Battle of Wanjialing
Battle of Wanjialing, well known in Chinese text as the Victory of Wanjialing (simplified Chinese: 万家岭大捷; traditional Chinese: 萬家嶺大捷; pinyin: Wànjiālǐng Dàjíe) 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 the annihilation of the Japanese 101st and 106th Divisions, and was the first time the Chinese army had destroyed a full Japanese division.[1]
Combatants
Chinese
In the Battle of Wanjialing, the Chinese side consisted of the 4th Army, the elite 74th Army, 66th Army, 187th Division, 91st Division, New 13th Division, 142nd 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 Qiwei. They were under the overall command of the supreme commander of the 9th Military Region Xue Yue.
Japanese
The Japanese side consisted of the 106th Division, led by Lieutenant-General Junrokurō Matsuura. Under the 106th Division, there were the 111th Infantry Brigade (113th and 147th Infantry Regiments) and 136th Brigade (123rd and 145th Infantry Regiments), as well as regiments of cavalry, artillery, engineers and transport. During the battle, the 101st Division was also deployed. The 101st and 106th divisions had a combined strength of over 31,000 men. Later during the battle, the (9th and 27th divisions) would also be deployed.[1]
Battle
Under the orders of Yasuji Okamura, the Japanese 106th Division intended to cross the Wanjialing Region in hopes of cutting off the connection between the Chinese Army in Nanxun and Wuning Railway. The plan was discovered by Xue Yue, and the Chinese Army managed to surround the 106th Division with 16 divisions at Lushan. On August 20, the Japanese 101st Division amphibiously landed at Xingzi in an attempt to relieve the surrounded 106th Division, but faced fierce resistance from Wang Jingjiu's 25th Corps and Ye Zhao's 66th Corps. Unable to break through the Chinese lines, Japanese deployed poison gas. Although the Chinese had a severe shortage of protective equipment against chemical weapons, they were still able to repulse the Japanese attack.[1]
At the beginning of September, Okamura ordered the 9th and 27th Divisions to relieve the 106th Division, but they were halted by fierce Chinese resistance. On September 24, the Japanese Army finally managed to punch through the Chinese lines in the west, but were then confronted by Ou Zhen's 4th Corps and Yu Jishi's elite 74th Corps and were once again surrounded. Desperate to break open a safe path for their trapped ground forces, the Japanese Air Force began heavy bombing on Chinese positions with incendiary bombs, resulting in many Chinese deaths.[1]
On October 7, the Chinese suddenly launched fierce counter-attacks, and the remaining Japanese units that were still intact hastily retreated. Combat ended on October 10, which was coincidentally the Chinese National Celebration Day. On October 13, the Chinese forces withdrew from the battlefield.[1]
Aftermath
The two and a half month battle resulted in tremendous casualties for the Japanese army, the failed offensive resulting in the destruction of the Japanese 101st and 106th divisions. This was the first time a full Japanese division had been destroyed. These two divisions initially had a combined strength of over 31,000 troops. By the end of the battle however, only a little over 1,000 troops had escaped the encirclement of the Chinese Army, the rest being killed or captured. In particular, the Japanese officer corps took a particularly heavy hit, the high casualty rate forcing General Shunroku Hata to frequently airdrop replacement officers onto the bases of his besieged units throughout the battle.[1]
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 away from the city and westward towards cities such as the new wartime capital of Chongqing.[1]