Quartermasters can also fight the devils

Facing the Chinese army attacking from the north, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Japanese Army, ordered a regiment of the 11th Japanese Army stationed in Lishui to stop the attack speed of the Chinese army, while ordering the offensive forces of the 11th Japanese Army that were attacking Changde to intensify the attack and occupy Changde City as soon as possible.

At the same time, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, also pulled out the 3rd Division of the Japanese Army, which was fighting fiercely with Li Yutang's Corps, which was reinforced by the 9th War Zone of the Chinese government, in the south of Changde, and ordered the 3rd Division of the Japanese Army to immediately move north to the Lishui defense line and compete with the 18th Army of the Chinese government for control of the Lishui River.

After such adjustments by Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, Commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, only the 68th Division of the Japanese Army with more than 10,000 troops was left in the south of Changde. Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, Commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, knew very well that it would be impossible for the 68th Division of the Japanese Army to independently fight against the 50,000 attacking troops of Li Yutang Corps and Ou Zhen Corps from the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese Government. Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, Commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, estimated that the 68th Division of the Japanese Army responsible for blocking the south of Changde would be defeated within a few days under the fierce attack of the Chinese Army. However, in the current situation, for Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, Commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, the Lishui Defense Line, which was related to the retreat route of all the troops of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, was more important.

The 18th Army of the Chinese government continued to attack southward with the cooperation of the 79th Army, and occupied Xin'an on December 2, successfully cutting the defense line of the Japanese 11th Army on the Lishui River in half. However, although the attack of the 18th Army was relatively smooth, Changde City still fell on December 3.

However, after the fall of Changde City, the 18th Army of the Chinese government did not stop attacking the 11th Army of the Japanese Army on the Lishui front line.

On December 6, the 18th Army of the Huaxia government successfully crossed the Lishui River, and the main force of the army arrived at the area south of the Lishui River. With the cooperation of the 79th Army, the 18th Army launched attacks on Linli, Lixian and Jinshi along both banks of the Lishui River.

The Japanese 11th Army had a lot of troops in these three places, and the fighting between the two sides was very fierce. In the end, after a hard fight, the 18th Army successively occupied Linli and Li County. Only a ferry in Jinshi was still controlled by the Japanese 11th Army.

Subsequently, the attacking force of the 18th Army of the Chinese government discovered the main force of the Japanese 3rd Division that was reinforcing them on its flank. As a result, the 18th Army was forced to temporarily stop the attack and prepare to move south to fight against the reinforcing forces of the Japanese 3rd Division.

In the following days, the other three divisions of the Japanese 11th Army in Changde also arrived at the Lishui line one after another.

At this time, the 18th and 79th Armies of the Chinese government had not yet been able to completely occupy Jinshi. Moreover, with the strength of only two armies of the Chinese government, it was difficult to completely defend the Lishui defense line of more than 100 kilometers, let alone confront the four returning divisions of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army. It was impossible to completely cut off the retreat route of the offensive forces of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army.

Therefore, General Sun, acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, ordered the 18th Army to fight and retreat, and all return to the area north of the Lishui River, and continue to attack the Japanese 11th Army and other troops preparing to retreat from the flank, killing as many of the Japanese 11th Army's offensive forces as possible and attacking the Japanese 11th Army's supply lines.

It can be said that although the 18th Army on Changde North Route was unable to directly rescue Changde City, the 18th Army still played a vital role in the attack of the Japanese 11th Army on the Lishui defense line. It was also an important factor in forcing the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army to finally abandon Changde and flee north in a hurry.

Compared with the rescue operations of the Chinese army on the west and north routes of Changde City, the rescue operations on the south route were the most tragic.

On November 29, the Military Commission of the Chinese Government issued a combat order to the Sixth War Zone and the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese Government, ordering that no matter what changes occurred in the situation in Changde City, the Sixth War Zone and the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese Government must work together to encircle the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army and annihilate them on the banks of the Yuanjiang River.

In fact, as early as the beginning of the Changde Campaign, the Military Commission of the Chinese government ordered the 10th Army, the 99th Army and the Provisional 54th Division of the 9th War Zone of the Chinese government, commanded by Li Yutang, deputy commander of the 9th War Zone of the Chinese government, to form Li Yutang Corps to quickly attack the 11th Army of the Japanese army from the south bank of Dongting Lake to the right bank of Yuanjiang River, focusing on Deshan, to support the 57th Division that was holding out in Changde City.

At the same time, he ordered the commander of the 74th Army, Wang, to unify the command of the 100th Army and the 74th Army, and sent a part of the troops to sweep the attacking force of the Japanese 11th Army in Taoyuan, and use the main force to capture Zoushi Town and attack the right flank of the attacking force of the Japanese 11th Army invading Changde.

The 185th Army and the th Division of the th Army used one part to mop up the remaining enemy forces in Ziliangping and Renheping areas, while the other part went in and out of Gong'an, Tianjin and Lishui, effectively cutting off the enemy's rear. The main force crossed the Lishui River and attacked the flanks of the Japanese th Army's offensive forces in the direction of Yangmaotan and Linli.

The 44th Army of the 29th Army Group should harass the rear of the Japanese 11th Army's troops attacking Changde City in the Taifu Mountain and Taiyang Mountain areas, and the 73rd Army must quickly recapture Cili.

The Military Commission of the Chinese government also limited the time points of the combat tasks of each unit. The 190th Division of the 10th Army must attack Sujiadu with its main force and must capture Shimen Bridge before dawn on November 30. The 3rd Division must capture Deshan before dawn on November 30. The 10th Reserve Division must advance to Deshan with its main force before dawn on November 30. If any division fails to complete its mission, it will be treated as having missed the opportunity to fight.

Therefore, under the repeated urging of the acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese Government, Commander Sun, the Chief of Staff of the War Zone, Guo, and the Military Commission of the Chinese Government, the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese Government mobilized five main armies, organized the Li Yutang Corps and the Ou Zhen Corps, totaling 70,000 troops, and prepared to march to Changde to fight.

However, the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army took only two days to break through the 29th Army's defense line at the Lishui River, and successfully surrounded Changde within a week. This was beyond the expectations of the Military Commission of the Chinese Government. This also led to the fact that the troops dispatched from the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese Government were always one step slower than the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army in the reinforcement mission.

Li Yutang's Corps organized by the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese government set out first, with the Tenth Army in front and the Ninety-ninth Army behind, and marched quickly to the Changde battlefield.