Battle of Wanjialing

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Battle of Wanjialing Part of the Battle of Wuhan Chinese Army charging during the Battle of Wanjialing Date October 1 – October 11, 1938 Location Wanjialing region Result Chinese victory Belligerents National Revolutionary Army Imperial Japanese Army 106th Division Commanders Xue Yue Matsuura Junrokuro Strength 100,000 15,000 Casualties and losses 40,000 10,000+

v • d • e Second Sino-Japanese War Major engagements in bold Before Second Sino-Japanese War Mukden - Manchuria - (Jiangqiao - Nenjiang Bridge - Chinchow - Harbin) - Shanghai (1932) - Pacification of Manchukuo - Rehe - Great Wall - Inner Mongolia - (Suiyuan) Began in 1937-1939 Marco Polo Bridge - Beiping-Tianjin - Chahar - Shanghai (1937) (Sihang Warehouse) - Beiping-Hankou Railway - Tianjin-Pukou Railway - Taiyuan - (Pingxingguan) - Xinkou - Nanjing - Xuzhou - Taierzhuang - N.-E.Henan - (Lanfeng) - Amoy - Chongqing - Wuhan - (Wanjialing) - Canton - (Hainan) - Nanchang - (Xiushui River) - Suixian-Zaoyang - (Swatow) - 1st Changsha - S.Guangxi - (Kunlun Pass) - Winter Offensive - (Wuyuan) Began in 1940-1942 Zaoyang-Yichang - Hundred Regiments - C. Hupei - S.Henan - W. Hopei - Shanggao - S.Shanxi - 2nd Changsha - 3rd Changsha - Yunnan-Burma Road - (Toungoo) - (Yenangyaung) - Zhejiang-Jiangxi - Sichuan Invasion Began in 1943-1945 W.Hubei - N.Burma-W.Yunnan - Changde - Ichi-Go - C.Henan - 4th Changsha - Guilin-Liuzhou - W.Henan-N.Hubei - W.Hunan - 2nd Guangxi - Operation August Storm

Battle of Wanjialing, well known in Chinese text as the Victory of Wanjialing (traditional Chinese: 萬家嶺大捷; simplified Chinese: 万家岭大捷; pinyin: Wànjīalîng Dàjíe) refers to the Chinese Army's successful engagement during the Wuhan theatre of the Second Sino-Japanese War against the Japanese 106th Division around the Wanjialing region in 1938.

[edit] Combatants

[edit] Chinese

In the Battle of Wanjialing, the Chinese side consisted of the 4th Army, 74th Army, 66th Army, 187th Division, 91st Division, New 13th Division, 142th Division, 60th Division, Reserved 6th Division, 19th Division, a brigade from the 139th Division and the New 15th Division, which totals up to 100,000 men. The chief commander in the frontline was the commander of the 9th Group Army Wu Chiwei. They were under the overall command of the supreme commander of the 9th Military Region Xue Yue.

[edit] Japanese

The Japanese side consisted of the 106th Division, led by lieutenant-general Matsuura Junrokuro. Under the 106th Division, there were the 111th Infantry Brigade (113rd and 147th Infantry Regiments) and 136th Brigade (123rd and 145th Infantry Regiments), as well as Regiments of cavalry, artillery, engineers and transport.

[edit] The battle

Under the orders of Yasuji Okamura, the Japanese 106th Division intended to cross the Wanjialing Region in hopes of cuting off the connection between the Chinese Army in Nanxun and Wuning Railway. The plan was discovered by Xue Yue, and the Chinese managed to surround the 106th Division. Okamura ordered the 27th Division to reinforce the 106th Division, but was halted by the Chinese Army. The majority of the 106th Division was destroyed by the Chinese Army eventually, with only around 1,700 men escaped. On October 13, 1938, the Chinese Army retreated from the battlefield. The Battle of Wanjialing was the first successful attempt (nearly) to destroy a full Japanese Division.

[edit] References

• (Chinese) Battle of Wuhan: Smash the Japanese Ambition!
• See generally Sino-Japanese War classical combat example: Wan Jialing major success (Chinese to English translation by babelfish).