Battle for Changsha (1944)

Battle for Changsha (1944)

Part of: Second Sino-Japanese War

The Japanese Ichigo Plan

date	August 1944
place	Changsha in the southern Chinese province of Hunan
output	strategic Chinese victory, tactical Japanese victory
Territorial changes	Conquest of Hengyang by the Japanese

Parties to the conflict
China	Japan
Commander
Xue Yue	Isamu Yokoyama Yasuji Okamura
Troop strength
300,000 soldiers	360,000 soldiers

The Battle of Changsha ( 1944 ), also known as the Battle of Hengyang or the Battle of Hengyang-Changsha , was an invasion of the Chinese province of Hunan in August 1944 by Japanese units at the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War . It involved three separate operations: one capture of Changsha City and two of Hengyang City .

preparation

In the course of the major offensive Ichi-gō , or Tairiku Datsu Sakusen (German: The way through the continent ), the Japanese army pulled together the main contingent of its troops from all over the Chinese inland and the northeast. The operation was intended to open a road and rail corridor from the previously occupied areas of northeast China and Korea to Southeast Asia . In total, the Japanese gathered around 360,000 ground troops in June 1944 to attempt the fourth time to conquer Changsha. This was the largest Japanese troop contingent involved in Ichi-gō in the entire Second Sino-Japanese War.

course

The Japanese changed their tactics from those they had used in the previous three attempts. They broke through the Chinese infantry positions within the city, neutralized the artillery on Mount Yuelu on the west side of the Xiang -Flusses and immediately began looting of Changsha.

The Chinese were unable to stop the attack and lost control of Changsha. Two Japanese detachments moved to Hengyang to besiege the city, but the 10th Chinese National Guard managed to stop the advance twice.

The unresolved situation in Hengyang meanwhile contributed to the disintegration of Prime Minister Tōjō Hideki's cabinet in Tokyo .

In August, Japanese forces, led by three generals, began attacking Hengyang again, this time with air support. The Chinese troops were able, thanks to their good local knowledge and the construction of up to four meters high barricades to resist. In addition, a well thought-out defense with crossfire zones had been created to maximize the firepower. For these reasons, the 11th Japanese Division's morale was not good and they began preparations to withdraw. When the 58th Japanese Division made a breakthrough, the 11th took up the fight again. The requested reinforcements for the Chinese National Guard tried several times to get through to the defenders, but were repeatedly stopped by the Japanese.

After 47 days of fierce fighting, the Japanese captured Hengyang, albeit with heavy losses. In addition to the large number of fallen soldiers , 390 officers were killed and 520 wounded. In addition, despite the loss of the city, the Chinese managed to increase their influence in the north.

consequences

After the battle ended, the Japanese did not manage to recover and continue the offensive. The influence of the puppet regime under Wang Jingwei also turned out to be useless, so that in the end they refrained from further conquests in China. At the same time, they also suffered a setback at the diplomatic level, which further weakened their position - the "Tang Ju" treaty was suspended.

The Chinese government continued efforts to get the Japanese to leave the north as well. In a final act of desperation, the Japanese gathered all troops again in April 1945 to attack the settlement area of Zhijiang in Xiangxi and to open a way to Sichuan . The troops were intercepted in an ambush by the National Guard and almost completely destroyed in the process; the way to the reconquest of the occupied territories by the Chinese troops was open. That decided the war and the Japanese later capitulated at the Zijiang River.

literature

• Richard Natkiel: Atlas of World War II. Brompton Books Corp., 1985 ISBN 1-890221-20-1 .