The manpower invested in disaster relief is mainly the escort forces, which can still be reused, but it will take some time to restore the food, clothing, medicines, oil and other materials consumed.

In terms of grain, after the autumn harvest, some of them can be purchased from the public, and medicines can also be produced by themselves. Due to the lack of raw materials such as cotton, clothing must be transported from the northwest, while oil must also be relied on submarines, and aircraft can be imported from the south of the mountain and northwest respectively.

In fact, the reserve materials used by the Guards to rescue disasters were originally intended to be used to recover northern Shandong and march into southern Hebei and central Hebei. Now more than half of the reserve materials have been consumed by more than 2.6 million victims. In addition, the consumption caused by emergencies that may be faced in the future, the Guards really need a certain amount of time to make up for the original gap.

Of course, before the material reserves are restored to the original level, the Guards can also go to Hebei to recover northern Shandong, but without a large amount of material investment to rescue the poor people in northern Shandong and carry out related construction, it is not easy to stabilize northern Shandong in the short term. What's more, after occupying northern Shandong, there is only a lack of barrier between the Guards and Pingjin. In order to protect their own interests, the North China Front Army will inevitably counterattack the Guards wildly. As long as the battle does not stop, the consumption of materials will not end.

"After the North China Front Army's troops increase, Sugiyama Yuan may not be settled. The water level of the Yellow River has dropped, and even the downstream near the sea can be interfered. The Japanese army's invasions through Henan may significantly increase. If we want to withstand the possible offensive on the long south bank of the Yellow River, Haichuan and others will be under a lot of pressure." Zou Degui suggested, "Since we can air-flew disaster relief supplies to Shandong, we can also air-flew troops. Will we air-flew two divisions?"

The People's Army now has twelve group armies, each group of 56,000 troops. In addition to the air force, special combat brigade, airborne troops, naval troops, and headquarters, the total force has reached more than 700,000. However, the establishment of the group army did not take place overnight. Some infantry divisions formed by a combination of new and old methods are still gathered in Gansu, Ning, Sui and other places to wait for replacement and rotation to fight against Japan. It is feasible to temporarily transfer one or two divisions from these troops and strengthen them to the guards through air transport.

"Haichuan and his team have enough troops, so there is no need to increase the transfer from us." Zhao Zhenzhong shook his head and rejected Zou Degui's suggestion and explained, "Except for northern Jiangsu in the Lianshui area, the Guards and Central China Expeditionary Forces are in isolation due to the role of the Yellow River Flood. The Guards and the Central China Expeditionary Forces are preparing to launch an attack on Wuhan, and the ministry has basically no threat to the Guards in the near future. What Haichuan and his team need to guard against is the North China Front Army.

Although the drop in the Yellow River water level may increase the number of Japanese troops crossing the river, the resettlement of disaster victims has basically ended, and the escorts can also cross Hebei. Don’t forget that after more than half a year, the several security brigades formed by Shandong have been put into use. This will liberate the second and fifth two armies of the Guards. In addition, the first and third two armies of southwestern Shandong and eastern Henan, as well as special operations brigades, teaching brigades and other departments, even if it is not the river, Haichuan can mobilize 300,000 troops to guard the south bank.

Now that most of Suiyuan has been pacified, facing Mongolia and the Soviet Union's defense line has been further improved, we must consider the combat issues of the People's Army and Guards against the Japanese Army in North China this autumn and winter to the beginning of next year!"

After conquering Datong in February and annihilated most of the corps stationed in Mongolia, Zhao Zhenzhong wanted to launch an attack on the Japanese army in northern Shanxi in May, hone the troops and recover Hunyuan. However, afterwards, by pacifying the Yinshan Mountains in Suiyuan and the area north of Daqingshan, establishing and improving the northern defense line to deal with the Soviet-Mongolian army, and the early outbreak of the Battle of Xuzhou, Zhao Zhenzhong decided to postpone the combat operations in northern Shanxi.

The People's Army had been hostile to the Soviet and Mongolian Army. After occupying the Suiyuan area south of Yinshan and Daqingshan and eliminating the heads of the pseudo-Mongolian government such as the De King, some Mongolian princes and princes in the northern part of Suiyuan fled to Outer Mongolia because they were afraid of the People's Army's liquidation. Although these Mongolian princes and princes were not successful enough, they were more than enough to defeat them. Once they colluded with the Sui and Mongolian army to invade the south, the People's Army would have to fight against Japan again, and the situation in the northwest would definitely deteriorate.

In order to gain the initiative in the relevant situation in the direction of the Soviet-Mongolia and establish and improve the northern defense line in advance, Zhao Zhenzhong had to suspend the battle in northern Shanxi and give priority to solving the Suibei issue.

The four divisions drawn by the People's Army, the 11th, and the 12th Army have been cleared for more than 80,000 troops in the past six months. The Sizi Tribal Banner and Chahanbo went south to Yinshan, Daqingshan, and west to the vast area between the border between Suiyuan and Outer Mongolia has been controlled by the People's Army. Even the Shangdu, Ulanhada and Bumubapa triangular areas adjacent to Suidong, Chanan was occupied by the People's Army.

As for the untreated tail left in the northeast of Suiyuan near Chahar and Outer Mongolia, Zhao Zhenzhong was not worried. It belonged to the middle of the People's Army and the Japanese-controlled area. Once the Soviet and Mongolian army really dared to come in, not only the People's Army would not be polite, but even the Japanese army, which had always regarded the Soviet Union as its imaginary enemy, would definitely not sit idly by.

The first and the 11th and 2nd armies were deployed in Ningxia, the border area between the northern Suiyuan and Outer Mongolia to ensure that the flanking was safe, the highway from Baotou to the famous Baiyun Mine Zone, which was later famous, has begun to be built. The railway from Baotou to Baiyun and Baotou to Ningxia is also in the survey stage, and the western section of the Yuanpingsui Railway from Baotou to Datong is also being restored.

The relevant construction in Suiyuan has begun, and the originally suspended People's Army's military plan to use northern Shanxi and Chanan must also be restarted. Of course, the launch of the plan does not mean that the battle will be started immediately.

Taking advantage of the opportunity when the Central and Chinese Japanese troops attacked Wuhan, the North China Front Army was restrained and scattered in many places, they took the lead in starting the war, which was of course beneficial to the People's Army's heavy damage to the North China Front Army. Even if Zhao Zhenzhong mobilized heavy troops to break through northern Shanxi, inspected the defense line of the Japanese army in the south, and attacked Pingjin, it would be possible that he would succeed. But in this way, the risks that the People's Party armed forces would take were too great.

Before the outbreak of the Pacific War, the People's Party armed forces could annihilate the Japanese military brigades and divisions again and again, but they could not annihilate or severely damage the entire Japanese front army at once, and even with that strength, it would not work.

This is not a trick of Zhao Zhenzhong trying to play to raise the enemy's self-respect, but has long-term considerations. Once the People's Party armed forces really annihilate or severely damage the North China Front Army, it will inevitably lead to crazy revenge from the Japanese national power and attract all the Japanese firepower to himself. This is extremely unfavorable to the People's Party, whether from the domestic situation after the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan or from the outbreak of the Pacific War in the future and the world situation after the end of World War II. Zhao Zhenzhong will not do such a stupid thing that is refreshing but harmful to him at the moment.

In the next few years, what the People's Party armed forces have to do is to attack the North China Front Army every time, send troops to continuously cut off their bodies and gradually eliminate their vital forces, but they are not ruthless and make them unable to take care of themselves.

The autumn harvest will be coming in more than a month. When the People's Army harvests the fruits of the settlement in northern Shanxi, Suidong and other places, even if more than 100,000 troops do not actively attack the Japanese army, the North China Front Army, whose troops are strengthened again after the war in Wuhan, will definitely launch an attack on the People's Army or the Guards.

"The specific combat plan is formulated by the two theater commands of Yulin and Jinan based on the actual situation on the front line. We only determine the timing, combat area, and purpose of the battle." Zhao Zhenzhong paused and continued, "In view of the imminent battle in Wuhan, the guards are stabilizing the newly occupied areas, implementing various measures to rescue victims, and supplementing the strategic reserves consumed, so the guards' action to recover northern Shandong was postponed until around the Spring Festival. After full preparations, the entire northern Shandong was recovered in one fell swoop!

As for the People's Army's operations in northern Shanxi and Suidong, they must be put after the end of the Wuhan Battle. The combat areas are the vast areas north of Sanggan River, south of Xinghe, south of Jining, Fengzhen, and east of Datong. The purpose of the operations is not to occupy the territory, but to temper the troops, eliminate the vitality of the Japanese army, and to be able to annihilate the forces of the two Japanese divisions! In addition, Chen Hailan and Gu Haichuan should be reminded to hurry up and train the troops' night combat capabilities to prevent Japanese troops from raiding at night."

If the North China Front Army only competed with the People's Army in northern Shanxi, it would not be a problem to annihilate the more than 100,000 troops in Suidong to attack northern Shanxi and Suidong with heavy troops, it would not be easy to eat the two divisions.

As for the troops' night combat capabilities, it was Zhao Zhenzhong's reaction based on the Japanese army conducting night exercises in Pingjin. Although the People's Party has an absolute advantage in armed air forces, fighter jets of this era do not yet have night combat capabilities. If the Japanese army wants to reduce losses, choosing night combat is undoubtedly an effective way.

However, night war also depends on the season. If the North China Front Army launches an offensive in the autumn, night war does have a lot of effect. But if it is chosen in the severe winter, the effect of the night war avoiding the attacks of the People's Party's armed air force will be offset by the severe cold weather. It is better to say that winter in northern Shandong, but the temperature in northern Shanxi and Suidong is often below minus 20 degrees below 30 degrees. If the Japanese really dare to fight their lives, they will suffer.

"Sir, after the Battle of Wuhan is over, the Japanese army will definitely fight to the North China side again. I am afraid that our army will no longer have the advantage in northern Shanxi and Suidong's troops. Will we strengthen it?" Zou Degui grabbed his hair and suggested again.

"Shopkeeper Zou, we won't do a loss-making deal, so don't worry!" Zhou Mingyuan laughed and said, "In addition to the 12th Army and other troops, the 12th, 42nd, 52nd, 72nd, 82nd, 92nd, 102nd divisions, as well as several heavy artillery brigades and air defense brigades have long been impatient when they wait. If the Japanese really increase their troops, then let these divisions and brigades go up together to try their skills!"

These divisions and brigades have drawn some veterans and commanders at all levels from the original columns, and combined with the new recruits trained last year, and formed the troops in various armies. However, the divisions in each armies are fully equipped, but the heavy artillery brigades are not yet able to achieve one per armies due to the shortage of the new vehicle-mounted 155 heavy artillery.

With the more than 140,000 troops from the seven divisions alone, if we include the incompletely equipped total of 14 heavy artillery brigades, more than 120,000 air defense brigades, and the original more than 130,000 troops from northern Shanxi and Suidong, the People's Army is enough to deal with any attacks from the North China Front Army after the increase in troops!

With the arrival of the end of the year, the 210,000 new recruits trained this year will be replenished to various troops one after another. It can be said that in terms of combat against Japan, the People's Party has abundant armed forces.

"The troops are enough, but if the Philippines wants to further temper the troops to deal with the more intense wars, I really don't want to invest so many troops at once." Zhao Zhenzhong smiled helplessly and said, "It is said that when a cannon fires, there will be tens of taels of gold. If our hundreds of thousands of troops start, the consumption will be a huge amount! If we had not developed well in recent years and had accumulated some of the assets, we would not be able to withstand such consumption!"

In recent years, the People's Party has established a relatively complete industrial system in the northwest, and has successively obtained stable oil fields in Yumen and Shannan, with an annual output approaching one million tons. In addition, it can continuously obtain various required resources from overseas through sea channels such as Chittagong. This has enabled the People's Army's equipment to be updated and maintained at an adequate supply. Otherwise, it will not be able to fight such a high-consumption war.

When it comes to consumption, Zou Degui, as the Minister of the General Logistics Department of the People's Army, nodded in agreement and grinned: "The army's combat losses are indeed large, especially the consumption of various shells, which are almost like signs of moving closer to bullet consumption. Every time I see the combat losses table reported by the army, I can't help but scold them for being prodigal!"

"We in China are known as a big land and a vast population, but for our party and our army, a big land and a vast land and a vast population should be considered, but the population is far from that. Although the population in the northwest has increased greatly due to external imports in the past two or three years, it is still significantly lower than the area we control." Zhao Zhenzhong sighed, "Those who can be selected into our army are of good quality in all aspects. If more ammunition can be consumed, it is still worth it. Of course, everything must be limited and cannot be wasted!"

After pausing, Zhao Zhenzhong said again: "It's a bit far, so I'll continue to talk about the war against Japan. Since the battle is in autumn and winter, we must prepare for winter combat. We must prepare well for clothes, hats, shoes, socks, gloves, and quilts. In addition, although the output of down jackets is still a bit low, it is still fine to give priority to supplying the two war zones in the Dihua area, and the remaining part will be distributed to the front-line reconnaissance troops of the Yulin War Zone and individual army groups that perform specific combat missions. This problem will be coordinated by Degui and Hailan."

...

Although the meeting of the Central Military Commission of the People's Party was relatively small, it determined the basic matters of the People's Party's armed autumn and winter offensive. As the content of the meeting was distributed to Yulin and Jinan war zones, the training of troops and the transportation and reserve of logistics supplies were also mentioned on the agenda.

The North China Front Army and the People's Party armed forces are preparing for the autumn and winter battle, while the Central and Japanese troops are ready to attack Wuhan.

After Chiang Kai-shek ordered the Yellow River to be opened to block the Japanese army from heading south along the Pinghan Line in North China, the Central China dispatched troops retreated the 13th Division, the 9th Division and other troops to the south bank of the Huai River for rest due to the Yellow River barrier.

However, unlike the North China Front Army's retardation in front of the People's Party's armed forces, the Central and Chinese Japanese army did not stop fighting. Under the order of the dispatching army commander Shinji Hata, the Central and Japanese army, together with the Japanese Chinese fleet that cooperated to fight, continued to attack and advance westward along the river with water and land.

According to the orders of Shinji Hata and Shiro Kawaki, the Taiwan Brigade, the 11th Navy, the Marine Corps, and the 2nd United Airlines Corps went through the river to attack Anqing, Madang, Hukou, and Jiujiang; the 6th Division captured Shucheng, Tongcheng, Qianshan, Taihu, Susong, and Huangmei along the land route from Hefei, and supported the troops attacking westward along the river; the 3rd Flying Regiment of the Army and Air Force coordinated the land forces to attack.

Under the fierce attack of the Japanese army, Chiang Kai-shek's blocking troops arranged by the Japanese attack line were defeated and retreated one after another. By July 26, Jiujiang was lost and the door to Wuhan had already opened.

Chiang Kai-shek originally arranged a 100,000 army in the Jiujiang area, but facing a Japanese Taiwan brigade, a newly established 106th Brigade, and some Japanese navy, the defenders with obvious advantages in force only supported it for three days before retreating. Chiang Kai-shek was frightened and his confidence in sticking to Wuhan was also shaken.

There are many reasons for the fall of Jiujiang. The main reason is that the Japanese army landed in Gutang at night, and the defensive troops were unaware of it in advance and failed to deal with it afterwards. However, it is undeniable that some troops have broken military discipline and neglected their duties.

Zhang Fakui, commander-in-chief of the Second Corps and commander-in-chief of the Eighth Army, who was responsible for the command of the Jiujiang defense line, listed "military discipline and people fleeing" as the third of the reasons for Jiujiang's failure in the report submitted to the Military Commission of the National Government. He also said: "When the troops gathered near Jiujiang, it was difficult to add troops during the war because of transportation difficulties. He fired guns along the way to search for supplies. Unworthy people raped and plundered the villages where the army went. When he walked from Yangxin through Ruichang to Jiujiang, he was desolate and lost the traces of people. The people had no sympathy and the army had no ambition to unite. In this way, it was impossible to fight for the enemy bravely."

At the critical moment of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the troops of the National Government "fired a gun to search for supplies" and even "rape and loot, and the villages where the army traveled was in ruins." How good is this behavior better than the atrocities of the Japanese army?

Zhang Fakui, who was responsible for the defense of Jiujiang, felt guilty and asked the Military Commission for punishment. While Chiang Kai-shek ordered him to hand over the command and transfer back to Wuhan, he also revoked the numbers of the 11th Preparatory Division and the 128th Division, who were responsible for the failure of the combat.

After opening the door to Wuhan, the Japanese army had a dispute over the attack on Wuhan. The army hoped to postpone the battle to avoid the hot weather in the Wuhan area from August to September, so as not to cause non-combat reductions in heatstroke due to climate reasons. However, the Navy insisted on launching the battle in a favorable opportunity when the river was wide in the rainy season and large ships could go back to Wuhan. The result of the quarrel was that the Japanese Army bowed to the Navy, and the Battle of Wuhan officially started after the Japanese base camp issued an attack force combat sequence on August 22.

The Japanese Army's original insistence was indeed reasonable. During the attack on Wuhan, more than 25,000 people from the Second Army under Minami's troops were hospitalized for treatment due to heatstroke, cholera, malaria and other diseases, and about 900 of them died. Before they could attack Wuhan, the second Army lost its combat effectiveness, which was equivalent to a division. This result made Minami curse the navy.

However, high temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius also occurred in the end of August. As time went on, the autumn air became heavier, and after the high temperature weather eased, the Japanese offensive became even more fierce.

Chiang Kai-shek was struggling under the attack of the Japanese army, and his life became more and more difficult. On October 21, when Chiang Kai-shek learned of the loss of Guangzhou, he sighed sadly, knowing that after the Guangdong-Hankou Railway was cut off, Wuhan was no longer worthy of heavy troops to defend.

Shortly after Chiang Kai-shek made the decision to give up Wuhan, from October 25 to 27, the Japanese army successively occupied Hankou, Wuchang and Hanyang. The fall of the three towns in Wuhan marked the failure of the Battle of Wuhan. Although the Chinese and Japanese troops continued to fight for half a month, it was just the end.

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Chapter completed!