Chapter 70 The Battle of Changde in Xiangxi

From the second half of 1942, the Japanese army lost successively in the naval battles of Midway Island, Guadratina Island and Solomon Island, and completely lost the maritime superiority Japan had occupied in the Pacific Ocean since the Pearl Harbor Incident.Faced with the increasing military power of the United States, the Japanese army had to start to switch to a defensive posture.Its allies in Europe, Germany and Italy, also suffered setbacks on the battlefields of the Soviet Union and North Africa after 1943. Worldwide, the aggressive arrogance of the fascist camp has been contained. In the autumn of 1943, the Japanese army diverted the Chinese troops from Sichuan and southern Hunan to the Yunnan-Myanmar border in order to cope with the Pacific battlefield and India-Myanmar operations. "Guiding Outline", requiring the main force of the Eleventh Army and part of the Thirteenth Army in Central China to attack Changde, an important town in western Hunan.The operational purpose of this offensive was to occupy Changde, divert the Chinese army from moving south to counterattack western Yunnan and Burma, annihilate the main force of the Central Army, and destroy the base of the Sixth Theater. In early October, the Eleventh Army of the Japanese Army began to gather troops to prepare for the capture of Changde. There were a total of about 100,000 troops including the 39th, 3rd, 116th, 68th, and 58th Divisions. The commander of the first army, Yong Shanyong, went to Shashi to command in person.

The Changde area is located in the northwest of Hunan. It is a strategically important town in the two provinces of Bianchuan and Guizhou, and belongs to the jurisdiction of the sixth theater.Its gains and losses are directly related to the safety of Chongqing, the accompanying capital, and also related to the gains and losses of the grain-producing areas by Dongting Lake. On the evening of November 2, the Japanese army crossed the river from Shishou, Huarong and other places to commit crimes, and launched a full-scale attack on the area under the jurisdiction of the Sixth War Zone.The Japanese army was well-prepared, had strong firepower, and was assisted by traitors who were familiar with the terrain of the war zone, so that the Chinese River Defense Forces could not take advantage of the familiar terrain to carry out effective resistance, and instead suffered heavy losses.The Japanese army successfully broke through the defense line of the Chinese defenders.The two sides fought fiercely in the mountainous areas west of Changde and south of Shimen with Changde as the core, and in the swampy areas east of Changde and west of Hanshou. Xu Guozhang, the commander of the 150th Division from Sichuan, was killed in the battle in the northwest of Changde of. On the 22nd, the Japanese army captured Taoyuan, Hanshou and other important areas around Changde.Changde City loses the surrounding high mountain barriers and is in a precarious situation. On the 24th, the Japanese army finally completed the siege of Changde and began to attack the city. On the 25th, the Japanese army invaded the Beimen City, and on the 27th, they broke into the Nanmen City.

The Chinese army defending Changde is Yu Chengwan, the 57th Division of the 74th Army.The division first engaged in peripheral battles with the Japanese army, and then entered the suburban battle. After the battle turned into the urban area, it stubbornly fought repeatedly with the Japanese army in street battles to buy time and wait for foreign aid. On the 28th, the Japanese army launched another fierce attack. The planes blew up the city into a sea of ​​flames. The Japanese army also released poison gas. The defenders suffered heavy casualties and could not get supplies. All logistics personnel participated in the front-line battle.The command system of the army failed, and the officers and soldiers were in a state of self-made warfare when they ran out of ammunition and food and their fortifications were destroyed.The Japanese army dropped letters of persuasion into the city, but the defenders refused to lay down their weapons.Commander Yu Chengwan said in a telegram to his superiors: "The ammunition is exhausted, the aid is exhausted, there are no people, and the city has been destroyed. The deputy commander, commander, division attache, director of the political department, chief of staff, etc. stick to the central bank. The chief divides the area, guards a house, makes the last resistance, swears to the death, and wishes victory.” During this period, the Xianjue Division of the Tenth Chinese Army, the Chinese reinforcements, had arrived near Changde, and a regiment of troops entered Changde South Station. On the other hand, there was a lack of contact with the 57th Division, and effective reinforcements could not be provided.It was not until December 3 that the defenders were forced to abandon Changde City. Commander Yu Chengwan and others led more than 200 surviving people across the river to break out of the encirclement and join the reinforcements. city.The officers and soldiers of the 57th Division held on to Changde for more than 10 days under the situation that the city was bound to fall, which won time and played a great role in reversing the situation of the battle.

When the defense of Changde was in full swing, Chinese reinforcements from all walks of life were already fighting on the outer lines, trying to rescue the defenders of Changde, resulting in a situation of fighting on the outer lines and encircling the Japanese army. After December 7, the Chinese army began to counterattack the Japanese army in Changde.In charge of the frontal attack was the Lu Daoyuan Department of the 58th Army from Yunnan.The Tenth Army and other departments oppressed the Japanese army from the east, west, and north of Changde. The fighting was very fierce. On the Chinese side, generals such as Peng Shiliang, commander of the temporary Fifth Division, and Sun Mingjin, commander of the Tenth Division, were killed in battle.In the battle of Changde, the Chinese and American air forces used the air force bases in Enshi, Zhijiang, Hengyang, Liangshan and other places to mobilize about 200 bombers and fighters of various types, and dispatched batches of 261 times, including 280 bombers and fighter jets. 1467 sorties, bombing and strafing Japanese troops, supplies, warehouses, docks, ships and other military equipment in Changde, Ouchikou, Shishou, Huarong, etc., caused great losses to the Japanese army and strongly supported the operations of the ground troops. On the afternoon of the 8th, the Chinese army began to enter the urban area of ​​Changde City. On the 9th, the Chinese army completely recovered Changde, which had been lost for 6 days.

On the 10th, the Japanese army began to retreat.The Japanese headquarters ordered the Eleventh Army to attack Changde again to complete the expected combat plan, but the commander of the Japanese Eleventh Army, Isamu Yokoyama, believed that the Japanese army suffered heavy casualties and it was difficult to fight again, so he resisted the order and withdrew his troops. On the night of the 11th, the Japanese army began to retreat from various places near Changde.After several negotiations between the Japanese base camp, the Chinese dispatched army, and the Eleventh Army, in the end, in view of the facts, the actions of the Eleventh Army had to be approved. On the 13th, the Chinese army recovered Shimen and Niubitan. On the 20th, Li County and Jin City were recovered. At the beginning of January 1944, the two sides had returned to the strategic situation before the battle.

In the Battle of Changde, the Chinese army caused more than 40,000 casualties to the Japanese army, including dozens of regiment leaders, while it paid the price of more than 50,000 casualties, including the death of 3 division commanders.