Anan Weiji learned the lessons of the first Battle of Changsha, and did not invest a large number of troops to attack the main battlefield in northern Hunan as soon as he came up, but was the first to launch an attack on the Dayun Mountain area north of the Xinqiang River in order to test the reality of the Chinese army.

Dayun Mountain is located at the junction of Yueyang County and Linxiang City to which Yueyang City belongs in the north of Hunan, belongs to the northwest branch of Mufu Mountain, is a famous spot in the south of the Yangtze River since ancient times, Taoist Cave Heaven, is called Circling Seventy-two Peaks, and the altitude is 911.1 meters. A few kilometers to the south of this Dayun Mountain is the Xinqiang River, the gateway to Changsha, which has become one of the important forward positions of the Ninth Theater since the fall of Wuhan.

Due to the particularity of the geographical location of Dayun Mountain, it is easy to defend and difficult to attack, not to mention that it is still relatively close to the range of the Japanese army's strength, so Xue Yue regarded this place as a forward observation post in the Ninth War Zone, and sent heavy troops to garrison here. Knowing that the Japanese army was preparing to launch the Second Battle of Changsha, the Ninth Theater urgently sent additional defenders to Dayun Mountain.

In addition to the top of the hill garrisoned by a reinforced battalion of the 4th Army, there are the 102nd Division and the 306th Regiment of the 4th Army on the west side, and an infantry battalion of the newly formed 11th Division of the 58th Army on the east side, with a total strength of about 5,800 people, and a reinforced machine gun company is also stationed here. In view of the frequent activities of the Japanese army, the 9th Theater Command ordered the 4th Army to immediately keep a close watch on the Japanese troops opposite, and if necessary, to send small units to attack the rear of the Japanese army and destroy its transportation facilities.

The headquarters of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, after discussion, believed that the existence of Dayun Mountain had seriously threatened the flank security of the Imperial Japanese Army, and in order to ensure the smooth implementation of the "plus operation" plan and cover the main force of the 11th Army to assemble north of the Xinqiang River, Anan Weiji ordered the 6th Division, which had been garrisoned in the Yueyang area, to sweep Dayun Mountain and remove the threat from this flank.

On the morning of November 4, 1940, the 23rd and 45th Wings of the 6th Division of the Japanese Army, with the support of aviation, launched an attack from Zhongfang to Yanling and Zhanjiaqiao on the north side of Dayun Mountain. Its 13th Wing attacked the west side of Dayun Mountain and engaged in a fierce battle with the defending 102nd Division.

At the same time, the 27th Group Army of the Ninth Theater also detected signs of the Japanese 40th Division in the Xianning area of southern Hunan, which was moving to northern Hunan and was an old opponent. They were still relatively clear about the Japanese army's every move, so they judged that the 40th Division must have been on its back to change defense with the 6th Division, and the Japanese army's attack on Dayun Mountain was a routine offensive before the change of defense.

In order to ensure the safety of the direction of Dayun Mountain, at 10 o'clock in the morning of November 4, the Ninth Theater ordered the 58th Army to send troops to fight with the 4th Army, and ordered the 20th Army to prepare to attack the Japanese army from Tongcheng to the west, and take advantage of the Japanese army's change of defense to strike at it.

The Ninth Theater has always been relatively fearful of the 6th Division of the Japanese Army, a division of the Japanese Army, and was one of the 17 standing divisions of the Japanese Army before the outbreak of World War II.

This time, after the main force of the 6th Division arrived on the eastern side of Dayun Mountain. They quickly launched a fierce attack on the defenders on the east side, and the defenders on the east side of Dayun Mountain only had one infantry battalion of the new 11th Division of the 58th Army. With less than 400 troops, in the face of the attack of the Japanese Sixth Division, although the defenders resisted hard, because the Japanese troops and firepower were superior, the blockade was ineffective, and they abandoned the Dayun Mountain position.

After occupying the positions on the eastern flank, the Japanese used this as a stronghold. Launch a fierce assault on the top of the hill and the positions on the western flank. Even aviation units were brought in to coordinate operations. Fierce fighting for a day and night. The defenders suffered heavy losses, but they held their ground.

The next day, the main force of the 6th Division, under the cover of armored vehicles, launched an attack on the position on the west side of Dayun Mountain. However, although the altitude of Dayun Mountain is not high, the terrain is very steep, and the Japanese armored vehicles only advanced less than 300 meters before being blocked at the front of the position, and the Japanese had to stop the attack after losing more than 20 combat vehicles.

However, the commander of the Japanese 6th Division, Lieutenant General Kanda Masazen, was extremely dissatisfied with the performance of the 6th Division, and ordered a squad leader who failed to attack to commit suicide by disembowelment on the spot, and at the same time authorized the front-line troops to use special ammunition. Although the agreement signed between the Japanese government and Chen Feng's subordinates strictly prohibited the use of special ammunition on the battlefield, this agreement was implemented relatively thoroughly in the north, and the Japanese army generally did not dare to use poison gas bombs and other dirty bombs to prevent retaliation from Chen Feng's subordinates.

However, in Central and South China, this agreement did not work so well, although the Japanese army would not use poison gas bombs unless it was absolutely necessary, but due to the lack of supervision, once the attack did not go well, the Japanese army would still take risks, and the situation germinated.

In this regard, neither the Nationalist Government nor Chen Feng had any way at all, once the Japanese army decided to use poison gas bombs, in order not to be caught, they would often destroy the evidence at all costs, so even if the Japanese army used poison gas bombs, it was difficult to collect their evidence.

With the assistance of poison gas bombs, the Japanese army finally captured the position on the west side of Dayun Mountain, and in view of the ferocity of the Japanese army, the Fourth Army had no choice but to order the troops on the mountain to retreat and abandon the position, and Dayun Mountain was lost.

Dayun Mountain is only a forward stronghold, although it is extremely important, but it is far away from the main battlefield, and it is not suitable for long-term garrison at all. Therefore, after the Japanese army captured this place, they did not send troops to guard it, but ordered the engineering troops to completely blast the fortifications built in the ninth theater on the mountain, and then the Japanese army withdrew from Dayun Mountain.

After the main force of the 6th Division completed the sweeping mission, it assembled in the direction of Taolin and prepared to carry out the next stage of the combat mission on attacking northern Xiangbei. However, its 13th Wing was blocked by the Chinese 102nd Division and the 59th Division near Gantian and Tuanshan slopes, and was caught in a bitter battle.

The two divisions fighting against the 13th Wing of the Japanese Army were the backbone of the 27th Group Army, and although the combat effectiveness of the 27th Group Army was not very strong, and it could only be regarded as lower than average among the more than 40 group armies owned by the Nationalist Government, this group army inherited the consistent toughness of the Sichuan Army and fought quite bravely.

The commander-in-chief of the 27th Group Army is also an experienced veteran warlord, although this person has a bad reputation among all the warlords, but his determination to resist the war is the most resolute in the Sichuan army. After the outbreak of the all-out War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in 1937, Yang Sen asked for orders to lead his troops to march out of Sichuan to resist the Japanese, and belonged to the 19th Corps of the tiger general Xue Yue, and later Xue Yue was promoted to the commander of the Ninth War Zone, and his department belonged to the Ninth War Zone, and Yang Sen's department was also assigned to the Ninth War Zone.

During this period, Yang Sen fought against Japan in blood, and made many military exploits, and there were almost no major battles in Central China that he did not participate in, and the Sichuan army he led participated in the Battle of Songhu, the Battle of Wuhan, the Battle of Changsha and many other battles. Although his troops were poorly equipped and lacked ammunition, provisions, and medical equipment, the soldiers wore straw sandals on their feet in the winter.

However, Yang Sen's troops went to Shanghai to participate in the Songhu War of Resistance as soon as they left Sichuan, and the whole army fought a bloody battle for 5 days and nights, holding the position until Wei Yunsong's 31st Army and Ye Zhao's 66th Army took over. The Sichuan army led by more than 18,000 people, casualties as high as more than 7,000 people, Yang Sen's department was the most capable unit in the Battle of Songhu in addition to the ace division of the Central Army equipped with German weapons, the 88th Division of the Central Army, and the direct team of the tax police regiment, and was rated as one of the five most capable divisions in the Songhu battlefield, Chiang Kai-shek immediately ordered to give priority to supply and reequipment.

Although it was said that Xue Yue was the commander-in-chief in this battle, the idea of resisting the enemy was put forward by Yang Sen and Luo Zhuoying, so Yang Sen attached great importance to it, and he didn't want to be scolded by Lao Jiang again.

After learning that the Fourth Army had lost the main position of Dayun Mountain, Yang Sen immediately telegraphed to Ou Zhen, commander of the Fourth Army, and Zhang Deneng, commander of the 59th Division: "Dayun Mountain can be lost, but the Fourth Army must not be withdrawn, not only can it not be withdrawn, but it must also find a way to delay the pace of the Japanese army, gain time for the deployment of the theater of operations, and drag the Japanese Sixth Division for a week. ”

Under Yang Sen's high pressure, the 59th Division and the 102nd Division, which cooperated with the operation, bit the tail of the Japanese 13th Wing, and the two sides fought inextricably. The 4th Artillery Brigade of the 13th Wing, with a total of more than 4,600 people, was blocked on the front line of Gantian and Tuanshan slopes, and in the face of the siege of more than 14,000 Chinese/troops, the Japanese army felt powerless and had no choice but to send a report to Lieutenant General Kanda Masazen, requesting the division headquarters to give operational guidance.

After receiving the telegram from the 13th Division asking for help, Kanda did not dare to slack off, and after experiencing many times that the Imperial Army was destroyed by the formation, the senior generals of the Japanese army have now become cautious, and the previous unstoppable mania is gone, and they finally regard the Chinese as real opponents, and do not know how to talk about China. Should the army be happy or sad at this time?

The main force of the 6th Division immediately went to Gantian and Tuanshan to reinforce the 13th Wing, taking advantage of this opportunity, the 58th Division regained the position of Dayun Mountain, and at this time, the 60th Division of the 37th Army reinforced by the Ninth Theater to Dayun Mountain had also arrived on the battlefield, and the 27th Army then ordered the newly formed 10th Division, 59th Division, and 60th Division to surround and annihilate the 13th Wing of the Japanese Army before the main force of the Japanese Sixth Division rushed to the battlefield, and the attack was scheduled to begin at dawn the next day.

However, just as these three divisions were fighting fiercely with the 13th Wing, the Shigesong Detachment of the 40th Division of the Japanese Army, which was advancing westward from Xianning, took a small road to Gantian and rescued the 13th Wing in the encirclement, and then withdrew to Straw Shoe Ridge. Subsequently, the Chinese army pursued in the direction of Straw Shoe Ridge and launched an attack on the Chongsong detachment, and the two sides fought each other in a small area of Straw Shoe Ridge, suffering heavy casualties, and the battle situation immediately fell into a stalemate. (To be continued......)