Quartermasters can also fight the devils

Moreover, after the Battle of Western Hubei, Commander Chen returned to the Chinese Expeditionary Force Headquarters in western Yunnan to handle the affairs of the Expeditionary Force. This meant that Commander Sun was no longer the acting commander-in-chief of the Sixth War Zone, but the commander-in-chief.

The Military Commission of the Chinese Government and the acting commander of the Sixth War Zone, Commander Sun, all agreed through the intelligence gathered on the current troop movements and assembly of the Japanese 11th Army that the Japanese 11th Army had fully recovered its combat effectiveness after half a year of rest and replenishment, and was expected to launch another large-scale offensive in November or December.

However, neither the Military Commission of the Chinese government nor the acting commander of the Sixth War Zone, General Sun, could make an absolute judgment on the direction of the Japanese 11th Army's attack this time, because the target of the Japanese 11th Army's commander, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, could be Yichang Shipai or Changde.

Just like the Battle of Western Hubei three months ago, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Japanese Army, used a beautiful tactic of feinting to the east and attacking in the west for the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese Government. When everyone thought that the 11th Japanese Army was going to attack Changde, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Japanese Army, pretended to attack Changde but actually attacked Yichang Shipai, which played a trick on the troops of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese Government.

Faced with the cunning opponent, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, neither the Military Commission of the Chinese government nor the acting commander of the Sixth War Zone, Commander Sun, could accurately determine the actual attack targets.

Commander Sun, the acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Huaxia Government, is a famous general of the Northwest Army and one of the major contributors to the victory of the Battle of Taierzhuang. Commander Sun comes from a proper military background and has never attended a military school in his life, but this does not affect Commander Sun's military command ability.

Commander Sun joined the army in 1912, and by 1943 he had already served in the army for 32 years. He had experienced more than a hundred battles, as he attended a bloody war university. The Northwest Army led by Commander Sun was quite effective among the Chinese armies. After the official war with Japan, Commander Sun also led his troops in countless tough battles, from north to south, and each time he fought hard with the Japanese army, and never disappointed the top government leaders.

Although Commander Sun was not a direct descendant of the government, the highest level of the government believed that such talent was rare, and therefore appointed Commander Sun as the acting commander of the Sixth War Zone, who was actually responsible for commanding all combat matters of the Sixth War Zone.

Faced with the frequent movements of the Japanese 11th Army during this period, the acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, Commander Sun, and the Chief of Staff of the Sixth War Zone, Guo Chan, after careful study and analysis of all the intelligence, both tended to believe that the target of the Japanese 11th Army's attack this time would most likely be Changde.

As for the reason, Chief Sun, the acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, and Chief of Staff Guo of the Sixth War Zone felt that it was not complicated. Because in the Battle of Western Hubei half a year ago, the 11th Army of the Japanese Army was badly beaten and bloodied on the defense line of the Jiang Defense Army near Shipai and could not make any progress. Theoretically, the commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, would not send troops there to die so soon.

This time, if the Japanese 11th Army's attack target was Changde, it would be more in line with the mentality of the commander of the Japanese 11th Army, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama. The acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, Commander Sun, and Chief of Staff Guo unanimously analyzed that in fact, during the previous Battle of Western Hubei, the three divisions of the Japanese 11th Army plus a brigade of heavy troops had approached Changde. At that time, Changde did not have any combat-capable Chinese troops, and there were not many reinforcements around. The 74th Army and the New 22nd Army were both urgently dispatched to defend Changde. If the Japanese 11th Army attacked Changde at that time, the Japanese army would probably have won.

However, the commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, had just taken office not long ago. He was too ambitious and wanted to prove himself. He set his strategic goals on Yichang and Shipai, which were ten times more important. Therefore, the Japanese army lost a great opportunity and gave up the empty Changde and did not fight.

Although the Japanese 11th Army did not attack Changde during the Battle of Western Hubei, the commander of the Japanese 11th Army, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, was deeply impressed by the fact that Changde was an easy place for his 11th Army troops to exert their combat power. This time, the commander of the Japanese 11th Army, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, was very likely to set his combat target on Changde.

As the Japanese 11th Army's offensive might target Changde, the acting commander of the Chinese government's 6th War Zone, Sun Changjun, and Chief of Staff Guo also discussed countermeasures. The two planned to use the Chinese government's 10th Army and the 29th Army to intercept and kill the Japanese army in Songzi, Gong'an, Anxiang and Nanxian.

The troops on the second line and the Lishui River blocked the advance of the Japanese army and consumed the manpower of the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army. The main force on the third line held Changde, and then launched a counterattack on the Changde Yuanshui line, compressing the Japanese army to the shores of Dongting Lake for encirclement and annihilation.

The strategy formulated by Chief Sun, the acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese Government, and Chief of Staff Guo was very similar to the Battle of Changsha, that is, to weaken the strength of the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army through multiple lines of defense, while luring the enemy deep into the territory, and then wreaking havoc on the logistical supply lines and rear guard forces of the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army, making the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army exhausted and unable to supply food and ammunition, causing a significant reduction in the combat effectiveness of the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army.

Then, when the attacking forces of the Japanese 11th Army were almost consumed by the Chinese Army, the Sixth War Zone concentrated its main forces to encircle the Japanese troops that had penetrated deep into the area controlled by the Chinese Army, and in one fell swoop severely damaged the attacking forces of the Japanese 11th Army, forcing the attacking forces of the Japanese 11th Army to flee. The troops of the Sixth War Zone then followed the retreating Japanese troops in pursuit, recovered lost territory and annihilated the fleeing enemy.

The combat mode formulated by Commander Sun, the acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, and Chief of Staff Guo was generally correct. However, there were certain problems when using it for operations in Changde.

Because, during the Battle of Changsha, the Chinese army had a relatively large depth, and had the Xinqiang River, Miluo River, Laodao River and other rivers as natural defense lines. The Chinese government's Ninth War Zone had a strength of more than 300,000 troops at the time, and all of them could be gathered in Changsha without having to split up. With such a strong force at the time, the Chinese government's Ninth War Zone could naturally consume a large amount of the Japanese 11th Army's offensive forces.