Battle of Changde
The Battle of Changde (Battle of Changteh; simplified Chinese: 常德会战; traditional Chinese: 常德會戰; pinyin: Chángdé Huìzhàn) was a major engagement in the Second Sino-Japanese War in and around the Chinese city of Changde (Changteh) in the province of Hunan. During the battle, the Imperial Japanese Army extensively used chemical weapons.
| Battle of Changde | |||||||||
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| Part of the Second Sino-Japanese War of World War II | |||||||||
Chinese troops in combat at Changde | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Republic of China | Empire of Japan | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Sun Lianzhong Xue Yue Feng Zhi'an Li Yutang Wang Yaowu Liu Chen-san | Isamu Yokoyama | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 8,000+ (Changde itself was defended by the 8,000-strong 57th Division) | 60,000+ | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 7,900+ killed (57th Division suffered 7,900 killed and 100 wounded) |
Japanese claim: | ||||||||
The purpose of the Japanese offensive was to maintain pressure on the Chinese National Revolutionary Army to reduce its combat ability in the region and its ability to reinforce the Burma Campaign.
The Japanese were initially successful in their offensive operation by bacteria-infected bombs and captured parts of the city of Changde, which forced civilians to evacuate. The Japanese were pinned down in the city by a Chinese division long enough for other Chinese units to surround them with a counterencirclement. Heavy casualties and the loss of their supply lines then forced the Japanese to withdraw, which returned territorial control to the original status quo.
Some contemporary Western newspapers depicted the battle as a Chinese victory. American government film footage showed victorious Chinese troops with Japanese prisoners and captured Japanese flags and equipment on display after the battle. In addition, an American newsreel titled Chinese troops drive Japs from Changteh showed Chinese troops firing, with dead and captured Japanese on display. A British newsreel titled Japs Loose Changteh Aka Japs Lose Changte showed similar footage.