After the fall of Aoshima, the head of the Operations Department of the Japanese Army General Staff, Shimoduramura, was replaced by the newly arrived Hashimoto Group. The character of Hashimoto is very crucial, and to a certain extent, it determines the direction of China's War of Resistance.
When the village and Hashimoto group were transferred, a suggestion was made:
It is absolutely impossible to give China a chance to breathe, let the East China Army make a response, let the North China Army go south directly along the Pinghan Line, cross China's first theater of operations, and take Wuhan.
In any case, this plan is very dangerous, because the Chinese Fifth Theater around Xuzhou has not yet been completely eliminated, and under such circumstances, even if the frontal army of China is broken, the left wing of the Japanese army will be exposed, and it is likely to lead to insufficient strength of the main attacking forces in north China. But that's the case on the battlefield, and the tricks of the military often lead to good results.
But Hashimoto, who didn't think so, questioned the moderates and Shimomura's proposal. He insisted that what the troops had to do now was to rest, and it was best to let everyone sleep with a gun for two months.
Shimomura was about to leave, so he did not insist on his own opinion, so although it seemed risky, the valuable plan to directly attack Wuhan was shelved. From our current point of view, in the spring of 1938, the Japanese army did not go straight to Wuhan, but took Xuzhou step by step, and if it directly attacked Wuhan according to the opinion of Xiacun, although it could not force China to surrender, it could cause great difficulties to China, which was moving to the southwest rear.
On the second day of Hashimoto's appointment, he took the chief of the War Guidance Section of the War Department to formulate a so-called Showa 13-year Army Military Guidance Outline, according to the plan he gave, at the latest 1941, the Sino-Japanese War could be ended.
At the last cabinet meeting, Shinshin gave hashimoto two opinions: 1. The one who could not get the army's exact information about the idea of the national government. 2. Demand that the Japanese front-line troops immediately attack Wuhan and Guangzhou.
But the stubborn Hashimoto still insisted on his opinion, and bluntly told the last Shinshin that no matter where it was fought, the troops on the front line needed to rest for a while, and when they finished, they were gone.
Immediately after Hashimoto returned to the General Staff Headquarters, a military conference was held, and the Japanese front-line troops were redeployed:
First of all, he transferred the 16th Division of Nakajima Imasaka from Nanjing and returned to the North China side.
Secondly, a new arrangement was made for the Japanese army in East China: the 18th Division was stationed in Hangzhou, and the 101st Division was stationed in Huzhou. The 6th Division was stationed on the first line of Wuhu. The 3rd Division was stationed in Zhenjiang, the 9th Division was stationed in Zhuzhou, and the 13th Division was marching to Chu County, Anhui. The 11th Division took over from the 16th Division in garrisoning Nanjing.
Finally, Qiaobei transferred the 114th Division from East China to North China and the 7th Division to Northeast China to strengthen the vigilance of the Soviet Union.
Hashimoto's last act was to directly cancel the number of the Tenth Army.
At that time, the commander of the Central China Front, Matsui Ishigen, had been recalled to Nanjing, in fact, because of the Nanjing Massacre, which caused public outrage in the world, and was forced to remove him. Hashimoto not only revoked the number of the Tenth Army, but also ordered that the name of the Central China Front be changed to the Central China Dispatch Army, and Hata Shunroku became the new commander.
That is to say, in name, the troops that were the culprits of the Nanjing Massacre were eliminated from the organizational point of view.
After Hata Shunroku took office, he directly issued the first order, the 13th Division of hagishu Ritsugu to sweep north the Chinese army on the huai river line. After receiving the order, the 13th Division directly reached Chu County, Anhui, and then pushed the main force to the line of the Chi River, quickly occupying Fengyang, Bengbu, Huaiyuan and LinhuaiGuan on the north and south banks of the Huai River.
By this point, his mission was basically completed, so his large army was pulled back to Chu County, Anhui.
But the situation is changing, and the world is unpredictable.
The 10th Division of Kitani Ryosuke, which was originally along the Jiaoji Line, quickly moved south along the Tsuura Line, and the Hagishu Ritsugu received the order and stood by, ready to go north.
What the hell is going on in it? If we look at the deployment of Japanese troops in the spring of 1,938, we will understand. The main force of the First Army of the North China Front was in Jiangshan, and the Second Army was in Shandong, and after occupying Jinan, it quickly retreated to the front line of Jining Mengyin Qingdao.
According to Tokyo's orders, the Second Army could only stay near the Jiaoji Line.
Going back, let's talk about Hashimoto, after he took office, although he shelved the surprise attack plan set by Shimomura. But this plan did not disappear in his mind, although he was very conservative, but sitting in the position of chief of operations, he also had to consider the operational value of attacking Wuhan.
Hashimoto and Umezu Mijiro had a good relationship, and during their drinking, Umezu Mijiro also expressed his opinion: the best plan now is to agree to Terauchi Shouichi's request, and it is inevitable to open the Tsuura Line, so that the new regime established in Peiping and Nanjing can be connected.
Hashimoto then sent a telegram to Terauchi Shouichi, asking him what the purpose of the battle on the Tsuura Line was.
Terauchi Shouichi's answer was that there were still a large number of Chinese troops in the northern and southern Regions of Lunan and Northern Jiangsu, and they must be eliminated.
Hashimoto showed Kawabe Torashiro a telegram from Shouichi Terauchi, but did not get a definite result.
After returning to Tokyo, Hashi kita did not get a definite message, and for a while did not know how to be good. At this juncture, Kawabe Torashiro, known for his caution and conservatism, was appointed by Masanori Inada.
Inada Masamizumi was a radical guy who agreed to Terauchi's request to increase his strength to the south, allowing the 13th Division, which had completed the Huai River campaign, to continue northward, echoing the 10th and 5th Divisions sweeping south.
In fact, this is also the order to open the Jinpu line, and it also unveils the curtain of the Battle of Xuzhou.