The Grand Canal

In mid-March, after a brief pause for rest and refit, the Japanese renewed their offensive. To the east of Xuzhou, the relatively well-equipped Chinese 31st Infantry Division retreated to positions in and around the ancient town of Taierzhuang. The town, with its bridges over the unfordable Grand Canal, …

1938-03-24

A087

In mid-March, after a brief pause for rest and refit, the Japanese renewed their offensive. To the east of Xuzhou, the relatively well-equipped Chinese 31st Infantry Division retreated to positions in and around the ancient town of Taierzhuang. The town, with its bridges over the unfordable Grand Canal, stood in the path of the Japanese column which was to outflank Xuzhou. At dawn on the 24th, the crack 10th Infantry Division attacked. The heaviest blow fell upon the Chinese right flank, where Japanese armor and infantry broke through the north gate in the town's wall and drove towards one of the vital bridges over the canal.

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