If the retreat from Taierzhuang was originally for the adjustment of the situation in the future battle, then the Battle of North China was an out-and-out fiasco. He was very disdainful of the national political axe's hype about the great victory of Taierzhuang, just as after the war, the head of the operations section of the base camp at that time, Masasumi Inada (later promoted to lieutenant general), recalled: "The retreat of the two detachments of Seya and Sakamoto from Taierzhuang was a matter of course in the battle situation, and the 2nd Army refused to retreat as soon as possible for some reason, which was really anxious. The retreat from Taierzhuang was not a defeat, because the base camp had stipulated from the beginning that it was necessary to withdraw to the original starting line, and retreat was not a problem at all. ”

What Inada Zhengjun said is reasonable, and there is no doubt that the retreat from Taierzhuang is in line with the original plan of the base camp. However, it was a defeat for the North China Front, as they hoped to capture and secure Taierzhuang in order to gain a good momentum for the future Battle of Xuzhou. Because of this, during the battle, the Seya detachment received all orders urging it to capture Taierzhuang as soon as possible, but there was no order to retreat. Moreover, at that time, the army generally believed that the occupied areas would not give up an inch of land, and it would be quite a loss of face to retreat. Moreover, in the nine months since the outbreak of the July 7 Incident, the army has been attacking and attacking, and has never turned back. This is the first retreat of the Yue army, so it is also true that this is also the first defeat of the Yue army on the Chinese battlefield.

However, the victory of Taierzhuang was generally regarded as a hoax or a mistake by many people, but this time the Battle of North China was different from the past, and the casualties of more than 100,000 troops could not be concealed by anyone, and the news of the disastrous defeat in the Battle of North China had already reached Tokyo on the second day after the Battle of North China ended, and as a newspaper with the front page headlines, even the Tokyo Broadcasting Station, which had always reported good news but not bad news, also made an hour-long broadcast and broadcast the battle in detail.

After the end of the Battle of North China, the propaganda organs of the Kuomintang stepped up their efforts to publicize the war, and called the Battle of North China a classic battle of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. At the same time, the national political axe carried out "artistic" processing of the results of the war, greatly exaggerated the results, and said to the outside world: "The front-line troops of the Chinese [***] team, including Han Yunhua's department, killed and wounded more than 280,000 soldiers, captured 12,719 soldiers, captured more than 130,000 rifles, 22,913 machine guns, 777 infantry guns, more than 150 cannons, and 40 combat vehicles......"

The phenomenon of exaggerating the achievements of the Kuomintang at that time was not uncommon in the Kuomintang army, and it would be hellish not to exaggerate the results of the war, and the atmosphere was such that if you did not exaggerate the results of the war, the war report was sent to the Ministry of Military Affairs, and the Ministry of Military Affairs also regarded the war report you sent as a war report after "artistic" processing. The usual practice of the Ministry of Military Affairs for these processed war reports is to ignore them or discount them, and if you are deducted eight layers for the battle record of destroying 1,000 enemies, it will become 200 enemies destroyed. Therefore, even in the fierce battle of Taierzhuang, the commander of the 31st Division, the main force guarding the center, Chi Fengcheng had a big conflict with his deputy division commander Qu Shen because of the issue of reporting the battle results. Afterwards, during a conversation between the two, Chi blamed Qu and said in a stern tone: "According to your report at the press forum, the blood of thousands of people in my division has been shed in vain. ’”

Therefore, when the national political axe released the results of this freshly baked battle, the first reaction of all walks of life was not to be ecstatic, but to be very cautious in verifying it, or more people scolded the national political axe for being shameless and even lied to the people of the whole country about the results of the war. If it were said that the national political axe said that 50,000 or 60,000 enemies would be annihilated, the people would not have reacted so much, but almost all of them thought that the national political axe was lying about the military situation.

At this time, the army also made a report on the casualties in the Battle of North China, and the news reported: "Yes, the casualties of the units of the Imperial China North China Dispatch Army were relatively large, and several troops were erased from the battle sequence of the imperial army, which was actually the first fiasco after the outbreak of the Sino-Chinese War, and the specific casualties were as follows: the 20th Division was completely annihilated; The 10th Division suffered 4,088 killed and 4,137 wounded; The 21st Division suffered 5,432 killed and 2,323 wounded............ In total, the Imperial Army lost 67,654 killed and 54,321 wounded..............."

Although people do not believe in this casualty report of the Japanese army, because the Japanese army has tampered with the casualty figures from time to time. No matter how many people died in this war, at least one thing can be determined, that is, the army did suffer a big loss in North China, and even they themselves admitted defeat, and they also used the word fiasco many times in a row. For a time, the whole of China was full of rejoicing, and almost all cities (non-enemy-occupied areas), and even a large part of the cities in enemy-occupied areas, were firing fireworks and cannons, as if the war of resistance had been completely won.

In fact, it is no wonder that the Chinese people are so excited, with the successive defeats and retreats of the Chinese [***] team, a large part of China's territory has fallen, which seriously affects the morale of the Chinese [***] people at that time. The rhetoric of the death of the country permeates all strata of Chinese society, and the mood of defeat hangs over China. In addition, there was a split within the Nationalist Axe, and Wang Jingwei set up a puppet regime in Nanjing, which greatly weakened the prestige of the Nationalist Axe. When the news of the great victory in North China spread in all directions, the frustration, pessimism, and discouragement that had shrouded the hearts of the Chinese were swept away, and everyone was overjoyed. Other cities across the country also held various activities and mass rallies to celebrate the great victory in North China, and for a time, the whole country was jubilant, and the confidence of the people of the whole country in the victory of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression was greatly strengthened.

And Yan'an also held a big propaganda of the people's surname under the organization of the [***] Propaganda Department, and for a time the words of the Inner Mongolia Military Region and Han Yunhua came out casually in the loudspeakers of the counties and districts of Yan'an, and for a time Han Yunhua once again became the focus of discussion among the people of Yan'an. The victims of the Yellow Flood Area, who had been helped by the Inner Mongolia Military Region, spontaneously took to the streets to listen to the glorious achievements of their great hero Han Yunhua, and even many elderly people knelt on the streets of Yan'an with tears in their eyes, and the scene was extremely touching.

After the end of the Battle of North China, the Inner Mongolia Military Region welcomed many foreign journalists and friendly personages who braved the flames of war and gunpowder to arrive at the Guisui front line to cover news, including Soviet TASS reporter Gu Libinsky, United States News Agency reporter Epstein, and Chicago "Every News" reporter Ashebald. With their arrival, reports spread in all directions. The Soviet Union's Pravda, Britain's "News Chronicle," Shanghai's "Zilinxi," the United States' "Washington Post," the "New York Herald Tribune," the "Baltimore Sun," France's "Paris La République," and other newspapers of various countries have constantly published China's telecommunications in prominent positions and published comments one after another, affirming and praising China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, which has had a certain impact on the international community and has also enabled more countries to understand China. Even the newspapers of the fascist countries were no exception, and the "German" Zeitung, the "Gölon Press" in Berlin, Germany, commented on the war. All of a sudden, this East Asian power was seriously suspected by all countries in the world, and a small Chinese army (the Inner Mongolia Military Region) actually defeated one-third of China's dispatched army, with more than 100,000 casualties.

The United Kingdom and the United States and other countries were surprised by the performance of the Chinese team, and the United Kingdom even publicly stated that "China is a trusted ally..........". At the same time, the great turning point in the war situation at home also provided convenience for Soong Meiling, who was active in the United States, and for a time overseas Chinese and Chinese Americans in the United States generously donated their money to dedicate their strength to the freedom of reading in the motherland. The U.S. Congress also discussed and voted on the Lend-Lease bill proposed by China, and although it was not passed this time, it was much better than before, and the U.S. Congress generally did not vote on this matter in the past. Because they wanted to continue to be a neutral country as they had done in World War I, and to continue to make their war money.

However, this time, due to the change in the situation in Europe and the changes on the battlefield in China, the United States has no choice but to pay attention to the draft proposed by the national political axe. Among the countries that Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union may provide support and assistance to China, the United States is the most powerful, the most influential, and the most likely to take major action in East Asia and the Pacific. Because most of the forces of other countries were now contained by the rising fascist Germany in Europe, only the United States was not threatened for the time being. In fact, if it were not for the fact that the military department had a hot head to provoke the United States, even if the United States had already shown its support for China and the European allies at that time, it would not have entered the war so quickly, you must know that the United States was the last country to declare war during World War I, and it was less than a year since the end of World War I when the United States declared war. However, since the contradictions between the United States and the United States in China had not yet deteriorated further in early 1939, under the guise of the "non-interference" policy, a large number of strategic materials were continuously transported from across the ocean to Japan. According to US official disclosures, in the first quarter of 1939, the United States exported only $20 million to China, while its exports to China were as high as $40 million. Compared with the statement made by US Secretary of State Hull on 7 June 1938, in which he said that China and the United States still advocated unrestricted arms purchases in the United States, and that they were free to listen to their freedom, this time the United States obviously showed more friendliness and enthusiasm for China's attitude toward China.

On September 22, the United States convened an imperial meeting, and the draft drawn up by the military department to increase the number of troops to be sent to China and the formation of new troops was voted on with almost all the approval, and even the emperor said that the greatest humiliation since the founding of the empire, especially since the Meiji emperor, must be washed away with blood, for which Emperor Hirohito also specially allocated 4 million yuan from the imperial family's underwear (treasury) to support the military department to form a new army, and at the same time cut half of the imperial family's expenses. The remaining half is used for military expenses.

At the same time, the military headquarters took heavy responsibility for those responsible for the fiasco in this battle, and the commander of the North China Front Command, Army General Binshan Moto, committed suicide by disembowelment to thank His Majesty the Emperor, and the commander of the Yamashita Division, Lieutenant General Yamashita Fumi, nine generals and 19 adjutants under the following nine generals were sent to the military court for sentencing.

At the same time, the military headquarters reorganized the North China Front Army, transferred Tada Jun, commander of the Third Group Army, to the post of commander of the North China Front, and mobilized reinforcements from six divisions to support the North China Battlefield.

The adjustment of the army soon spread to Guisui, and Han Yunhua was very surprised that Binshan Yuan was ordered to commit suicide, and Han Yunhua knew very well about the post-war outcome of this Marshal of the Army, who was known as the "stupid marshal". Historically, this stupid marshal was a complete diehard, and he would not compromise even at the last moment when he was about to collapse, which was really irritating. Historically, in June 1943, Sugiyama was awarded the title of Marshal, and since then there has been an additional honorary title of "Stupid Marshal".

However, Binshan Yuan, who became a marshal, did not have a smooth life. After the outbreak of the Tianpingyang War, the southward advance of the U.S. military began in 1943, facing the danger of reversing the tide of the war, the speed of the U.S. counteroffensive was so fast that the scale was far beyond his imagination, after the defeat of the battle for Kuah Island, the U.S. mobile fleet launched a large-scale attack in the Central Pacific, rushing straight to the door of the country, in the face of the crisis situation, Prime Minister Hideki Tojo in early 1944, desperately asked himself to take full responsibility and lead the political axe and the army in a unified manner, February 21, said, The Minister of War (Hideki Tojo) and his friend the Minister of the Navy, Shigetaro Shimada, were appointed by the Emperor as Chief of Staff and Chief of the Military Command Department, respectively. Since then, Hideki Tojo has concurrently held the three posts of prime minister, minister of war, and chief of staff, creating a miracle since the founding of the army. Sugiyama had to resign from his post as chief of staff and become director of education, where he consulted the emperor on war and war guidance with Nagano, the former chief of the Military Command Department, at the Marshal's Office.

In July, the U.S. Navy won a resounding victory in the Battle of the Marianas, then broke through the absolute defense circle of the Japanese army and occupied Saipan, Tojo's four-month study was over, and he was forced to resign from all positions, and on July 22, the governor of Korea, Koiso Kuniaki, who was far from the political core, was appointed prime minister. Koiso and Sugiyama were contemporaries of the Army Non-commissioned Officer School and had an extremely close relationship. On July 22, 1944, Sugiyama was reappointed Minister of War. However, Koiso could not even attend the base camp combat meeting, and it was purely for decoration, and in fact it was the chief of staff of the army, Umezu Mijiro, and the Minister of the Navy, Mitsumasa Yonechi. On April 5, 1945, the cabinet of Koiso resigned, and the chairman of the Privy Council, Admiral Kantaro Suzuki, was appointed to form a cabinet. When it came time to form a cabinet, Suzuki asked Sugiyama for help. Sugiyama was very reactionary at this time, and he still clamored to carry out the Pacific War to the end.

In 1945, the army continued to lose on various battlefields. In the face of the disastrous defeat of the Japanese army, Sugiyama still strongly advocated stubborn resistance to the US army and engaged in a scorched earth battle. On April 8, 1945, the army was composed of the 1st General Army and the 2nd General Army. Sugiyama was appointed commander of the 1st General Army. The headquarters of the 1st General Army was located at the headquarters of the former Preparatory Noncommissioned Officer School in Tanidai, Tokyo. It is mainly responsible for the eastern part of Honshu south of the Tsugaru Strait, including Ishikawa, Gifu, Aichi, and Mie prefectures. The 1st General Army has 30 infantry divisions, 2 tank divisions, 2 antiaircraft artillery divisions, etc., with about 700,000 troops. As one of the top leaders of the local operation, Sugiyama strongly advocated a thorough war of resistance against the attacking American forces, and planned to take advantage of the opponent's unstable foothold to destroy the enemy before he could build a bridgehead. During the period of preparation for operations on the mainland, Sugiyama often took special planes to various combat areas to inspect the construction of positions and supervise and encourage the training of various units. On July 26, 1945, the United States, Britain and China issued the Potsdam Proclamation, issuing an ultimatum to Ben and urging him to surrender immediately. Prime Minister Suzuki bowed to the demands of the military ministry and adopted a policy of "ignoring it". On the night of August 8, the Soviet Union officially declared war on the Soviet Union. Exhausted by the war, he could no longer bear such a heavy blow. On August 14, the Emperor summoned the 1st General Army Sugiyama Moto, the 2nd General Army Shunroku Hatata, and the Navy Commander General Nagano Shusan to explain his determination to end the war and demand that the army obey. Although Sugiyama Motomo advocated resisting to the end, he was helpless in the face of the emperor's decision. On August 15, Emperor Hirohito read out the "Shoshu of the End of the War" on the "Yuyin Radio". At this point, the fascists were declared defeated and surrendered. On September 11, 1945, Hideki Tojo attempted suicide and was arrested by the Allies. At the same time, the headquarters of the Allied Forces in Yue announced the list of the first batch of Class-A war criminals, but Sugiyama was lucky not to be included in the list. However, he knew that he was the land minister when he launched the all-out war of aggression against China and the chief of staff when he launched the Pacific War, and he was by no means spared, so he shot himself in the office of the commander of the 1st General Army at 5 p.m. on 12 September.

However, now that history has taken a turning point, it is very surprising that Binshan Yuan, a general of the army who is full of evil, has turned from a "national hero" to a "national sinner" who lost the war, and has been ordered by the military department to commit suicide. After the news reached China, there was a celebration in the country, and we should indeed be happy to be able to force a senior general of the army to commit suicide.

Like Binshanyuan, there are two army lieutenant generals, Yamashita Fumimi and Kimura Hyotaro, who were prosecuted by the military department for the destruction of the Nishien Brigade on charges of disadvantage in combat, and at the same time, they were also prosecuted by Lieutenant General Kimura Hyotaro, commander of the 32nd Division, Kimura Hyotaro and others, Kimura was prosecuted for the heavy loss of the 3rd and 4th Brigades of the Reading Power Mixed Brigade by the instructor. In addition to the North China Front, which had been replaced, even the Kwantung Army, which had been stationed in northeast China, was reprimanded by the military headquarters because the Second Division and the Fourth Division had repeatedly entered the customs and failed to achieve the results they deserved, especially since the Second Division had even taken the division commander into it, and the Fourth Division had also taken a brigade commander, so it was severely reprimanded by the military department.

In fact, Lieutenant General Yasui Tengji, commander of the Second Division, had been dead for nearly a year, and the commander of the infantry brigade of the Fourth Division was killed in Chifeng during the first Battle of Saibei, so if it weren't for the poor fighting of the North China Front this time, the military headquarters would not have turned over this old bottom, and it can be said that the commander of the Kwantung Army was completely affected by the disaster of fish seedlings this time, and it was really unpleasant to retribution.

(To be continued)