Comparison of enemy and enemy casualties in the Battle of Wanjialing

The Battle of Wanjialing refers to the 1938 Battle of Wuhan, in which the Chinese army surrounded and annihilated most of the Japanese 106th Division in the Wanjialing area.

On the Chinese side, the Fourth Army, the 74th Army, the 66th Army, the 187th Division, the 91st Division, and the new No. The 13th Division, the 142nd Division, the 60th Division, the Reserve 6th Division, the 19th Division, a brigade of the 139th Division, a brigade of the newly formed 15th Division, *** 100,000 The remaining people. The former enemy commander-in-chief was Wu Qiwei, commander of the Ninth Army. The Japanese side is the 106th Division of the Invasion Forces against China, and the division leader is Lieutenant General Junroku Matsuura. The 106th Division consists of the 111th Infantry Brigade (113th Infantry Regiment, 147th Infantry Regiment) and the 136th Infantry Brigade (123rd Infantry Regiment, 145th Infantry Regiment), as well as one regiment each of cavalry, artillery, engineers, and baggage.

In June 1938, in order to realize its attempt to capture Hankou, Guangzhou and other centers of China’s Anti-Japanese War, the Japanese army mobilized approximately 350,000 men from the Second Army and the Eleventh Army, attempting to seize control along the northern foothills of the Dabie Mountains and the west coast of both sides of the Yangtze River. to encircle Wuhan from the north and south. The Nationalist Government decided to use the units of the Fifth and Ninth Theater Commands as "fourteen group armies, one Jiang Defense Army, one Wuhan Garrison Headquarters, fifty-seven corps, and one hundred and twenty-nine divisions, together with cavalry, artillery engineers, and The aircraft captain Jiang Fleet, with a total strength of about 1 million people, participated in the battle to defend Wuhan.

Northern Jiangxi is located on the outskirts of Wuhan, which is the only way for the Japanese army to march westward to Wuhan along the south bank of the Yangtze River. The Japanese army directed the attack in this area with the Eleventh Army of Okamura Neiji. The Nationalist Government also invested two corps here to guard it heavily. Zhang Fakui's Second Corps was deployed on the Rui (Chang) Wu (Ning) Highway and key points along the river. Xue Yue's First Corps was assigned to guard Jinguanqiao, De'an and other places in front of Nanxun (Nanchang-Jiujiang). In the Wanjialing area, there are many mountains, complex terrain, and rugged mountain roads, making it difficult even for pack horses to pass. The Japanese army took risks and invaded alone, violating a taboo among military strategists.

On June 28, the Supreme Command telegraphed Xue Yue: "The enemies of Minjiapu are located between Nanxun and Ruiwu roads. They will take advantage of the opportunity to rush in. They are in great danger. We should work hard to annihilate them." Xue Yue immediately ordered Dong Dong To the west, the 90th Division of our Fourth Army blocked the Japanese army, seizing favorable terrain and blocking the enemy at all levels; and to the west, we ordered the 91st Division and Pre-6th Division of Li Hanhun to block the enemy. Under our constant resistance, the enemy's "rear contact line of the 106th Division was severed from around the 28th, and due to bad weather, aircraft reconnaissance and supplies were not possible."

Seeing that the 106th Division was in trouble as soon as the operation started, Okamura Neiji forced the 27th Division to advance eastward and attack Qilin Peak again, in an attempt to advance to the east of Baishui Street to meet the 27th Division. The 106th Division. On the 27th, the Miyazaki Regiment launched reinforcements to counterattack Qilin Peak, and used aircraft, artillery, and infantry to jointly fight, releasing a large amount of poison gas, causing many of our defenders to die. Qilin Peak fell the next day. On the 29th, the 141st Division of the 32nd Army of our Shangquan Department cooperated with the 725th Regiment of the 142nd Division to violently counterattack Qilin Peak. After fierce fighting, the peak was finally recaptured, allowing the enemy's 27th Division to move eastward for assistance. The attempt of the 106th Division was crushed. At the same time, the enemy's 123rd Regiment of the 106th Division attempted to break through from the west of Baishui Street. Our 6th Division and 91st Division launched a fierce attack on this Japanese army from the east, and the enemy's 123rd Regiment was blocked. To the east of White Water Street. The victories in the Qilin Peak and Baishui Street battles shattered the attempts of the eastern and western Japanese armies to join together, allowing our army to successfully close its pockets and create decisive conditions for encircling the enemy's 106th Division and annihilating it.

After repeated setbacks at Qilin Peak, the 27th Division advanced southward to Tianqiao River on October 1st, occupied Ruoxi before dawn on October 5th, and left the 106th Division behind on the 7th. The main force of the division turned west and advanced towards Xintanpu. On the East Luther Star Line, the enemy also made no progress. Therefore, the enemy's 106th Division was isolated and helpless. Based on the intelligence from all parties, the First Corps believed that the main force of the enemy's 106th Division had slipped into the gap between our two main forces on the Nanxun and Ruiwu lines, which was an excellent opportunity to annihilate it. It was determined to mobilize the Dexing, Nanxun, and Ruiwu lines. With their own strength, they encircled and annihilated the Japanese troops who rushed to the Wanjialing area. On October 2, Xue Yue ordered the 4th and 74th armies on the Nanxun and Dexing lines, and the 187th and 139th divisions to encircle the Japanese army in the Wanjialing area on the eastern half; he ordered the New 13th and 139th divisions on the Ruiwu line to The 15th Division, the 91st, 142nd, 60th Division, and the 6th Division surrounded the western half of the Japanese army and launched the second phase of the offensive against the enemy. At this time, our army has a clear advantage in strength and high morale. Our army launched an attack on the enemy's 106th Division from the east and west at the same time. The enemy and we fought for each other repeatedly, and the battle was fierce. The Japanese army was in such disarray that it was difficult to confirm the division's position, so they had to request the Eleventh Army Headquarters to conduct reconnaissance by aircraft. "As a result, the division's presumed position was about ten kilometers south of the actual location."

On the 3rd, our 90th and 91st divisions jointly attacked Nantianpu from the east and west, severely inflicting heavy losses on the enemy. They also bombarded the headquarters of the enemy's 106th Division with intensive artillery fire, causing the enemy's division commander to The department is also "facing a dangerous situation." At this time, the enemy was severely short of food and ammunition and could only rely on air drops. On October 5, our army readjusted its deployment and determined to concentrate its forces to destroy the enemy's 106th Division, which was mired in quagmire. Xue Yue telegraphed to ask Chiang Kai-shek to shorten the peripheral front and surround the enemy 106th Division from east, west, north, and south.

Previously, nearly half of the enemy's 106th Division was wiped out. It was short of food and ammunition and relied entirely on airdrops. It was possible that it could be completely wiped out. After this situation was broadcast by our side, the Japanese government and the public were shocked.

The commander of the Central China Expeditionary Force personally organized the Uga detachment, the Suzuki detachment and the Saeed detachment retained by the 27th Division to march eastward from the Ruoxi area along the Wu (Ning) Yong (Xiu) Road to rush to the aid of the 106th Division. Our First Corps had to draw out the New 13th and 15th Divisions, the 60th and 91st Divisions, and the Preliminary 6th Division from the troops surrounding the Wanjialing area and go south to Wuyong Road to prevent the Japanese army from advancing eastward.

On October 7, our army launched the third phase of its general offensive against the enemy. The 66th Army deployed part of the 159th Division and the 161st Division at the line between Jin'e Hall and Gongmu Ridge and attacked Shibao Mountain. The guerrilla troops of the Fourth Army were at Liujialing at 7 o'clock. Encountered more than 300 enemies; after several fierce attacks, the 74th Army finally completely recovered Changling and surrounded the enemy in Zhanggushan. On the 8th, the 66th Army marched into Shibaoshan and Laohujian, and worked with the Fourth Army to capture the northwest highlands of Shiziya. The 51st Division once captured the highest point of Zhanggu Mountain before dawn that day. However, after dawn, more than a thousand enemy soldiers counterattacked with aircraft support and recaptured the place. The 142nd Division (under the 1st Regiment) also attacked from Chengmen Mountain at 11 o'clock and captured the line between Tong Hanfu and Zhou's family. The enemy's reinforcements on Yongwu Road were also blocked by me at Lailong Ridge. In this way, the enemy's 106th Division, surrounded by us on all sides, has become a turtle in an urn. On the 19th, the enemy and we were still fighting fiercely. Xue Yue considered that enemy reinforcements were coming from Wuyong Road and the Japanese troops on the Dexing Line were also advancing westward, so the siege of the 106th Division should not be too long. After our attacking troops were quickly ready, we ordered the troops to advance rapidly, and the garrison troops worked hard to suppress the enemy in front of them. The Sixty-sixth Army fought fiercely until 3:00 on the 10th, and defeated the enemy. They conquered Wanjialing and Tianbusu, and the enemy abandoned their corpses in the fields. There were more than a thousand enemies and more than 300 horses left. The enemy's retreat to the north was intercepted by our Shibao Mountain garrison. Most of them turned and retreated westward. One group of more than 300 people was surrounded and annihilated by us. The Fourth Army captured the southwest highlands of Dajin Mountain and the eastern highlands of Jianlusu. The 74th Army captured the highest point of Zhanggu Mountain before dawn on the 10th. The 91st Division captured the high ground of Wuming Village in the northeast of Yangjiashan before dawn on the 10th and gained a lot. The 142nd Division (under the 1st Regiment) captured Wuming Village and Songjuxiong at the northern end of Yangjiashan before dawn, and captured enemy officer Tanaka Zenzo.

On the evening of the 10th, with the purpose of clearing out the remaining enemies, Xue Yue ordered each attacking force to continue the attack. On the next day, they conquered the highlands west of Jianlusu and other highlands. On the 12th, our army continued to attack the remaining enemy forces in Changling and the northern end of Zhanggu Mountain, but made no progress. At this time, the situation gradually became unfavorable to me. On the Dexing Line, Aikou Street fell to the enemy on the morning of the 10th; on Wuyong Road, enemy reinforcements had broken through our Yangjiashan position and continued to pose a threat to us. After half a month of hard fighting, our army's strength was greatly reduced. "The various units under the command of the corps, although they have the numbers, are weak in combat strength, it is difficult to send troops to attack" and were forced to go on the defensive. On the 16th, the left wing enemy reinforcements had rushed to Ganmuguan. Our Sixth Division and Sixty Division retreated, and the situation became chaotic. In view of the fact that "the current average strength of De'an's troops is less than one-third of the original number, and there are many new troops", the 4th and 66th armies have entered new positions, and the front lines need to be adjusted urgently, so he ordered the main force to be transferred to Yongfeng "The line between Qiao, Minshan, Guobeishan, Guolongshan, Wangjiashan and Zhelin". On the 17th, our army began a general retreat. The remnants of the enemy's 106th Division reached contact with the Suzuki detachment, and "the 106th Division was out of crisis." The Battle of Wanjialing ended here.

General Ye Ting once commented on the Battle of Wanjialing as: "The great victory of Wanjialing saved the capital from danger, served as the guarantee for Jianghan, and was a three-way tie with Pingxingguan and Taierzhuang. Its fame should be immortal."

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