Post by Toyama on Apr 10, 2017 18:18:28 GMT
The third Battle of Changsha
(24 December 1941–15 January 1942)
Up until now, we've been largely ignoring the Second Sino-Japanese War (July 7, 1937 – September 9, 1945). This war - called so after the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95 - was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan.
The war was the result of a decades-long Japanese imperialist policy aiming to dominate China politically and militarily and to secure its vast raw material reserves and other economic resources, particularly food and labour. Initially, China and Japan fought in small, localized engagements, so-called "incidents". In 1931, the Japanese-staged Mukden/Manchurian Incident was followed by the Japanese invasion of Manchuria by Japan's Kwantung Army. During the conflicts, China got some economic help from Germany (Sino-German cooperation, up until 1941), as well as the Soviet Union and the United States. The last of the incidents was the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of 1937, marking the beginning of total war between the two countries.
At first, the Japanese scored major victories in Shanghai after heavy fighting, and by the end of 1937 captured the Chinese capital of Nanking. After failing to stop the Japanese in Wuhan, the Chinese central government was relocated to Chongqing in the Chinese interior.
By 1939 the war had reached stalemate after Chinese victories in Changsha and Guangxi. The Japanese were also unable to defeat the Chinese communist forces in Shaanxi, which performed harassment and sabotage operations against the Japanese using guerrilla warfare tactics.
On 27 December 1941, the Japanese 3rd, 6th, and 40th Divisions massed at Yueyang and advanced southward in three columns and crossed the Xinqiang River, and tried again to cross the Miluo River to reach Changsha. However, the Chinese formed a deep pocket around the city and set up ambush parties around the Luoyang River.
Battle Report
The game was played on two jungle maps (North Africa, F1 en F2), decorated with some scenery that comes without any additional game effect.
(vicinity of Changsha, after turn 1)
Victory conditions
Three objectives were placed, one centrally, while both players saw an objective being placed towards their right flanks, closer to their board edge than to their opponent's.
Capturing an objective counted as three victory points; contesting an objective as 1. VPs were counted at the end of turn 7 – highest wins.
Forces
Japan:
SNLF Captain, Imperial Sergeant, Arisakas x6, Bicycle troops x2, Type 99 LMG x2, SNLF Fanatics, Imperial Sniper, Type 92 MG x2, Type 97 Isuzu Truck (custom) x2, Type 87 Armored Car, Type 97 Te-Ke (cusom modified) x2, Type 95 Ha-Go x2, 70mm Type 92, Type 92 Mortar x2
China:
Kuomintang Officer x2, Loyal Officer (custom), Kuomintang Riflemen x10, Kuomintang MG x3, Kuomintang Cavalrymen x3, ZIS-5 truck x2, Chinese dKfz 222 x2 (custom), Kuomintang Armored Truck (custom), T-26, Panzer 1a x2 (custom), Kuomintang 81mm Mortar x2 (custom), Kuomintang PAK 35/36 (custom), Chinese Canon 75 1897 x2
(it was a large battle that took us quite some time)
The heavily forested map was divided in two by an open strip of grassland. On deployment, the opposing forces setup behind, or inside of, the dense patches of jungle. Japan won the first round of initiative (as it would throughout the remainder of the game), so China was first to advance. China chose to carefully occupy the woods, guarding the rim of the central shooting gallery, still well away from any objective.
(Kuomintang guarding the rim)
On the left flank, Japan advanced likewise, finishing some of the opposing forces) but to the right, any substantial progress was checked by the cleverly placed Kuomintang artillery at extended range.
(Kuomintang artillery dominating China's left flank & objective)
Japan captured the objective on their left wing, but decided not to press the attack beyond that point. Meanwhile, although the jungle provided safety in cover, the Japanese vehicles were severely hampered by the same dense woods when trying to reinforce the right flank. At the same time, the Chinese had the advantage of a nice connecting roadway, which was quickly and successfully used to reinforce their weakened right flank.
The main battle was being fought in the center of the map, though. With their artillery safeguarding the open space on the left flank, the Chinese nationalists brought up the bulk of their infantry towards the middle objective. There, they started to grind down the more dispersed Japanese forces. Cunningly, the Chinese firstly targeted the Japanese heavy arms (MGs, mortar), next, the by then vulnerable Japanese grunts found themselves under fire. In a wild counterattack, Japan charged the Chinese T26 and one of the Panzers head on with both of their Ha-Gos. In the ensuing exchange of fire, all four tanks went down. Things started looking grim for the Japanese imperial forces.
(light tank battle, heavy casualties)
At the conclusion of the game it still was uncertain who was to be the winning player. Japan held the objective to their left, as well as the centrally located objective; the objective to the right – the Chinese left – was still unclaimed.
(222 contesting the centre objective)
In the 7th and final assault phase, the Kuomintang army played their shrewd trump. The Chinese superior numbers (222) advanced on the central objective, contesting it. On their right flank – the Japanese left – the unscathed 2nd Panzer I charged the Japanese-held objective uphill, also contesting it. Finally, helped by the connecting road, a Soviet-manufactured ZIS truck sped towards the objective on their left flank and claimed the objective for China.
(Isuzu truck going for victory)
At the end of the game, Japan and China contested 2 objectives for 2 VP each. The third objective was occupied by the Kuomintang army for 3 more VPs, resulting in a 5-2 Chinese victory.
A well-earned Allied victory!
Epilogue
The third Battle of Changsha was the first major invasion in China by Imperial Japanese forces following the Japanese attack on the Western Allies. The offensive was originally intended to prevent Chinese forces from reinforcing the British Commonwealth forces engaged in Hong Kong. With the capture of Hong Kong on 25 December 1941, however, it was decided to continue the offensive against Changsha in order to maximize the blow against the Chinese government.
Halfway from Miluo River and Changsha, the Japanese columns faced strong resistance from the Chinese and the eastern column was forced to take a detour further east, and the other two columns had to move closer together than originally planned. During the southward advance the Japanese encountered three Chinese army divisions that were pushed aside but not crushed; they retreated into the eastern mountains.
Changsha was evacuated except for the Chinese army and some 160 civilians who wished to stay to help the defense. On 31 December 1941, the Japanese troops attacked the southeastern defenses of the city but failed to make any gains. Subsequently they attacked the southern and then the eastern parts of the defenses. Meanwhile, the northern part of the city was heavily bombarded. The Japanese eventually cut through the first line of defense, only to meet stubborn resistance from a second line of defense near the city center.
On 1 January 1942 the Chinese counter-attacked and bombarded the Japanese with heavy guns, surprising them and inflicting heavy casualties. At about the same time, the army units that had retreated to the mountains during the Japanese advance swept down to attack the Japanese supply lines, with plenty of aid from local guerrillas. The Japanese line collapsed on 4 January. The three Japanese divisions were besieged and requested the help of the Japanese 9th Independent Brigade stationed in Yueyang. However, on 9 January this unit also faced heavy fighting with the Chinese and was unable to relieve the besieged Japanese divisions.
The besieged Japanese then attempted to retreat across the Luoyang River, not knowing that an ambush party was already stationed in the region. Losing heavily at the river crossing, the Japanese eventually reached the Xinqiang River on 15 January to complete the retreat.
*****
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the war merged into the greater conflict of World War II as a major front of what is broadly known as the Pacific War. Japan’s all-out invasion and Chinese resistance would be second only to the clash between Germany and the Soviet Union in terms of destruction and the number of dead. The Second Sino-Japanese War was the largest Asian war in the 20th century.
The 3rd Battle of Changsha can be thought of as decisive. Just a month after Pearl Harbor and U.S. entry into the war, the battle was acclaimed to be the only major Allied victory of the Asia-Pacific theater in late-1941/early-1942. It opened the possibility that the Chinese could turn the tide of the war against Japan. It earned Generalissimo Chiang Kaishek's Government much prestige from abroad and legitimacy in China.
Changsha would remain in Chinese hands for a further two and a half years (wiki).
(24 December 1941–15 January 1942)
Up until now, we've been largely ignoring the Second Sino-Japanese War (July 7, 1937 – September 9, 1945). This war - called so after the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95 - was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan.
The war was the result of a decades-long Japanese imperialist policy aiming to dominate China politically and militarily and to secure its vast raw material reserves and other economic resources, particularly food and labour. Initially, China and Japan fought in small, localized engagements, so-called "incidents". In 1931, the Japanese-staged Mukden/Manchurian Incident was followed by the Japanese invasion of Manchuria by Japan's Kwantung Army. During the conflicts, China got some economic help from Germany (Sino-German cooperation, up until 1941), as well as the Soviet Union and the United States. The last of the incidents was the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of 1937, marking the beginning of total war between the two countries.
At first, the Japanese scored major victories in Shanghai after heavy fighting, and by the end of 1937 captured the Chinese capital of Nanking. After failing to stop the Japanese in Wuhan, the Chinese central government was relocated to Chongqing in the Chinese interior.
By 1939 the war had reached stalemate after Chinese victories in Changsha and Guangxi. The Japanese were also unable to defeat the Chinese communist forces in Shaanxi, which performed harassment and sabotage operations against the Japanese using guerrilla warfare tactics.
On 27 December 1941, the Japanese 3rd, 6th, and 40th Divisions massed at Yueyang and advanced southward in three columns and crossed the Xinqiang River, and tried again to cross the Miluo River to reach Changsha. However, the Chinese formed a deep pocket around the city and set up ambush parties around the Luoyang River.
Battle Report
The game was played on two jungle maps (North Africa, F1 en F2), decorated with some scenery that comes without any additional game effect.
(vicinity of Changsha, after turn 1)
Victory conditions
Three objectives were placed, one centrally, while both players saw an objective being placed towards their right flanks, closer to their board edge than to their opponent's.
Capturing an objective counted as three victory points; contesting an objective as 1. VPs were counted at the end of turn 7 – highest wins.
Forces
Japan:
SNLF Captain, Imperial Sergeant, Arisakas x6, Bicycle troops x2, Type 99 LMG x2, SNLF Fanatics, Imperial Sniper, Type 92 MG x2, Type 97 Isuzu Truck (custom) x2, Type 87 Armored Car, Type 97 Te-Ke (cusom modified) x2, Type 95 Ha-Go x2, 70mm Type 92, Type 92 Mortar x2
China:
Kuomintang Officer x2, Loyal Officer (custom), Kuomintang Riflemen x10, Kuomintang MG x3, Kuomintang Cavalrymen x3, ZIS-5 truck x2, Chinese dKfz 222 x2 (custom), Kuomintang Armored Truck (custom), T-26, Panzer 1a x2 (custom), Kuomintang 81mm Mortar x2 (custom), Kuomintang PAK 35/36 (custom), Chinese Canon 75 1897 x2
(it was a large battle that took us quite some time)
The heavily forested map was divided in two by an open strip of grassland. On deployment, the opposing forces setup behind, or inside of, the dense patches of jungle. Japan won the first round of initiative (as it would throughout the remainder of the game), so China was first to advance. China chose to carefully occupy the woods, guarding the rim of the central shooting gallery, still well away from any objective.
(Kuomintang guarding the rim)
On the left flank, Japan advanced likewise, finishing some of the opposing forces) but to the right, any substantial progress was checked by the cleverly placed Kuomintang artillery at extended range.
(Kuomintang artillery dominating China's left flank & objective)
Japan captured the objective on their left wing, but decided not to press the attack beyond that point. Meanwhile, although the jungle provided safety in cover, the Japanese vehicles were severely hampered by the same dense woods when trying to reinforce the right flank. At the same time, the Chinese had the advantage of a nice connecting roadway, which was quickly and successfully used to reinforce their weakened right flank.
The main battle was being fought in the center of the map, though. With their artillery safeguarding the open space on the left flank, the Chinese nationalists brought up the bulk of their infantry towards the middle objective. There, they started to grind down the more dispersed Japanese forces. Cunningly, the Chinese firstly targeted the Japanese heavy arms (MGs, mortar), next, the by then vulnerable Japanese grunts found themselves under fire. In a wild counterattack, Japan charged the Chinese T26 and one of the Panzers head on with both of their Ha-Gos. In the ensuing exchange of fire, all four tanks went down. Things started looking grim for the Japanese imperial forces.
(light tank battle, heavy casualties)
At the conclusion of the game it still was uncertain who was to be the winning player. Japan held the objective to their left, as well as the centrally located objective; the objective to the right – the Chinese left – was still unclaimed.
(222 contesting the centre objective)
In the 7th and final assault phase, the Kuomintang army played their shrewd trump. The Chinese superior numbers (222) advanced on the central objective, contesting it. On their right flank – the Japanese left – the unscathed 2nd Panzer I charged the Japanese-held objective uphill, also contesting it. Finally, helped by the connecting road, a Soviet-manufactured ZIS truck sped towards the objective on their left flank and claimed the objective for China.
(Isuzu truck going for victory)
At the end of the game, Japan and China contested 2 objectives for 2 VP each. The third objective was occupied by the Kuomintang army for 3 more VPs, resulting in a 5-2 Chinese victory.
A well-earned Allied victory!
Epilogue
The third Battle of Changsha was the first major invasion in China by Imperial Japanese forces following the Japanese attack on the Western Allies. The offensive was originally intended to prevent Chinese forces from reinforcing the British Commonwealth forces engaged in Hong Kong. With the capture of Hong Kong on 25 December 1941, however, it was decided to continue the offensive against Changsha in order to maximize the blow against the Chinese government.
Halfway from Miluo River and Changsha, the Japanese columns faced strong resistance from the Chinese and the eastern column was forced to take a detour further east, and the other two columns had to move closer together than originally planned. During the southward advance the Japanese encountered three Chinese army divisions that were pushed aside but not crushed; they retreated into the eastern mountains.
Changsha was evacuated except for the Chinese army and some 160 civilians who wished to stay to help the defense. On 31 December 1941, the Japanese troops attacked the southeastern defenses of the city but failed to make any gains. Subsequently they attacked the southern and then the eastern parts of the defenses. Meanwhile, the northern part of the city was heavily bombarded. The Japanese eventually cut through the first line of defense, only to meet stubborn resistance from a second line of defense near the city center.
On 1 January 1942 the Chinese counter-attacked and bombarded the Japanese with heavy guns, surprising them and inflicting heavy casualties. At about the same time, the army units that had retreated to the mountains during the Japanese advance swept down to attack the Japanese supply lines, with plenty of aid from local guerrillas. The Japanese line collapsed on 4 January. The three Japanese divisions were besieged and requested the help of the Japanese 9th Independent Brigade stationed in Yueyang. However, on 9 January this unit also faced heavy fighting with the Chinese and was unable to relieve the besieged Japanese divisions.
The besieged Japanese then attempted to retreat across the Luoyang River, not knowing that an ambush party was already stationed in the region. Losing heavily at the river crossing, the Japanese eventually reached the Xinqiang River on 15 January to complete the retreat.
*****
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the war merged into the greater conflict of World War II as a major front of what is broadly known as the Pacific War. Japan’s all-out invasion and Chinese resistance would be second only to the clash between Germany and the Soviet Union in terms of destruction and the number of dead. The Second Sino-Japanese War was the largest Asian war in the 20th century.
The 3rd Battle of Changsha can be thought of as decisive. Just a month after Pearl Harbor and U.S. entry into the war, the battle was acclaimed to be the only major Allied victory of the Asia-Pacific theater in late-1941/early-1942. It opened the possibility that the Chinese could turn the tide of the war against Japan. It earned Generalissimo Chiang Kaishek's Government much prestige from abroad and legitimacy in China.
Changsha would remain in Chinese hands for a further two and a half years (wiki).