Quartermasters can also fight the devils

On December 20, in accordance with the combat plan formulated by the 11th Army Command, the Japanese 6th Division had assembled on the north bank of the Xinqiang River and was ready to launch an attack on the south bank of the Xinqiang River at any time.

Two days later, Lieutenant General Anami Korechika, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, flew from three towns to Yueyang and personally commanded this combat operation in Yueyang. On the same day, the participating troops of the 40th Division and the 3rd Division of the Japanese Army also arrived at their designated combat positions one after another.

Just when the Japanese 6th Division was fully assembled on the north bank of the Xinqiang River, Commander Xue, commander of the 9th War Zone of China, also formulated the combat plan for the 9th War Zone.

In order to achieve the operational goal of luring the Japanese attacking forces to the area between the Liuyang River and the Laodao River for encirclement and annihilation, Commander Xue ordered Commander Yang of the 27th Army of the 9th War Zone to command the 20th Army and the 58th Army to resist and consume the Japanese troops along the Xinqiang River, and then move to the Guanwangmiao and Sanjiangkou areas to flank and tail the enemy advancing southward.

The 37th Army was ordered to resist and consume the Japanese troops on the south bank of the Miluo River, and then move to Shegang City, Genggutai, and Jinjing areas, waiting for the opportunity to launch an attack on the Japanese troops attacking Changsha. The 99th Army was ordered to hold Sanjie Bridge, Guiyi, Xiangyin and the south bank of Dongting Lake, and be ready to attack the Japanese troops invading Changsha at any time.

He ordered Deputy Commander-in-Chief Luo of the war zone to move from northern Jiangxi to Liuyang to command the 26th, 79th and 10th Armies, and to launch a counterattack when the Japanese army attacked Changsha.

Order the 78th Army and other units to attack the Japanese troops attacking Changsha from the flank.

Order the New 22nd Army to defend Changsha to the death and firmly hold the Japanese attacking forces in Changsha city. Without the personal order of Commander Xue, no retreat is allowed.

The basic principle of this combat strategy is the retreat and decisive battle tactic developed by Commander Xue - the Tianlu tactic.

As the Japanese offensive forces gathered in place, Lieutenant General Anami Korechika, commander of the 11th Japanese Army, ordered the start of the Third Battle of Changsha. The Japanese artillery units that had been prepared long ago began to bombard the defensive positions of the 9th War Zone on the south bank of the Xinqiang River, and sent a small force to tentatively prepare to force a crossing of the Xinqiang River. However, the Japanese tentative crossing was repelled by the Chinese army that had been prepared long ago.

After a day of tentative attacks, on the second day, the attack force of the Japanese 11th Army officially launched a fierce attack on the New Qiang River defense line of the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese Government.

On the day when the Japanese army officially launched an attack on the Ninth War Zone's defense line at Xinqiang River, the weather in Xiangbei was different from the usual sunny and dry winter weather. Instead, it began to rain continuously and was accompanied by snowfall, which caused the temperature to drop sharply to -4°C.

This caused the water level of the Xinqiang River to surge due to rain and snow, and the paddy fields and roads on both sides were muddy, causing many inconveniences to the mobilization of the Japanese attacking forces. More importantly, due to the bad weather, the Japanese aircraft that were originally planned to cooperate with the Japanese 11th Army's attack were unable to take off due to the bad weather, which prevented the Japanese 11th Army from taking advantage of the air.

However, it was not only the Japanese attacking forces that were affected by the weather. The Ninth War Zone troops on the Xinqiang River defense line also had their vision obstructed by heavy rain. The attacking forces of the Japanese Sixth Division took advantage of the heavy rain and quietly moved the attacking forces to the middle of the Xinqiang River. Then, they suddenly and quickly rushed to the south bank of the Xinqiang River under the cover of artillery fire, catching the defensive forces of the 20th Army of the Chinese government off guard.

The troops of the 20th Army of the 9th War Zone of the Chinese Government were unable to intercept the attacking forces of the 6th Division of the Japanese Army, allowing them to cross the Xinqiang River and establish a bridgehead. By the evening, a total of more than 10,000 Japanese officers and soldiers from the 6th and 40th Divisions had crossed the Xinqiang River and launched an attack on the positions of the 20th Army of the Chinese Government stationed on the Xinqiang River defense line.

The 20th Army of the 27th Army of the Chinese government was under the command of the 133rd and 134th Divisions. According to the combat plan of the commander of the 9th War Zone, it was responsible for blocking the Japanese offensive forces south of the Xinqiang River and north of the Miluo River for ten days.

After the Japanese attacking forces crossed the Xinqiang River, the troops of the 20th Army retreated to deep positions and continued to stubbornly resist the Japanese attack, delaying and consuming the Japanese army's morale and advance speed.

The next day, the Japanese follow-up troops, the 3rd Division, also crossed the Xinqiang River. In this way, the troops of the 9th War Zone and the troops of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army launched a bloody battle on the south bank of the Xinqiang River in the heavy wind and snow. Both sides also put their full strength into the battle, and the battle was extremely brutal.

The fiercest fighting took place at Fujiaqiao and Hongqiao. Wang Chaokui, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 98th Regiment, 133rd Division, 20th Army of the Chinese government, led all officers and soldiers of the battalion to defend Fujiaqiao to the death, and stubbornly resisted the fierce attacks of the Japanese offensive forces in the wind and snow until all officers and soldiers of the battalion were killed.

The commander of the third battalion, Lu Haiqun, also led all the officers and soldiers of the battalion to fight the Japanese attacking forces in Hongqiao until the last moment, and finally all of them died for the country.

After the Chinese government's 20th Army believed that it had achieved the predetermined consumption and luring the enemy's purpose, it moved to Guanwangqiao, Sanjiangkou, and Wangjiafang. The Japanese attacking forces discovered that the 20th Army was shifting its position, so they took advantage of the 20th Army's shifting position to launch a large-scale attack.

Facing the large-scale offensive of the Japanese army, the various units of the 20th Army also fought hard and engaged in repeated hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese troops that rushed to their positions. However, under the attack of the Japanese army's superior forces, positions such as Guanwang Bridge and Longfeng Bridge were lost one after another. The 20th Army also gradually withdrew to the flanks of the Japanese offensive forces and attacked them.

The fierce and tenacious resistance of the 20th Army of the 9th War Zone of the Chinese government on the south bank of the Xinqiang River also made the Japanese attacking forces feel the high morale and will of the Chinese army. The 20th Army fought a bloody battle with the Japanese army under the attack of the Japanese attacking forces which had a clear advantage. Although the casualties of the troops were very heavy, the fighting morale of the entire army remained high.

After occupying Guanwangqiao and other positions, the attacking forces of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, ignoring the flank attacks of the 20th Army of the 9th War Zone, advanced rapidly southward overnight and shifted the main battlefield to the south bank of the Miluo River.

At the same time, the Japanese 11th Army Command issued a combat order, ordering the 3rd Division, 6th Division and 40th Division to quickly break through the defense line of the Chinese government's 9th War Zone on the south bank of the Miluo River. The entire army crossed the Miluo River and surrounded and annihilated the main combat forces of the Chinese government's 9th War Zone in the south bank area.

The 37th Army and the 99th Army were responsible for the defense mission along the Miluo River in the Ninth War Zone of the Huaxia Government. The Ninth War Zone Command was divided by Xinshi. The 37th Army was responsible for defending the area east of Xinshi, and the 99th Army was responsible for defending the area west of Xinshi.