China 1942–1943 Pacific War

chinese troops during battle of changde in november 1943

in mainland china, japanese 3rd, 6th, , 40th divisions, grand total of around 120,000 troops, massed @ yueyang , advanced southward in 3 columns, attempting again cross miluo river reach changsha. in january 1942, chinese forces scored victory @ changsha, first allied success against japan.

after doolittle raid, japanese army conducted zhejiang-jiangxi campaign, goal of searching out surviving american airmen, applying retribution on chinese aided them, , destroying air bases. operation started on 15 may 1942 40 infantry , 15–16 artillery battalions, repelled chinese forces in september. during campaign, imperial japanese army left behind trail of devastation , spread cholera, typhoid, plague , dysentery pathogens. chinese estimates put death toll @ 250,000 civilians. around 1,700 japanese troops died, out of total 10,000 fell ill when own biological weapons attack rebounded on own forces.

on 2 november 1943, isamu yokoyama, commander of imperial japanese 11th army, deployed 39th, 58th, 13th, 3rd, 116th , 68th divisions, total of around 100,000 troops, attack changde of china. during seven-week battle of changde, chinese forced japan fight costly campaign of attrition. although imperial japanese army captured city, chinese 57th division able pin them down long enough reinforcements arrive , encircle japanese. chinese cut japanese supply lines, provoking retreat , chinese pursuit. during battle, japan used chemical weapons.