Short answers, pulled from the story.
Japan's goal at Changde was to maintain pressure on the Chinese National Revolutionary Army and reduce its capacity to send troops to support the Burma Campaign. The offensive was not aimed at holding the city permanently but at grinding down Chinese fighting strength in the Hunan region.
Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the Imperial Japanese 11th Army, deployed roughly 60,000 troops across six divisions, including the 39th, 58th, 13th, 3rd, 116th, and 68th divisions, attacking Changde from the north and east on the 2nd of November 1943.
Yu Chengwan commanded the 74th Corps' 57th Division, leading approximately 8,000 men against the Japanese assault. After the battle he was arrested and tried for abandoning the city; the military court sentenced him to five years in prison. Chiang Kai-Shek initially sought his execution, but Sun Lianzhong and others intervened to spare his life.
Only 100 survivors were evacuated from the 57th Division when Chinese reinforcements finally reached the city, and every one of them was wounded. The division had entered the battle with around 8,000 men.
Three Chinese division commanders died during the Changde campaign. Lieutenant General Sun Mingjin of the Reserve 10th Division was killed by gunshot wounds during the counteroffensive. Lieutenant General Xu Guozhang, age 37, was killed at Taifushan. Lieutenant General Peng Shiliang, age 38, fell along the Taoyuan-Shimen line.
The Japanese 116th Division suffered a reduction of 7,547 personnel between the 10th of November 1943 and the 17th of January 1944. The 65th Infantry Regiment of the 13th Division required 1,047 supplementary soldiers after the battle to restore its strength. Chinese military records attributed more than 10,000 losses to the 57th Division's defense alone.