In the direction of Niangziguan, there seemed to be tens of thousands of miscellaneous troops. However, the troops were in chaos and poorly equipped, and there was no general with enough prestige and courage to command them. As a result, the defensive troops at Niangziguan fought independently and fought independently. Although I was afraid, I didn't even fight much. Niangziguan was conquered by the Japanese army.
As soon as Niangzi Pass was lost, the east gate of Shanxi was opened, and the eastern front of the Xinkou battlefield was directly exposed to the Japanese attack.
At this time, the Battle of Xinkou also entered its most intense state. Although the Chinese army made heavy sacrifices, it still struggled to persevere. The Japanese army was not much better. Not only did they suffer more than 20,000 casualties, but their logistics supply lines were also disrupted. Our Eighth Route Army attacked everywhere and was intercepted, even to the point of embarrassment calling for airdrops of supplies.
But just when the two sides reached the critical moment of competing for their wills, news came that Niangzi Pass had been breached by another group of Japanese troops. This caused a sudden change in the situation on the west entrance battlefield. The largest combat group of the Chinese army in the north was in danger of being surrounded by the Japanese army, so Marshal Yan The whole army can only be ordered to retreat.
The Chinese army, which had been struggling to support itself with just one breath, suddenly suffered a sharp drop in morale. In addition, there was no good organization and unified command during the retreat, and the retreat turned into a rout. Pursued by Japanese aircraft and tanks, casualties were even more severe.
The troops that were originally preparing to hold on in Taiyuan fled. As a result, Taiyuan City, which Marshal Yan expected to be able to hold for a period of time, was breached by the Japanese army in just three days. Even most of the equipment in the Taiyuan Arsenal did not have time to be transferred and were all captured by the Japanese army.
The largest battle of Taiyuan in northern China failed.
Although we caused more than 20,000 casualties to the Japanese army, we also paid the price of nearly 150,000 casualties. Especially when the retreat turned into a rout, not only the casualties were heavy, but also the courage of the troops was shattered. Gone.
The Battle of Taiyuan caused nearly 100,000 veterans of the Jinsui Army to suffer casualties, causing its overall combat effectiveness to plummet. In the next eight years of the War of Resistance, it could only shrink to a corner, and there was no record of large-scale battles with the Japanese army. .
It can be said that the failure of the Taiyuan battle destroyed the spirit of Marshal Yan and his Jin army. To put it bluntly, the main reason is that the loss of most of the elite veterans who constitute the backbone of an army has shaken the foundation of an army.
Marshal Yan's command error caused the Jinsui Army, the most elite army in northern China at the time, to gradually withdraw from the stage of history. However, the command error of the principal in front of Zhou Wen almost destroyed all of China's most elite army at the time.
The Battle of Songhu was originally a clever strategic plan on the Chinese side, which was to attract the focus of the Japanese from the flat north of China to the south with its undulating mountains and criss-crossing water networks.
However, due to the lack of coordination among the various units, the battle command and deployment were often improper. There was no structure when attacking, and there was no depth when defending. It was entirely dependent on the bravery of the anti-Japanese soldiers to fight the Japanese with their flesh and blood, resulting in Our heavy casualties were due to command and tactics reasons, as well as the limitations of China's current situation at the time, so we don't need to be overly harsh.
However, what was originally just a battle to attract the main force of the Japanese army turned into a decisive battle in which China almost concentrated the most elite troops in the country and the 200,000 elite Japanese army, land, sea and air. This strategy was a bit wrong.
First of all, Shanghai is a coastal city. In a decisive battle with the Japanese army here, the Japanese army can give full play to its sea and air superiority. However, our army almost entirely relies on the army to fight. This is a typical use of one's own shortcomings to defeat the enemy's strengths, which is a taboo for military strategists. .
From the perspective of future generations, it means that he was trapped in the predicament of asymmetric warfare, and he took the initiative to join in. Wouldn't it make the little devil smile?
Moreover, Shanghai is bounded by the Yangtze River Estuary on the left and Hangzhou Bay on the right, forming a 'convex border'. The Japanese army could give full play to its overwhelmingly superior navy and air force and land on the Yangtze River and Hangzhou Bay on both sides of Shanghai to implement a strategic encirclement.
Geographically speaking, Shanghai is simply not a suitable place for the Chinese army to engage in a decisive battle.
Secondly, since Shanghai was an international metropolis at that time, the Western powers had concessions in Shanghai and many interests in China. They were certainly not willing to see Shanghai reduced to ruins, and they would naturally obstruct and interfere with the Chinese army's initiative to provoke a war in Shanghai. protest.
At that time, the Republic of China was weak and did not dare to offend these Western powers. As a result, I was restrained in using troops and did not dare to take a step beyond the concession. There was even a situation where my best opportunity to attack was delayed due to protests from the Western powers, thus allowing the Japanese army to gain precious breathing space.
From the perspective of international support, these Western powers only care about their own interests and do not care about the life or death of the Chinese people. Not only did they not interfere with the Japanese invasion of China, but they prevented our country from launching an attack on the Japanese in Shanghai, and even proposed to make Shanghai an undefended city.
Judging from the situation at that time, Renhe was not with me either.
Thirdly, since the overall strategy of the country's war of resistance has been determined to be a protracted war, taking into account the strength of the Japanese army and the gap in national power between our country and Japan, we must use our troops prudently on the battlefield. While attacking the enemy, we must also use force when possible. Next, try to preserve our effective forces for a long-term war of resistance.
But Principal, you actually mobilized the country's elite to Shanghai for a decisive battle with the Japanese army at the beginning of the war. What does this mean? When is the time for the decisive battle?
Therefore, we did not occupy the time.
The weather, the right location, the right people, and you haven't taken advantage of any of them. You still fight for nothing. Isn't this a stupid move?
Moreover, during the Battle of Songhu, the principal not only made huge mistakes in strategic thinking, but also made many mistakes in tactical layout.
First of all, it would be a big failure to gather all the heavy troops on the Songhu front line.
You must know that the closer you get to the Yangtze River Estuary, the greater the advantage of the Japanese navy and air force. Not only the flight distance of the aircraft is short, the take-off frequency increases, but many battlefields are within the range of the Japanese warships' large-caliber naval guns, and our army has The lack of countermeasures completely exposed our dense troops to the heavy firepower of the Japanese army.
Many of China's elite troops did not even see the Japanese army, and most of them were lost.
The most tragic example is that the 60,000 officers and soldiers of the 21st Group Army, composed of the most elite Guangxi Army, were caught in a fire net composed of Japanese bombs and artillery shells, and basically suffered all casualties in just seven days.
You know, the 21st Group Army has concentrated six divisions of the most elite 7th Army and 48th Army in the Guangxi Army. In particular, the 7th Army once won the title of "Iron Army" during the Northern Expedition. Looking at the whole country, They are among the best.
