Quartermasters can also fight the devils

However, the 10th Army started from Hengyang area, and Hengyang is more than 300 kilometers away from Changde. Of course, this is only the distance the troops traveled by road. Due to the fact that Hunan Province had fought many large battles with the Japanese 11th Army before, the road from Hengyang to Changde was actually bombed by Japanese aircraft and destroyed by the Chinese army itself. Basically, there is a deep ditch or big pit every 30 meters or so on the road.

Since it was almost impossible to march normally on the highway, the 10th Army was forced to take a detour, which meant the 10th Army had to walk another 100 kilometers. A distance of more than 400 kilometers would take at least 13 days if the division-level infantry marched 30 kilometers a day.

Due to the urgent military situation on the Changde battlefield, Commander Xue of the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese Government ordered the Tenth Army to march at full speed, with the 190th Division on the right, the 3rd Division in the middle, and the 10th Reserve Division on the left, and forced march to Yiyang, which was under the jurisdiction of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese Government. Yiyang was still 100 kilometers away from Changde.

After receiving the forced march order from Commander Xue, commander of the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese government, Commander Fang of the Tenth Army also ordered the three divisions of the Tenth Army to divide into four routes and advance rapidly in parallel. On average, the officers and soldiers had to walk 75 kilometers a day.

Commander Fang of the 10th Army took into consideration that the troops did not have time to cook during the forced march, and it was impossible to make a fire to cook because of the bombing of Japanese planes. So he ordered each unit to put the rice in the pot, fry it with some oil and salt, and then the officers and soldiers put it in their own food bags, carried them on their backs as dry food, and ate as they marched. As for water, there was no way to carry it. Each person had only one kettle, and there was no way to supply it on the road.

The officers and soldiers of the Tenth Army marched day and night without stopping, and even did not sleep much at night. Sometimes they were too tired from marching at night, so they would rest for twenty minutes on the spot. Many officers and soldiers took advantage of this time to sit back to back and sleep for a while, and then set off immediately after hearing the order.

Although the officers and soldiers of the Tenth Army tried their best, this marching speed still could not satisfy the Sixth War Zone Command of the Chinese Government and the Military Commission of the Chinese Government, because the staff officers of the Sixth War Zone and the Military Commission calculated the marching speed based on the distance on the map, and these senior officers were not clear about the actual conditions of the road.

At this moment, the situation on the Changde battlefield was extremely urgent. The Military Commission of the Chinese government was so anxious that it did not take into account the damage to the road at all. Instead, it believed that Li Yutang's Corps, especially the 10th Army's troops, did not march at 100% high speed. The Military Commission also mistakenly believed that Commander Xue of the 9th War Zone of the Chinese government or Commander Fang of the 10th Army wanted to preserve the strength of the 9th War Zone and were unwilling to rescue the 57th Division in Changde City.

Therefore, the Military Commission of the Chinese Government prepared to solve this thorny problem with the unique wit of the Chinese people. Originally, the area south of Changde to Yiyang was under the jurisdiction of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese Government. The Military Commission of the Chinese Government believed that Li Yutang Corps of the Ninth War Zone might shift the blame for the unfavorable march to the Sixth War Zone for failing to cooperate well.

The senior executives of the Military Commission suddenly had an idea and temporarily assigned the area of ​​more than 100 kilometers south of the Yuanjiang River to Yiyang to the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese government for command. In this way, the Military Commission naturally pushed the problem of Li Yutang's Corps failing to reach the Yuanjiang River in time onto the shoulders of Commander Xue, commander of the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese government. The Military Commission believed that in this way, Commander Xue of the Ninth War Zone would no longer have any reason to shirk responsibility.

In fact, the senior executives of the Chinese government’s Military Commission really wronged Commander Xue of the Chinese government’s Ninth War Zone and Commander Fang of the Tenth Army. They had all tried their best to reinforce the battle in the Changde direction.

After receiving the urging telegram from the Military Commission of the Chinese Government, Li Yutang's Corps of the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese Government continued its high-speed march. At the same time, Li Yutang ordered the troops to abandon all baggage on the roadside, and the officers and soldiers continued their forced march carrying only the minimum amount of ammunition and dry food.

Finally, on November 26, Li Yutang's Corps arrived at the outskirts of Yuanjiang River and encountered the 68th Division of the Japanese 11th Army here, and a fierce battle ensued.

The 68th Division of the Japanese Army was the least effective among the five divisions of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army. Originally, the 68th Division of the Japanese Army was a Class C division, used to garrison and sweep guerrillas in the occupied areas. This time, because the commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, had no mobile troops, he mobilized the 68th Division of the Japanese Army to participate in the battle.

In Li Yutang's Corps, the Tenth Army at the front is also the elite force of the Chinese government. Except that the heavy weapons in the army are not as good as those of the 68th Division of the Japanese Army, the combat effectiveness of the officers and soldiers of the Tenth Army is not much worse than that of the 68th Division of the Japanese Army.

The 10th Army fought hard all the way and successively defeated the blocking defense line of the 68th Division of the Japanese Army. On November 28, the third day after the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army broke into the wall of Changde, they arrived at Yijia Chong west of Deshan.

The 68th Division of the Japanese Army did not gain any advantage in the initial battle with the 10th Army. The commander of the 68th Division, Lieutenant General Sa Kuma Hitoshi, knew very well that the Chinese army attacking his division would be difficult to deal with. Therefore, the commander of the 68th Division, Lieutenant General Sa Kuma Hitoshi, urgently asked Lieutenant General Yamamoto San'ao, commander of the 3rd Division of the Japanese Army on the flank, for coordinated operations.

After receiving a telegram requesting help from Lieutenant General Sakuma Hitoshi, commander of the 68th Division of the Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Yamamoto San'uo, commander of the 3rd Division of the Japanese Army, also ordered the 3rd Division of the Japanese Army to immediately move closer to the defense line of the 68th Division of the Japanese Army. As a result, the situation on the battlefield became completely different.

Except for one battalion of the 68th Division of the Japanese Army that participated in the siege of Changde City, the rest of the more than 10,000 main forces were engaged in defensive blocking operations on this front. The more than 10,000 troops of the 68th Division of the Japanese Army alone made it difficult for the attacking 10th Army to deal with them.

In addition to one infantry regiment and one artillery regiment that participated in the siege of Changde City, the Japanese Third Division also had two infantry regiments and one infantry regiment assigned to the Japanese Third Division, which were also sniping at the Chinese troops coming to reinforce from the south on this front line. The Japanese Third Division also had more than 10,000 troops here.

As a result, the total number of Japanese troops responsible for blocking operations in the south of Changde City was more than 20,000, while the three divisions of the Chinese government's Tenth Army, which had marched long distances and were lightly equipped, had less than 20,000 troops. In terms of strength, the Tenth Army was at a clear disadvantage.