Battle for Nanchang

Battle for Nanchang (1939)

Part of: Second Sino-Japanese War

Nanchang (red) at Lake Poyang (blue) in the province of Jiāngxī
The Xiushui river with its confluence with the lake can be seen above.

date	March 17th – September 9th May 1939
place	Nánchāng and the surrounding area
output	Japanese victory

Parties to the conflict
China	Japan
Commander
Xue Yue	Yasuji Okamura
Troop strength
approx. 200,000 soldiers in 39 divisions divided into four army groups - 1st, 19th, 30th and 32nd Army Group	approx. 120,000 soldiers in three divisions, three armored units with a total of 130 tanks, an artillery brigade with around 200 guns, more than 30 ships and motor boats
losses
approx. 51,000 dead and injured	approx. 24,000 dead and injured

The battle for Nánchāng ( Chinese : 南昌 會戰) was part of the Second Sino-Japanese War and took place from March 17 to May 9, 1939 in the Chinese province of Jiāngxī .

It was the first major battle between the Imperial Japanese Army and the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of China after the Chinese defeat at the Battle of Wuhan . The Chinese lost their most important supply line, which opened the way for the Japanese to the southeastern provinces.

prehistory

After the Battle of Wuhan , the Japanese established the headquarters of the 11th Army there . The Kuomintang's 5th and 9th Military Districts were in the surrounding area . Nanchang acted as an important junction of the railroad between these areas. The Chinese also maintained a military airfield there , which threatened Japanese ships on the Yangtze . Nanchang's location, relatively centered on the Wuhan - Shanghai line that was controlled by the Japanese, made the city a very important strategic destination.

The 9th Military District had just been reorganized. Chen Cheng was the commander in chief, and Xue Yue was the executive commander. About 200,000 soldiers, divided into 52 divisions , were gathered in the area around Nanchang. However, since vehicles were missing and the reorganization of the units took a long time, the planned attack had to be postponed for the time being.

The Japanese attack

The Japanese tried to take Nanchang during the Battle of Wuhan. But they were stopped by the Chinese on the Xiushui . After the Japanese received reinforcements and supplies, they began a second attack with around 120,000 soldiers.

In order to be able to cross the Xiushui, the Japanese with the 6th Heavy Field Artillery Brigade had moved the most powerful artillery contingent under Major General Sumita to the Chinese hinterland. Since the roads there were in very poor condition, they had replaced the normal field artillery mostly with easier-to-transport mountain artillery . In total, around 200 guns were available on the Xiushui. The barrage of the brigade began at 7:00 am on 21 March. Since the Chinese offered little resistance during the river crossing, the shelling could be stopped after a third of the planned time.

Meanwhile, the infantry had advanced two kilometers to the river and began building bridges. After crossing, they held a bridgehead on the other bank. Two days later the Imperial Japanese Navy, with the support of fighter planes, bombed the city ​​of Wucheng at the confluence of the Xiushui with the Poyang Lake . Subsequently, naval troops landed near the city.

The Japanese managed to break out of the Xiushui bridgehead on March 26 with the support of armored units . They managed to advance west to the outskirts of Nanchang. They beat the Chinese reinforcement units from the 3rd Military District. Meanwhile, the tanks under Colonel Ishii withdrew Chinese units from the fighting around Nanchang with a skilful maneuver, so that the Japanese succeeded in capturing the city with significantly fewer casualties than planned.

After only one day's siege , Nanchang fell to the Japanese on March 27th. But that did not end the battle.

The Chinese counterattack

After several Japanese units had been relocated from Nanchang to other areas towards the end of April in order to take part in further operations there, the Chinese saw their chance to recapture Nanchang due to the weakened Japanese combat strength.

On April 21, troops from the 3rd and 9th Military Districts attempted to breach the Japanese lines around Nanchang so that the 32nd Army Group could reach the city within five days. But heavy Japanese air strikes and the resistance of newly arrived Japanese marines, who reinforced the Japanese garrison, prevented a breakthrough. The Chinese were forced to retreat on May 9th.

Consequences of the battle

With the fall of Nanchang, the most important Chinese railroad hub fell into the hands of the Japanese. The military airfield, which is important for the Chinese defense, was also effectively shut down. Resupply and relief deliveries for the southern provinces were now made significantly more difficult for the Chinese, while the way towards Indochina was largely free for the Japanese .

Web links

• Sino-Japanese Air War 1937–45 (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Japanese Artillery: http://www3.plala.or.jp/takihome/artillery_history.html - Section: Xiushui River - data from translated Japanese sources.
2. ↑ Japanese tank units: http://www3.plala.or.jp/takihome/history.htm - Section: Operation Nanchang - data from translated Japanese sources.