Chapter 782 Turning Point

Li Shusen, commander of the 67th Division, was seriously injured!

Cai Bingyan, commander of the 201st Brigade, and two regiment commanders were killed!

Most of the battalion and company commanders who commanded the battle on the front line died!

Because Luodian is located in an important position, even if the loss is so great, in order to recapture this position, China still keeps sending troops there.

At the same time, the devils continued to land in other places.

Naturally, the Chinese army entered a mode of being attacked from both sides.

By mid-September, the devils' reinforcements came one after another, and China's situation became more and more passive.

China did not have air and sea control. In the battles of actively attacking the devils, blocking the devils' landing, and fighting for various positions, it suffered heavy losses. The troops were extremely exhausted and forced to switch to defense.

That's not all. Being bombarded by so many large-caliber naval guns, the Chinese army had to continue the mode of heavy casualties.

In addition, finding that it could not stop the devil's attack, the Chinese Supreme Command had to repeatedly increase its troops.

On the other hand, after taking the initiative on the battlefield, the devils also launched a big move.

The Japanese unanimously decided to shift the focus of the battlefield from North China to Shanghai.

In order to speed up the battle process in Shanghai and realize the slogan of destroying China within three months, the Japanese continued to send troops to Shanghai.

In this way, the 9th, 13th and 101st divisions under the North China Front Army were transferred to the Shanghai Expeditionary Army.

In addition, the Japanese also transferred a lot of troops from the colonies.

Of course, the traitor troops such as Li Chunshan and Yu Zhishan also received the conscription order of the Japanese.

In this way, including the original 3rd Division and 11th Division, the Japanese reached five divisions in the army alone.

In fact, this is also the requirement repeatedly insisted by the commander of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army, Matsui Iwane.

If the navy, naval aviation and army aviation are included, the total strength of the Japanese in Shanghai will reach an astonishing 200,000!

According to the combat effectiveness of a single soldier, one Japanese is equivalent to five elite Chinese soldiers.

And because the number of Japanese aircraft far exceeds that of China.

The most important thing is that the devils also have nearly a thousand large-caliber naval guns.

The devils are so powerful that if China wants to win, it will not be able to win this large-scale battle without sending 3 million elite soldiers.

It must be said that it was the suggestion of General Jiang Baili, the first military god of China, to take the initiative to start the Battle of Songhu.

According to his suggestion, it is only necessary to attract the main force of the devils to Shanghai, and the strategic goal will be achieved.

Then, take the initiative to let the main force of the devils enter the inland of China.

Take advantage of China's vast territory and complex terrain to reduce the devils on various battlefields.

Also, the devils gather together, with the help of heavy weapons such as aircraft and heavy artillery, and their combat effectiveness is terrifying.

Once the devils are divided, it will be easier to deal with.

However, in order to ensure the smooth implementation of this strategy, and the fact that China's elite main forces are all anxious, the battle on the Songhu front is getting more and more intense.

In order to win this battle, the Chinese Supreme Command gave an order, and the elite troops across the country continued to march to the vicinity of Shanghai Beach!

In this way, China added two more armies in addition to the original 8th, 9th and 15th armies.

They are the 19th Army of Xue Yue, the first general of the War of Resistance Against Japan, and the 10th Army of Liu Jianxu.

Later, feeling that it was not very safe, Liao Lei's 21st Army also rushed to the front line.

With so many soldiers, in order to better command, and because Commander-in-Chief Zhang Zhizhong returned to Nanjing for recuperation due to illness, the Chinese Supreme Command made subordinate arrangements:

The 15th and 19th Army Groups were organized into the Left Corps, with Chen Cheng as the Commander-in-Chief, responsible for the Wanqiao, Luodian, and Guangfu areas north of Zhuozaobang;

The 9th Army Group was the Central Corps, with Zhu Shaoliang as the Commander-in-Chief, under which were 7 armies, 18 divisions, 1 independent brigade, 1 independent artillery brigade and other troops, responsible for the Beizhan, Jiangwan, Miaohang line and the areas to the west;

The 8th and 10th Army Groups were the Right Corps, with Zhang Fakui as the Commander-in-Chief, under which were 10 divisions, 3 independent brigades, 3 newly formed brigades, the Central Military Academy Teaching Corps, and the Coastal Defense Forces, responsible for the area south of Suzhou River to the north bank of Hangzhou Bay.

It must be said that after some emergency preparations, the Sichuan Army also came out!

Under the leadership of the main general Liu Xiang, the Sichuan Army of five divisions, wearing straw sandals and several people equipped with one gun, gathered like crazy at the designated location!

In this way, in the huge Songhu battlefield, the total strength of the Chinese side has reached 75 divisions, a total of more than 700,000 people.

Three-fifths of the country's military strength gathered in Shanghai.

There is no doubt that China is going to fight a decisive battle with the island country!

Although countless soldiers were lost, the Chinese army was fighting desperately.

Although the situation was very passive, thousands of soldiers were killed and injured every day. Although the positions were retreated again and again, China still firmly controlled Shanghai!

At the same time, in order to respond to Jiang Jieshi's call, most Chinese people, especially overseas Chinese, were supporting in various ways.

Some people contributed people, some money contributed money, and some things contributed things.

Regardless of the north and south of the land, regardless of the age of people, all have the responsibility to defend the land and fight the war.

On the other hand, the big devils were furious when they found that they had increased their troops so much, but still did not win.

Yes, the island country has a narrow and long terrain and extremely limited resources. They can't afford to compete with China in endurance.

The most important thing is that before the war, relying on their advantages such as large number of heavy weapons, strong military literacy of soldiers, and one of the best navy in the world, the Japanese arrogantly clamored: China will be destroyed within three months.

The three-month deadline has come, let alone destroying China, even the Battle of Songhu has not been won.

The big devils all think that they have been severely slapped in the face.

While furious and anxious, the island country headquarters launched a fierce debate.

After careful research and discussion, the big devils reached a consensus.

The plan to emulate the Yuan Dynasty's destruction of the Song Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty's destruction of the Ming Dynasty, that is, to crush from north to south and destroy the entire China, has failed!

In this case, the strategic focus can only follow the rhythm of China.

Specifically, the strategic focus should be transferred from North China to East China and Central China!

In the end, they decided to make another big move.

To this end, while continuing to replenish the Shanghai Expeditionary Force, the Central China Front Army should be established immediately.

Specifically, the Central China Front Army includes the Shanghai Expeditionary Force and the 10th Army.

In addition, there are corresponding auxiliary forces, such as communication forces, railway forces, aviation forces, engineering forces, and military supply forces.

The commander of the Central China Front Army is General Matsui Iwane, who is mainly responsible for the six divisions of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army.

The commander of the 10th Army is Lieutenant General Yanagawa Heisuke.

The 10th Army has three divisions under its jurisdiction, all of which are reinforcements from the mainland.

In addition to these three divisions, the 10th Army also has independent mountain artillery regiments, field heavy artillery brigades and other units.

In this way, the total strength of the 10th Army has reached 120,000.

The total strength of the entire Central China Front Army is as high as 400,000!

The formation of the Central China Front Army, especially the reinforcement of the 10th Army from the island country to Shanghai, is the turning point of the Battle of Songhu.

In order to deal with this turning point, Ye Tianming knew it was very dangerous, but he planned to use a big move!