Quartermasters can also fight the devils

For Commander Sun, the acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, it was extremely difficult for him to take into account the defense of both Shipai and Changde with only less than 150,000 troops.

Moreover, Shipai and Changde are 270 kilometers apart, which means that the troop deployment of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government must be dispersed, and in fact it is in a dangerous situation that it is easy to be defeated by the Japanese army one by one. Although he knew that there was such a great danger, for the acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, General Sun, what could he do if he did not have any extra troops? He could only deploy reluctantly.

The only thing that made General Sun, the acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, feel relieved was that the strength of the joint air force of China and the United States had increased greatly.

Since the United States' army was eager to launch a counterattack against the Japanese army in the Pacific battlefield, in order to relieve the pressure on the Pacific battlefield, the United States hoped that the Chinese government's army could tie down the more than 1.2 million Japanese troops on the Chinese battlefield. Therefore, the United States increased its military aid to the Chinese government.

Before the Battle of Changde began, the joint air force of China and the United States received a total of more than 40 new aircraft, including 25 relatively advanced PN fighters and BC medium bombers. These aircraft were excellent combat aircraft with performance no less than that of Japanese aircraft.

In fact, since June 1943, the Chinese Air Force and the Japanese Air Force have been engaged in large-scale air decisive battles. The air battles between the two sides lasted until October. Because the number of Japanese aircraft losses was far greater than that of the joint air forces of China and the United States, the Japanese China Expeditionary Force was forced to order the Air Force to stop this air offensive with excessive losses.

In the Battle of Changde, the joint air force of China and the United States was expected to have more than 200 aircraft available, while the number of aircraft available to the Japanese army was about 250. This made the number of Japanese aircraft basically the same as the number of combat aircraft of the joint air force of China and the United States. This was the first time in all the battles since the outbreak of the war between China and Japan that China and the Japanese army were evenly matched in the air battlefield.

Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, was very confident in his combat strategy. The 11th Army Headquarters did not hide the large-scale military mobilization that had been carried out since September. Instead, it was carried out openly under the nose of the Chinese government.

The attacking forces of the 11th Japanese Army concentrated more than 30 military ships and 300 motorboats on Dongting Lake, and forcibly requisitioned more than 1,000 civilian ships. The various Japanese troops participating in the war also set out from their original bases and rushed to the designated assembly areas. A large amount of military supplies were also transported to the forward positions of the attacking forces of the 11th Japanese Army.

Faced with the arrogance of the Japanese 11th Army, the acting commander of the Chinese government's Sixth War Zone, Commander Sun, and Chief of Staff Guo of the War Zone analyzed the intelligence situation and judged that the Japanese 11th Army would launch a full-scale offensive in November.

Therefore, the acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, Commander Sun, and Chief of Staff Guo of the War Zone issued an order to the front-line troops of the Sixth War Zone to be ready for combat at any time, requiring all troops to be prepared to block the full-scale offensive that the Japanese 11th Army might launch at any time.

Sun Changjun, acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, and Chief of Staff Guo of the War Zone set up two lines of defense in Changde. On the first line of defense, the Tenth Army and the 29th Army of the Sixth War Zone were deployed. They were ordered to use the mountains around Lishui and Nuanshui Street to block the invading Japanese troops by flanking attacks and ambushes.

The second line of defense is the 74th Army of the Chinese government. The 57th Division is responsible for defending Changde, and the main force of the 74th Army is near Taifu Mountain, ready to maneuver and provide support at any time.

Commander Sun, acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, and Chief of Staff Guo of the War Zone knew very well that if they wanted to rely on the troops of these five armies, with a total of only more than 60,000 troops, they would definitely not be able to deal with the attacking forces of the Japanese 11th Army.

Therefore, the acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Huaxia Government, General Sun, and Chief of Staff Guo of the War Zone ordered the 100th Army in Liuyang, Hunan Province to begin moving towards Changde, and ordered two armies of the Jiang Defense Army to assemble on the Shipai line, ready to move south to reinforce the Changde battlefield at any time.

At the same time, Commander Sun, acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, and Chief of Staff Guo of the War Zone also sent a telegram to the Military Commission, requesting that the New 22nd Army, which was advancing towards Yunnan Province, temporarily stop going to Yunnan Province and be transferred to the Expeditionary Force after the battle. The Military Commission quickly replied to the telegram and agreed to Commander Sun's request.

After intercepting the New 22nd Army, which had a relatively strong combat effectiveness, Commander Sun, acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, immediately ordered the entire New 22nd Army to turn around and move towards Changde, ready to join the Changde battlefield at any time. At the same time, Commander Sun also ordered the 75th Army of the 26th Group Army in the Sixth War Zone, which was far away from Changde, and the 77th Army and the 59th Army of the 33rd Group Army in northern Hubei, a total of three armies, to begin to assemble and stand by.

In addition, in order to make up for the shortage of troops in the Sixth War Zone, the Military Commission of the Chinese Government also ordered the Chinese Government to withdraw four armies from the Ninth War Zone to begin assembling troops in Hengyang, Hunan Province, ready to go north at any time to reinforce the Sixth War Zone troops according to the battle situation.

As a result, Commander Sun, acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, pieced together a total force of fifteen armies. It was estimated that the Chinese army would have 200,000 troops participating in the war. However, although the number of troops was finally gathered, Commander Sun knew that only a few of these troops could be of great use. Except for a few government-run troops, only God knew how the other troops would perform.

For example, the 29th Army of the Huaxia government, which is on the first line of defense and is responsible for fighting in a defensive position in the south, is a real ragtag army, with the 44th and 73rd armies under its command. Its combat effectiveness is third-rate among the Huaxia troops.

The 29th Group Army was originally the 44th Army of the Sichuan Army. Later, due to the need for a battle, the 73rd Army was added, and the army was expanded to the 29th Group Army.

The 44th Army was reorganized from the troops of Liu Xiang, the former leader of the Sichuan Army. All officers and soldiers were from Sichuan and were a genuine local force. Compared to the 200,000 Sichuan troops at the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the 44th Army was considered to be a first-class unit among the Sichuan troops.