After the Japanese army captured Nanjing, the Japanese army base camp began to study the issue of attacking Wuhan. At that time, the policy considered was to first open up the Tianjin-Pudong line and communicate the two battlefields in the north and south, then capture Zhengzhou, cut off the Pinghan Road, and then attack Wuhan, and at the same time capture Guangzhou to cut off China's maritime supply line.

Therefore, before the outbreak of the Battle of Xuzhou, the Japanese base camp considered the Battle of Wuhan, not only ordering the army to "anticipate the situation after the battle and taking into account the implementation of the Battle of Wuhan" when formulating the plan for the Battle of Xuzhou, but also ordered the navy to "prepare for combat on the Yangtze River and its shores between Nanjing, Hankou, and Yuezhou for the purpose of capturing Hankou," and in May successively reinforced the strength of the Chinese fleet.

On 3 June, the Japanese base camp ordered the navy to "control most of the waterways in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and ensure the safety of transportation" and "to capture Anqing in the upper reaches of Nanjing first" as an advance base for attacking Wuhan.

In mid-June, the Japanese army base camp drew up an operational guideline for the capture of Hankow and Guangzhou in the autumn of that year, holding that "the capture of Hankou is the greatest opportunity to end the war at an early date," that "through this operation, it is possible to resolve most of the Chinese incidents by force," "historically, as long as Hankou and Guangzhou are captured, they can rule China," and "as long as they control the Central Plains, they will essentially rule the whole of China."

In late June, the "Showa Research Society," a Japanese think tank for studying and formulating national policy, proposed: "Although the Nationalist Government has lost the important provinces of North and Central China at present, as long as the Nationalist Government is still entrenched in Hankou, Hankou will be the point of convergence and a wedge of cooperation between the **** army, which mainly takes the northwestern provinces as its sphere of power, and the Kuomintang army, which mainly controls the southwestern provinces." ”

"Therefore, first of all, in order to destroy the greatest factor in the War of Resistance against Japan, the strength of the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, it is absolutely necessary to capture Hankow, because the occupation of Hankou can cut off the connection between the areas ruled by the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, and may produce a split between the two parties. At the same time, the capture of Hankou would allow the new regime to bring the lower reaches of the Yangtze River below Hankow into its ruling circle, so that it could seek economic independence and achieve the rejuvenation of Central China. ”

"On the contrary, the loss of Hankou for the Nationalist government means the loss of the granary areas of Hunan and Hubei and the only large economic center in Chinese mainland, which will not only cause difficulties for the government's economic self-sufficiency, but also weaken the military and economic value of the Yuehan Road, which is now the only channel for the import of large quantities of weapons." In this way, even if the government fled to Sichuan or Yunnan to save its life, it would not be able to play a greater role than a local government in such mountainous areas. ”

It was on the basis of this understanding that at the end of June, the Japanese Imperial Council decided to carry out the operational plan for the capture of Wuhan and Guangzhou.

At the beginning of July, the order to launch the Battle of Wuhan from the Tokyo base camp was officially issued to the headquarters of the Japanese Central China Front, causing a wave of discussion.

"Your Excellency, the Imperial Army has been fighting continuously for more than a year, and it is tired and exhausted, and it is no longer possible to continue large-scale battles...... Although the general mobilization was carried out in the empire and the conscription work was very smooth, many soldiers were high school students who had just put down their books, had only undergone basic military training, had just learned to shoot guns, did not master any tactical skills, and did not have a basic concept of infantry and artillery coordination. ”

Okamura Ninji bitterly persuaded: "Moreover, Wu Ming's new Second Army is entrenched in the area of Quzhou in western Zhejiang, and once they get out of the mountainous and hilly areas, with the combat effectiveness of the New Second Army, it will be a fatal threat to our rear." With our only five and a half left-behind divisions, we need to defend so many areas, and we are not the opponent of the New Second Army at all! We should attack Wuhan after the new Second Army in Quzhou has been eradicated! ”

Shunroku Hata frowned slightly, stood up and said perfunctorily: "Okamura-kun, your concerns are well known in the Tokyo base camp, and even His Majesty the Emperor is very clear. However, we must now force the Chiang Kai-shek government to surrender as soon as possible, and the capture of Wuhan is the best option at the moment. ”

"But...... Your Excellency Commander, Wu Ming's devil has become a big hero and a hero in the eyes of the people of China. I'm afraid that when the main force of the Imperial Japanese Army is deep in the battlefield of Wuhan, Wu Ming will give an order, and the elite of the New Second Army will be exhausted, which will make our rear never have peace. ”

Okamura Ninji refused to give up and continued to persuade: "Your Excellency Commander, think about it, during the Battle of Xuzhou, the small units of the New Second Army frequently looted the weapons, ammunition, food and other materials transported to the front line by the Great Japanese Empire along the railway, so that we could not support the front-line troops in time, which directly led to the main force of the Xuzhou China Army breaking away from our encirclement...... We can't afford to make the same mistake again. ”

King Minoru Higashikure, who was attending the meeting, glanced at Okamura Ninji with disdain, snorted softly, and said sarcastically:

"Okamura-kun, you were scared by Wu Ming, right? Although Wu Ming was powerful and repeatedly led his troops to defeat the imperial army, the new Second Army that returned to Quzhou was already incomplete, and you sent a brigade to directly infiltrate their lair, causing huge trouble. From this point of view, the New Second Army has been weakened to the extreme...... With such a force, what do we have to worry about in the Imperial Japanese Army? ”

This Higashikure Minoru is also the same as his brother Hatohiko Asakanomiya, a guy who is used to arrogance, and is always carried away by hot blood.

Okamura Ninji glanced at Minoru Higashikure, too lazy to talk nonsense with this imperial general, and continued to persuade Shunroku Hata: "Your Excellency Commander, I-"

"Okamura-kun, don't say it again!"

Shunroku Hata interrupted Okamura Ninji's words, and said with a thick neck: "The Tokyo base camp has issued a combat order, and we can only carry it out unconditionally...... Okamura-kun, have you forgotten your duty as a soldier? ”

"Well, but...... We-"

"Okamura-kun, you are the commander of the Eleventh Army, if you don't approve of the attack, you can resign as the commander of the Eleventh Army on your own, and you can't see it! Now the divisions are ready, just waiting for the order to attack...... You have to understand that the seizure of Wuhan is a strategic goal personally set by His Majesty the Emperor! ”

Shunroku Hatata's eyes narrowed into slits, and his tone became more and more stern.

Hearing that it was the edict personally issued by His Majesty the Emperor, Okamura Ninji had to swallow back the words that came to his mouth, and in desperation, he agreed to lead the Eleventh Army to attack Wuhan.

The entire Central China Front Army quickly entered the predetermined offensive position, and under the unified command of Commander General Shunroku Hata, a total of 140 wings of the 2nd and 11th Group Armies were mobilized, totaling 250,000 troops.

Throughout the battle, the Japanese army was on the offensive and attacked in two directions, with Okamura Ninji commanding five and a half divisions of the Eleventh Army to attack Wuhan along both sides of the Yangtze River; Minoru Higashikunomiya commanded four and a half divisions of the Second Army to assist Wuhan along the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains, as well as more than 120 ships of the Navy and the Third Fleet of Shiro Kawako, more than 500 planes of the Tokugawa Yoshitoshi Air Corps of the Army Air Force, and five divisions directly under the Central China Dispatch Army to take up the task of guarding Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, and other areas respectively to consolidate the rear and ensure the operation.

Fearing that the New Second Army in Quzhou would be killed during the Battle of Wuhan, the Tokyo base camp loaded the Guards Division that remained in China and shipped it to Shanghai and sailed to Jiangsu and Zhejiang to contain Wu Ming's troops.

The main force of the Japanese Eleventh Army attacked along the south bank of the Yangtze River, and after the Botian detachment landed in the northeast of Ruichang and was blocked by the **** Third Army, it joined the Japanese Ninth Division to defeat the defenders and occupy Ruichang.

After more than a month of attack, the 27th Division of the Japanese Army occupied Qixi and attacked Xianning. The 101st Division crossed Poyang Lake and attacked the 1st Corps in the De'an area, and the two sides were in a stalemate.

The 6th Division of the 11th Group Army attacked along the north bank of the Yangtze River, captured Huangmei and continued to advance westward.

In mid-September, after the Japanese army occupied Guangji and Wuxue, they besieged the fortress of Tianjiazhen.

One corps of the Fourth Corps held the fortress, and the three corps fought on the periphery, fighting for more than ten years, suffering heavy casualties, and the fortress was lost on September 29. The Japanese army captured Xishui and approached Wuhan.

The Japanese Second Army attacked along the northern foothills of Dabie Mountain, set out from Hefei in late August, occupied Lu'an and Huoshan respectively, and attacked in the direction of Gushi and Yejiaji.

After the loss of the mall, the Chinese defenders retreated to the key passes of Dabie Mountain, and the two sides fought fiercely for more than a month.

After the Japanese 10th Division captured Gushi, it was stubbornly resisted by the **** 59th Army in the area of Chunheji and Huangchuan, and was blocked by the First Army in the area east of Xinyang.

######

October 10 was the ****** of the Nationalist Government, and at half past ten in the morning, the official residence of Chairman Wuchang Donghu was held.

Chen Bui, director of the second division of the chamberlain, rushed into the war room on the first floor, waved the telegram in his hand, and said excitedly to Chiang Kai-shek: "Commission, Wanjialing is a great victory!" ”

"What? What did you say? ”

Chiang Kai-shek threw away the map in his hand and grabbed Chen Bui's hand.

"Commission, General Xue Yue annihilated nearly 20,000 Japanese troops in the four wings of the 106th Division of the Japanese Army in Wanjialing, a great victory!" Chen Bui was overjoyed and hurriedly handed the telegram to Chiang Kai-shek.

Chiang Kai-shek glanced at ten lines, and after reading it quickly, the smile on his face bloomed, and he sighed heavily, and said: "Xue Laohu has a tiger spirit, which is really happy!" ”

"yes!"

Chen Bui said with a smile: "If the command is decided, the front-line soldiers will serve desperately, how can there be no reason to be invincible?" ”

"Ha Lu Ha! Yan Ji said too much, it was the front-line soldiers who exchanged their lives and blood for such a big victory, such a great victory! ”

Chiang Kai-shek's old face was about to smile like a flower, and he said with his eyebrows fluttering: "According to General Xue Yue's battle report, in this battle, the 74th Army succeeded in the first battle, and Zhang Lingfu, deputy commander of the 153rd Brigade of the 51st Division, insisted on fighting after being seriously wounded, and finally held the main position of Zhang Gushan. Be sure to give a big compliment! ”

"Definitely, definitely."

After all, the 74th Army founded by Yu Jishi was Chiang Kai-shek's descendant troops, and all the officers up and down were the backbone of the Whampoa department.

The people in the room naturally ignored that it was Wu Ming who transported soldiers in the first place to lay the foundation of the 74th Army's strength. They all congratulated Chiang Kai-shek, and said that if there was no Chiang Kai-shek's insight and talent, how could the 74th Army have such a strong combat effectiveness?

Lin Wei also cheered after everyone, but he muttered in his stomach: "At the beginning, Wu Ming's division annihilated a division of the Japanese army, and at the same time wiped out the sixth brigade of the field heavy artillery of the Japanese army, which had a strong strategic strength, and also won the flag of the Japanese army, which did not make the chairman so happy - this is probably the difference between the descendant and the collateral!" ”

"Commission, what should I do with Wu Ming's telegram? Should we abandon the transfer of troops from Guangdong to reinforce Wuhan? He Yingqin's untimely voice appeared, and he took the urgent telegram sent by Wu Ming and handed it to Chiang Kai-shek.

Chiang Kai-shek did not pick up He Yingqin's words, and in his opinion, Wu Ming's telegram disgusted him like shit.

In front of a group of military commission bigwigs, Lao Jiang was afraid of his identity as a leader and did not speak.

Hearing the good news, Qian Dajun, who had rushed from the office of the Aviation Committee, asked the staff officer next to him, and only then did he learn that Chiang Kai-shek had issued an order to requisition troops to reinforce the Wuhan battlefield to all parts of the country, but Wu Ming from Quzhou sent a telegram reminding Chiang Kai-shek that it was very likely that the Japanese army would land and fight in the Guangzhou area, and that it was necessary to strengthen the vigilance at the mouth of the Guangdong River and not to send troops from Guangzhou and Guangzhou to Wuhan.

"I think that Wu Ming is purely a dog and a mouse!"

Qian Dajun snorted heavily and said disdainfully: "He has been cowering in a corner of Quzhou by himself, and it has been almost a year...... At the beginning of the Battle of Wuhan, he did not move at all in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, and Wuhan, as the center of China's War of Resistance, was under so much pressure because of his inaction. He himself was afraid of death, and he didn't let the Cantonese army participate in the war, which is really unreasonable! ”

Qian Dajun's words are a bit untrue, but they are approved by many people who are greedy for life and afraid of death, and they work with Qian Dajun to unscrupulously crusade against Wu Ming:

"Now that the Japanese army is pressing the border, Wuhan is in danger, China is in danger, I think, Wu Ming is greedy for life and afraid of death, he just wants to hide in his ravine and be happy!"

"Yes, this guy has two wives, and he can't think about it all day long, and he has long lost his previous blood!"

"If this continues, the once prominent general will probably become a waste, but it's a pity that the new Second Army is such a good unit, it's too wasteful to put it in his hands!"

The crowd was talking nonsense, and it made Chiang Kai-shek feel uncomfortable like a bunch of buzzing flies.

"Commission, Wu Ming's suggestion, how should we reply?" He Yingqin asked.

"Niang Xipi!"

Chiang Kai-shek finally couldn't help it, scolded in a low voice, tapped his fingers on the table, and ordered Lin Wei: "Reply to Wu Ming like this, and order the New Second Army to attack Jiangsu and Zhejiang and other places in the next week to relieve the pressure on the frontal battlefield in Wuhan." As for other things, if he is not in his position, he will not seek his own affairs, and tell him not to meddle in his affairs! ”

"Yes!"

Lin Wei quickly took Chiang Kai-shek's order and hurried out of the city to generate electricity.

Chiang Kai-shek turned around and asked Chen Bui next to him: "Where have the two main divisions of the Guangdong Army arrived now?" ”

"I have already taken the train to the border of Hunan, and it is about two to three days away from the battlefield in Wuhan."

"Okay, when Wanjialing is victorious, our generation should work hard, forge ahead, and unite as one, and we will definitely be able to achieve greater victories."

Chiang Kai-shek swept away the haze brought by Wu Ming's telegram, and in high spirits, he slapped the map on the wall heavily, and said demagogically:

"Ladies and gentlemen, in the Battle of Wuhan, our National Revolutionary Army concentrated 14 group armies, more than 50 armies, 200 combat aircraft, more than 30 warships, and a total strength of nearly 1.1 million people. At the same time, there are natural barriers such as Poyang Lake, the Yellow Flood Area, and the Dabie Mountains, and the Japanese army will come in a hurry, and it will definitely return in vain, and victory will definitely belong to us! ”

"The commission is reasonable!"

"Victory in this battle is in sight!"

A group of bigwigs of the Military Commission echoed their words, and for a while, the demons danced wildly.