The Battle of Guinan ended in China's defeat! Although more than 2,000 Japanese troops were killed, the Chinese army paid an even greater price, and more than 100,000 troops were defeated, which made it difficult for Chiang Kai-shek to accept. He was still worried in his heart that if the Japanese army went straight to Liuzhou and entered the rear of China, the consequences would be unimaginable.
On February 21, 1940, Chiang Kai-shek flew to Liuzhou to prepare for a review meeting, but at this time, another thing happened, and Chiang Kai-shek's anger suddenly broke out.
Chiang Kai-shek had just arrived in Liuzhou, and the Japanese bombs had also followed, and it was obvious that the Japanese army had received intelligence and targeted Chiang Kai-shek. Fortunately, Chiang Kai-shek is not a mortal, the judgment is very accurate, the reaction is also very fast, after hearing the sound of the plane, immediately hidden in a natural cave, otherwise he will undoubtedly die.
But the meeting had to go on. Chiang Kai-shek also issued the most severe ticket during the eight years of the War of Resistance Against Japan!
Especially for the rout in the later stages of the battle, Chiang Kai-shek could not let go of his nostalgia for a long time, and pointed the spearhead directly at Ye Zhao, and even said sternly: Ye Zhao, you have meritorious service in Nanjing, but this time, you should be shot!
As a result, Bai Chongxi was demoted from a first-level general to a second-level general due to "poor supervision", and Chen Cheng was also demoted from a first-level general to a second-level general because of "no guidance". This punishment was very serious, until the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Zhang Xueliang retired from active service, freed up a quota, Bai Chongxi was re-promoted, and Chen Cheng was even later, until 1947, Feng Yuxiang retired to make up.
In addition to these two big men, the punishment was also:
Ye Zhao, commander of the 37th Group Army, was detained and handed over to the military tribunal for "disobeying orders to avoid war and missing the overall situation"; Xu Tingyao, commander of the 38th Group Army, was dismissed from his post for investigation and investigation for "indecisiveness and failure to save the war situation"; the 36th Army, the 66th Army, and the 99th Army were all dismissed and investigated; the chief of staff of the 36th Army, the commander of the 49th Division, the commander of the 160th Division were removed from their posts and investigated; Zheng Zuomin, the commander of the 9th Division, was killed and not prosecuted, but the division was revoked, and Su Zuxin of the 135th Division was also punished, but with a slight lighter point. Removal from office and retention.
Of course, there are also those who have been credited: Deng Longguang, commander of the 35th Group Army, He Xuan, commander of the 46th Army, and Wang Lingyun, commander of the 76th Division.
Du Yanming's Fifth Army was not mentioned at all.
The reason why Chiang Kai-shek gave such a heavy punishment was nothing more than two reasons:
1, Guangxi is the throat of international transport lines, the location is too important.
2, Chiang Kai-shek feared that the Japanese army would seize the opportunity to occupy Liuzhou and thus attack the rear of Sichuan.
Then, many people have questioned whether Japan has any plans to occupy Liuzhou and attack the rear area!
Judging from some historical data, there is!
The Japanese chief of staff, Nemoto Hiroshi, once went to Nanjing specifically to expound this idea on the commander-in-chief of the Chinese dispatch army. But his vision is not limited to Liuzhou. According to his plan, after the capture of Liuzhou, the Japanese 5th Division regiment and the 18th Division regiment as the main force, formed three pursuit teams, each team of 3,000 people, directly into Chongqing.
At the same time, another team was sent to attack along the Yangtze River, and another team was approaching Changsha to contain Xue Yue's forces. In northern China, the Japanese army in Shanxi directly crossed the Yellow River and attacked Xi'an. The 11th Army in Wuhan drew a team and went straight down.
Genbo believes that under such an offensive, the Chongqing government will inevitably collapse.
However, the commander-in-chief of the Chinese dispatch army at the time, Itagaki Seishiro, gave an evaluation of "heaven and night". Itagaki Seishiro believed that Wang Jingwei should be allowed to establish political power in Nanjing as soon as possible, and the battle line should be stretched too long, even if Chongqing was taken, there would be no guarantee of surrender to the Nationalist government, and if he was not careful, another capital would appear.
Thankfully, it was Itagaki Seishiro's actions that eliminated the biggest crisis of the Nationalist government in 1940. This hidden crisis is easily overlooked, which has led many people to question, a Battle of Guinan, why did Chiang Kai-shek make a big move and punish many high-ranking generals, including Bai Chongxi and Chen Cheng?