Quartermasters can also fight the devils

For example, in the previous Changsha battles, the Chinese army could rely on the rear, retreat step by step, and resist step by step. The Japanese offensive forces were damaged after continuous fighting. By the time they reached the city of Changsha, they generally could not attack anymore, especially since their supplies were almost exhausted. This resulted in the Japanese offensive forces having to retreat after only a few days of attack.

In the Changsha Campaign, the Chinese army could be said to have always held the initiative on the battlefield, especially since it had its own rear area and could attack or defend. Even if the Chinese army suffered a disadvantage on the battlefield, it could just abandon Changsha and retreat to Zhuzhou or even Hengyang, and then fight a decisive battle with the Japanese offensive forces.

There was no need for the Chinese army to engage in a decisive battle with the Japanese offensive forces when they were at the peak of their offensive power, nor was there any need to forcibly attack the Japanese troops entrenched in their defensive positions, thus causing the Chinese army to suffer relatively heavy casualties in the attack.

However, the Battle of Changde was completely different from the previous Changsha battles. As the 29th Army was quickly defeated by the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army, the combat plan formulated by the acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, Commander Sun, and Chief of Staff Guo of the War Zone based on the model of the previous Changsha battles failed.

The attacking force of the Japanese 11th Army surrounded Changde City in a short time without suffering any damage. The siege of Changde City made it impossible for the 57th Division of the 74th Army to retreat. As a result, the Chinese troops on the periphery became more passive.

Because according to the pattern of the Changsha Battle, Changsha City was not surrounded. If the Japanese offensive force was too powerful, the Chinese army would just abandon Changsha City and withdraw. In this way, the Chinese army outside Changsha City would not have any pressure to counterattack. The Chinese army could launch an attack calmly, avoid the strong and attack the weak, and even use a large number of guerrilla warfare and small-scale mobile warfare to continuously consume the Japanese offensive forces.

But the siege of Changde City was completely different. Commander Sun, acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, and Chief of Staff Guo of the War Zone estimated that the 57th Division could only hold out for a week at most. Then the Chinese troops outside Changde had no other choice. In order to rescue the 57th Division, the Chinese troops outside Changde had to launch an all-out attack on the Japanese encirclement. They could not use tactics of avoiding the strong and attacking the weak, and could only fight head-on with the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army.

Once the Chinese army is forced to attack the Japanese troops whose firepower is far stronger than its own, the casualties of the Chinese army will be very heavy.

Although there are many problems for the Chinese army now, the acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, Commander Sun, and Staff Officer Guo of the War Zone also believe after analysis that the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government is generally sure to win the Changde Battle.

Because, after carefully analyzing the current situation on the Changde battlefield, General Sun, acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, and Chief of Staff Guo of the War Zone believed that the overall situation was still in favor of the Chinese army, rather than the offensive force of the Japanese 11th Army, which seemed to be in full swing.

The current situation of the Japanese 11th Army's offensive forces is that four main divisions are on the Changde battlefield line in northwestern Hunan in the south, and another Japanese 39th Division is on the Songzi Zhijiang battlefield line in western Hubei in the north.

As a result, the 39th Division of the Japanese 11th Army in the north was more than 100 kilometers away from the four divisions in the south. Considering the strength of the 39th Division of the Japanese Army, it was expected that it would not be able to hold out for long before collapsing under the siege of the 10th Army Group of the Chinese Army, the Jiang Defense Army and part of the 26th Army Group.

The 39th Division of the Japanese 11th Army was responsible for guarding the retreat route of the Japanese 11th Army's attacking forces. Once the 39th Division of the Japanese Army collapsed under the siege of the main force of the Chinese government's Sixth War Zone, the retreat route of the Japanese 11th Army's attacking forces would be completely destroyed.

As long as the 39th Division of the Japanese Army was defeated, it would be very difficult for the attacking force of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, which had penetrated deep into the Changde area, more than 100 kilometers deep into the occupied area of ​​the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, to retreat smoothly.

The attacking force of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army is also composed of people, and is not an invulnerable monster. The reason why the Japanese Army's combat capability is relatively strong is mainly due to its usual training and superior firepower in weapons and equipment. If the retreat route of the attacking force of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army is cut off, then the supply line of materials and ammunition of the attacking force of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army will naturally be cut off by the Chinese army. Without sufficient ammunition and supplies, the combat effectiveness of the attacking force of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army will be sharply reduced.

Once the commander of the 11th Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, discovered that the 39th Japanese Division could no longer hold on, he had to order the four divisions of the 11th Japanese Army that were besieging Changde to retreat before the 39th Japanese Division completely collapsed. Otherwise, it would be a dead end for the troops of the 11th Japanese Army attacking Changde, or at the very least they would be severely damaged by the Chinese army.

What is even more advantageous to the troops of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government is that the Chinese army does not have to defeat the defense line of the 39th Division of the Japanese Army in order to cut off the retreat of the attacking troops of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army. Due to insufficient manpower, the 11th Army of the Japanese Army has an empty defense line of about 80 kilometers between the 39th Division of the Japanese Army on the northern battlefield and the four divisions of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army on the Changde battlefield in the south.

Between Shimen, Lixian and Jinshi of the Lishui River, the attacking force of the Japanese 11th Army had only two or three understaffed regiments stationed. Once the Tenth Army of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government and the Jiang Defense Army defeated the troops of the Japanese 39th Division on the outer defense line, they could rush here directly and attack the empty defense line of the Japanese 11th Army.

Once the Lishui River was captured by the Chinese army, the five divisions of the Japanese 11th Army participating in the Battle of Changde would be cut in two by the Chinese army. In this way, the retreat of the four main divisions of the Japanese 11th Army besieging Changde would be completely cut off by the Chinese army, and the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army would be doomed as well.

In addition, although the 11th Army of the Japanese Army concentrated four divisions and other attached troops totaling more than 80,000 troops on the Changde front, and had very strong offensive and defensive capabilities, the commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, had no additional reinforcements to continue to deploy on the battlefield. These more than 80,000 troops were the entire force of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army in this Changde Battle. In this case, as the war continued, the offensive forces of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army would become weaker and weaker.