Quartermasters can also fight the devils

The commander of the 11th Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, not only claimed that in the Battle of Changde, the offensive forces of the 11th Japanese Army annihilated the 74th Army of the Chinese government that came to reinforce from the west of Changde City, but also completely annihilated the 10th Army of the Chinese government that came to reinforce from the south of Changde City. He even said that the 10th Army Group of the Chinese government in the north of Changde City had also been completely annihilated by the troops of the 11th Japanese Army.

In addition, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, also declared in a telegram that the 18th Army of the Chinese government had been severely damaged by its own 11th Army. As for the Li Yutang Corps and Ou Zhen Corps of the 9th War Zone of the Chinese government that came to reinforce from the south of Changde City, they had also been completely defeated by the troops of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army.

At the same time, in his telegram, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, shamelessly exaggerated the casualties of various units of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army in the Battle of Changde.

In the telegram, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, said that the 6th Regiment of the 3rd Division of the Japanese Army, which attacked the south gate of Changde City, killed more than 500 Chinese troops and captured more than 500, while only 72 officers and soldiers of the 6th Regiment were killed and 147 were injured.

As for the battle to annihilate the Chinese government's 10th Reserve Division mentioned in the telegram by Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, he exaggerated it even more, claiming that more than 3,000 people of the 10th Reserve Division were annihilated, while the attacking force of the Japanese 11th Army only suffered 26 officers and soldiers killed, 79 officers and soldiers injured, and a horse killed.

According to the exaggerated description of Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Japanese Army, the 11th Japanese Army annihilated 70,000 to 80,000 Chinese troops in the Battle of Changde, occupied the city of Changde, and defeated all the Chinese troops near the city of Changde. Now all these Chinese troops are in retreat.

In general, what Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, meant was that under his command, the casualties of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army in the Battle of Changde were extremely light, but the results achieved were very brilliant.

In fact, it was normal for the Japanese troops to lie about their battle results and brag about their bravery during the war. Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Japanese Army, believed that Lieutenant General Hata Shunroku, commander of the China Expeditionary Army, should also be well aware of this and have a tacit understanding with him.

But what the Japanese 11th Army Commander Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama did not expect was that the commander of the China Expeditionary Army Lieutenant General Hata Shunroku, this old man was rather stubborn and actually believed the boastful telegram from the Japanese 11th Army Commander Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, thinking that the Chinese army had been severely damaged by the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army, while the troops of the Japanese 11th Army had basically suffered no losses.

The commander of the 11th Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, really didn't expect that his bragging would be exposed this time. The premise of his bragging in the telegram was actually because he knew that the attacking forces of the 11th Japanese Army would soon retreat back to their own control area and successfully escape from the dangerous Changde.

Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, felt that since the troops of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army had basically successfully retreated, no matter how much he boasted in the telegram, his 11th Army was not in any danger.

However, what is interesting is that the situation on the Chinese battlefield has changed now, and Changde has become a city that the Japanese army needs to defend.

According to the order of the Japanese military headquarters, the Chinese Expeditionary Army needed to launch the No. 1 Battle in 1944 to open up the mainland transportation line. After receiving the order from the Japanese military headquarters, Lieutenant General Hata Shunroku, the commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Army, was already thinking about the mission of the No. 1 Battle in 1944.

An important part of the No. 1 battle plan formulated by the Japanese military headquarters was that the Japanese troops in China needed to launch the Changheng Campaign, open up the railway line in central Hunan Province, and completely occupy Changsha and Hengyang in Hunan Province.

Of course, Lieutenant General Hata Shunroku, commander of the China Expeditionary Army, knew that it would be difficult to complete the combat mission if he simply relied on the Japanese 11th Army to attack Changsha from the Yueyang line to the south. The three Changsha battles launched by the Japanese 11th Army before all ended in disastrous defeats, which was the best example.

So, the best way is for the Japanese 11th Army to attack Changsha from the front while also attacking Changsha from the flank, and effectively disperse the troops of the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese government.

The Changde occupied by the 11th Army of the Japanese Army was on the flank of Changsha and Hengyang, and was not far from Changsha and Hengyang. Lieutenant General Hata Shunroku, commander of the China Expeditionary Army, felt that since the 11th Army of the Japanese Army occupied Changde without any losses in the Battle of Changde, it would obviously not be a problem for the 11th Army of the Japanese Army to continue to hold Changde.

After looking at the map carefully for a long time, Lieutenant General Shunroku Hata, commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, felt that it would be better for the Japanese 11th Army to hold Changde and make advance preparations for the Battle No. 1 half a year later.

Therefore, on December 12, Lieutenant General Shunroku Hata, commander of the China Expeditionary Army, sent a telegram to Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the Japanese 11th Army, which had already begun to retreat, ordering all units of the Japanese 11th Army to stop retreating and re-occupy Changde.

Faced with the order from Lieutenant General Hata Shunroku, commander of the China Expeditionary Army, to stop retreating and turn back to occupy Changde again, Lieutenant General Yokoyama Isamu, commander of the Japanese 11th Army, who had already retreated rapidly to the Lishui line, was completely dumbfounded.

The Chinese government has assembled an army of 220,000 in Changde, which has surrounded the five divisions of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army with 70,000 troops from all sides. In particular, the 18th Army of the Chinese government has almost cut off the retreat route of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army.

Moreover, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, was well aware that after a month and a half of hard fighting, the actual casualties of his army had reached nearly 30,000. More importantly, the supplies and ammunition of each unit had almost been exhausted.

You know, even though the troops of the Japanese 11th Army were now only 50 kilometers away from the Lishui line in the rear, they were no longer able to hold on, let alone go more than 50 kilometers south to the vicinity of Changde City to die.

Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, knew that under the current circumstances, the 11th Army of the Japanese Army was already in a difficult situation facing the 220,000 Chinese troops near Changde. At this moment, while the Chinese army had not yet launched a full-scale offensive, if his 11th Army took the risk of retreating at the risk of its life, it was very likely to retreat successfully with relatively small casualties.