Battle of Wanjialing
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The Battle of Wanjialing, known in Chinese text as the Victory of Wanjialing (), refers to the Chinese Army's successful engagement during the Wuhan theatre of the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
against the Japanese
101st The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute mul ...
, 106th,
9th 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
and 27th divisions around the
Wanjialing Wanjialing () is a region located in the Jiangxi province, China. The region is known as the battlefield of the 1938 Battle of Wanjialing where the Chinese Army achieved decisive victory over Japan. The area is wooded and mountainous, with the Y ...
region in 1938. The two and a half month battle resulted in heavy losses of the Japanese
101st The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute mul ...
and 106th Divisions.


Combatants


Chinese

The Chinese forces consisted of the 4th Army, the elite 74th Army, 66th Army, 187th Division, 91st Division, New 13th Division, 142nd Division, 60th Division, Reserved 6th Division, 19th Division, a brigade from the 139th Division and the New 15th Division, which totals up to 100,000 men. The chief commander in the frontline was the commander of the 9th Group Army
Wu Qiwei Wu Qiwei (or Wu Chi-wei , Dabu, Guangdong; 1890–1953) was a Chinese military commander, who served under both the Republic of China and, after 1949, the People's Republic of China. Life Wu Qiwei attended the Wuchang Army School in his early ye ...
. They were under the overall command of the supreme commander of the 9th Military Region
Xue Yue Xue Yue (; December 26, 1896 – May 3, 1998) was a Chinese Nationalist military general, nicknamed by Claire Lee Chennault of the Flying Tigers as the "Patton of Asia" and called the "God of War" (戰神) by the Chinese. Early life and career ...
.


Japanese

The Japanese forces consisted of the 106th Division, led by Lieutenant-General
Junrokurō Matsuura was lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War. Biography A native of Fukuoka Prefecture, Matsuura graduated from the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1903. After graduation, he attended the Toyama Army Infa ...
. Under the 106th Division, there were the 111th Infantry Brigade (113th and 147th Infantry Regiments) and 136th Brigade (123rd and 145th Infantry Regiments), as well as regiments of cavalry, artillery, engineers and transport. During the battle, the 101st Division was also deployed. Later during the battle, the
9th 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
and 27th divisions would also be deployed.


Battle

Under the orders of
Yasuji Okamura was a general of the Imperial Japanese Army, and commander-in-chief of the China Expeditionary Army from November 1944 to the end of World War II. He was tried but found not guilty of any war crimes by the Shanghai War Crimes Tribunal after the ...
, the Japanese 106th Division intended to cross the Wanjialing () Region, hoping to cut through to the rear of De'an () as a direct approach from Jiujiang () along the railway line south and an approach by 101st Division by pushing through from the eastern foothills of
Mount Lu Mountain Lu or Lushan (, Gan: Lu-san), officially named Mountain Lu National Park, is a mountain in China. It was also known as Kuanglu () in ancient times. It is situated in Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, and is one of the most renowned mountai ...
was getting nowhere. The plan was discovered by Xue Yue, and the Chinese Army managed to surround the 106th Division with 16 divisions at
Lushan Mountain Lu or Lushan (, Gan: Lu-san), officially named Mountain Lu National Park, is a mountain in China. It was also known as Kuanglu () in ancient times. It is situated in Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, and is one of the most renowned mountai ...
. After capturing Jiujiang, the 106th Division tried to push south using the Jiujiang to Nanchang railway as the axis and capture De'an. It got a mauling at Shahe 沙河 just south of Jiujiang. On August 21, the Japanese 101st Division's Sato Detachment (commanded by Major General Sato Shozaburo (), 101 Brigade), consisting of two infantry battalions supported by a battalion of artillery, captured Xingzi as part of the push to De'an, but faced fierce resistance from
Wang Jingjiu Wang Jingjiu or Wang Ching-chiu (王敬久) (1902–1968) was a general in China's National Revolutionary Army. He commanded the 87th Division and was engaged in the Chinese Civil War and suppressing the Chahar People's Anti-Japanese Army in 193 ...
's 25th Corps and
Ye Zhao Ye Zhao () was a KMT general from Guangdong. He graduated from the Baoding Military Academy in 1919. In 1937, he fought at the Battle of Shanghai. During the Nationalist withdrawal from Shanghai, Ye obtained a set of used peasant clothes from a de ...
's 66th Corps. Although reinforced with Saeda's detachment (commanded by Major General Saeda Yoshishige (), 101st division) both forces were still unable to break through the Chinese lines. The Japanese proceeded to unleash poison gas on the Chinese positions. Although the Chinese had a severe shortage of protective equipment against chemical weapons, they were still able to repel the Japanese attack. At the beginning of September, Okamura ordered the
9th 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
and 27th Divisions to relieve the 106th division, but they were halted by fierce Chinese resistance. On September 24, the Japanese Army finally managed to punch through the Chinese lines in the west, but was then confronted by
Ou Zhen Ou Zhen (, 1899–1969), or Ou Chen, was a KMT army general from Qujiang, Guangdong. He was active in the Second Sino-Japanese War during World War II. He was a commander in the Battle of Shanghai, the Battle of Wuhan (leading the 4th Corps, par ...
's 4th Corps and
Yu Jishi Yu Jishi (; 1 May 1904 – 25 January 1990) was a Chinese Nationalist military general from Fenghua, Zhejiang. He served with distinction during the Battle of Shanghai The Battle of Shanghai () was the first of the twenty-two major engagemen ...
's elite 74th Corps and was once again surrounded. Desperate to break open a safe path for their trapped ground forces, the Japanese conducted heavy aerial bombardment on the Chinese positions with incendiary bombs, resulting in many Chinese deaths. On October 7, the Chinese suddenly launched co-ordinated series of fierce counter-attacks, forcing the remaining Japanese units that were still intact to hastily retreat. Combat ended on October 10, which was coincidentally the Chinese National Celebration Day. On October 13, the Chinese forces withdrew from the battlefield.


Aftermath

The two and a half month battle caused tremendous casualties for the Japanese army, especially their
101st The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute mul ...
and 106th divisions. These two divisions, which initially had a combined strength of over 47,000 troops, lost about 30,000 men in battle. The Japanese officer corps was hit particularly hard: the high casualty rate forced General
Shunroku Hata was a field marshal ('' gensui'') in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. He was the last surviving Japanese military officer with a marshal's rank. Hata was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1948, but was ...
to frequently airdrop replacement officers onto the bases of his besieged units throughout the battle. For the Chinese, the successful defense of Wanjialing played a key role in the overall Wuhan campaign, halting the Japanese offensive drive towards Wuhan along the southern bank of the
Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...
, and buying invaluable time for the Chinese government to evacuate its civilian population, war facilities, and industrial assets from the city and move them westward towards cities such as the new wartime capital of
Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
.


References


Sources


Archives reveal China's key victory against Japanese aggressors




{{DEFAULTSORT:Wanjialing Battles of the Second Sino-Japanese War Conflicts in 1938 1938 in China 1938 in Japan Military history of Jiangxi August 1938 events September 1938 events October 1938 events