Battle of West Hubei

Battle of West Hubei
Part of the Second Sino-Japanese War
Date 12 May - 3 June 1943 Location West Hubei Result Tactical draw Chinese strategic victory
Belligerents
National Revolutionary Army, Republic of China	Imperial Japanese Army, Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
Chen Cheng	Isamu Yokoyama
Strength
14 armies	7 divisions
Casualties and losses
60,000 troops	25,830 troops

The Battle of West Hubei (simplified Chinese: 鄂西会战; traditional Chinese: 鄂西會戰; pinyin: È Xī Huìzhàn), was one of the 22 major engagements between the National Revolutionary Army and Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was also one of the four major battles that took place in Hubei.

It resulted in a Chinese strategic victory, although they lost more troops than the Japanese Army. Historian Barbara W. Tuchman however, writes that the "Japanese withdrew without pursuit from what appeared to have been a training and foraging offensive to collect rice and river shipping."^[1]

The Chinese government and Western media reported that the Chinese had scored a major victory.^[2]

Results

The Chinese government and Western media reported that the Chinese had scored a major victory.^[3] Historian Barbara W. Tuchman had another opinion, who wrote that the "Japanese withdrew without pursuit from what appeared to have been a training and foraging offensive to collect rice and river shipping."^[4]

Changjiao massacre

During the time period of the Battle of West Hubei, People’s Republic of China historians have claimed that the Changjiao massacre (Chinese: 厂窖惨案) occurred, during which Japanese troops slaughtered more than 30,000 civilians at a factory in the tiny hamlet of Changjiao, northern Hunan over a three-day period from 9–12 May 1943.^[5]

References