In November 1939, after the army on the frontal battlefield completed the second phase of the reorganization training, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the "Winter Offensive" from the War Department of the Military Command. Don't underestimate this order, it was a small turning point in the War of Resistance Against Japan. Why was Chiang Kai-shek preparing to fight a large-scale offensive war at this time?
After the outbreak of World War II, the United States began to oppose Japan's so-called New Order policy in East Asia. Against this background, Chiang Kai-shek also decided to launch a counteroffensive, one could invigorate the morale of the army, and the other was to make some appearances for the United States to see.
The purpose of showing the United States is simple: to get more loans and military aid.
In this way, in China's territory, from Inner Mongolia and Suiyuan in the north to the Liangguang region in the south, the Chinese army dispatched 71 divisions and launched attacks on the Japanese army in various theaters. According to the relevant data of the Japanese army, the scale of this winter offensive was so large that the Chinese soldiers had a strong will to fight, far exceeding Japan's expectations, especially in the 3rd, 5th, and 9th theaters, and the counteroffensive was even more fierce.
In this winter offensive, the Japanese garrisons were divided into isolated positions. Taking the Eleventh Army as an example, only 4 brigades of infantry could be concentrated, and all other units were divided and besieged by the Chinese army, of which 23 divisions besieged the 3rd Division, 16 divisions besieged the 6th Division, and 49 divisions besieged the 13th Division.
Of course, this is only a Japanese statement, which must be very exaggerated. No matter how strong the 13th Division was, the Chinese army would not use 49 divisions to fight 1 division.
In this winter offensive, the Chinese army not only has sufficient ammunition, but also has significantly improved its replenishment capabilities, and even some troops have used incendiary bombs with the times. The effect of this offensive was not to annihilate how many Japanese troops were annihilated, but to tell the invaders with practical actions that in the frontal battlefield, the Chinese army still had the strength and could still continue to fight.
Speaking of this winter offensive, I have to say that Suiyuan, a province in northern China, has to be said.
In the area around Inner Mongolia, there are four provinces in northern China, namely Rehe, Chahar, Suiyuan and Ningxia. At that time, Ningxia belonged to China's rear, while Rehe and Chahar had long been occupied by the Japanese army, and Suiyuan was divided into two, controlled by Japan in the east and controlled by China in the west.
At Suiyuan, China's highest commander was Fu Zuoyi, deputy commander of the Eighth Theater and commander of the Thirty-fifth Army, and he also held the post of chairman of the Suiyuan provincial government.
When it comes to the frontal battlefield, it seems that in people's minds, there is only the Central Plains, central China, south China, southwest China, the border of Myanmar, and the grasslands in northern Cyprus have been forgotten by many people. In fact, Suiyuan was a very important battlefield at that time, and it was the main position to block the Japanese army's advance to the northwest rear.
If the time is pushed forward by two years, after the fall of Taiyuan, Yan Xishan retreated to the southwestern Jin region, and Fu Zuoyi, who was alone in the isolated city, led his army to Suinan, and then stationed in Suixi, and established a base area in Wuyuan.
The main combat strength in Fu Zuoyi's hands came from the 35th Army, which had a strength of more than 30,000 troops, each of which had experienced hundreds of battles, including Dong Qiwu, Sun Lanfeng, and Yuan Qingrong, all of whom wrote a heavy stroke in the later history of the War of Resistance.
It is worth saying that Suiyuan is located in the northern steppe of Saibei, and cavalry is indispensable. Among Fu Zuoyi's army was a cavalry unit, the 7th Cavalry Division of the Central Army, as well as some newly formed units and guerrilla units.
In fact, as early as the autumn of 1939, during the First Battle of Changsha, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Fu Zuoyi to contain the Japanese army in North China. During the Winter Offensive, Chiang Kai-shek advised Fu Zuoyi to target the Japanese army entrenched in Da Shetai.
However, after Fu Zuoyi received the order, he felt that the scale was a little small, so he drew up a bolder plan. What this plan is, we'll cover in our next article.