Quartermasters can also fight the devils

Therefore, Lieutenant General Anami Korechika, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, ordered all Japanese troops participating in the Battle of Changsha to begin to retreat. After the troops attacking Changsha withdrew to the departure area, they would quickly attack in the direction of Yichang to reinforce the 13th Division of the Japanese Army, which had already exhausted its energy.

At this time, the various units of the New 22nd Army, which was responsible for defending Changsha City, were taking the time to build fortifications in the streets and alleys of Changsha City, ready to resist the siege launched by the Japanese army at any time. Especially after knowing that the Japanese 6th Division was moving towards Changsha, Commander Xue, the commander of the 9th War Zone of the Chinese government, also ordered the New 22nd Army to defend Changsha City to the death.

After receiving the strict order from Commander Xue of the Ninth War Zone, Commander Huang of the New 22nd Army also ordered the three divisions under him to hold their respective defense zones and not to retreat without orders. They must defend the city of Changsha under the attack of more than two divisions of the Japanese army and buy time for the troops on the outside to encircle the city.

The defense zone of the new 100th Division was the main direction of the Japanese attack. Zhang Wenwu also ordered the troops to continuously improve the defensive fortifications on the streets. At the same time, he asked the mortar troops to measure all the shooting elements in the defense zone. When the Japanese army attacked, they could accurately strike the Japanese offensive forces and provide effective fire support for the defensive forces.

Just when Commander Xue of the Ninth War Zone and all the officers and soldiers of the New 22nd Army made up their minds to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese attacking forces in Changsha City, and thought that a brutal bloody battle was about to begin, the Japanese attacking forces outside Changsha City suddenly changed direction and began to retreat quickly to the north.

When Commander Xue of the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese government received news that the Japanese offensive forces outside Changsha had begun to retreat northward, he realized that the Japanese army was doing the same as in the first Changsha Battle. As the front line of the Japanese offensive forces continued to lengthen, the logistics supply lines could no longer hold on, and now the Japanese offensive forces were at the end of their strength.

Moreover, the backyard of the Japanese 11th Army is now on fire, and the troops of the Sixth War Zone are besieging Yichang under the command of Commander Chen. Compared with Changsha, Yichang is much more important to the Japanese army.

Therefore, Commander Xue, commander of the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese government, immediately ordered all troops in the Ninth War Zone to pursue the retreating Japanese troops, striving to inflict maximum casualties on the Japanese troops.

Just as Commander Xue, commander of the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese government, judged, the officers and soldiers of the retreating Japanese army were indeed extremely exhausted at this time, and there was not much ammunition left in the army.

After learning that the Japanese troops attacking Changsha began to retreat, the Chinese Military Commission ordered Commander Xue of the Ninth War Zone to immediately lead his troops to pursue them, hoping to take advantage of this opportunity to pursue the Japanese troops to see if they could find a way to recapture Yueyang.

Commander Xue of the Ninth War Zone ordered the 79th Army to track and pursue the retreating Japanese troops in the direction of Changle Street and Xinshi, the 58th Army to Guanwang Bridge, and the 72nd Army to Yanglin Street. He also ordered the 4th Army, 20th Army and 99th Army, which were originally on the rear of the Japanese army, to intercept the Japanese army in Ma'anpu, Qingshan City, Mafengzui and Jinjing areas.

Following an order from Commander Xue, commander of the Ninth War Zone, various reinforcements dispatched by the Chinese Military Commission to the Ninth War Zone directly joined in the pursuit of the retreating Japanese troops. At the same time, the new 100th Division and the new 210th Division of the New nd Army were also urgently assembled and chased the retreating Japanese troops from Changsha City and gave them a beating.

Commander General Xue of the Ninth War Zone knew very well that it was impossible to stop the Japanese retreat by relying on the few crippled Chinese troops on the flanks and rear of the Japanese army, even though the Japanese attacking forces were already exhausted and their combat effectiveness was far less than when the war started.

However, the original army of the Ninth War Zone had already been badly damaged. The newly transferred troops, except for the New 22nd Army, all other troops arrived in a hurry and were not very familiar with the battlefield terrain, so it was difficult for them to play a significant role in the pursuit operation.

As for the Military Commission's telegram about finding an opportunity to recapture Yueyang, Commander Xue simply turned a blind eye. In Commander Xue's view, the Military Commission's idea was very unrealistic. The Japanese army that attacked Changsha had retreated, but this did not mean that the Ninth War Zone had the ability to recapture Yueyang, an important town in northern Hunan.

The Japanese army still has a lot of troops, and there are also quite complete defensive positions and fortifications in Yueyang. The Japanese navy can also provide naval artillery support from Dongting Lake and the Yangtze River. Relying on the current troops of the Ninth War Zone, without a large amount of artillery support, there is no chance of retaking Yueyang at all.

Sure enough, just as Commander Xue of the Ninth War Zone had expected, the retreating Japanese troops broke through the interception line set up by the Ninth War Zone one after another, crossed the Miluo River to the north, and then retreated to the north of the Xinqiang River.

At the same time, not only did the Japanese army retreat at a very fast speed, but they also defended very tightly against the Chinese army that was chasing and blocking them. During the retreat, the combat tasks between the various units were clearly divided, and the distance between them was maintained very reasonably.

This ensured that the Japanese troops' retreat did not cause any chaos. Although the casualties of the various troops in the attacks of the Chinese troops were not small, they were still within an acceptable range.

Just six days after the Japanese troops began their retreat, most of them had crossed the Xinqiang River and returned to the area under Japanese control before the war. Only a small number of troops responsible for covering the rear were still retreating to the Xinqiang River in an orderly manner. The Japanese rear-guard troops had no choice. They wanted to withdraw across the Xinqiang River quickly, but the Chinese government's New 22nd Army did not agree.

Zhang Wenwu commanded the officers and soldiers of the new 100th Division and launched a fierce attack on the Japanese rearguard troops all the way from Changsha City. However, the Japanese army's retreat protection was very good this time, so Zhang Wenwu did not find any good opportunity to capture all the Japanese rear guard troops.

However, although Zhang Wenwu had no way to keep all of the Japanese army's rear guard troops, he could not let the Japanese army retreat comfortably. Based on the principle of destroying as many Japanese troops as possible, Zhang Wenwu commanded the officers and soldiers of the new 100th Division to tightly entangle the Japanese army's rear guard troops and prevent them from speeding up their retreat. This way, the Japanese army would suffer more losses, which was also the implementation of Commander Xue's central combat idea.

It was not until the eighth day after the Japanese army began to retreat that the Japanese rear guard troops successfully crossed the Xinqiang River after suffering heavy casualties on the way and withdrew to the Japanese-controlled area north of the Xinqiang River. At this point, the battle line between the Ninth War Zone of China and the Eleventh Army of the Japanese Army returned to its pre-war situation.