Author: Sasha
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Sasha today in its history.
Even the messengers went up to the stretchers to engage in hand-to-hand combat: on December 23, 1941, the 3rd Battle of Changsha broke out
The Third Battle of Changsha was a solid victory.
First Battle of Changsha:
Strictly speaking, the first Battle of Changsha was a draw, and we won slightly.
120,000 Japanese troops, under the command of Okamura Ningji, made a long-distance attack on Changsha. At that time, Xue Yue could mobilize about 240,000 troops in the Ninth Theater, half of which were the units of the Central Army with relatively strong combat effectiveness.
The terrain north of Changsha is more special, here is a continuous mountain and water network terrain, more suitable for defense, on the contrary, not suitable for the enemy's large army attack.
Starting from the Japanese-occupied area, it was necessary to continuously cross the Xinqiang River, the Miluo River, the Laodao River, and the Liuyang River before they could attack Changsha.
To the west of the Japanese attack was Dongting Lake and the three major rivers of Lishui, Yuanshui and Xiangjiang, and the terrain was very complicated. The Nationalist army also deployed a large number of mines and shore defense fortifications here, making it more difficult to land.
To the east of the Japanese attack was a continuous mountainous area, where in many places there was only a small road, which could only pass a mule and horse, and was not suitable for attack.
All of the above are favorable places for the national army.
Therefore, Bai Chongxi and others suggested abandoning Changsha, which was relatively close to the enemy, and retreating to the hengyang front for a decisive battle, but Xue Yue flatly refused.
Xue Yue believes that Changsha is an important town in Hunan, but also a transportation hub, close to the grain producing area, and cannot be given up casually.
Moreover, Hengyang is located in the south, far from the enemy, but the surrounding terrain is not good and the city is small. Obviously, it is more advantageous to choose a decisive battle in Changsha.
In the case of differences of opinion, Xue Yue lost his temper and smashed the phone, and finally got the support of Chiang Kai-shek to hold on to Changsha.
Under Xue Yue's orders, in addition to using the three rivers in the north to establish a strong defensive line, the Nationalist army also built no data points. As soon as the Japanese army began to attack, it had to break through the layers of fortifications and pay a considerable price.
In addition, Xue Yue ordered the army, with the help of the hunan people who supported the war of resistance, to completely destroy the roads in this area and set up a large number of roadblocks and mines. The people retreated as far as they could, hiding in the countryside, taking all the grain from their homes and clearing the wilderness.
The main force of the Nationalist army was not all placed north of Changsha, but several main forces were left south of Changsha. After waiting for the Japanese army to attack Changsha, it attacked in one fell swoop and defeated it.
After Okamura Ninji sent troops, the Japanese army encountered a bitter battle.
The Nationalist army relied on strong fortifications for tenacious defense, causing great casualties to the Japanese army. More critically, after the Japanese army crossed the New Wall River, they found that there was no road here. All the roads were destroyed, and in some places it was not even visible where the road was. In this case, the Japanese car and carriage could not walk at all, and the field artillery and heavy artillery could only be left in the rear. The Japanese artillery could only rely on detachable mountain guns, and the logistical weight was completely transported on horseback.
Horses tow vehicles, a group of strong Toyo horses may reach 1 ton. If you just carry it, the weight will be sharply reduced to two or three hundred kilograms, and the transportation volume will be greatly reduced. This led to a serious shortage of ammunition and food for the Japanese army.
The resistance of the nationalist army is still gradually increasing layer by layer. When the Japanese army broke through the New Wall River, it was relatively easy due to strong firepower and sufficient ammunition. When they reached the Miluo River, due to the fierce battles and supplies along the way, the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army declined to a certain extent, and it took a lot of effort to break through successfully.
After breaking through the Laodao River, the Japanese army was already quite tired.
Some soldiers said sadly, "There is no road here, we are rolling in the mud."
When they arrived at Changsha, the Japanese army was exhausted, with little food and ammunition left, and the crossbow was at the end.
As for the detouring troops from the west and east, they were blocked and intercepted by the complex terrain and the nationalist army respectively, and they were also exhausted and their combat effectiveness was greatly reduced.
At this time, several main forces of the Nationalist army were near Changsha.
Xue Yue prepared to use Changsha for defense, and after killing and wounding a large number of Japanese troops, he mobilized several armies to carry out a counterattack and defeat the Japanese army in one fell swoop.
After the Japanese army was severely damaged, its supplies and ammunition were exhausted, and it could only retreat in a hurry. Along the way, the Nationalist army will carry out continuous attacks on the retreating Japanese army, annihilating the japanese army's living forces and forcing it to rout.
However, Okamura Ninji is not a straw bag either. After arriving at Changsha, he found that the troops were very tired, with many wounded soldiers, almost exhausted ammunition, and some troops almost ran out of food.
At the same time, the Japanese reconnaissance plane found that there were large troops of the Nationalist army gathered near Changsha, and at least several divisions. Other Nationalist troops in the surrounding areas also moved closer to Changsha.
Okamura Ninji's mind is very calm. He weighed the pros and cons, believing that the survival of the army was more important than his own face, and decisively ordered a retreat.
As a result, Okamura hastily issued a general retreat order.
The Japanese army retreated in its entirety, during which it was ambushed and attacked by the Nationalist army countless times, and the losses were not light, but fortunately the main force was saved.
In the end, the Japanese army collapsed back to its occupied areas!
The Japanese suffered about 20,000 casualties and more than 40,000 Nationalist troops, crushing the Japanese army's attempt to capture Changsha and eliminate the main force of the Nationalist army in the 9th Theater.
As far as the battle was concerned, it was a draw, and our army won a slight victory, not only saving Changsha, but also dealing a greater blow to the Japanese army.
Second Battle of Changsha:
The second Battle of Changsha was also a draw, and we lost slightly.
The battle was commanded by Anan.
Anan only believed that the defeat of Okamura Ningji last time was mainly to disperse the troops and divide it into 3 attacks. The total number of Japanese troops was only more than 100,000, and the division of troops led to insufficient strength of the main attack troops in the middle road, with only tens of thousands of people.
This time, Anan only used the method of breakthrough in the middle road, concentrated 120,000 troops, and attacked all fronts.
This time, the Japanese army adopted a different tactic of concentrating superior forces than in the past. In the past, due to the strong firepower of the Japanese army, it was usually possible to deal with 1 division of the Nationalist army with more than 3,000 people in 1 company, and 1 brigade and regiment to deal with the main force of the Nationalist army of 20,000 or 30,000 people. This time, the Japanese army unexpectedly used one or two divisions against 1 army of the Nationalist army, trying to break the Nationalist defense in a short period of time.
The two sides began to fight, and the nationalist army was still relatively smooth. Subsequently, the Japanese army suddenly began to concentrate its forces on attacking the Nationalist troops near the Miluo River.
In the history of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, there has never been a situation in which 2 divisions of the Japanese army have encircled 1 army of the Nationalist Army. This time, the Japanese army besieged the 26th Army of the Central Army with the 6th Division and the 40th Division; the 10th Army with the 3rd Division and the 6th Division; and then the 3rd Division, the 4th Division, and the 6th Division to encircle the 74th Army.
Under the siege of several times the strength of the Japanese army, these armies began to struggle to defend, but they did not expect that the casualties were very large, and they could only force a breakthrough.
Taking the 74th Army as an example, the 58th Division suffered 55% casualties and the 57th Division suffered 40% casualties. Our army is very familiar with the terrain of this generation, and the breakthroughs of these armies have been successful.
The unexpected change in tactics of the Japanese army led to several main forces of our army being forced to temporarily withdraw from the battlefield, resulting in chaos in the defense of Changsha. The 4th Division also took the opportunity to occupy Changsha!
Unfortunately, there were also serious problems with Anan's only middle-way breakthrough tactics, mainly because of the slow speed and the fact that it took up to 12 days to reach Changsha.
At the same time, due to the failure to adopt the multi-way attack tactics of Okamura Ninji, the main force of the Nationalist 9th Theater of Operations was all concentrated in the middle road.
The width of the middle road battlefield is relatively narrow, the Japanese army luckily occupied Changsha, but not far to the south is the Nationalist army heavy troops, at any time may counterattack, and then attack to the south is impossible.
In addition, at this time, the supply line of the Japanese army was cut off again, and the Japanese army near Changsha was still short of food and ammunition.
Under these circumstances, the Japanese army could not occupy Changsha for a long time, and could only abandon the city and flee, and was once again ambushed and attacked by the Nationalist army.
In this battle, our army held Changsha, but it was not as good as the first Battle of Changsha.
The Japanese suffered more than 10,000 casualties, but our casualties were close to 40,000.
Obviously, our army's losses were much greater, and Changsha was once occupied by the enemy.
Third Battle of Changsha:
The Third Battle of Changsha was different.
This time, Xue Yue, commander of the 9th Theater, successfully used the Heavenly Furnace tactic to bring Anan's only 100,000 troops into Changsha for a decisive battle.
Anan only thought that the last victory had given rise to the idea of a light enemy. This time, his strength is only 100,000, which is not as good as the last time of 120,000. Xue Yue's 9th Theater of Operations was a key area for national operations, and its strength was increased to 300,000, and about half of it was a central army with strong combat effectiveness.
In terms of the comparison of strength between the two sides, the 300,000 nationalist troops can still completely deal with the Japanese army in defense.
This combat routine is the same.
After a series of previous offensive battles, the Japanese army suffered heavy losses. Due to the destruction of roads, the people's fortified walls and clearing the wilderness, and the continuous attacks of small units of the Nationalist army, the logistical supply of the Japanese army was gradually cut off.
When it continuously broke through the defense lines of the Xinqiang River, miluo River, and Laodao River, and spent 1 week approaching Changsha, the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army had been greatly reduced.
This time, the Nationalist army did not stick to the position as in the past, but cleverly gave the Japanese Kou a certain amount of casualties, and then took the initiative to retreat to the second-line position, and then retreated to the third-line position.
Layer after layer of defense is like peeling an onion, making it impossible for the Japanese to repeat the tactics of encircling a certain national army with superior forces.
The Japanese army under Changsha was extremely tired and lacked food, so they had to go to the surrounding areas to search for food left by the peasants.
In terms of heavy weapons, the road was completely destroyed, and only a small number of Japanese mountain guns rushed to the front, almost exhausted ammunition, and greatly reduced firepower.
The war situation is critical, and if it is Okamura Ninji, he will definitely retreat.
Anan was only less capable than Okamura, and insisted on ordering a forced siege of the city. The Nationalist army in Changsha fought a bloody battle and held the city of Changsha with the support of artillery from Yuelu Mountain. During this period, the Nationalist Pre-10th Division even formed a company of messengers, miscellaneous soldiers, stretcher soldiers, and transport troops, and was commanded by the 30th Regiment (regimental commander Ge Xiancai) to engage in hand-to-hand combat.
The weak Japanese army was still unable to capture Changsha from December 31 to January 5.
At this time, the main force of the Nationalist army, which was waiting for work, began to counterattack, and Anan's only few troops finally collapsed, and the various units retreated in a hurry when they were exhausted.
This time, the Japanese army retreated under the condition of greatly reduced combat effectiveness and severed supply, and there was inevitable chaos, resulting in many troops being surrounded by our army.
It took the Japanese army 12 days and paid a lot of casualties before retreating to the area under their control.
At the cost of more than 20,000 casualties, the Japanese army annihilated nearly 20,000 people. Due to the huge gap in heavy weapon firepower between the two sides, this casualty ratio is already very good.
The 3rd Battle of Changsha was a complete victory, both strategically and tactically, by the Nationalist army. It turned out that the Japanese 11th Army, with all its mobile units of more than 100,000 men, could not defeat the 9th Theater.
Therefore, in the Battle of Changheng, the Japanese army concentrated up to 300,000 heavy troops to ensure that it must win the 4th Battle of Changsha.
In the 3 battles of Changsha, our army defended Changsha 3 times after bitter battles, and each time annihilated more than 10,000 Japanese troops, ensuring that most of Hunan Province did not fall, and also ensuring the stability of the rear area. Of course, our army also paid a huge casualty price.
An inch of rivers and mountains, an inch of blood, a hundred thousand young people and a hundred thousand troops.
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