   the third battle of changsha (24 december 1941â15 january 1942) was the first major invasion in china by imperial japanese forces following the japanese attack on the western allies. the offensive was originally intended to prevent chinese forces from reinforcing the british commonwealth forces engaged in hong kong. with the capture of hong kong on 25 december, however, it was decided to continue the offensive against changsha in order to maximize the blow against the chinese government. the offensive resulted in failure for the japanese, as chinese forces were able to lure them into a trap and encircle them. after suffering heavy casualties, japanese forces were forced to carry out a general retreat. ==course of battle== on 27 december, the japanese 3rd, 6th, and 40th divisions massed at yueyang and advanced southward in three columns and crossed the xinqiang river, and tried again to cross the miluo river to reach changsha. however, the chinese formed a deep pocket around the city and set up ambush parties around the luoyang river. halfway from miluo river and changsha, the japanese columns faced strong resistance from the chinese and the eastern column was forced to take a detour further east, and the other two columns had to move closer together than originally planned. during the southward advance the japanese encountered three chinese army divisions that were pushed aside but not crushed; they retreated into the eastern mountains. changsha was
1941_in_China 1941_in_Japan 1942_in_China 1942_in_Japan Battles_of_the_Second_Sino-Japanese_War Conflicts_in_1942 History_of_Changsha