# Battle of Taiyuan

The Japanese offensive called 太原作戦 or the Battle of Taiyuan was a major battle fought in 1937 between China and Japan named for Taiyuan (the capital of Shanxi province), which lay in the 2nd Military Region. The battle concluded in a victory for Japan over the National Revolutionary Army (NRA), including part of Suiyuan, most of Shanxi and the NRA arsenal at Taiyuan, and effectively ended large-scale organized resistance in the North China area.
Japanese forces included the Japanese Northern China Area Army under Hisaichi Terauchi, elements of the Kwantung Army, and elements of the Inner Mongolian Army led by Demchugdongrub. Chinese forces were commanded by Yan Xishan (warlord of Shanxi), Wei Lihuang (14th Army Group), and Fu Zuoyi (7th Army Group), as well as Zhu De who led the Eighth Route Army of the Chinese Communist Party (under the Second United Front alliance).
Occupation of the territories gave the Japanese access to coal from Datong in northern Shanxi, but also exposed them to attacks by the guerrilla forces of the Nationalist army including the Eighth Route Army, tying down many Japanese troops which could have been diverted to other campaigns.
The battle was marked by fierce urban combat.

## Battle

In September 1937, Hideki Tojo sent the Japanese army stationed in Chahar to invade Shanxi in order to exploit its resources. The city of Datong fell, and the NRA was forced to go on the defensive, and concentrated their troops along the Great Wall in battles at places like Pingxingguan and to the east at Niangziguan.
On September 21, 1937, Major Hiroshi Miwa, commander of the 1st Daitai, 16th Hiko Rentai of the IJAAF, who was a former-hired military flight instructor for Zhang Xueliang's Fengtian army air corps and well known in the Chinese military aviation circles of the time, led 7 Kawasaki Ki-10 fighters on an escort mission for 14 Mitsubishi Ki-2 bombers to attack the city of Taiyuan, encountered Chinese Air Force V-65C Corsairs and Curtiss Hawk IIs, shooting down several, however Major Miwa himself was shot down and killed over Taiyuan in a duel with Captain Chan Kee-Wong, commander of the 28th PS, 5th PG whilst flying a Curtiss Hawk II.
Yan Xishan also sent troops to reinforce Shijiazhuang, but that caused a lack of personnel to defend the North China area, allowing the Japanese army to break through in the north forcing the Chinese to fall back to a new line at Xinkou, Shanxi. Fighting continued in October in the Battle of Xinkou until the Japanese outflanked Niangziguan in late October.

### Battle of the Ladies Pass

On October 8, Chiang Kai-shek ordered two armies, a Corps and a division to defend the Ladies Pass, a critical point on the rail line to Taiyuan. The Chinese defenders mounted a 35-mile defensive line just east of a spur of the Great Wall. When Shijiazhuang fell on October 10, the Japanese 20th Division attacked the defensive line. Four days later, the Japanese broke through the Chinese outer defenses, but advanced too fast and were quickly surrounded by Chinese troops and guerrillas. The Japanese managed to hold their ground despite sustaining severe losses, and the Chinese retreated back to the main defensive point at Ladies pass on October 22.
On October 27, the Japanese 109th Division reinforced the 20th Division, and launched a two-pronged attack against the pass. The Chinese 3rd Corps, alarmed at the prospect of being encircled, retreated from its positions to Pingding 20 miles away. The Japanese attacked Chinese positions at the Wall and Ladies Pass, and forced the Chinese defenders into a rout. This resulted in an open path to Taiyuan for the 20th and 109th Japanese Division.

### Battle for the Outer Line of Defense

On October 13, the Japanese 5th Division and the Chahar Expeditionary Force, supported by air and heavy artillery bombardments, attacked the Chinese defenses North of Taiyuan. The Chinese defenders had entrenched themselves in prepared fortifications, and managed to hold the Japanese off for ten days in fierce hand-to-hand fighting. Both sides suffered thousands of casualties in the ferocious fighting.
On October 23, the Japanese finally ripped through the Chinese lines. The Chinese units conducted an orderly retreat and took up positions atop the high ground on the Blue Dragon Ridge, 20 miles north of Taiyuan.

### Battle for Blue Dragon Ridge

The Chinese defenders at Blue Dragon Ridge fought against relentless Japanese attacks for another five days, enduring repeated air, artillery and tank attacks. Of key importance was the Tungshan fort, a massive fortification that controlled the eastern half of he Chinese defenses with its height.
The Chinese managed to fight for another five days, but on November 2, Japanese engineers tunneled under Tungshan and set off a series of charges beneath it. The resulting massive explosion destroyed the key bastion and its entire garrison.
On November 3, the Chinese withdrew to their final positions 5 miles north of Taiyuan. The Left Flank Army crossed the Fen River and dispersed into the mountains to the west. The fighting for Blue Dragon Ridge had cost the Chinese dearly: some 30,000 of Yan's troops had been lost holding the hills.

### Final Battle for Taiyuan

In early November, the Japanese attacked the last defense positions north of Taiyuan. The 20th and 109th Divisions, having marched unopposed to the area, flanked the city. By this point, Taiyuan was under assault from the north, east, and southeast.
On November 7, most of the Chinese troops had evacuated the city in a disorganized mob. The Japanese demanded that the remaining Chinese units surrender. Local commanders refused.
The Japanese responded on the morning of November 8 by showering the city with bombs, heavy artillery, and blasted their way through the city gates and walls with cannon fire and tanks. Assault troops of the 5th Division smashed rushed the gaps and crashed into the city, but were confronted by the Chinese defenders. A bitter hand-to-hand battle broke out in the streets and alleyways of Taiyuan that lasted through the night. By evening, half of Taiyuan had fallen, and much of it had been destroyed.
In the night of November 8, the last Chinese units in the city attempted to escape the city, joining crowds of panicked refugees fleeing over the Fen River bridge. In the chaos of the rout, panicking Chinese soldiers shoved civilians off the bridge to make room for themselves. By the morning of November 9, those soldiers and civilians that still remained jammed in the southwest gate and the sole bridge were strafed and bombed by Japanese planes, killing and injuring countless people.
By the night of November 9, Taiyuan had been captured by the Japanese forces. The Chinese had lost 20,000 men and 80 artillery pieces defending the city. Tens of thousands of civilians were killed and injured, and most of the city had been destroyed in the fighting.
On November 10, the Japanese pushed to Pingyao 55 miles south of Taiyuan, and wiped out the last Chinese resistance in the region. By this point, the Japanese had secured the majority of Shanxi Province.