The Battle of Western Hubei was mainly to prevent the Japanese army from taking advantage of the opportunity to enter Sichuan. According to the operational plan drawn up by the Japanese combat staff officer Shima Kanmuji, the Japanese army in the north and south wanted to suppress the Chinese river defense army into the mountains west of Yichang and east of Yesanguan.
And the small town stone tablets are located between the two places,
The geographical location of Shipai is very important, above is Sandouping, below is Pingshan Dam, on the left is the Yangtze River, on the right is Cao Jiahan, Bafang Dou, Beidou Chong and other positions, and this is also the headquarters of Wu Qiwei River Defense Army, that is, the location of Fangtian's 18th Army and Hu Lian's 11th Division.
Shipai, less than 20 kilometers from the Japanese-controlled Yichang, became the first barrier to block the Japanese army's westward advance into Sichuan after the fall of Yichang three years ago. Chiang Kai-shek issued an order to Chen Cheng to hold firm, and called Shipai Town "China's Stalingrad", which was related to the safety of Chongqing and must be held with the strength of the first division.
In this way, the task fell to Hu Lian's 11th Division.
In the face of the Japanese army's attack, Wu Qiweijiang's defense army, which had set up a key position and had no way to retreat, could only use its life to fill it. The fighting was so fierce that in the Liulin area on the south bank, a wing of the Japanese 39th Division was counter-encircled by Chinese troops.
At the same time, Wang Yaowu's Seventy-fourth Army was galloping towards Songzi behind enemy lines. Wang Jiaben's 19th Army advanced towards Yuyangguan. At the time of the windy 30th Army, one was urgently transferred to the stone plate on the north bank of the Yangtze River, and the main force attacked the enemy behind Dangyang. Zhou Yao's 26th Army directly attacked Yichang and engaged in a leading battle.
Overall, around the stone tablets, the Chinese army formed a fan-shaped position.
From all indications, no matter which way the Japanese army, no matter how it encountered the Chinese army' resistance, it was struggling to approach Shipai, and Hu Lian of Shipai's core position also became the focus.
Due to the continuous increase of Chinese reinforcements, Wang Yaowu's 74th Army has arrived in Songzi, Wang Jiaben's Seventy-ninth Army has also entered Yuyang Pass, and the impact of the Mixed Air Force between China and the United States is getting stronger and stronger day by day. In view of the fact that the Japanese army's purpose of opening up the Yichang channel had been achieved, and the Japanese ships full of goods gathered in Yichang had sailed downstream, on May 29, Yokoyama Yong ordered the 13th Division to cancel the attack plan, and also ordered the 3rd Division and the 39th Division on the Shipai line to quickly reverse.
In the early morning of May 31, Fang Tian received a report that the Japanese positions had been silent the night before, and the enemy had withdrawn in the middle of the night after reconnaissance. After confirming the news, Fang Tian called Chief of Staff Zhao Xiukun. Wu Qiwei, commander-in-chief of the Jiangsu Defense Army, was not contacted, so he directly reported to the theater and the Chongqing Military Commission that the Shipai Japanese army had been defeated.
Chen Cheng immediately ordered a full-line pursuit. Chiang Kai-shek and Hu Lin were very happy when they got the news. After Chiang Kai-shek received Fang Tian's telegram, he immediately informed Foreign Minister Song Ziwen and asked him to inform Roosevelt: The three elite divisions and regiments of the enemy's attack on our Stone Tablet have been defeated, and the rest are still under siege and annihilation, and this battle will soon be completely won.
What are the doubts about the outcome of the Battle of the Stone Tablets?
In fact, to put it bluntly, it is also very simple, in view of the importance of the location of Shipai, no matter whether the Japanese army has a plan to attack Sichuan, after they withdraw from the outer area of Shipai, from the people in the Sixth Theater to the people in Chongqing, the significance of the Battle of Shipai will rise to the strategic level of preventing the Japanese army.
The Japanese casualties on the outskirts of Shipai were only about 200 people, and it can be seen from here that the Battle of Shipai was exaggerated when Fang Tian reported upwards, and further exaggerated when the military headquarters announced the results of the battle to the press. It is worth saying that in the subsequent pursuit battle, the Chinese army achieved a lot of results, and Wang Yaowu's 74th Army alone killed more than 400 Japanese troops.
Judging from the entire Battle of Shipai, the relationship between the retreat of the Japanese army and the battles on the outskirts was not very large, first of all, their purpose was basically achieved, and the 10th and 29th Group Armies, as well as the Jiangfang Army, were severely damaged, and the 53 Japanese ships directly in Yichang also began to point to Wuhan.
Yokoyama, another reason for the withdrawal of troops in the later period, is the frequent attacks of the Mixed Air Forces of China and the United States. He found that soldiers suitable for air strafing and bomb attacks began to become more and more numerous, and the situation of the war was becoming more and more unfavorable.