As we all know, Japan is a typical island country, and like Britain, the Japanese attach great importance to the security of their homeland, so the whole of Japan, from the emperor to the common people, has tried their best to support the country's development of the navy. Moreover, Japan has also set up an absolute defense circle centered on Japan in the entire Pacific Rim region, and before the Japanese army was advancing vigorously, China and the United States, which fought all the way to the west and south, had no power to fight back, so this absolute defense circle was not greatly threatened, and even American warships rarely touched this area.

But now this absolute national defense circle has been greatly threatened, especially after the puppet Manchukuo was trampled by Han Yunhua's army, which is even more important. Now not only the strong rise of the Inner Mongolia Military Region has the ability to air attack the Japanese mainland, but the United States aircraft groups also appear in Japan's airspace from time to time, this period of time is definitely the darkest period for the Japanese emperor and ordinary people, is it not the air defense siren that makes everyone nervous when working, are worried that the bombs falling from the sky will fall on their heads, especially when the Japanese media reported that two bombs exploded in the Imperial Palace, this panic is even more spread.

Therefore, the base camp decided to carry out the mainland line of communication campaign ahead of schedule, and the main battlefields of this battle were in China and the Burma theater, and Japan intended to simultaneously carry out a desperate counterattack in these two theaters, and the core goal of the operation was to eliminate the strategic air bases and supply lines in the Chinese theater of operations, so as to ensure the security of Japan's absolute defense circle. The offensive in the Burma theater of operations is to cut off the access to the Hump Transport; And the offensive in the Chinese theater of operations is the complete destruction of the air bases of the allies in South China.

Originally, according to the "No. 1 Battle Plan" formulated by Yan Junliu before, it was planned to start the attack between Zhengzhou and Luoyang, and then advance south along the Pinghan Railway through Henan. But the plan has never changed quickly, due to the strong rise of Han Yunhua's department, the national government deeply feels threatened, if the ** is allowed to enter Henan. On the basis of past experience, the National Government will soon lose control of the region. This is the case in Saibei, Hebei, and Beijing-Tianjin. Even the Northeast region is no different. So the Nationalist Government burst out with 120% combat effectiveness. With Tang Enbo's Twentieth Army Corps as the main force, combined with a large number of local troops, the entire Henan region was finally recovered. As a result, the Japanese army's operational plan had to be revised, and the operation in Henan changed from focus to containment, and the second phase of the original No. 1 operational plan was the first to begin.

Soon the latest movement of the Japanese army was detected by the spy agency of the Nationalist government. The Japanese army marched west to Nanchang and then quickly moved south, and the target of the Japanese army turned out to be Changsha. Just when Chiang Kai-shek was glad that he still had enough troops in Changsha to resist. There was also news from the front that four divisions and two mixed brigades of the Japanese army had entered the Henan region from Anhui, and the first line of defense of the Kuomintang Provisional Second Army stationed in Henan had not played any role at all before being broken by the Japanese army. An infantry division was routed. More than 4,500 ** soldiers were captured by the Japanese army.

In addition, in the Wuhan area, the commander of the Japanese 11th Group Army, Isamu Yokoyama, commanded eight divisions, one flying regiment, and the first part of the navy, with a total of more than 290,000 people, quickly rushed to Wuhan, plus the more than 100,000 troops in the Wuhan area before, the total strength of the Japanese army on the entire Wuhan front soared to nearly 400,000 at once, and it can be said that the Nationalist Government no longer has much advantage in terms of troops.

April 7. The Japanese troops on the Wuhan front carried out a large-scale counterattack, advancing the front 15 kilometers in the direction of the Nationalist Government on the first day. Two infantry divisions of the Nationalist Government were forced to retreat. Chiang Kai-shek hurriedly transferred troops from Chongqing and Sichuan to reinforce Wuhan, and now the Nationalist Government does not want to occupy Wuhan anymore, and it is still unknown whether it can maintain the results of the previous period. …,

Moreover, starting from April 6, the Japanese army's 1,400 fighters south of the Yangtze River carried out strategic bombing of Hengyang and other places in Chongqing in an extremely domineering way, during which they not only used incendiary bombs, heavy aerial bombs and other conventional weapons, but even tried poison gas bombs in Hengyang, causing more than 8,000 people to be poisoned in Hengyang, and the death toll also exceeded 3,000 for the first time. Even Lao Chiang's mansion was bombed by the Japanese, and a heavy high-explosive incendiary bomb directly hit Lao Chiang's mansion, and also penetrated two basement floors, killing more than a dozen staff members and a platoon of guards working in the basement.

The intention of the Japanese high-level to assassinate Chiang Kai-shek was extremely obvious, and today it happened that Lao Chiang was furious in the office because of the unfavorable situation on the front line, and did not return to the mansion at this time as usual.

After receiving the news from Madame Chiang, Chiang Kai-shek was shocked and extremely angry, the little devil really wanted his old Chiang's life. You must know that although the two sides have been fighting each other since the beginning of the war, they have rarely done such things, especially after Konoe Funma came to power, the Nationalist Government and the Japanese army even reached some tacit understanding on some issues. However, during this period of time, the veteran clearly felt that the Japanese were completely prepared to completely eliminate the Nationalist Government, but deliberately avoided the ** in the north. If it weren't for the fact that the little devil was called an autumn wind to sweep away the leaves, the ruthlessness made him tremble, otherwise Chiang Kai-shek would still think that there was something wrong with Little Japan.

Since the little devil has put on this posture, he Chiang Kai-shek is not a vegetarian, and he can't back down, because at this time, it is one thing to be poked in the back by the countrymen, and if you don't get it, you will really be killed by the little devil. Chiang Kai-shek did not immediately return to Chiang's mansion, since that place was already known to the little devils, then the safety was going to be questioned, so Lao Chiang ordered Dai Li to immediately find him a new place to live.

And the actions of the Japanese army completely angered Chiang Kai-shek, our chairman Chiang has no other skills, but the character of the jaw-blind must be retribution, the little devil wants to put him to death, then he will not sit still like this, Chiang Kai-shek immediately ordered Chen Cheng to discuss countermeasures with He Yingqin and Bai Chongxi, formulate a counterattack plan, and finally decided to transfer Xue Yue from the Wuhan front line to Changsha, and the battle on the Wuhan front line was handed over to Li Zongren to command, after all, Xue Yue had commanded three Changsha battles, and he was still relatively familiar with the terrain of Changsha, You can get started in the fastest time.

The first three battles of Changsha did not take much advantage of the little devils, especially the third battle of Changsha was a complete defeat. But this time the little devil made a comeback and was extraordinary. As soon as he made a move, he gave the national government a resounding slap in the face. Xue Yueren did not arrive, but the order was quickly issued to the garrison headquarters of the Changsha front. Xue Yue was an outstanding commander. He judged that the Japanese army seemed to have a little intention of breaking the kettle this time, so he was extremely cautious. However, on the contrary, the troops on the Hunan front did not know that the Japanese army had increased a large number of troops, and there was also the idea of paralyzing and underestimating the enemy in the guiding ideology of the operation. It was a big mistake to think that it was just a repetition of the previous three battles. I didn't know until Xue Yue arrived in Changsha. So far, there are only 180,000 people in the vicinity of Changsha, and most of them are recruits who have just been gathered from the rear, and the entire fortifications that were destroyed in Changsha some time ago have not been repaired. Supplies in the city are scarce. Especially with ammunition, the situation is extremely bad.

Contrary to the side of the Nationalist Government, the Japanese army learned the lesson of the last attack from the east and was bombarded by the artillery of Yuelu Mountain, and this time the troops were divided into three routes, and the eastern front went straight to the south of Changsha through Liuyang; The western route invaded Yuelu Mountain through Yiyang and Ningxiang; The middle road passed through the Laodao River and went south frantically. In addition, the Japanese army not only mobilized a large number of troops from the country to reinforce the battle, but also mobilized a large number of strategic materials from the country to support the war. In addition, more than 400,000 puppet troops were also transferred from the Wang puppet government to participate in the war, and the number of Japanese troops gathered on the front line in Changsha reached 650,000. And the number is constantly increasing. …,

On April 9, the Japanese army was divided into three routes, avoiding the flank detour of the squadron, and launched an offensive on the periphery of Changsha on separate routes. The Japanese army in the middle route, with the 3rd Division as the vanguard, took the lead in launching an attack on Changsha, and the 4th Battle of Changsha began. On the 11th, a part of the Japanese army attacking Changsha City also crossed the Xiangjiang River from Zengkou in the lower reaches of Changsha, and cooperated with the Japanese army on the western front to return to the back of Yuelu Mountain and launched a fierce attack on Yuelu Mountain, while our artillery position was in front of Yuelu Mountain and failed to play a role. On the 14th, the defenders in Changsha were forced to break through, and Changsha fell on the 15th.

In just over a week, Changsha was occupied by the Japanese army, which was not expected by everyone before the war, Chiang Kai-shek, who learned the news, was furious and scolded the ** generals on the front line in Changsha one by one, and even Xue Yue, the commander he personally hand-picked, was scolded for a bloody squirt.

After occupying Changsha, the Japanese army continued to advance towards the intended target, and the army came straight to Hengyang. In addition, in the direction of Henan, more than 100,000 Japanese troops entered the hinterland of Henan, Xinyang fell on the 11th, Zhumadian fell on the 14th, and the main force of the Japanese army was advancing towards Xuchang. Although there is no news from the Wuhan front, yesterday the commander-in-chief of the Japanese army's Chinese dispatch army, Nishio Shouzo, rushed to Wuhan and took command, which is enough to show that the situation on the Wuhan front is obviously unfavorable.

Bad news came one after another, especially the fall of Changsha made many Chinese and foreign media fall through the glasses, and the Nationalist Government, which had just been making great progress, could not believe that the Japanese would lose a provincial capital city in just one week.

However, when the Japanese army advanced to Hengyang, they encountered stubborn resistance. Hengyang is a strategic place connecting the southeast and southwest, including aviation, water transportation, railways, and highways, and its strategic value is heavier than Changsha. If Hengyang is also lost soon, then the Japanese army will inevitably move down to Guilin quickly, and with the momentum of the Japanese army, Guilin and other important towns in the southwest will be in danger, and then Yungui will also be affected. Once these important towns are lost, then the airfields that the US military has painstakingly managed in the southwest will inevitably come to naught, and Chennault's hundreds of planes will probably not even be able to find a place to land.

Guarding Hengyang and serving as the defense of Hengyang was the 10th Army of the 27th Group Army of the Ninth Theater, and the army commander Fang Xianjue. The Tenth Army was a good fighting force in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and the commander Fang Xianjue was a high-achieving student in the third phase of the Whampoa Military Academy, and was once assigned to the military academy teaching regiment. In the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he participated in the Battle of Taierzhuang. During the Battle of Wuhan, he participated in the Nanxun Road Battle, was wounded bravely, and was promoted to the commander and deputy commander of the Eighth Brigade. In 1939, he made outstanding achievements in the Battle of Nanchang, and attacked Qingyang in southern Anhui in the winter of that year, fought bloodily for seven days and nights, inflicted heavy losses on the enemy, and was promoted to division commander. In the Second Battle of Changsha in 1940, he led his troops to block the enemy troops in Jinjing and Fulinpu, and was awarded for his merits.

In the Third Battle of Changsha, Fang Xianjue's pre-10th division was included in the sequence of troops holding Changsha, and led his troops to build fortifications in the south of Changsha. At the meeting of the division headquarters, he first expressed his determination to hold Changsha, and then decided to place the division headquarters behind the southern wall of Myofeng Mountain, and to build three strong strongholds with the 29th Regiment to undertake the first-line defense. The 30th Regiment was the second-line reserve, and the 28th Regiment was responsible for the defense of the southern wall. 8 a.m. on Jan. 1. The Japanese 3rd Division, with the strength of its two wings, launched a fierce attack on the positions of the 29th Regiment. The 29th Regiment put up stubborn resistance under the command of its commander Li Shouguang. At 18 o'clock in the afternoon, the position was broken through by the Japanese army, and the regiment attached to Zeng Youwen was martyred, and almost all of the 1st Battalion were martyred. Takahashi Taga, the commander of the Japanese division, saw that there was progress, and he invested another brigade of troops in an attempt to expand the results of the battle. The positions of the 29th Regiment were precarious. After learning that the 29th Regiment was facing a crisis, Fang Xianjue decided to put the 30th Regiment of the second-line army into battle. Ge Xiancai, who had just taken over as commander of the 30th Regiment, launched an attack at 22 o'clock under the cover of artillery fire. He successively recovered two positions at the military depot and Wujiashan, and annihilated a Japanese brigade and killed its captain Soichi Kato. Just when the 30th Regiment annihilated the Japanese Kato Brigade. Fang Xianjue, who was sitting at the division headquarters, received a call from Xue Yue, the commander of the 9th Theater of Operations. Xue asked if Fang Shi's position could be held for a few days. Fang replied that he could keep it for a week. Xue Yue then asked how to defend it, and Fang replied: "The first line guards for two days, the second line guards for three days, and the third line guards for two days." …,

After waiting for Xue Yue to hang up the phone, Fang Xianjue wrote a will to show his determination to hold his position. The content of the will is as follows: "Yunhua my wife: This time our army was ordered to hold Changsha. The task is heavy, and the survival of Changsha is at stake. It is related to the success or failure of the overall situation of the Anti-Japanese War, and I am determined to die for the country, and if I die in battle, the government will take care of the lives of you and your five sons. If all five sons can graduate from college, be a good man, follow my will, and serve the party and the state, then I will smile and be happy. I hope my wife don't be sad! Master Zishan. New Year's Day of the 31st year of the Republic of China. ”

In the early morning of January 4, the Japanese 3rd Division was forced to retreat after discovering that it was in danger of being surrounded by Chinese reinforcements from all directions, and the siege of Changsha was resolved. Fang Xianjue's 10th Army held on to Changsha and did not retreat, which was an important factor contributing to the victory of the Third Battle of Changsha. After the war, Li Yutang, who was dismissed but still commanded the 10th Army, was promoted to deputy commander-in-chief of the 27th Group Army, and Fang Xianjue, who contributed the most in the Changsha operation, was promoted to the commander of the 10th Army on March 28, 1942.

This time the Japanese army invaded Hengyang, the Tenth Army felt the pressure, whether it was his old commander Xue Yue or Chairman Chiang, they strictly ordered the Tenth Army to hold Hengyang, and never let the Japanese army pass through Hengyang, even if it could not prevent the Japanese army from occupying Hengyang, it would do its best to drag the main force of the Japanese army in the Hengyang area to provide time for other troops to react.

And the commander of the attacking side of the Hengyang Defense Battle is Fang Xianjue's old enemy and old opponent Yokoyama Yong, this Yokoyama Yong is not simple, Yokoyama Yong is a soldier from the world, his father is the army of the Japanese army, and he is an outstanding graduate of the army non-commissioned officer school, and Ishihara Waner and others at the same time are called Mitoriba, and they themselves have a high prestige in the Japanese Army.

Since the outbreak of the Battle of Changheng, Yokoyama Yong led hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops to run amok and rampage, not only taking the tasks that the previous Japanese commanders did not complete and occupying Changsha, but also giving Xue Yue's Ninth Theater a fatal blow, so before attacking Hengyang, Yokoyama Yong did not put Fang Xianjue in his eyes at all, in Hengshan Yong's mind, a military-level unit of only one branch was not the opponent of his hundreds of thousands of troops, although he felt that this person was relatively recognized.

The reason why Isamu Yokoyama knew and knew Fang Xianjue this person is a story, and in October last year, according to the instructions of the dispatched army to attack Changde, Isamu Yokoyama formulated a new battle plan. In the first stage of the operation, Yokoyama completely copied the situation of the battle in western Hubei and created a false impression that it would follow the old way of dealing with it -- to evacuate the main forces on the periphery of Changde, gather on both flanks and then counterattack. In this way, the Japanese army can use the main force to disperse the **, push it away, and encircle and capture the empty Changde. As a result of **'s failure to see through this and an unrealistic on-the-spot counterattack, the development of events was exactly as Yokoyama had predicted. The main forces of the 3rd, 13th, 39th, 68th, and 116th Divisions of the Japanese Army and the five detachments of Toda, Koga, Sasaki, Miyawaki, and Puta successfully smashed the defenses of the 10th and 29th Group Armies, and Peng Shiliang, commander of the provisional 5th Division of the 73rd Army, and Xu Guozhang, commander of the 150th Division of the 44th Army, were martyred. After the main forces withdrew westward, there was only one 74th Division of the 57th Army left in Changde and its surroundings, and the Japanese army immediately surrounded it. At this moment, it was too late to rush to mobilize troops to reinforce the ** who had just woken up from a dream. At this time, Yokoyama thought that Changde was able to pinch the snail with five fingers, but this time he met his second opponent, that is, Yu Chengwan, the commander of the 57th Division. Yu He's subordinates named after "Tiger Ben" relied on the policy of "one trench to guard one trench, and one pit to guard one pit" to make Yokoyama's trick bankrupt again, and what was worse was that they killed two wing commanders in a row in just a few days, which was criticized by the dispatch army. At the end of November, the 10th Army of the National Revolutionary Army began to reinforce Changde, and because the department received a death order, it was desperate to intersperse and advance, continuously tearing through the reinforcement line, which made Yokoyama feel palpitations. In the end, due to the deep penetration of the lone army, the rescue failed, and Sun Mingjin, the commander of the 10th Reserve Division, also spilled blood on the battlefield. In this regard, he understood the combat effectiveness of the 10th Army for the first time and knew the name Fang Xianjue, but he didn't expect that this would not be the last time.