bayedsolid Chapter 767: Victory in the Battle of Xiangxi
Chapter 767: Victory in the Battle of Xiangxi
On June 1, 1945, the commander of the 47th Division of the Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Hiroshi Watanabe, commanded the remaining troops of the 47th Division of the Japanese Army to begin a full retreat. At this point, the three offensive forces of the Japanese 20th Army retreated to the control area before the Battle of Xiangxi. The Battle of Xiangxi, which lasted for 55 days and nights, also ended here.
In the Battle of Western Hunan, the Chinese government's army wiped out a brigade and four regiments of the Japanese 20th Army, and severely damaged the 116th Division of the Japanese Type A Division. The Japanese army suffered a total of more than 27,000 casualties, including 12,498 deaths. About 1,000 Japanese officers and soldiers committed suicide in despair after being surrounded by the Chinese government's army.
As for the Chinese government army, it suffered 20,660 casualties in the Battle of Xiangxi, of which 7,817 were killed, including 823 officers, which was about two-thirds of the casualties of the Japanese 20th Army's attacking forces.
In addition, the Chinese government army also seized more than 90 flags of the Japanese 20th Army's attacking force in the Battle of Western Hunan, and captured 447 people of the Japanese 20th Army's attacking force, including 42 Japanese officers.
In addition, the Chinese government army also seized 43 Japanese mortars, 13 howitzers, 5 mountain cannons, 48 heavy machine guns, 240 light machine guns, 260 grenade launchers, and 1,650 Japanese horses.
As for why the Chinese government was able to achieve such a great victory in this Battle of Xiangxi, it was because in order to fight this Battle of Xiangxi well, the Chinese government concentrated its superior forces before the war and made very strict combat deployments for each unit.
Ever since the Japanese Expeditionary Force launched "Operation No. 1" against the Chinese government, the Chinese government has been afraid that the Japanese Expeditionary Force would continue to attack the Chinese mainland. Therefore, the Chinese government's Military Commission stipulated that the Chinese government's military's future combat strategy would be to guard against the Japanese Expeditionary Force's attacks on Changde, Zhijiang and Guiyang. Therefore, the Chinese government's military also built defensive fortifications in various strategic locations.
In addition, since the Battle of Xiangxi was related to the success or failure of the War of Resistance on the Chinese battlefield in terms of time, region and the mobilized forces of both sides, it was also necessary to restore the poor image of the Chinese army in the previous Battle of Henan, Hunan and Guangxi. Therefore, the Military Commission of the Chinese government and the highest level of the Chinese government also clearly stated that the Battle of Xiangxi must not allow the Japanese Chinese Expeditionary Force to gain anything as in the past.
Moreover, before the war, the highest echelons of the Chinese government and the Chinese government's Military Commission repeatedly emphasized to the officers and soldiers of all participating units that the battle in Xiangxi could only be won, not defeated.
In order to fight the Xiangxi Campaign well, the Chinese government's Military Commission also mobilized 23 direct divisions, assembled superior forces and equipment for use in the Xiangxi battlefield. At the same time, the Chinese government's Military Commission adopted the "offensive defense" combat strategy in the Xiangxi Campaign's operational guidance, that is, first stabilize the defense, and then launch a counterattack.
The Military Commission of the Chinese government believed that the purpose of defense was to consume the manpower of the Japanese 20th Army's offensive forces, and the purpose of attack was to further annihilate all or most of the manpower of the Japanese 20th Army's offensive forces. According to this policy, the Military Commission of the Chinese government also divided the Battle of Xiangxi into two phases.
In the first phase of the combat plan formulated by the Military Commission of the Chinese Government, the Chinese Government's front-line armies had closely cooperated with the bombing of the Chinese and American Air Forces, fully utilized the existing positions and favorable terrain, and brought into play the superior equipment and firepower of the Chinese Government's army after replacing American equipment. When necessary, the Chinese Government's troops could use the second echelon of troops to launch a fierce counterattack against the offensive forces of the Japanese 20th Army, cooperate with each other in combat, and steadily consume and kill the manpower of the offensive forces of the Japanese 20th Army.
In the second phase of the operation, the Military Commission of the Chinese government estimated that the offensive forces of the Japanese 20th Army had suffered the greatest casualties and setbacks in their offensive. The second-line troops of the Chinese government army should enter the advantageous areas in time, decisively launch a comprehensive offensive against the offensive forces of the Japanese 20th Army, and cooperate with the first phase of the operation to encircle and annihilate the offensive forces of the Japanese 20th Army that entered the deep valley area of Xuefeng Mountain.
In terms of tactics, the Military Commission of the Chinese government required the Chinese government's army to adopt the strategy of "luring the enemy deep into our territory" and then concentrate infantry, artillery and heavy weapons on both sides of the road. At the same time, the Chinese government's army needed to prepare several more defensive positions. When each defensive position achieved its predetermined combat objective, the troops in this defensive position would be transferred accordingly and not engage in a head-on battle with the offensive forces of the Japanese 20th Army.
At the same time, the Military Commission of the Chinese government also ordered the 68th Flying Squadron of the 14th Air Force of the United States Army, the 1st Mixed Bomber Squadron, the 5th Fighter Squadron and the 4th Squadron of the Chinese government Air Force to be stationed at Zhijiang Airport to seize air supremacy in the Xiangxi region, which strongly supported the Chinese government's army's operations on the front battlefield.
During the entire Xiangxi Campaign, the offensive forces of the Japanese 20th Army started with a risky attack and ended with an embarrassing rout when the entire strategic situation of the Japanese Army was already passive.
After the Japanese Expeditionary Army's attack in western Hunan was suppressed by the Chinese government's troops, it never dared to launch adventurous attacks in other areas. When the offensive forces of the Japanese 20th Army had not yet withdrawn from the battlefield in western Hunan, the commander of the Japanese Expeditionary Army, General Okamura Yasuji, began to order the Japanese troops that had invaded Guangxi Province to withdraw in early May 1945. Later, he ordered the Japanese troops to withdraw from Guangdong Province and western Hunan.
After the offensive force of the Japanese 20th Army suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Western Hunan, the Japanese China Expeditionary Force fell into chaos and rout on the entire Chinese battlefield, and the morale of various Japanese troops dropped to the bottom.
In contrast to the low morale of the Japanese army, the morale of the Chinese government's army was increasingly high because of the victory of the Xiangxi Campaign. The Chinese government was also full of demands that the Chinese government's Military Commission should take advantage of the victory of the Xiangxi Campaign to quickly dispatch troops to recapture the Guiliu area occupied by the Japanese army and officially launch a full-scale counterattack against the Japanese troops in China.
At the same time, the victory of the Chinese government's army in the Battle of Western Hunan also improved the Chinese government's international reputation, and more or less regained some of the reputation that the Chinese government had lost in the Battle of Henan, Hunan and Guangxi.