Devil's Army

Chapter 1998: The Japanese Army Launches the Battle of Changde

The air raid by the First Air Force on the Japanese transport ships caused enormous losses to the Japanese army.

Nearly 1 new recruits and a large amount of firearms and ammunition sank to the bottom of the East China Sea.

This dealt a significant blow to the Japanese forces in Shanghai and Jiangsu, who had been eagerly awaiting reinforcements.

But even if the reinforcements fail, they must still hold off the devilish army's attack.

Japanese troops in Shanghai and Jiangsu continued to build fortifications in Qingpu County, Jinshan County, Yixing County, and Wujiang County, which border Zhejiang Province.

Each important pass was fortified with firing bunkers and pillboxes.

They wanted to make sure that even if Zhejiang's elite troops attacked Jiangsu and Shanghai, they would suffer heavy losses.

However, at this time, the Japanese Second Area Army and the Third Brigade of the Japanese Independent Division were resting and did not launch an attack on the Japanese forces in Jiangsu and Shanghai.

In order to prevent the Japanese army from relaxing its vigilance, the Nanchang Air Force and the Anhui Air Force launched air raids on Jiangsu and Shanghai from time to time.

While the Second Army of the First Army and the Third Brigade of the Southern Independent Division were resting and preparing to attack Jiangsu and Shanghai, the First Army of the First Army and the First, Second and Fourth Brigades of the Southern Independent Division were moving towards Hunan Province in preparation to recover the Japanese-occupied areas of Hunan.

At that time, Commander Yokoyama Isamu led the defeated Japanese troops in Hubei to retreat to Yueyang, Hunan.

At that time, although the Japanese army in Hunan only occupied Yueyang, Linxiang, and Huarong, it concentrated the main force of the 11th Army (Yokoyama Isamu) stationed in northern Hunan, including:

3rd Division (Yamamoto Mitsuo): Yueyang-Linxiang, approximately 1.8 men, a Class B division, responsible for the defense of the northern section of the Yuehan Railway in Hunan and the northern flank.

13th Division (Chiluli): Huarong-Nanxian, approximately 1.8 men, Class B division, controlling the western shore of Dongting Lake and the mouth of the Lishui River into the lake.

68th Division (Sakuma's subordinate): South of Yueyang to Xinqiang River, approximately 1.5 men, Class C division, responsible for the Xinqiang River defense line and lakeside vigilance.

40th Division (Aoki Seiichi): Linxiang-Chongyang border, approximately 1.2 men, a Class D division, responsible for protecting the right flank and supporting southern Hubei.

Independent Mixed Brigade No. 17: Key point between Yueyang and Huarong, approximately 5000 men, responsible for the defense of transportation lines and counterinsurgency.

Directly subordinate to the army: engineers, artillery, supply troops, etc., approximately 0.5 to 1 people, responsible for ensuring mobility and fire support.

Total troop strength: approximately 7-8 for ground operations; if rear support and naval and air force are included, the total is approximately 9-10.

Before the Hubei Campaign began, Commander Yokoyama Isamu launched the Changde Campaign in order to prevent Xue Yue's Ninth Army Corps from advancing north to attack his defense zone and support the Devil Forces' attack on Hubei Province.

Commander Yokoyama Isamu of the 11th Army ordered the assembly of troops in northern Hunan and western Hubei. The 3rd Division (Yamamoto Mitsuo) advanced from Yueyang to Lixian, and the 13th Division (Akashika Risa) marched from Shashi to Shimen, thus beginning the Battle of Changde.

The government forces deployed the 6th War Zone (Sun Lianzhong), the 29th Army Group (Wang Zuanxu), and the 73rd Army (Peng Shiliang) to garrison Shimen, and the 44th Army (Wang Zejun) to defend Lixian and Jinshi, constructing the Lishui River defense line.

The Japanese 3rd and 13th Divisions broke through the Lishui defense line and captured Jinshi and Lixian; the 68th Division (Sakuma Hitoshi) set off from Huarong and captured Anxiang and Nanxian, completing the flanking maneuver.

The government army's 73rd Army retreated to the core position in Shimen, while the 44th Army withdrew towards Linli and Taoyuan, slowing down the Japanese army's advance.

The main force of the Japanese 13th Division besieged Shimen and captured it on November 18. Peng Shiliang, commander of the 73rd Army, died in battle.