Chapter 108 Chapter 12 The Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Anti-"Sweeping Up" in the Autumn of 1941: The Failure of the Japanese Army's "Million War"

Peking in August 1941. Japanese North China Front Army Command. At this time, the owner here has just changed. Lieutenant General Hayao Tada, who was still showing off his power here a few days ago, has now returned home sadly. In November 1939, the "Flower of the Famous General" Norihide Abe was killed and the heavy loss of the Japanese army in the Hundred Regiments War in the second half of 1940 became the two famous defeats of Hayao Tada.Although he launched the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain in May 1941, with more than 30,000 troops, he defeated the Kuomintang troops of more than 100,000 people in 20 divisions commanded by Wei Lihuang. Appreciate, blame.Because he took part of the main force to fight against the Kuomintang, the result was that the Communist Party's armed forces took advantage of the gap and took the opportunity to infiltrate. As a result, the first "security strengthening" campaign launched at the end of March 1941 had little effect.

On July 7, 1941, as soon as Tada Hayao issued an order to launch the second "security strengthening" campaign, he suddenly received a notice from the base camp and awarded him the rank of general of the army.Two days later, the base camp called to inform him to return to China immediately and be transferred to the military councilor.Tada Hayao, the Japanese executioner whose hands were stained with the blood of the Chinese people and brought countless disasters to the Chinese people, from this day on, his military career actually came to an end.After returning to China, he lived an indifferent life almost isolated from the outside world until his death in 1948.The Japanese also seem to have forgotten this once prominent figure.

At the same time, another notorious Japanese general Neiji Okamura came to Peiping to take over as the commander of the North China Front Army.After General Junroku replaced Hisao Nishio as the commander-in-chief of the Chinese Expeditionary Force in March 1941, Okamura Neiji's appointment was another important move by Japan to replace its generals in China. In this series of measures, Japanese Prime Minister and Army Minister Hideki Tojo played a very important role.Hideki Tojo values ​​and trusts Neiji Okamura so much because Neiji Okamura has an extraordinary experience. On May 15, 1884, Neiji Okamura was born in a samurai family in Tokyo, Japan. In April 1905, after graduating from the Army Non-commissioned Officer Academy, he participated in the war of aggression against Korea. Two years later, he returned to the Army Non-commissioned Officer Academy to serve as an instructor. Study at this school. After the outbreak of the Japanese-German War in 1914, he commanded the Japanese army and made great contributions in the battle to capture Qingdao. He was promoted from minor to middle assistant. After serving as the Japanese military attache in Shanghai in 1923, he specialized in collecting political and military intelligence about China.

In 1925, when the Chinese warlords fought, Neiji Okamura was hired by the warlord Sun Chuanfang as a military adviser.During this period, he took advantage of his position to steal China's top secret military maps.After the Japanese army base camp got this Chinese military map, it gave Okamura Ningji a huge bounty.Subsequently, the Japanese Army Base Camp immediately reprinted 100,000 copies of this map as the official map used by the Japanese Army to invade China. In 1932, Neiji Okamura served as the chief of staff of the Japanese Army dispatched to Shanghai and planned the "January 28th Incident" to invade China.In the second year, he began to serve as the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, commanding two divisions to defeat the 29th Army of the Kuomintang Song Zheyuan, forcing Chiang Kai-shek to compromise; Okamura Ningji signed the "Tanggu Agreement" with the Chinese representative Xiong Bin, allowing Japan to easily occupy The three northeastern provinces. In 1935, Ningji Okamura commanded troops to invade Luandong again, forcing the Kuomintang to sign the "He Mei Agreement" by force. In May 1938, he served as the commander of the 11th Army of Japan. He fought from Shanghai to Nanjing and Wuhan, conquered cities, and killed people like hemp, thus earning the nickname "General Axe".After capturing Wuhan, Ningji Okamura was promoted from lieutenant general to general because of his outstanding military exploits.At that time, all other first-level commanders of the Japanese army were lieutenant generals, but Okamura Ningji was the only one who was a general.

It is precisely because of Neiji Okamura's rich experience and outstanding military exploits that the Japanese army base camp attaches great importance to him. On the morning of July 3, 1941, he was commanding 8 divisions of the 11th Army in Yichang to fight against the Kuomintang army, when he suddenly received an urgent telegram from the Ministry of the Army asking him to return home.He boarded the plane with apprehension, and as soon as he arrived in Tokyo the next morning, he was taken directly from the airport to the Ministry of War by Hideki Tojo.There, Hideki Tojo briefly talked about his intention to recall him back to China, and then explained to him the combat mission against China at this important juncture.

On July 5, the Japanese Emperor personally summoned Okamura Ningji.Okamura Ningji received this honor, and his mood was naturally ups and downs.When the appointment ceremony was held in Tokyo on July 7, he couldn't sleep at night.In the private residence in Yotsuyazaka Town, he suddenly asked his exclusive adjutant Suzuki to invite his neighbor Yan Katayama, who lived across the door, to play a few games of Go in the middle of the night, in order to dispel the excitement in his heart.Later, Yan Katayama wrote a special article "The Story of the Game" and published it in the newspaper. In the article, he recounted:

On the evening of July 7th, an envoy from the house of General Gangcun of the opposite door suddenly came to say that he wanted to try a battle of Wulu (meaning black and white chess pieces) tonight.In the past week, the sound of military boots in the general's house, frequent entry and exit, makes people feel a little strange, maybe he has accepted some kind of big mission, and he is guessing, seeing that the envoy is here to invite him to play chess, it seems completely unexpected, so he readily agreed , Send people to reply and go to fight.The general was wearing a simple kimono as usual, and when he saw me, he only said "hello" and immediately walked towards the chessboard.The last time I played chess I lost miserably with the second son, and today I will definitely get the third son back.So I secretly mustered up the courage and tried my best to fight.Unexpectedly, he lost again and again, and suffered a disastrous defeat in every game, and finally lost all three games.As the summer night deepened, the general proposed to fight another round, and I paid my respects.So the general bowed slightly, packed up the chess pieces, and said with a smile: "This time, I have received the important task of the supreme commander of North China. I will embark on a journey again, and I will leave the day after tomorrow. Please take care of me." I said, "Congratulations from the bottom of my heart." I don’t know where to start to express my gratitude to you for this honor. I’ve been sitting for so long during the busy season before the trip, so I’m really sorry.” The general smiled and said, “No, I’m indeed ready, so I’m going to compete with you tonight Let’s go.” At this time, there is indeed the kind of farewell feeling that neighbors travel far away.He humbly and kindly sent me to the gate, and when I stepped out the door, I still felt that the general was standing behind me watching me go.The general won a big victory in the chess game before the expedition. This is really an auspicious omen. I forgot the frustration of losing chess, and my heart was full of joy.On the third day, I went to Tokyo Station to see the general off.Minister Tojo and other land and navy generals and dignitaries attended by hundreds of people.The general is dressed in the uniform of an army general, with a colorful ribbon on his chest, and leads all his staff, standing on the verandah of the lookout car, with a dignified appearance, and he is completely different from the generals when they are playing chess.This majestic majesty is the symbol of the imperial army's determination to never retreat...

The next day, Okamura Ningji embarked on a journey back to China with great ambition.As the sixth commander of the North China Front Army, his first task was to destroy the Eighth Route Army in North China. "The situation when I took office was that the battle against the Chongqing Army in the area under my jurisdiction had largely ended, but there were activities of the Communist Army almost everywhere around me." . (Quoted from Li Defu: "Ningji Okamura") This is the mess left to him by Hayao Tada.