In the last years of the Qing Dynasty, the country was oppressed by the Western powers, coupled with high war reparations, which caused the imperial court to increase a large number of taxes, and the already miserable life was even worse.
The people could only choose to rebel against tyranny when it was difficult to make a living, and with the efforts of the people, the feudal dynasty was overthrown and China ushered in a new era.
However, the new era did not change the current situation of the people's hardships, and the Japanese aggressors launched a war of aggression against China, which lasted for more than ten years. Although we ended up with a great victory, we still paid a terrible price.
Throughout the war, the Chinese army achieved many staged victories, although most of the cities' offensive and defensive battles were not satisfactory.
But there is a city that has dragged down the japanese army's offensive for 3 years, making Japan pay a tragic price of 110,000 people and still can't shake its minutes, it is Changsha.
1. Mobilize 400,000 troops to attack Changsha
During the War of Resistance Against Japan, Japan carried out industrialization and innovation, domestic industry developed rapidly, and various modern equipment were also quite developed, but the direct drawback of this industrialization process was that the energy consumption was huge, especially the oil consumption was amazing.
Japan does not produce oil on the mainland, and all consumption needs to rely on imports from countries such as britain and the United States.
With Japan's expansion throughout Asia, the entire east of Asia, including parts of Southeast Asia, was under Japanese control, and the interests of the former European countries in Asia were seriously damaged.
But at this time, Europe was also involved in the battlefield of The Second World War, and the old colonial powers led by Britain and France had no time to take into account the interests of Asia, but they were not willing to give up their vested interests.
Therefore, in order to make Japan abandon its expansion in Southeast Asia, Britain, France and the United States launched oil sanctions against Japan.
The result of the oil sanctions led Japan to adopt extreme measures, the Japanese army first sneaked up on the US military in the Pacific, and then launched heavy troops to plunder the oil resources of Central Asia and Southeast Asia.
In order to open up the transportation line, Japan mobilized another 400,000 troops to march to the southwest region of China.
However, the Japanese army's march to the southwest was not smooth, because at that time the whole country was fighting the Japanese army, the logistics of the Japanese army was already very tight.
The 400,000-strong unit had very poor logistical support, and their mission was to open up supply lines between southwest China and South and Central Asia, so they were equivalent to going deep alone.
In 1939, the Japanese army set out from Nanjing and marched all the way west to The territory of Hunan, along the way the Japanese army did not encounter effective resistance, the army soon reached the vicinity of Changsha.
In the face of the defenders in Changsha, the Japanese army did not pay much attention, because along the way, the Japanese army was already very aware of the combat ability of the Kuomintang, thinking that this was a very easy battle.
But the result was the opposite, and the Japanese suffered the biggest defeat since the outbreak of the war here.
2. The fierce offensive and defensive defense of Changsha
After the Japanese army arrived near Changsha, it formulated a series of battle plans, intending to concentrate superior forces to attack Changsha City in one fell swoop.
However, at this time, the Kuomintang also actively prepared the defensive strategy of Changsha, and mobilized some troops from Guizhou to come to support, intending to resist the Japanese attack with a angular position.
Before the battle began, the Japanese army spread false news to attack Fujian in an attempt to attack the east and the west.
However, the tactical intention was recognized by the Kuomintang, and they adopted the tactic of luring the enemy to go deeper, and used small units to destroy important roads and bridges where the Japanese army passed, and together with the artillery positions, they carried out intensive bombardment of the Japanese army, causing huge losses to the Japanese army.
After this battle, the mechanized troops in the vanguard of the Japanese army were almost completely paralyzed, and the Japanese army suffered heavy losses, and could only temporarily abandon the plan to attack Changsha.
At this time, in order to successfully attack Changsha, the Japanese army signed a friendship treaty with the Soviet Union and once again dispatched mechanized troops to support Changsha, including a tank brigade and an artillery brigade.
The Japanese army learned the lessons of the first battle, adopted concentrated operations, and advanced step by step with coordinated tactics.
However, the narrow terrain of the battlefield near Changsha was very unsuitable for group operations of mechanized troops, and throughout the battlefield, the Japanese tanks were like moving targets, and they were destroyed under the artillery of the Kuomintang.
Losing the cover of tanks, a large number of Japanese infantry remained on the battlefield without shelter, and the Nationalists severely damaged the Japanese army at a very small cost.
After two failed attempts, the Japanese and the Nationalists began a confrontational phase. At this time, the Kuomintang defenders in Changsha were summing up the experience of the previous two battles, and combined with the regional characteristics of Changsha.
It is necessary to completely destroy roads, carry out vertical walls and clear fields in the theater, dig deep trenches in the main theater, widely deploy ambush troops, make full use of the advantages of the Japanese mechanized troops that are difficult to play, and focus on attacking the Japanese infantry.
In December 1941, the main force of the Japanese army marched to Yueyang, and the Kuomintang defenders judged that the Japanese army could not be attacked for a long time and wanted to move the main battlefield, so they took the initiative to send the main force to set up an ambush on the only road.
Subsequently, the defenders of Changsha took the initiative to attack and gradually retreated to the Liuyang River area with the momentum of luring the enemy.
The main force of the Japanese army had been divided at this time, and the Japanese army in the Liuyang River battlefield was mainly infantry, and the entire army was destroyed under the surprise attack of the ambush and the counterattack of the retreating troops.
The mechanized troops heading to Yueyang were also slow to move because of the destruction of roads along the way, and after receiving the news that the infantry were surrounded, they intended to return to the rescue.
However, the Kuomintang troops who were ambushed along the way, mainly bombed by grenades and explosives, lost their mobility and could only surrender.
Since then, the Japanese army has carried out a three-year offensive in Changsha but has not returned, but left the bones of 110,000 people and countless war materials in Changsha.
3. The beginning of the strategic offensive and defensive transformation
The Battle of Changsha lasted for three years, and after three large-scale battles and dozens of small-scale battles, it was the first campaign in which the Chinese army forced the Japanese army to return to its original strategic posture by force since the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and it was a very great victory for China in its battle against the Japanese army.
This victory dealt a heavy blow to the arrogance of the Japanese aggressors and greatly enhanced the determination of the people of the whole country to counterattack the Japanese army.
On the other hand, the Japanese army deployed a large number of troops in Changsha, which indirectly alleviated the pressure of the Southeast Asian battlefield, making it difficult for Japan to take into account the Pacific theater and causing greater casualties to the Japanese army.
This has also transformed Japan from a strategic offensive throughout the Asian battlefield to an overall strategic defense, especially in the Pacific Theater and the Southeast Asian Theater.
The victory in the Changsha Defense War also promoted the process of the United States supporting China's War of Resistance Against Japan to a certain extent, and it was also a sign of China's War of Resistance Against Japan from passive defense to active counter-offensive.