The Drive For Taierzhuang

The Japanese offensive in early 1938 was designed to link their northern force from Beijing with their central force from Nanjing. The two forces were to meet west of Xuzhou, this severing the Lunghai corridor and the railroad which ran from the coast to Xian. Alert to this threat, Chinese …

1938-03-23

146

A101

The Japanese offensive in early 1938 was designed to link their northern force from Beijing with their central force from Nanjing. The two forces were to meet west of Xuzhou, this severing the Lunghai corridor and the railroad which ran from the coast to Xian. Alert to this threat, Chinese leaders massed their forces in the Xuzhou area. In mid-march, the Japanese 10th Division launched an attack from Yihsien to take Taierzhunag in preparation for the southward drive on Xuzhou. Standing in their way, however, was the Chinese 31st Division.

Taierzhuang, China

The Battle of Tai'erzhuang was a battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1938, between the armies of the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The battle was the first major Chinese victory of the war. It humiliated the Japanese military and its reputation as an invincible force, while for the Chinese it represented a tremendous morale boost. Tai'erzhuang is located on the eastern bank of the Grand Canal of China and was a frontier garrison northeast of Xuzhou. It was also the terminus of a local branch railway from Lincheng. Xuzhou itself was the junction of the Jinpu railway (Tianjin-Pukou), the Longhai railway (Lanzhou-Lianyungang), and the headquarters of the KMT's 5th War Zone.

Japanese

Chinese

Scenario Type = Standard