Chapter 134: The sudden change in the Battle of Shanghai

While the 20th Independent Brigade was resting and training, the situation in the Battle of Shanghai was also undergoing tremendous changes. With the reinforcements of the Third and Eleventh Divisions, the Neon Army Navy formed a new Fourth Fleet and the former Third Fleet to form a joint fleet, which was unifiedly commanded by Kiyoshi Nagashimakawa and had more than 30 ships under its jurisdiction, three of which were aircraft carriers.

At the same time, a special air force consists of 210 fighter jets from China Airlines and 180 fighter jets from HNA to seize the air supremacy of the Songhu battlefield.

The Chinese Navy, which lacks modern warships and has tonnage dozens of times behind the Neon Army, was quickly defeated by the Neon Army in the naval battle at the Yangtze River Estuary and was almost wiped out. At this point, the Neon Army naval warships drove straight from the Yangtze River Estuary and directly threatened the Jiangyin Fortress. At the same time, they used their large-caliber naval guns to favorably support army operations within the range.

Similarly, shortly after the young Chinese Air Force once had an advantage in the early stages of the battle, it was quickly defeated by the large number and excellent performance of the Neon Army Air Force. The air supremacy of the Songhu battlefield was completely controlled by the Neon Army. In addition to the continuous bombing of the Songhu battlefield, the Neon Army planes even raided important airports of the Chinese Air Force such as Hangzhou and Nanchang, and bombed Nanjing, the capital of the Chinese several times.

On April 25, the Neon Army continuously supported the support of warships, aircraft and tanks. The 11th Division launched a fierce attack on Tsukiura-wa Baoshan, which was recaptured by the Chinese national team. The central Xia Chu of the 98th Division, which was stationed in these two places, had to retreat due to heavy casualties. The next day, Yao Ziqing's troops of the Third Battalion of the 583rd Regiment, who was responsible for the rear guard of Baoshan, fought to the death and refused to retreat. In the end, the entire army was wiped out and Baoshan fell.

After occupying Baoshan, the 11th Division attacked west along the Baoluo Highway with the 10th Brigade. The 3rd Division of Wusong also crossed the Sitang River to attack westward. The 101th Division successfully joined the Neon Army Navy special first Marine Corps in Jiangwan Town and Yangshupu, surrounded by the Chinese national team. The Ninth Army and the Part 15th Army were immediately threatened to be attacked from both sides.

Because the Chinese side was unable to occupy the control of the sea and air, they suffered heavy losses in attacking enemy strongholds, fighting against enemy landings and land-to-ground battles, and the troops were extremely exhausted. The second phase of the combat plan issued by the Third War Zone on May 1st: the war zone restricts the development of landing enemies with the purpose of a protracted war of resistance, and strives to achieve the effect of each defeat. When each defeat cannot be achieved, they retreat in turn to land outside the range of the enemy ship, and carry out tenacious resistance. When the rear troops arrive, they will fight to the final victory. They are ready to fight against the unfavorable attack and implement defensive operations. At this point, the Chinese national team on the battlefield of the Shanghai River was forced to officially turn into defense.

On May 3, the 3rd Division of the Neon Army followed the Military Road and Songhu Highway; the 11th Division launched a powerful offensive to the Chinese national team in Yuepu and Luodian. On May 5, the right wing position of the 15th Army was broken through, and the troops were severely reduced. So gradually retreated to Shixianggong Temple south of Luodian, and the Liuhe Line was pre-built. The Ninth Army also moved to North Station, Jiangwan, Temple Street, and the right bank of the Neon Army.

The Neon Army gradually took the initiative in the battlefield of Songhu, and the highest level of Japan demanded to speed up the process of the Shanghai battle, "it was roughly in mid-May, and it was necessary to deal a major blow to the Chinese national team, causing a situation to make the enemy surrender."

However, the Battle of Shanghai lasted for more than a month, and the war was delayed for a long time and was expected by the Neon Army. Although the Neon Army relied on its equipment and weapons advantages to block the attacks of the Chinese national team one by one, the Chinese national team continued to fight the war, and the brave and tenacious resistance of the war was also severely damaged by the "Imperial Army" that claimed to be invincible. The Neon Army did not make much progress. In order to end the war in Shanghai as soon as possible, the Army Minister Sugiyama Moto and Navy Minister Mine Navy Mitsumasa jointly proposed "three months to resolve the Chinese national affairs" jointly proposed by the Secretary of the Army, Moto Sugiyama and Minister Mine Navy Mitsumasa.

The Japanese military headquarters had to make another decision to increase its troops. The Ninth and Thirteenth Divisions, which were confronted by the Chinese national team in North China, were transferred to the Shanghai dispatching army sequence. In addition, the infantry brigade and Shigefuji Detachment were transferred from Taiwan. In this way, with the original divisions, the Neon Army's troops in Shanghai by mid-May, the infantry alone reached the five divisions required by Matsui Ishien, including the air force and navy forces, and the total strength of the Neon Army in Shanghai reached 200,000.

Faced with the Neon Army's dispatch of troops, the National Government also decided to quickly send more provincial and central troops to Songhu to participate in the war. In order to win this tough battle, Chiang Kai-shek spared no effort to send almost all the elite soldiers and generals at that time to the Songhu front line. In addition to the original Eighth, Ninth and Fifteenth Army, Xue Yue's 19th Army, Liu Jianxu's 10th Army and Liao Lei's 21st Army were added.

At the same time, the deployment of front-line troops has also been adjusted to meet combat needs: the 15th and the 19th Army were organized into the left-wing corps, Chen Cheng was the commander-in-chief, with three corps under his command, the Jiang Defense Army General Command and the General Reserve Team, with a total of about 16 divisions, two fortress headquarters, four independent regiments, and one Jiangsu security team; the combat areas are Wanqiao, Luodian and Guangfu areas north of Qizaoban.

The Ninth Army and the Twenty-First Army are the Central Corps, and Zhu Shaoliang is the commander-in-chief. He has ten armies and 28 divisions, one independent brigade, one artillery brigade, one Shanghai Garrison Command and one Shanghai Security Corps; the combat areas are North Station, Jiangwan, Miaoxing Line and the area west of them.

The Eighth, the 10th Army was the right-wing Corps, and Zhang Fakui was the commander-in-chief, with ten divisions, three independent brigades, three newly formed brigades, one Central Military Academy teaching corps and one coastal defense force; the combat area was from the south of the Suzhou River to the north bank of Hangzhou Bay. In addition to the five divisions that rushed to Shanghai to participate in the battle against the Sichuan Army, the total strength of the Chinese national team had reached 70 divisions, nearly 700,000.

After the Chinese national team entered the defense, as the reinforcements arrived one after another, the Neon Army began to launch a large-scale attack. On May 20, the Neon Army concentrated all the main forces of the 11th Division and the 13th Division to attack and defend the left-wing army positions of Luodian, defending here. Luo Zhuoying's 18th Army and Ye Zhao's 66th Army fought to the death to resist, and the position stood firm. The next day from dawn to the night of the 22nd, the Neon Army continued to charge with two divisions. The 159th Division and 160th Division of the 66th Army suffered major casualties, and the positions were completely destroyed, and none of the defenders survived.

In view of the fact that the Neon Army had the main force to defeat the left-wing army in both areas on Baoliu Highway, in order to preserve its strength and last for a long time to consume the enemy, the Commander-in-Chief ordered the left-wing army troops to move to the second-line position to defend and attack the Neon Army by camera. At this time, Matsui Ishione saw that the attempt to break into the surround of the Chinese national team from the flank could not be realized, so he decided to change the division and siege into the central breakthrough and concentrate his forces to attack the front line of the Qizaoba. Starting from May 30, the Japanese Navy and the Aviation Army cooperated with the ground forces to launch a new attack. The North Road was directed at Guangfu, the 11th Division of the Yamashimo Sowu, and the Chen Jiaxing; the South Road was concentrated in the third, and the

The 13th Division of the 101th Division forced the crossing of the 101th Division to attack Dachang and Nanxiang to cut off the contact between the defenders from Dachang and Jiangwan area from the outside world, making it an isolated army. From June 1st to 5th, the Chinese national team had the eighth, 14th, 59th, 67th, 77th, 90th Division and the General Tax Police Force's General Regiment and other troops in bloody battles with the enemy for several days. Due to the great sacrifice, they were unable to fight again and they withdrew from the position one after another. Starting from the sixth, the Neon Army once again concentrated the firepower of the naval and air force and cooperated with the infantry to attack the south bank of the 10th Panzhai. The Chinese defenders took turns to resist. After several days and nights of bloody battles, they were able to slightly stop the Neon Army's offensive.

On June 10, the Neon Army broke through to Yuzaobang, and the battle situation was in urgent need. Chiang Kai-shek personally led a group of important personnel from the base camp to Nanxiang, the front-end enemy command center of the Third War Zone, to command the operations. He urgently dispatched the 21st Army of the Central Corps to block the Neon Army that broke through Yunzaobang.

Li Zongren, a member of the 21st Army, and Bai Chongxi, was a trump army of Gui, and enjoyed a reputation among the Kuomintang local army for his ability to fight and fight. Since it was his own army, he was transferred to the General Staff Headquarters as deputy chief of staff. Bai Chongxi, who had long been itchy, offered advice to Chairman Jiang, believing that pure passive defense is not a long-term solution, and it is impossible to win. He must take the initiative to attack with a main assault force and implement an active defense strategy.

Chiang Kai-shek, who was in a state of great difficulty in fighting, was certainly unable to do so. He immediately issued an order to carry out a counterattack. At the same time, he ordered all the troops guarding the south bank of Zizaobang to cooperate with Liao Lei's 21st Army to launch a full-line counterattack.

However, although Bai Chongxi is known as "Little Zhuge" and is also an ever-winning general in the warlord melee for more than 20 years, it was the first time he fought with the Japanese, and he lacked the understanding of the combat effectiveness of the Neon Army. On that day, the 9th Division of Yoshizuru Yoshisuke, the 101st Division of Ito Masaki and part of the 3rd Division of Fujita Jin also launched a fierce attack on the south bank of Yuzaoba. The main forces of the two sides collided head-on. The Gui army had no experience in confronting the Neon Army. They rushed into the dense rain of bullets with their flesh and blood, mistaken the smoke emitted by the Neon Army into poison gas, and their formation was self-disturbed; in addition, only the Gui army was wearing yellow on the battlefield at that time.

The military uniform was extremely conspicuous and became a living target for the Neon Army to practice shooting. It was attacked by the Neon Army's aircraft, artillery, tanks and machine guns in a intensive firepower. Tens of thousands of troops were dispersed in one day, and most of the tens of thousands of suicide squads were killed. The brigade commander of the group army was killed in battle. The "Little Zhuge" saw that the Guangxi defeated soldiers were contained by other troops and had been destroyed for many years, and he couldn't help but feel heartbroken and did not advance for days. The fierce battle was until June 20th, and the troops were forced to retreat. The left wing army cooperated with the four regiments attacked by the 21st Army to the north side of Guangfu to fight the Neon Army on the north side of Guangfu, and was also repelled by the Neon Army. The Neon Army took the opportunity to launch a counterattack, and the troops headed straight to the field.

On June 21, the Neon Army went straight to Zhentai Highway with heavy troops and threatened the left wing of Dachang. Liu Xing's Neon Army crossed the Lizaogang and attacked the Xitahe Bridge of Dachang. The 18th Division, 26th Division and 67th Division of the 15th Army of the Left Wing Corps after arduous resistance to block the Neon Army's offensive. At this time, the Chinese national team went from the east of Dachang, passed Dachang, and went northeast to form a half-circular front, surrounding the north of Jiangwan. When the temple was walking, the Dachang was prominent, and it became a thorn in the Neon Army's eyes and a thorn in the flesh. It must be pulled out quickly.

The Neon Army mobilized various artillery, and the planes bombarded violently. Within a radius of several miles, it was almost scorched earth. The Neon Army then used more than 40 chariots as the leading guide to cover the infantry to seize Hujiaqiao, Taheqiao, Zuomatang and other positions. In order to preserve its strength, the defenders moved to the southern wing after making the best efforts to resist, and the field was lost. In this battle, the Chinese national team suffered heavy casualties and almost entirely wiped out the entire 18th Division. The division commander Zhu Yaohua was so sad that he drew his gun and committed suicide. Fortunately, the bullet did not hit the vital point, was seriously injured, and was rushed to Nanjing Army General Hospital.

The big field was lost and the whole line was shaken. The Seckert defense line set by the German general adviser Seckert against the Songhu battlefield was actually broken. In order to preserve its strength, the third war zone had to give up the North Station - Jiangwan position. The Central Corps troops retreated to the south bank of Suzhou River, and the left-wing corps were also ordered to transfer. The Chinese national team retreated into the second phase of the existing defensive positions from Liuhe, Shenjiaqiao, Chaowangmiao, Xu Jiaxing, Guangfu, Chen Jiaxing, Jiangqiao, Beixinjing to Fanwangdu.

The 20th Independent Brigade, which had already received an order to reinforce the downtown area of ​​Shanghai, had already begun to set off, continued to station in Songjiang.

In late June, the Battle of Shanghai entered the late June. Although the Chinese national team was in a passive position and retreated repeatedly, they still controlled Shanghai. This was undoubtedly contrary to Japan's original judgment and calculation. At that time, Sora Sugiyama and Minutaki proposed to resolve the Shanghai Incident for a month, but the idea of ​​conquering China in three months could not be realized at all.

Japan is an island country with limited resources. It is impossible to consume the competition for endurance and tenacity with China, a giant country. Therefore, the only way is to fight quickly. At this time, the Japanese military was extremely angry and anxious that the Neon Army could not achieve decisive victory after several additional troops, and even failed to fundamentally change the situation of the battle.

After careful research and discussion, the military headquarters believed that China had already devoted three-fifths of its national strength to Shanghai and had already set out a decisive battle. Previously, the Neon Army had always put its main force in the direction of North China to launch an attack, which was no different from the waste of strategic deployment, so it proposed that "the urgent thing to be delayed is to quickly end the battle in Shanghai." To this end, it was decided to establish the Central China Front Army. On June 20, the Military headquarters ordered the sixth, eighteenth, and 114th Divisions, as well as the country composed of the 9th Brigade of the Fifth Division.

Qi Detachment, the Second Independent Mountain Artillery Regiment, the Sixth Field Heavy Artillery Brigade, the First and Second Reserve Infantry Regiments and other troops totaled about 120,000 people, forming the 10th Army, with Lieutenant General Yanagawa Heisuke as the commander, preparing to carry out landing operations to open up the situation. At the same time, he ordered the 16th Division of Nakajima Imao in North China to be transferred to the Shanghai dispatching army sequence. The Neon Army's troops on the Songhu Frontline suddenly increased to 300,000. These included the nine divisions of the Army, the main force of the Third and Fourth Fleets of the Navy and the Air Force.
Chapter completed!