Quartermasters can also fight the devils

The attacking forces of the Japanese 11th Army and the 57th Division guarding Changde City also began a full-scale offensive and defensive battle from November 20th, instead of the local offensive and defensive battles of the previous two days.

According to the plan of the Changde Battle formulated by Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, the 116th Division of the Japanese Army was responsible for the main attack on Changde City. Moreover, the 116th Division of the Japanese Army had suffered the least casualties in previous battles. It can be said that the current strength of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army is better than what was expected in the combat plan formulated by Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army.

After receiving the order from Lieutenant General Iwanaga Wang, commander of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army, the 11th Army Commander Lieutenant General Yokoyama Isamu, immediately withdrew two complete battalions from the offensive force of the 116th Division to attack two crucial heights outside Changde City.

The commander of the 116th Division, Lieutenant General Wang Iwanaga, ordered a battalion to attack Deshan, about ten kilometers south of Changde City, and another battalion to attack Hebo Mountain, about seven kilometers west of Changde City.

Deshan is one of the two high grounds outside Changde City and the only high ground in the south of Changde. It is located south of the Yuanjiang River and its location is very important. If the offensive force of the Japanese 11th Army occupied Deshan south of Changde, it would completely block the 57th Division's retreat route to the south, and at the same time block the reinforcements of the Chinese army from the south to Changde.

Before the Battle of Changde, the Chinese army also built a lot of defensive fortifications in Deshan. Originally, a main battalion of the 57th Division was stationed here. However, the 29th Army on the first line of defense was unexpectedly defeated so quickly. The 51st and 58th Divisions of the 74th Army were urgently mobilized by the Sixth War Zone Command to reinforce in the north. As a result, the 57th Division's strength was very limited, and Division Commander Yu did not have so many troops to garrison the periphery, let alone enough troops to station a battalion in Deshan.

Commander Yu of the 57th Division reported the problem of insufficient troops to Commander Wang of the 74th Army, but Commander Wang of the 74th Army was also helpless. He had no extra troops to assign to the 57th Division. So Commander Wang of the 74th Army asked the Sixth War Zone Command for reinforcements.

At this time, the 63rd Division of the 100th Army had just arrived at the battlefield, so the Sixth War Zone Command ordered the 188th Regiment of the 63rd Division to be transferred to Deshan for reinforcement. The 57th Division only stationed one company of troops in Deshan to assist in the defense.

On November 22, a battalion of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army began to attack the defensive positions of the Chinese army on Deshan. Relying on the terrain and strong fortifications of Deshan, the 188th Regiment of the 63rd Division fought fiercely with the offensive forces of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army for a day and a night.

The attacking force of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army attacked fiercely for a whole day and suffered hundreds of casualties, but they only captured some defensive positions at the foot of Deshan Mountain. Although the 188th Regiment also suffered hundreds of casualties, after all, the 188th Regiment had more than 2,000 people, so these casualties were not too large, and they could still continue to hold out in the face of the attack of the attacking force of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army.

However, the commander of the 188th Regiment, Deng Guangfeng, was afraid. He believed that the offensive power of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army was constantly increasing. By the afternoon, the offensive force of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army had increased to the size of two battalions.

The commander of the 188th Regiment, Deng Guangfeng, judged that it was impossible for his 188th Regiment to hold out for a few more days under the fierce attack of the Japanese 116th Division's increasingly strengthened attack forces. It would be better to retreat quickly before the Japanese 116th Division launched a larger-scale attack.

The 188th Regiment belongs to the 63rd Division of the 100th Army, not the 74th Army or the 57th Division. In principle, the 57th Division has no authority to command the 188th Regiment to conduct combat.

Therefore, without making any report to the commander of the 57th Division, Commander Deng Guangfeng of the 188th Regiment, he led the remnants of the 188th Regiment to break out under the cover of night, abandoned the defensive position on Deshan Mountain, and retreated to Niwotan, about 30 kilometers southwest of Taoyuan, to join the main force of the 100th Army.

When the offensive force of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army attacked Deshan the next day, they suddenly discovered that only the 8th Company of the 3rd Battalion of the 169th Regiment of the 57th Division was left on Deshan's defensive position. This made the offensive force of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army very happy. However, the 8th Company of the 3rd Battalion of the 169th Regiment of the 57th Division did not retreat even though it was the only company of its strength left in Deshan. It continued to fight with the offensive force of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army for several hours. It was not until the 8th Company was almost wiped out that a small number of wounded soldiers broke through.

As a result, the defensive position of Deshan was occupied by the offensive forces of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army after only two days of defense. With the occupation of Deshan by the troops of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army, it also announced that the offensive forces of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army had completely blocked the road south of Changde City, cutting off the only retreat route of the 57th Division in Changde City, and could also effectively block the reinforcement of the Chinese army to Changde City from the south.

While the 116th Division of the Japanese Army was attacking Deshan, the 109th Regiment of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army also launched a fierce attack on Hebo Mountain, an important place west of Changde.

Because Heluo Mountain is the only commanding height on the flank of Changde City, once the troops of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army occupied Heluo Mountain, the offensive forces of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army could use artillery to blockade the entire Changde City. Therefore, for the offensive forces of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, Heluo Mountain was a must-capture.

The task of guarding Hebo Mountain was carried out by more than 500 officers and soldiers led by Captain Yuan Ziqiang of the 2nd Battalion of the 171st Regiment of the 57th Division.

Hebo Mountain is not a high mountain, and the terrain is not dangerous. The only advantage is that before the Battle of Changde, the Chinese army built a large number of fortifications here. At the same time, a series of bunkers were built in key areas. There were one-meter-deep trenches between the bunkers to communicate with each other, and the trenches could also accommodate infantry for combat.

Moreover, half of the bunker is made of civil structure and the other half is made of reinforced concrete structure, which is quite strong. Ordinary firearms, grenade launchers and grenades are ineffective against such fortifications. It can only be completely destroyed by infantry guns, mountain guns, flat-fire guns or Japanese engineer blasting.