Li Jishen smiled. He was finally smiling more than he was frowning, though he was still sighing a great amount. Guangxi forces had pressed further against the Japanese coastal holdings, though some events had shown that the Japanese yet have their aggressive spirit and won’t take defeat easily.
The first event of the month was perhaps the most fortuitous of all—Li Zongren had developed his spearhead doctrine to his satisfaction on August 4 and continued his theoretical work with what von Appel called the ‘schwerpunkt’ doctrine. Li Jishen immediately saw improvement in his own corps and received reports of similar improvements in other Guangxi units—he was confident that the new theory would aid Guangxi greatly in defeating the Japanese.
Li Zongren continuing his outstanding theoretical work.
On the northern front, the Ganzhou pocket was closed quickly. The five Yunnanese divisions, eager to redeem themselves, rushed to the attack, supported by Chen Jitang. The Japanese, at the same time, launched an operation against Li Jishen’s forces in Longyan to relieve the beleaguered pocket. Li Jishen successfully held the Japanese at bay, and the pocket was soon crushed.
Yet another small Guangxi victory, destroying another two Japanese divisions.
Chen Jitang’s attention quickly turned elsewhere, as Li Jishen was ready to push for the coast again. The target chosen was Xiamen, as it would create two pockets, Bao’an-Shantou and Quzhou-Fuzhou, allowing for easy defeat of both. The Japanese defenders of Xiamen were duly overrun and Chen Jitang pushed his troops forward to occupy the coastal town.
It was time to create another manageable pocket—or two.
The Japanese took advantage of the gap in the Guangxi front to advance to Nanping, separating Bai Chongxi from the greater part of the Guangxi army to the south. This was, however, a boon to the Guangxi as Li Jishen quickly realized, ordering Bai Chongxi to attack Fuzhou as his own forces in Longyan supported from across the breach. Not only would this move isolate Quzhou for destruction, but also create yet another pocket, at Nanping. The Japanese were soon routed and Bai Chongxi was marching forward unopposed.
The Japanese showed their usual aggressiveness—but they’re certain to regret it.
Soon afterward, the Japanese displayed their aggressiveness in the south too, attacking Wuzhou and overrunning the single division holding that stretch of the frontline. They had earlier also counterattacked at Bose once the Yunnanese had moved into the town and threw them back. Guilin, still the capital, Li Jishen realized, was likely to soon be in direct danger of a powerful attack itself, as well as Guangzhou.
The Japanese were on the attack in the south as well.
The Guangxi forces in the south, however, did not take this move sitting down. Very quickly, an attack was put together and launched, seven Guangxi and Yunnanese divisions assaulting what might have been two or even three Japanese divisions in Liuzhou. The battle was difficult, but the Japanese were eventually put to flight and the Yunnanese half of the attack force advanced.
The attack on Liuzhou, to remove some of the pressure that threatened to split Guilin and Guangzhou.
Late in the month, Xiamen was finally occupied by Chen Jitang’s forces and he immediately attacked Shantou, supported by von Appel from Guangzhou. The sole Japanese division—which was, as seemed to usually be the case, leaderless—wasn’t simply defeated in the battle but actually, somehow, ceased to exist as a coherent unit. It wasn’t pushed back toward Bao’an, it was thoroughly destroyed.
The final battle of the month, Shantou saw the inexplicable disintegration of an entire Japanese division when it had retreat options open to it.
Li Jishen smiled, September would be a great month for Guangxi, as he had no doubt that every city and town east of Hong Kong would be, finally, liberated from the Japanese. And then, with the full force of the Guangxi army bearing down on the southern Japanese holdings, they would not be able to resist their defeat for too much longer.