Chapter 33 Chapter Thirty-Two: Scribble our Flesh and Flesh Names on Rocks

At the beginning of 1943, a strange thing happened: Wang Jingwei announced that his "National Government" had declared war on the Allies headed by the United States and Britain. Since then, Chongqing and Nanjing, two national governments, one true and the other false, have joined the ranks of the opposing camps of the Allied Powers and the Axis Powers in World War II. Not to mention how absurd it is for a puppet regime that surrendered to the aggressor to "declare war" against the World Anti-Fascist League, but this move by Wang Jingwei, who suddenly jumped out to clamor to the world when his Japanese master had already shown signs of decline, It's really weird.The Japanese agreed with Wang Jingwei that the purpose of "declaring war" was very clear, that is, to plunder more manpower, material and financial resources in China through the pseudo-national government to support a large-scale war with battlefields throughout the South Pacific—"the essence of the government's participation in the war" lies in "Cultivation of Greater East Asian Combat Power", of course, it is impossible to ask Wang Jingwei to "send troops to the front line. The armed war on the front line still has to become Japan's separate war, and without the cultivation of Greater East Asian combat power, long-term military force will be lost. If difficulties arise, this large mission should be borne by the national government.”

After the Japanese army suffered a disastrous defeat in the battle of Guadalcanal Island, the Japanese army base camp and the government cabinet held three consecutive joint meetings to discuss urgent countermeasures.The Japanese estimate is that the United States and Britain will cooperate closely to intensify their offensive operations against Japan, which will reach their climax in the second half of 1943.In view of the gradual improvement of the situation on the battlefield of the Allies, Chiang Kai-shek's Chongqing government will be more "convinced that the United States and Britain will win the final victory", so they will never "give up the will to continue the war of resistance."At the same time, thanks to the assistance from the Allies, China's resistance force will be further strengthened, and it will be more difficult for the Japanese army to fight in the Chinese battlefield.

How to get rid of the "never-ending" Chinese battlefield is an old problem that has not yet been resolved but is becoming more and more urgent.The Tokyo base camp thought of the word "people's hearts" - to win the support of the Chinese people so as to achieve the goal of "cooperating with each other" between China and Japan - for this idea, the generals of the Japanese invaders completely denied this idea, thinking that it was " Empty talk with no knowledge of the real situation in the occupied areas and the entities of the national government."Japan’s “ambassador” to the puppet government in Nanjing, Shigemitsu Aoi, believed that Japan had no way of talking about public opinion in China: “How can Japan treat a large part of China as a colony while calling for an end to colonialism?” Therefore, the joint meeting in Tokyo delineated the scope of "China's people's hearts", that is, "the current national government", that is, the "people's hearts" of Wang Jingwei's puppet government-"Chongqing is now desperately dependent on the United States and Britain, and is determined to conduct a thorough The various policies we have implemented in the past have failed. The only way left is to strengthen the current national government."

On February 18, 1942, the joint meeting of the Japanese army base camp and the government cabinet decided to further support the Wang Jingwei regime.The specific measures are: strengthen the financial power of the Wang Jingwei regime, allowing it to raise more war materials on its own; adjust the relationship between Wang Jingwei and the local government, eliminate friction between them, and stop interfering more in personnel arrangements below the provincial government; The concessions "managed" by the Japanese side and the embassy area in Beijing were returned to Wang Jingwei, extraterritoriality was revoked, and China's "enemy property" was dealt with "friendly" as much as possible. ——The intention of the Japanese is: Isn’t China demanding that Japan return the concession and abolish extraterritoriality every day?Chiang Kai-shek's Chongqing regime couldn't do it, but Wang Jingwei's Nanjing regime did. In this way, wouldn't Wang Jingwei win the hearts of the people?Isn't Wang Jingwei's regime more like a "government"?

Wang Jingwei was very moved that the Japanese finally paid attention to him.On December 20, 1942, Wang Jingwei, Zhou Fohai, Mei Siping and his staff arrived in Tokyo in the name of participating in the "First Anniversary of the Great East Asian War".Wang Jingwei held talks with Hideki Tojo and met with the Emperor of Japan.At the subsequent press conference, Wang Jingwei said: "Japan and China cooperate, have the same goal, and go hand in hand to complete the war." Lin Bosheng, Wang Jingwei's pseudo-propaganda minister, said more directly: "In order to complete the Great East Asian War, the Nationalist Government is determined to follow the principle of The spirit of sharing weal and woe with allies to move forward, vowing to live and die together.”

As early as December 7, 1941, when Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor led to the outbreak of the Pacific War, Wang Jingwei hoped that the Japanese would allow his "National Government" to declare war on the United States and Britain. The conflict thus affected Japan's southward strategy, and Wang Jingwei's request was not agreed.Now, there is still no possibility of resolving the hostility with the Chongqing Nationalist Government. More importantly, the situation of the Japanese army in the Pacific battlefield continues to deteriorate. Therefore, Wang Jingwei can publicly "declare war" to gain momentum. As for the effect, he does not care.And why did Wang Jingwei make such a request?Zhou Fohai's explanation is: You must not think that if you don't declare war, you can get forgiveness from Chongqing and leave room for the future.If you don't succeed, you will be benevolent. If Japan loses the war, we will have no face to beg for justice.Wang Jingwei also believes that declaring war can flaunt the "independence" and "legitimacy" of his "government", allowing his "government" to enter the world stage and gain a certain international status. ——When everyone can judge that the possibility of Japan winning the war is zero, it is obviously not wise for Wang Jingwei to make another big bet on Japan.The only explanation is: as a puppet government, he has no way out and can only make the last desperate attempt.

On the second day after Wang Jingwei arrived in Tokyo, at the imperial meeting convened by the Emperor of Japan, Japan passed the "Basic Plan for Dealing with China in order to complete the Great East Asian War": First, policy 1. The Empire took the national government's participation in the war as a major turning point to open up the current situation between Japan and China, and devoted itself to strengthening the political power of the national government according to the fundamental policy of cooperation between Japan and China, and tried to eliminate Chongqing's pretext for the war of resistance, so as to become one with the new China. Really move forward to finish the war.

2. Keeping an eye on the evolution of the world war situation, before the climax of the United States and Britain's counter-offensive comes, based on the previous policy, strive to make various policies towards China succeed. Second, essentials 1. Strengthen the political power of the national government. A. The empire tried its best to avoid interference with the national government and strongly promoted its spontaneous activities. B. Make every effort to adjust the local particularities in the occupied areas, and strengthen the guidance of the Nationalist Government to the local governments.

C. With regard to China's concessions, extraterritoriality and other special situations, it is necessary to try to revoke or even adjust them as soon as possible in the spirit of respecting China's sovereignty and territory.The handling of the Leased Land in Kowloon shall be stipulated separately together with Hong Kong. D. The National Government should use unshakable determination and conviction to emphasize self-improvement strategies in all aspects and win the hearts of the people. In particular, in order to complete the war, it must strive to increase the necessary production, popularize the understanding of the purpose of the war between the officials and the people, and strengthen the maintenance of law and order. Assist in the war without reservation.

E. The Empire will consider making necessary revisions to the "Basic Treaty between Japan and China" and its subsidiary agreements at an appropriate time in accordance with the future enrichment and strengthening of the National Government and the concrete realization of its cooperation with Japan. 2. Economic policy. A. The current economic policy toward China is mainly focused on further obtaining the materials necessary for the completion of the war. For this purpose, we must try to focus on the development and acquisition of important materials in the occupied areas, and actively obtain the enemy's materials.

B. In the implementation of economic policies, it is necessary to prevent Japan from monopolizing as much as possible, and to flexibly utilize the sense of responsibility and creativity of Chinese officials and people, so that they can effectively realize positive cooperation with Japan. Third, the policy on Chongqing. A. The empire will not carry out any peace work in Chongqing.When it is necessary to carry out peaceful work due to changes in the situation, it shall be decided separately. B. To make the national government conform to the above-mentioned attitude of the empire. 4. Strategic plan. The empire's strategic policy toward China was implemented according to the established guidelines. If we compare this "fundamental plan" with the "Outline for Handling Incidents in China" decided by the imperial meeting on November 13, 1940, we can see that Japan's policy toward China has undergone a huge change, and this change is It is a clear evidence of Japan's decline. Commander-in-Chief Hata Shunroku of the Japanese Invasion Army thought: "Although the central government knows that the government is weak, there is no other good strategy to find. Therefore, for now, we cannot pin our hopes on the government in both military and political aspects, and are just trying to put all our eggs in one basket. I have foreseen this.” In 1943, both the Japanese government and Wang Jingwei's puppet government were desperate. At this time, a piece of "bad news" came from the Chinese battlefield, which was a headache for the Japanese: General Tsukada, the commander of the 11th Army, was on his way to Nanjing for a meeting, and his plane flew over Taihu County in western Anhui, China. At that time, it was shot down by the Chinese army stationed in the southern part of the Dabie Mountains. Eleven people including Tsukada Gong and the senior staff officer of the 11th Army, Fujiwara Takeshi, were killed. It was the anti-aircraft artillery battalion of the 138th Division of the 48th Army of the Chinese Army that shot down the Tsukada attack plane. This is another senior Japanese general who died in the Chinese battlefield after Naoji Sakai, the commander of the 15th Division, was killed by a landmine. The Eleventh Army of the Japanese Army immediately dispatched troops to search the Dabie Mountains in an emergency. After finding eleven corpses, they carried out a retaliatory "sweep" on the Dabie Mountains. The Japanese believe that this event means a bad start to the year. The Spring Festival of 1942 is approaching. Despite the hardships of life, the Chinese people still try their best to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner, no matter how simple the meal is. The new commander of the 11th Army is Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, and the successor senior staff officer is Takeji Shimanuki. The two of them have the same feeling for the current situation of the army, and believe that morale has been low to a precarious level.Yokoyama decided to fight no matter what, otherwise, those soldiers who were looking forward to going home would have a nervous breakdown when they huddled in the barracks under the cold winter clouds in southern China and had nothing to do. Since it is to boost morale, the battle must be won. So you have to find an opponent who has a grudge, and vent your anger freely. The Eleventh Army of the Japanese Army selected the 128th Division of the Chinese Army. Wang Jinzai, commander of the 128th Division of the Chinese Army. Wang Jinzai is a legendary figure with great personality in the Chinese Anti-Japanese Army.He had a violent personality since he was a child, and became a general of the Northwest Army after he joined the army. He fought ferociously in the melee of warlords and was known as the "king tiger".In 1935, as Yang Hucheng's brigade commander, he fought desperately against the Red Army led by the Communist Party; but he was also one of the participants in the "Xi'an Incident", and he was always at odds with Chiang Kai-shek.His troops were once incorporated into Tang Enbo's Central Army series, but he not only killed the officers Chiang Kai-shek placed under him, but also buried alive the liaison staff officers sent by neighboring troops. He said that he would rather seek refuge with Li Zongren than Willing to attach to Chiang Kai-shek.However, as a commander of the Chinese army, he has never been ambiguous in his anti-Japanese stance. He punished the traitors ruthlessly, and fought the Japanese invaders extremely tenaciously. He led his troops in the battles of Taierzhuang, Wuhan, and Zhongtiaoshan. In the midst of constant shopping, Chiang Kai-shek, who had a deep estrangement from him, had to award him a medal. At this moment, Wang Jinzai's 128th Division is stationed in the water network between Honghu Lake and Dongjing River.The four counties of Mianyang, Qianjiang, Jianli and Honghu between the Yangtze River and the Han River are located in the triangle between Wuhan, Yuezhou (now Yueyang), and Shashi.This is a flat and fertile place with dense lakes and rich rice.It is precisely because of the presence of the Chinese army in this area that after the Japanese occupied Yichang, the Yangtze River waterway from Wuhan to Yichang was never navigable, and the transportation of Japanese military supplies was always blocked, which made the 11th Army stationed in Wuhan very uncomfortable. What made the Japanese army even more uncomfortable was that Wang Jinzai, who was stationed alone not far from Wuhan, had aggressively expanded his strength since he led his troops into this area. He set up a system similar to an independent regime, not only collecting taxes and conscription privately, but also opening his own arsenal, occupying several counties, and expanding his force to more than 20,000 people, so that his 128th Division was like a warlord on the Jianghan Plain. A large and solid bunker.The Japanese army tried to pull out this nail many times, but in several small-scale battles with the 128th Division, they failed to completely eliminate this confidant, even in the Mianyang battle in May 1942. It was also defeated by the 128th Division—although the Japanese army claimed that the attack was stopped because of the imminent battle of Zhejiang and Jiangxi, but Wang Jinzai said that this was a great victory for him to kill the devil, and the whole China knew that Master Wang had killed the devil. Blood flowed like a river - the staff officers of the Japanese Eleventh Army believed that not killing Wang Jinzai would not be enough to calm the anger. Takeji Shimaguchi believes: "It is necessary to fully gather the troops and adopt the method of killing chickens with a sledgehammer, so that the troops can experience the combat practice of winning, so as to boost the morale that is currently depressed." It really is "killing a chicken with a sledgehammer". In order to deal with one division of the Chinese army, the Japanese Eleventh Army mobilized four divisions and decided to take advantage of the slack in Chinese New Year's combat preparations to adopt tactics of surprise attacks, interspersed divisions, and complete encirclement. The Chinese army fought away, then surrounded the 128th Division and completely wiped it out, and captured Wang Jinzai alive.Before, the Japanese army tried their best to send a staff officer and an interpreter of the 58th Division, "According to the introduction of Liu, a former major general of the Chinese army, at the beginning of January, I met with the brigade commander of the division who had long been dissatisfied with Commander Wang. Indirect sexual contact was successfully made."The brigade commander, who was about to betray Wang Jinzai, reached a secret agreement after having secret contact with the Japanese army: "First, report in detail the strength, configuration, and actions of the 128th Division to the division; ;3. Provide an action summary of the brigade’s direction, assembly location, and timing when the Japanese army is in combat. Contact the combat headquarters in Zhangjiagou (15 kilometers southwest of Xiantao Town) for relevant details after the start of the division’s combat operations; 4. Strictly keep the secrets of the agreement matters and never leak them.” After obtaining Wang Jinzai's photos, the Japanese army copied more than a thousand copies, and distributed them together with the description of Wang Jinzai's physical characteristics to officers above the squadron leader of the participating troops. Mr. Wang Jinzai, there are more bad luck than good luck. The Japanese army divided its operations into three phases: the 13th and 40th divisions were the main attackers, advancing from the north and south banks of the Yangtze River respectively. One-step attack to open the channel; the 34th Division will act as a feint attack in the direction of Changsha to contain the possible reinforcements of the Chinese army; then join the 58th Division to attack Wang Jinzai's troops with all their strength, and after they are completely wiped out, some troops will be transferred Occupy important places in the south of the Yangtze River, consolidate the results of the battle and prepare for future operations. The Japanese soldiers were very excited when they learned that they were going to be dispatched towards the Chinese New Year dinner that they coveted. ——The Chinese people in the water network between the Yangtze River and the Han River have the custom of making rice cakes during the New Year. Therefore, the Japanese soldiers called this attack "combat eating rice cakes". On February 13, 1943—the ninth day of the first lunar month in China—the 40th Division of the Japanese Army divided into two routes and crossed the Yangtze River northward: the right column was led by the Division Headquarters, the Fourth Infantry Regiment, and the Fourth Mountain Artillery Regiment. The tenth regiment is the backbone, crossing the river from Linxiang; the left column is based on the infantry brigade headquarters, the 236th infantry regiment, the second independent mountain artillery regiment, and the division cavalry as the backbone, crossing the river from Taorenji.The request of the army headquarters is: all the crossing of the river must be completed at midnight—presumably the Japanese soldiers who have just landed will smell the rich aroma of Chinese rice cakes——in the early morning of the tenth day of the first lunar month, the left column of the 40th Division raided Nie’s house In the villages and towns along the river, the rice cakes of the Chinese people in this area made the Japanese soldiers very satisfied. They incidentally drove away the 445th Regiment of the 149th Division of the 44th Army of the 6th Theater of China who was in this area for the New Year.The next day, the Japanese army occupied Jianli without fighting.After the Japanese troops in the right column crossed the river, they were resisted by the Chinese army advancing into the first, second, and third columns. They fought for a whole day without any progress. They did not advance until they found that the Chinese army had abandoned their positions in front of them at night.At the same time, the 13th Division of the Japanese Army in the north began to attack from the south of Shashi: a road composed of the Infantry Brigade Headquarters, the 65th Infantry Regiment, and a Brigade of the Mountain Artillery, attacked Haoxue and Xinchang. ; A road composed of division headquarters, the 104th Infantry Regiment, two squadrons of the 65th Infantry Regiment, and a brigade of the Mountain Artillery Corps attacked Puji Temple.On the west side of the battlefield, the Fujikura Battalion of the 13th Division began to attack Shagang. On February 17, the 40th and 13th Divisions of the Japanese Army made a centripetal assault on Xinchang from the north and the south.The 118th Division of the Chinese Army and the Jinjin Army fought on both sides. After several hours of fierce fighting, the positions were successively broken by the Japanese. The 118th Division and the Jinjin Army retreated westward across the river. After the two divisions of the Japanese army joined together, they concentrated their main force to attack and advance towards the peak. Wang Jinzai's 128th Division is near Fengkou, north of Honghu Lake. In order to prevent Wang Jinzai from running away, the 40th Division of the Japanese Army surrounded from the east and south, the 13th Division from the west, and the 58th Division was responsible for blocking the north.In previous wars between the Chinese and Japanese armies, the Japanese army has always carried out operations according to the ratio of one division against ten divisions of the Chinese army. This time it even used three divisions to attack one division of the Chinese army.Beginning on the 21st, various Japanese troops gradually compressed the encirclement, and the brigade commander in the encirclement who was preparing to rebel also began to cooperate with the Japanese military agents. The officers and soldiers of the 128th Division fought against the Japanese army, and the big bunker it built in the water network area made the Japanese army even more troublesome.These bunkers could not be penetrated by infantry fire, and the Japanese army could only attack by force, stuffing grenades or lit straw into the shooting holes of the bunkers, which caused heavy casualties to the Japanese troops who stormed. On the morning of the 22nd, the brigade encountered enemy sniper attacks at Luojiaqiao. The first squadron leader, Lieutenant Oi Yoshitaka, and four others died in battle.Then the brigade attacked the Yijiaji fortress at around ten o'clock.The fortress was not covered with matting, and the first squadron was initially responsible for the attack. Seven people under the cadet soldier officer were killed in battle, and the attack was unsuccessful.Then soldiers were selected from each squadron, and the attack began at 15 o'clock, which lasted for an hour without success. Due to the tenacious resistance of the 128th Division and the frequent loss of direction in the maze-like water network, the operation of the three Japanese divisions to compress the encirclement lasted for four full days and nights.In the early morning of the 25th, the vanguard of the Japanese army finally occupied Fengkou Town, but found that the troops of the 128th Division had disappeared.While continuing to search in the thick fog of lakes and swamps, the Japanese search team engaged with the first part of the 128th Division. After the brutal hand-to-hand combat subsided, the Japanese army found a cane with Wang Jinzai's name engraved on it among the seized items. The 40th Division ordered the cavalry to pursue immediately.The cavalry team caught up with another part of the 128th Division, and the two sides launched a tragic fight.After the blood of the Chinese officers and soldiers was gone, the Japanese army found a corpse wearing an officer's cloak among the corpses scattered all over the place. Since the face had been smashed to pieces, the identity could not be identified. After careful inspection, it was found that there was no gold in the mouth of the corpse. Ya, it was finally determined that it was not Wang Jinzai.The Japanese army captured two local civilians, wrote a big "King" character on the ground with a tree branch, and interrogated them gesturing.In the terrified and fragmented words of the people, the captain of the cavalry, An Yiwu, seemed to understand something: I immediately followed the road along the river in front of the village like a smoke.After running for three or four hundred meters, as expected, I found a black thing moving about a hundred meters ahead in a hazy state.I hurried to catch up and saw that it turned out to be a man in ordinary casual clothes of local residents, his whole body was soaked in water, and he was desperately crawling forward.I rushed forward with a bayonet in my hand, feeling that the man's clothing and face were wrong, unlike the photo of Master Wang circulated by all members of the cavalry before the operation began.I yelled: "Is it Wang Jinzai?" The man smiled and said, "My Master Wang, my Master Wang." When he smiled, his golden teeth were exposed.Suddenly, I felt extremely nervous all over my body.When I calmed down, I remembered that there was such a text written on the back of the circulated photos: "There is a scar on his right wrist that was pierced by a bullet during the Northern Expedition." When he turned it over, it was obvious that there was such a scar. On the head, there is a tanned mark unique to soldiers.Therefore, after discussing with the team leader, I thought it might not be wrong, so I quickly reported to the team leader: "The Ando team has captured a person, who looks like the enemy general Wang Jinzai." I want to escort the enemy general to the headquarters of the army as soon as possible.When he pulled his hand, he screamed "Ouch! Ouch" and cried out for pain.At first glance, the right ankle was pierced by a bullet.But there was no delay, so he had no choice but to carry him on his right shoulder and run forward.The enemy general on his right shoulder felt my heart beating hard, and he said repeatedly: "Thank you! Thank you!" If Wang Jinzai had not been injured, the Japanese army would have never been able to catch this old devil-beater.Master Wang was imprisoned in Hankou by the Japanese army, and he vowed not to surrender in the face of the coercion and temptation of the Japanese army.In 1944, he was escorted to Nanjing again, where he was held until Japan surrendered.After the victory of the Chinese Anti-Japanese War, Wang Jinzai returned to his hometown in Shaanxi. He was once detained by Hu Zongnan, but he escaped from prison and arrived in Yan'an. He joined the Communist Party and served as the commander of the column of the Shaanxi Self-Defense Army.In 1948, with the approval of the Northwest Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, he was absorbed as a special member of the Communist Party of China.After the founding of New China, he served as the second and third member of the Standing Committee of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a counselor of the Provincial Counselor's Office.He died in the spring of 1968 at the age of seventy-one. In this battle, the Eleventh Army of the Japanese Army, which dispatched a large number of troops, had no other results except eating the rice cakes for the Chinese New Year and breaking up a division of the Chinese Army. Although the Japanese invaders were still able to invest a large number of troops locally, their military strength in China was becoming weaker and weaker from the perspective of the overall war.After the Japanese army was forced to give up the attack on Sichuan, due to the urgent need for additional troops to restore the decline in the Pacific battlefield, and Japan could not recruit more infantry, the base camp had to be transferred from the Chinese battlefield. ——"At that time, the base camp believed that once the situation on the southeast front deteriorated, there was no other way but to withdraw troops and materials from the Chinese dispatched army." It was negotiated and decided to transfer five Type A field infantry divisions from the Chinese battlefield, namely the fifteenth, twenty-seventh, seventeenth, sixteenth and thirty-second divisions.Except for the 27th Division, which was incorporated into the Kwantung Army sequence, the remaining four divisions were all devoted to the Pacific battlefield. In view of the shortage of troops, on February 27, the Tokyo base camp issued the "Mainland Order No. 757", which clarified the occupied areas that must be maintained in the Chinese battlefield. The occupied area is still very large - at the same time, it is clear: while securing the occupied area, try not to conduct large-scale offensive operations: 1. The purpose of the base camp is to complete the Greater East Asia War, to establish the empire's self-improvement and victory in Greater East Asia, and to resolve the China incident as soon as possible. 2. The commander-in-chief of the Chinese Expeditionary Force shall strive to smash the enemy's attempt to continue the war of resistance and curb the activities of the enemy's air force stationed in China according to the following requirements. 1. Make sure to guard the West Sunite Palace, Bailing Temple, Anbei, Yellow River, Yellow Flooding Area, Luzhou, Wuhu, the area east of the Hangzhou line, as well as Jinhua and Ningbo. The important places in northern Shanxi Province, Hebei Province, Shandong Province, and northern Jiangsu Province, as well as the areas between Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou, stabilized rapidly. 2. Efforts should be made to ensure the transportation of the Yangtze River below Yuezhou, and smash the enemy's resistance forces based in the three towns of Wuhan and Jiujiang. 3. Ensure the security of key areas near Guangdong, Shantou, northern Hainan Island, and the Leizhou Peninsula in an effort to stabilize them, and assist in the defense of the French leased land in Canton Bay.The combat areas near Guangdong are roughly from Huizhou, Conghua, Qingyuan, Beijiang and Sanshui to the lower reaches of Xijiang. 4. When ensuring the security and stability of the above-mentioned areas, it is especially necessary to promote the spontaneous activities of the Chinese side. 5. Strictly monitor the enemy's aviation forces in China, defeat them in due course, and try our best to prevent the enemy's air strikes on the mainland of the empire. 6. Ground operations beyond the above-mentioned areas shall be based on orders issued separately. 7. Efforts should be made to ensure the cultivation of our army's combat power in areas with important resources. 8. Efforts to implement a blockade against the enemy. 9. In the above-mentioned operations, in relation to coastal and water operations and aviation operations, when necessary, coordinate with the commander-in-chief of the southern army and the commander-in-chief of the Chinese fleet. 10. In order to promote the decline and fall of the anti-Japanese forces, it is necessary to carry out strategic work on China. 11. In the case of operational needs, part of the troops may be temporarily dispatched into areas in Rehe Province close to the border of Manchuria, and part of the air force may enter northern Indochina. 3. The Chief of Staff may temporarily place the necessary part of the ships under his command under the command of the Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Expeditionary Force. 4. The relevant rules shall be instructed by the Chief of Staff. The Japanese army has become more cautious, and its war intentions have been reduced to maintaining the existing occupied areas, and it has to be extra wary of bombing the Japanese mainland by fighter planes flying from China. However, to the dismay of the Tokyo base camp came one after another: the commander of the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet Yamamoto Fifty-Six died. There is no doubt that the setbacks of the Japanese army in the Pacific battlefield and the difficulty of supply had a great impact on the morale of the navy.In February 1943, in order to rescue more than 30,000 Japanese soldiers who were "on the brink of starvation" and to prevent these dead soldiers from being annihilated by the US-Australian coalition forces, the commander of the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet Yamamoto Fifty-Six Commanded the retreat of Guadalcanal - "had to carry out a sea retreat never before possible for the Japanese Army".He then moved his flagship to the more advanced battleship Musashi.Yamamoto Fifty-Six, like Yokoyama Isamu, the new commander of the 11th Army, also believed that a battle victory must be used to boost morale.He decided to launch a fierce counterattack against the U.S. forces in the South Pacific. He planned to use the carrier-based aircraft of the Third Fleet and the shore-based aircraft of the Eleventh Air Fleet to attack the area from the Solomon Islands to New Guinea with more than 300 fighters. U.S. fleet and air bases.For this reason, he decided to go to the front line of Rabaul to personally command - Yamamoto Fifty-Six was reluctant to go to Rabaul. He thought it was inappropriate to place the core strength of the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet in front of the US military. To boost morale, that's all he could do. Knowing the danger of running under the eyes of the U.S. military, Yamamoto Fifty-Six wrote a letter to his lover Kawai Chiyoko before leaving.He said his blood pressure was normal and his numb fingers had improved.A lock of his hair was also sent with the letter. The day after arriving in Rabaul was Yamamoto's fifty-six fifty-ninth birthday. In the ensuing battle, Japan and the United States launched a fierce air battle, with a combat range of more than 250 nautical miles.When the Japanese fighter plane took off, Yamamoto Fifty-Six saw the pilot off at the airport; when the fighter plane returned, he still stood on the side of the runway and waved his military cap to the pilot.For four consecutive days of large-scale attacks, the pilots continued to report various "battle results" to him. Generally speaking, the US warships and carrier-based aircraft were basically wiped out-Yamamoto Fifty-Six did not know that during the battle American ship losses were minimal, while Japanese fighter losses were more than double the American losses—perhaps the Japanese pilots understood that their commanders were concerned only with morale. On the last day of the attack, the inspired Yamamoto Fifty-Six decided to inspect the frontier island base near Guadalcanal to boost the morale of the officers and soldiers there.In particular, he would like to personally express his gratitude to the officers and men who survived the bitter battle on Guadalcanal. Yamamoto Fifty-Six is ​​going to the Solomon Islands. Taking off from Rabaul, which is located between the Solomon Islands and New Guinea Island, sailing 300 kilometers southwest is Bougainville Island, and the southern tip of the island is the Japanese army's Buin base.Flying south for a few minutes from the Buin base, you can reach Shortland Island, and across the small Balal Island to the east of the island is Guadalcanal Island occupied by the US military. Almost all the staff opposed Yamamoto Fifty-Six's going - that airspace was under the close surveillance of the US military, and US fighter planes could overwhelm the sky at any time. However, Yamamoto Fifty-Six insisted on going. On April 13, Yamamoto Fifty-Six ordered that his inspection itinerary be sent to the various naval bases, aviation units, and island defense forces in the form of telegrams. Kojima, the commander of the 11th Air Force stationed on Shortland Island, was very surprised when he received the telegram. He thought it was a foolish thing to telegraph the commander's detailed itinerary, because it might leak the secret. ——"The commander-in-chief is simply crazy. This is not a telegram, it is clearly an invitation sent to the enemy." Jojima Takaji flew to Rabaul in person, and personally persuaded Yamamoto Fifty-Six to give up this inspection. Sixteen refused. The telegram of Yamamoto Fifty-Six's inspection itinerary was drafted by his adjutant Lieutenant Watanabe. The telegram contained information about when to depart, what plane to take, where to fly, and when and what time to land.The cautious Adjutant Watanabe once asked to send someone to deliver it on the ground, but the communications officer insisted on sending it by radio, on the grounds that the code currently in use was newly activated on April 1, and it is a five-digit garbled code that is extremely difficult to decipher. It is simply impossible to decipher. The U.S. military's listening post in Dutch Harbor, Aleutian Islands intercepted the telegram, and the telegram was immediately sent to the Pacific Fleet Wireless Unit at the Hawaii Naval Base.The deciphering experts of the U.S. military worked all night in the basement. In the early morning of the 14th, they translated the full text of the encrypted telegram into plain code: GF Chief will go to inspect Barral Island, Shortland Island and Buin Base on April 18th.The specific schedule is as follows: Depart from Rabaul at 06:00 by a medium bomber (escorted by six fighter jets) and arrive at Balal at 08:00; then transfer to a submarine hunter and arrive at Shortland at 08:40; 14:00: At 00, take a medium bomber to leave Bouin and return to Rabaul at 15:40.In case of bad weather, the inspection schedule will be postponed by one day. The telegram was sent to Admiral Nimitz, who decided to throw the Japanese admiral into the sea to feed the sharks. "He was the best of their men," Lieutenant Colonel Leighton, the U.S. naval intelligence officer, told Nimitz. "Yamamoto was the idol of the young Japanese officers and soldiers. You know the state of mind of the Japanese, and it will make The whole of Japan was taken aback." When Nimitz asked Washington for instructions, Roosevelt hesitated.Although there have been many assassinations of enemy leaders or generals in world wars, Americans still believe that the assassination of the military commander of a belligerent country is "a very disgraceful action."Secretary of the War Department Stimson reminded Roosevelt that the place where Yamamoto Fifty-Six was going was the front line and a combat area, so this could not be regarded as an assassination.Marshall, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also believed that killing the core generals who were difficult to deal with by the Japanese navy would reduce the losses of the US military in the Pacific.As a result, Roosevelt approved the plan to rob and kill Yamamoto Fifty-Six in the air. The mission is under the command of Rear Admiral Mark Mitchell, commander of the Solomon Islands Air Force.He chose the P-38 "Lightning" fighter known as the "Twin Devil" that is superior to the Japanese Zero fighter in various performances, and selected 18 outstanding fighters commanded by Major John Michel. pilot.The attack was carried out in two groups: Michel commanded a cover group of 12 people to pin down the Japanese escort fighter jets at high altitude; second lieutenant Thomas Lanfell led an attack group of six people to attack Yamamoto Fifty-Six from low altitude at all costs landline. Sunday, April 18th. Clear skies over the South Pacific. In order to extend the flight range, eighteen P-38s were equipped with auxiliary fuel tanks, and the ammunition capacity was also installed to the limit. Due to the heavy take-off weight, two aircrafts failed to fly. After the rest of the fighters took off smoothly, in order to avoid Japanese radar , the formation flew close to the sea at a low altitude of only ten meters, and kept radio silent. In the morning, everything was ready at the Rabaul base. Yamamoto Fifty-Six and his staff took off in two Mitsubishi land-based twin-engine bombers. The person who took Yamamoto Fifty-Six and numbered No. 1 was: United Fleet Chief Surgeon Takada Rear Admiral Rokuro, Secretary Fukusaki Noboru, and Aviation Staff Officer Hisashio Hibata, the pilot is the ace pilot Kotani Takeo Cho and his crew.Yamamoto Fifty-Six wore white gloves and a grass-green general uniform-he followed the last persuasion of his staff and temporarily changed into a conspicuous white admiral uniform to avoid the eyes and ears of the US intelligence agencies.Before boarding the plane, Yamamoto gave two scrolls to Rabaulki's naval commander, Lieutenant Admiral Kusakashi, which contained his carefully written poems of Emperor Meiji. Yamamoto Fifty-Six and his party flew south surrounded by six Zero fighters. One and a half hours later, when Takeo Kotani had seen the green tropical forest on Bougainville Island, he suddenly found a Zero fighter escort mission suddenly left the route and swung its wings violently.Following the direction pointed by the pilot of the fighter plane, Takeo Kotani was surprised to see eight US fighter planes rushing towards him at a height of 500 meters behind the right side.护航的六架零式战机迅速爬升，对高处的美军机群展开了拦截。就在这时，兰菲尔小组径直朝着山本五十六的座机冲来。小谷武男迅速降低高度，试图以超低空飞行摆脱攻击；高处的零式战机也发现上了当，迅速向山本五十六的座机靠近，但为时已晚。 宇垣缠参谋长在他乘坐的二号机里看见了可怕的一幕：山本五十六的座机变成一团火球，坠入布干维尔岛的茂密丛林中，接着丛林深处升起一股浓重的黑烟。就在这股黑烟向着高空翻滚之际，二号机也被击中了，机尾和机翼都被打断，一头栽进了大海。 仅仅三分钟，日军的两架三菱重型轰炸机全部被击落。 美军战机迅速返航。 除了身负重伤的宇垣缠等三人获救外，其余人员全部丧生。 经过长时间的搜索，日方最终在丛林深处找到了山本五十六的座机残骸。 山本五十六，一八八四年生于日本长闪市，自一九〇一年起先后进入江田岛海军学校、海军炮兵学校、海军大学学习。期间曾以见习少尉官的身份参加日俄战争。一九一九年留学美国哈佛大学，回国后出任海军大学教官。一九二五年任日本驻美国大使馆海军武官，一九二八年归国后出任巡洋舰舰长、航空母舰舰长、第一航空队司令官、航空本部部长等职，一手打造出日本海军航空兵的强大战力。就任联合舰队司令官一职后，策划了偷袭珍珠港的行动，并指挥了日本海军在南太平洋上的一系列两栖登陆作战以及著名的大海战。 山本五十六被击毙，给日本朝野和军队造成“难以承受的打击”。 天皇悲痛地对参谋总长杉山元说：“将来，你一定要事前有成功的把握才能发起行动。” 此刻对于日本来说，已经不存在将来了。 就在山本五十六的座机被击落之际，蒋介石的夫人宋美龄正在美国到处演讲，以争取美国加大对华援助。宋美龄以优雅的风度、流利的英语和充满激情的言辞，赞美了美国参战对世界反法西斯战争的贡献；同时她还让更多的美国人知道，中国有与侵略者作战的意志和决心，中国不缺人，缺的是钱和军火，美国不应对中国正在遭受的战争苦难和中国人民正在承担的残酷战斗袖手旁观，中美两国需要携手并肩让世界正义获得胜利，并为重建战后的国际和平尽到大国的责任。 无论是美国还是英国，都已无法回避中国在世界反法西斯战争中的地位。鉴于日本政府为扶持汪精卫政权而宣布放弃帝国主义在中国的某些特权和权益，美英两国也迅速与中国国民政府签订了一系列废除近代以来不平等条约的“新约”。在美英两国的带动下，在华享有特权的挪威、荷兰、比利时、加拿大等国纷纷效仿，也与中国国民政府签订了“新约”，以废除曾强加给中国的不平等条约。 自一八四〇年鸦片战争起，帝国主义强加给中国的一系列不平等条约，是中国人民百年以来的心头之痛。为了庆祝这些不平等条约的废除，重庆宣布工厂放假一天，学校放假三天。共产党人的陕甘宁边区也举行了庆祝活动，毛泽东和朱德出席了在延安召开的庆祝大会。边区政府宣布机关民众团体放假一周，学校放假半个月。 从某种意义上讲，帝国主义者强加给中国的不平等条约以及在中国土上的种种特权被废除，比一场战争的胜利更具历史意义。而如果没有中国人民的坚决抗战和持久抗战，没有中国以坚决、持久的抗战在世界反法西斯战争中赢得的重要地位，怎么会有这样一个历史时刻的到来？ 一九四三年初夏，宋美龄回国了。她带回美国政府的大批军援项目以及美国人民为中国抗战捐献的数以千万计的美元。 而就在这时，侵华日军又发动了攻势作战。 日方把这次作战称为“江南作战”，中方则称为“鄂西会战”。 日军第十一军的进攻直指中国第六战区的宜昌方向。 在太平洋上开始举步维艰的日本人，难道非要把国民政府赶出重庆而后快吗？ 中国的四川省地理奇特，无论从哪个方向进入，都要越过险峻的山脉和湍急的大河。因此，从军事上讲，要想进入“天府之国”，必须投入巨大的兵力并拥有雄厚的补给支援能力。就日本目前的国力、军力和财力看，似乎已不具备实施如此大规模作战的条件。尽管这次日军是朝着宜昌而来，但确实没有攻占重庆的企图，其作战的主要目的竟然是去宜昌抢东西——日本人想抢的东西是船。 大东亚战争爆发以来，由于敌方潜艇的破坏，船舶损失累累增多，而且随着太平洋方面战势激化，输送兵员、军需品以及为国内生产军需品运输原料的船舶需求量越来越大。在这种情况下，分配给中国战场方面的船舶似乎已经不多，特别是供中国内河航运需要的船舶在逐年减少，并且不能如愿以偿地得到补充。可是另一方面，在宜昌附近扬子江水面上却有十一艘内河航运轮船停泊在那里，总共有一万数千吨（最大的船有二千吨或三千吨）。由于宜昌到岳州一段扬子江右岸（西南）地区大部分为敌人所占据，所以不能向下游通航。派遣军很早就想到，要使上述船舶下航，用于军事运输，则是弥补眼下船舶不足的最佳手段。为此，必须歼灭宜昌至岳州间扬子江右岸的敌军野战部队，以打通扬子江航道。 中国的长江流域河网纵横，没有充足的船舶，日军的补给运输无法得到保证。原来日军拥有的有限的内河船舶，在长久的作战中被中国军队布下的水雷炸沉了不少，而大本营连太平洋作战的船舶都供应不及，哪里顾得上给侵华日军补充内河船舶？日军侦察机拍回来的航空照片显示，中国方面有意挑衅般在宜昌附近的长江江面上停泊着十几艘大船。日本人看着眼馋，但要把船弄到手，除了拼死去抢别无他法。同时，长江航道始终被中国军队切断，占领宜昌的日军孤零零地悬在那里，宽阔的长江水路无法利用，陆路运输艰难而危险，那么，在抢船的同时把长江航道打通不是两全其美的事吗？ 但是，依旧很难设想，日军会不顾付出生命代价深入中国第六战区重兵把守的纵深地域，仅仅为了去抢几艘船。东京大本营不是明确规定尽量不再发动大规模攻势作战了吗？日军第十一军高级参谋岛贯武治对此阐释道： 第十一军真正的作战目的在于歼灭江南地区的敌军野战部队。但是，由于大本营对于进攻作战进行了严格的限制，因而第十一军意识到仅仅以歼灭敌军野战部队为作战目的，很难获得总司令乃至大本营的批准。所以表面上说，目的在于获取船舶，同时歼灭敌野战军。 第十一军的作战请求获得了大本营的批准。 毋庸置疑的是，对于东京的大本营来说，有一个不便明言的严重不安：随着太平洋战争进程的演变，日本方面的航空力量逐渐削弱；而在中国战场上，由于中美联合空军作战能力的加强，侵华日军占据绝对优势的制空权也有丧失的危险。为了维持中国战场上的制空权，特别是防止中美联合空军空袭日本本土，在战机数量捉襟见肘的情况下，大本营将关东军的一个飞行团抽调到了关内。既然制空权有丧失的危险，那么打通和保持水路畅通成为当务之急。就水路而言，中国最大的河流长江的航道都不能打通，纵然占搪着武汉和宜昌又有什么意义？——不能不打，不得不打，无论是大本营还是第十一军，在中国发动攻势作战的心境已与以往大不相同。 日军第十一军计划动用的兵力多达十万，但却是一盘大杂烩： 第三师团，代号“幸”，司令部设在湖北应山，由师团长山本三男中将指挥，辖步兵第六（缺第二大队）、第三十四（缺第三大队）、第六十八（缺第三大队）联队，骑兵第三联队，野炮兵第三联队、工兵第三联队，辎重兵第三联队，并配属从第六十八师团抽调的独立步兵第六十二、第六十四大队，独立山炮兵第五十一、第五十二大队，以及工兵中队一个、辎重兵中队一个。 第十三师团，代号“镜”，司令部设在湖北沙市，由师团长赤鹿理中将指挥，辖步兵第六十五、第一〇四（缺第三大队）、第一一六（缺第一大队）联队，师团骑兵队，山炮兵第十九联队，工兵第十三联队，辎重兵第十三联队。 第三十九师团，代号“藤”，司令部设在湖北当阳，由师团长澄田赉四郎中将指挥，辖步兵第二三二、第二三三联队，工兵第三十九联队。 独立混成第十七旅团，代号“峰”，司令部设在湖南岳州，由旅团长高品彪少将指挥，辖独立步兵第八十七、第八十八、第八十九、第九十和第九十一大队，旅团炮兵、工兵和通讯队。 野沟支队，从第五师团抽调，代号“广”，司令部设在湖北应城，由支队长、步兵第五十一旅团旅团长野沟式彦少将指挥，辖独立步兵第九十四、第一〇八大队。 野地支队，由支队长、第三十九步兵团团长野地嘉平指挥，辖步兵第六十八（缺第三大队）、第二三一联队； 长野部队，代号“椿”，司令部设在江西南昌，由部队长、步兵第二一七联队联队长长野荣二大佐指挥，辖步兵第二一七（缺第二、第三大队）联队、第二一八联队的一个大队、山炮兵一个大队和独立步兵第九十六大队。 小柴支队，从第四十师团抽调，代号“鲸”，司令部设在湖北咸宁，由支队长、步兵第二三六联队联队长小柴俊男大佐指挥，辖步兵第二三六（缺第一、第三大队）联队、第二三四联队的第三大队、独立炮兵第二联队第二大队、工兵第四十（缺第三中队）联队。 户田支队，从第四十师团抽调，由支队长、步兵第二三四联队联队长户田义直大佐指挥，辖步兵第二三四联队（缺第三大队）、工兵中队—个。 针谷支队，从第三十四师团抽调，由支队长、步兵第二一八联队联队长针谷逸郎指挥，辖步兵第二一八联队、第二一六联队第三大队和工兵中队一个。 军直辖和配属部队，从第六十八师团抽调的独立步兵第六十三、第一一五大队，野战重炮兵榴弹炮第十四联队，独立野战重炮兵加农炮第十五联队。 与以往的作战不同的是，日军决定采取逐次蚕食的战术，分别对安乡、公安、枝江和宜昌以西的三个地区实施四期作战，作战的基本步骤是从长江北岸渡江，沿江逐渐向宜昌方向推进：第一期从南县地区下手；第二期南北夹击公安至枝江间的中国军队；第三期在宜昌以西作战；第四期留一部分兵力维持长江航道的通畅，主力部队撤回后恢复战前态势。 四月十六日日军各参战部队开始集结。 五月三日，日军第十一军战斗司令部推进到沙市。 此时的中国第六战区，辖第二十九、第十和第三十三集团军，加上长江上游江防军和其他警备部队，共有十一个军（三十个师）、三个挺进纵队和两个独立旅。由重庆军事委员会直辖的第三十二军也在战区范围内。战区司令长官部设在鄂西南的恩施，司令长官陈诚三月调任中国远征军司令长官后，第五战区副司令长官孙连仲被调到第六战区代行司令长官职务。 日军自“吃年糕作战”后，占据了华容、石首、弥陀寺等江南滩头阵地。由此，遵照重庆军事委员会的命令，第六战区重新调整了部署：东起洞庭湖西面的万林河口，沿着长江南岸一直向西北，延伸到宜昌以北的石牌要塞附近，然后转向东北方向，由南津关、横店至宜城附近的冯水，依托洞庭湖和汉水间的大片湖沼地带，依托长江天险和荆山山系的险峻地形，以石牌要塞为顶点形成了一个巨大的V字形防御线，与日军第十一军对峙。 关于第六战区的兵力如何配备，重庆军事委员会内部颇有争论。不少人认为，鄂西山地崎岖难行，三峡天险又在其中，还有石牌和庙河两个要塞，日军沿着长江向西进攻的可能性很小。如果日军要进攻，也只能从战区的两翼推进。因此，主张保持兵力重点于两翼，不必重兵把守江防。陈诚则不这样认为，理由是：日军在太平洋作战中越是失利，在中国战场上越有可能铤而走险，攻击重庆便是日军孤注一掷的目标。如果江防守军兵力薄弱，日军一旦发起进攻便能长驱直入。中国持久抗战多年重庆都没丢，到这个时候再把重庆丢了，岂不前功尽弃？因此，必须以确保重庆为防御核心，重兵配置在以石牌要塞为轴心的江防方向。退一步讲，即使日军从两翼攻击，我军尚有补救的余地，不至于导致重庆陷落而动摇国本。 日军第十一军正是要沿着长江向西攻打宜昌。 这也是“吃年糕作战”后，日军顽强地保持着江南滩头阵地而不退回原防地的重要原因。 陈诚的预测是准确的。 中国第六战区防守长江南岸的部队第二十九、第十集团军以及长江上游江防军，三支部队沿着长江一线排开：第二十九集团军防守万林河口到茅草街一线，第十集团军防守茅草街经公安、松滋、枝江到宜都线，长江上游江防军防守宜都以西到石牌要塞一线。 日军开始集结，其江南滩头阵地的兵力显著增加，中国方面已对日军的攻击企图有了大致判断，但对日军要不顾一切地攻击宜昌认识不足，以为日军渡江后很可能要进攻湖南的澧县和常德，因为那里盛产大米——中国方面想到了日军缺大米却没想到日军缺船——第六战区制订了相应部署： 一、第二十九集团军应着第一线守备部队固守现阵地；其后方控置兵团，除以一部固守津市、澧县外，其余应适时进出澧水南岸，联系第十集团军部队，击灭窜入该方面之敌。 二、第十集团军对松滋、宜都间之敌，应以有力之一部，依江岸既设阵地拒止外，尽量抽调兵力适时向澧水以北地区进出，联系第二十九集团军，对窜入该方面之敌击灭之。 三、江防军应抽出一部，适时向聂家河（宜都西南）方面进出，实施机动作战。 四、第二十六集团军以主力向龙泉铺（宜昌东北约七公里）、双莲寺（当阳西南约六公里），第三十三集团军以四个师之兵力向当阳攻击，以册应江南方面主力之作战。 尽管对日军主攻方向的判断存在误差，但中国方面沿长江的整体防御部署还是缜密的。 五月五日凌晨，日军第一期作战开始。第三师团在石首附近渡过长江，向中国守军新编第二十三师的百弓嘴阵地发起攻击；与第三师团并行攻击的独立混成第十七旅团，由藕池口向中国守军第十五师的茅草街阵地发起攻击；户田支队由华容附近向当面中国守军暂编第五师的三汊河阵地发起攻击；小柴支队由石首向中国守军第十五师的团山寺阵地发起攻击；针谷支队也从湖南方向进入洞庭湖向西航行，准备实施登陆作战。各路日军的进攻遭到中国守军的顽强抵抗，尽管前沿阵地先后被日军突破，但中国官兵让日军付出了很大的代价。 第二天，中国军队组织反击，与日军在梅田湖、芝麻坪、黄石嘴和八股头一线展开激战，双方反复争夺阵地，中国守军第十五师四十五团团长陈涉藩和营长李亚安殉国，第十五师和协同反击的第七十七师伤亡过半，各路日军逼近了安乡和南县。 第六战区代司令长官孙连仲按照预定计划，命令第二十九、第十集团军坚守阵地并继续阻击，命令江防军抽调第八十六军第六十七师以及第十八军的两个团册应作战。就在中国军队调动增援部队准备再次反击的时候，六日晚上九时左右，蒋介石的电报到达：“一、查三峡要塞扼四川门户，为国军作战之枢轴，无论战况如何变化，应以充分兵力坚固守备。二、江防军不得向宜都下游使用。三、南县、津市、公安、松滋方面，应以现有兵力与敌周旋，并掩护产米区。四、特须注意保持重点于左翼松滋、宜都方面，以获得机动之自由。”蒋介石的电令等于让中国军队放弃南县和安乡地区，这违背了战前拟订的将日军的攻势瓦解在长江沿岸的计划。孙连仲只得急电江防军，撤销他的原有命令。 洞庭湖以西的中国守军第二十九集团军，只能在没有其他部队的册应和增援的情况下独自与日军苦战了。不仅如此，孙连仲还要落实蒋介石的“掩护产米区”的指示，他不得不从有限的部队中分兵去安乡和南县一带抢运大米。日军主力趁势齐头并进，中国守军拼死阻击作战，日军独立混成第十七旅团步兵第九十大队大队长舛尾芳治在攻击黄石嘴的战斗中被击毙，而“在梅田湖及荷花市的战斗过程中，步兵第四联队第三大队（坂田大队）所属的各中队长，全部战死或负伤”。 七日晚，日军第三师团一部和独立混成第十七旅团攻占安乡，中国守军第七十三军部队与集团军和战区都失去了联系。第六战区试图组织第二十九、第十集团军反击，反击部署尚未到位，日军便向南县猛扑过来。中国守军暂编第五师在多路日军的夹击下苦战一天，伤亡极大，八日晚向沅江方向突围，九日南县陷落。日军继续向南面的三仙湖进攻，中国军队全面退守洞庭湖南岸。 日军第一期作战的统计是：中国军队“遗弃尸体一万三千零六十七具”，被俘“一千二百八十四人”。日军“战死一百六十八人，其中军官十三人；负伤六百三十八人，其中军官三十二人”。 南县和安乡地区地势平坦，便于机械化部队机动，对中国守军的防御作战不利。日军采取集中主力多路突击的合围战术，攻击意识极强，推进速度极快，而中国军队在指挥上朝令夕改，部队作战意图含糊，兵力调动消极保守，虽然兵力数量占据着优势，但没能在任何一点对日军构成实质性威胁。在这种情况下，官兵的拼死作战，在日军的凌厉攻势面前，不能粉碎或迟滞日军的攻势，只能是徒增伤亡。日军仅用三天便攻占了盛产大米的南县和安乡地区，实现了其第一期作战企图。 第一期作战结束后，日军在安乡和南县地区留下一部分兵力，并向澧县和常德方向实施佯攻，牵制中国第二十九集团军不能向北运动，同时命令主力集结准备第二期作战，其攻击目标是松滋和枝江地区的中国军队第八十