usatvline Chapter 462 A Complete Victory
Chapter 462 A Complete Victory
"Commander, according to the preliminary post-war statistics sent by the Sixth Division, the Sixth Division and the attached Nara Detachment and Kamimura Detachment have reported a total of 32,775 soldiers killed, missing or injured. It is estimated that this number of casualties will continue to increase as time goes by." Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto also reported the casualty figures that had just been preliminarily counted to the commander, Lieutenant General Okamura Neiji.
After hearing the casualty figures of the attacking force announced by Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto, Commander Lieutenant General Ningji Okamura was also shocked. This number of casualties has reached half of the total strength of the attacking force, which is very shocking. Moreover, the loss of weapons and equipment and supplies has not been calculated yet.
"Mr. Yoshimoto, why are the casualties of the attacking force so severe? I hope that Lieutenant General Inaba Shiro, the commander of the 6th Division, has made a mistake in his statistics." Commander Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura asked the chief of staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto with an incredulous look on his face.
The casualties of this unit are really shocking. In this battle, the 11th Army dispatched 100,000 people from three directions to attack the area controlled by the Chinese government. As a result, not only did they fail to occupy an inch of land in the Chinese government-controlled area, but they lost more than 30,000 troops in the main attack direction alone. If the losses in the other two battlefields are taken into account, then it is a foregone conclusion that the losses of troops on their side in this battle will exceed 40,000, which means that basically half of the officers and soldiers were killed or injured.
"Commander, the data currently compiled by Lieutenant General Shiro Inaba, commander of the 6th Division, is only preliminary. The troops have just withdrawn to their original starting positions, so it is inevitable that some omissions will be made when counting. In addition, there is a high possibility that more officers and soldiers will be withdrawn from the south bank of the Xinqiang River. Therefore, it is estimated that it will take one to two days to obtain the final accurate data." Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto lowered his head and spoke about the casualty data in a somewhat euphemistic way.
Commander Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura immediately understood the meaning of the words of Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto, which was that the current data was already very good. After the various troops have completed the statistics of actual casualties, the data will definitely be even more shocking than the current ones.
As for the possibility that other troops may withdraw from the south bank within the next one to two days, who can believe it? In fact, this means that some troops that have lost contact have not yet been able to confirm casualties. If these troops do not withdraw their personnel, the casualty data will definitely rise by then.
After taking a look at Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi, Commander Lieutenant General Okamura Yasuji calmed himself down and wanted to ask about the losses in weapons and equipment. However, when the words were on the tip of his tongue, Commander Lieutenant General Okamura Yasuji suddenly reacted and swallowed back the words he wanted to ask.
Commander Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura felt that he should stop asking. There would be no good news if he asked. The troops suffered such heavy casualties, and the problem of weapons and equipment must be even more serious. It would be better for him to keep his mood at the current lowest level and not to stimulate himself anymore.
"Mr. Yoshimoto, thank you for your hard work. If the Chinese army does not launch an attack on the north bank tomorrow, we will start the post-war propaganda war we discussed before. In addition, let the 106rd Division and the th Division withdraw to their original departure points and prepare for defense in their respective defense zones to prevent possible attacks by the Chinese army." Commander Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura also issued orders to retreat on the other two battlefields.
Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto understood that the Battle of Changsha had officially ended with the issuance of this order by Commander Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura, and the next step was for both sides to start bragging to each other.
However, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi was confident about the propaganda war. When it came to bragging, the Empire of Japan had the upper hand over the Chinese government. Moreover, this propaganda war had been basically prepared two days in advance. After the 106rd Division and the th Division withdrew from the other two battlefields, major newspapers in the occupied areas would report that the Empire of Japan had won a great victory.
When the New 22nd Army retook the position on the south bank of the Xinqiang River, Commander Xue, commander of the Ninth War Zone, immediately reported the good news to the top government leaders. The top government leaders were overjoyed. They had been preparing to give up the place, but unexpectedly, they not only defended it, but also eliminated so many Japanese troops.
The highest level of the government held a supreme meeting on the same day, telling everyone the news of the victory of the Changsha Campaign, and instructed the propaganda department to make use of this great victory to boost the confidence of the people across the country in the war of resistance, and to prove to the world that the Chinese government will continue to resist the invasion of the Japanese army, and can still win the battle even when weapons and equipment are backward.
This victory can be said to be very timely. Previously, the rebellion of the second-in-command of the government had brought very negative impacts to the people and the army across the country. However, the victory of the Fifth War Zone in the Sui-Zao Campaign had turned this passive situation around.
The Battle of Changsha was a complete and beautiful victory. Not only did it prevent the Japanese army from completing any of the strategic goals set before the war, including occupying Changsha, Hunan Province, and opening up the major transportation line of the Guangdong-Hankou Railway, but it also did not lose an inch of territory. In addition, tens of thousands of Japanese troops were wiped out.
This is the most beautiful and successful battle ever won on the front battlefield since the war between China and Japan. This victory will surely strengthen the determination of the entire Chinese military and civilians to fight against the Japanese.
On the day when the Chinese government controlled the area, all newspapers printed extra editions, which detailed the causes, process and results of the Changsha Battle. Faced with this huge victory, the enthusiasm of the Chinese people was immediately aroused, and newspapers in all newspaper offices were sold out. Many newspapers were even reprinted several times to barely satisfy the curiosity and enthusiasm of the general public.
However, the Japanese army subsequently began to express itself in newspapers in the occupied areas. First, the commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army personally held a press conference and stated that the original purpose of the Japanese army's battle in this Changsha Battle was to severely damage the resistance of the Chinese government, and not the so-called occupation of Changsha and Hunan Province as the Chinese government had promoted.
After all the Japanese troops completed their assigned combat missions, they withdrew to their original bases, and there were no heavy losses as the Chinese government claimed. The newspapers in the Japanese war zone did not even mention any strategic goals. Instead, they were filled with reports on how much damage had been done to the Chinese government's direct troops, how many of the Chinese government's resistance forces had been eliminated, and which former Chinese miscellaneous troops had "abandoned the dark and joined the light" and joined the new government.