Quartermasters can also fight the devils

Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, sat in the front-line headquarters of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army with a gloomy face. Ever since his various attacking forces began to retreat, the counterattack of the Chinese army had caused heavy losses to his troops. There were three battalions of troops alone that were wiped out by the Chinese army.

Moreover, among the middle and senior commanders, one regiment commander and three battalion commanders were killed. As for the middle and lower-level officers such as squadron leaders, platoon leaders and sergeants, the losses were even greater. As for the soldiers, it didn't matter to Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army. Soldiers themselves were consumables and were the easiest to replenish.

Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, also knew that the losses of his attacking forces were already a fact, and that the supplies and ammunition stored by his 11th Army for the Battle of Western Hubei had been used up. It was unrealistic for him to launch a full-scale counterattack against the attacking forces. What's more, all the attacking forces had already withdrawn halfway, and it would be a difficult task just to get the troops to turn around collectively again.

Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Japanese Army, also knew that it would be a very irrational thing to allow the 13th Japanese Division to advance too deep into the enemy's territory to launch a counterattack alone. Moreover, the offensive forces of the 11th Japanese Army had completed all the combat plans and tasks before the war, and it was time to quit while the going was good.

Therefore, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, sent another telegram to Lieutenant General Akashika Ryo, commander of the 13th Division, ordering the 13th Division to stop counterattacking the Chinese pursuit forces and start retreating northward again.

After the attacking units of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army began to retreat, they were successively wiped out in an organized manner by the troops of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government. When the top government officials received the news, they were very happy and believed that this was a good achievement of the Chinese army.

Moreover, at a reception for foreign journalists, the highest level of the government excitedly introduced the results of the victory of the Battle of Western Hubei to all Allied journalists, and announced loudly that in the Battle of Western Hubei launched by the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, the Chinese army had completely defeated the three elite divisions of the Japanese Army.

However, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, obviously would not allow the highest level of the government to realize this dream. The attacking forces of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army took turns to cover each other and withdrew to their original garrison areas one after another. This prevented the various pursuing forces of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government from finding any suitable opportunity to attack the retreating Japanese troops.

Therefore, as the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army withdrew, the troops of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government followed the retreating Japanese forces and recovered all the areas previously occupied by the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army. The Chinese army and the Japanese army returned to the confrontation situation before the battle began, and the Battle of Western Hubei ended.

With the end of the Battle of Western Hubei, the Military Commission of the Chinese government began to readjust and deploy troops in various war zones because, with the development of the entire international situation, the sharp edge of the Japanese offensive in Southeast Asia and the Pacific had been curbed by the forces of the United States and its allies.

Japan's two allies now also have their own big problems. First of all, on the Soviet-German battlefield, the Soviet army has slowly stabilized its position from the previous defeat, and has begun to launch a fierce counterattack against the attacking German army on the entire front. At present, the Soviet counterattack forces have advanced to the Smolensk and Dnieper River line.

On the North African battlefield, after the coalition forces of America and England defeated the coalition forces of Germany and Italy in Tunisia, they successfully landed on the Italian home island of Sicily. This directly led to the Italian dictator Nicolae Moro being forced to step down, and Italy subsequently announced its surrender to the Allies.

The American army also landed in the Aleutian Islands and New Georgia Island, and was attacking the Japanese army in New Guinea and other places. What was even more tragic was that on April 18, 1943, even the commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who was known as the god of war, was killed by American planes.

Not only was the Japanese army defeated in the Pacific battlefield by the recovered American army, but the Japanese navy and air force also suffered devastating blows from the American army in more than a year of fighting, and had gradually lost control of the sea and air in the Pacific battlefield.

The Japanese military headquarters is now trying its best to plug the gaps, but it is simply impossible for the Japanese government to maintain such a large combat range. No matter how the Japanese military headquarters plunders supplies from the occupied areas, it cannot meet the increasing demand for supplies.

Therefore, in order to gain an advantage in the Pacific battlefield, the Japanese military headquarters had to transfer supplies from other battlefields to the Japanese troops in the Pacific battlefield. Moreover, based on the overall requirements of the current war, the Japanese military headquarters did not allow the Chinese Expeditionary Force to conduct any offensive operations. In this way, the material consumption of the Chinese Expeditionary Force could be reduced to the lowest standard.

Therefore, in the four months after the end of the Battle of Western Hubei, the 11th Army of the Japanese Army did not launch a single attack on the surrounding Fifth, Sixth and Ninth War Zones of the Chinese Government, and the troops of these three war zones of the Chinese Government did not attack the Japanese Army either, because the Chinese Government was also extremely short of supplies and was unable to launch any proactive offensive operations. This allowed the Chinese Government and the Japanese Army to form a relatively stable confrontation period during this period.

The Chinese government is also having a very difficult time now. With the complete occupation of Burma and Southeast Asia by the Japanese army, the Chinese government's channels for obtaining external aid have been completely closed. Now it can only rely on the air force organized by China and the United States to survive through air transport on the "Hump Route" every day.

But the supplies delivered by this air supply line are simply a drop in the bucket for the Chinese government and the Chinese army. In addition, except for weapons and ammunition, all other supplies transported will be withheld and resold privately by departments at all levels, making supplies even more scarce in the area controlled by the entire Chinese government.

In order to cooperate with the Allied Forces to open up the China-Burma Highway supply line, the Chinese government, after the end of the Battle of Western Hubei, successively withdrew troops from the Sixth and Ninth War Zones of the Chinese government, ready to be transferred to Yunnan and India to prepare for a counterattack on Burma.

The top government leaders also hope to open up the China-Burma Highway, an important material supply line, as soon as possible to provide strong material support for the Chinese government's continued war of resistance. At the same time, the top government leaders also hope to take advantage of the time when the allies ask for their help to transfer their own troops there, and under the banner of counterattacking Burma, let the allies replace the equipment of their own troops.