Quartermasters can also fight the devils

"Huh? Mr. Yokoyama, what's going on?" When Lieutenant General Taikuro Matsui, Chief of Staff of the China Expeditionary Army, saw that his old classmate, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, Commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, went straight to the point, he was shocked and quickly asked the reason.

Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Japanese Army, made three points:

First, the average reduction in the number of personnel in each division was 20%, and the combat effectiveness was significantly reduced, so the troops urgently needed to rest and recuperate.

Second, if the Japanese 11th Army wants to secure the Lishui line, the Chinese Expeditionary Force must increase its strength by at least three divisions, otherwise it will not be able to withstand the fierce attack of the Chinese army.

Third, if the various units of the Japanese 11th Army returned to their original bases for rest and training, the combat effectiveness of each unit would recover faster. If they attacked Changde again, these troops could return to the Lishui line after a week of rest.

Lieutenant General Taikuro Matsui, Chief of Staff of the China Expeditionary Army, was shocked when he heard the reasons given by Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, Commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army. He understood that the third reason given by Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, Commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, was pure nonsense. The real reasons were actually the first two points mentioned by Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, Commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army. That was the fact that the 11th Army of the Japanese Army could not continue to fight.

Lieutenant General Taikuro Matsui, Chief of Staff of the China Expeditionary Army, knew that the Japanese 11th Army had reached this point and it seemed that the only option was to retreat.

Therefore, after learning about the true current situation of the Japanese 11th Army, Lieutenant General Taiku Matsui, Chief of Staff of the China Expeditionary Army, rushed back to Nanjing from Shashi on November 18 and made a detailed report to Lieutenant General Hata Shunroku, Commander of the China Expeditionary Army.

When Lieutenant General Shunroku Hata, Commander of the China Expeditionary Army, heard the truth reported by Lieutenant General Taikuro Matsui, Chief of the General Staff of the China Expeditionary Army, he was furious at the fact that Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, Commander of the Japanese 11th Army, had falsely reported the results of the battle and concealed the facts. However, Lieutenant General Shunroku Hata had no choice but to agree to the withdrawal of the various units of the Japanese 11th Army back to their original bases.

While the commander of the Japanese 11th Army, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, and the commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Army, Lieutenant General Shunroku Hata, were arguing from December 12 to 18 about whether to retreat, the troops of the Chinese government's Sixth and Ninth War Zones were not idle. In particular, the Chinese government's 18th and 79th Armies launched a full-scale attack on the Japanese 11th Army troops stationed on the Lishui line, causing considerable heavy losses to the Japanese 11th Army troops.

The 99th Army of Li Yutang's Corps in the 9th War Zone of the Chinese Government also continued to attack along the embankment of Dongting Lake, and continued to attack the troops of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army along the way to Anxiang. Along the way, there were abandoned supplies, wounded Japanese war horses, and piles of burned Japanese soldiers' remains everywhere.

However, the troops of the 11th Japanese Army still controlled the ferry in Jinshi. After all, the 11th Japanese Army still had 70,000 troops near the Lishui River, and these troops were all close together. In this case, it was difficult for the Chinese army to defeat these Japanese troops. Therefore, the Chinese army and the Japanese army gradually turned to a positional stalemate.

As the commander of the 11th Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, explained the facts clearly, the commander of the China Expeditionary Army, Lieutenant General Hata Shunroku, finally agreed to the Japanese 11th Army's withdrawal from crossing the Lishui River. On December 25, most of the Japanese 11th Army's troops retreated back to their original defense zone under the continuous pursuit of the Chinese army.

With the Chinese government's Military Commission ordering the Sixth and Ninth War Zones to stop the offensive on January 6, the Battle of Changde finally ended. The Chinese army and the Japanese army returned to the situation before the war and continued to confront each other in their respective occupied areas.

The Battle of Changde can be regarded as the most brutal defensive operation in the history of China's War of Resistance. The 57th Division of the 74th Army of the Chinese government held out in Changde for 16 days under the siege of tens of thousands of troops from the 11th Army of the Japanese Army. This also made the Chinese army achieve brilliant significance and results in this Battle of Changde.

First of all, although the 57th Division was basically wiped out in the Battle of Changde, it also caused more than 7,000 casualties to the attacking forces of the Japanese 11th Army in Changde, which greatly weakened the effectiveness of the Japanese 11th Army. If the fighting continued at this casualty ratio, the Japanese troops in China would soon be dragged down by the Chinese army.

Secondly, the 57th Division's persistence in Changde also created the best conditions for the outer Chinese troops to encircle the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army in the Changde area.

No matter from which aspect, this operation was very successful. The goal of the Chinese government in the Battle of Changde was to annihilate as many Japanese 11th Army's manpower as possible and then maintain control of the Changde area. The final outcome of the Battle of Changde also proved that the Chinese army had achieved the strategic goal set before the war.

In this battle, the Chinese army annihilated more than 30,000 troops of the Japanese 11th Army in the Changde Campaign, which was basically the same number of Japanese troops eliminated in the previous Battle of Western Hubei. However, we must know that the total force of the Japanese 11th Army in the previous Battle of Western Hubei was more than 100,000, while the total force of the Japanese 11th Army in the Battle of Changde was only more than 90,000. Therefore, the casualties of the Japanese 11th Army in the Battle of Changde this time were even more severe than those in the previous Battle of Western Hubei.

As for maintaining control of the Changde area, the Chinese army encircled and cut off the retreat routes of the Japanese 11th Army's attacking forces, eventually forcing the Japanese 11th Army to retreat completely and give up the occupation and control of the Changde area, thus achieving the ultimate goal set before the war.

From an overall strategic perspective, the Chinese government was victorious in the Battle of Changde. As far as command is concerned, General Sun, acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, did not make any particularly obvious mistakes. On the contrary, his responses in the Battle of Changde were relatively timely, calm and sophisticated.

In the first phase of the operation launched by the Japanese 11th Army, Commander Sun, acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, ordered the Tenth Army of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government and the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army to fight a bloody battle for ten days, which consumed the morale and strength of the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army.

(Thanks to Yu Shi from Thursday Island, Duke Weiguo who only eats dumplings without vinegar, and who loves beef jerky for their gifts! Thank you all for your support and encouragement!)