In May 1943, Yichang fell, and the wartime capital Chongqing fell into crisis, and the Japanese who saw the hope of entering the gorge and moving west immediately organized their Battle of Xiangxi in an attempt to break Chongqing's river defenses! At this time, the Shipai area became the only barrier in Chongqing, and once it was breached, Chongqing was in danger of being tired. Chiang Kai-shek pointed out that Shipai is China's Stalingrad and is an important place for the safety of the capital. And the Battle of Xiangxi also entered the final decisive moment!
As an expert in mountain warfare, Hu Lian became the actual commander of this battle. As early as before the outbreak of the Great War, he took advantage of the topographical advantages of the Shipai generation to build many fortifications, forming a position that could advance and retreat. He also used the method of modifying the map to confuse the Japanese, establish ambush circles and block lines to block the Japanese invasion.
On May 24, 1943, after breaking through the outer defense line of Shipai, the Japanese army prepared to launch an attack on Shipai Fortress. On May 28, the Japanese sent two divisions to advance towards The Stone Pai Fortress, and on May 30 began a strong attack on the Stone Pai Fortress.
After that, the officers and men of the 11th Division of the 18th Army, under the leadership of division commander Hu Lian, fought a fierce white-knife battle with the Japanese army at Gaojialing, and severely damaged the Japanese army in the battle of Badoufang; in the air battle, the Chinese and American air forces once shot down several Japanese fighters during the critical period of the battle, and more than 100 naval officers and men guarding the fort on the Yangtze River also calmly responded to the battle, effectively curbing the invasion of Japanese warships.
On the night of May 31, the gunfire on the battlefield suddenly fell silent, and the enemies who invaded Shipai turned around and fled. Although the Shipai Fortress has experienced fire, it still stands on the shore of the Xiling Gorge, impregnable, like a copper wall and an iron wall. In this Stone Tablet Battle, our army killed and wounded 7,000 Japanese troops and captured countless instruments.
The Shipai Defense War was a major military turning point in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and Western military experts praised it as the "Stalingrad Defense War in the East", and was even written into textbooks by Western military academies.