The living are also about to turn into ghosts. I also felt like my death was approaching. Facing the moon, I cried loudly. These are the words written by a Japanese soldier on the front line during the Battle of Wuhan in 1938 in the heat and brutal battle. From June to October 1938, the battle around Wuhan lasted for several months, covering a large area of Anhui, Henan, Jiangxi, and Hubei provinces.
01 Background of the Battle of Wuhan
Japan's war of aggression against China has caused shortages in labor, food, and energy at home, and the huge burdens caused by the war have far exceeded the scope of Japan's national strength.
At the time of the July 7 Incident, Japan's total gold reserves were only 1.35 billion yen, but in August 1938, the Japanese headquarters demanded that the cabinet allocate an additional 3.25 billion yen. In order to expand the army, the Japanese even recovered the rifles used by school instructors. Japan therefore hoped that China would surrender by force as soon as possible, thus ending the war in China. After the Japanese army captured Shanghai and Nanjing, Wuhan became the political, military and economic center of China at that time. The Japanese listed Wuhan as the next target that must be attacked, and the Japanese believed that if they took Wuhan, China would surrender, and they had hopes of ending the war in 38 years.
The Chinese also realized that the next target of the Japanese army was Wuhan. The authorities launched a war mobilization order months ago, and people from all walks of life donated their patriotic hearts in the face of national disaster, including children, beggars and prostitutes. The whole country is united in its efforts, and the enthusiasm for the War of Resistance is unprecedentedly high. The principal personally served as the commander-in-chief of the Battle of Wuhan. Soon, the first phase of the Battle of Wuhan, the scramble for the fortress of Madang, broke out.
02 Faint strokes, Madang lost 4 days
After capturing Anqing, the Japanese Botian detachment and the navy were ordered to attack Madang and Hukou. Located in Pengze County, Jiangxi Province, about 80 kilometers from Jiujiang, Madang Fortress is an important military fortress on the Yangtze River. Responsible for guarding the Madang Fortress were the 16th Army (53rd and 167th Divisions), plus 1 infantry garrison battalion, 2 garrison headquarters, 2 artillery instruction teams, and 1 marine detachment. At the same time, 30 artificial reefs, 39 shipwrecks, and 1,600 mines were set up on the blocking line on the river surface, and the bunker fire on both sides of the river and the cannons on the batteries were all pointed at the river. Air force fighters were also concentrated in Hankou and Nanchang for air support. But Ma Dang only held for 4 days before falling into a yangtze river sitting on the Yangtze River, with the natural danger of the Yangtze River, and with advance preparations, the seemingly insurmountable fortress fell so quickly, why was this?
Li Yunheng, commander of the 16th Army, did not know what he was thinking, and at present, the enemy was actually engaged in a 2-week "Anti-Japanese Military and Political University." This was not enough, and a grand graduation ceremony was held, which required the participation of all officers of the subordinate units. The news of the graduation ceremony was learned by the Japanese army, and the Botian detachment chose to successfully land on the Dongliu position of the 16th Army on the day of the ceremony, when the defenders of the outer positions such as Xiangshan and Xiangkou were unprepared, and officers at all levels were pulled to attend the graduation ceremony, and the Japanese army captured these positions very smoothly.
Fortunately, the Marine Corps 2Nd Group, which was guarding the core position of Madang, did not send anyone to attend the graduation ceremony, and stubbornly resisted, repelling three onslaughts of the Hakata detachment. The 2 brigades struggled to support in Madang, and Li Yunheng also made a banquet after the graduation ceremony to eat and drink and was not happy. Bao Changyi, the leader of the 2nd Brigade, couldn't find Li Yunheng and had to ask wuhan for help. The principal was shocked to hear this and asked Bai Jiansheng to arrange reinforcements. Bai Jiansheng urgently dispatched the 167th Division to quickly rescue along the road, and Li Yunheng also reacted at this time and also sent reinforcements to the 167th Division. However, Li Yunheng made another mistake this time, and asked the 167th Division to take a small road to rescue. Xue Weiying, commander of the 167th Division, thought about it for half a day, listened to Li Yunheng's words and walked on a small road, and as a result, he got lost, but the distance of dozens of miles was forced to walk for two days.
The 2nd Brigade was more than half dead and wounded, ran out of ammunition, and finally had to withdraw from the position, and the Japanese occupied the position, and repelled the counterattack of the 16th Army with strong fortifications. The impregnable Madang Fortress was absurdly lost. This result greatly displeased the principal, Li Yunheng, who seriously derelicted his duties, was removed from his post and investigated, and Xue Weiying was shot. Dismissal and shooting did not save the situation, and after the fall of Ma Dang, Jiujiang also fell into enemy hands.
03 Wanjialing Victory
After the capture of Jiujiang, the Japanese army, under the command of Okamura Ninji, divided into two routes. The Botian detachment and marines attacked Ruichang, and the 106th Division attacked De'an along the Nanxun Road. The Japanese attack in the direction of De'an met Xue Yue's 1st Corps head-on, and the two sides successively launched a fierce tug-of-war in the area of Shahe Town, Ma'anshan, Jinjiashan, and Xingzi, and both sides suffered heavy casualties, but the Japanese army was unable to break through the Chinese army's defenses.
In the Battle of Wuhan, Okamura Ningji's 11th Army had the largest number of troops, but it was blocked on the outskirts of Wuhan for three consecutive months. Okamura Ninji can be said to be a very headache. At the time of Okamura's headache, the Japanese reconnaissance planes found that due to the continuous movement of Chinese troops for months, a huge gap had appeared in the Wanjialing area. Wanjialing was located in the left rear of Xue Yue's corps. If troops are sent deep into the Wanjialing area to launch a flanking attack on the Chinese army and cooperate with the 27th Division, it is likely to open up the situation. On September 24, Okamura sent the 106th Division to Wanjialing. But he and the 106th Division would never have dreamed that the 106th Division was about to usher in a catastrophe.
The scouts of the 106th Division were captured by the Chinese army, and Xue Yue learned of Okamura Ninji's attempt to make a roundabout flank attack. Xue Yue decided that "the enemy wolf rushed forward, went deep alone, and committed a big taboo in the soldier's family, and at such a favorable opportunity, the corps should take advantage of the situation to counterattack and deal a decisive blow" On September 30, the 136th Brigade of the 106th Division and Regiment entered Wanjialing and surrounded the left flank of the Chinese army. Xue Yue then ordered the 4th Army to counter-encircle the Japanese army. As the follow-up troops of the 106th Division arrived at Wanjialing one after another, Xue Yue mobilized the 32nd Army, the 139th Division, the 187th Division, the 58th Division and other units to encircle the 106th Division and regiment on the second level, and the two sides launched a fierce battle.
At the same time as the 106th Division, there was also the Japanese 27th Division near Wanjialing. The division had already occupied Luopan Mountain and was advancing towards The Amaranth Creek on the left side of Wanjialing. If the 27th Division is allowed to advance smoothly, it can not only threaten the Chinese army, but also get close to the 106th Division, which will bring great trouble to the Chinese army to surround and annihilate the 106th Division. In order to prevent the rendezvous of the 27th Division and the 106th Division, the Chinese army mobilized several units to build a strong barrier between the two Divisions of the Japanese Army. Xue Yue also dispatched the 142nd Division, the 51st Division, and the 66th Army to reinforce Wanjialing and encircle the 106th Division for the third time. The Chinese army began to gain the upper hand by virtue of its superiority in strength, and the war situation in Wanjialing finally began to develop in the favorable direction of the Chinese army, which finally had the opportunity to completely annihilate a division of the Japanese army since the beginning of the War of Resistance.
At 4 p.m. on October 7, the general offensive began.
The 66th Army, from the north, the 74th Army from the south, the 90th Division from the east, and the 91st Division from the west, launched a siege against the 106th Division. Under siege, the 106th Division hurriedly sent a report to Okamura Ningji for help: "If you delay for a long time and fear that the situation of the division and regiment is not good, please give the division and regiment combat guidance." Okamura immediately sent reinforcements, one way to reinforce the 106th Division from the front, and the other way to attack the Chinese army from behind. At the same time, aircraft were sent to continuously airdrop supplies and ammunition for the besieged 106th Division, and even more than 200 squadron-level officers were airdropped to supplement the loss of the 106th Division.
The Chinese army continued to attack the 106th Division, capturing many Japanese positions, and the remnants of the 106th Division had been reduced to a few mountain villages. If the Chinese army "resolutely advances 100 meters, the commander of the 106th Division, Junrokuro Matsuura, will be cut off or captured" On October 13, because the Japanese reinforcements on the periphery were already approaching Wanjialing, and the Chinese army suffered heavy casualties, Xue Yue made an order to withdraw from the battlefield. The Battle of Wanjialing ended.
The Battle of Wanjialing lasted 12 days from September 28 to October 10, and the Japanese 106th Division was devastated, annihilating more than 10,000 people and capturing more than 100 people. Although the 106th Division was not the strongest division of the Japanese army, almost one division was completely annihilated, which was the first time since the sino-Japanese war began. The people of the world praised: The great victory of Wanjialing and the flood are in danger, as the guarantee of Jianghan
04 Abandon Wuhan
Although the great victory of Wanjialing is gratifying, like other battles before, the victory of the local battlefield cannot turn the entire war situation. Before the Victory of Wanjialing, another strategic town of Tianjia was lost on September 29. On October 13, Xinyang fell and the Pinghan Railway was cut off by the Japanese.
The fall of Xinyang triggered a chain of routs by the Chinese army. On October 24, 1938, except for the 106th Division (which was almost completely annihilated) and the 101st Division (which remained in Jiujiang), all the main divisions of the Central China Dispatch Army of the Japanese Army advanced to Wuhan Weekly, forming a three-sided encirclement of Wuhan. At this time, after a series of bloody battles, the surrounding area of Wuhan was faced with no soldiers to use, and Wuhan City was actually an empty city.
In order to capture Wuhan, the invading Japanese army successively invested nearly 300,000 troops, used navy, army and air force, fought hard for several months, and finally occupied Wuhan, but did not achieve the purpose of encircling and annihilating the main force of the Chinese army. Their own damage is serious, the Japanese army's own war history statistics, land, sea and air casualties totaled 35,500 people, Chinese statistics believe that the Japanese army war damage plus disease should be about 90,000 people. According to the statistics of both China and Japan, the loss of Chinese troops should be about 180,000 people.
After months of fierce fighting on the outskirts of Wuhan, the Chinese army's goal of atting the Japanese army had been achieved. Completed the "defendIng Wuhan without fighting in Wuhan". At the same time, it has won valuable time for the westward transportation of strategic materials and personnel. After listening to the opinions of the Red Side, the principal, who had learned the lessons of the Battles of Songhu and Xuzhou, had decided not to stick to one city and one place, abandon Wuhan, and preserve more military strength as the foundation for a protracted War of Resistance.
When Okamura entered Wuhan, I don't know if he realized that although the Japanese army occupied Wuhan, it was no longer able to launch a large-scale offensive. The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression entered the stage of strategic stalemate, and as the pace of the Japanese army's offensive slowed down, the deeper its pace of falling into the quagmire of war became, and it was bound to usher in the fate of annihilation.