After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Nationalist Government organized 22 large-scale battles and defensive battles in the frontal battlefield, such as the Battle of Songhu, the Battle of Nanjing, the Battle of Lanfeng, the Battle of Wuhan, and the Battle of Changheng, but most of these battles and defense battles ended in failure, and countless heroic Chinese soldiers spilled blood on the battlefield. Throughout the War of Resistance Against Japan, the total casualties of the Nationalist army reached 3.22 million. So what exactly is causing such a huge casualty? Bai Chongxi said that he had broken the reason.
Bai Chongxi is a native of Guilin, Guangxi, an important representative of the Gui clan, known for being good at strategy, and performed very brilliantly during the warlord melee, so he was known as Xiao Zhuge Ge. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Bai Chongxi was appointed deputy chief of staff and head of the Military Training Department, responsible for formulating the plan for the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and participating in the Battle of Taierzhuang. On the eve of the Battle of Wuhan, Li Zongren, commander of the Fifth Theater, was hospitalized due to illness, and Bai Chongxi took his place. On August 31, 1938, the Japanese 6th Division, under the command of Inaba Shiro, launched a fierce attack on Guangji, and the Battle of Guangji broke out.
Guangji is an important gateway and peripheral barrier for Wuhan, and its strategic location is very important, so Lao Jiang ordered Bai Chongxi to stick to Guangji. In order to ensure that Guangji was not lost, Bai Chongxi mobilized the strength of the 5 armies of the 26th, 29th, 31st, 68th and 84th armies to defend. Although the strength of the enemy was several times that of the enemy, Guangji only held out for 8 days before it was lost, and the Nationalist army also paid a heavy casualty price. The Battle of Guangji was the first time since the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression that Bai Chongxi directly commanded the troops to engage the Japanese Kou head-on, and the huge casualties made him very distressed and worried.
"The Battle of Guangji was only a week away, and the officers and men in the front suffered heavy casualties. And under the threat of enemy artillery and air, although great efforts were made, the position was not defended in the end. On the other hand, the enemy and ourselves have a huge disparity in equipment, they have no power over the air, and they hold on to each other's positions, which is not the best policy. If the troops are fragile, they will not be able to form an army in three or two days, but the tactics will be ineffective and the command will be tricky. Facing the front, thinking deeply about the strategy against the enemy, the only way to take a mobile posture and seek the enemy's side back camera attack, not limited to the death of one place and one city. In this way, it is possible to maintain useful strength and gain the freedom to fight. ”
In this telegram, Bai Chongxi said that the reason for the heavy casualties of the Nationalist army was "no power to control the air, and no tactics." The first four words refer to weapons and equipment, during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Nationalist army not only did not have air superiority, but also could not compare with the Japanese army in terms of heavy weapons, so it often suffered heavy casualties under the fierce offensive firepower of the Japanese army; the last four words refer to tactics, in Bai Chongxi's view, since the weapons and equipment are inferior to the opponent, they should not blindly fight for the position. The correct approach is to adopt a mobile defense, and while confronting head-on, send troops to attack and destroy the enemy's flanks and rears, so that the enemy cannot take care of each other. Now it seems that Bai Chongxi's suggestion is still very reasonable. It is a pity that old Chiang did not adopt it, otherwise the casualties of the Nationalist army would be much smaller.