On the 21st, the Japanese 6th Division turned from Hukou to the north side of the Wengjiang River and encountered the Chinese 26th Army, which had just arrived at the battlefield.

The Japanese army advanced and surrounded the right flank of the 26th Division of the 44th Army with superior forces.

The 26th Army ordered the 32nd Division to attack the rear of the Japanese army at Hukou, and encountered the follow-up troops of the 3rd Division, and fought fiercely until the 23rd, when the 32nd Division suffered heavy casualties and was forced to retreat.

Divisions of the 26th Army were in danger of being divided. The Ninth Theater ordered the 26th Army to take Putang as the center, and the divisions moved closer together to block the Japanese army.

The 26th Army immediately adjusted its deployment and ordered the 32nd, 41st, and 44th Divisions to form a circular defense around Potang.

On the 24th, the Japanese 40th Division also joined the attack on the 26th Army.

On the night of the 25th, the Japanese broke through to the positions of the 26th Army from the east and south fronts.

The 26th Army was ordered by the theater to move to the southeast area of Jinjing and fought in cooperation with the 72nd Army moving south from Pingjiang.

At this time, the 10th Army (under the jurisdiction of the 3rd Division, the 10th Reserve Division, and the 190th Division) that had gone north from Hengyang and Lukou had arrived at the battlefield and was ordered to occupy positions on the front line of Gaoqiao, Jinjing, and Fulinpu.

On September 24, the 140th Division of the 37th Army, which broke through from the vicinity of Hukou and advanced southward, moved to the vicinity of Jinjing, and the Japanese 3rd Division pursued along the Changyue Highway, and the Japanese 6th and 40th Divisions also bypassed the right flank of the 26th Army and advanced to the vicinity of Jinjing, where they encountered the 10th Army.

On the morning of the 24th, the 3rd and 6th Divisions of the Japanese Army, with the support of aviation, launched attacks on the 10th and 190th Divisions of the 10th Army, respectively.

On the 25th, the Japanese 3rd Division occupied Fulinpu.

The 4th Division and the Hayabuchi Detachment had also arrived and began to attack the 3rd Division of the 10th Army.

By the 26th, the positions of the divisions of the 10th Army had been broken through by the Japanese army, and Jinjing and Liqiao had fallen. The first part of the army moved to the rear of the Japanese army northeast of Jinjing, and the main force was ordered to move to Langli City, south of the Laodao River, to contain and reorganize.

During this period, the 4th, 20th, and 58th armies of the 27th Army were ordered to attack the flank and rear of the Japanese army, but they failed to achieve the goal of cutting off the supply lines of the Japanese army and delaying its southward advance.

The Ninth Theater's attempt to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese on both sides of the Miluo River (mainly south of the Miluo River) and to destroy the main force of the Japanese army not only failed to materialize, but the armies that were stationed in this direction were broken by the Japanese troops individually and suffered heavy losses.

The 4th, 3rd, 6th, and 40th Divisions, the Hayabuchi Detachment, and the Araki Detachment broke through the defenses of the Chinese 37th, 26th, and 10th Armies south of the Miluo River, and then advanced southward, and arrived at the north bank of the Laodao River around September 25, approaching Changsha.

On the 25th, Xue Yue ordered the 79th Army to garrison the north and south areas of the Laodao River to defend the periphery of Changsha.

The vanguard of the 2nd Army was provisionally formed into the 8th Division, which arrived in Langli City on the 26th and stood by.

The 74th Army should advance to Huanghua City with two divisions at the same time, occupy positions on the lines of Xiajiatang, Chunhua Mountain, Chishi River, and Lizui, and meet the Japanese army advancing south.

However, the telegram from the Ninth Theater was stolen and deciphered by the Japanese army's special intelligence department.

By the night of September 27, the Japanese army had forcibly crossed the Laodao River and headed straight for Changsha, while its 3rd and 6th divisions advanced from the east of Changsha to Zhuzhou.

The Ninth Theater and the Military Commission did not predict that the Japanese army would attack Changsha, and did not make preparations for defensive operations in the suburbs and urban areas of Changsha, so after the Japanese army broke through the Laodao River, Changsha had no troops to defend, the citizens fled one after another, the roads were congested, and the order was extremely chaotic.

At 5 o'clock in the morning of the 27th, the 98th Division encountered the Japanese Zaoyuan detachment on the front line of Sanyaotang and Baimaopu north of Changsha and started a fierce battle.

The Japanese army, supported by aviation fire, continued to assault.

Late in the battle, the Japanese broke through the first line of positions of the 98th Division and approached Changsha.

On the 28th, the Japanese Hayabuchi detachment broke through the position of the 293rd Regiment of the 98th Division and broke through to Changsha.

The provisional 6th Division of the 79th Army, which had just arrived at Yuelu Mountain, was ordered to enter Changsha and engage in street battles with the Japanese army.

By September 30, the Japanese 4th Division had also arrived in Changsha, and the 3rd Division had broken into Zhuzhou and fought with the vanguard of the Provisional 2nd Army, which was immediately withdrawn.

The 6th Division of the Japanese Army was assembled near Zhentou City, the 40th Division was assembled near Lion-shaped Mountain, and the Araki Detachment and the Eto Detachment were responsible for covering the rear line of communication.

At this point, the Japanese 11th Army had fully achieved its intended operational objectives and occupied Changsha.

After the Japanese army occupied Changsha, the people of Chongqing panicked, Hunan is the gateway to Chongqing, and once the door is opened, the Japanese army can attack Guizhou, Guangxi, and Chongqing.

Those who laughed at Zhou Lin's intelligence as fool's intelligence regretted it.

If you pay attention to Zhou Lin's intelligence, the battle situation will be completely different, then now that Changsha has not been lost, maybe you can still destroy a lot of Japanese troops.

The old man summoned Dai Li into the official residence again: "Tell Zhou Lin that if the Japanese troops on the position of the Fourth Division retreat three thousand meters away when our army counterattacks, I am willing to pay 200,000 US dollars." ”

Dai Li obeyed the order and immediately contacted Yang Kun and relayed the old man's words.

After Zhou Lin received the telegram, he laughed secretly in his heart.

The telegram coming down from the mountain just now also expressed their reluctance to fight.

The Japanese troops who entered Changsha were now essentially surrounded by Chinese troops.

After the Japanese army occupied Changsha, due to the long battle line and excessive consumption, the troops of the 3rd, 5th, and 6th theaters of the Kuomintang in response to the Changsha operation fiercely attacked the Japanese troops in various places, especially the sixth theater entered Yichang, destroying more than 7,000 enemies, just like "encircling Wei to save Zhao", so that the Japanese troops who were alone in Yichang repeatedly asked for help, forcing the Japanese army to return to help.

The day after the Japanese occupied Changsha, the 74th Army, China's ace army, was facing the Japanese Fourth Division.

This made the people up and down of the Fourth Division tremble.

With their strength and mental condition, they will definitely suffer.

The point is that those soldiers were very active when they followed the trend when they were victorious, and they ran to Changsha.

Just like when Kobayashi climbed the ladder to the roof of the warehouse, he was very excited when he got up the ladder, but when he reached the top, he was scared and weak.

The soldiers of the Fourth Division were the same, when they saw the wolf-like Chinese troops around them, they panicked, this is not a joke, their own lives are very dangerous!

So, Yamashita was ordered to send a telegram to Zhou Lin, asking Zhou Lin to help rescue them from Changsha, and there would be a re-report afterwards.

Zhou Lin received these two telegrams, and you say that he is not smiling.

Three hours later, Zhou Lin sent a reply to Yamashita: "After negotiation, the other party agrees with your suggestion, please report your plan." ”

Ten minutes later, Yamashita called back: "Does the 74th Army have any intention of attacking us?" ”

Zhou Lin called back: "Yes! They will soon launch an onslaught on your entrenched positions. ”

It's four o'clock in the afternoon, so there's probably an attack before dark.

After thinking about it, the chief of staff of the 4th Division said to Yamashita: "Let them attack at half past five." ”

Yamashita didn't understand: "Your Excellency Chief of Staff, why are you attacking while you are having dinner?" ”

The chief of staff replied: "Because at that time, our division was having a meal, and we had no defense capability, even if His Excellency Anan Weiji was investigated in the future, we also have something to say." ”

Yamashita suddenly understood that it was not that I did not respond to the battle, but that the enemy was too cunning to attack while we were eating. Our food is still stuck in our throats, how can we fight?

So, Yamashita sent a telegram to Zhou Lin: "At half past five in the evening, we are eating. ”

After Zhou Lin received the telegram, he smiled, this Fourth Division is really a character!