World War II Database

Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province, was the primary target of the Japanese Army in Northern China. The offensive began on 1 Sep 1937 with Itagaki Seishiro's 5th Division and the 11th Mixed Brigade from Beijing moving toward Huaili in Chahar. The Chinese troops were consisted of the Shanxi warlord Yan Xishan's private army, the 115th Division of Lin Biao's 8th Route Army of the Chinese Communists, and some troops of the Nationalist army. The Chinese factions nominally operated under the command of Yan Xishan, but in reality they operated independently from each other. Lacking an unified central command, the Chinese abandoned the city of Datong on 13 Sep, allowing a large coal supply to be captured by the Japanese. The Chinese fell back to Yanmenguan, Niangziguan, and Pingxingguan gates of the Great Wall.

Battle of Pingxingguan
25 Sep 1937

On 25 Sep 1937, the Japanese reached Pingxingguan. Taking advantage of the Great Wall gate's placement, Lin's 9,000-strong Communist division ambushed the Japanese troops passing in the narrow road fifteen feet below it. The ambushed was triggered at dawn at great losses to the Japanese, and at noon attacks were launched against the Japanese center and rear. At the end of the battle, about 1,000 Japanese were killed, at the cost of 500 Chinese casualties. Over 100 trucks laden with weapons, ammunition, and other supplies were captured by the Chinese. Although the strategic consequences of this Chinese victory was rather trivial, it provided the morale boost that China badly needed. After the war, Japanese blamed the loss to "victory disease," where Japanese officers were too proud and too careless after the string of successes they had experienced in China thus far.

Battle of Xinkou
13 Sep-11 Nov 1937

Although the Pingxingguan battle had been won, Chinese troops still needed to fall back to Xinkou as heavier Japanese artillery and tanks appeared. The location Xinkou was chosen by Yan as it was flanked by Wutaishan and Yunzhonshan mountains, advantageous for defense. On 2 Oct, the Japanese 2nd Brigade of the Chahar Expeditionary Force attacked Gouxian, and the Chinese 19th Army held until 9 Oct. The Japanese 15th Brigade of the Chahar Expeditionary Force then pressed on against Yuanping, defeating Jiang Yuzhen's 196th Brigade of the 34th Army on 12 Oct. On the next day, a large column of 50,000 Japanese troops began the main assault on Xinkou, supported by over thirty aircraft, over forty heavy artillery pieces, and over fifty tanks. On 16 Oct, the Chinese counterattacked, slowing Japanese momentum. On 19 Oct, the 769th Regiment of the 120th Division successfully attacked the Yangmingbao airfield and destroyed 24 Japanese aircraft on the ground.

With aerial support, on 26 Oct Japanese commando battalions broke through Chinese lines and pushed the defenders back along the Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan Railway. On 11 Nov, the remaining Chinese forces in Xinkou finally abandoned their position and retreated back toward Taiyuan to avoid envelopment.

Photographs

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