Battle of Wanjialing

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Wanjialing
partof=the Battle of Wuhan


caption=Chinese Army charging during the Battle of Wanjialing
date=October 1 – October 11, 1938
place=Wanjialing region
result=Chinese victory
combatant1=flagicon|Republic of China National Revolutionary Army
combatant2=flagicon|Japan Imperial Japanese Army 106th Division
commander1= flagicon|Republic of China Xue Yue
commander2= flagicon|Japan Matsuura Junrokuro
strength1=100,000
strength2=15,000
casualties1=40,000
casualties2=10,000+

Battle of Wanjialing, well known in Chinese text as the Victory of Wanjialing (zh-tsp|t=萬家嶺大捷|s=万家岭大捷|p=Wànjīalîng Dàjíe) refers to the Chinese Army's successful engagement during the Wuhan theatre of the Second Sino-Japanese War against the Japanese 106th Division around the Wanjialing region in 1938.

Combatants

Chinese

In the Battle of Wanjialing, the Chinese side consisted of the 4th Army, 74th Army, 66th Army, 187th Division, 91st Division, New 13th Division, 142th 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 Chiwei. 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 Matsuura Junrokuro. Under the 106th Division, there were the 111th Infantry Brigade (113rd and 147th Infantry Regiments) and 136th Brigade (123rd and 145th Infantry Regiments), as well as Regiments of cavalry, artillery, engineers and transport.

The battle

Under the orders of Yasuji Okamura, the Japanese 106th Division intended to cross the Wanjialing Region in hopes of cuting off the connection between the Chinese Army in Nanxun and Wuning Railway. The plan was discovered by Xue Yue, and the Chinese managed to surround the 106th Division. Okamura ordered the 27th Division to reinforce the 106th Division, but was halted by the Chinese Army. The majority of the 106th Division was destroyed by the Chinese Army eventually, with only around 1,700 men escaped. On October 13, 1938, the Chinese Army retreated from the battlefield. The Battle of Wanjialing was the first successful attempt (nearly) to destroy a full Japanese Division.

References

*zh icon [http://big5.huaxia.com/js/zzhg/2005/00362849.html Battle of Wuhan: Smash the Japanese Ambition!]
*See generally [http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?lp=zh_en&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chinamil.com.cn%2Fsite1%2Fxwpdxw%2F2005-07%2F15%2Fcontent_250481.htm Sino-Japanese War classical combat example: Wan Jialing major success] (Chinese to English translation by babelfish).