Soon after Liu Yimin returned to the Dadian Headquarters, the Battle of Shanggao began.

This time, Liu Yimin did not pay much attention to the Battle of Shanggao, because he knew that the reason why the Japanese army launched the Battle of Shanggao was to replace defense with attack, and wanted to transfer a division from the direction of Nanchang to join the North China operation, launch an offensive before the departure, and change the defensive situation in the Nanchang area. However, this time is slightly different from history. Historically, the 106th Division and the 101st Division stationed in Nanchang had already returned to China for demobilization, and they were replaced by the 33rd Division and the 34th Division. Today, the 33rd and 34th Divisions have long been wiped out of the glorious achievements of the army, and the 106th and 101st Divisions have also lost the opportunity to return to China for demobilization, and have to stay on the battlefield and confront the squadron.

Compared with the 33rd Division and the 34th Division, the 106th Division and the 101st Division are both special divisions and regiments with a four-unit system, with a large number of troops and rich combat experience, but because of the older age of the soldiers, the fighting will cannot catch up with the latter.

No matter which unit of the Japanese army launched the attack, the 19th Group Army of the Ninth Theater around Nanchang was not afraid. Because the 19th Group Army was replenished and trained in a timely manner, it was already fully equipped at this time, and with Wang Lingji's Chapter 1135 regimental army response, Xue Yue could use the total strength of the Shanggao Battle to reach 100,000 troops. Especially last year, Chiang Kai-shek used US aid to purchase a large number of American-style equipment, and made the 1135th chapter of the regimental army the pillar.

The 74th Army turned out to be the main force and elite, and it stood out in the sequence. Now after completing the American-style equipment, the famous general Wang Yaowu replaced the soft Yu Jishi as the commander of the 74th Army, and the fierce general Zhang Lingfu has already returned from injury and became the deputy commander of the 58th Division of the 74th Army. There are 31,000 people in the whole army, not to mention the Americanization of weapons, and even the military uniforms have been replaced with the olive green of the US army, and the combat effectiveness is unparalleled in the entire system. Aside from the Japanese planes and warships, the Japanese Army's 2nd Division, 5th Division, 6th Division, and 1st Guards Division could not catch up with the 74th Army.

Americanization is a turning point in the improvement of the combat effectiveness of the main force.

The most important characteristic of combat is the bandit style, which rushes forward when the battle is won and disperses in a hurry when defeated. Now that the strong 74th Army is the mainstay, the units of the 19th Group Army will not be afraid of being wiped out by the Japanese army, and the phenomenon of retreating without permission and standing still will be greatly reduced. When everyone is desperate, how can the little devil take the 19th Army?

Historically, during the Battle of Shanggao, except for Zhang Chuanyan, the deputy commander of Li Jue's 70th Army, who privately ordered his two divisions to withdraw from the position after the position was broken through, the rest of the troops fought tenaciously and fought repeatedly with the Japanese army. It was the Zhang Rumors Department, which also performed very well in the later operations.

With the tiger boy Xue Yue under the overall command, the resolute anti-Japanese Luo Zhuoying's former enemy in charge, and the famous general Wang Yaowu leading the 74th Army as the main force on the battlefield, the Japanese army had to kick the stone and drop the corpse!

Historically, one of the reasons why the Japanese army launched the Battle of Shanggao was that they were afraid of the Americanized 74th Army and wanted to strangle Chiang Kai-shek's Americanized 74th Army in the initial state in one fell swoop. It's just that the Japanese army was arrogant and arrogant, thinking that one division could defeat two or three armies, and they only invested two and a half divisions to completely meet the 19th Army. Therefore, the tactics adopted by the Japanese army were still divided and combined. The Japanese army did attack in three directions, but it did not achieve the goal of the total, and threw the middle into the encirclement, and ended up in a big defeat. Although history has changed now, the arrogant nature of the Japanese army in Central China has not changed, and the arrogant soldiers will be defeated!

Liu Yimin was worried about the changes in the situation in the North China battlefield.

At this time, in order to participate in the world war and seize greater interests in Asia, the Japanese army base camp had already adjusted the guidelines for China's operations, determined to quickly resolve the China incident, and demanded that "before the autumn of 1941, change the predetermined plan, not relax the pressure on China, and prepare to carry out the final active operation in the summer and autumn in an attempt to resolve the China incident." Hideki Tojo, Minister of the Army, and Sugi Sugimoto, Chief of the General Staff, formed a consensus on how to resolve the China Incident and made clear the operational policy of focusing on the elimination of the resistance forces in North China. Accordingly, on January 30, 1941, the Chinese Dispatch Force clearly stated: "The operation in 1941, in accordance with the present task, will generally ensure that the areas currently occupied, especially in the summer and autumn, must exert comprehensive combat strength and exert significant pressure on the enemy." In particular, he was looking forward to the battle to annihilate the Central Army in southern Shanxi in North China (also known as the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain). After succeeding, concentrate forces to eliminate the Eighth Route Army. dquo;

This decision was made on the basis of the suggestion of the commander of the North China Front, Tada Jun. The leaders of the Japanese army also saw clearly that the public security situation in North China had deteriorated extremely much, and a large number of troops of the invading Japanese army had been restrained. If the resistance forces in North China are not eliminated, it will not only affect the southward movement to Southeast Asia, but also affect the preparation for war against the Soviet Union.

The Japanese army's strategy has undergone great changes, and the focus of the operation is directed at North China, which may not be clear to others, but Liu Yimin knows it very well. According to the historical trend, the Japanese army will inevitably launch the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, the problem is that it is different from history, the strength of the Eighth Route Army is so strong, will the little devil launch a large-scale operation against the Eighth Route Army first or concentrate forces to fight the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain as in history? At this point, Liu Yimin has no score in his heart.

At this time, the relations between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party had reached the freezing point of the relations between the two parties since the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Due to Chiang Kai-shek's two launches, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party already distrusted each other, let alone the two armies could not fight together.

There is another factor in this, which leads to mutual distrust between the KMT and the CCP.

This factor is an international political one.

At this time, international relations were in chaos, and before the outbreak of the Normenheim Incident in 1939, Germany was clamoring for an attack on the Soviet Union and demanding Japan's cooperation. As a result, Japan was fighting fiercely with the Soviet army in Normenhan, but Germany and the Soviet Union negotiated and signed the "Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact" on 3 August, which was tantamount to the Soviet Union's rejection of Britain and France, which had been delaying the signing of a treaty with it, and Germany abandoned its eastern ally, Little Japan, so that Japan had to negotiate and sign an armistice agreement with the Soviet Union. The consequence was that Germany could safely and boldly venture in Europe, and the German-Soviet Union would carve up Poland. At present, Germany, Italy, and Japan have signed a treaty of alliance and formed a fascist alliance, and the international anti-fascist front has also been initially formed.

On one side was the Triple Alliance of Germany, Italy and Japan, and on the other side was the Anti-Fascist Front, and the Soviet Union was sandwiched in the middle, and the non-aggression pact was signed with Germany on this side, and the grain wagons were still being exported to Germany, and there was an armistice agreement with Japan on the other side. As far as the Soviet Union is concerned, it is understandable to avoid war for the sake of national security. However, the problem arises.

In the eyes of the Kuomintang, in the same vein as the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, if the Soviet Union compromised with Japan, would it still persist in the War of Resistance?

In the same way, the leaders also had the same doubts, because the Nationalist Government had always maintained good relations with Germany in the past, although since Germany, Italy and Japan signed the "International Agreement" Germany recognized the puppet Manchukuo, withdrew military advisers to aid China, and betrayed China, Chiang Kai-shek's second son, Chiang Weiguo, has been studying in Germany and has just returned to China a year ago. The leaders were also worried that Chiang Kai-shek would take the wrong side in Germany's struggle with Britain and France, and that he would compromise with the Japanese.

Chiang Kai-shek wanted to drive the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army to the north of the Yellow River, and even did not hesitate to revoke the number of instructors and the New Fourth Army, declare the New Fourth Army a rebel, and cancel the military salary supply for the nine main divisions of the Eighth Route Army; He also did not show weakness, successively announced the establishment of the Shandong Military Region, carried out the expansion and reorganization of the New Fourth Army, and ordered all base areas to prohibit the circulation of legal tender. For a while, it seemed that the Japanese were not the worst enemies, and the two brothers were going to fight each other with old fists. This is the character of the current situation.

At this time, the Japanese army used troops in North China on a large scale, and it really chose the right time and place.

By this time, relations between Germany and the Soviet Union had deteriorated, and war was at any time. However, Japan's new foreign minister, Yoyo Matsuoka, had a whimsical idea to establish a four-nation alliance of Germany, Italy, Japan, and the Soviet Union, and use the four-nation alliance to confront Britain and the United States, which dominate the Western Hemisphere, and then realize its establishment of a Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere integrating Japan, Manchuria, and China, including French Indochina and the Dutch East Indies.

Matsuoka really dared to think that he wanted to bring the Soviet Union closer to the German-Italian-Japanese fascist alliance!

Liu Yimin knew that in history, Matsuoka Yoyo visited Germany in March, passed through the Soviet Union, peddled to the Soviet government the necessity of strengthening Japan-Soviet cooperation, and then went to Berlin to meet with Hitler, proposed the conclusion of a four-nation alliance, and on the premise that Japanese Ambassador to Germany Hiroshi Oshima reminded him that Germany might go to war with the Soviet Union, he still visited Moscow on the way back, and signed the "Japan-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Neutrality" with the Soviet Union in a lightning flash. With the signing of this treaty, the Soviet Union would have less worries and could concentrate its forces on countering Hitler's attack, and Japan would also be relieved of its worries about going south, and would be able to confidently and boldly launch the Pacific War. Moreover, it has become the biggest victim, because the domestic people have always regarded the Soviet Union and the image that will inevitably be affected in a short period of time.

Historically, because the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain occurred just after Japan and the Soviet Union signed a neutral friendship treaty, many people were dissatisfied with the Eighth Route Army, believing that the Eighth Route Army was not effective in cooperating with the battle and could not be rescued, resulting in the loss of Zhongtiao Mountain.

In fact, the fundamental reason for the loss of Zhongtiao Mountain was that Wei Lihuang, the commander of the First Theater, was not in the defensive area, lacked unified and effective command, and was paralyzed and careless, and was caught off guard by the Japanese army.

In Liu Yimin's eyes, the Japanese army's series of combat operations in southern Henan, northern Jiangxi, and the southeast coast were all smokescreen bombs used to conceal its large-scale operations against North China! wW