Defense of Hengyang - Events Leading Up To The Battle

Events Leading Up To The Battle

When the Japanese army captured Changsha and pressed southwards, the Chinese units seemed powerless, because during the defense of Changsha, they dispersed in the face of completely superior Japanese power. Logistics and communication were thus very difficult to maintain. Although Yang Sen's 27th army group and Wang Lingji's 30th army group did fiercely engage the Japanese army at Liling and Chaling respectively, they were unable to stop the advance of the overwhelming Japanese force. As a result, Hengyang was surrounded and unable to receive outside support.

Changsha was lost too quickly, and this was a shock to the Chinese military headquarters. In a hurry, Chiang Kai-shek contacted KMT general Fang Xianjue, commander of the 10th army. He ordered Fang to hold the city for two weeks, in a desperate attempt to buy time for the HQ to fully analyse the critical situation. General Fang had previously participated in the Battle of Changde, where his army suffered heavy casualties. After Changde was liberated from the siege, his army was relocated to Mount Heng for replacements and resupplies. Only on the 2nd of June was it deployed to protect Hengyang.

The 10th army consisted of 3 divisions. In particular, the 10th and 190th division were reserve divisions, and the latter had yet to receive actual troops. As a result, it had an en cadre, but no soldiers. Later, the 54th division, which was originally stationed at Hengyang, was brought over, but this division only had the strength of a single regiment. On paper, the Chinese army had 4 divisions, but in reality, they only had 7 regiments. Even with the addition of its mountain artillery company, field artillery company and anti-tank artillery company, its total strength did not exceed 17,000 men.