The Xuzhou Campaign was a large-scale defensive campaign between the troops of the Fifth Theater of China, the Japanese North China Army and the Central China Dispatching Army from October to May in the railway areas of Tianjin-Pukou and Longhai (Baoji-Lianyungang) centered on Xuzhou, Jiangsu.

1937 12. After the Japanese invaders invaded Nanjing, 13 division crossed the Yangtze River northward and entered the Lotus Pond and Mingguang Line on the east bank of Chihe River in Anhui Province. The Second Army of the Japanese Invaders crossed the Yellow River from Qingcheng and Jiyang in Shandong, occupied Jinan and entered Jining, Mengyin and Qingdao. In order to get through the Jin-Pu Railway (Tianjin-Pukou), the Japanese base camp has mobilized about 240,000 people from 8 divisions, 3 brigades and 2 detachments (equivalent to brigades), respectively, under the command of the commander of the Central China Dispatching Army (1938 was adapted by the Central China Army on February 8) and the commander of the North China Army, Kuichi. China's army, under the command of Li Zongren, commander of the Fifth Theater, mobilized 64 divisions and three brigades, with about 600,000 men. Its main force is concentrated in the north of Xuzhou to fight against the Japanese invaders from the northern line, and 1 troops are deployed in the southern section of Jinpu Railway to prevent the Japanese from advancing northward and ensure Xuzhou.

Fighting in the south of Xuzhou

1938 65438+1On October 26th, the Japanese 13 division attacked Fengyang and Bengbu in Anhui. 1 1 Garrison 3 1 After continuous resistance on the west bank of Chihe River, the army retreated to Dingyuan and the west of Fengyang. By February 3, the Japanese army had successively captured Linhuaiguan and Bengbu. From September 9th to 10, the main force of Japanese 13 division crossed the Huaihe River in Bengbu and Linhuaiguan respectively, and launched an attack on the north shore. 5 1 Army engaged in a fierce battle with the Japanese army, with heavy casualties. 12 and retreat in the direction of Fei River and Hui River. In the fifth war zone, Zhang Zizhong, commander of the 59th Army, led his troops to Guzhen to cooperate with the 5 1 Army to fight against the Japanese army on the north bank of Huaihe River. At the same time, on the south bank of Huaihe River, the 48th Army of 2 1 Army held fast to Luqiao area, and after the 7th Army cooperated with 3 1 Army to attack Dingyuan Japan, the main force of Japanese 13 Division was forced to come back from the north bank of Huaihe River. The 59th Army and the 5 1 Army seized the opportunity to counterattack and recovered all positions north of the Huaihe River in early March. 2 1 Army and 3 1 Army went around the north bank from the south bank of Huaihe River. The two sides confronted each other across the river.

Fighting in the north of Xuzhou

In late February, the Japanese Second Army began to commit crimes in the south. The 5th Division of East Road went south from Weixian County (now Weifang) in Shandong Province, connected with Yishui, Juxian County and Rizhao, and went straight to Linyi. The 40th Army of the 3rd Corps successively resisted. The 59th Army was ordered to help. On March 12, he arrived at the west bank of yi river, a northern suburb of Linyi, and cooperated with the 40th Army to fight back. It fought fiercely for five days and nights, hitting the Japanese hard and forcing them to retreat to Juxian. West Road Japanese Army 10 division commander (equivalent to brigade) crossed the canal from the west of Jining area and attacked Jiaxiang. The Third Army resisted tenaciously and the attack was frustrated. Laigu detachment (equivalent to brigade) marched south along the Jin-Pu railway. /kloc-In March of 0/4, Xialiangdian, south of Zouxian (now Zoucheng), attacked Tengxian (now Tengzhou). The 4 1 unit of the 22nd Army in the Garrison fought bravely and suffered heavy casualties. To 17, Wang, the division commander of the guarding city army 122, was martyred and tengxian fell.

Fighting in Taierzhuang area

On March 20th, the Laigu detachment of the Japanese 10 division, after going south to Lincheng (now Xuecheng), Zaozhuang and Han Zhuang, ignored the attack from both sides of the Laigu detachment of the 5th division and the 10 division, and went deep into Taierzhuang alone in an attempt to capture Xuzhou at one fell swoop. Li Zongren led Sun Lianzhong, commander-in-chief of the 2nd Army, to stick to Taierzhuang, and Tang, head of the 20th Army, led the way to make way for the front of the Jin-Pu Railway, and turned to Lanling and its northwest Yungu mountainous area to lure the enemy in and wait for the enemy to break through. On March 23, the Japanese army went south from Zaozhuang and fought with the garrison troops in Kangzhuang and Nigou on the north side of Taierzhuang. Since the 24th, the Japanese army has stormed Taierzhuang many times, but failed to attack the village. The second army of defenders stubbornly resisted and fought fiercely with the Japanese army. In the fifth war zone, the main force of the 20th Army moved in the direction of Taierzhuang, hitting the enemy's flank and forming an internal and external attack with the 2nd Army, which pushed the 3rd Army to Lincheng and the north of Zaozhuang, cutting off the enemy's rear road. In order to solve the imminent danger of Taierzhuang, the Japanese army rushed from Linyi with the Sakamoto detachment (equivalent to the regiment) of the 5 th Division and entered the Qiuhu area in the north of Lanling surrounded by the 52 nd Army of the 20 th Corps. On April 3rd, the fifth war zone launched a full-scale counterattack, and fought fiercely for four days, annihilating most of the Japanese Setagaya detachment and Sakamoto detachment 1 10,000 people. The remaining Japanese troops retreated to Yicheng and Zaozhuang on the 7th.

Fight near Xuzhou

The highest military authority in China ordered the Fifth Theater to concentrate its forces near Xuzhou, preparing to annihilate the Japanese army again. The Japanese changed some troops to contain each other in front, and the main force detoured westward in an attempt to surround Xuzhou from the rear and annihilate the main force of the fifth theater. On April 18, the Japanese army 10 and 5 divisions went south from Yicheng (now Zaozhuang) in Shandong and Tang Yi in the northwest of Linyi, respectively, and carried out containment attacks on the 2nd, 20th, 3rd and 59th armies of the 27th Army. The defenders stubbornly resisted, and by the end of the month, they stopped the Japanese army in Han Zhuang, Pixian (now Pizhou) and Tancheng. On May 5, the Japanese army began to surround the west side of Xuzhou from the north and south. In the south, the 9th Division and13rd Division respectively advanced northward from Bengbu area along the west bank of Beifeihe River and Guohe River, until13rd Division fell into Mengcheng and Yongcheng (belonging to Henan), and then attacked Xiaoxian and Dangshan (now belonging to Anhui) in Jiangsu. The 3rd Division entered Dayingji area from Bengbu and attacked Su Xian (now Suzhou). North, 16 division crossed the canal from Jining, Shandong to 14, fell into Yuncheng, Shanxian, Jinxiang and Yutai, and then advanced to Fengxian and Dangshan in Jiangsu. 14 division crossed the Yellow River from Puyang, Henan Province, and fell into Heze and Cao Xian, Shandong Province, heading for Lanfeng (now Lankao), Henan Province. At the same time, 10 division handed over the operations in Han Zhuang and Taierzhuang to 1 14 division, crossed Weishan Lake near Xiazhen and attacked Peixian County (Jiangsu Province). As the Japanese army has surrounded Xuzhou from all sides, on May 15, the Supreme Military Conference of China decided to abandon Xuzhou. 16, the fifth theater ordered all troops to break through the mountainous area at the junction of Henan and Anhui. 19 Xuzhou fell. The Japanese army marched westward along the Longhai Railway and occupied Kaifeng on June 6. In order to stop the Japanese advance, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the bombing of the Yellow River levee near Huayuankou in the northeast of Zhengzhou on the 9th, and the river flooded along the south of Jia Luhe through Zhongmou and Weishi. The Japanese army was forced to retreat to the east of the Yellow River flood area. The battle is over.

In this battle, the officers and men of China Army fought bravely. First, the Japanese army was stopped on the south bank of the Huaihe River on the southern line, which broke the attempt to join forces with the Japanese army on the northern line. Then the northern line defeated the Japanese army on the East Road in Linyi area, blocked the Japanese right wing on the West Road in Jiaxiang area, and shattered the Japanese army's plan to meet in Taierzhuang. In the battle in Taierzhuang area, the fifth war zone adopted active defense tactics, part as interior defense and part as exterior defense, combining offensive and defensive, flexible and achieved great victory. Subsequently, regardless of the overall situation that the enemy is strong and we are weak, the highest military authorities mobilized troops near Xuzhou in an attempt to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese army, making the later battle passive. Nevertheless, this battle consumed the effective strength of the Japanese army, slowed down the attack speed of the Japanese army, and won time for the deployment of the defense war in Wuhan.