Battle of Changsha (1941–1942)

Battle of Changsha (1941–1942)
Part of the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II
A Chinese soldier mounts his ZB vz. 26 light machine gun at Changsha, January 1942.
Date 24 December 1941 – 15 January 1942 (3 weeks and 1 day) Location Changsha, Luo River (Henan) in China Result Chinese victory
Belligerents
Republic of China	Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
Xue Yue	Korechika Anami
Units involved
National Revolutionary Army 9 armies - 20+ divisions	Eleventh Army 6th Division 40th Division 3rd Division Imperial Japanese Navy
Strength
300,000 soldiers	120,000 soldiers[1] 600 pieces of artillery[1] 200 aircraft[1]
Casualties and losses
Japanese claim: 28,612 killed 1,065 captured	Japanese claim: 1,591 killed 4,412 wounded American and Chinese claim: 52,000 killed Chinese claim: 33,941 killed 23,003 wounded [2]

The third Battle of Changsha (24 December 1941 – 15 January 1942; Chinese: 第三次長沙會戰) was the first major offensive in China by Imperial Japanese forces following the Japanese attack on the Western Allies and the attack on Pearl Harbor. The offensive resulted in failure for the Japanese, as Chinese forces were able to lure them into a trap and encircle them. After suffering heavy casualties, Japanese forces were forced to carry out a general retreat.^[1]

Planning and forces

The offensive was originally intended to prevent Chinese forces from reinforcing the British Commonwealth forces engaged in Hong Kong. Infuriated by Chinese claims of having defeated him in his September-October 1941 Changsha Offensive, Japanese Eleventh Army commander General Korechika Anami originally intended to mount a thrust with his army to support the Twenty-Third Army's attack on Hong Kong. Anami's main force consisted of 27 infantry battalions, 10 artillery battalions, and one artillery battery.^[3]

Attack

The Japanese commenced combat operations on 24 December 1941, with the 6th and 40th Divisions leading the way. Japanese forces initially cut through Chinese defenders. By 29 December 1941, believing that the city of Changsha was "inadequately defended", Anami elected to capture it. He was supposed to drive from the south of Hankou, about 19 miles (31 km) east of the Hankou-Canton Railway, and reach the Miluo River, but disobeyed orders from Imperial General Headquarters and penetrated Chinese lines as far as 22 miles (35 km) toward Changsha.^[3] He committed the 3rd and 6th Divisions and his forces were surprised to be met with fierce opposition. The 3rd Division penetrated the southeastern side of the city but made no further advances. On 4 January 1942, the Eleventh Army occupied "all the important points of the city," but they were in danger of encirclement by counterattacking Chinese.^[3]

Result

With the prospect of becoming encircled, and low on ammunition and rations, the Eleventh Army ordered a withdrawal on 4 January 1942. While both withdrawing and protecting rear service units and wounded personnel, Eleventh Army forces fended off attack by nine Chinese armies and over 20 Chinese divisions. Some Japanese units — like the 200-man detachment from the 9th Independent Mixed Brigade, from which only one man survived — were almost completely destroyed.^[3]

See also

• Battle of Changsha (1939)
• Battle of Changsha (1941)
• Battle of Changsha (1944)
• Battle of Changsha (TV series), the TV series depicting this event

References

28°12′00″N 112°58′01″E / 28.2000°N 112.9670°E / 28.2000; 112.9670

This page was last edited on 2 February 2024, at 00:33