Devil's Army

Xue Yue's troops used the water network outside Changsha to build multiple lines of defense, and forcibly relocated civilians in the combat area, implementing a policy of clearing the countryside in towns and counties.

The roads were dug into mud by Xue Yue's troops, making transportation a problem.

The supplies transported by water to the Yingtian warehouse were attacked by the southern government forces. Many Japanese troops began to have problems with insufficient food and ammunition supplies.

The 195nd Regiment of the 566st Corps of the st Army and the th Brigade of the th Division encountered artillery attacks and air bombing from the th Division and the Nara Detachment of the Japanese Army.

In order to preserve strength, they continued to retreat to the Qiaotouyi area.

After arriving at the Qiaotouyi area, the Japanese Sixth Division and Nara Detachment began to retreat on October 566 due to severe shortage of logistical supplies and continuous attacks by the First Regiment, the Second Regiment and the 10th Brigade of the First Army.

On October 10, the Japanese 3th Division broke out of the encirclement and, with the support of the 106rd Division, began to retreat to Fengxin, Jing'an and Wuning.

After fighting with the 33th Army and the 20th Army, the 79rd Division of the Japanese Army cooperated with Japanese troops in other directions. However, due to reasons such as their retreat being cut off, it was difficult to achieve their combat objectives and they also retreated towards Tongcheng in early October.

The Japanese Army's 14th Independent Mixed Brigade, which was responsible for the support, set out from Jiujiang on September 9 to attack Wuning but was blocked and returned to its original defense position in early October.

On September 34, the Japanese 9th Division repelled the Nanjing government troops on the north bank of the Jinjiang River and then turned to attack Fengxin. In early October, they returned to their original defense areas.

In fact, when Okamura Yasuji ordered the entire army to retreat, the Japanese front-line commander, the commander of the 32th Division, Inada Rokuro, resisted. He gathered more than 195 troops including the Nara Detachment, abandoned the st and nd Regiments of the Anti-Japanese First Army and the th Division of the nd Army who were surrounded in the Qiaotouyi area, and attacked Changsha with all his strength.

Shiro Inada's Sixth Division once captured Yong'an County, which was closest to Changsha.

Okamura Yasuji was not worried that Shiro Inada and his 14 men were surrounded by 14 Chinese troops. Their army's combat effectiveness was fully capable of withstanding the attack of these Chinese troops.

But what he was worried about was that Xue Bing would not engage in a decisive battle with his troops, but would wait until his troops ran out of ammunition and food before engaging in a decisive battle with them.

If his more than 50,000 men were wiped out by the Chinese army, it would be a major blow to his 11th Army and would greatly affect his subsequent military operations.

He urgently ordered Shiro Inada to retreat immediately, otherwise he would be subject to military law.

Xue Yue also wanted to hold off the Japanese troops until they ran out of ammunition and food, just as Okamura Yasuji had thought, and then annihilate them in one fell swoop. However, with the retreat of Inada Shiro, his plan failed.

At this point, the First Changsha Battle, which had been planned for a long time by Commander Okamura Yasuji, ended with the defeat of the Japanese army.

The people of Hunan played an indispensable role in the victory of the Battle of Changsha.

They assisted the army in digging up roads, filling rivers with water, and even chasing down the retreating Japanese soldiers.

After the victory of the Battle of Changsha, they sang and danced to celebrate the victory in their own way.

The victory of the First Battle of Changsha had important impacts both domestically and internationally.

First of all, it boosted national morale: this victory broke the myth of the "invincibility" of the Japanese army, shattered Japan's strategic attempt of "quick victory", greatly inspired the confidence and morale of the military and civilians across the country in the war of resistance, made the people see the hope of victory in the war of resistance, and enhanced national cohesion and determination to fight the war.

Secondly, it consolidated the Anti-Japanese United Front: the various factions of the Chinese army fought in coordination during the battle, which strengthened the unity and cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party and the various anti-Japanese armed forces, provided strong support for the consolidation and development of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, and made the national anti-Japanese forces more closely united.

Finally, it accumulated experience in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression: During the combat, the Chinese army made full use of the terrain and adopted flexible tactics, such as luring the enemy deep into their territory and making flanking and roundabout attacks, which effectively struck the Japanese army, accumulated valuable practical experience for the subsequent War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, and enhanced the Chinese army's combat capability and strategic and tactical level.

The victory of the Changsha Campaign also had a significant impact internationally.

The Battle of Changsha was an important victory in China's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. It attracted widespread attention from the international community, demonstrated the Chinese army's strength and determination in the war of resistance, gave the international community a new understanding of China's war of resistance, enhanced China's international status to a certain extent, and won more international respect and support for China.

It also struck a blow to the arrogance of the fascists: Against the backdrop of the world anti-fascist war at that time, the victory of the First Battle of Changsha dealt a heavy blow to the aggressive arrogance of the Japanese fascists, tied down a large number of Japanese troops, and made it difficult for them to form a closer strategic coordination with the German, Italian and fascists, which had a positive impact on the overall situation of the world anti-fascist war.

It also strengthened the confidence of the Allies: it provided encouragement to other anti-fascist countries, allowed the Allies to see China's determination and ability to persist in the War of Resistance, strengthened the Allies' confidence in China's war of resistance, and laid a certain foundation for subsequent international cooperation and further consolidation of the anti-fascist alliance.