Chapter 998: Defense of Jiangyin (Thanks to Reader Ziliji for the Reward)

It must be said that the symbol of the outbreak of the full-scale war of resistance was the July 7 Marco Polo Bridge Incident.

After the July 7 Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the Battle of Pingjin kicked off.

In order to avoid the tragedy of the destruction of the Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, under the theoretical guidance of General Jiang Baili, the first military god, China learned the lesson of their destruction.

In other words, the Japanese army must not be allowed to go south along Shanhaiguan and crush China within three months.

For this reason, in addition to insisting on fighting the Japanese in the areas of Beijing and Tianjin, China also took the initiative to open up a second battlefield.

Obviously, the second battlefield is the Songhu area.

There is no doubt that the Songhu Battle was the second large-scale battle after the outbreak of the full-scale war of resistance.

In fact, when the Songhu Battle was in full swing, the third large-scale battle had already begun.

The name of the third large-scale battle was the Battle of Jiangyin!

The Battle of Shanghai began on August 13, 1937. On November 12, with the active withdrawal of the main forces of China, the Battle of Shanghai came to an end.

On August 16, 1937, the Battle of Jiangyin kicked off.

The Battle of Jiangyin ended on December 2, 1937, later than the Battle of Shanghai.

Therefore, in most cases, this large-scale battle was regarded as the third battle after the outbreak of the full-scale war of resistance.

The Battle of Shanghai and the Battle of Jiangyin, these two large-scale battles, are of far-reaching significance to China.

The Battle of Shanghai is also known as the Battle of August 13, and the island country calls it the Second Shanghai Incident.

The scale of this battle far exceeds the Battle of Pingjin.

In fact, the Battle of Shanghai was the largest and most brutal battle in the entire full-scale war of resistance.

A total of about 800,000 troops from China and Japan were involved in the battle, and the battle lasted for three months.

The island nation deployed two armies, namely the Shanghai Expeditionary Army of Matsui Iwane and the Tenth Army of Yanagawa Heisuke.

If all are counted, the island nation has deployed a total of 8 divisions and 2 brigades, a total of more than 200,000 people.

Of course, in addition to these infantry divisions, the island nation also sent the Third Fleet and other naval forces.

In addition, the island nation also sent a large number of traitors.

On the other hand, China can definitely be described as the elite.

The most elite Central Teaching Corps, the 87th Division, the 88th Division, the Tax Police Corps, etc., chose to go all out!

Including ordinary troops, if all are counted, China has deployed a total of 148 divisions and 62 brigades, a total of more than 800,000 people!

For China and the island nation, this major battle is the real beginning of an undeclared but comprehensive war between the two countries.

The Battle of Pingjin after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident can be called a regional conflict.

Although China suffered numerous casualties in the Battle of Songhu, it completely shattered the arrogant plan of the island nation to "destroy China within three months".

Although the scale of the Jiangyin Defense War was smaller, its significance was equally extraordinary.

From the beginning on August 16, 1937 to the fall of the Jiangyin defense line on December 2, 1937, the Jiangyin Defense War lasted a total of 108 days.

The conduct of this battle prevented the Japanese from advancing westward along the river and attacking the inland of China.

Most importantly, it also consumed a lot of Japanese troops and further hit the Japanese arrogance.

In fact, the most important thing in the Jiangyin Defense War was the Jiangyin Naval Battle.

The Jiangyin Naval Battle was also the only large-scale naval battle between the two countries during the Anti-Japanese War.

That's not all, it was also a rare three-dimensional amphibious operation of sea, land and air during the Anti-Japanese War!

In this battle, the entire Chinese Navy was dispatched.

Nearly 30,000 naval forces automatically ignored the fact that their strength was far inferior to that of the Japanese and stepped onto the battlefield without hesitation.

The one who led the Chinese Navy to the battle was Chen Shaokuan, the Minister of the Navy and the First-Class Admiral of the Navy!

Under Chen Shaokuan, there were two other generals:

Chen Jiliang, the Lieutenant General Commander of the 1st Fleet of the Navy; Zeng Yiding, the Lieutenant General Commander of the 2nd Fleet of the Navy.

In addition, China also dispatched 40,000 army warriors.

The commander-in-chief who led them was the famous Admiral Liu Xing.

The main force of these 40,000 army warriors was the 57th Army and the 103rd Division.

It must be said that these troops were reinforcements.

Also participating in the defense of Jiangyin was Xu Kang, the Lieutenant General Commander of the Jiangyin Fortress.

In addition, there was Ouyang Ge, the Lieutenant General Principal of the Huaxia Electric and Mine School.

On the other hand, the island country had far more troops than China.

During the entire defense of Jiangyin, the island country dispatched a total of 127,000 naval forces and more than 30,000 army forces.

Among them, the island country navy mainly dispatched two fleets:

the Third Fleet of General Hasegawa Kiyoshi; the Fourth Fleet of Lieutenant General Toyota Fuetake.

In addition, the Akagi and Ryujo aircraft carrier battle groups of the Second Fleet also came to Jiangyin and participated in the battle.

Specifically, during the entire Jiangyin defense war, the island country dispatched more than 100 warships of various types.

Not to mention, the island country also dispatched nearly 400 aircraft.

Among them, the Army Air Force dispatched 210 aircraft, and the Navy Air Force dispatched 180 aircraft.

The main force of the Japanese army is the 13th Division.

Their division commander is Lieutenant General Ogisu Rippei.

In addition to the 13th Division, the Japanese also dispatched many troops:

Tank troops, integrated cavalry composed of four cavalry battalions...

After the battle, both sides suffered heavy losses.

On the Chinese side, the navy was completely wiped out, and the army suffered nearly 10,000 casualties.

On the other hand, the island country was killed more than 4,000 people.

It must be said that, like the other 21 large-scale battles, the traitors who sold their country for glory were also unwilling to be left out.

However, more than 7,000 traitors were killed by the righteous Chinese army!

The failure of the Jiangyin defense battle marked the complete loss of the Xicheng national defense line.

The Xicheng national defense line is actually the second line of defense for Nanjing.

The first line of defense is the Wufu Line.

The Wufu Line starts from Fushan on the south bank of the Yangtze River in the north, passes through Changshu, Suzhou, Wujiang, Jiaxing in the south, and extends to Hangzhou Bay. It is the first line of defense for Nanjing.

In the Battle of Songhu, because the island country has strong soldiers and horses, it has an overwhelming advantage in heavy weapons.

Therefore, after achieving the goal of opening up a second battlefield, the main force of China had to retreat immediately.

In fact, the moment the Battle of Songhu broke out, it marked the beginning of the Battle of Nanjing.

When the main Chinese troops withdrew from the battlefield, it marked the loss of the Wufu Line.

There was no other way. According to the deployment of the Supreme Command, the main Chinese troops evacuated to the second line, that is, behind the Xicheng Line, while resting.

After arriving here, the main Chinese troops were ready to fight the invading devils at any time.

The Xicheng National Defense Line starts from Jiangyin Fortress in the north and ends at Wuxi on the shore of Taihu Lake in the south.

In fact, the reason why the devils regarded Jiangyin as the focus of the attack and China defended it desperately was very profound.