1937 65438+In February, after the fall of Nanjing, the capital of China, the Japanese army was extremely arrogant and attempted to attack the main force of the China government in one fell swoop along the Yangtze River. However, under the firm and powerful command of General Li Zongren, the Fifth Theater of China launched a large-scale Xuzhou battle with the Japanese army. The situation of the battlefield in North China and the tenacious loyal opposition of the defenders in China, Xuzhou, temporarily diverted the Japanese army's attention and tried to get through the Jin-Pu line instead. The battle of China not only won great victories such as Taierzhuang victory, but also had important strategic significance. However, the battles in Wuhan and Nanchang failed.
After the war between Wuhan and Nanchang, Changsha's strategic position rose to a particularly prominent position, becoming a strategic location on the southwest gateway of China's strategic rear area. Hunan is a famous granary in China. During the Anti-Japanese War, it was an important supply base of grain, soldiers and industrial resources for the National Government. The headquarters of the commander of the ninth war zone is located in Changsha, the provincial capital, and the Chinese and Japanese armies are facing each other across the new wall river in northern Hunan. Changsha is a strategic town in central China, and also the hub of Guangdong-Han railway.
Politically, Japan gave up the position of "not taking the national government as an opponent" in the past, and instead adopted the strategy of political inducement and surrender, supplemented by military strikes. Militarily, stop the strategic attack on the frontal battlefield and concentrate on consolidating the occupied areas. Economically, the Japanese government lured Wang Jingwei, the leader of the pro-Japanese faction of the National Government, to surrender openly and set up a puppet government in Nanjing.
1938 165438+ At the beginning of October, the Japanese army occupied northern Hunan, and Changsha was in jeopardy. The Kuomintang took scorched earth and made a plan to burn Changsha. However, a series of accidental factors made the fire completely out of control, causing more than 30,000 deaths and 90% houses in the city being destroyed. Changsha has also become one of the most seriously damaged cities in World War II. Because the code of the telegram sent by 12 is "Wen", the fire happened at night (that is, in the evening), so it is called "Wen fire".
1938, a few days after the fire broke out, Lian and Wen Zhongfu were shot. 1939 Xue Yue was appointed commander of the 9th Theater, commanding the Changsha Battle.
After the fall of other cities, Changsha was the only barrier in the southwest under the control of the National Government. Once Changsha is captured, China will be in a passive position in the war. In order to keep Changsha as a strategic barrier, the Ninth Theater fought the first, second and third battles with Japanese troops 1 1 successively, which eventually led to the fourth Changsha Battle, also known as the "Heng Chang Battle".
China paid special attention to Changsha's defense, and the ninth theater (later divided into the sixth and ninth theaters) concentrated heavily and confronted the Japanese army head-on. 1September, 939 14, the first Changsha Battle (also known as the Battle of Northern Hunan, or the Battle of Hunan and Jiangxi in Japanese) broke out. This is also the first major offensive of the Japanese army on the frontal battlefield in China after the outbreak of the European War.
International background:
1938 10 after the Japanese invaded Guangzhou and Wuhan, they were short of troops because of the long front; The consumption of manpower and material resources is huge, and the financial economy is in trouble; Anti-war and war-weariness began to grow in Japan, and the ruling class quarreled endlessly because of the bankruptcy of the "quick victory" strategy and differences in foreign policy; Moreover, due to China people's persistence in the war of resistance, their strategy of dominating East Asia has been greatly affected, showing a passive situation everywhere. In this case, the Japanese invaders were forced to adjust their policy of aggression against China.