Chapter 783: Honor in Defeat

The purpose of forming the Tenth Army in the base camp of the island country is obvious.

They hoped that, under the leadership of Lieutenant General Yanagawa Heisuke, the Tenth Army could open up the situation during the landing operations.

Specifically, the Tenth Army’s combat plan is as follows:

First, land near Jinshanwei in Hangzhou Bay, outflank the Chinese army's defense line in the south, and then make a quick assault, cut off the Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway, and coordinate the Shanghai dispatched troops;

Second, after crossing the Huangpu River, continue to attack west and south, and work with the Shanghai dispatched army to surround and annihilate the main Chinese forces!

On November 5th, at dawn, under the escort of the navy, the Tenth Army quietly appeared in the Jinshanwei area of ​​Hangzhou Bay.

Immediately afterwards, the Tenth Army immediately launched a landing and sneak attack.

Defending here are 4 divisions and 1 brigade under Zhang Fakui's 8th Army, with a total of more than 40,000 people.

All along, the Chinese Supreme Command and the Songhu Battle General Command have focused their attention on the frontal battlefield in Shanghai.

They all believed that the Japanese would rarely land in Hangzhou Bay.

In addition, on the frontal battlefield of the Battle of Songhu, the fighting intensified, and Huaxia suffered thousands or even more than 10,000 soldiers casualties every day.

In order to supplement the strength of the front line if the troops were not enough, these four divisions and one brigade successively sent reinforcements to the front line.

In this way, when the Japanese Tenth Army came over, only two infantry companies, one artillery company, and local armed forces were left on the dozens of kilometers of coastline near Hangzhou Bay.

They had neither heavy artillery nor decent fortifications.

Facing 120,000 well-equipped and armed to the teeth fresh Japanese army, the results speak for themselves.

Very easily, the Tenth Army destroyed the Chinese defense forces here.

After the Tenth Army successfully landed, it quickly played a distant match with the Shanghai Expeditionary Army led by Matsui Iwane.

Upon hearing the news that the Tenth Army had landed at Jinshan Guard, the Chinese Supreme Command, especially the generals commanding operations on the front lines, were all shocked.

For this reason, the Chinese Supreme Command immediately ordered Chen Cheng, the former enemy commander-in-chief, to quickly stop the Japanese Tenth Army.

Under Chen Cheng's order, Wu Keren's 67th Army was pushed to the front.

In fact, the 67th Army has just been urgently transferred from northern Henan to the vicinity of Songjiang.

What I have to say is that at this time, before the 67th Army set off to Hangzhou Bay, the Japanese 10th Army had already swarmed to Songjiang.

In desperation, the 67th Army was forced to launch a self-defense counterattack in Songjiang City.

What I have to say is that the 67th Army is very tenacious.

However, the firepower of the Japanese Tenth Army was too strong, and the firepower of the 67th Army was so weak that it was almost impossible to see.

In the end, after three days and three nights of hard work by the 67th Army, Songjiang City was captured by the Japanese.

As a result, everyone from General Wu Keren to ordinary soldiers died heroically for their country.

What I have to say is that General Wu Keren was only 43 years old at that time!

After the 67th Army was completely wiped out, the Japanese Tenth Army split into two groups.

Some began to attack the coast of Taihu Lake, aiming directly at Nanjing, the capital of China!

The task of the main force is to cut off the Shanghai-Hangzhou railway and highway, thereby surrounding the main Chinese force.

At the same time, under the command of Nakajima Kongo, the 16th Division successfully landed in Taicang, Jiangsu.

The strategic purpose of the 16th Division is even more obvious.

They tried in vain to cut off the Beijing-Shanghai railway and highway, thus forming a trend to unite the main Chinese forces.

In other words, the 16th Division planned to set up pockets for the encirclement.

In this way, if the main force of China does not retreat, the situation will be obvious!

Under the attack of the Japanese's massive heavy weapons, the 700,000 troops in the Songhu area will become the turtle in the urn and be wiped out in one fell swoop!

At this time, the senior commanders of the Chinese Supreme Command and the Songhu Front were all shocked.

In fact, many soldiers were in great confusion after hearing this bad news.

In some units, chaos has already occurred, but it is difficult for the commander to control the situation.

Everything was like this, there was no other way, and the strategic goal had been achieved. On the evening of November 8, the Chinese Supreme Command made a painful decision:

All troops must withdraw from the battle in Shanghai and divide into two groups, retreating to Nanjing, Suzhou and the area west of Jiaxing respectively.

The Chinese troops withdrew. Naturally, the Japanese occupation of Shanghai seemed very easy.

On November 11, Shanghai Mayor Yu Hongjun issued a letter to citizens through the radio station.

He sadly announced that Shanghai, the largest city in the Far East, had fallen!

Two days later, on November 13, the government also issued a statement to all Shanghai compatriots.

In a statement, the government praised the troops participating in the war for their bravery and tenacity.

Of course, the government also explained the losses in this battle.

All the elite troops in China have been reduced by three-fifths!

In addition, the government also explained the significance of this war:

It broke the arrogant slogan of the island nation to destroy China within three months!

Most importantly, the government also announced that the next wave of fighting, the Battle of Jiangyin, has officially begun!

What I have to say is that after successfully executing the strategic vision of the military god General Jiang Baili, China can be said to be proud of its defeat.

Also, the Songhu area is too small.

China's more than 70 divisions and more than 700,000 troops fought hard against the Japanese on this small battlefield. Before the war even started, they were doomed to fail.

Fighting in this place, the Japanese have an absolute advantage in the sea, land and air, and can also take advantage of the combined operations of multiple arms.

In addition, the Songhu area is densely covered with many large and small rivers.

Unlike nomadic peoples such as the Yuan Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, the island country has a powerful navy.

With the help of naval ships, nearly 400,000 Japanese soldiers were able to break through terrain restrictions by boat.

The most important thing is that the Japanese can exert the power of large-caliber naval guns.

In fact, there is another most important reason why China is eager to retreat.

Shanghai and Nanjing, the capital, are too close.

Shanghai is the front line, and the capital Nanjing is exposed to the sight of the Japanese.

With so many Japanese invaders here and their troops constantly increasing, Nanjing, the capital, is very dangerous.

It must be mentioned that during the Battle of Songhu, the European and American powers all believed in appeasement.

Also, when World War II really started in 1939, appeasement was still very popular.

Therefore, the Chinese side fought tooth and nail to resist the Japanese, but the European and American powers did not speak for China and only knew to pay attention to all this silently.

During the thrilling three months of the Battle of Songhu, although China failed, a consensus was reached.

Even if every soldier and shot is lost, the war of resistance will never end!

After losing more than half of their elite troops, they chose to retreat from the Songhu area for the sake of the overall situation of the war of resistance. There is no doubt that this is the most tragic decision in the history of the Chinese nation!

Although the Battle of Songhu was a failure, it was a glorious defeat.

The most important thing is that the vast majority of Chinese people are determined to unite around Jiang Jieshi and continue to resist the war!

In fact, there was a reason why Ye Tian planned to cause trouble in Jinshan Guard.

Moreover, Ye Tian had already thought about it, even if he really died for his country, this time, he would have to go there no matter what!