Battle of West Hubei
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Battle of West Hubei | |||||||
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Part of the Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II | |||||||
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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 | |||||||
Artillery units
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Imperial Japanese Army Air Service Imperial Japanese Navy | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
280,000 | 120,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
23,550 killed 18,295 wounded 7,270 missing[1]: 137 |
25,000 killed and wounded 40 aircraft destroyed 122 naval vessels damaged or sunk[2] | ||||||
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.
It 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."[3] However, that states that it ended in a tactical draw.
The Chinese government and Western media reported that the Chinese had scored a major victory.[4] Japanese troops retreat to their former positions.
Combat
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
Results
The Chinese government and Western media reported that the Chinese had scored a major victory.[5] 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."[6]
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
References
- ISBN 978-988-8290-82-6.
- ^ "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]
- ^ Barbara Tuchman, Stilwell and the American Experience in China, pp. 373
- ^ "China Handbook". 1937.
- ^ "China Handbook". 1937.
- ^ Barbara Tuchman, "Stilwell and the American Experience in China", pp. 373
- ^ "1943 Timeline". WW2DB. Retrieved 7 January 2013.