Deqin.Jurisdiction: The fifty-seventh army, commander Miao Chengliu.Jurisdiction over the 111th Division, the teacher Chang Enduo; the 112th Division, the teacher Huo Shouyi. Eighty-ninth Army, Commander Han Deqin (concurrently).Jurisdiction over the 33rd Division, the division commander Han Deqin (concurrently); the 117th division, the division commander Li Shouwei. The 22nd Army, Commander-in-Chief Deng Xihou (later Sun Zhen).Jurisdiction: The 41st Army, Commander Sun Zhen.Jurisdiction over the first and second divisions, the division commander Wang Mingzhang; the first and second fourth divisions, the division commander Shui Tiqing (on behalf of). Forty-fifth Army, Commander Chen Dingxun.Jurisdiction over the 125th Division, the division commander Wang Shijun; the 127th division, the division commander Chen Li. The Third Legion, Pang Bingxun, the head of the legion.Jurisdiction: Fortieth Army, Commander Pang Bingxun (concurrently).Jurisdiction over the thirty-ninth division, the division commander Ma Fawu. Eleventh Army, Commander-in-Chief Li Pinxian.Jurisdiction: The 31st Army, Commander Liu Shiyi.Jurisdiction over the 1st 31st Division, teacher Qin Lianfang; 135th Division, teacher Su Zuxin; 138th Division, teacher Mo Dehong. The 21st Army, Commander-in-Chief Liao Lei.Jurisdiction: The Seventh Army, Commander Zhou Zuhuang.Jurisdiction over the 170th Division, the division commander Xu Qiming; the 171st Division, the division commander Yang Junchang; the 172nd Division, the division commander Cheng Shufen. Forty-eighth Army, Commander Wei Yunsong.Jurisdiction over the 173rd Division, headed by He Weizhen; the 174th Division, headed by Zhang Guangwei; the 176th Division, headed by Ou Shounian. Twenty-seventh Legion, Legion Commander Zhang Zizhong.Jurisdiction: The fifty-ninth army, commander Zhang Zizhong (concurrently).Jurisdiction over the 38th Division, the division commander Huang Weigang; the 180th division, the division commander Liu Zhensan. The fifty-first army, commander Yu Xuezhong.Jurisdiction over the 113th Division, the teacher Zhou Xianlie; the 114th Division, the teacher Mou Zhongheng. Twenty-seventh Army, Commander-in-Chief Yang Sen.Jurisdiction: The 20th Army, Commander Yang Sen (concurrently).Jurisdiction over the 133rd Division, the division commander Yang Hanyu; the 134th division, the division commander Yang Hanzhong. The Fifth Theater of the Chinese Army has twenty-nine divisions attached to one brigade, with a total strength of about 288,000 troops. Among the troops forming the Fifth Theater, Deng Xihou and Yang Sen belonged to the Sichuan Army, Han Deqin's troops were reorganized from the Jiangsu Security Team, Pang Bingxun and Zhang Zizhong belonged to the Northwest Army, Li Pinxian and Liao Lei belonged to the Gui Army, Yu Xuezhong belonged to the former Northeast Army, Sun Tongxuan Subordinate Shandong troops - the above local troops are all under the command of Li Zongren, the leader of the Gui army.Li Zongren was full of complaints about this: "These troops have long been listed by the central government as 'miscellaneous troops', and they have been deliberately eliminated, not to mention the replenishment of food, salaries and ammunition. Therefore, the number of these troops is insufficient. Training and morale Compared with the troops fighting in Shanghai at that time, these troops are really third- or fourth-class goods..." The generals of the miscellaneous army were also panicked: "On the one hand, they are agitated by the righteous indignation of the nation's struggle for survival, and they all want to fight with the日军一拼；一面却顾虑部队作战损失之后，不仅得不到中央器械兵员的补充，恐还要被申斥作战不力，甚或撤职查办，并将其部队番号撤销，成为光杆一根，即无以谋生。因此都怀着沉重惶惑的心情。” 日军华北方面军和华中方面军决定以既成事实迫使东京大本营屈从他们的意愿。他们的战略设想是：华北方面军的第十师团和第五师团，分别沿着津浦铁路和潍台公路（潍县至台儿庄）南下，为主攻方向；华中方面军的第九师团沿津浦路，佐藤支队（隶属第一〇—师团第一〇—旅团）沿运河北上，为牵制方向。同时，华北方面军第十四师团由濮阳南渡黄河经鲁西南，再向西直趋开封和郑州；华中方面军第十三师团北渡淮河后直趋豫皖交界处的永城和黄口，截断陇海铁路。 第五战区根据军事委员会“对由津浦路南段前进之敌，须固守徐蚌两要地，非有命令不得撤退”的命令，于二月三日下达了作战令：“战区决对津浦南段之敌，拒止于淮河以南地区，由其侧方连续予以打击，渐次驱除肃清之，同时巩固鲁南山地。对津浦北段及陇海东段取侧击之势，牵制敌之南下或西上，以拱卫徐州。” 中国军队在津浦路南北两端同时进行的作战，拉开了徐州会战的序幕。 战斗首先从津浦路南段爆发的原因，来自日军占领南京后的狂妄。当时，津浦路南段直到长江浦口，几乎没有中国军队防守，日军以为这里的中国军队已被消灭，沿津浦路北上仅是一次行军而已。 李宗仁虽有兵力匮乏之忧，但他对津浦路防御的认识是清醒的。他认为，日军攻占南京后，之所以没有西进武汉，就是因为受到北面津浦路方向的牵制。因此，日军必会首先消除侧背的威胁，那么津浦路防御实际上是为保卫武汉赢得时间。 李宗仁将刘士毅的第三十一军调到了津浦路南段的滁州、明光一线阻击日军。这一线，明光的西北面是津浦路上的蚌埠，滁州的南面就是长江北岸的浦口了。中国陆军第三十一军隶属于第十一集团军，是桂系部队。第十一集团军原本还辖第七军和第四十八军，但这两个军投入淞沪战场后被编为第二十一集团军，因此第十一集团军总司令李品仙手里只有第三十一军了。李品仙是广西人，毕业于保定军校。早年追随湘军将领唐生智，参加过北伐战争。唐生智在宁汉交战中与李宗仁部打仗，败北后李品仙接受了桂系改编。但是，蒋桂战争随后爆发，他又重回唐生智麾下。接着蒋介石与唐生智又打了起来，唐生智败了，他应李宗仁之邀再次加入桂系。因此，尽管李品仙不是李宗仁的嫡系，但也算得上是桂系干将，属于李宗仁的“亲兵”。 桂军以死打硬拼闻名。 当日军第十三师团沿津浦路开始向北推进时，受到了中国陆军第三十一军的顽强阻击。第三十一军官兵利用有利地形死守，同时不断派出小股部队实施袭扰性反击，竟与兵力多于自己数倍的日军纠缠了一个多月。日军得知当面仅仅是一股广西部队时，大感意外，认为被这样一群武器简陋的广西人阻击月余，简直是日本陆军的耻辱。 李宗仁对桂军的表现非常满意，命令第三十一军“始终钉住津浦线，使敌军不能北进”。 但是，当日军从南京调来坦克和重炮后，第三十一军顶不住了，明光很快失守。接着，日军第十三师团兵分三路同时推进：第二十六旅团从明光北渡池河，沿津浦路向蚌埠推进；第十三师团主力从滁县出发，北渡池河后经由凤阳向蚌埠推进；第六十五联队从浦口以西的全椒出发，迂回津浦路西侧掩护主力北上。后撤中的中国军队第三十一军奉命在蚌埠西面的铁路一带侧击日军，并以一部兵力于战场正面的池河与淮河间逐次抵抗以迟滞日军的推进。但是，三路日军协同发起的攻势极其凶猛，二月一日日军占领临淮关，二日占领蚌埠、凤阳和定远，其前锋已抵进淮河南岸。九日，一部日军强渡了淮河。 如果让日军主力渡过淮河，津浦路南段的中国军队将无险可守。 李宗仁将防守淮河的任务交给了于学忠的第五十一军。 于学忠，山东蓬莱人。早年在北洋军中供职，是直系军阀吴佩孚的爱将。吴佩孚在北伐战争中兵败后，于学忠追随张学良的奉系，因屡建战功深受信任和重用。在河北省府主席任上，面对日本人的劝降利诱不为所动，多次遭到未遂暗杀。被排挤出华北后，他率第五十一军进入陕西和甘肃。及至中日全面战争爆发，他的部队被调往江苏淮阴一带，整编为第一一三师和第一一四师，驻防青岛。日军逼近黄河北岸，青岛失去防御意义，他又奉命率部转向津浦路方向。于学忠久经沙场，作风硬朗，他的第五十一军虽仅有两师，但东北军官兵因家破人亡战斗意志格外强劲。 于学忠率部在五河至蚌埠间布防，这是一条东西走向的防线，所扼守的淮河河段正对着北上的日军。官兵们还在赶修工事的时候，就与攻占临淮关后企图强渡淮河的日军接上了火，激战四小时后，强渡的日军被第一一四师官兵击退。之前日军占领蚌埠时，中国守军仓促间炸毁了淮河大桥，但没能毁坏停泊在淮河南岸的数百艘民船。二月三日，北上日军利用抢来的民船和自带的橡皮艇，在飞机和火炮的掩护下再次强渡淮河，遭到第一一四师第三四二旅的顽强阻击，被打死在淮河中的日军不下三四百人，但仍有一部分日军渡过了淮河。四日早晨，第一一三师赶到战场，与第一一四师一起发起反击，硬将渡过淮河的那部分日军赶回了南岸。但是，日军第二十六旅团一部绕道蚌埠以西渡河成功，攻占了怀远并进抵涡河。于学忠紧急调整部署，命令第一一三师和安徽保安二团防守小蚌埠镇直至怀远、涡河一线阵地，命令第一一四师在第一一三师的左翼防守临淮关北岸至西门渡的阵地。 小蚌埠镇位于蚌埠以北的淮河北岸。八日，二十余架日军战机密集地轰炸了小蚌埠镇，然后千余日军步兵在猛烈的炮火准备后，再次强渡淮河。第一一三师第三三七旅官兵拼命抗击，两次击退强渡的日军。日军无奈，实施夜间强渡，一度登上淮河北岸，攻占了小蚌埠镇。第一师师长周先烈命令六七四团团长梁忠武率部反击，双方激战至凌晨一时，六七四团官兵将日军击退，夺回小蚌埠镇。十日拂晓，日军再次发动攻击，六七四团昼夜战斗伤亡过半，小蚌埠镇阵地失守。军长于学忠亲临前线，命令第三三九旅组织敢死队反击。旅长窦光殿亲率敢死队身先士卒，东北军官兵即刻与日军扭打成一团，惨烈的肉搏战持续了数个小时，日军的尸体横陈于小蚌埠镇内，被赶下淮河淹死的日军也在数百人以上。小蚌埠镇反击战进行的同时，数千日军从东面的临淮关强行渡河，一度攻占了淮河北岸的几个村庄，第一一四师师长牟中珩、第三四二旅旅长李雨霖率部发起反击，将失守的村庄一一夺回。十一日，已坚守阵地近十个昼夜的中国守军迎来了战斗最血腥的一天，日军的飞机、重炮和坦克持续轰炸和轰击，第五十一军的防御阵地多处被突破，严重的伤亡致使预备队也使用殆尽，多天未食未眠的第五十一军官兵数次发起绝地反击，仅小蚌埠镇失而复得而复失竟达五次之多。最终，小蚌埠镇落入日军之手。 于学忠在阵地被撕破之际，将浑身硝烟的指挥员们召集到一起，他说，东北沦丧之痛刻在咱们心头，想生存下去就要与日军血战到底。我们下定必死的决心，我们可以都死光，但是必须让日军付出代价！ 十三日，第五十一军展开了全线决死反击。于学忠军长和两位师长及四位旅长全部上了前沿。小蚌埠镇方向的第一一三师与日军死战不休，残酷的拉锯战进行了八个小时，双方仍处于胶着状态。临淮关方向的第一一四师，付出巨大伤亡夺回了部分阵地，但当日军后续渡河部队投入战场后，第一一四师伤亡已达两千多人，淮河沿岸阵地多处失守。 危急时刻，又一支中国军队赶到了战场。 张自忠来了。 张自忠的第五十九军，刚刚转隶第五战区，便接到了李宗仁让他们接替第五十一军防御淮河的命令。张自忠立即率部而上，将伤亡惨重的第五十一军替换下来，在防御线上布防了五十九军第三十八师和第一八〇师。 为了册应张自忠部，李宗仁部署了一系列的反击行动：韦云淞的第四十八军在蚌埠以南固守炉桥、洛河一线；刘士毅的第三十一军在淮南东北方向猛烈围攻上窑的日军；周祖晃的第七军在津浦路以西向池河、定远的日军发动侧击。同时，在李宗仁的请求下，中国空军轰炸了蚌埠至临淮关的日军阵地。 位于淮河战场正面的张自忠认为，与其死守不如全力反击。 张自忠对他的第五十九军官兵只说了一句话：“谁也不许后退，跟着我拼命保国。” 由于卢沟桥事变时在天津和北平的表现，张自忠始终在国人的谴责和自我的负疚中备受折磨。北平和天津迅速沦陷后，第五十九军官兵也与张自忠一样承受着全国舆论的压力，整个部队的心气犹如即将爆发的火山。张自忠命令两个师各组一个加强团，以决死的意志向淮河全线发动反击。十五日，反击作战开始，两个加强团于左右两翼向当面日军扑了上去。强渡成功的日军由于主力已经到达，没有预料到中国军队能够实施反击。在第五十九军官兵的猛烈冲击下，日军阵地出现动摇，开始后退。战斗到十八日，张自忠部依旧在不分昼夜地猛打猛冲，直至把日军赶回淮河南岸。二十日，第五十九军官兵终于冲进了小蚌埠镇。——沿津浦路南段北上的日军，经过二十多天的苦战，付出巨大代价后渡过了淮河，自认为当面的中国军队已被打垮，可谁知又被赶回了淮河南岸。 中日两军再次于淮河两岸形成对峙。 淮河阻击战，面对日军一个师团另附三个联队、七个大队的步兵，加上七个中队的航空兵、工兵、炮兵、装甲兵和铁道兵的联合攻击，中国军队中的桂军、东北军、西北军轮番上阵，让日军付出了伤亡三千余人的代价，最终未能突破淮河防线北进，这不能不说是中日开战以来令人振奋的一次胜利。 日军南北夹击受挫后，改变战略为“南守北攻”，以图沿津浦路北段快速向南推进，津浦路北段局势因此严峻起来。 危机是从大半个山东失守开始的。 津浦路北段的防守，由山东省府主席韩复榘负责。 韩复榘，河北霸县人，生于一八九一年。早年入冯玉祥部，因作战勇敢，从排长一路升迁至军长。一九二九年，冯玉祥策划反蒋，他暗中背叛老上级投靠了蒋介石；但在之后的中原大战中，“旧情难忘”的他又声明只打阎锡山不打冯玉祥。阎锡山、冯玉祥联合反蒋失败，蒋介石任命他为第一军团总指挥并负责山东防务。韩复榘当上了山东省政府主席，并且一干就是八年。与山西的阎锡山一样，除了在反共立场上与蒋介石保持一致外，他拒绝国民政府对他的山东地盘的任何干涉，在这点上他与蒋介石势不两立。省府里有个年轻的办事员，因在济南城内贴标语而被捕。提审的时候，韩复榘拿着写有“共产党万岁”和“打倒蒋介石”的标语看了又看，然后说：“共产党万不万岁我不管，打倒蒋介石是可以的。”韩复榘写下“仍复原职，月薪四十元”的判决后，命令将这个青年当堂释放。他接收了国民政府在山东设立的税务机关，还把国民政府任命的盐运使、烟酒印花税局局长、税警局局长和中央财政特派员等全都赶走了，甚至把国民党山东省党务整理委员会主任暗杀了。两广事变时他支持李宗仁和陈济棠反蒋，西安事变时他称张学良所为乃英明壮举。——他自认为是山东地盘上说一不二的皇上，认为举国之内能够威胁他“皇位”的人，既不是共产党也不是各路军阀，而是那个居心叵测的蒋介石。 卢沟桥事变后，蒋介石对韩复榘充满担忧。如果韩复榘动摇，北平的局面将蔓延至山东；而如果韩复榘坚决抗日，不但可以控制局势的恶化，还能对宋哲元部产生影响。没有确凿史据证明韩复榘是个变节分子。当日本人企图说服他和宋哲元、阎锡山脱离国民政府搞“五省市自治”时，韩复榘拒绝了日本人让他宣布山东独立的要求。同时，他以各种借口拒绝日本人进入山东，无论是驻军还是借道通过统统不行，为此他早早地就把黄河大铁桥炸了。只是，韩复榘此举更多的还是为了保住自己的地盘。他告诉蒋介石“我决不能和日本人搞在一块”，他还告诉蒋介石“日本不让山东驻中央军”。韩复榘无法排解的忧虑是：即使在全国一致抗战的情况下，“蒋介石也有先牺牲他的诡计”。这让他不得不在日本人与蒋介石之间的缝隙中谋求自保。日军开始攻击津浦路北段后，李宗仁亲赴济南与韩复榘彻夜长谈，详细阐述国内形势以及赢得战争胜利的趋势，力图使韩复榘认识到“抗战是长期的，是有前途的，汉奸是当不得的”。韩复榘自然不会成为日本人的汉奸，但是他从“抗战是长期的”的观点引申而出的结论，却是自己的部队“断不可在长期抗战的局面下”短时间内“被消耗了”。于是，保存实力成为他的“第一要务”。部下提醒他说，现在是全国倾力抗战，部队有损失中央会补充，川军和滇军都已开到徐州，我们就在山东怎么可以按兵不动？韩复榘的回答是：“我们要最后参战。”——韩复榘无法摆脱认识上致命的局限，没有认识到：他和他的军队面对的敌人，不是与他抢占地盘的哪路军阀，也不是总想收编他的部队的蒋介石，而是日本侵略者。 基于保存实力的原则，当停留在河北沧州的日军开始南下，并于山东淄博以西的周村渡过黄河后，韩复榘意识到日军沿胶济铁路即刻便可西进济南，于是下令从黄河南岸撤退军队并向河南转移财产。李宗仁得知后，一再致电，要求韩复榘遵守军事委员会“各战区守土有责，不得退入其他战区”的命令，绝对不能“把后方放在第五战区的范围以外”。韩复榘在李宗仁的电文上批复：“现在全面抗战，何分彼此。”李宗仁只好报告蒋介石。蒋介石严令韩复榘不得放弃济南，“万勿使倭寇垂手而得全鲁”。岂知韩复榘此时已经逃到了泰安。李宗仁只好要求韩复榘死守泰安，韩复榘的回复说，蒋介石连南京都不守，有什么理由让我守泰安？韩复榘认为，只要有枪有钱，“到哪里都可自立”，因此撤离济南前下令把民生银行和金库里的一万五千两黄金、三万两白银以及公私辎重全部装车运走。韩复榘的四个军不战而退，致使千余日军未费一枪一弹进占济南。退至泰安后，韩复榘认为自己仍处在沿津浦路南下的日军攻击线上，遂又命令部队放弃泰安退至济宁。军事委员会军令部命令他死守济宁和大运河，李宗仁在电报里更是用了几近恳求的口气要求他的部队停住，哪怕打一仗。韩复榘回电李宗仁：“榘不能守济宁，如榘不能固守济南然。”李宗仁怒不可遏，斥责韩复榘就从没有过守卫济南的任何意愿！而韩复榘对于他放弃济南的说辞是：“现在不是千余敌人过河（黄河）的问题，而是要考虑保存现有实力伺机反攻的战略目的。”韩复榘的主力部队以及所有辎重，一直退到了鲁豫交界处的巨野和曹县。 一九三八年一月十一日，日军占领济宁城，逼近徐州。 在短短的二十多天内，韩复榘连退数百里，轻易丢掉了黄河、济南、泰安、曲阜、兖州、济宁乃至徐州以北的运河防线，致使日军仅用一个半师团的兵力便占领了大半个山东，导致津浦路北段门户大开，徐州以及陇海铁路暴露在日军的直接威胁下，中国第五战区的作战部署完全被打乱。蒋介石抵达开封召集高级将领会议时，韩复榘虽心有不安，但犹豫再三后还是前去参加了。蒋介石在讲话中把愤怒一股脑地倾泄到韩复榘身上：“有些将领，把国家的军队视作个人私有财产，自从抗战开始以来，一味保存实力，不肯抗击敌人，只顾拥兵自重，不管国家存亡，不听命令，自由行动，哪里安全就向哪里撤退逃跑。试问，这样如何了局？”韩复榘当面顶撞：“山东丢失是我的责任，南京丢失该谁负责任？”蒋介石依旧正颜厉色道：“我问的是山东，不是问的南京！”韩复榘被坐在旁边的第一战区副司令长官刘峙劝出会场，谁知出了会场即被逮捕，之后被押解到武昌。韩复榘在高级军事法庭上申辩，他的部队没有任何重武器，一个师也顶不住日军一个团的火力；他若固守济南，将受到南北日军的两面夹击；他不带走资产钱物，留下也是要被日本人所用。但是，面对国土未战而失的事实，任何狡辩都已无济于事。一月二十四日晚上七时，韩复榘被枪毙： 有个持枪的士兵到韩的房里说：“何审判长（何应钦）请你谈话，请跟我走。”韩走出来，持枪士兵跟在后头。刚下楼还未到底，只见院内许多持枪士兵，戒备森严，韩已知情况不好，就说：“我脚上的鞋太小了，等我回去换一双鞋。”他刚要返身，后边持枪士兵便开枪把韩打死了。 韩复榘的头部中了七弹。 这是全面抗战开始以来被处决的第一个中国省政府主席。 韩复榘与那些参加伪政权的中国高官以及充当伪军的中国将领不同，他没有投敌变节。但是，纵使有千百条理由，在民族危亡之际违抗军令和拥兵自保，对于中国军人来讲都是不可容忍的。尤其是面对武力强大的侵略者，必须具有战至弹尽粮绝、伤亡殆尽的决心和意志，否则无以保证民族生存的底线。韩复榘事件，无疑是蒋介石对那些畏缩避战的高级将领的一次严重警告：国难当头，不尽抗战守土之责的军人，军法面前绝无宽贷。 津浦路北段的危机因山东失守而更加严重。 二月上旬，津浦路南段正在激战之时，为扭转因韩复榘避战而造成的日军大举南下的态势，第五战区决定采取主动进攻的策略，命令第三集团军向济宁和汶上、第二十二集团军向邹县、第三军团向蒙阴发动攻势作战。 韩复榘被处决后，第三集团军总司令由孙桐萱代理。二月十日，孙桐萱下令：曹福林的第五十五军由金乡向北面的