The Anti-Japanese War was divided into battlefields behind enemy lines and frontal battlefields, led respectively by the Eighth Route Army, New Fourth Army and Kuomintang Army. While the Eighth Route Army and New Fourth Army relied on guerrilla warfare to achieve successive victo

The Anti-Japanese War was divided into battlefields behind enemy lines and frontal battlefields, which were led by the Eighth Route Army, New Fourth Army and Kuomintang Army respectively. While the Eighth Route Army and New Fourth Army relied on guerrilla warfare to achieve successive victories, the Kuomintang Army also fought bloody battles with the Japanese army on the frontal battlefields and created unparalleled achievements. Among the common results, the most eye-catching are undoubtedly the three Changsha battles commanded by Xue Yue.

Let us turn the time back to 1939. This was the most difficult period of the Anti-Japanese War. The Japanese army occupied half of China and still showed no signs of fatigue, and continued to send troops to the northwest and southwest regions of China. At the same time, , Wang Jingwei, and others openly surrendered to the enemy and treason, willing to be the hawks of the Japanese. This series of victories greatly increased the Japanese army's confidence. In order to end the war against China as soon as possible, they decided to launch a major battle in an attempt to severely damage the Kuomintang army, undermine Chiang Kai-shek 's will to resist, and force him to surrender as soon as possible.

After a long period of research and judgment, the Japanese army set the battlefield in Changsha, Hunan. Once it is occupied, it will open the door to southwest China. At that time, it will directly threaten the safety of Chongqing, the seat of the Kuomintang government, and in order to win the final "victory" "Increase the chips. At that time, the Changsha area was under the jurisdiction of the 9th War Zone. After learning of the Japanese army's intentions, the commander of the 9th War Zone, Xue Yue, immediately mobilized troops for defense.

Xue Yue knew that the Japanese army's advantage lay in heavy firepower and tank support, so he ordered all troops to destroy bridges and roads in the defense zone to slow down the enemy's artillery and armored forces 's marching speed, and then concentrated all forces to attack the lack of cover. of infantry.

In September 1939, the Japanese army launched an attack first. Xue Yue immediately commanded the 10th Army, 37th Army, 26th Army and other troops to attack respectively, relying on the favorable terrain to fight a war of attrition with the enemy. The Japanese army obviously underestimated the combat effectiveness of the Chinese army and was unable to achieve the planned campaign objectives. The Japanese commander was a little impatient. He was eager to open a breakthrough, so he assembled the main forces and rushed towards Changsha at full speed.

Xue Yue lured the enemy deep, letting the enemy pass the first and second lines of defense, and then ordered the troops to penetrate the two wings, attack the Japanese army's flank and cut off its logistics supply line. The Japanese army soon fell into a dilemma of running out of supplies, and the vanguard troops also suffered a violent counterattack and were unable to move forward one step further. The Japanese commander believed that the fighter plane had been missed and that continuing to fight would only increase casualties, so he took the initiative to retreat. The Chinese army won the first Changsha Defense Battle at the cost of nearly 60,000 casualties.

In 1941, the Japanese army decided to attack Changsha again and reassigned Anan Weiji to command the battle. In August of that year, Anan Weiji used four divisions to storm Xinqiang, Tongxi Street and other places south of Changsha. Xue Yue ordered the 4th, 20th, and 58th armies to launch a counterattack. After two days of fierce fighting between the two sides, China The army took the initiative to retreat and once again implemented the strategy of luring the enemy deeper.

Wait until the Japanese army's front is stretched, and then attack its rear. The Japanese army was exhausted, their energy was gradually exhausted, and they could no longer move forward. In order to avoid being dragged into the quagmire of a war of attrition, Anan Weiji ordered the Japanese troops to withdraw across the board. Xue Yue seized the opportunity and asked all troops to launch a pursuit and besieged the enemy's 13th Army in the Yichang area. The 13th Army was isolated and helpless and only succeeded in breaking through after suffering heavy casualties. In the second Changsha Defense Battle, the Chinese army won again at the cost of 70,000 casualties.

At the end of 1941, Chiang Kai-shek began to send troops to Guangdong and Burma to cope with the US and British forces. In order to relieve the military pressure on Burma and Guangdong, the Japanese army decided to attack Changsha again to contain the Chinese army in South China. On December 15, the Japanese army attacked again. After breaking through the Miluo River defense line, they attacked Changsha along the Xiangjiang River. Xue Yue deployed heavy troops at Mingyue Bridge, Fulinpu and other places to engage in positional warfare with the Japanese army. At the same time, he sent many small troops to actively engage the Japanese army and disperse their forces.

Although a Japanese division broke through the blockade and once advanced to the outer positions of Changsha, it was eventually defeated because there were no friendly forces to support it.At the same time, the Japanese base camp forcibly changed the battle plan that had been drawn up and gave random orders, which disrupted the layout of the Japanese army. The various units were unable to cooperate with each other and had to retreat in embarrassment. The Third Battle of Changsha The Japanese army failed again , although the Chinese army won, it also paid a heavy price with 30,000 casualties.

These three battles were bloody battles. The soldiers resisted the Japanese attack with their flesh and blood, and they paid more than 150,000 casualties to defend the country. The Japanese army was shocked by the spirit of the Chinese soldiers who regarded death as home. Every time in the late stages of the battle, they lost their belief in victory and just wanted to escape. The Battle of Changsha also broke the Japanese army's attempt to force China to surrender, inspired the confidence of the entire nation to resist Japan, and also provided cover for the actions of the US and British troops in the Pacific and Southeast Asia.

In modern times, China is indeed in a poor and backward state, but this does not mean that we can be bullied by others! Once there are foreign enemies coveting the land under our feet, we will take up arms and fight them bravely. Even though the enemy is well-equipped and fierce, we will never be afraid. We will use our blood to water freedom and liberation! Since ancient times, China has lasted for thousands of years, and the forces hostile to us have changed round after round, but we still stand firm and are getting stronger and stronger!