Quartermasters can also fight the devils

The Chinese army responded to the battle hastily. Not only were the upper echelons of the Chinese army unprepared mentally, but the lower-level troops were also completely unprepared for the battle. Not only were the fortifications at the ferry not strengthened, but what was even more incredible was that there was not enough food reserves. As a result, the Japanese troops that came from afar to attack were well-trained and well-fed, while the Chinese army defending their positions were surrounded and faced a desperate situation of "no food for three days". As a result, the officers and soldiers of the Chinese army were so hungry that they could not even lift their swords, and they collapsed at the first sign of the Japanese attack.

On the tactical level, the Japanese army was resolute in executing the combat plan formulated before the war. The attacking forces were properly commanded and the forces cooperated effectively with each other. Once the battle broke out, the Japanese troops carried out decisive and rapid attacks and encirclements as planned without any hesitation. The tactical actions of each unit were so clean and neat that they seemed like cases in a textbook.

The Chinese army was at a loss as to what to do, with chaotic command and uncoordinated troops. Facing the full-scale offensive of the Japanese army, the Chinese army never came up with a decent battle plan. Regardless of the actual situation on the battlefield, it either ordered the troops to "restore their original positions" or demanded the troops to "hold their ground."

Under such circumstances, the various Chinese participating troops soon became independent forces, which resulted in some troops on the battlefield stubbornly resisting the Japanese attack, but more troops, under the attack of the Japanese army, ignored the friendly forces around them and fled without authorization.

The disastrous defeat in the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountains dealt a heavy blow to the Chinese government. The public confidence that had been accumulated with great difficulty was severely weakened. The top government leaders were extremely disappointed and angry about the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountains, and called it "the greatest shame in the history of the War of Resistance" at a post-war meeting.

After winning the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, the Japanese First Army transferred all three divisions that had been used to blockade Zhongtiao Mountain to North China to deal with some troops in the occupied areas in the rear of North China, creating an extremely bad situation for the anti-Japanese war in northern China.

Not long after the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain ended, on the European battlefield, after defeating France and Britain and controlling the countries in Northern and Eastern Europe, Germany's tanks inevitably began to collide with the Soviet Union. On June 22, the German army crossed the border and launched a rapid attack towards the Soviet interior. The Soviet-German War broke out completely.

As early as April, due to the disastrous defeat of the Japanese army in the Battle of Shanggao, the Japanese Imperial Headquarters dismissed the former commander of the 11th Army, Lieutenant General Kazuichiro Sonobe, and appointed Lieutenant General Korechika Anami, former Vice Minister of the Army, to replace him as the commander of the 11th Army.

After Lieutenant General Anami Korechika took office as commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, in order to establish his prestige in the 11th Army, Commander Lieutenant General Anami Korechika ordered the 11th Army Staff to study and prepare to launch a second offensive against Changsha in the summer and autumn of this year.

Before the outbreak of the Soviet-German War, in order to eliminate the worries of the "Southward Advance Plan", the Japanese government adjusted its foreign policy toward the Soviet Union. After secret talks between the Japanese and Soviet diplomatic departments, the two sides signed the "Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact" in April. This ensured that while the Japanese army was fully implementing the "Southward Advance Plan", there would be no problems in the north.

However, after the outbreak of the Soviet-German War, the Japanese government immediately convened an Imperial Conference and decided at the meeting to secretly prepare for war against the Soviet Union. Once the development of the Soviet-German War was favorable to Japan, Japan would use force to resolve the northern issue.

As the world anti-fascist front gradually took shape, the Allies led by Britain and the United States began to gradually restrict Japan. They not only continued to assist China's war of resistance, but also imposed an embargo on important strategic materials such as steel and oil on Japan.

Japan is in very short supply of strategic materials and is extremely dependent on international imports, especially the very important oil. Once Britain and the United States stop exporting oil to Japan, Japan's navy will face the risk of a complete shutdown.

To this end, the Japanese military headquarters considered withdrawing at least two divisions from the 11th Army in the three towns to Northeast China, and while strengthening the combat readiness mission against the Soviet Union, continue to prepare for the southward advance plan. Therefore, the issue of the 11th Army's preparations for a second operation against Changsha was temporarily shelved.

However, this decision of the Imperial Headquarters was strongly opposed by the Chinese Expeditionary Force and the 11th Army Commander Lieutenant General Anami Korechika. They believed that the Chinese government's will to continue fighting should be completely destroyed and the war in China should be completely resolved, and if the strength of the Chinese Expeditionary Force was suddenly reduced at this time, the Chinese government, which was already in great difficulties, would be able to get a chance to breathe.

Due to the strong opposition from the Chinese Expeditionary Army, the Japanese military headquarters decided after research to abandon the idea of ​​using force against the Soviet Union and not to withdraw troops from the Chinese Expeditionary Army. In addition, in August, the headquarters also approved the second Changsha operation plan proposed by Lieutenant General Anami Korechika, commander of the 11th Army.

However, in order to prepare for combat operations in Southeast Asia, the Japanese military headquarters also gradually transferred the 11th Fleet and the 3rd Flying Division, reducing the naval and air force support for the Second Battle of Changsha.

In order to fight the Second Battle of Changsha well, Lieutenant General Anami Korechika, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, made an in-depth analysis of the details of the entire Hunan Province war situation, and conducted a detailed study of the combat deployment and battlefield command of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army in the First Battle of Changsha.

Lieutenant General Anami Korechika, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, had done a lot of homework on Commander Xue, commander of the 9th War Zone of the Chinese government, and the entire 9th War Zone.

Lieutenant General Anami Korechika, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, believed that the 11th Army of the Japanese Army had an absolute advantage over the Chinese Army. No matter from which aspect, the Japanese Army was far superior to the Chinese Army. Except for the 74th Army and the New 22nd Army of the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese Government, which did have some combat effectiveness, the other troops of the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese Government were not to be feared at all.

Lieutenant General Anami Korechika, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, felt that the reason why the 11th Army of the Japanese Army failed in the First Battle of Changsha was that it made the mistake of dividing its troops, which led to insufficient offensive intensity of the main force and wasted too much time on the defense lines of the Xinqiang River and Miluo River, so that it eventually became a spent force.

Therefore, Lieutenant General Anami Korechika, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, decided to mobilize the four most powerful divisions of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army in this Battle of Changsha, and at the same time, to draw on the Air Force and Navy as much as possible to support the main attack and completely wipe out the troops of the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese Government.