1941年7月初，刘少奇从情报中得知，日军已集中陆海空军近2万人的兵力即将对苏北进行一次大“扫荡”，妄图消灭新四军军部和新四军在苏北的主力，“扩大江北占领地区，打开物资流通途径”。7月19日，日军独立混成第12旅团全部及伪军第1、第2集团军各一部，集结于盐城南面、西面 At the beginning of July 1941, Liu Shaoqi learned from intelligence that the Japanese army had concentrated on the forces of nearly 20,000 troops of the Luhai Air Force and the Air Force to carry out a major “mopping-up” on northern Jiangsu in an attempt to annihilate the main forces of the New Fourth Army and the New Fourth Army in northern Jiangsu. Jiangbei occupation area, open material circulation. " July 19, the Japanese army mixed into the 12th Brigade and the puppet army 1st, 2nd Army each one, gathered in the south of Yancheng, west