-Spring 1938, Japanese reenforce their positions by adding 500 000 soldiers, a fraction of which try to rejoin Shanghai by land, but they are eradicated at Tai'erzhuang and so retreat north. A second essay a month later passes and the Japanese join their compatriots at Xuzhou on May 20. With this junction, they isolate 100 000 chinese soldiers between them and the sea. Those chinese soldiers will escape by disguising themselves into peasants.
-In June, the japanese troops progress west toward Zhengzhou but the Chineses sabotages the waterbarriers of the Huang He river, thus submerging the Japaneses and their equipment and drowning thousands of the men.
-At the same moment, the Japaneses are also to isolate China from the rest of the world by cutting its way in from India. For that purpose, troops from Formosa Island (south of China, owned by Japan) conquer the major harbors of China: Guangzhou (old name for Canton), Xiamen and Fuzhou.
-In September the Japaneses continue their progression south by land and reach Hankou on October 10th but they will never go any farther. 180 000km square territory has been acquired.
-To isolate completely China, the Japaneses also have to cut the ways from USSR. Thus, July 11 1938, they attack the soviet troops at the Siberian frontier while declaring that the Soviets have trespassed the Manchurian frontier. After one month of fights, the Japaneses haven't progress and so they retreat.
-1938 ends with two major problems for Japan. First China still is connected to the world by its roads with Birmania. Second japanese troops only control the big cities and their major roads; leaving the rest free for the guerilla. The guerilla is constituted of communists (8th road army led by Mao) that are dispersed in the north-east occupied part where they organize small raids. To stop the guerilla the Japaneses use the Terrorist politic of the THREE ALL: the soldiers take all, burn all and kill all in the high risk regions.
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