Battle of Wanjialing | |
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1938 | Chinese victory |
The Battle of Wanjialing, known in Chinese text as the Victory of Wanjialing refers to the Chinese Army's successful engagement during the Wuhan theatre of the Second Sino-Japanese War against the Japanese 101st, 106th, 9th and 27th divisions around the Wanjialing region in 1938. The two and a half month battle resulted in heavy losses of the Japanese 101st and 106th Divisions. The two and a half month battle caused tremendous casualties for the Japanese army, especially their 101st and 106th divisions. These two divisions, which initially had a combined strength of over 47,000 troops, lost about 30,000 men in battle. The Japanese officer corps was hit particularly hard: the high casualty rate forced General Shunroku Hata to frequently airdrop replacement officers onto the bases of his besieged units throughout the battle. For the Chinese, the successful defense of Wanjialing played a key role in the overall Wuhan campaign, halting the Japanese offensive drive towards Wuhan along the southern bank of the Yangtze River, and buying invaluable time for the Chinese government to evacuate its civilian population, war facilities, and industrial assets from the city and move them westward towards cities such as the new wartime capital of Chongqing.
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