Chapter 13 Chapter 12 Defense of "Oriental Madrid"

The officers and soldiers of the Japanese Army's Hada Detachment faced another big river in China. Most of the troops led by Lieutenant General Hata Shigeichi came from the southern Kyushu region of Japan and were previously stationed in Taiwan, China. Therefore, they are considered to be a force suitable for fighting in hot and rainy subtropical regions.During the Battle of Songhu, they were ordered to cross the Taiwan Strait by boat and follow the East China Sea to Wusong Port on the Yangtze River in China; now, they are ordered to cross the Taiwan Strait again and enter China's misty Yangtze River along the East China Sea.

The information received by the soldiers of the Hada Detachment was that the Tokyo Base Camp asked them to go west along the Yangtze River to occupy a city called Wuhan in the heart of China.At the same time, they also heard that the city was known as the "stove", and the heat would burn people like a flame.The Potian detachment traveled upstream along the Yangtze River and was transported by water to Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China in the steaming heat fog. On May 29, 1938, the Japanese Army Headquarters ordered the Central China Expeditionary Force to cooperate with the Navy's "Chinese Fleet" to capture Anqing, Madang, Hukou, and Jiujiang below Wuhu on the Yangtze River as bases for attacking Wuhan.On June 1, after consultations between the Central China Expeditionary Force and the Navy, it was decided that the Botian Detachment, the 11th Navy Squadron, the 4th and 5th Special Marine Corps, and the 2nd United Air Force would jointly form a westward marching force, starting from Wuhu along the Yangtze River. At the same time, Inaba Shiro's Sixth Division and the Third Flying Regiment set out from Luzhou (now Hefei) north of the Yangtze River to attack Shucheng, Tongcheng, Qianshan, Taihu, and Susong in the southwest. , Huangmei and other places, parallel with the Potian detachment, it should be registered.

The first to attack was the Sixth Division of the Japanese Army. The vanguard of the Sixth Division is the Sakai Detachment based on the 11th Brigade under the command of Tokutaro Sakai.On June 2, the Sakai detachment attached to the Second Independence Mountain Artillery Regiment went south from Luzhou.On the same day, the 13th Division of the Japanese Army also marched south from Mengcheng in the north, capturing Fengyang on the 4th and Zhengyangguan on the 5th.Heavy rain poured down and the roads were muddy. The Xu Yuanquan Department of the 26th Group Army of the Chinese Army in the west of Luzhou not only damaged the roads, but also carried out surprise attacks on the Japanese troops heading south, making the advance of the Japanese troops difficult and slow.When Xu Yuanquan's troops gradually retreated westward to the vicinity of Lu'an, the Japanese Sakai detachment began to attack the Yang Sen Department of the 27th Army of the Chinese garrison in the direction of Shucheng.Chiang Kai-shek ordered Xu Yuanquan to quickly reinforce Yang Sen's troops and flank the Japanese army attacking Shucheng.However, the heavy rain caused flash floods, and Xu Yuanquan's reinforcements were blocked. They did not approach Shucheng until the 12th. At this time, Shucheng had already fallen due to the defeat of Yang Sen's troops.

Xu Yuanquan wanted to make up for his mistakes and ordered the 199th Division of the 87th Army to counterattack Shucheng.The Eighty-seventh Army was formed in early 1938. It was mainly composed of local security forces in Hunan. It originally built defensive fortifications on the outskirts of Wuhan. After being ordered to reinforce the Xuzhou battlefield, the Japanese army suffered setbacks in Luzhou and the troops suffered heavy losses. They withdrew to Lu'an Nearby make up.When the order was received, the division had just received more than 4,000 new recruits, and the basic shooting training had not yet been carried out. The officers believed: "Using strong men without military training to fight will not only fail to complete the combat mission, but also violate humanitarianism." behavior.” Finally, it was decided to gather the veterans of the whole division to form a commando, led by Chen Yanghan, commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 1145th Regiment, to counterattack Shucheng.The counterattack of the 199th Division, no matter how you look at it, has no hope of success: the Japanese army entrenched in Shucheng County continued to bombard the Chinese army outside the city with heavy artillery, and the sky was bombed and strafed by planes. He also went out of the city many times to carry out assaults.Based on their combat experience, the veterans of the 199th Division divided into several groups and climbed up the walls of Shucheng several times to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese army. However, without the support of artillery and reinforcements from follow-up troops, the counterattack soon ended in failure. , the scarred 199th Division had to retreat southward, and retreated into the mountainous areas around Yuexi for reorganization again.

In the south of the Yangtze River, on June 7, the Botian detachment set off from Zhenjiang, and the Japanese marines also set off from Nanjing. After the two armies met and formed in Wuhu, the Botian detachment began to travel westward along the Yangtze River on a naval ship.The Japanese navy notified the consulates of various countries stationed in Hankou, declaring that the Japanese army would march west along the Yangtze River to fight, and the waterway between Wuhu and Hukou was the combat zone, and warships and merchant ships of various countries must withdraw immediately.At noon on the 12th, the Japanese fleet arrived at Tiebanzhou, Yanwangmiao and Jiangjunmiao in the southeast of Anqing and anchored on the river.At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the Japanese marines braved the heavy rain and landed on the south bank of the Yangtze River, occupying a fort named Shangyaogou; and other places to advance to Anqing.

The Chinese army defending in this direction is still the Yang Sen Department of the 27th Army. The 27th Group Army is a unit of the Sichuan Army. It has the 133rd and 134th Divisions of the 20th Army under its jurisdiction. , The 1462nd Division was assigned to the command of Yang Sen.Although there are four divisions in strength, the defense line Yang Sen is in charge of runs through the Shucheng, Tongcheng, and Anqing lines north of the Yangtze River.Yang Sen felt that in the front of his troops, the battle line was too long, the troops were too few, and the tasks were too heavy, so he called Chiang Kai-shek and strongly demanded that at least two more divisions be added to him:

The enemy near the Chahuai River is actively advancing westward, and the Ministry of Staff followed the instructions of Guang (Li Zongren) and Yuan (Li Pinxian) to transfer the main force to the lines of Shucheng, Tongcheng, and Huaining to avoid a decisive battle and resist one by one. , The mountains northwest of Tongcheng are the decisive battle zone.In the current situation of weak troops, it is appropriate to use this kind of deployment.However, if the enemy moves south from Hefei with a large force and joins up with the enemy from the west of the Yangtze River to capture Anqing, the front of our army in the south of the Yangtze River will be too large and it will be more difficult to defend. Jiujiang and Wuhan will be most threatened.The purpose of the job is to strengthen the defense line in the south of the Yangtze River. To ensure the blockade of Madang, it is necessary to secure the southwestern area of ​​Anqing and Chaohu Lake, and the terrain between the mountains near the gate between Shucheng and Tongcheng and the area between the Lujiang River, Shengjiaqiao, and the mountains on the south side of Baihu Lake to the river bank. It is still good. If a considerable force is deployed, and then a guerrilla attack in the southeast of Chaohu with a coordinated local armed force, it will certainly be able to prevent the enemy from advancing westward.However, the front is very large, and the existing troops of the Ministry of Education are not enough to allocate them. It is proposed to ask Junzuo to send two divisions to use them.If the force is too large and it is inconvenient to command, please ask Junzuo to send a senior officer to take charge, so as to benefit the military aircraft.I would like to present what I see, and beg to observe.

This is the first time that the Chinese military generals have reminded the Supreme Command that the defense along the Yangtze River east of Wuhan is very weak after the Japanese army launched an offensive directed at Wuhan from Huainan and Wuhu.The telegram's judgment on the battlefield situation was basically correct, and the suggestions and requests also met the needs of the war situation, especially the explanation of the serious consequences once Anqing was lost would be confirmed by the course and evolution of the war in the future. Chiang Kai-shek called Yang Sen: urgent.Anqing.Commander-in-Chief Yang: Anqing Airport is basically destroyed as soon as possible. It is best to fill it with water to form a lake so that it cannot function.The dykes and dams in the east and west districts of Anqing, whoever is beneficial to our military, should be installed as soon as possible, and the dykes should be broken to release water, so as to prevent the enemy from advancing.How is the situation ahead?I hope to supervise and encourage the department to ensure Anqing and complete the mission.New cutting-edge troops have been sent here, and reinforcements have been sent from Guangji to the east.Don't read it, Zhongzheng's hand is open.

There are still 200 kilometers away from Guangji to Anqing, and the Japanese army is only more than 20 kilometers away from Anqing. Chiang Kai-shek should know the advancing speed of the Japanese mechanized troops.That is to say, it was impossible for Yang Sen's department to wait for "new cutting-edge" reinforcements before the Japanese army launched an attack on Anqing.What's more, Yang Sen's Department was already short of troops and had to deal with the imminent attack. How many troops would it take to "fill Anqing Airport into a lake"? How could Yang Sen's Department do all this before the Japanese army arrived?

As a result, even the Botian detachment was surprised. The Chinese army defending along the Yangtze River was almost as thin as an abandoned defense.On the embankment of the Yangtze River, only the 21st Army under the command of Yang Sen and some local security regiments made slight resistance.As a result, the Japanese army was still in the land of no one, occupying the airport in the suburbs of Anqing on the evening of the 12th, and occupying Anqing on the morning of the 13th.Yang Sen's troops were forced to retreat in the direction of Qianshan and Taihu Lake due to the enemy's front and back.At the same time, the Sakai Detachment of the Sixth Division of the Japanese Army going south occupied Tongcheng on the 13th after breaking through the steady resistance of Yang Sen's troops.Then, the two Japanese armies advanced by land and water, and began to advance rapidly towards the buried hill, the forward position of the Chinese army at the foot of the Dabie Mountains.

The successive fall of Shucheng, Tongcheng, and Anqing enabled the Japanese army to use the road from Luzhou to Anqing, thus gaining a strategic starting point for attacking Wuhan. What is puzzling is that the Chinese army defending the area north of the Yangtze River has as many as nine divisions. In addition to local armed forces, the strength of the troops may indeed be thin compared to the size of the defense area, but they are not so thin that they are powerless. The point of resistance.The Japanese army marching south from Luzhou only used a small number of vanguard troops, and the Bo Tian detachment that attacked Anqing even used only a few hundred troops. In the name of Xu Yongchang, Minister of Military Command, Chiang Kai-shek sent a power call to Yang Sen's office in Hubei.The telegram said that the loss of Anqing by the Sichuan army under the attack of hundreds of Japanese troops was a world-class joke, and Yang Sen was ordered to stick to the existing position in Qianshan: It is reported that the enemy in Anqing was only a few hundred marines. It is a pity that they abandoned the famous city and laughed at allies without fighting hard.The Commissioner attaches great importance to Commander-in-Chief Yang, and only uses it to control the relationship with the public. I still pray to Commander-in-Chief Yang to work hard for the future. He has his own opinion. At the very least, he must stick to the buried hill and the stone tablet, and use horses as a blockade for safety. want.As for the Western Mountains of Shu and Tong and Taihu Lake, if there is spare capacity, we still hope to take care of it, and please contact Xu Kecheng (Xu Yuanquan)'s department. When Yang Sen received this telegram, Qianshan had already fallen. After the Japanese Sakai detachment occupied Tongcheng, it began to advance towards Qianshan on the 14th. After breaking through the peripheral blockade of the 134th Division of the Chinese defenders, the troops were divided into three routes to detour to Qianshan City. The 134th Division retreated to the north of Qianshan City, but Under the joint attack of the Japanese infantry, aviation, artillery and cavalry, they were forced to move to the west bank of Qianshan. On the 17th, Qianshan fell into the hands of the Japanese army. On the 18th, the Sakai detachment of the Japanese army forced to dive, but was blocked by the Chinese defenders.Days of rainy days caused flash floods, and the diving swelled, causing the river to be 300 meters wide. After suffering heavy casualties, the Japanese broke through the diving and occupied the position on the west bank.On the 19th, the Japanese cavalry quickly rushed to the south of Qianshan, broke through the blockade of the 145th Division of the Chinese defenders, and occupied Shipai that night. Facing the rapid Japanese assault, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized his troops to carry out counterattacks in the direction of the buried hill, and at the same time ordered the generals of the troops along the Yangtze River to dig up the Yangtze River embankment in an attempt to use the water barrier to stop the ferocious Japanese attack momentum: 1. Taking advantage of the flooding of rivers and lakes, any aspect that is beneficial to our army's operations will cause flooding, and we should report first and report later.2. On the north side of the river: to the east of Susong, on the north bank of the river, it is necessary to form floods as much as possible to facilitate our army's operations.Please call anytime for the implementation process.3. After the formation of a flood, there is no need to worry about the enemy's motorboats, because they are easier to destroy than the enemy's army. The Yangtze River embankment is wider, taller, and stronger than the Yellow River embankment. Because the Chinese army along the river does not have the corresponding technology and equipment, and the battle situation is changing rapidly, this order to collapse the natural river again was not implemented in the end. The Chinese army started a counterattack. The 199th Division, which once counterattacked Shucheng unsuccessfully and entered the mountainous area for reinforcement, carried out a night attack on the Japanese army at a key point called Dubu between Qianshan and Taihu Lake. The Japanese army who woke up from sleep faced the bayonets of Chinese officers and soldiers in the rice fields. Run around for your life.The 199th Division also burned down the highway bridge, which split the Japanese Sixth Division into two.When the Japanese army tried to launch a counterattack, they were ambushed by the Chinese army and lost a large number of cars and tanks.The beleaguered 6th Division confronted the 87th Army of the Chinese defenders. The fall of Anqing, Qianshan, and Huaining exposed the important enemy barriers on the Yangtze River, Madang and Hukou Fortress, to the attack of the westward Japanese army. On June 18, the Japanese Central China Expeditionary Force ordered the Botian detachment to cooperate closely with the navy to "continue the operation along the Yangtze River" to capture Madang and Hukou. Madang, one of the fortresses of the Yangtze River, is located in Pengze County, Jiangxi Province, 30 kilometers away from Pengze County in the south, and 80 kilometers away from Jiujiang along the river.The sandbar in the middle of the river divides the river into two. The left channel is extremely narrow and has long been silted up; the right channel flows through the foot of Mount Madang, forming the narrowest section of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. .Madang has thus become the natural moat of the Yangtze River and an important military fortress.After the fall of Shanghai and Nanjing, in order to prevent the Japanese army from attacking Wuhan along the river, the Military Commission of the Nationalist Government specially established the Yangtze River Blocking Committee, which was responsible for the design and construction of the river defense of the Madang Fortress.The project built a blocking line across the already narrow Yangtze River waterway.The construction process of the blocking line is very complicated: the first step is to weave a large net with iron wire and lead wire, and fill it with stones. Pull it, and lay a stake downstream to fix it.In the second step, large stones and large iron anchors are placed in the galleon or iron barge, with the tip of the anchor facing up, the cement is mixed, and the boat is moved to the foundation built in the first step to scuttle.The third step is to requisition larger tonnage barges, also install large stones and large iron anchors, and scuttle them again after solidifying with cement.In this way, it is equivalent to building a dam on the narrow waterway of the Yangtze River.After the completion of the project, there is only a channel for one ship to pass on the water surface of Madang near the south bank.The barrage is submerged about two meters below the water surface. Except for the wooden boats of ordinary people, any large ships sailing on the river can only sail cautiously in the reserved narrow channel.Even so, it is easy to hit the barrage made of rocks and iron anchors, and either be damaged and run aground, or be injured and sink. In mid-June, the Military Commission appointed Liu Xing as the commander-in-chief of Jiangfang, responsible for the defense operations of the fortresses along the Yangtze River such as Madang, Hukou, Jiujiang and Tianjia Town.The fortress defense force under the jurisdiction of Jiangfang Commander-in-Chief Liu Xing is: Ma (Madang) Lake (Hukou) District Fortress Command, Commander Li Yunheng, commander of the 16th Army, and Zhou Qiduo's 53rd Division, Xue Weiying The 167th Division of the Matang Fortress Garrison Command, Commander Wang Xitao, under the jurisdiction of an infantry garrison battalion, two garrison corps, two artillery teaching teams, a brigade of the Marine Detachment, and three forts.Also in mid-June, Bai Chongxi, the deputy chief of staff, inspected the Madang Fortress and redeployed the defensive positions of the fortress: the main force was deployed on the south bank of the river at Huangshan, Xiangshan, Xiasumizaka, Huanglishu, and Xiangkou; The Ministry of Defense set up defenses on the Huayang, Leigang, and Wangjiang lines on the north bank of the river.Along the blockage line of the Madang River, 30 artificial reefs were set up, 39 ships were sunk, and 1,600 mines were laid. The two centimeter caliber cannons have also been calculated and designed, and the test firing has been completed, and dense shells can be used to bombard any target on the narrow river at any time.The Chinese Air Force also concentrated fighter planes at Hankou and Nanchang airports in preparation for air support to the Madang Fortress.However, the seemingly insurmountable fortress of Madang lasted only four days due to strange incidents of Chinese defenders. On June 22, the Potian Detachment and the 11th Navy Squadron traveled westward from Anqing to attack Madang.Sure enough, in front of the blocking line carefully arranged by the Chinese army, the Japanese naval ships were violently bombarded by the Chinese artillery on both sides of the strait. swirl.The Japanese attack lasted for two days. After suffering heavy casualties, the Madang Passage was still unable to be opened.As a result, the Potian detachment retreated from the fortress and landed on the south bank of the Yangtze River in an attempt to detour to Madang by land. Under the attack of the Bo Tian detachment, the outer positions of the Madang Fortress were lost. Apart from the weak combat effectiveness of the blocking Chinese army, the real reason turned out to be: when the Japanese army violently attacked the position of the Madang Fortress, Li Yunheng, the commander of the 16th Army, was summoning troops The chief officer had dinner in Madang Town.Half a month ago, Commander Li Yunheng convened the township chiefs and security chiefs of Madang and Pengze, as well as the officers of the Sixteenth Army, for intensive training. He named this training "Anti-Japanese Military and Political University."Just when the Japanese army had already reached the Madang River, on June 23, Commander Li issued an order: hold a grand graduation ceremony at 8:00 am on the 24th.And it was on the 24th that the Bo Tian detachment began to detour to Madang by land. The commander of the 313th Regiment of the 53rd Division who approached the enemy was injured. When the outskirts of the fortress, Huangshan, Xiangshan and Xiangkou important places were lost one after another. ——There is a stipulation in Commander Li's order: the chief officers of each unit must attend, and have a group meal after the ceremony.In order to express the solemnity of the "graduation ceremony" and "group dinner", Commander Li also sent invitations to all the officers above the captain in the fortress. It is impossible to know, as the supreme commander on the battlefield, did Commander Li not understand the situation of the frontier Japanese attack at all, or did he think that Ma Dang could sit back and relax only by relying on the solid blockage line?This matter is full of unimaginable weirdness. In the Madang position, there was a captain who received the invitation but did not go to the dinner party. He was Du Longji, the deputy captain of the second brigade of the Marine Corps of the fortress garrison command.Du Longji is an officer who has studied fortress warfare and was sent here by the Military and Political Department to train marine soldiers.Because most of the officers and soldiers of this fortress were originally from the navy, they could operate the artillery on warships, but they could not use the artillery on land. Du Longji was determined to teach them before the Japanese army launched an attack.On the evening of the 23rd, Du Longji, who didn't go to the group dinner, watched the officers leave the defensive position one after another.At dawn on the 24th, he contacted the large team defending Xiangkou, but the phone was not connected; he also contacted the 313th regiment at the forefront, but could not be reached.Through the early morning mist, Deputy Captain Du suddenly noticed troops moving in the direction of Xiangkou. At this time, the soldiers reported that Xiangkou had been occupied by the Japanese army.Xiangkou is located on the south bank of the Madang River, which means that the Japanese army has already landed.So, where did the Japanese land from?When did you log in?Then, several soldiers from the 313th Regiment retreated to the Changshan position where Du Longji was— The Japanese landed from our company's position around four o'clock this morning.The enemy approached the shore with small boats, came up secretly, and fired at my position with light machine guns after landing.The squad leader was killed by the enemy, our company commander went to the graduation ceremony, and some platoon leaders went to receive training, but there was only one platoon leader and one chief of staff in the company.After the enemy fired violently, our company's position was occupied by the enemy. The enemy continued to land and expanded south along the river bank. Our company retreated to the headquarters of Huangjishu regiment. While fighting and walking, the enemy advanced towards Xiangshan. After confirming that the Japanese army was detouring to Madang by land, Du Longji immediately reported to the fortress garrison headquarters, but the telephone switchboard said that the commander had gone to attend the graduation ceremony, so Du Longji could only use the radio to contact the Jiangfang Command in Hankou and report the enemy's situation. At the moment of Madang Fortress, there are only a small number of garrison troops on the defensive position.After the Japanese wave field detachment conquered the outer positions, it was divided into three assault groups, carrying heavy machine guns, and advancing towards Madang under the cover of the water at the mouth of Taibai Lake.Du Longji commanded the artillery and machine guns on the position to shoot at the water swing.On the Madang River, the Japanese ships approached the blockage line again. Nineteen ships gathered together and used naval guns to bombard the Chinese defenders on both sides of the strait. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Commander Li's "group dinner" ended amid deafening gunfire, and the subordinates on the battlefield finally got in touch with their Commander Li.Hearing that the Japanese army had already landed at the Madang Fortress, Commander Li said that he had not received any reports.The subordinate said: "Xiangshan and Xiangkou have been occupied by the enemy a long time ago." Commander Li still couldn't believe it, and asked his subordinate, "Did you really see the enemy?" The subordinate told him: "Our position was disrupted by the enemy, and half of the people died. We see the enemy!" Next, a strange thing happened again: after Commander Li determined that Madang was in danger, he should have dispatched reinforcements from his Sixteenth Army, which was near Madang, to contain the attack launched by the Botian detachment from land, but Commander Li did not He ordered Xue Weiying of the 167th Division, who was far away in the direction of Peng Ze, to come for reinforcements. On the 25th, the fierce battle on the position of Madang Fortress lasted for a whole day.The Chinese garrison once regained the Huangshan position, and the Japanese army who attacked Xiangkou also retreated to the east of Xiangkou after encountering the counterattack of the Chinese garrison.The Chinese Air Force bombed the Japanese ships on the Madang River, sinking and wounding many enemy ships.On the 26th, the follow-up troops of the Japanese army landed on Niu Niangmiao and Niushouji on a large scale. The artillery fired a large number of poison gas bombs. The Chinese defenders suffered heavy casualties. Many positions were broken and the fortress was in danger. The 167th Division, which was ordered to reinforce, was still missing. While Xue Weiying, the commander of the 167th Division, received Li Yunheng's reinforcement order, he also received Bai Chongxi's order to quickly reinforce Madang.However, the reinforcement route chosen by Commander Xue can only show that he secretly disobeyed the military order: from Pengze to Madang, there was originally a flat road that was feasible, but Commander Xue refused to take the flat road, and took a route around Taibai Lake. The trail to the east.The trail was rugged and muddy, and the chief of staff of the division reminded him: When will we be able to reach Madang with a single division on such a difficult trail?Master Xue's answer is: This can avoid encountering the blocking of the Japanese army.As a result, the 167th Division was only halfway there. Under the joint onslaught of the Japanese infantry, navy and air force, the Matang Fortress fell into the hands of the Japanese at 9:00 am on the 26th. The loss of Madang Fortress is inexplicable. Chen Cheng, commander of the Ninth War Zone, simply gathered the reports sent to him by the Jiangfang troops and forwarded them to Chiang Kai-shek, so that Chiang Kai-shek could judge the absurdity of this matter: 1. Bao Changyi of the Second Corps (27th) received a telegram from the garrison representative: three quarters of the professional team had been sacrificed. Yesterday morning, due to repeated attacks and defeats by the enemy, more than 2,000 casualties were caused. The public law actually released poisonous gas, so many people were poisoned on our side, and the enemy took the opportunity to surround us with thousands of people, which caused me to sacrifice a lot.At that time, Japanese flags were planted all over the mountains, and the phones of all squadrons were disconnected, and reinforcements could not be reached.As a last resort, he led the remaining soldiers out of the siege.2. Cui Chonghua, the deputy of the third brigade, sent a telegram from Haihai (the headquarters of the brigade is in Hukou): two-thirds of the third brigade had been sacrificed, and four guns had been destroyed. seven doors.Vice-Corp. Yan is in charge of containment in Pengze, and about 250 people have been contained.Supplies here are extremely difficult, and both cable and long-distance electricity are cut off.3. Jin Baoshan, the second captain of the Marine Detachment, sent a telegram stating that: eight of the seventy-five field guns of the professional team were blown up, and six of them were blown up. Now there are only two remaining, which have been transported to Hukou, and all the bullets have been exhausted.4. Kang Bixiang, the commander of the third general (he was originally stationed in Hukou, and went to the governor because the two brigades were transferred to the front) Jian (28th) You telegraphed that: since the contact with the enemy in Madang District, I defended each team and fought hard for three days and nights. I ran out of ammunition and food, suffered heavy casualties, and no reinforcements.In this campaign, many enemy ships were wounded and set on fire by various teams.The third brigade has a captain and a deputy, and a squadron leader and two deputy each have sacrificed their lives for the country, and the soldiers suffered heavy casualties.The artillery of the staff team was blown up and many people were destroyed. Now the remaining soldiers have left the Madang District. Due to many strange incidents, the surviving officers and soldiers of the Madang Fortress seriously suspected that one of the important reasons for the fall of the fortress was that there were traitors inside.The reason was that the graduation ceremony of the "Anti-Japanese Military and Political University" was scheduled for June 24, and the advance notice was to gather at the military headquarters in Madang Town on the afternoon of the 23rd. The selected assault target was a regiment position without a chief officer.At the same time, during the Madang battle, they discovered a strange phenomenon. The Chinese air force came to attack the Japanese ships on the river, and the Japanese ships that fired at the fortress on the Madang River were often before the Chinese fighter planes arrived in the sky. At that time, the muzzle had already been turned to the sky in advance, which shows that the Japanese army knew the moment of the arrival of the Chinese fighter plane well. ——Indeed, when the remnants of the defenders of the Madang Fortress retreated, they caught traitors on the road: "Three enemy planes came to attack Pengze County. At that time, a man in white clothes was found shouting on the post. Soon, a military building The warehouse was blown up by an enemy plane. We were very surprised. Captain Bao Changyi immediately sent a platoon leader to take a group of people to check. It turned out that there was an air defense bunker near Gaogang, which contained three traitors and a transceiver. The platoon leader was so angry that he immediately beat the three traitors to death." In August 1938, the Military Commission of the Nationalist Government dismissed Li Yunheng, the commander of the 16th Army, and Xue Weiying, the commander of the 167th Division, was executed by the Military Law Council for "fearing the enemy like a tiger and delaying the opportunity to fight". In order to restore the harm caused by the fall of Madang to the overall defense of the Jiang River, Chen Cheng urgently ordered Luo Zhuoying, commander-in-chief of the Wuhan garrison, to lead Li Yunheng's Sixteenth Army, Liu Duoquan's Forty-ninth Army, and Huang Wei's Tenth Army to be transferred to him. The Eighth Army and other ministries launched a counterattack to the Xiangshan and Madang frontlines, and especially emphasized that "if the battle is not effective and the one who does not flinch from the former, it will be done according to military law."Xiangshan is surrounded by water on three sides, and the mountains are steep and steep, so it is not easy to attack from the front.On the night of the 28th, at the cost of more than 600 casualties, the Chinese army broke through the Japanese position in the southeast of Xiangshan Mountain, and fought until dawn to regain Xiangshan Mountain.After the Japanese army retreated to Xiangkou, they increased their troops by 2,000. At dawn on the 29th, Japanese naval guns, planes, and ground troops blocked the Chinese army that was attacking Xiangkou. The Chinese army retreated to Xiangshan to confront the Japanese army. The Japanese Central China Dispatch Army decided to increase its troops. Part of the 106th Division, which had just been transferred from the mainland of Japan, was reinforced to the Hada Detachment; the Japanese Navy also transferred the 21st Mine Squadron, the Second Artillery Fleet, and the Third and Fifteenth Air Forces to strengthen The strength of the eleventh squadron of the navy.On the 29th, the Japanese Navy’s blasting team finally blew up the Madang blockage line, and the main force of the Botian Detachment and the first part of the 106th Division were able to take the ships of the 11th Squadron and successfully passed the Madang water to advance toward Pengze.At ten o'clock in the morning, the Japanese army surrounded Pengze City by land and water.The Chinese defenders suffered heavy casualties in the fight, and He Ping's 16th Division was urgently sent for reinforcements in the third theater, but the reinforcements were blocked by the left-wing troops of the Botian detachment.Pengzecheng fell immediately. Going west along Pengze is the mouth of another river defense fortress of the Yangtze River. Hukou is the entrance of Poyang Lake to the Yangtze River and the gateway to Jiujiang. Once the Japanese occupied the mouth of the lake, their ships could enter Poyang Lake and directly threaten the flank of the Chinese defenders on Nanxun Road (the road from Nanchang to Jiujiang).At the same time, going west from Poyang Lake can form an attack on the back of Wuhan, and going east can pose a threat to the rear of China's third theater in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions. In order to secure Hukou, Chen Cheng, commander of the war zone, appointed Guo Rudong, commander of the 43rd Army, as commander of the Hukou garrison area, under the command of Wang Dongyuan, commander of the 34th Army Corps; ordered Wang Dongyuan to command the 77th and 16th Divisions The other departments launched a counterattack against the Japanese troops in Niangniangmiao and Pengze; the 77th Division's original Hukou defense was handed over to Liu Yuqing's 26th Division.At the same time, the Chinese Navy was ordered to lay a large number of mines on the river near the mouth of the lake. On July 1, the 77th Division counterattacked the vanguard of the 460th Regiment, and collided head-on with a part of the Potian Detachment near Tangshan.After the fierce battle, the 460th Regiment retreated to Yangjiashan, and the Botian detachment pursued fiercely. The 13th Field Gas Squadron attached to it released the poison gas. Hundreds of officers and soldiers of the 460th Regiment were poisoned.On the second day, Wang Dongyuan commanded the main force of the 77th Division and the 16th Division to attack the Botian Detachment from the rear. The 77th Division inflicted great damage on the second unit of the Botian Detachment, but it also lost officers and soldiers. hundreds of people.On the third day, the 77th Division continued to attack the Japanese army and killed more than 100 Japanese soldiers again.In the direction of the 16th Division, because the Japanese army received reinforcements from the 106th Division in person, the two sides were stuck together. During the bitter battle between the Chinese army and the first part of the Botian detachment, the main force of the Botian detachment, with the support of the 11th naval squadron and the second, third, and fifteenth air forces, marched towards the position of the 26th Division of the Chinese army defending Hukou. A joint water, land and air attack was launched.The 26th Division has just taken over the defense of Hukou, and has not yet fully entered the combat state. In addition, the troops are mainly composed of security guards from Sichuan. Not only are there many recruits, but the whole division does not have any heavy weapons.Although the officers and soldiers of the Sichuan Army fought hard, under the strong firepower of the Japanese army, Longtan Mountain, the outlying position of Hukou, quickly fell, and the main force of the Botian detachment was only three kilometers away from Hukou County.The Chinese High Command strictly ordered the 26th Division to stick to Hukou, and at the same time ordered Peng Shan's 11th Division to flank the Japanese army in the direction of Hukou.The Japanese army would capture Hukou, and the officers and soldiers of the 26th Division would go up one after another, vowing to defend the defensive position and not retreat. The Japanese army released poison gas again, most of the Chinese defenders on the Hukou city wall were poisoned, and the city defense position was immediately breached by the Japanese army. On the evening of July 4th, Hukou was captured by the Japanese army. The rapid fall of the natural moat fortresses Madang and Hukou once again put all the issues that a war will inevitably involve in front of the Chinese army. Liu Xing, commander-in-chief of Jiangfang, wrote "The Facts of the Successive Falls of Madang and Hukou Fortresses". Except for some hesitation in wording, the content of the report is basically true. (A) Reasons for the fall of Madang: 1. Li Yunheng, the commander of the area, organized an anti-Japanese school after arriving in the defense, and mobilized two-thirds of the officers of the various troops under his jurisdiction to enter the school for training. He was too negligent about actual combat readiness. 2. The outlines of the Xiangshan and Madang fortresses have already been built with stronghold-style fortifications and sent strong troops to guard them. But the commander did not pay attention, and the enemy easily took them away and penetrated into our fortress area. 3. The enemy occupied Xiangshan, and the headquarters had already received a report. The commander was told that nothing had happened, and he was too calm to report bad news.After confirming that Xiangshan was lost, Qu Youyun said that it would not be difficult to restore Xiangshan.You Wei Ma Dang fell, and he did not admit it. After repeated reprimands and inquiries, he did not admit it until the next day. 4. When the enemy attacked Zangshanji, the commander did not send troops to Madang for reinforcements, but moved the headquarters from Madang to Malukou, and refused to listen after being persuaded.At that time, send a regiment under the command of Commander Wang and stick to the fortress.Also did not follow suit. 5. The enemy was forced from Xiangshan Mountain to Zangshanji. He once ordered the commander to use the brigade at Huanglishu to reinforce Xiangshan, and use the brigade at Malukou to pinch the enemy at Madang Fortress; It has been placed under the command of Commander-in-Chief Luo, but he refused to obey the order and guidance. He asked Director Lin Weiwen to forward it to the committee, and asked the commander to call him directly, but he did not obey. 6. The garrison force of Madang Fortress is no more than five battalions in total, and they are composed of mixed groups, with complex members and weak combat effectiveness.Since Jingchen, two days and nights of fierce fighting have been fought to prevent the Zangshanji front from being shaken. On the one hand, Commander Wang moved the soldiers with guns in the rear to the front, and on the other hand, he sent Commander Li to reinforce him, but Li finally did not respond.So far, the enemy landed from Niangniang Temple, while approaching the fort, while cutting off the back road of Zangshan Gong, so that they were completely surrounded. 7. Youchen, who had been in the Li brigade of the 53rd Division of Wangjiang, had already withdrawn to Pengze. He called Commander Li and ordered the department to rush to help Madang, and Commander Wang sent a car to meet him.The Ministry never moved. 8. The brigade of the 167th Division stationed in Hukou was originally limited to two days to rush to Madang to increase its strength.The Ministry arrived seven days ago, and its actions were slow. 9. Master Xue's weapons, inspected by Zeng De's consultant, machine guns and mortars, are all scrap iron, and less than half of the rifles are usable. (B) Reasons for the fall of Hukou: 1. The fortress is directly under the garrison. It has just been approved and is being organized one after another. The strength is too weak. 2. The field force guarding Hukou was originally the 77th Division. After the fall of Pengze, the division was ordered to resume its garrison at Pengze; the 26th Division stationed in Xun and Hujian advanced to Hukou. Unexpectedly, the enemy captured Pengze After Zehou, the motorboat went around to the upper reaches and landed until Peng Zeweike, but the lake mouth was already tense, and the 26th Division was halfway across, and its front had already contacted the enemy. 3. When Hukou was in danger, the 77th and 16th Divisions that were ordered to reinforce them were held back by the enemy, but they never arrived; and Wang Dongyuan never got in touch with the 26th Division. 4. The garrison corps of the Yangtze River Fortress under the command of Hukou Commander-in-Chief, when Hukou was tense, claimed to be ordered by Xie Gangzhe, the garrison commander of the fortress, to go to a safe place to rest and tidy up, which affected other troops and felt uneasy. 5. The front of Hukou is too wide, and I once applied to garrison with strong troops. The 26th Division was completely recruited, with inferior weapons, no heavy machine guns, and only half of the light machine guns.Therefore, after three days and nights of fighting, Hukou fell. 6. The fortresses in Hukou and Madang Districts were set up facing the river, and they could not support the field army at all. 7. When the enemy releases poisonous gas, our troops have no anti-virus equipment and experience, resulting in panic and affecting the battle. According to historical statistics, the Japanese army used poison gas 375 times during the attack on Wuhan in 1938.相关史料也表明，日军在侵华战争期间，决定使用毒气武器的权力不在前线部队，甚至不在方面军司令官，只有作战部队要求并接到陆军部的授权后才能使用。日本军方清楚地知道，《凡尔赛条约》第一百七十一条以及日本在第一次世界大战后签署的其他国际公约，都明确禁止在战争中使用毒气。但是，侵华战争爆发后，日军在中国的京津、淞沪、太原和武汉战场上都使用了化学武器。日本人对他们在公然蔑视国际公约是这样解释的：“陆军在对待技术上落后的敌人时，没有把不遵守禁令视为问题。”日军只有面对“技术上落后的敌人”时，才会无所顾忌地使用化学武器，当然首先是因为对方没有相应的化学武器可以还击，还有就是“技术上落后的敌人”是可以随意欺辱和残害的。 湖口的陷落令九江危急。 焦灼万分的中国统帅部严令黄维的第十八军等部对波田支队实施反击作战，中国军队的反击暂时将波田支队压制在了湖口附近的沿江地带。 自日军沿长江向西攻击以来，仅有七八千人的波田支队，在数十个中国师的围攻和阻击下长驱直入，即使在被压制的情况下也始终没有受到重创，个中原因，仅以其适应亚热带作战为由是无法解释通的。只是，波田支队也确实精疲力尽了。自镇江出发以来，连续作战已令他们中的许多人被火化成灰，那些还活着的官兵接到的命令依旧是沿长江向西攻击。长江中游令人窒息的憋闷潮湿包裹着他们，他们西望长江的眼神与江面上的热雾一样迷茫：沿江而上还会有什么样的作战？那座叫武汉的城市到底还有多远？ 武汉，自古有“九省通衢”之称，东接苏皖，西临黔蜀，南连湘粤，北通豫冀，长江与汉水、平汉与粤汉铁路在此交会相连，为长江中游最重要的水陆交通枢纽。南京陷落后，武汉即成为中国抗日作战的指挥中枢，也是中国的军事和政治中心。 日军大本营在实施徐州会战时，已将下一步攻占武汉一并考虑。经过粗略计算，得出的结论是：如果进攻武汉，需要耗费作战军需三十二亿五千万日元以上，且至少需要“增兵约四十万人和新编兵团二十四万人”。由此，日本内阁对攻占武汉充满巨大的心理矛盾，但是日本陆军和海军的将领们对占领武汉极为渴望，认为“攻占汉口（武汉）的作战是早日结束战争的最大机会”： 一、早日解决中国事变是陆军部的一致希望。 二、即使从历史上看，只要攻占汉口、广东，就能支配中国，这是第二部（情报）的意见。这种意见认为，通过这一作战，可以做到以武力解决中国事变的大半。海军也积极主张，只要控制中原，实质上即能支配中国。 三、为对重庆进行轰炸，占领武汉周围也是很有必要的。当时，国民政府大部机关已后退到重庆。 四、攻占汉口、广东，只要投入陆军主力，用现有的兵力就可以作战。 五、估计苏联此时不能参战。 六、但是攻占武汉和广东，再加上政治谋略工作，能否使蒋政权屈服，尚无把握。 七、海军对溯江作战直指汉口，有很高的积极性，广东作战当然有攻占海南岛的意志。 除了“使蒋政权屈服”这个终极目的外，日军大本营认为，攻占武汉有着具体的政治、军事和经济意义，即一举捣毁中国的抗战中枢，把国民政府再向西驱赶，使其彻底沦为一个“地方政权”。即使国民政府仍不屈服，武汉的丢失对他们来说也“意味着丧失了湖南、湖北的粮仓地带和中国内的唯一的大经济中心，不但会造成该政府经济自给的困难，并且会减弱现在唯一大量武器的输人通道——粤汉铁路的军事和经济价值。这样一来，即使该政府逃到了四川或是云南，以保余命，但在这种山岳地带，也无法发挥比一个地方政权更大的作用了”。 日军进攻武汉的作战方案，一直在不断的改变。 原先拟定的方案也是华北方面军切望的方案，即沿平汉铁路南下直接攻占汉口。这个方案的优点是道路顺畅，除武胜关等关隘外，大部分地段适合机械化兵团运动和作战，且能随时攻击中国军队整体战线的侧翼，包围武汉以东长江以北的中国军队主力，以期收到战略上的最大效果；缺点是推进的距离较远，进攻路线也就是平汉路的西侧，容易受到中国第一、第五、第九战区部队的威胁。后来由于作战的后方华北不断受到共产党领导的游击战的牵制与袭扰，这一方案最终被否定。第二个方案是从淮河地区向南，通过大别山区向武汉实施包抄。其优点是攻击的距离较近，且徐州会战后日军在对中国军队的追击作战中已形成了实施这一方案的自然态势；缺点是大别山地区道路崎岖难行，是日军机械化部队的天然阻障，更何况中国军队在大别山麓筑有坚固的防御工事。随着黄河决口引发淮河泛滥，这一方案遂被取消。最后，日军大本营制订了第三个方案，即以主力沿长江西溯直冲武汉，同时以一部沿大别山北麓西进作为册应。这一方案的优点是可以动用占据绝对优势的海、空军力量，充分利用长江良好的水运条件以为补给线路。虽然攻击的距离比第二方案远，但比第一方案近，地形也比第二方案有利。更重要的是，这条路线是中国军队准备最不充分的一面。只是，这一方案也有明显的缺点：长江沿岸是中国水网密集地带，湖沼池塘布如繁星，机械化部队的运动和作战会受到一定的限制。且主要集中在徐州地区的日军主力需要进行大规模调动，还必须事先占领九江附近地区作为攻击的出发地。同时，即使从这个方向攻击武汉成功，也只能将中国军队主力西驱，很难将其包围歼灭。 按照第三方案的作战原则，六月十八日，日军大本营下达了武汉作战准备令。 一、大本营准备以初秋为期，攻占汉口。 二、华中派遣军司令官应在扬子江及淮河正面逐次向前推进，占领地盘，给下一步作战做好准备。 三、华北方面军司令官应确保占领地区的安定，继续执行原定任务，特别要求对占领区内的残敌进行扫荡。另外，要册应华中派遣军的作战，为把敌人牵制在北方，应准备进行一部分作战。 四、有关细节，由参谋总长指示。 为完备攻取武汉的作战态势，七月四日，日军大本营下令编组新的第十一军，同时将第二军与第十一军编入华中派遣军。 扩充后的日军华中派遣军主要战斗序列为： 司令官畑俊六大将。 第二军，司令官东久迩宫稔彦王中将，辖第十师团，师团长筱冢义男中将；第十三师团，师团长荻洲立兵中将；第十六师团，师团长中岛今朝吾中将，后为藤江惠辅中将。 第十一军，司令官冈村宁次中将，辖第六师团，师团长稻叶四郎中将；第一〇一师团，师团长伊东政喜中将；第一〇六师团，师团长松浦淳六郎中将；波田支队，支队长波田重一中将。 派遣军直辖：第三师团，师团长藤田进中将，后配属第二军；第九师团，师团长吉住良辅中将，后配属第十一军；第十八师团，师团长牛岛贞雄中将，后为久纳诚一中将，后编入第二十一军战斗序列；第一一六师团，师团长清水喜重中将；第二十七师团，师团长本间雅晴中将，后编入第十一军；第十五师团，师团长岩松义雄中将；第十七师团，师团长广野太吉中将；第二十二师团，师团长土桥一次中将；航空兵团，司令官德川好敏中将；骑兵第四旅团，旅团长小岛吉藏少将。 至此，侵华日军兵力达到了一个前所未有的高峰：日本陆军扩建了十个师团，即第十五、第十七、第二十一、第二十二、第二十三、第二十七、第一〇四、第一〇六、第一一〇和第一一六师团。在这十个师团中，除第二十三师团调至中国海拉尔地区、第一〇四师团调至中国大连地区以外，其余的八个师团全部被调入中国关内。到一九三八年七月底，日本陆军总计为三十四个师团又六个混成旅团，共约九十万兵力以上，除日本本土的近卫师团和第十一师团、驻扎朝鲜的第十九师团、驻扎台湾的半个混成旅团外，其余部队全部投入到中国战场。以至于包括关东军在内，侵华日军总兵力已达到八十二万五千人，占日本全国总兵力的百分之九十一以上。 依照大本营的准备令，日军华中派遣军制订了两路攻取武汉的作战计划：第十一军辖五个师团，先攻占黄梅和九江，而后在瑞昌、德安线集中兵力，沿着长江及其两岸攻击前进，以南岸为主要攻击方向，分兵切断粤汉铁路，迂回武汉以南，合击并最终占领武汉；第二军辖四个师团从合肥附近出动，在长江以北沿大别山麓向西推进，攻击河南信阳，切断平汉线，然后南下从北面进取武汉。与此同时，华中派遣军直辖的三个飞行团全力协同陆军作战，海军第三舰队配合陆军溯江攻占沿江的一系列江防要塞。直接参加武汉作战的日军共有九个师团，总兵力二十五万余人，支持陆军作战的海军和航空兵部队投入舰船一百十艘、战机四百余架。 在军事准备上看，日军攻取武汉的作战态势已不可逆转。 而在中国方面，当徐州会战接近尾声时，关于日军将攻取武汉的情报纷至沓来，国民政府军事委员会遂决定筹备武汉会战。黄河花园口决堤后，中国第一战区程潜部主力退至信阳以南和以西，第五战区李宗仁部主力退至大别山一带，第三战区顾祝同部主力仍驻扎在九江以下长江南岸一带。为适应武汉会战的需要，国民政府军事委员会调整战斗序列，组建了第九战区，任命陈诚为战区司令长官，并决定以第五、第九两个战区共同保卫武汉。其中，第九战区负责长江南岸的鄱阳湖西岸以及田家镇要塞以东地区的防御，所辖薛岳的第一兵团在南昌至德安附近的鄱阳湖西岸一线布防，阻敌进攻南昌和迂回长沙；张发奎的第二兵团在德安至九江一线布防，阻敌沿长江进攻田家镇等要塞，同时防止日军西攻岳阳。第五战区所辖部队为五个兵团，右翼兵团负责防守长江北岸、大别山南麓以及广济和浠水一线；中央兵团负责防守太湖、潜山西北的山地；左翼兵团负责防守大别山北麓和淮河间地区；苏北兵团担任敌后游击；二线兵团控制在湖北黄陂和麻城一带。中国最高统帅部关于武汉会战的总构想是：利用鄱阳湖、大别山和长江两岸丘陵湖沼的有利地形，在延迟武汉陷落的同时尽可能消耗日军的有生力量：“运用第五、第九两战区兵力，以粉碎敌继续攻势能力之目的，保持重点于江南，向武汉逐次抵抗，消耗敌军，以换取至少四个月之时间”。 参加武汉会战的中国军队总计十四个集团军，四十七个军，一百二十余个师，总兵力约七十五万。中国海军尚存的“中山”号、“永绥”号等十四艘炮舰，“宁”字号、“胜”字号等十五艘炮艇，“文天祥”号、“史可法”号等十艘快艇，加上少许的布雷艇和运输舰船，约有四十余艘舰船可以参战。中国空军截至一九三八年六月中旬，尚有轰炸机三十八架，驱逐机六十五架，侦察机二十七架，苏联空军志愿参战轰炸机二十六架，驱逐机和战斗机共六十四架，两者总计二百二十架。 尽管日军大本营很清楚，他们在军事上占据着绝对优势，攻取武汉在作战方面应该没有悬念，但是日本的政客们仍旧忐忑不安。无论军方多么凶狠狂妄，政客们总还知道，战争的目的远不是对一座城市的占领。因为使中国屈膝臣服的渴望过于强烈，日本政客们决定不管军事上如何推进，须着手谋划如何推翻蒋介石政权： 一、起用中国第一流人物，削弱中国现中央政府和中国民众的抗战意识，同时，酝酿建立巩固的新兴政权的趋势。 二、促进对杂牌军的拉拢归顺工作，设法分化、削弱敌人的战斗力。 三、利用、操纵反蒋系统的实力派，使在敌人中间建立反蒋、反共、反战政府。 四、推进回教工作，在西北地方划定由回教徒形成的防共地区。 五、设法造成法币的崩溃，取得中国的在国外企业资金，由此在财政上使中国现中央政权自行消灭。 日本首相近卫文麿认为，军方过于跋扈，根本没把内阁放在眼里，比如淞沪会战时，日军三个半师团在中国杭州湾登陆，内阁的阁僚们竟然是第二天从广播里听说的。首相认为自己总在被军方牵着鼻子走，遂以辞职为要挟表示须改组内阁。徐州会战结束后，近卫文麿进行了内阁改组：陆军第五师团师团长板垣征四郎中将取代杉山元出任陆相，曾任陆相和朝鲜总督的宇垣一成大将出任外相——近卫文麿的目的是：希望有“陆军前辈”之称的宇垣一成能够遏制陆军部无所顾忌地滥用权力。新内阁上任后提出的第一个执政目标是：一九三八年年底前，彻底解决中国事变。——换句话说，一九三八年底前，必须彻底让中国屈服。 如何让中国屈服再次令日本政客们绞尽脑汁。 宇垣一成入阁时，曾向近卫首相提出如下条件：“对中国开始和平交涉；一月十六日的近卫声明（不以蒋介石为对手的声明），迫于必要时予以取消。”令近卫文麿没想到的是，早在中国的辛亥革命时期，因参加“二次革命”失败而流亡日本的蒋介石便与宇垣一成像识，在蒋介石看来，那时的宇垣一成是一个能够“理解国民党事业”的开明的日本人。果然，宇垣一成收到了同样与他友谊甚深的张群的电报。张群时任中国国民政府国防最高会议秘书长，电报的内容是祝贺他出任新内阁的外相。据《宇垣一成日记》记载，自一九三八年六月始，他与张群在来往电报中提到了和谈： 张群去电：“此次阁下就任外相实为极其重要之大事。过去多次就东亚问题交换意见，余确信此次阁下定能将一向抱负努力予以实现。” 宇垣回电：“余昔日谈及想法意见，今后定当竭尽最大努力予以实现。” 张群去电：“能让我们进行和平谈判吗？如有此意，可由汪兆铭（汪精卫，字兆铭）或者本人出面接洽。” 宇垣回电：“我们期望谈判。无论如何应立即对话。但是，在贵国人士心目中，一听说张群或汪兆铭，会当即认为是亲日派巨头，同您或汪兆铭对话，很容易谈拢。但是，贵国国民会谴责这是亲日派干的，他们卖国求荣，反而使交涉陷于不利。不如选定同日本关系不深的人士出任我们的谈判对手。” 张群去电：“阁下所见甚是。我们居于二线，派他人出面，我们在其后声援。阁下认为何人为适宜？” 宇垣回电：“作为我个人意见而言，派遣孔祥熙先生如何？” 六月二十二日，日军波田支队向马当要塞全力攻击时，孔祥熙的代表，其机要秘书乔辅三，与宇垣一成的代表，即日本驻香港总领事中村丰一，两人在香港会面了。 所谓的和谈刚一开始就面临崩溃。 板垣征四郎就任陆相后，任命关东军参谋长东条英机为自己的副手，即陆军次官。关东军将领从来都是侵华强硬派，东条英机更是其中的代表人物，因此，他在中国问题上的强硬立场对板垣征四郎影响极大。七月八日，在日本内阁召开的五相会议上，决定了下列四条使“中国现中央政府屈服”的条件： 一、合并或参加建立新中央政权； 二、与上述情况相配合，改称或改组国民政府； 三、放弃抗日容共政策，采用亲日、满与反共政策； 四、蒋介石下野。 狡猾的孔祥熙反复强调，蒋介石是国家元首，如果让蒋介石下野，没有人再有资格替代他与日本签订条约。但日本人的态度很坚决：蒋介石必须下台。随后，日本人又开列出一系列具体问题的谈判条件：“满洲必须独立，内蒙古自治和华北特殊化”；清算和共产党的关系，加入日本制订的防共协定；中国必须向日本赔偿，等等。孔祥熙表示，现在让中国“写明承认满洲的独立”非常困难，可否先设置领事？承认内蒙自治和划定华北特殊地带也很困难，是否中日共同经济开发？至于对日赔偿，“中国现在荒芜而贫穷”，根本没有“赔偿之能力”。但是，日方的态度极其强硬：“满洲国”是庄严的既成事实，防共是日本方面最重视的，中国再穷也有其他方式对日本作出赔偿。 即使仅从用政治手段结束战争的意愿出发，蒋介石许可的对日和谈中对中国主权的伤害也令人吃惊——特别是东北问题和内蒙古问题。但是，这样的和谈也没有继续下去的可能了，因为蒋介石坚持起码的前提是恢复卢沟桥事变以前的状态，他明确指示孔祥熙：“绝对拒绝之事，宁死勿允。”由此，日本内阁立即改口，声称不以蒋介石为对手是日本帝国一贯不变的方针。 六月二十一日晚，驻扎在中国东北的日军第二师团师团长冈村宁次，接到了出任新组建的陆军第十一军司令官的命令。他立即动身回国，由于天气原因，三十日才抵达东京。第二天，他向参谋总长报到，接受军装检查、派遣命令和作战序列后，被安排晋见天皇和皇后——“拜受皇后陛下亲手缝制的围巾，拜领侍从长送下的赐金，在吉本参谋长、铃木专署副官伴同下，参拜皇宫内殿，拜受御赐神酒。”七月十二