On August 15, 1945, the Emperor of Japan broadcast an unconditional surrender throughout Japan. China finally ended the 14-year War of Resistance Against Japan. By the time of Japan's surrender, the cumulative number of deaths in Our country was as high as 280 million, while the number of Japanese casualties was only 35 million.
As we all know, at that time, our country was very difficult to defeat the invaders with the rudimentary equipment of the "millet plus rifle", because at that time, our army was seriously insufficient in armaments, which caused our army to often be in a passive state on the battlefield, and thus led to the bloody sacrifice of many compatriots on the battlefield.
Picture 丨 Old photos of the anti-Japanese battlefield
In this regard, many people cannot understand why we cannot produce advanced weapons to compete with the enemy under the great power of yangyang. Why has our army been in the embarrassing situation of shortage of materials? And why, knowing that there was a shortage of armaments and supplies, was he unwilling to pick up the ammunition of the Japanese army? Let me answer you all today.
Picture 丨 Wartime old photos
A brief period of glory for military weapons
Due to the ignorant "closed country" policy implemented by the Qing government, China was in a state of self-isolation for a long time and could not communicate with the outside world. During this period, the economic and military aspects of various countries have continued to develop, while China is far behind due to self-isolation.
In order to obtain more resources, Japan decided to use force to expand abroad, and the object of aggression chosen was China, which was rich in resources but backward in its military strength.
To fall behind is to be beaten. After several plans, the Japanese army soon launched the Sino-Japanese War, which shocked China and foreign countries without scruples. Under the decadent rule of the Qing government, China's military reform was still in the early stage of reform, and the management and training of the navy and army were also extremely chaotic and lax. This made our country vulnerable to the well-equipped and well-trained Japanese army, and finally signed the "Maguan Treaty" that humiliated the country.
Picture 丨 Sino-Japanese War
Seeing the menacing force of Japanese imperialism, the patriotic activists in our country can no longer sit idly by and take action one after another.
At that time, Zhang Zuolin, the famous king of northeast China, was very angry at the aggressive behavior of the Japanese army, and he who had experienced hundreds of battles understood that in order to withstand the aggression of the Japanese army, he must make great efforts in military weapons and "use force to control force." As a result, Zhang Zuolin laid down his blood and opened the largest arsenal in China's history, "Shenyang Arsenal".
In order to be able to manufacture advanced and sophisticated weapons, Zhang Zuolin not only spent a huge amount of money to purchase a large number of raw materials for ordnance and equipment from abroad, but also introduced a large number of design talents from abroad. At the same time, Zhang Zuolin also set up a steelmaking plant to meet the just needs of manufacturing. In addition, Zhang Zuolin and his eldest son Zhang Xueliang also established an ordnance university dedicated to cultivating mechanical manufacturing talents.
Picture 丨 Zhang Zuolin
Thanks to Zhang Zuolin's efforts, the Shenyang Arsenal has gradually become a scale, with up to 40,000 workers and more than 1,000 professionals who have mastered the precision of weapons. During this period, the manufacture of artillery, large-caliber howitzers, Liao-13 rifles and other weapons was not a problem. As long as Zhang Zuolin said a word, the factory could build 4,000 Liao 13s. Therefore, the existence of the "Shenyang Arsenal" has made the weapons and equipment in northeast China "a monopoly". As a result, China's military weapons capabilities have not been lost to foreign countries, and can even be compared with the military power of Japan.
Therefore, at that time, our country also had the ability to manufacture advanced instruments, and even had the strength to compete with the invaders.
Picture 丨 Shenyang Arsenal
The policy of non-resistance has wiped out all efforts
However, this good situation did not last long. At the beginning of 1929, a sudden economic storm swept through the capitalist countries of the West, and Japan could not escape it. Japan's domestic market is small, the land area is not large, and the lack of resources is also a common thing. But now the sudden impact of the financial turmoil has made Japan's economy face unprecedented challenges. In less than a year, Japan's small and medium-sized factories have "closed their doors", more than 4 million people have lost their jobs, 5 million household farmers have gone bankrupt, and the Japanese national economy has fallen into endless paralysis. In order to get out of this predicament, the Japanese government, running to the old reputation of China's "Kingdom of Heavenly Palace", once again set its sights on China and raised the bad eyes of northeast China.
On September 18, 1931, the Japanese Kwantung Army personally blew up the South Manchuria Railway it had built, and killed several Chinese soldiers, forging the illusion that the Chinese soldiers had to kill them in order to prevent them, and by planting bribes to the Chinese army, they provoked a Sino-Japanese military conflict and took the opportunity to launch an "encroachment" on northeast China. As a result, the September 18 Incident broke out.
Figure丨 918 Incident
However, at this time, the actual controller of the northeast had already been "translocated". I think that when the Japanese took a fancy to the coal mining resources in the northeast and negotiated this matter with Zhang Zuolin, the ruler of the northeast at that time, Zhang Zuolin's attitude was very resolute, and he did not agree to "borrow mines", let alone "sell mines", and the Fengzhi faction would never allow the iron hooves of the Japanese to step on the northeast. The Japanese government's "wording" was sternly rejected by Zhang Zuolin, and the Japanese deputies became angry and ashamed, and immediately came up with a conspiracy to arrange for the Japanese army to bury explosives on the road through Zhang Zuolin, with the intention of quietly "getting rid of" Zhang Zuolin. The unsuspecting Zhang Zuolin took the "death train" and never returned to the northeast.
As a result, Zhang Zuolin's eldest son, Zhang Xueliang, inherited the throne of the King of Northeast China and became the "head" of Northeast China. In order to speed up the pace of China's reunification, Zhang Xueliang telephoned Chiang Kai-shek on the day of his succession, expressing his willingness to bring his northeastern army under the kuomintang and obey Chiang Kai-shek's command.
Picture 丨 Zhang Xueliang
However, what Zhang Xueliang never expected was that this move would actually lose the "fiefdom" of the Great Northeast in the future. After the September 18 Incident, Zhang Xueliang repeatedly asked Chiang Kai-shek to immediately send troops to resist the aggression of the Japanese army, but Chiang Kai-shek rejected Zhang Xueliang again and again on the grounds that "the momentum of international public opinion will overwhelm Japan" and asked Zhang Xueliang to implement the policy of "no resistance." In desperation, Zhang Xueliang had to obey the order. However, things did not go as they predicted, and since there was no resistance, the Japanese army successfully occupied most of the three northeastern provinces in only one week.
And zhang Zuolin's arsenal, which he had worked hard for more than ten years, was not spared and fell into the clutches of the Japanese army. When the Japanese saw the weapons made in the arsenal, they couldn't help but be surprised, they didn't expect that China could make such powerful rifles and shells. As a result, the Japanese army not only took possession of all the weapons in the arsenal, but also spent a lot of effort to transfer the equipment in it to prevent the arsenal from being attacked by the American army, and even the workers in the factory were not spared, or slaughtered or enslaved. What is even more frightening is that in order to speed up the pace of aggression, the Japanese army later studied chemical weapons in the arsenal.
Figure丨 Weapons manufactured by Shenyang Arsenal
At this point, zhang Zuolin's arsenal that he had painstakingly operated for many years was completely hollowed out by the Japanese army, and the only factory in China that could manufacture advanced weapons at that time was wiped out, which was a huge loss for China, which was poor and weak at that time.
Supplies were scarce and enemy bullets were not picked up
Therefore, the Chinese army repeatedly failed to take out advanced weapons that made the Japanese army vibrate against the Japanese army, and could only use very backward rifles to attack the enemy. Although our army is in a inferior position in armaments and materials, our army often uses unexpected combat strategies to enable our army to turn passivity into initiative, break the reverse situation, and turn danger into safety.
Whenever this happens, the military supplies left behind by the enemy will always make our army want to move. However, our army has clearly stipulated that it is absolutely impossible to pick up any weapons left by the enemy army.
As for why not, it wasn't until many years later that the veterans explained why, all to blame for the insidious cunning of the Japanese army.
Picture 丨 Old photo of the Northeast Army
As we all know, Northeast China is not only a "rich mine" with rich resources, but also a "main stock" for manufacturing Chinese weapons and ammunition. In particular, the weapons and equipment produced by the "Shenyang Arsenal" can be described as "first-class" in China. However, the strong plundering of the Japanese army and the "inaction" of the Northeast Army headed by Zhang Xueliang made the "Shenyang Arsenal" burned to the ground, and the weapons supply of the Northeast Army also stagnated, and even most of the army could only be equipped with earthen cannons and homemade guns.
In contrast, after the "great sweep" of the Japanese army in the northeast, the strategic materials of the Japanese troops continued to rise, and the weapons and equipment were also continuously enhanced. At the same time, the "chemical factory" set up by the Japanese army also coated the guns and ammunition of the Japanese army with a highly toxic substance, which was extremely lethal. Originally, this kind of biological and chemical weapon was only used to directly kill the enemy in a head-on confrontation, but the Japanese army used another sinister move, smearing bacteria or viruses on ammunition and throwing them on the battlefield, as long as the Soldiers of the Chinese troops had wounds, once they touched, they would be infected with the virus, and finally died.
Picture 丨 Sino-Japanese battlefield
However, the Japanese army's tricks did not stop there. Due to the lack of resources, it is a major "weakness" of the Northeast China Army, in order to make up for this "gap" in time, the Northeast Army has become one of the ways to supply weapons and ammunition to the Northeast Army when it is defeated, and the enemy's guns and ammunition lost or discarded in the battlefield have become one of the ways to supply weapons and ammunition to the Northeast Army. Therefore, after each major battle, the military and civilians of northeast China will go to the battlefield on their own to search for the available weapons resources that are left behind.
However, before long, the strange behavior of the Northeast Army in "picking up bullets" was detected by the Japanese military, and for this reason, they came up with a poisonous plan. In the absence of war, quietly demarcate a "minefield" on the predicted battlefield and scatter unused guns and ammunition on it. Once the war began, the unsuspecting Northeast Army first mistakenly entered the "minefield" and was bombed, killing and injuring countless people. When it was time to "pick up the bomb" after the war, it once again entered the "minefield" and was once again killed or seriously injured by the mine. This was undoubtedly a poisonous plan to kill two birds with one stone, and the unsuspecting Northeast Army also stepped into the "mine pit" buried by the enemy.
Figure丨 Warriors injured by mine ambushes
However, after many trials, the blood-soaked lessons and the cries of the soldiers left a wake-up call for those who came after, and after the leaders of the Northeast China Army noticed the evil plans of the Japanese army, they itched their teeth with hatred and burst out a sentence, "The Japanese, if you are cruel, if you do not repay this revenge, it is difficult to dispel the hatred in your heart!" ”
Therefore, in order to ensure the safety of the soldiers, the Northeast Army announced an "iron order": After the war, it is resolute not to go to the war zone to "pick up bullets", and those who violate this order will be dealt with by military law! As a result, the soldiers no longer went to the battlefield to "pick up bullets", Japan's strategy fell into a blank, and the Japanese army was unwilling in its heart. To this end, they came up with another set of strategies.
After many dealings with the Northeast China Army, the Japanese army had already thoroughly understood the habits of the Chinese Northeast Army. The Japanese army is well aware of the "benevolent" heart of the Northeast China Army, but all those who encounter the wounded and sick, whether they are Chinese or Japanese, they will "help one by one", collect their weapons, and bring them back to the troops. Therefore, the Japanese army took advantage of the "benevolence" of the Northeast China Army and sang a "bitter meat plan" to the Northeast Army together with the Japanese wounded and sick.
The Japanese side first selected a few people from the Japanese death squad who were willing to "die" to be injured, and made real injuries that were not easy for people to see. Later, he tied a small explosive package to the "wounded" disguised by the daredevils, hid a grenade around his waist, and then threw it on the battlefield to wait for the arrival of the Northeast China Army.
The completely unaware Northeast Army thus entered the trap of the enemy's "careful planning" without warning, and as soon as they approached the wounded soldiers, the Japanese army pretending to be wounded pulled open the pull ring of the grenade and pulled the Northeast Army into the abyss and died together in the form of self-destruction around the Northeast Army.
In this way, the Chinese soldiers suffered a lot of blood losses because of the acts of "benevolence" and "bomb picking", and at the same time, they were also alerted by this bloody case, and they understood more clearly the truth that "benevolence on the battlefield is cruelty to themselves". In the later stages of the war, no matter how scarce the equipment was and how the enemy soldiers dressed up as wounded soldiers, the Northeast China Army never made a single "stupid" mistake, almost repeatedly saw through the enemy's plans, and broke the "absurd dream" of the Japanese army's "annihilation of China."
Picture 丨The European battlefield in World War II
On May 8, 1945, with the unconditional surrender of German fascism, the European battlefield of World War II was declared over, and the Western capitalist countries began to aim their guns at the Japanese fascists in East Asia, and the Japanese army became the target of public criticism. In the face of the strong declaration of war by many countries in the world, the Japanese Government still refuses to die and resolutely conquers the whole world with its own strength.
However, before the Japanese army could explicitly declare its wishful thinking of "unifying the world and dominating the world," the U.S. government dropped two extremely powerful atomic bombs on the two major cities in Japan, Nagasaki and Hiroshima. In an instant, Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan were instantly reduced to ruins, and more than half of the city's residents were killed and injured. At the same time, the Soviet Union and other major powers officially declared war on Japan and immediately launched operation "August Storm".
At this moment, after trying the power of the atomic bomb, the Japanese government did not dare to recreate it. The Japanese Prime Minister knows very well that if the world countries jointly besiege Japan, Japan will only be in danger of destroying the country. Therefore, the Japanese Government took the initiative to demand the signing of the Potsdam Convention with China, the Soviet Union, the United States, and Britain, and issued the "Edict of the End of the War" to formally announce unconditional surrender. At this point, the Japanese fascists were defeated.
Figure 丨 《The Edict of the Final Battle》
On September 9, 1945, Ninji Okamura, then commander-in-chief of the Japanese invading forces in China, handed over his personal sabre to the Chinese side and signed the instrument of surrender, declaring Japan's unconditional surrender. At this point, Taiwan returned to the motherland and China won a complete victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan. Although this war can be described as difficult as "fools moving mountains", the Chinese military and people still resisted with the spirit of not being afraid of death and daring to struggle. This war not only exalted the prestige of our country, but also established the majesty of our Chinese nation.