Chinese Soldier vs Japanese Soldier by Benjamin Lai

Author:Benjamin Lai
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472828217
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2018-06-21T00:00:00+00:00

Tai’erzhuang

14 March–8 April 1938

BACKGROUND TO BATTLE

By December 1937, the Japanese capture of Beijing and Tianjin had been complemented by success on the Shanghai–Nanjing front, culminating in the destruction of Chiang’s German-trained and -equipped Army, and the capture of China’s capital. To the dismay of the Japanese, however, the Chinese did not surrender after the fall of Nanjing; instead, its loss seemed to fire the Chinese determination to fight on, regardless of casualties. By January 1938, the mood had changed completely. Having expanded from the original 17 divisions to 24 and with 21 divisions already committed in the China campaign, the Japanese armies on the ground seemed to be striking east, west and in every direction without a master plan, and there were never enough troops. In order to stabilize the situation and replenish the Japanese forces in the face of increasing losses, the war council met on 16 February, presided over by the Emperor himself, and announced a one-year hiatus in further military operations in China. To ensure that the generals in the field would toe the line, the General Staff dispatched Col Kawabe Torashiro as a representative to deliver the council decision; the generals, though, would have none of it, and Kawabe was humiliated and sent packing.

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