Battle of West Hubei

Battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War

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Battle of West Hubei

Part of the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific Theater of World War II
| Date|  (1943-05-05) (1943-06-11)May 5 – June 11, 1943
(1 month and 6 days)

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Location|

West Hubei, China

29°9′20″N 112°14′43″E﻿ / ﻿29.15556°N 112.24528°E﻿ / 29.15556; 112.24528
Result|  Chinese strategic victory: Withdrawal of Imperial Japanese Armed Forces from West Hubei to their initial position
Belligerents
China
United States (air support only)|  Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
Chen Cheng
Sun Lianzhong
Hu Lien
Wang Zuanxu
Luo Guangwen
Fang Tien
Song Kendang
Gao Zhuodong
Mu Ting-Fang|  Isamu Yokoyama
Takeshi Takashina
Yamamoto Mitsuo
Akashika Tadashi
Sumida Raishiro
Aoki Seiichi
Units involved

National Revolutionary Army

* 6th War Area
* 41 divisions from :
*         * 86th Army
* 10th Army Group
* 87th Army
* 94th Army
* Total : 6 divisions
* 26th Army Group
* 75th Army
* 66th Army
* Total : 5 divisions
* 29th Army Group
* 44th Army
* 67th Army
* 73rd Army
* Total : 9 divisions
* 33rd Army Group
* 59th Army
* 77th Army
* 79th Army
* 30th Army
* Total : 12 divisions
* 26th Army
* 99th Army
* River defense force
* 32nd Army
* 18th Army
* 11th Division
* 18th Division
* 8 divisions from other support units :

Republic of China Artillery units
Republic of China Navy
Republic of China Air Force

* Bombardment Group
* 5 bombardment groups
* Pursuit Group
* 4 pursuit groups

United States Army Air Force

* China Area Task Force
* 23rd Fighter Group
* 4 squadrons
* 11th Bombardment Squadron

Imperial Japanese Army

* 11th Army
* Divisions
* 3rd Division
* 13th Division
* 39th Division
* 40th Division
* Brigade/Detachments
* 17th Independent Mixed Brigade
* Haragaya detachment (34th Division)
* Nozoe Detachment (58th Division)

Imperial Japanese Army Air Service

* 44th Air Regiment

Imperial Japanese Navy
Strength
6th War Area in the main battlefield : 264,700

5th and 9th War Areas in supporting operations : 66,884[1]|  120,000
Casualties and losses
Chinese Claim :
From 15 February until 30 June 1943 :[2]: 137 [1][a]
23,550 killed
18,295 wounded
7,270 missing

6th War Area from 5 May until 30 June 1943 :[3]
14,723 killed
12,229 wounded
10,614 missing

Japanese Claim[4] :
30,766 killed
4,279 captured|  Chinese Claim[5] :
25,000 killed and wounded
40 aircraft destroyed
122 naval vessels damaged or sunk

Japanese Claim[4] :
771 killed
2,746 wounded

1. ^ Includes losses of the :
* 6th War Area from February 15 until March 31 in the battles along the Yangtze River [ja] (excluding the independent 128th division) and from May 5 until June 30
* 5th and 9th War Areas in two supporting operations from March 13 until April 10 and from May 14 until June 16
* Air Force

class=notpageimage|

Location within Hubei

Show map of Hubei

Battle of West Hubei (China)

Show map of China

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Second Sino-Japanese War

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* * *

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The Battle of West Hubei (simplified Chinese: 鄂西会战; traditional Chinese: 鄂西會戰; pinyin: È Xī Huìzhàn), was one of 22 major engagements between the National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was also one of four major battles that took place in Hubei.

The battle resulted in a Chinese strategic victory, although they lost more troops than the Japanese Army. Historian Barbara W. Tuchman, however, writes that the "Japanese withdrew without pursuit from what appeared to have been a training and foraging offensive to collect rice and river shipping."[6] However, he also states that the battle ended in a tactical draw. The Chinese government reported that the Chinese had scored a major victory.[7] Japanese troops retreated to their former positions.

## Combat

[edit]

The Japanese first attacked with 40,000 troops in the 2 armies of the 26th Group Army with about 50,000 troops in 3 divisions, then attacked the 2 armies of the 10th Army with about 60,000 men, and finally attacked the upper reaches of the Yangtze River with 70,000 troops. The two armies of the Jiang Fang Army transported the ships they had already captured along the river to Hankou .

The 13th Division of the Japanese Army had more than 20,000 troops . On the night of May 12, the IJA smuggled their forces across the Yangtze River from Shashi and other places in the gap between the Jiangnan defenders, and attacked the 87th Army garrisoned from the northwest on the next morning. At the same time, IJA forces occupied Anhui. The Japanese 3rd Division and other divisions in the rural area also marched westward to the southeast to attack the 87th Army. The two Japanese troops formed a pincer offensive. As of the 28th, the Japanese troops who had crossed the Qingjiang River had approached the No. 1 national army guarding Shipai Fortress, near the road defense line - Nanlinpo position. Chen Cheng of the National Army decided to fight the enemy on the Qingjiang River and on the front line of Shipai Fortress. The decisive battle date was scheduled to be between 31st and June 1. On the other hand, after the main force of the 13th Division of the Japanese Army crossed the Qingjiang River, it was blocked by the 121st Division of the National Army and had to venture over Tianzhu Mountain in the middle of Changyang. The horses lost a lot of weight on the way. The 5th Division of the National Army set up an ambush on the Tianzhushan main road and retreated after killing hundreds of Japanese troops. On May 30, after suffering heavy casualties, the 13th Division broke through the strategically important Muqiao Creek near Shipai and attacked Taishi Bridge. The main force of the 5th Division of the National Army used the dangerous terrain of Taishi Bridge to set up an ambush. When the Japanese army entered the ambush circle, the National Army fired violently at the Japanese army with intensive firepower, and then engaged in hand-to-hand combat. The national army repelled more than 10 consecutive Japanese attacks by virtue of its difficult terrain. The main force of the 13th Division of the Japanese Army was blocked in the area of Taishiqiao and Muqiaoxi, laying the foundation for the subsequent siege of Shipai.

## Results

[edit]

The Chinese government and Western media reported that the Chinese had scored a major victory.[8] Historian Barbara W. Tuchman had another opinion, however. She wrote that the "Japanese withdrew without pursuit from what appeared to have been a training and foraging offensive to collect rice and river shipping."[9]

## Changjiao massacre

[edit]

Main article: Changjiao massacre

During the period of the Battle of West Hubei, Japanese troops reportedly slaughtered more than 30,000 civilians at a factory in the tiny hamlet of Changjiao, northern Hunan, over a three-day period from 9–12 May 1943.[10]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b 抗日戰史: 鄂西會戰(一). 史政局. 1966. p. 224.
2. ^ 陳敬堂 (15 July 2014). 《寫給香港人的中國現代史》. 香港: 中華書局（香港）. ISBN 978-988-8290-82-6.
3. ^ 抗日戰史: 鄂西會戰(二). 史政局. 1980. pp. 388–389.
4. ^ a b "[Data in English is under preparation] 第11軍（附第6方面軍）発電綴 巻1 自昭和18年5月至昭和19年6月（2）" Japan Center for Asian Historical Records (JACAR) Ref.C12122311000, 第11軍（附第6方面軍）発電綴 巻1 昭和18年5月～19年6月 (National Institute for Defense Studies)
5. ^ "鄂西大捷 徹底擊潰日軍13師團 滇西展開反攻". 鐵血映丹心. 青年日報. 31 May 2015.[permanent dead link]
6. ^ Barbara Tuchman, Stilwell and the American Experience in China, pp. 373
7. ^ "China Handbook". 1937.
8. ^ "China Handbook". 1937.
9. ^ Barbara Tuchman, "Stilwell and the American Experience in China", pp. 373
10. ^ "1943 Timeline". WW2DB. Retrieved 7 January 2013.

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