In 1931, marked by the "918 Incident", China began a fourteen-year-long War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation went forward to succeed each other, threw their heads and spilled their blood, and finally drove the Japanese out of China and won the first comprehensive victory of the Chinese nation against foreign invasion in modern times!
Looking at the entire war of aggression against China, the only place that can be regarded as a "nightmare" by Japan is Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, where 400,000 Japanese troops have fought for 3 consecutive years without building, leaving only 110,000 bones!
What was so special about Changsha that the rampant Japanese army was so frustrated? Let's find out!
A list of the three major battles
China and Japan fought three large-scale battles around Changsha from September 1939 to February 1942, which we collectively call the "Battle of Changsha".
The First Battle of Changsha broke out in September 1939 and was fought on both sides of the Chinese Ninth Theater and the Japanese Eleventh Army.
At that time, the Japanese army had just been defeated by the Soviet Red Army, morale was low, Okamura Ningji urgently needed to use a victory to restore morale, and in order to stabilize the Japanese occupation of Wuhan, Okamura Ningji decided to attack Hunan and occupy Changsha after comprehensive analysis!
The war lasted from September 14 to October 5, and the Japanese were unable to move forward.
The Second Battle of Changsha broke out in September 1941, the two sides were still the Chinese Ninth Theater and the Japanese Eleventh Army, and what was different from the first battle was that the United States had the figure of the United States behind the battle, and the United States hoped that the Chinese battlefield would drag the Japanese army, so it increased its assistance to China.
The war broke out on September 17 and ended on October 11, in which the Battle of Yichang annihilated 7,000 Japanese troops, and the battle results were remarkable!
The Third Battle of Changsha broke out in 1941, when the Pacific War broke out, the Chinese army intended to directly enter Burma to assist the British army in battle, in order to contain the Chinese army and ease the pressure on the southern army, Okamura Ningji decided to attack Changsha again!
The war began in mid-December and ended in January 1942, with no success in the Japanese army.
According to the "History of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression", the three battles annihilated more than 110,000 Japanese troops, forcing the Japanese army to return to the original strategic posture.
Why is Changsha so hard to fight?
The reason why Changsha is so difficult to fight stems from two reasons
First: Xue Yue commanded properly, and his original "Heavenly Furnace Tactics" caused the Japanese army to suffer heavy casualties in the three Battles of Changsha!
Xue Yue nicknamed "Tiger Boy", a native of Shaoguan, Guangdong, a first-class general in the Republic of China Army, then commander-in-chief of the First Corps of the Wuhan Garrison District and chairman of the Hunan Provincial Committee and chairman of the province, the three battles of Changsha were commanded by him, the victory of the Battle of Changsha made the Japanese army trapped in the north of the Yangtze River, effectively supported the United States in the Pacific Theater, because of his outstanding military achievements, US President Truman awarded him the Medal of Freedom.
Xue Yue's self-created "Heavenly Furnace Tactics" is to put it bluntly, relying on Changsha's favorable terrain, luring the enemy to go deeper, encircling and annihilating them, and the specific battle plan is to stretch the battle line as long as possible, making it difficult for the Japanese army to take care of each other from end to end, but concentrating superior forces to attack its weak points.
It is easy to talk about soldiers on paper, but it is difficult to operate in practice, Xue Yue regards the "Heavenly Furnace Combat Method" as the pinnacle of his life, and boasts in the book "Heavenly Furnace Combat Method": "The Heavenly Furnace Tactics are enough to fa the seclusion of heaven and earth, the mystery of the poor universe, the wept of ghosts and gods, the unpredictable personnel, and the nameless, so it is called "Heavenly Furnace Warfare"!
Second: thanks to Changsha's unique topography
According to the "Geography of China", Changsha is surrounded by mountains at the northeast and northwest ends, the terrain is relatively high and steep, the central decline tends to be gentle, slightly saddle-shaped, the Xiang River runs obliquely through the central part from south to north, the southern hills are undulating, the north is flat and open, and the terrain slopes from south to north, shaped like a funnel that opens to the north.
The unique terrain makes Changsha easy to defend and difficult to attack, the Japanese army has no superfluous offensive route, and all actions are in the hands of the Chinese army! Just as the so-called "knowing oneself and knowing the other will not perish in a hundred battles", Xue Yue predicted the offensive route of the Japanese army in advance, and relied on the unique terrain of Changsha to create the "Heavenly Furnace Combat Method" and seriously damage the Japanese army!
brief summary:
Regarding war, ancient times paid attention to the time of day, place, and people, and there is a saying in the Xunzi Wang Ba: "If the peasant is simple and weak, he will not lose the time of heaven and the earth, and the middle will gain people and everything will not be wasted."
Looking at the "Battle of Changsha Defense", the Chinese army in the three battles has occupied all the time, place, and people! Judging from the international situation at that time, the Japanese army fought on two fronts and pulled the front line too long, which was already the end of the crossbow, and the participation of the United States in the war became the last straw that overwhelmed Japan!
From the perspective of geographical advantages, Changsha has complex terrain, many natural dangers, easy to defend and difficult to attack! From the perspective of people, Xue Yuexiao was brave and good at war, commanded properly, and with the help of favorable terrain to create the "Heavenly Furnace Battle Method", the Chinese army united as one city and vowed to defend Changsha to the death!
Taking advantage of the time, location, and people is the fundamental reason for the victory of the "Changsha Defense War"!
References: Xunzi Wang Ba, Heavenly Furnace Tactics, History of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression