After the "September 18 Incident," Zhang Xueliang, a general in the Northeast Army, asked the Kuomintang government for instructions on how to deal with it. In the face of repeated provocations by the Japanese army, the Kuomintang government demanded that the Northeast Army "be patient and self-respecting," and that "no matter how the Japanese army provokes in the Northeast after that, our side should not resist and try to avoid conflict." Chiang Kai-shek went so far as to send a telegram to Zhang Xueliang, saying: "No resistance, put up guns, lock up warehouses, and hand them over to the Japanese army." ”
Under Chiang Kai-shek's order of "absolutely no resistance," the Chinese troops stationed in Shenyang had no choice but to endure humiliation and yield to the Japanese invasion, resulting in our army's obvious superiority over the Japanese Kwantung Army's 180,000 to succeed in its aggressive plot. However, due to the lack of strong resistance and counterattack, the Japanese army's aggressive arrogance was very arrogant, and after occupying Shenyang overnight, it successively launched attacks on Changchun, Jilin, Jinzhou, Harbin and other places. By February 1932, in just over four months, all three northeastern provinces had fallen into Japanese hands.
On March 1, 1932, the puppet regime of Manchukuo was proclaimed and the Japan-Manchuria Agreement was signed. The agreement stipulates that all the rights and interests of Japan in the past in northeast China should be recognized and respected; the two countries agreed to jointly assume the responsibility of defending the country, and for this reason Japanese troops were required to be stationed in Manchuria. This agreement marked the fall of northeast China as a colony under Japanese occupation.
After Japan occupied the three northeastern provinces, in order to divert the attention of British, American and other imperialists and Chinese people from their colonial rule in northeast China, and at the same time play a role in deterring the Chinese rulers, they entered North China in early 1932 and sent troops to Shanghai. Before attacking Shanghai, the Japanese deliberately instigated the Ronin to provoke everywhere. On January 18, five Japanese monks made trouble with the volunteers near the Sanyou Industrial Society factory on Ma'anshan Road, and were beaten and injured by the angry workers, and the Japanese army used this as an excuse to protest to the Chinese side, setting fire to the Sanyou Industrial Society, killing Chinese police, destroying shops and holding provocative demonstrations. He also made a shameless demand that the Chinese army withdraw from Zhabei, and secretly increased the number of troops in Shanghai in the name of "protecting the overseas Chinese." On January 28, before the Chinese could respond to their demands, the Japanese army launched a military operation as planned. At 11:30 p.m., the Japanese army under the command of The Japanese fleet commander Koichi Shiozawa, based at Tentonan Station and under the cover of ironclad vehicles, raided Zhabei in three ways, falsely claiming that the capture of Shanghai was "enough in four hours" and that the safety of North China was precarious.
In the face of national difficulties, the Communist Party of China issued a just call for "Chinese not to fight Chinese" and "the muzzle of the gun is consistent with the outside world." The whole country resounded with the call of the War of Resistance to save the country and swear to drive the Japanese out of China. However, Chiang Kai-shek still believed that "if we do not first eliminate the red bandits and restore the vitality of the nation, we will not be able to insult the people," and the Kuomintang government mistakenly regarded the policy of "foreign countries must first be safe at home" as the basic criterion for handling domestic and foreign affairs. In a telegram to the Nanjing government and Zhang Xueliang, Chiang Kai-shek said: "When the anti-Japanese movement occurred throughout the country, I was afraid that I would be used by the Communist Party to carry out the banditry of the Communist Party, and at the same time, there was a danger of introducing a layer of chaos into the Sino-Japanese dispute. Therefore, officials and the people must work together to curb the anti-Japanese movement, and it is advisable to be patient and self-respecting, so as to wait for opportunities. He also said: "Only when the outside world is to be settled internally, and only when there is unification can it be insulted, and no country can win over the outside world without reunification, so he demanded that "today's external affairs, whether it is resolved by military means or diplomatically, is not to seek domestic reunification first, and it cannot be done for merit." He declared to his subordinates: "In the future, if you go north to resist Japan and ask for your life, but you have no determination to suppress the bandits, you should be regarded as a greedy person who is afraid of death, and you will be killed without forgiveness." ”
In the face of the rampant aggressive acts of Japanese imperialism and the non-resistance attitude of the Kuomintang government in yielding and yielding, the vast number of patriotic soldiers and people in China were filled with indignation. When the Japanese invaded Shanghai, the 19th Route Army stationed in the Songhu area rose up to resist and launched the famous "12.8" incident, which severely damaged the Japanese army; Sun Ke, Li Zongren, Cheng Qian, and other members of the Kuomintang Central Committee called Chiang Kai-shek to request that capable troops be mobilized to reinforce Shanghai's War of Resistance; Liu Xiang, He Jian, Bai Chongxi, Gu Zhutong, Liu Zhi, Yan Xishan, and Chen Jitang also successively asked the Japanese to assist the 19th Route Army in defending the border and insulting the country.
In such an atmosphere of common hatred and hatred, if Chiang Kai-shek's government could temporarily put aside its personal vendettas and grievances, put the overall interests of the nation first, stop the civil war, and unite many forces to resist Japan, the Chinese nation might be able to pay less blood and tears and experience fewer disasters, but unfortunately he still stubbornly adhered to the policy of "outside the country must first be safe inside," and ordered that "all military chiefs who have not received orders from the Military and Political Department to act freely, although they are agitated by patriotic enthusiasm, must also be subject to disobedience." "The patriotic act of the heroic resistance of the 19th Route Army was also adopted, and the attitude of standing still and not helping was adopted.
The predecessor of the 19th Route Army was the 10th Division of the 4th Army of the National Revolutionary Army during the Northern Expedition, which participated in the Communist-led "August 1st" Nanchang Uprising after the defeat of the Great Revolution, and later followed Chiang Kai-shek, making great contributions to his victory in the warlord melee. Subsequently, the 19th Route Army participated in Chiang Kai-shek's first four counter-revolutionary "encirclement and suppression" of the Soviet zone, and fought many battles with the Red Army. However, the vast number of officers and men of the 19th Route Army also have strong patriotic feelings. After the "9.18" incident, more than 30,000 officers and men of the 19th Route Army swore an oath against the civil war and united against Japan in Ganzhou. After the transfer of the defense of the Songhu area, Jiang Guangding, commander-in-chief of the 19th Route Army, Cai Tingkai, commander of the army, and Dai Ji, commander of the Songhu garrison, jointly issued an anti-Japanese telegram, saying that "the ground is inching in grass and cannot be abandoned" and that they are determined to "resist for the salvation of the country, and although they have sacrificed to the point of one bullet, they will never back down." ”
Before the outbreak of the "12.8" incident, the Japanese army repeatedly invaded Shanghai, and the 19th Route Army judged that the Japanese invasion was a foregone conclusion based on the information obtained, and immediately began to make relevant combat arrangements. On 23 January, cadres above the battalion commander of the 19th Route Army garrison in Shanghai held an emergency meeting at the Longhua Substitute Headquarters, and after discussion, it was decided that the following secret orders were issued to the ministries at 7 p.m. on the same day: (1) It was reported that the Japanese side was now sending a large fleet to Shanghai, and there was an attempt to threaten our government to ban the patriotic movement and move freely. (2) Our army shall be on close guard for the purpose of defending the national territory and fulfilling the duty of a soldier. If the Japanese army does attack our garrison troops, it should be extinguished with all its might. (3) The 156th Brigade of the 78th Division served as the line north of the Beijing-Shanghai Railway to Wusong and Baoshan, and briefly occupied the position. The 155th Brigade served as the commander of the Beijing-Shanghai Railway Line (including the railway) south of the Hongqiao and Caohe Trail lines (nanshi and Longhua regiments were in place) and briefly occupied the position; the commander of Wusong Fortress led the original troops to hold the fortress and made sure contact with the friendly forces of the nearby fortress; the railway artillery and the gendarmerie battalion at the North Station were under the command of Zhang Junman, commander of the 6th Regiment of the 78th Division; the Huang Maoquan Regiment of the 60th Danyang Division, which was limited to the standby near Nanxiang tomorrow (24th), and the rest of the Shen Guanghan Division and Mao Weishou Division were the general reserve and waited in place The district police and protection regiments are under the command of senior military commanders in the respective areas. (4) The General Headquarters was moved to Zhenru. The Security Command remains in Longhua temporarily. The 19th Route Army was required to make all contingency measures, including the preparation of military food and materials, and to be ready to fight at any time. In particular, in the second item, the stipulation that "if the Japanese army does attack the troops stationed in our garrison, it should be extinguished with all its strength" has become the criterion for resisting the Japanese army in the "12.8" incident of the 19th Route Army. At this meeting, all participants expressed their unswerving determination to resolutely defend Shanghai. Dai Ji said: "The world rises and falls, and Pi Fu is responsible." Success or failure is enough, life and death are enough. My generation only has the duty of the soldiers to defend the land and insult the land, and fight with the military slaves to the death. Jiang Guangqing pointed out before the adjournment of the meeting: "Materially speaking, we should be far inferior to the enemy. But with the sincerity of all people, we can open a path of victory. ”
At that time, Chiang Kai-shek was in the period of his second descent. On the surface, he does not seem to care about political affairs, but in fact he still manipulates some important matters of the Nanjing government. According to the analysis of some indications, Chiang Kai-shek expected that something would happen to the 19th Route Army stationed in Shanghai, so he sent Du Yuesheng and Shi Liangcai to the 19th Route Army to find Cai Tingguo, saying that Zhang Jingjiang had something to find him and asked him to go to Du Yuesheng's house for an interview.
Cai Tingkai arrived at the Du Mansion, where Zhang Jingjiang was already waiting. After a brief greeting, Zhang Jingjiang went straight to the subject: "The 19th Route Army has always had strict military discipline and meritorious achievements in the revolutionary war. The Japanese army in Shanghai provoked everywhere, and if it was not good at coping, it was likely to be on the verge of eruption. It is hoped that General Cai will understand the difficulties of the central authorities and bear in mind the consistent will of the central authorities, and that the 19th Route Army would do well to withdraw to the Nanxiang area to avoid conflict with the Japanese army. Moreover, Shanghai is located in a prosperous area, and if the war ends, the losses will be extremely large. If General Cai has the intention of retreating, I am willing to report to Commander-in-Chief Chiang Kai-shek. ”
Cai Ting's mistake had already been heard in Zhang Jingjiang's voice, one was to avoid conflict with the Japanese army; the other was to ask him to automatically withdraw from Shanghai. Chiang Kai-shek sent Zhang to show that he was very uneasy about the 19th Route Army and Cai Tingguo himself. The meeting place was chosen at the home of Du Yuesheng, the boss of the Qinghong Gang, and it was obvious that he had set up a feast at the Hongmen Gate to try to force him to obey. When Cai Tingkai thought of this, his heart was very dissatisfied, and he couldn't help but burn with anger. But he was not intimidated and was furious: "Shanghai is Chinese territory, and the 19th Route Army is China's army, which has the right to garrison Shanghai." This has nothing to do with Japanese imperialism. To defend the territory of the country, military personnel have the responsibility to defend the territory. Whoever dares to attack, our 19th Route Army will face it head-on! Mr. Zhang is also Chinese and should accept my opinion and report to Commander-in-Chief Chiang Kai-shek. "Finish speaking, roll up your sleeves and go away."
Chiang Kai-shek received a report from Zhang Jingjiang in Nanjing, instructing He Yingqin, minister of military affairs, and Zhu Peide, chief of staff, to intervene to prevent possible resistance actions by the 19th Route Army. On the evening of 27 January, He and Zhu inspected Chiang Kai-shek's will and sent three urgent telegrams in a row, with roughly the same content, all of which demanded that the 19th Route Army "endure humiliation and seek perfection, avoid conflict, and never act rashly, so as not to hinder the national defense plan." Even so, Chiang Kai-shek was still not at ease, and secretly dispatched the 6th Gendarmerie Regiment to Shanghai on the 28th, got off from the North Railway Station, and took over the defense of the 19th Route Army in Zhabei. After the arrival of the 6th Gendarmerie Regiment, Cai Tingkai instructed Weng Zhaohuan's troops stationed in Zhabei to refuse to hand over defenses, so that Chiang Kai-shek's goal of preventing the 19th Route Army from resisting the Japanese army failed.
After the "12.8" War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression broke out, the officers and men of the 19th Route Army, with the support of the Shanghai people, were highly moraleful, fought bloody battles, and heroically killed the enemy, causing the Japanese army to suffer a major blow and forcing it to change its commander-in-chief. As the commander of the 19th Route Army said, "The Japanese have all the means to modernize warfare,...... We actually had nothing but rifles and machine guns. But we are here to resist by establishing the principle that any people has the right to defend itself when foreign aggression threatens the life and death of the state. My soldiers understood this, so they fought and were scrappy. In mid-February, the post of commander-in-chief of the Japanese army was replaced by Kenkichi Ueda, commander of the 9th Division, and more than 10,000 troops followed him to Shanghai. In order to force the 19th Route Army to retreat, Ueda presented Cai Tingkai with the "Book of Mourning Medun", saying that he wanted to complete the task by peaceful and friendly means, and issued the following conditions for the 19th Route Army to discuss:
(1) The 19th Route Army shall promptly cease its fighting and shall complete the withdrawal of the first line of the present territory by 7 o'clock in the afternoon of February 20, and complete the retreat from the concession line to the area of the twenty-odd Kiromydur to the north by 5 o'clock in the afternoon of February 20, and the artillery batteries and other military facilities in that area shall be withdrawn and no new facilities shall be established.
(2) After the 19th Route Army began to retreat, the Japanese army did not carry out shooting, bombing and pursuit, except for reconnaissance by aircraft. After the retreat of the 19th Route Army, the Japanese army maintained the road area of the Ministry of Works near Hongkou (including the area around Hongkou Park).
(3) After the first line of the 19th Route Army retreated, the Japanese army dispatched escorted investigators to the retreat area for the sake of implementation. The investigator carried the Japanese flag for identification purposes.
(4) The 19th Route Army gave complete protection to the lives and property of Japanese people near Shanghai outside the retreat area. If this guarantee is not complete, the Japanese side shall use appropriate means.
(5) The protection of foreigners near Shanghai (including the evacuation area) is subject to consultation.
(6) Cancel the day-row groups and prohibit all anti-day movements.
If the above items cannot be implemented, the Japanese Army will have no choice but to take free action against the 19th Route Army, and all responsibility will be borne by the 19th Route Army.
After Cai Tingkai received Zhitian's absurd "Letter of Sorrow", he immediately sent it to Jiang Guangding for his eyes, and immediately convened a meeting of senior officers of the 19th Route Army. Everyone was indignant when they saw this document at the meeting, and the command headquarters ordered the front-line troops to gather artillery and bombard the Japanese positions, and never submit to Japanese imperialism.
The fighting that followed was fierce. The Japanese army's tanks, ironclad vehicles, aircraft and other weapons are extremely lethal, and there are constantly a large number of naval and air reinforcements, the 19th Route Army has called for the collection of flat artillery and anti-aircraft guns, but the Kuomintang Military and Political Department has never fired a single shot, and has issued a general order to all units: "The 19th Route Army has three divisions and sixteen regiments, no reinforcements, as much as possible to support." "The Nationalist government not only did not give the 19th Route Army corresponding reinforcements, but let it fight alone and sit idly by, and even took advantage of the serious national difficulties and reduced taxes to withhold the army for 8 months and more than 6 million yuan.
Therefore, despite the solidarity of all sectors of society, the officers and men of the 19th Route Army were also full of enthusiasm, high morale, and repeated setbacks against the enemy's front, but they could not get effective supplies, the casualties were very serious, and the situation was extremely difficult. After suffering heavy losses due to its weak strength and insufficient support, the 19th Route Army was forced to retreat to the Jiading and Huangdu lines after it lost its position at Liuhe on March 1. In a telegram to all walks of life throughout the country, the 19th Route Army said sadly: "... Our army resisted the day of the storm, fought hard for more than a month, and with the sharpness of the enemy's weapons, the swiftness of transportation, the help of our people, the loyalty and courage of the soldiers, the hand-to-hand combat, and the casualties, we were able to repeatedly defeat the enemy's peak. Although the Japanese Kou added two divisions, I could not continue to support them. Since 11 February, our army has suffered heavy casualties in order to devote themselves to the frontal front, while the Japanese and Kou, with several divisions, have landed on the Liuhe side, we have no reinforcements, and the flanks and rears are in danger, so we had to retreat the whole army to the second line of defense on the night of March 1 to engage in defense. This army is determined to exhaust its purpose and not to share the sky with the day of violence. The Songhu War of Resistance ended tragically. After this battle, the Kuomintang government also regarded the 19th Route Army as a "rebel".
The valuable patriotic spirit and heroic and tenacious fighting behavior of the 19th Route Army have aroused great concern from the Communist Party of China. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a resolution on supporting the 19th Route Army's War of Resistance, and through the Shanghai underground party, it carried out a large number of mass support work to support the front. In July 1932, after the 19th Route Army was transferred to Fujian, the CPC Central Committee immediately issued a "Letter to the Party Departments at All Levels in Fujian for the 19th Route Army", instructing party organizations at all levels in Fujian to carry out work to win this anti-Japanese contingent. The Anti-Japanese Manifesto issued by the Communist Party of China in January 1933 also resonated with the 19th Route Army and greatly encouraged its patriotic enthusiasm.