After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, a group of Chinese generals who had the courage to fight and were willing to become benevolent emerged, and Xue Yue was one of them. In the Battle of Changsha, Xue Yue was not in danger, shelled more than 60,000 Japanese soldiers, and smashed the Japanese blitzkrieg plot in Changsha in one fell swoop. How important is this war, and how did Xue Yue deal with it?
First, the Commander of the Japanese Army with a low IQ
In September 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany, and the European War broke out in full swing. At this time, the Japanese government decided to give priority to the settlement of China, so it set up a special task force to prepare to attack Changsha and eliminate the effective forces of the Chinese army. After the war, hundreds of thousands of Chinese residents dug their roads, and Chinese troops began to move backwards. At this time, the water turned all the main roads of transportation into Zeguo. The Japanese could not find the direction with the map. Tanks and artillery stuck in the mud could not advance at all.
In order to hurry, the Japanese decided to let the infantry advance on foot with food and weapons. The Japanese army, which had lost its fire support, naturally no longer had any advantage. On September 30, the Japanese 6th Division advanced to the Laodao River. Just as they were about to cross the bridge, the Chinese 52nd Army suddenly appeared, inflicting heavy damage on the Japanese army. At this time, the Japanese front was too long to be replenished at any time, and everywhere it would be attacked by Chinese troops. Okamura quickly reacted that the Chinese had previously abandoned some positions not to retreat, but to encircle and annihilate the Japanese army.
So Okamura Ningji ordered the immediate withdrawal of the army, and it was Xue Yue who wanted to encircle and annihilate the Japanese army. After Xue Yue laid the trap, he did not wait for the enemy. At first, Xue Yue thought that the Japanese army was just retreating to the rear to recuperate, but later he realized that Okamura Ningji had already figured out his battle plan. Xue Yue was not discouraged, and he immediately demanded that all the armies launch a counterattack. The Japanese retreated very quickly, having retreated to the rear on 9 October. The First Battle of Changsha came to an end, which was also the first time that the Japanese army gave up the land it had already occupied.
After the war, Japan decided to make Anan the commander. This person's IQ is not very high, his speech is also a bit stuttering, and he barely got into the university exam 4 times, but he is tall and tall, and he is quite outstanding among the short Japanese soldiers. Anan was good at seducing his superiors and had served as the Emperor's attendant military attaché. However, Anand did not enter the army until he was 51 years old.
Although Anan's IQ was not high, he carefully studied the war situation around Wuhan and finally decided to capture Changsha first. Unlike the traditional roundabout strategy of the Japanese army, Anan directly concentrated all the forces of the four divisions in northern Hunan in an attempt to launch a blitzkrieg. In the early morning of September 18, 1940, Anan's only army launched an attack, and on the second day it had already reached the north bank of the Poro River. At first, Xue Yue thought that the Japanese army was still circumventing and encircling, but later found out that the situation was not right.
Second, the difficult offensive and defensive battle in Changsha
When Xue Yue found that Anan had only suppressed all his troops in one direction, he immediately mobilized the three main forces defending northern Hubei to come to support. However, Xue Yue did not expect that the Japanese intelligence department could actually decipher the telegram code of the Chinese army and successfully grasp the movement of the Chinese army. Anan decided to divide his forces and give priority to suppressing the reinforcements summoned by Xue Yue. Due to the urgency of the battle, the soldiers who came to support were in a state of rapid marching, unable to match the energetic Japanese army.
Due to the large amount of classified information, the Japanese army was like a bamboo, and soon advanced to changsha city. The three main forces mobilized by Xue Yue had almost been scattered by the Japanese army, and he could only send reinforcements from the 6th and 7th theaters. However, time did not wait for anyone, and after the Japanese army occupied the local advantage, it immediately advanced in the direction of Changsha, and on the night of September 27, the Japanese army successfully occupied Changsha. Although the Japanese concentrated all their forces in one direction, the offensive was indeed fierce, but it was unable to encircle the Chinese army thoroughly.
Xue Yue was a native fighter and was able to mobilize a large number of soldiers at any time. As soon as the Japanese forward passed, the Chinese army immediately rushed to attack the Japanese convoy. People around Changsha picked up farm tools and crowbars, and roads and railways were their targets. Due to the shortage of Japanese troops, there was nothing they could do about it, and even if engineers were sent overnight to repair it, they would not be able to repair all the traffic arteries. What bothered Anan even more was that after the war, Chinese troops in other theaters began to advance in the direction of Changsha.
Even the long-immersed Chinese Air Force reappeared in the sky and began bombing the Japanese forces entrenched in Changsha. The Japanese army was never able to completely occupy Changsha City, because there were still some Chinese troops engaged in street battles in Changsha City and were always reluctant to retreat. By the time the 7 corps reached the vicinity of Changsha, the Japanese were exhausted, and Anan had to announce a retreat. Although Changsha was once occupied by the Japanese army, Xue Yue succeeded in retaking the city of Changsha and completely smashing the Japanese blitzkrieg plot against Wuhan.
3. Shelling 60,000 Japanese troops
On December 7, 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Pacific War broke out in full swing, and Japan began to invade Southeast Asia. Anan took the opportunity to propose an attack on Changsha in order to contain the Chinese army that was heading south. The Japanese command quickly agreed to his request. In the early morning of January 1, 1942, the troops led by Anan Weiji suddenly launched an attack on Changsha. The 10th Division, led by Fang Xianjue, rose up to resist and successfully blocked the enemy's offensive.
Since Hong Kong had fallen by this time, Xue Yue decided to transfer back the troops who were moving south. Japanese intelligence quickly intercepted the news, but the arrogant Anan was almost unimpressed. He was confident that he could capture Changsha in two days, thereby disrupting Xue Yue's strategic deployment. By January 2, the number of Japanese troops outside Changsha had reached 60,000, while the 10th Army stationed inside the city had only 20,000 men. At this time, the Chinese artillery, hidden in the Yuelu Mountains, began to attack the Japanese positions.
Since the artillery had detected landmarks near Changsha in advance, each gun was very accurate. After the Japanese 6th Division rushed into the city, it was immediately hit by chinese artillery fire, and immediately fled outside the city after heavy losses. On the night of January 3, there were very few Japanese shells left, and only a dozen bullets were left for each soldier. At this time, the Chinese army began to approach the Japanese army, and was unable to capture the only few people in Changsha City, and finally had to retreat with his tail between his legs.
In this battle, the Chinese army suffered more than 30,000 casualties, successfully killed 57,000 Japanese troops, and captured a large number of heavy loads. Xue Yue commanded properly, successfully attracted all the Japanese troops to Changsha City, and then ordered the artillery to attack. The Battle of Changsha was the first time that the anti-fascist alliance won a major victory in a major battle after the outbreak of the Pacific War. However, after the defeat, Anan was not punished because of his popularity, but was promoted to the post of Minister of War. After Japan's defeat in the war, Anan, who had lost his faith, eventually chose to commit suicide by caesarean section.