The United States declared war against Japan after the attack on its naval base, and China soon joined them. At the Battle of Changsha, which started on December 24th, 1941, the Chinese assisted the British forces in Hong Kong. The Japanese fended off the Chinese army and entered Changsha. However, they hadn't planned on China's next actions, as the Chinese forces outside of the city completely surrounded the Japanese in Changsha. After suffering heavy casualties, the Japanese withdrew on January 15th.

Changsha was the first major city to successfully repel Japanese advances. Retaining the city allowed the Nationalist Chinese forces to prevent the Japanese from consolidating their territories in Southern China. The commander of the city's defence, General Xue Yue, was a graduate of the RoC Military Academy and a Chiang Kai-shek loyalist. There would be 3 more battles through to 1944.