The September 18 Incident caused all the northeast regions of China to fall into the hands of the Japanese Kou, and the continuous compromise of the Nanjing government made the Japanese Kou's appetite grow larger and larger. Their ambitions for China are also growing.
The whale swallowing outside was only their first step. Then they put their hands in the hinterland of the Central Plains.
Shanghai, known as the "Paris of the East"
In the late Qing Dynasty, the cannons of the Western powers opened the door of China, and after the Manchu Qing signed the humiliating Treaty of Nanjing with the British, the Daoguang Emperor was forced to open a port in Shanghai, and since then, Shanghai has become an important city for the great powers of various countries to compete for profits. Shanghai's economy also began to show a deformed boom.
In the Republic of China period, according to sun Yat-sen's Greater Shanghai Plan, the Republic of China established Shanghai as a city directly under the central government, and Shanghai's economy took off again.
By the 1930s, Shanghai had become the largest city in the Far East and the first city in Asia, and it was known as the "Paris of the East".
The economically prosperous and internationally important Shanghai area has become the meat that the Japanese have been coveting for a long time, and they want to take this pearl city of the East into their hands all the time.
Since 1932, Japan has continuously drawn troops into the vicinity of Shanghai, and they have tried to seize Shanghai by military means.
The Nineteenth Route Army entered Shanghai
As for the small actions of the Japanese in Shanghai, our government has seen it in its eyes. Since 1931, China has anticipated that the Japanese army may launch military operations against the Shanghai area. Beginning in November of that year, the 19th Route Army, led by Cai Tingkai, began to garrison Shanghai and undertook the important task of defending Shanghai, the first city in the Far East. At this time, the determination of the national resistance at home was high, and the people of Shanghai also expressed firm support for the arrival of the 19th Route Army. But
Unfortunately, the 19th Route Army was not fully prepared, and little was known about the deployment of the Japanese side, the only thing known was that the Japanese could attack at any time.
The Songhu War of Resistance broke out
Less than two weeks after the 19th Route Army had been stationed in Shanghai, the fortifications had not yet been constructed. The Japanese army demanded that our army retreat 15 kilometers in succession. At that time, the government agreed to the Japanese army's request in consideration of its strength and wanted to avoid its sharp edge. However, Cai Tingkai, the supreme commander of the 19th Route Army, immediately rejected the authorities' policy of appeasement.
He said: "Shanghai is Chinese territory, our 19th Route Army is the Chinese army, and defending Shanghai is the power of the Chinese army, if the Japanese dare to attack, our army will certainly give them a head-on attack."
The Japanese plot was discovered by Cai Tingkai, and since it was impossible to capture Shanghai in a gentle way, it was necessary to seize it by force. The Japanese Marines, guided by dozens of ironclad vehicles, launched a fierce attack on the unfinished positions of the 19th Route Army in five routes.
For the Japanese attack, General Cai Tingkai immediately ordered a counterattack, and a fierce war broke out between the two sides.
In order to show his determination to resist the war, General Cai Tingkai sent a telegram to the compatriots throughout the country: "We must not give up on the ground and grass."
Cai Tingkai also wrote a poem "Do not sweep the Wokou oath and do not return".
In the Battle of Songhu in 128, the Japanese army increased its troops to the front three times. No less than 70,000 soldiers and horses were put in front of and behind. At that time, the 19th Route Army, led by General Cai Tingkai, had less than 40,000 troops, and even with later support, the entire period of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression invested less than 50,000 soldiers and horses.
General Cai Tingkai relied on the less than 50,000 and poorly equipped troops to repel the attacks of the Japanese army armed with aircraft, warships, and tanks to the teeth again and again.
In the Battle of Songhu in 128, the 19th Route Army led by General Cai Tingkai fought the dignity of Chinese soldiers, fighting with the Japanese army on the Songhu battlefield for 33 days and nights, and their war of resistance touched the hearts of the Chinese people
。 In these 33 days and nights, the Japanese Kou could not defeat the four commanders for a long time
。 However, even this still did not win. In the Battle of Songhu in 128, the Japanese army suffered more than 10,000 casualties.
Later in the battle, Reinforcements from General Zhang Zhizhong arrived, and the Japanese landed on the Liuhe River. Our army was forced to retreat to the second line. Coupled with the mediation of the League of Nations, the Battle of Songhu was over.
Cai Ting
Kai
The general's outstanding performance in the Battle of Songhu was praised as "a generation of famous generals" and "anti-Japanese national heroes". He deserves these titles. After the Songhu War of Resistance, he was awarded the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun, which was an affirmation of his merits.