The Most Surprisingly Important Place of WW2?

While

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the start of World War II on September 1, 1939, many historians claim that the conflict actually began on July 7, 1937, when the Japanese Empire invaded China, taking advantage of the country's vulnerability due to to a civil war. Japan launched several attacks against China, including in the city of Changsha and Hunan province, while the city's name virtually disappeared from known records about World War II, even more so in the west. Chung sha was one of the

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s in the world from 1939 to 1944. The city's lines of communication were so crucial that when the Japanese embarked on a series of battles to take the city, the beleaguered Chinese nationalists and the communists even They created a truce to fight for the city tooth and nail with the help of the allies.

The second Sino-Japanese war relationship. The relationship between neighboring China and Japan was extremely tense for decades and with China engulfed in a civil war between nationalists and communists, the Imperial Japanese Army seized the opportunity and invaded the resource-rich region of Manchuria in northeastern China in 1931. They then installed a puppet government as Japan further encroached on northern China over the next few years, both sides of the Chinese Civil War were forced to put aside their differences and form a reluctant Alliance on July 7, 1937, the Tension peaked when a Japanese soldier failed to return to base after a bath. breakout 10 miles southwest of Beijing near the Marco Polo Stone Bridge after Chinese guards refused to allow the Japanese to enter a town in search of the missing soldier, the standoff turned violent and the Marco Bridge incident Polo ignited the second Sino-Japanese war in less than six months.

Technologically superior Japanese forces seized Beijing and captured the commercial hub of Shanghai, committing significant atrocities along the way as Japan pressed even harder. In 1938, the Chinese had no allies or weapons and a defeat seemed inevitable; However, the war soon became a stalemate as Japanese forces failed to achieve much beyond the port cities and urban areas south of Beijing, while the fragile truce between the Nationalists and Communists still held, soon the foreign aid began to flow to China. Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin knew that the victorious Japan would be a significant threat to the USSR and began supplying orange to the Chinese nationalists, the United States and the United Kingdom would soon continue to extend credits to China to purchase military supplies by which time the Japanese had put their You look at another major Chinese city and a ruthless confrontation was inevitable Changsha The city of Changsha, located in southeastern China, is a bustling urban space amidst the abundant rice fields of Hunan province.

By the late 1930s, Changsha's predominantly nationalist population had increased to almost half a million, mainly due to the merger of the Changsha Wuhan Railway and the Hunan Guangxi Guangzhou Railway. A connection used to deliver grain to China's great eastern cities for centuries, the Strategic City attracted several armies and during the early stages of World War II, Zhangsha became the focus of several battles between Chinese nationalists and the Invading Imperial Japanese Army, whoever kept control of Changsha. its critical road and rail connections and thus all of southern China, including the rice fields of the railway lines and access to India and Burma, the railways were of such significant value that much of the city was burned down in 1938 in an attempt to deny the Japanese from benefiting from it if they ever controlled the area, both sides were well aware that if Changsha fell to the Japanese they would win the war, consequently the city became a high priority for both Chinese and Japanese nationalists and Hunan province and all its surroundings.

Soon there were some of the largest troop concentrations in the entire Asian theater. The first battle of Chiangsha. After two years of near stalemate, the Japanese decided to take Changsha on September 17, 1939. Senior officials expected the outbreak of war in Europe. Just two weeks earlier would keep the fearsome Soviets at bay, so Lieutenant General Cesur Itagaki led some one hundred thousand men of the Japanese 101st and 106th Divisions to Changsha, while the 3rd, 5th, 6th, 13th, and 33rd invaded. the northern Hunan region to exert even more pressure. Meanwhile, almost 365,000 Chinese soldiers were deployed to the region and they had General Joey, yes, one of the most talented Chinese commanders at their side, he had a long-standing reputation for his fearless leadership, which made his men extremely loyal to him and, while the commander charged the Chinese communists, he hated the Japanese even more.

Dre was willing to do whatever it took to hold Changsha after a long conversation between Japanese and Chinese forces across the Zhang River. The general ordered a series of human wave attacks to take advantage of his manpower. Although these changes came at a huge cost to the Chinese, they managed to weaken the enemy enough to stop them before they reached the vital Changsha Wuhan Railway, but with the railway under their control, the exhausted Chinese still had the strategic advantage and with it the city. of Changsha, the Second Battle of Changsha in 1941, two years after the first battle, the Japanese attempted to retake Changsha;

However, with the Pacific Theater in full swing, military requirements limited the number of men they could use and they were again massively outnumbered after an initial confrontation. The Chinese launched a massive counterattack using human wave tactics, now a national hero decided to train strategies by opting for street fighting and trying to nullify the powerful Japanese weaponry. Lacking manpower, the Japanese retreated rather than risk a street battle and China retook the shattered remains of the city. The Second Battle of Changsha proved that neither side could let it go, making the city a symbol of their animosity. It was also a rare loss for the Japanese Empire proving that they were not invincible the second Chinese victory at Changsha also helped convince the United States that China deserved more financial and military support, meanwhile the Japanese continued to believe that if they could capture Changsha All of southern China would fall into their hands and as 1941 drew to a close it became clear that they would attempt to take the city once more.

By then, Trangsha was almost in ruins, the crucial railways still standing. Generals where Uaze Garrison had fallen to just 300,000 men and subsequently ordered all civilians to leave the city, allowing only a handful of brave volunteers to stay and fight for their beloved growing city of Boulder. Even when the Japanese forces called for reinforcements, they still had less than half the Chinese forces: barely 120,000 men backed by 600 artillery pieces and 200 aircraft, while this was the most powerful force that Japan had concentrated in Hunan province, Most of the manpower was focused on the south as they prepared for a significant offensive on Hong Kong, the Imperial Japanese forces had become bolder and the port city and British colony began to fall faster than expected, Meanwhile the Japanese leader, General Korechika Anami, was furious at China's claims of his defeat in the previous Changsha Offensives and although the original intention was to mount an attack with his army to further support the 23rd Army's attack To Hong Kong, he changed his mind, disobeyed the smells and knowing that the British could no longer interrupt his movements, the general directed his forces towards Changsha with the intention of launching a full-fledged attack for the third time, this time from the southeast.

General Anami's main forces consisted of 27 infantry battalions, 10 artillery battalions and one battery. Combat operations began on December 24, but it was five days later that Anami decided to finally capture the city and sent his 3rd and 6th divisions to approach, however, General Joey was ready for them when they arrived in Changsha, soon units of specially trained Nationalist gorillas came down from the mountains and attacked Japanese supplies, cutting off their communications and leaving them. highly vulnerable to counterattacks. A third attempt, on January 4, 1942, the Japanese 11th Army had occupied all the main points in the city, but were in danger of being surrounded by fierce Chinese forces.

With this in mind and low on ammunition and rations, they chose to withdraw later that day, but the Japanese forces continued to withstand several counterattacks by nine Chinese armies and more than 20 divisions while protecting rear units and their wounded men. Soon the Japanese had no choice but to carry out a general retreat. More than 55,000 casualties were reported during the Third Battle of Changsha, the largest so far in the long struggle to seize the city. Some Japanese units were almost completely destroyed, with only one survivor to tell the tale. It was a decisive victory for General Joey UA and the Chinese.

The Nationalists just weeks after the Japanese humiliated the United States and the United Kingdom at Pearl Harbor and Hong Kong, while Japanese forces rampaged through other parts of Asia, the Chinese had stopped them at Hunan Chungsha, so they became an even more

important

symbol. Having lost none of its strategic importance, American strategists soon began to imagine the city as an air base for B-29 bombing groups, since the aircraft could easily attack Japanese industrial targets and return safely without having to fly far. over the water that has not yet ended, assuming that the Chinese could hold Trung Shi indefinitely against any future Japanese attack.

American planners began to think of new strategic purposes for the crucial city. However, Japan had other plans. Shortly after the third defeat, the Japanese began planning Ichigo, one of the most

important

military operations in Asia. The historic Operation Ichigo was an attempt to definitively and permanently turn the tide of the war in China in favor of Japan with the main objective of uniting the different Japanese controlled areas in the country and controlling southern China was a critical part of the plan among several other objectives in addition to securing the lines of communications necessary to advance the operation would also allow Imperial Japan to attack existing US air bases in eastern China.

American planes in the area had relentlessly harassed the Japanese ground forces while targeting their supply lines, limiting their movements for months; by June 1944 the Japanese had raised 360,000 men to attack Changsha and Heng Yang in the south. It was the largest concentration of Japanese troops in China for any operation during World War II. Despite their waning power, the Japanese launched one last major operation. attack in September with dire consequences for both them and the Chinese an important victory in addition to the victory of the Soviet army over the Armed Forces of Nazi Germany in Operation Barbarossa the third battle of Changsha was the first Allied victory since the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.

There are different accounts of how much each side lost in the battle, but it is estimated that almost 60,000 men lost their lives. Still, the three battles of Changsha had significant consequences for American relations with China, American strategy in the Pacific Theater, and the overall war in Asia shaped the outcome of World War II as much as many of its most legendary battles. . Thanks for watching Dark docs. If you enjoyed our video, give us a thumbs up and feel free to click on the screen and check out. Discover our other documentary documentary channels where we publish new content regularly.

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