Perhaps the magistrates should ask why the 6th and 18th Divisions of the Japanese Army did not attack. There are four reasons, one of which is that the heavy artillery brigade and mountain artillery regiment on which the Japanese army relied can no longer support the operation efficiently due to the failure of the shells. Second, there are 25,000 people in a division of the Japanese army, but the troops that can really fight on the front line are greatly reduced. Excluding the baggage wing, artillery wing, cavalry brigade, engineer wing, reconnaissance wing, and logistics personnel, including field hospitals, a division has only three infantry wings, and the attack task mainly falls on the infantry wing.

The fixed strength of an infantry wing of the Japanese army is 3,800 people, that is to say, a field division regiment, and more than 11,000 soldiers can fight on the front line. On the other hand, the units under the Eighth Route Army have no baggage units or artillery units, but it is said that 80 percent of the units under the Eighth Route Army are combat units. Third, for five consecutive nights, small units of the Eighth Route Army attacked frequently, and the Japanese army was exhausted. The Japanese Army's Division A disdained guerrilla warfare, so it was not at all suitable for the mysterious attacks of the Eighth Route Army.

During the day, the troops had to launch fierce attacks, and at night they had to guard against enemy attacks. For the first time in regular combat, the Japanese field divisions encountered such a situation, and there were no countermeasures. The fatigue of the Japanese army, coupled with the encounter with a strong opponent, naturally greatly reduced the combat effectiveness. Fourth, the Japanese 6th Division suffered heavy losses and was unable to launch a strong offensive, while the Japanese 18th Division was afraid and did not dare to attack. After five consecutive days of fighting, the 6th and 18th divisions of the Japanese army had to face up to the formidable troops in front of them.

The commander of the Japanese army had already learned about the situation on the front line of Xingta, so naturally he would not let the 6th Division and the 18th Division fight hard. When Matsui Shigen learned about the retreat of the 67th Army at Songjiang City, he immediately ordered the 114th Division to launch a strong attack at any cost, to capture Fengjing, and cut off the way for the Eighth Route Army to flee westward.

Commander Yanagawa Heisuke received an order from Matsui Ishine and ordered the commander of the division, Shigeharu Suematsu, to quickly take Kaede at any cost. The situation changed abruptly, and Shigeharu Suematsu ordered the 127th and 128th Brigades and the 9th Brigade to launch an attack on all fronts. As soon as the day dawned, the Japanese army went on the offensive like a tide, and the battle instantly entered a white-hot situation, and the Japanese attacking troops received a death order, and naturally attacked with their lives.

On the left flank of the Sichuan Army, the two regiments of the Eighth Route Army have all entered the position to fight, the 133rd Division has little strength left, and the 134th Division of the reserve has all been put into defense. The defense line was tight, and the army commander Yang Sen took the initiative to join the troops of the Sichuan army after retreating from the battlefield, and organized them into assault teams to support the operation at any time. Just when the Japanese army was attacking, the 50th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army appeared on the east side of Fengjing. The commander of the 50 brigade did not order the troops to immediately enter the position to participate in the defense, but boldly ordered the troops to flank and carry out counterattack operations.

When the Japanese heavy troops were attacking frantically, a group of men and horses suddenly came from the east side. At first, the Japanese army intended to be a small counterattack force, and immediately sent troops to intercept it. However, the powerful firepower and shock force from the flanks were difficult for the Japanese to parry, and the division commander was shocked when he learned that a large number of troops of the Eighth Route Army had appeared in the east, and immediately ordered the attacking troops to retreat. At this time, the frontal defense units learned that the Eighth Route Army had sent strong reinforcements, and their morale was greatly boosted, and they immediately began to counterattack on all fronts. Under the double blow, the Japanese army was quickly defeated, and the situation on the battlefield was reversed in an instant, and the Japanese army changed from the attacking side to the attacked side.

The Japanese reacted quickly and quickly stabilized their positions, blocking the attack as they retreated southward. A few hours later, the Japanese army had retreated 10 kilometers, and the Eighth Route Army and the Sichuan Army had withdrawn their troops. At this time, it was impossible for the defeated 114th Division to launch an offensive. The commander of the Japanese army, Yanagawa Heisuke, was shocked to hear that a large number of troops of the Eighth Route Army had appeared in Fengjing, and misjudged that the Eighth Route Army was coming for reinforcements, and immediately ordered the 114th Division to defend on the spot, and at the same time reported to the headquarters of the dispatch army as soon as possible.

Linchen Wang Yizhe led the 67th Army to Zhujing, and the commander of the 47th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army asked the 67th Army and the 79th Army to withdraw from the palace first. The commander of the 18th Division of the Japanese Army, Sadao Ushijima, learned of the retreat of the Eighth Route Army in front of him and immediately came to his senses and ordered the forward troops to pursue. The 18th Division was a newly formed division and was not attached to a cavalry brigade. When the Japanese soldiers bravely pursued, they were intercepted by anti-infantry mines and had to stop the pursuit.

At about noon, the retreating large force reached the Hingta. The commander of the 6th Division of the Japanese Army, Toshio Tani, stood at a high point and watched the enemy forces converge and retreat, and there was nothing he could do. On the Xingta position, army commanders Xiao Ke and Wang Yizhe checked side by side in the area where the Japanese army was located, and the troops were retreating one after another. "Commander Xiao, why didn't the Japanese army make any movement and watched us retreat, this is not the style of the Japanese?" Wang Yizhe was confused.

"Commander Wang, the 6th Division of the Japanese Army is known as a strong division, but after continuous combat, they are no longer capable of launching another attack. The Ministry of Defense asked us to block the attack for five days, and today is the sixth day, which can be said to have exceeded the task. "Your troops are very fast, could it be that you have already judged that the Japanese army will land in Hangzhou Bay?" Wang Yizhe asked in surprise. "After the July 7 Incident, our ministry asked to enter the Songhu area for defense, but the Ministry of Defense did not agree. After the mediation of Chief of General Staff Ouyang, the Ministry of National Defense finally agreed to our department to enter the front-line defense of Hangzhou City. ”

Xiao Ke continued: "Chief of General Staff Ouyang has always been concerned about the situation in Songhu, especially about the Japanese army launching a landing operation in Hangzhou Bay. When it was discovered that the troops in Hangzhou Bay were empty, Chief of General Staff Ouyang decisively ordered our troops to advance to Hangzhou Bay, and you know the situation later. "If your troops don't send troops in time, I'm afraid our troops will spill blood in Songjiang City." "Report, Sichuan Jun called. The Japanese 114th Division launched a fierce attack at any cost, and at the critical moment, the 50th Brigade rushed to the battlefield and flanked it. The Japanese army retreated 10 kilometers after the rout, and the threat was lifted. A combat staff officer reported.

"Commander Wang, it's time for us to go, let the Japanese army join forces!" A few hours later, the retreating troops reached Fengjing, and the troops continued their retreat westward along the railway line. The 79th Division of the National Army received an order from the Ministry of National Defense to withdraw to Wuxi for defense. The Sichuan Army, the Eighth Route Army, and the Northwest Army temporarily withdrew to Hangzhou due to heavy casualties due to successive battles, and strengthened their defenses on the front line of Hangzhou.

The troops marched along the Shanghai-Hangzhou railway, and the joy of getting rid of the Japanese army was quickly replaced by the mood of paying a heavy price. All the officers and men were cast a shadow on their faces, and everyone's mood was very heavy. During the battle, the two divisions of the Eighth Route Army suffered more than 6,000 casualties, and the Sichuan Army suffered more than 7,000 casualties. The 67th Army did not count the early operations, and suffered more than 2,000 casualties in the two-day blocking operation at Songjiang City alone. Everyone has a clear understanding of the Japanese army's three-dimensional combat mode.

The Japanese army launched an offensive for five consecutive days, and also paid a heavy price, with more than 4,000 casualties in the 6th Division, more than 2,000 casualties in the 18th Division, and more than 3,000 casualties in the 114th Division. Through the battle with the Eighth Route Army, the Japanese army also gained a new understanding, which will be reflected in future offensives. It can be said that the Eighth Route Army became famous in World War I, shocked China and foreign countries, and gave countries around the world a new understanding of Jiangxi's Eighth Route Army.

During the retreat of the troops, Wang Yizhe received an order from the Ministry of National Defense, which was transferred to Changzhou for rest. When they parted, Xiao Ke held Wang Yizhe's hand and said: "Commander Wang, if I guess correctly, your department will strengthen the defense on the front line of Nanjing!" "Commander Xiao, the national crisis is at the head, and the soldiers take it as their responsibility to serve the motherland. The contemptible people have already made an oath that they will spill their blood on the battlefield of resistance against Japan. Shook was speechless, and the two sides shook hands and said goodbye.

In the headquarters of the 3rd Corps of the Eighth Route Army in Jiujiang, Jiangxi, Chief of Staff He Longyu reported: "Chief of General Staff, the 15th and 16th Divisions of Xiao Ke's Division, the 67th Army of the Northwest Army, and the 20th Army of the Sichuan Army have retreated safely and are currently on their way to Hangzhou. According to Commander Chen Cheng's report, the 87th and 88th Divisions, 3rd Divisions, 36th Divisions, 9th Divisions, 11th Divisions, 14th Divisions, 67th Divisions, 98th Divisions, and 6th Zhejiang Divisions of the Central Army were all safely withdrawn to Zhejiang. The ・・・・・・ of the Hunan Army. Along the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway in the direction of Nanjing, our blocking operation was a great success. ”

He Long continued: "At present, there are still a small number of troops fighting in the Songhu battlefield, and the estimated number does not exceed 20,000. "Chief of the General Staff, according to the Ministry of National Defense, after three months of fierce fighting, excluding the Xingta blockade operation, the battle loss rate was 160,000 people. If the Xingta blockade operation and the retreat are included, the battle losses are estimated to reach 200,000. "Ouyang Jian knew that the original historical Songhu battlefield retreated, losing 100,000 troops, including the early combat loss rate of 300,000, and this result was already very good.

Ouyang Jian looked at the military map and calculated in his heart, the Central Army troops entered the territory of Zhejiang, and successively withdrew to various places through the territory of Jiangxi, and did not deploy defenses on the front line of Nanjing, obviously Lao Jiang had the intention of giving up Nanjing. The Ministry of Defense let the miscellaneous troops defend on this line, which means that Lao Chiang wants to preserve his strength, or that Lao Chiang has lost confidence in holding Nanjing. Ouyang Jian knew in his heart that the 35-year-old German military adviser Falkenhausen, in view of the war situation between China and Japan, believed that it was necessary to build a solid defense line from Shanghai to Nanjing.

The Germans believed: secretly build two lines of defense between Shanghai and Nanjing. That is, the first line of defense, the Wufu line, from Fushan on the south bank of the Yangtze River in the north, to Changshu, Wuxi, Suzhou, Jiaxing to Hangzhou Bay in the south. The second line of defense starts from Jiangyin Fortress in the north, and reaches Wuxi on the edge of Taihu Lake in the south, and the first generation of defense line is only fortified on the first line of Hangzhou Bay in Jiaxing, and Fushan to Suzhou is almost useless, especially Lao Jiang did not break the cauldron and deploy the withdrawn Central Army on the defense line, but let the Hunan army, Anhui army, and Lu army with weak combat effectiveness be deployed on the defense line, presumably Lao Jiang has no determination to defend Nanjing to the death.

Even so, the second line of defense, Jiangyin, was the focus, but according to the information he had, Lao Jiang did not increase his troops in Jiangyin Fortress, which made Ouyang Jian very worried. Now that the Nationalist government has withdrawn to Wuhan, the mood of defeat is rife with the government. Ouyang Jian judged that the defeat in the Battle of Xinkou in Shanxi made Lao Jiang lose his determination to defend Nanjing. As for the front-line resistance in Nanjing, it was nothing more than a show to explain in front of the Chinese people. Of course, Ouyang Jian's thoughts can't be told to anyone.

"Report! News came from the dark arrow that a Japanese army landed in Zhangjiagang and launched an attack on the Jiangyin fortress! When everyone heard this, they couldn't help but focus their eyes on the military map.