Quartermasters can also fight the devils

After receiving the order from Commander Fang, Commander Sun of the 10th Reserve Division resolutely led the officers and soldiers of the 10th Reserve Division into the gap between the Japanese defense lines. However, the officers and soldiers of the 10th Reserve Division had bad luck. When the officers and soldiers of the 10th Reserve Division advanced to the vicinity of Jinlin Bridge outside Changde City, the actions of the 10th Reserve Division were discovered by Japanese reconnaissance planes in the air.

Originally, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 234th Army of the Japanese Army, mistakenly believed that the th Reserve Division was the th Army, and mobilized the forces of three regiments to encircle and destroy it. At this moment, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the th Army of the Japanese Army, ordered the commander of the th Regiment of the rd Division of the Japanese Army, Colonel Makoto Uze, the commander of the th Regiment, Colonel Kumago Hashimoto, and the th Regiment of the th Division of the Japanese Army, which was previously assigned to the th Division of the Japanese Army, to begin to attack the th Reserve Division from both sides.

Since the officers and soldiers of the 10th Reserve Division were marching lightly, the baggage engineers and artillery units were all left behind. Moreover, after the previous four days of fierce fighting, the two main regiments of the 10th Reserve Division had suffered more than half of their casualties. Now, the three regiments of the 10th Reserve Division together had only 4,000 officers and soldiers.

However, the 11th Army of the Japanese Army dispatched three regiments with a total of 10,000 soldiers to carry out a pincer attack. As for the difference in firepower between the two sides, there is no need to mention the gap in strength in all aspects.

Originally, the 10th Reserve Division could have escaped the danger of being caught in a pincer attack if it had retreated immediately. However, the 10th Reserve Division's commander, Sun Mingjin, knew that the 57th Division defending Changde City was in imminent danger. If he led the 10th Reserve Division to give up the attack on Changde City, all the previous efforts of the 10th Reserve Division would be wasted.

Moreover, the 10th Reserve Division was still on the flank of the 3rd Division at this time, protecting the flank of the 3rd Division on the Deshan position. If the 10th Reserve Division withdrew after one battle, the three regiments assembled by the Japanese 11th Army would inevitably turn to attack Deshan.

In that case, it would be impossible for the Third Division, with only one division, to hold Deshan under the attack of five Japanese regiments. If that happened, the 57th Division defending Changde City would be completely finished.

Therefore, Commander Sun of the 10th Reserve Division gritted his teeth and led the officers and soldiers of the 10th Reserve Division to fight to the death. Soon, the officers and soldiers of the 10th Reserve Division were engaged in a fierce melee with the attacking forces of the three regiments of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army. This melee caused very serious casualties to both the Japanese and Chinese troops. However, the 11th Army of the Japanese Army had much stronger assembled forces after all. As the battle continued, the attacking forces of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army showed their advantage in strength and gradually gained the upper hand.

During the fierce battle, the three regiments of the 10th Reserve Division were involved in a melee with the attacking forces of the Japanese 11th Army. They could only fight on their own. Commander Sun of the 10th Reserve Division also personally led more than 1,000 officers and soldiers in repeated hand-to-hand combat with the attacking forces of the Japanese 11th Army.

During the battle, the attacking forces of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army fought near the headquarters of the 10th Reserve Division. Division Commander Sun fearlessly commanded his officers and soldiers to fight against the attacking forces of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army. However, in the melee, Division Commander Sun of the 10th Reserve Division was unfortunately shot four times and died heroically. The deputy commander and chief of staff of the 10th Reserve Division were also seriously injured in the melee.

As Commander Sun of the 10th Reserve Division was killed, and the chief of staff and deputy division commander were all seriously injured, the troops had to be taken over by Li Changhe, the commander of the 30th Regiment, the only one who was not injured, and continue to fight against the attacking forces of the Japanese 11th Army.

However, the 28th, 29th and 30th Regiments of the 10th Reserve Division suffered heavy casualties under the three-sided attack of the Japanese Army and were forced to retreat one after another. After this battle, only more than 600 officers and soldiers of the 10th Reserve Division were left uninjured. Division Commander Sun was killed, the deputy division commander and the chief of staff were seriously injured, and the three regiment commanders were either dead or injured. It can be said that they were basically wiped out.

After Commander Sun Mingjin of the 10th Reserve Division died for his country, the Chinese government posthumously awarded him the rank of Army Lieutenant General, held a national memorial service, and moved his spirit tablet to the Martyrs' Shrine in Mount Hengshan, Nanyue. Commander Sun was also the third Chinese general to die heroically in the Battle of Changde.

Since the commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, mobilized the forces of three main regiments to attack and destroy the so-called 10th Army of the Chinese Government, the forces of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army on the Deshan line south of Changde became very empty, providing a good offensive opportunity for the 3rd Division of the 10th Army of the Chinese Government.

The Third Division also ignored the threat from the flanks and rear and attacked towards Deshan at high speed. This made the troops of the Japanese 11th Army unexpected that the Tenth Army of the Chinese government would dare to adopt this method and go deep into the enemy's territory alone to rescue Changde City.

The 68th Division of the Japanese Army was thrown into chaos by the 10th Army, while the 3rd Division forced a march of more than 40 kilometers on November 30 and rushed to the foot of Deshan in one fell swoop.

At that time, the Japanese 11th Army had only more than 500 soldiers defending Deshan. Although these soldiers also built some field fortifications in Deshan, due to the wrong estimation of the time when the Chinese army would arrive, the Japanese defense fell into a completely passive situation.

Under the fierce attack of the Third Division, the Japanese 11th Army troops defending Deshan also fought desperately. Both sides fought hard. The officers and soldiers of the Third Division also repeatedly launched more than ten attacks on the Japanese defensive positions in Deshan in one day.

In the end, after suffering heavy casualties, the Third Division basically wiped out the more than 500 defensive troops of the Japanese 11th Army in Deshan. The Third Division finally occupied Deshan on November 30th. At this time, the Third Division was only ten kilometers away from the Changde city.

After receiving the news of the loss of Tokuyama, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, immediately dispatched a battalion of more than 800 troops to launch an overnight counterattack on Tokuyama on the night of November 30. However, the combat effectiveness of the officers and soldiers of the 3rd Division was also very strong. After a night of fierce fighting, they defeated the counterattacking Japanese battalion.

Although the battle of the 10th Army of the Chinese government was relatively smooth, the 11th Army of the Japanese Army still had two divisions of 30,000 people in the south of Changde City, which was not easy for the 10th Army to deal with.

According to common sense, if the Tenth Army should now advance steadily, defending Deshan on the one hand, and waiting for reinforcements from the Ninety-ninth Army and the two armies of the Ou Zhen Corps in the rear to advance towards Changde City, then it is estimated that it will be able to attack Changde City in another five to seven days.