Rise From Eight Hundred

July 20, 1939!

The Second War Zone of China published a report on the victory of the anti-mopping-up campaign in southern Hebei!

"The 3 million soldiers and civilians in southern Hebei, under the leadership of the Southern Hebei Office, have fought back against the Japanese invaders since May and smashed nearly 100 of the notorious "Ember Destruction Operations", annihilating more than 4,000 Japanese invaders. In mid-July, in order to protect the lives and property of the people, under the unified command of the Southern Hebei Office, a part of the 80th Army and a part of the Four-Line Regiment jointly launched a counterattack. They fought fiercely with the enemy's 10th Division in Zhaojiazhuang, Lincheng County, XT City for several days, killing and wounding more than 9,000 Japanese invaders at the cost of 2,000 casualties, severely damaging the 10th Division, and winning another glorious victory on the battlefield in North China!"

This report was like a thunderclap, not only making the entire Chinese army and civilians excited, but also causing an uproar in the Western world.

In the two years since the war began, battles in which nearly 10,000 Japanese invaders were killed or wounded were not uncommon, especially in large-scale battles such as the Battle of Central China, where the Japanese casualties were in the tens of thousands, but that was the result of both sides deploying hundreds of thousands of troops.

And in a battlefield behind enemy lines like the southern Hebei region, there was actually a result of nearly 10,000 Japanese invaders being killed or wounded, which was the first time in the two years since the war began.

In particular, some well-informed people were even more shocked when they heard from the government that the actual number of troops deployed in the battlefield in southern Hebei was only 20,000, which was roughly the same as the total number of troops of the Japanese 10th Division.

With roughly the same number of troops, the Japanese army could fully utilize the plain terrain of artillery and tanks, and still achieved a casualty ratio of nearly 1 to 5. This encouragement to the morale of the entire country far exceeded the victory itself on the battlefield.

"This is a victory of the strong over the strong. The Chinese soldiers used the bloody corpses of the Japanese to tell the Japanese that we have the ability to defend our homeland, and any robbers will be sent back to their cherry trees in death." The Yamashiro Daily reprinted the report of the Second War Zone as the front-page headline of its newspaper in the afternoon, and added its own views at the end of the report.

This is also the first time that the Chinese side has regarded itself as the strong side in the official media, and did not put itself in the position of the weak.

In addition, the Military and Political Department also called the Second War Zone Command: "The Military Commission issued a general order to commend all officers and soldiers who participated in the war in southern Hebei, and rewarded the participating divisions, brigades, and regiments with bonuses of 100,000, 50,000, and 20,000 yuan! And all the military expenses for the first half of the year will be paid in place."

"Haha! Political Commissar, how can Tang Dao be so good at calculating people's hearts? He actually knew that the man would vigorously promote our army's battle even if he pinched his nose, and even calculated that he would pay the overdue military expenses in place. I think if he doesn't become a regiment commander, he can set up a stall somewhere to tell fortunes for people and become a rich man." Division Commander Liu received the telegram from the Military and Political Department forwarded by the Group Army Headquarters, and rarely joked with his partner.

Tang Dao was able to let the 772nd Regiment march hundreds of miles to participate in the war that day, not just relying on his personal relationship with the generals of the 921st Division, but also guaranteeing that the government would vigorously promote this battle and pay the military expenses that had been overdue for half a year.

After consulting the headquarters, the 921st Division finally agreed to cooperate with Tang Dao's plan of a decisive battle with the 10th Division in the plain area, which was so bold.

But the two chief officers of the 921st Division headquarters did not have much confidence in the man in Shancheng. Seeing that the combat effectiveness of the Ji'nan Division troops was so strong, it was good enough that he did not want to suppress them. They also expected him to use the media to vigorously promote and distribute military funds?

Who knew that, as Tang Dao said, these two seemingly impossible points all happened. How could Commander Liu not be very happy!

"That kid not only has a seven-hole mind, but also knows how to take advantage of the situation! This is the information sent from Jiangcheng, take a look, Commander." The political commissar handed over a telegram he had just received with a calm face.

"The Japanese are quietly gathering troops in the Miluo River and Xiushui area?" Commander Liu took a look at the information and couldn't help but take a breath. "The Japanese used radio and newspapers to vigorously promote their attack on Yiling a month ago. After all this time, they are trying to make a feint to the east and attack in the west! No wonder that person is holding his nose and vigorously promoting this battle in southern Hebei!"

It turned out that this was also a suggestion from the think tank around him. Although he was very unhappy, after all, more than half of the troops participating in the battle in southern Hebei came from his old rivals, but the domestic battlefield has changed again. The 11th Army of the Japanese Army, led by Gangcun Xiaoci, has assembled more than 120,000 troops, and the first Tanzhou battle is imminent.

Considering the upcoming Tanzhou defense battle, Hunan Province is one of the most important grain-producing areas in the country and must not be lost easily. After considering for a long time, he finally agreed to hold his nose and vigorously promote this counterattack that broke out in the Japanese-occupied area of ​​the North China battlefield.

"This momentum is good! I think that when the kid gave us a guarantee a few days ago, he probably guessed that the Japanese army would have ideas about Tanzhou. This sensitivity to military affairs is even higher than those of us old soldiers. What a monster!" Liu, the division commander, exclaimed.

"Fortunately, this evildoer is a Chinese and even more so a comrade of ours. All I can say is, God bless China!" The political commissar was thankful.

"Notify the kitchen staff that Commander Cheng will be here today. Cook two meat dishes for him!" The in-good-humored Division Commander Liu turned around and called his messenger.

"That guy is not a good person. He knows that you are in a good mood when he sees this situation. He will definitely take the opportunity to ask for equipment and supplies. How can I, as the political commissar, refuse?" The political commissar also laughed.

"Haha! They say that a thousand-mile horse is easy to find, but a bole is hard to find. If it weren't for him, Brigadier Cheng Da, we would have that little monster there. As long as he dares to ask for it, political commissar, don't be too stingy. Just give him an infantry platoon of equipment and supplies. "Mr. Liu laughed loudly.

"Commander, you have done me harm. That guy will definitely put the stingy reputation that originally belonged to the commander on my head!" The political commissar shook his head and laughed while holding Sichuan Sound.

Laughter resounded throughout the division headquarters, causing the combat staff outside to look at each other. The two chiefs had become very serious these days, and it was only two or three months ago when they were having such fun together.

While China, which was greatly cheered up by the sudden onset of drought, the Western world was in an uproar after receiving the intelligence.

Especially within the military of the German Empire, which was actively seeking alliances, generals like Guderian who advocated the high-speed advance of mechanical regiments originally looked down upon Japan, an army that basically relied on pure infantry as its leading tactics. The Seed Division can't even defeat a group of 'peasant armies', so that's even less impressive.

The government originally planned to list Japan as a core ally, but the military's attitude allowed them to postpone negotiations with the Japanese ambassador. This caused the Japanese ambassador to the German Empire to jump up and down, visiting high-level government officials in the German Empire. I gave away so many gifts.

Allying with the German Empire, allowing the ambitious German Empire to involve the military forces of the entire Europe, so that the Japanese military can easily solve Southeast Asia and obtain oil. This is the strategy set by the Japanese government after determining that it cannot obtain oil from Northeast China.

Southeast Asia has always been forbidden by Western powers. For example, Indochina is a colony of Gallic Rooster; and Malaysia, controlled by the Empire on which the Sun Never Sets, has coveted rich rubber resources and can be called the crossroads of the world. For those who want to control the ocean, It is even more necessary for Japan; there is also the Philippines controlled by American cowboys, and Indonesia controlled by the Dutch, which has rich oil resources.

The area controlled by the Western powers was even more important to Japan, which had entered the middle of the war and was in urgent need of war resources, than conquering the entire China. There was everything they wanted there.

But without the Germanic Empire to contain the main force of the Western powers in the mainland, no matter how arrogant the Japanese were, they would not dare to attack this area that they had coveted for a long time.

Don't tell me, the Japanese still have this kind of self-awareness. In the past, it was when the German Empire took the lead in launching a war and beating the Gallic Rooster until it could no longer take care of itself. In 1941, Japan officially sent troops to Indochina. On the same day, they beat the Gallic roosters to pieces.

Then, on December 7 of that year, they brazenly attacked Pearl Harbor and beat the American cowboys into confusion. Taking advantage of the fact that the American cowboys, who always had a sense of superiority, were still immersed in pain, they targeted the Empire on which the Sun Never Sets.

In the Blitzkrieg, the little fans of the German Empire also did a very good job. In just five months, they swept across the entire Southeast Asia and drove the Western powers out of their respective territories. As the Western powers successively entered the big chess game in the Far East, Out of the game, the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" emphasized by Tojo Koji seems to have taken shape.

However, the self-aware Japanese lacked enough foresight. Just when they were reveling in the glory of their prosperous age, they did not expect that this would be their most glorious moment in the entire war.

There is a saying among the Chinese that "prosperity leads to decline", which is an inevitable law of the development of things, not to mention that the Japanese simply created a weak and prosperous era for themselves.

What they defeated with blitzkrieg were colonial garrisons who were far away from local supplies and whose military morale was unstable. It was not something to be proud of for the well-arranged regular army to defeat them in a rapid surprise attack.

The expansion of the Japanese empire after taking over Southeast Asia has made itself a serious problem in the eyes of bears and American cowboys, and they are about to mobilize their abundant resources across the country to fight Japan to the end...

The furry bears are crazy about destroying troops, while the American cowboys are crazy about building aircraft carriers, planes, and tanks!

According to historical data, by the end of the war, the total number of Mao Xiong Army was about 16 million, and the number of soldiers invested in the war was more than 30 million, while Japan only had 7 million.

The United States, on the other hand, launched 147 aircraft carriers during the entire war. Until Japan surrendered, 8 aircraft carriers were ready to go to sea, while Japan only had 25 aircraft carriers in total.

With only a fraction of the price, several big guys were able to press Japan to the ground and rub him. But at this moment, Japan had made up his mind to hug Mustache's thigh tightly. Suddenly he found that his thigh didn't seem to want him anymore, so he had to hurry up. Fire?

Fortunately, the mustache also understands the principle of "picking the taller one among the short ones". It is very lame that the Japanese did not defeat the Chinese "peasant army" with one division, but think about the scum of Italy, Bulgaria, Finland, and Hungary. The Japanese It seems to be just a little bit stronger.

So, after nearly a week of debate, the ambassador finally looked haggard and minimized the negative impact of the failed war that broke out in North China.

The bad influence brought about by diplomacy was inevitably transmitted to the Japanese military. The Japanese prince was naturally angry and pushed Duo Tianjun, who had pushed him up, to curse, which made Duo Tianjun, who was about to be promoted to army general, turn pale.

Allies are not welcome, and Western countries that are originally wary of Japan and the Germanic alliance are naturally looking at the joke.

Just as Brigadier General Smallett, who had left office but remained in the concession, said to the reporter from The Times who came to interview him: "Two years ago, when I stood less than 400 meters away from the last line of defense of the Chinese and witnessed Chinese women dancing for their soldiers at the cost of their lives, I told my successor, Brigadier General James, that the Japanese could not win this war.

Now that almost two years have passed, I still won't take back what I said.

This battlefield on the plains of northern China has fully proved my prediction that Chinese soldiers are getting stronger and Japanese are getting weaker. Even though they still have the initiative on the battlefield, the Chinese are trading time for space. I believe that as the Japanese advance their front line further, they will soon be defeated. "

If Brigadier General Smallett's speech was not enough to embarrass the Japanese high-level officials, then the mockery from an important member of the British Empire's royal family in private occasions: "Japan is a ridiculous dwarf who learns to walk in Handan. Just like this, it dares to learn from the empire and call itself the Great Japanese Empire."

Although it was a Western-style mockery with a strong sense of superiority, it roughly means this when translated into Chinese.

This completely angered the Japanese high-level officials who had learned the Western model for decades and felt that it was the right way. In the future Southeast Asian battles, the Japanese slaughtered the most soldiers of the British Empire.

Misfortune comes from the mouth, nothing more than this!

Of course, this also led to the post-war settlement. The British Empire also spared no effort. The number of Japanese who died of exhaustion, starvation, and thirst in the Southeast Asian prisoner-of-war camps far exceeded their losses on the battlefield.

Tit for tat, that's what it should be!

But the biggest shock caused by this war was not in China or the West, but in Japan.

The Japanese people, who were still cheering for the victory in the war, could not accept the defeat of the dignified permanent division of the empire in the battle against the "peasant army", and they demanded that someone be held responsible for the defeat.

Some people even committed suicide by disembowelment in the square directly opposite the imperial palace in the hope of "awakening" the sleeping emperor.

Now, the emperor who originally wanted to give face to his uncle could not turn a blind eye to it, and could only issue an edict to stop the promotion ceremony of generals in the Chinese battlefield that was about to be held at the end of the month.

Not only did Duo Tianjun lose the long-awaited army general, but also implicated the promotion of a group of Japanese middle-aged generals such as Itagaki Shiro and Okamura Koji. Even Okabe Saburo, who had received a transfer order to the 1st Division, stopped leaving.

What the hell is it that a bunch of idiots lose the war and implicate their teammates?

As the saying goes, "Destroying someone's future is like killing their parents." The high-ranking generals of the Japanese army in China almost collectively cursed the Japanese North China Front Army.

They did not curse publicly in the media, which was to give face to a certain prince, not because Lieutenant General Duo Tianjun was popular. The Japanese North China Front Army, from Commander Duo Tianjun to a group of lieutenant generals and division commanders, collectively lost face.

The strategy of sweeping the vast rural areas under the "Clean-up Operation" led by Duo Tianjun was also questioned. The failure of orders from above to below was a taboo in the army. This also led to the fact that no matter how furious Duo Tianjun was in the headquarters, several lieutenant generals and major generals who had seen the power of defeat adhered to the concept of "I won't make mistakes if I don't do it." Fooling has become the main theme of the Japanese garrison in the occupied areas.

Duo Tianjun's prestige was completely destroyed after the battle of Zhaojiazhuang, and his resignation was almost a foregone conclusion.

The influence of this incident was not even limited to the battlefield in North China. Because the military rank could not be promoted, the morale of the Japanese generals who were leading the Tanzhou Battle was also low.

But there are also those who are tough enough, such as the 11th Army Commander Okamura Koji, who quickly came out of the shadow of not being able to be promoted to general quickly and devoted himself to the strategy of the Chinese Ninth War Zone, which was about to fight him.

Of course, this also has a lot to do with the fact that he knew that he was getting closer to taking over the commander of the North China Front Army.

After all, the worse Duo Tianjun did, the faster he would roll. As long as he added another glorious stroke to his resume, the matter of taking over the commander of the North China Front Army would be a done deal.

In addition to Duo Tianjun, another Japanese army general who might not be affected by this at all was Major General Okuma Konosuke. This guy felt that he was already very lucky to be able to get to the position of Major General Brigade Commander.

He had no intention of continuing to advance in the army. With the big guys protecting him above and the little brothers following him below, wouldn't it be nice for him to make money in this fertile land of China?

Mr. Shen promised to send him a year's supply of penicillin, but the price was that he had to exchange it with the cultural relics collected from the occupied areas, which was no different from giving it away for free.

The Chinese, who were already so poor that they could barely make ends meet, were willing to hand over the broken porcelain bowls, porcelain cups, or calligraphy and paintings left by their ancestors as long as they could give him a few silver dollars. He originally took it seriously, but when these broken things piled up in the warehouse, he felt that they were almost the same as garbage.

In troubled times, gold is collected in prosperous times. Now is not a troubled time. How can those broken things be as fragrant as gold?

Anyway, in this battle, only 5 soldiers had diarrhea and 4 soldiers were injured. Major General Okuma Konosuke returned to his original station happily, and he didn't have to look at the face of the unlucky Yoshio Shinozuka.

As one thing went up, the other went down. The Japanese North China Front Army ended the Battle of Zhaojiazhuang in a disgrace. Not only was the enthusiasm of the people in southern Hebei to resist Japan unprecedentedly high, but the anti-Japanese bases in eastern and northern Hebei, as well as in Shanxi, Chahar, Hebei and Shandong, also became prosperous.

From the end of July to the middle of August alone, the number of soldiers in the six bases behind enemy lines reached 60,000, and the number of militiamen was 110,000.

The Japanese North China Front Army, with a total force of only 70,000 in the occupied areas, was unable to fully implement Duo Tianjun's tactical ideas even if it wanted to.

()