Battle of Taiyuan

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At the end of the summer of 1937, under the command of Hideki Tojo, chief of staff of the Japanese Kwantung Army, the Chahar Corps of the Kwantung Army (later known as the Mengjiang Corps) set up a headquarters in Duolun, and invaded Mongolia along the Pingsui Road from Chahar (southeast Inner Mongolia) with four brigades and nine cavalry divisions of the puppet Mongolian army. The 5th Division of the Japanese Invading Army on Pinghan Road, under the command of the division commander Seishiro Itagaki, fought from Huailai to Baoding via Wei County and Laiyuan.

process

On the Chinese side, the Second Theater of the Nationalist Government resisted at Weixian, Pingxingguanjian, Tianzhen, and Yanggao with one division each, and assembled near Datong with the main force to prepare for a decisive battle with the Japanese invading army at Julebao. From September 5 to the 24th, the Japanese army attacked westward, and in only 20 days, it occupied the cities and large areas of Tianzhen, Yanggao, Datong, and Jining. Tianzhen lost the battle, and the responsibility was investigated, and the commander of the 61st Army, Li Fuying, was ambushed.

On September 13, 1937, after the Japanese army independently mixed the 1st Brigade and Regiment occupied Datong without a fight, the Second Theater of the Nationalist Government then organized the Battle of Pingxingguan, and its main force withdrew to the area of the Great Wall in Hengshan to defend, the 61st Army of the National Revolutionary Army defended Ruyuekou, the 35th Army of the National Revolutionary Army withdrew to the Yanmen Pass position, the 17th Army, the 73rd Division and the 15th Army of the National Revolutionary Army retreated to the existing positions at Pingxingguan and Tuanchengkou, and the 15th Division of the 18th Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army entered and exited Pingxingguan to block the supply line of the Japanese rear.

On September 21, a part of the Japanese Mengjiang Corps captured Shangdu and Fengzhen, and continued to attack Jining, and its main force captured Yingxian, Shanyin, Zuoyun, Youyu, Pinglu, Liangcheng and other places, and then attacked the inner Great Wall line to prepare for the operation of the Fifth Division. On the 28th, it broke through the Ruyue Pass, and Liang Jiantang, the commander of the 203rd Brigade of the Chinese defenders, was martyred. The Japanese army entered Fanzhi and threatened the rear of the defenders of Pingxingguan, so the units of the Second Theater withdrew to the line of Wutaishan and Daixian on the night of the 30th, and the Battle of Pingxingguan ended.

At the request of Yan Xishan, commander of the Second Theater of Operations, Wei Lihuang, commander-in-chief of the 14th Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army, led Chiang Kai-shek's troops from Shijiazhuang to the north of Taiyuan for reinforcements, including the 14th Army, the Ninth Army, the 85th Division, and the Fifth Independent Brigade. On October 10, the Ministry of Defense concentrated near Xinkou and joined the divisions of the former Second Theater and divided it into three corps. The 15th, 17th, and 94th Divisions of the National Revolutionary Army under the command of Liu Maoen were the right-wing corps. The Ninth Army, the 19th Army, the 35th Army, and the 61st Army of the National Revolutionary Army, commanded by Wang Jingguo as commander-in-chief, Hao Mengling as the commander-in-chief of the former enemy, and Chen Changjie as the deputy commander-in-chief of the former enemy, were the Central Corps. The 10th, 83rd, and 85th Divisions of the 14th Army under the command of Li Mo'an, as well as the 68th and 71st Divisions of the Jin Sui Army, were the left wing corps, which were under the unified command of Wei Lihuang, the former commander-in-chief of the enemy in the Second Theater. On October 12, he occupied positions on the lines of Longwangtang, Jiehepu, Dabaishui, and Nanyu north of Xinkou, and carried out the Battle of Xinkou.

After October 8, the main force of the Japanese army successively captured Laoxian and Yuanping, and began to attack the Xinkou position on the 13th. The Chinese army held its position, carried out a counterattack, and fought fiercely until the 14th, the commander of the 21st Division, Li Xianzhou, was wounded, the commander of the Fifth Independent Brigade, Zheng Tingzhen, and his successor, Li Jicheng, were killed one after another, and on the 16th, Hao Mengling, the former commander-in-chief and commander of the Ninth Army, and Liu Jiaqi, the commander of the 54th Division, were martyred.

Battle of Taiyuan

In early October, the main forces of the Japanese Second and Second Armies attacked Zhengding, and the situation was serious. The First Army Corps, the Fourteenth Army Corps, the Third Army, and the Thirty-eighth Army were transferred to Niangzi Pass to occupy the positions that had not been placed, and they were under the unified command of Huang Shaohong, deputy commander of the Second Theater.

After the Japanese army fell into Shijiazhuang, they drove south. Only one part of its 20th Division attacked Niangzi Pass, in response to the offensive of its 5th Division. After the 11th, they attacked Jingcheng and Donkey Ridge, and the 17th Division of the 38th Army of the Chinese defenders met them. On the 14th, they broke through to Weize Pass and Jiuguan, and were surrounded by the First Army and the Third Army, destroying a lot, trapping data points, and relying on airdrops and supplies. Unfortunately, the Chinese army lacked firepower and failed to annihilate it, and the siege lasted until the 22nd, but the Japanese still resisted stubbornly.

On October 21, the Japanese army was forced to transfer all of the 20th Division and the 109th Division to return from southern Hebei, the 20th Division attacked Niangziguan Zaixing, and the 109th Division advanced from Hengkou Station to Shiyu Town and Nanzhangcheng. The mobilization of the 3rd Army and the 41st Army, which was reinforced, was not completed and the attack was lost. Niangziguan's side back was exposed, and she retreated to calm down. The 20th Division fell into Niangzi Pass on the 26th, entered Pingding on the 30th, and the 109th Division advanced to Xiyang, Pingding and Yangquan were lost one after another, and the Japanese army advanced to Taiyuan.

Yan Xishan, commander of the Second Theater of Operations, ordered Fu Zuoyi to guard Taiyuan. In order to avoid being encircled, the troops of Xinkou began to retreat on the night of November 2, moved to the northern suburbs of Taiyuan, and finally lost Dongshan, but crossed the Fen River and retreated westward. Niangziguan withdrew its troops and arrived in Taiyuan, and the Japanese army had formed an encirclement of Taiyuan, so they had to move south or cross the Fen River westward.

On November 6, the Japanese Fifth Division and the Mengjiang Corps attacked the Taiyuan position, and on the 8th, they broke through from Beicheng, and the defenders broke through to Xishan, and Taiyuan fell. The Japanese army fell into Jiaocheng on the 9th, and stopped after capturing Qixian and Pingyao one after another. The Chinese army retreated to Zihong Town, Hanhou Town, and Duijiuyu. The Battle of Taiyuan ended.

After the end of the Battle of Taiyuan, the 15th Army and the 17th Army of the National Revolutionary Army were transferred to Gaoping and Yangcheng in the southeast of Shanxi Province. Its 14th Army, 14th Army and other units moved into the area of Yicheng and Qinshui. The various units of the Jinsui army moved into the mountainous area of western Jinxi and continued to fight the Japanese army uninterruptedly until the Japanese surrendered in 1945.

This was a battle in which the armies of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party fought together on the station.

Historical significance

The Battle of Taiyuan lasted for 2 months, and it was the largest, fiercest, longest-lasting, and most significant battle in North China in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War. The total strength of the Japanese army in the battle was about 140,000 in four and a half divisions, and nearly 30,000 casualties. The total strength of the Chinese army in the war was more than 280,000 in 52 divisions (brigades) of six group armies, with more than 100,000 casualties. The Eighth Route Army effectively cooperated with friendly forces in the battle, and the ambush battle at Pingxingguan shattered the myth of "the invincibility of the Japanese army". The Battle of Xinkou consumed a large amount of the Japanese army's vital strength and restrained the Japanese army's southward movement along the Pinghan Railway (Beiping-Hankou). Although the final battle ended in defeat, the Battle of Taiyuan was the largest battle against Japan in North China in the eight-year War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. In the Battle of Taiyuan, about 20,000 Japanese troops were killed and wounded in the Battle of Guangxinkou, setting a record for the highest number of Japanese troops annihilated in North China, and the regular war of the National Revolutionary Army in North China came to an end.

Battle of Xuzhou

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In December 1937, after the Japanese army invaded East China and occupied Nanjing, the 13th Division crossed the Yangtze River north and entered the Lotus Pond and Mingguang line on the east bank of the Chihe River in Anhui; The Japanese 2nd Army, which invaded North China, crossed the Yellow River from Qingcheng and Jiyang in Shandong, occupied Jinan, and then advanced to the line of Jining, Mengyin, and Qingdao. In order to open up the Tianjin-Pukou Railway (Tianjin-Pukou) and unite the northern and southern battlefields, the Japanese base camp successively mobilized 8 divisions, 3 brigades, and 2 detachments (equivalent to brigades) of about 240,000 people, which were respectively commanded by the commander of the Central China Dispatch Army (reorganized by the Central China Front Army on February 18, 1938) and the commander of the North China Front Army, Terauchi Shouichi, to carry out a north-south advance, first to capture Xuzhou, a strategic point in East China, and then along the Longhai Railway (Lanzhou-Lianyungang) to take Zhengzhou in the west, and then along the Pinghan Railway (Beijing-Hankou) to seize Wuhan in the south. The Chinese army, commanded by Li Zongren, commander of the Fifth Theater of Operations, successively mobilized 64 divisions and three brigades of about 600,000 people, with the main force concentrated in the area north of Xuzhou to resist the southern attack of the Japanese army on the northern front, and a part of the troops was deployed on the southern section of the Tianjin-Pudong Railway to prevent the Japanese army from advancing north on the southern line to secure Xuzhou.

The course of the battle

On January 26, 1938, the 13th Division of the Japanese Army attacked Fengyang and Bengbu in Anhui Province. The defending 11th Army of the 31st Army, after resisting one by one in the area on the west bank of the Chi River, retreated to the west of Dingyuan and Fengyang. By February 3, the Japanese army had captured Linhuai Pass and Bengbu. On the 9th~10th, the main force of the 13th Division of the Japanese Army crossed the Huai River at Bengbu and Linhuai Pass respectively and launched an attack on the north bank. The 51st Army engaged in a fierce battle with the Japanese army, suffered heavy casualties, and retreated in the direction of the Lu River and the Huhe River on the 12th. The Fifth Theater of Operations led by Zhang Zizhong, commander of the 59th Army, rushed to the Guzhen area, and cooperated with the 51st Army to stubbornly resist the Japanese army in the area on the north bank of the Huai River. At the same time, on the south bank of the Huai River, the 48th Army of the 21st Group Army held the Luqiao area, and the 7th Army coordinated with the 31st Army to attack the Japanese flank of Dingyuan in a roundabout way, forcing the main force of the 13th Division of the Japanese Army to return from the north bank of the Huai River. The 59th and 51st armies took advantage of the situation to counterattack and restored all positions north of the Huai River by early March. The 21st Army and the 31st Army were concentrated from the south bank of the Huai River to the north bank. The two sides confronted each other across the river.

In late February, the Japanese 2nd Army began to split up and attack south. The 5th Division of the East Road moved south from Weixian (now Weifang) in Shandong, and fell into Yishui, Juxian, and Rizhao in succession, and went straight to Linyi. The 3rd Army Corps, the 40th Army and other units resisted step by step. The 59th Army was ordered to rush to the rescue, and on March 12, it arrived on the west bank of the Yi River in the northern suburbs of Linyi, and cooperated with the 40th Army to carry out a counterattack, fighting fiercely for 5 days and nights, inflicting heavy losses on the Japanese army, and forcing it to retreat to Juxian. The Nagase Detachment (equivalent to a brigade) of the 10th Division of the Japanese Army on the West Road crossed the canal from the west of the Jining area and attacked Jiaxiang, but was stubbornly resisted by the 3rd Army and the attack was frustrated; The Seya detachment (equivalent to a brigade) marched south along the Jinpu Railway, and on March 14 attacked Tengxian (present-day Tengzhou) from Liangxiadian, south of Zou County (present-day Zoucheng). The 41st Army of the 22nd Group Army of the defending army resisted bravely, suffered heavy casualties, and fought hard until the 17th, Wang Mingzhang, the commander of the 122nd Division of the army defending the city, was martyred, and Tengxian County was lost.

On March 20, after the Segu Detachment of the 10th Division of the Japanese Army advanced south and captured Lincheng (now Xuecheng), Zaozhuang, and Hanzhuang, despite the fact that the attack of the 5th Division and the 10th Division Changse Detachment on both sides was blocked, the lone army went deep and advanced to Taierzhuang, in an attempt to capture Xuzhou in one fell swoop. Li Zongren led his troops to hold Taierzhuang with Sun Lianzhong, commander-in-chief of the 2nd Group Army, and Tang Enbo, commander of the 20th Army Corps, led his troops to open the front of the Tianjin-Pudong Railway and turned into Lanling and its northwest Yungu mountainous area, luring the enemy deep and waiting for the opportunity to break the enemy. On March 23, the Japanese army moved south from Zaozhuang and engaged the defenders' alert troops in the Kangzhuang and Nigou areas on the north side of Taierzhuang. On the 24th, the Japanese army repeatedly attacked Taierzhuang and repeatedly attacked the village. The defending 2nd Army stubbornly resisted and engaged in a fierce battle with the Japanese army. The Fifth Theater of Operations used the main force of the 20th Army Corps to maneuver towards Taierzhuang, pinched the enemy's flank, formed an internal and external attack with the 2nd Group Army, and ordered the 3rd Army to advance to the north of Lincheng and Zaozhuang to cut off the enemy's rear route. In order to relieve the danger in front of Taierzhuang, the Japanese army quickly rushed from Linyi with the Sakamoto detachment of the 5th Division (equivalent to a regiment) to the Qiuhu area north of Lanling, where it was surrounded by the 20th Army of the 52nd Army. On April 3, the Fifth Theater launched a counteroffensive on all fronts, fighting fiercely for four days, and annihilated most of the Japanese Seya Detachment and the first part of the Sakamoto Detachment, totaling more than 10,000 people. The rest of the remnants of the Japanese army retreated to Yicheng and Zaozhuang on the 7th.

Operations in the vicinity of Xuzhou: China's highest military authority ordered the Fifth Theater to concentrate its forces near Xuzhou, preparing to gather and annihilate the Japanese army again. The Japanese army switched to a part of its forces to contain the opponent in the front, and the main force made a detour to the west, in an attempt to encircle Xuzhou from the flank and annihilate the main force of the Fifth Theater. On April 18, 1938, the 10th and 5th Divisions of the Japanese Army marched south from Yicheng, Shandong (now Zaozhuang) and the Yitang area northwest of Linyi, respectively, and carried out a diversionary attack on the defending 2nd Army, the 20th and 3rd Army Corps, and the 59th Army of the 27th Army Corps. The defenders resisted stubbornly, and by the end of the month, the Japanese army was stopped on the front line of Hanzhuang, Pixian (present-day Pizhou) and Tancheng. On May 5, the Japanese army began to encircle the west side of Xuzhou from the north and south. In the south, the 9th and 13th Divisions marched north along the west bank of the Beiqi River and the Whirlpool River from the Bengbu area, and on the 13th, after capturing Mengcheng and Yongcheng (belonging to Henan), they attacked Xiaoxian and Dangshan (now Anhui) in Jiangsu; The 3rd Division entered the Dayingji area from Bengbu and attacked Suxian (present-day Suzhou). In the north, the 16th Division crossed the canal from Jining, Shandong, and on the 14th, after capturing Yuncheng, Shanxian, Jinxiang, and Yutai, it advanced to Fengxian and Dangshan in Jiangsu; The 14th Division crossed the Yellow River from Puyang, Henan, and after trapping Heze and Cao counties in Shandong, it went straight to Lanfeng, Henan (now Lankao); At the same time, after the 10th Division handed over the operations in the Hanzhuang and Taierzhuang areas to the 114th Division, it crossed Weishan Lake near Xiazhen and attacked Peixian (belonging to Jiangsu). Since the Japanese army had formed a situation of encirclement of Xuzhou on all sides, on May 15, the Supreme Military Council of China decided to abandon Xuzhou. On the 16th, the Fifth Theater ordered all units to break through to the mountainous areas on the border of Henan and Anhui. On the 19th, Xuzhou fell. The Japanese army advanced westward along the Longhai Railway and occupied Kaifeng on June 6. In order to stop the advance of the Japanese army, Chiang Kai-shek ordered on the 9th to blow up the embankment of the Yellow River near the mouth of the garden in the northeast of Zhengzhou, and the river flooded south along the Jialu River through Zhongmu and Weishi. The Japanese forces were forced to retreat to the area east of the Yellow Flood. The battle is over.

Results

In this battle, the vast number of officers and men of the Chinese army fought bravely, first stopping the Japanese army on the south bank of the Huai River on the southern front, breaking its attempt to join the Japanese army on the northern front; Then, on the northern front, the Japanese army on the eastern route was defeated in the Linyi area, and the right flank of the Japanese army on the western route was stopped in the Jiaxiang area, crushing the Japanese army's plan to join forces in Taierzhuang. In the Taierzhuang area operations, the Fifth Theater adopted an active defensive tactic, with one part serving as the inner line of defense and the other part fighting on the outer line. Subsequently, the supreme military authorities, ignoring the overall situation of the enemy's strength and weakness, mobilized a large army near Xuzhou in an attempt to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese army, thus making the battle passive in the later stage. Despite this, this battle consumed the Japanese army's vital strength, delayed the Japanese army's offensive speed, and won time for the deployment of the Wuhan defense battle.