Time Slip Reiwa Japan

115 - China Upheaval - 25

Only a week after the resumption of war, China lost a massive army of 400.000 troops and thereby forfeited its dominance north of the Yellow River, dealing a severe blow to its national prestige.

It wasn't the might of the enemy, the United States, that began to trouble the minds of the Chinese populace, but rather the perceived lack of virtue within the Chinese government. Constant defeat in foreign wars had, in a sense, accumulated a certain reputation. Moreover, there were expectations that perhaps this time the war could be won. This led to even deeper disappointment.

However, the Chinese government did not yield. If a million troops weren't enough, then send two million. If two million failed, then raise an army of four million. Such resolute opinions were prevalent within the Chinese General Staff. However, apart from the military aspect, the crisis of losing control north of the Yellow River could potentially lead to the loss of Beijing, a crucial city. Yet, the Chinese government didn't see it as significant. As the main industrial region of present-day China centered around Nanjing lies along the Yangtze River, losing historically strategic cities posed more of a prestige problem than a matter of national survival. While it was troublesome for the US to approach near the Shandong Peninsula, a major production hub for cutting-edge equipment (leased from Germany), Germany maintained a friendly neutrality for this reason. China believed that there wouldn't be any issues with civilian trade. *1

Thus, the Chinese General Staff decided to relocate valuable armored units further away from the vicinity of Beijing. In theory, this was a reorganization for a counterattack, with Xuzhou in the southern part of the North China Plain being designated as the location, largely due to its relatively intact transportation infrastructure.

Nevertheless, considering it involved moving nearly 500 kilometers away from Beijing, the Beijing Garrison Army, standing on the front lines of the East Eurasian Army Group, didn't misinterpret the intent behind this decision. As a result, they vigorously set about constructing defensive positions, including trenches. Furthermore, in line with this decision, the 2nd Northern Expeditionary Army Group, which had been facing off against the East Eurasian Army Group's 1st Army in the western regions of Inner Mongolia, was also ordered to retreat.

The decision unsettled the Chinese Communist Party. While they had entered into a pact of cooperation with the Chinese government, the Communists' army, despite its numbers, lacked modern equipment, let alone sophisticated communication devices and military attire, making it incapable of facing the fully mechanized American forces head-on. *2

Thus, the newly reorganized 11th Army *3 of the East Eurasian Army Group marched westward like a lone wanderer through the wilderness.

. . .

East Eurasian Army Group

With the success of the first offensive operation (Good Morning), the United States seized the initiative north of the Yellow River. To capitalize on this advantage, the second offensive is planned to surpass the first, with a full-scale offensive targeting Beijing and the Yellow River. It was an operation aimed at seizing the heart of China, once called the Central Plains. The second offensive operation, Path to Peace (Road Roller), was heralded as an operation to restore peace north of the Yellow River.

At this point, the East Eurasian Army Group had divided its subordinate units into four armies for operation: *4 the 2nd Army and the 22nd Army are aimed directly at Beijing from the front; the 1st Army aims to swiftly move south along the Bohai Sea coast and isolate the Shandong Peninsula; and the 11th Army aims to advance westward against the Communists. Adequate air support was prepared for all of them.

Especially for the 1st Army, which serves as the supply line for China's cutting-edge weaponry and aims to divide China (leased from Germany) in the Shandong Peninsula, where China might desperately resist, full naval support from the US Navy was planned, foreseeing the possibility of intense resistance from the Chinese side. *5