Battle of Changsha (1941–1942)

The third Battle of Changsha (24 December 1941 – 15 January 1942; ) was the first major offensive in China by Imperial Japanese forces following the Japanese attack on the Western Allies and the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was conducted with the purpose of severing Chinese lines of communication with British Hong Kong, and seizing control of Changsha's food production.

The offensive resulted in failure for the Japanese, as Chinese forces were able to lure them into a trap and encircle them. After suffering heavy casualties, Japanese forces were forced to carry out a general retreat.

Background and forces
The city of Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, was a point of major importance to the Chinese war effort. It was the key to China's most important rice-producing provinces, areas which supplied food for populous areas around the wartime capital of Chongqing. Both sides recognized the importance of this city, and had fought two major battles over the city in the previous two years.

The offensive was originally intended to prevent Chinese forces from reinforcing the British Commonwealth forces engaged in Hong Kong. Infuriated by Chinese claims of having defeated him in his September-October 1941 Changsha Offensive, Japanese Eleventh Army commander General Korechika Anami originally intended to mount a thrust with his army to support the Twenty-Third Army's attack on Hong Kong. Anami's main force consisted of 27 infantry battalions, 10 artillery battalions, and one artillery battery. However, the attack was carried out after Hong Kong had fallen, defeating the point of the operation. In addition, the Japanese had prepared the operation as a swift attack by light forces, and thus only prepared a slender supply route. It was a logistical weakness the Chinese would soon exploit.

Defending Changsha were Chinese forces under the command of southern General Xue Yue. Nicknamed the "Tiger of Changsha," Yue and his men had managed to defend Changsha against two large attacks by Japanese forces in 1939 and 1941. In both instances, the Chinese had lured the Japanese deep into their territory, and upon engaging their forces in Changsha, severed their supply lines from the rear, forcing the Japanese back into retreats and inflicting heavy losses.

Attack
The Japanese commenced combat operations on 24 December 1941, with the 6th and 40th Divisions leading the way. Japanese forces initially cut through Chinese defenders. By 29 December 1941, believing that the city of Changsha was "inadequately defended", Anami elected to capture it. He was supposed to drive from the south of Hankou, about 19 mi east of the Hankou-Canton Railway, and reach the Miluo River, but disobeyed orders from Imperial General Headquarters and penetrated Chinese lines as far as 22 mi toward Changsha. He committed the 3rd and 6th Divisions and his forces were surprised to be met with fierce opposition.

Fighting was the most intense over southern and eastern gates of the city's walls, and both sides waged vicious see-saw battles over points of tactical importance. One mound, nicknamed "Graveyard Hill," changed hands 11 times in less than 72 hours.

The Japanese 3rd Division managed to penetrate into the southeastern side of the city, but could make no further advances. On 4 January 1942, the Eleventh Army had managed to occupy "all the important points of the city," but they were in danger of encirclement by counterattacking Chinese.

The Chinese, in a near-repeat of the previous battles for Changsha, had penetrated to the rear of the main Japanese force and severed their supply lines. As a result, Japanese supplies in ammunition and rations, already strained by days of combat, plunged to dangerously low levels: soldiers in some regiments had only 10-15 bullets each, and some platoons only had a single grenade to share amongst themselves. Japanese prisoners later taken by the Chinese were reported to have not eaten for days prior to their capture, having prepared only 5 days worth of food.

Japanese Retreat
With the prospect of becoming encircled, and bled dry of men and material, the Eleventh Army ordered a withdrawal on 4 January 1942.

The withdrawal was conducted under "considerable hardship," according to a post-war Japanese account. “Not only did the Japanese forces have to fight off persistent assaults from large enemy forces… but they had also been compelled to escort a large number of casualties and rear service units." Only their near complete air superiority prevented the Japanese from being annihilated entirely.

The Chinese forces, some 20 divisions in 9 armies, pursued the Eleventh Army, killing large numbers of Japanese troops in the process. Some Japanese units — like the 200-man detachment from the 9th Independent Mixed Brigade, from which only one man survived — were almost completely destroyed.

Aftermath
Changsha had been successfully defended by the Chinese Army for a third time. Against a backdrop of swift victories across the Pacific, Changsha was the only place where the Japanese Army was suffering defeat in early 1942. Both sides had suffered heavy losses as a result of the fighting. Historian Richard B. Frank estimates the Japanese lost almost 57,000 troops in the battle, including some 33,941 killed and 23,003 wounded. The New York Times estimated the Japanese had lost some 52,000 men in the fighting around Changsha. The Nome Nugget reported the Japanese had lost 15,000 men on January 2 alone, including many high-ranking officers, mostly by artillery fire. The Chinese also suffered heavy casualties. The intensity of the fighting combined with the Chinese Army's harsh discipline meant that Chinese soldiers often fought to the death at their positions, with one Chinese regiment being reduced to 58 survivors after only a few days of fighting.

Changsha would remain in Chinese hands until 1944, when Japanese forces would capture the city as part of the Ichi-Go offensive.