Battle of Xuzhou

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Battle of Xuzhou
Part of the Second Sino-Japanese War
Date December 1937 - May 1938 Location Xuzhou and proximity Result Japanese victory
Combatants
National Revolutionary Army，Military region 1,5	Imperial Japanese Army, North China Area Army,Central China Expeditionary Army
Commanders
Li Zongren, Han Fuqu†, Pang Bingxun, Sun Lianzhong, Sun Zhen, Tang Enbai, Wang Mingzhang†, Zhang Zizhong	Isogai Rensuke, Itagaki Seishiro
Strength
600,000 troops in 64 Divisions	240,000 troops in 8 Divisions
Casualties
100,000	30,000

Second Sino-Japanese War

Major engagements in bold Mukden - Invasion of Manchuria -(Jiangqiao - Nenjiang Bridge - Chinchow - Harbin) - Shanghai (1932) - Operation Nekka - ( Rehe - Great Wall) - Suiyuan - Marco Polo Bridge - Beiping-Tianjin - Chahar - Shanghai (1937) (Sihang Warehouse) - Beiping-Hankou Railway - Tianjin-Pukou Railway - Taiyuan - (Pingxingguan) - Xinkou - Nanjing - Xuzhou- Taierzhuang - N.-E.Henan - (Lanfeng) - (Amoy) - Wuhan - Canton - (Hainan) - (Xiushui River) - Nanchang - Suixian-Zaoyang - (Swatow) - 1st Changsha - S.Guangxi- (Kunlun Pass) - Winter Offensive -(Wuyuan) - Zaoyang-Yichang - Hundred Regiments - Indochina Expedition - C. Hopei - S.Henan - W. Hopei - Shanggao - S.Shanxi - 2nd Changsha - 3rd Changsha - Yunnan-Burma Road-(Yenangyaung)- Zhejiang-Jiangxi - W.Hubei - N.Burma-W.Yunnan - Changde - C.Henan - 4th Changsha - Guilin-Liuzhou - W.Henan-N.Hubei - W.Hunan- 2nd Guangxi edit

The Battle of Xuzhou was fought between Japanese and Chinese forces in May of 1938 during Second Sino-Japanese War.

In 1937, the North China Area Army had chased Song Zheyuan's 29th Army to the south along the Jinpu Railway (see Tianjin–Pukou Railway Operation) after his defeat in the Battle of Lugou Bridge. After Japan won the Battle of Nanjing, the North China Area Army advanced southward to establish a Japanese connection between Beijing and Nanjing, ignoring the non-expansionist policy of the Imperial General Headquarters in Tokyo. Most mechanized and air forces in Eastern China were wiped out in the Battle of Shanghai in 1937. Although new equipment was purchased, it had yet to be shipped.

Han Fuqu, the chairman of the Shandong province, rejected orders from Chiang Kai-shek and kept retreating to preserve his force. After Qingdao was occupied in January 1938, his policy was denounced and he was executed on January 24. In March 1938, the Japanese forces occupied the north of Shandong, including the capital city Jinan. The defence line along the Yellow River was torn apart.

By the pressure of the Japanese forces, 64 Chinese divisions were gathering around Xuzhou in Jiangsu, the headquarters of 5th Military region of the National Revolutionary Army. Without surrounding it, Itagaki Seishiro moved south first to attack Tai'erzhuang, where he was defeated by Li Zongren in a regional asymmetric battle.

Following this defeat Japan intended an encirclement against Xuzhou and deployed the North China Area Army to the north and the Central China Expeditionary Army to the south. The North China Area Army had four divisions and two Infantry Brigades, while the Central China Expeditionary Army had three divisions. The 1st and 2nd Tank Battalions with support units in the Iwanaka and Imada Detachments were ordered to advance to the west of Xuzhou and to prevent the Chinese forces from withdrawing towards west. The 5th Tank Battalion was used to support the 3rd Infantry Division. Additional troops were deployed to stop Chinese reinforcements from the west resulting in the Battle of Lanfeng.

However, with the approach of the Central China Expeditionary Army from the south, the overall situation was grim, and Chiang Kai-shek ordered the withdrawal of the armies. The demolition of the dykes holding back the Yellow River allowed him more time for the preparation of the defense of Wuhan, but the resulting 1938 Yellow River flood also destroyed much of the area around the new course of the river.

Japan won the fierce battle of Xuzhou, but the Japanese forces were too small to contain the large number of encircled Chinese forces. Most of the Chinese soldiers escaped from the encirclement through gaps in the Japanese lines to the west or dispersed into the countryside as guerrillas so the Chinese forces were not annihilated.

[edit] Order of battle

Japanese Order of battle, Battle of Xuzhou

Chinese Order of battle, Battle of Xuzhou

[edit] Sources

• [1] Hsu Long-hsuen and Chang Ming-kai, History of The Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) 2nd Ed., 1971. Translated by Wen Ha-hsiung, Chung Wu Publishing; 33, 140th Lane, Tung-hwa Street, Taipei, Taiwan Republic of China. Pg. 221-230. Map. 9-1