Battle of Changsha (1939)

• 1. Strategic Context And Objectives

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  The First Battle of Changsha began on the 17th of September 1939, just two weeks after Germany invaded Poland. This timing was no accident for the Japanese command. They sought to exploit a moment when their German ally had signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union. The defeat at Nomonhan earlier that year had shaken Japanese morale and required a victory to restore confidence. General Toshizō Nishio and Lieutenant-General Seishirō Itagaki planned an offensive south of the Yangtze River. Their goal was to capture Changsha, the provincial capital of Hunan province. A second motivation involved Germany's invasion of Poland starting on the 1st of September 1939. Tokyo hoped crushing China would pave the way for Wang Jingwei's puppet government in Central China. An estimated 100,000 strong Japanese force prepared to converge on the city from multiple directions.

• 2. Order Of Battle Deployments

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  Japanese forces split into distinct groups across northern Jiangxi and southern Hubei provinces. The 101st Division under Lieutenant General Masatoshi Saito moved westward from the Gan River. The 106th Division led by Lieutenant General Ryotaro Nakai advanced from north of Fengxin. Meanwhile, three other divisions marched south from Hubei toward northern Hunan. These included the 3rd Division commanded by Lieutenant General Shinichi Fujita. The 6th Division followed under Lieutenant General Shiro Inaba. The 13th Division operated under General Shizuichi Tanaka. The 33rd Division came from Lieutenant General Jutaro Amakasu. Chinese units countered these movements with their own specific deployments. Wan Baobang commanded the 184th Division against the 106th Division. Wang Yaowu led the 74th Corps which included the 51st, 57th, and 58th Divisions. Song Ketang directed the 32nd Corps containing the 139th and 141st Divisions. Guan Linzheng oversaw the 15th Army Group from the south.

• 3. Tactical Execution And Combat

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  Fighting erupted on the night of the 14th of September 1939 when Japanese troops drove westward from north of Fengxin. They attacked Wan Baobang's 184th Division near Gao'an. Defending forces abandoned that town after fierce combat. On the 19th of September, Japanese forces used poison gas along the Xinqiang River. Japan had not signed the Geneva Protocol of 1925 allowing such chemical warfare. Heavy artillery covered the crossing of the Miluo River by the 6th and 13th Divisions. Naval vessels landed the Shanghai Special Naval Landing Forces east of Changsha. Chinese defenders executed a flexible strategy to lure the enemy into the vicinity for a decisive battle. General Chen Cheng ordered scorched earth policies to deny supplies to the invaders. Local civilians evacuated into the hills while guerrilla tactics wore down Japanese manpower. By the 29th of September, vanguard troops reached the outskirts of Changsha. A night attack the next day found them surrounded by 60,000 screaming Chinese soldiers on all sides.

• 4. Casualty Estimates And Discrepancies

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  Conflicting reports emerged immediately regarding losses sustained during the two-week engagement. The Japanese claimed their attack was merely a spoiling operation never meant to occupy Changsha permanently. Their official figures stated only 850 killed and 2,700 wounded. They also asserted they had killed 44,000 Chinese soldiers and captured another 4,000. Foreign military observers estimated Chinese losses at much lower numbers around 20,000 killed and wounded. These same observers claimed Japanese casualties totaled approximately 30,000. Military historian Micheal Clodfelter estimates a total of around 50,000 Japanese casualties sustained in the fighting. Actual fatalities likely formed a significant portion of these tens of thousands of men lost. The discrepancy highlights the difficulty of verifying battlefield statistics during active combat operations.

• 5. Historical Significance And Legacy

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  Changsha became the first major city to successfully repel Japanese advances in this phase of the war. Retaining the city allowed Nationalist Chinese forces to prevent Japan from consolidating territories in Southern China. By the 10th of October, Chinese forces had completely regained their former territories in northern Hunan Province. The remnants of the Japanese army fled northward over the Miluo River two days later. This victory served as a crucial morale booster for the Chinese resistance after years of stalemate. Professor Fu Sinian noted in July 1939 that while the Chinese army had become stronger, the Japanese army had weakened. The battle demonstrated that flexible guerrilla tactics could effectively counter superior conventional forces. It set the stage for three subsequent attempts by Japan to take Changsha between 1941 and 1944.