Leaving Changsha CBI (id:#66299)

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Outskirts of CHANGSHA, SOUTH-CENTRAL CHINA 1939-10-06 (0 others)

Overview:

During the Sino-Japanese war, Changsha, the provincial capital of Hunan, was an objective of the IJA in three different stages of the conflict. The first attempt to take the city occurred during September and October of 1939. This was the first great urban battle of the war to fall within the timeframe of what is now widely considered to be World War II. In Fall of 1939, to break the stalemate, Japanese General Toshizo Nishio and Lieutenant-General Seishiro Itagaki, of the ‘Japanese Expeditionary Forces to China’, set out to capture Changsha. The Japanese 101st and 106th Divisions were deployed to attack from the East, while the 3rd, 6th, 13th, and 33rd Divisions marched from the North. The IJA needed a great victory by the end of the year to help restore morale after the recent defeats inflicted on them by the Russians in Mongolia. After heavy fighting, the Japanese finally entered the city on September 29, 1939. But the Chinese soon could counter-attack with enough force that they were able to cut the supply lines of the Japanese force. A week later, the Japanese found themselves isolated and encircled, with little hope of forcing their way past the blocking Chinese forces and reaching the safety of their friendly lines.

Defender: Chinese (20th Corps, 27th Army Group)  

Errata (source)