Battle of Shanggao

Battle of Shanggao
Part of Second Sino-Japanese war
Retaking a lost bridge.
Date 14 March – 9 April 1941 Location Shanggao, Jiangxi Result Chinese victory Japanese offensive repelled
Belligerents
China, National Revolutionary Army	Japan, Imperial Japanese Army, Central China Area Army
Commanders and leaders
Luo Zhuoying	Korechika Anami
Strength
100,000 troops in 11 divisions	65,000 troops in 3 divisions and 1 independent regiment 40 armoured cars 150 planes
Casualties and losses
20,533	Chinese estimate: 16,000 killed 6,000 wounded Total: 22,000 killed and wounded Japanese estimate: ~5,500 troops

The Battle of Shanggao (simplified Chinese: 上高会战; traditional Chinese: 上高會戰; pinyin: Shànggāo Huìzhàn), also called Operation Kinkō (Japanese: 錦江作戦), was one of the 22 major engagements between the National Revolutionary Army and Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

On March 14, 1941, the Japanese 11th army attacked the headquarters of the Chinese 19th army. Fierce fighting broke out, and a series of bloody see-saw battles continued as both sides contested the position. On March 15, after the base was lost to the Japanese, a Chinese air strike destroyed Japanese food and ammo reserves, demoralizing the Japanese and stalling their attack on the Chinese troops, who used this opportunity to dig new defensive positions. The Chinese positions now contained some 100,000 troops, in three main defensive lines of trenches and concrete-supported bunkers. Even though the Japanese still clung on to the Chinese headquarters, the Japanese commanders were determined to achieve total victory by destroying or capturing all Chinese units, and to do this, it was necessary to breach the Chinese lines.

On the 17th, the Japanese attacked the first of the three Chinese defensive lines, but were repeatedly turned back by the dug-in troops and their heavy machine-gun fire. The Japanese suffered heavy casualties that day, and the next day they advanced behind a smoke screen. The Japanese managed to get to the Chinese lines, and vicious hand-to-hand fighting broke out. Both sides suffered heavy losses, but in the end, the Japanese managed to breach the Chinese first line of defense. After capturing the first Chinese line of defense, there was a lull in the fighting as both sides tended to their wounded. The Japanese called in more reinforcements, while the Chinese rushed in troops from the third line to the second line of trenches to bolster their defense.

On March 22, the Japanese launched an air strike on the Chinese defensive line, resulting in some 100-200 Chinese dead or wounded. Then, they advanced with tanks and armored cars, followed by infantry. The Chinese inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese armored forces, destroying approximately half of the tanks and killing the infantry behind them with small-arms fire. The Japanese were forced to retreat, and then launched a poison-gas attack. However, the Chinese had already expected this move, and had abandoned the second line of trenches and fallen back to the third line of trenches, minimizing the casualties taken from the gas attack.

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Wikipedia