The Battle of Wuhan (traditional Chinese: 武漢會戰; simplified Chinese: 武汉会战; Japanese: 武漢作戦 (ぶかんさくせん)), popularly known to the Chinese as the Defence of Wuhan (traditional Chinese: 武漢保衛戰; simplified Chinese: 武汉保卫战), and to the Japanese as the Capture of Wuhan, was a large-scale battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Engagements took place across vast areas of Anhui, Henan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Hubei provinces over a period of four and a half months. It was the single largest, longest, and bloodiest battle of the entire Second Sino-Japanese War.[18][19][20] More than one million National Revolutionary Army troops from the Fifth and Ninth War Zone were put under the direct command of Chiang Kai-shek, defending Wuhan from the Central China Area Army of the Imperial Japanese Army led by Shunroku Hata. Chinese forces were also supported by the Soviet Volunteer Group, a group of volunteer pilots from Soviet Air Forces.
Quick Facts Date, Location ...
Battle of Wuhan |
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Part of the Second Sino-Japanese War |
Chinese machine gun position at Wanjialing |
Date | 11 June – 27 October 1938
(4 months, 2 weeks, and 2 days) |
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Location | |
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Result |
Japanese victory |
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Territorial changes |
Capture of Wuhan by Japanese forces after Chinese withdrawal |
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Belligerents |
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China |
Japan |
Commanders and leaders |
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Strength |
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- Initially:
- 30 divisions (approx. 256,000)[1]
- Later:
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Casualties and losses |
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254,628[10] - 500,000 killed and wounded[11] |
Japanese claim:31,486–35,500 killed and wounded [12][13]105,945+ cases of illness [14]Chinese claim:Contemporary: 256,000 killed and wounded [15]Academic: 200,000+ [16] Zhang: 200,000+ [17] killed and wounded 100 aircraft [17]Dozens of vehicles destroyed [17]435+ naval vessels destroyed and damaged [8]
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Quick Facts Chinese name, Traditional Chinese ...
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Although the battle ended with the eventual capture of Wuhan by the Japanese forces, it resulted in heavy casualties, with China suffering as many as one million casualties, military and civilian.[22] With Japan suffering its heaviest losses of the war, it decided to divert its attention to the north, which would prolong the war until the attack on Pearl Harbor. The end of the battle signaled the beginning of a strategic stalemate in the war,[24] shifting from large pitched battles to localised struggles.[25]