Battle of Taierzhuang The Battle of Tai ' erzhuang ( ) was a battle of the Second Sino - Japanese War in 1938 , between armies of Chinese Kuomintang and Japan , and is sometimes considered as a part of Battle of Xuzhou . Tai ' erzhuang is located on the eastern bank of the Grand Canal of China and was a frontier garrison northeast of Xuzhou . It was also the terminus of a local branch railway from Lincheng . Xuzhou itself was the junction of the Jinpu Railway ( Tianjin - Pukou ) and the Longhai Railway ( Lanzhou - Lianyungang ) and the headquarters of the KMT ' s 5th War Zone . Events Leading up to the Battle . In January 1938 , the Japanese army disregarded the Tokyo headquarter ' s policy for a one year truce and pursued the Chinese army retreating from the Shanghai - Nanjing theater , driving northwards into the three provinces of Jiangsu , Shandong and Henan . These provinces were the area of operations of the KMT 5th War Area . The Japanese planned to fight through the Jinpu Railway from the north and south , regrouping at Xuzhou . From there , they would attack Wuhan and force the KMT into surrender . At this time , the Japanese armies were very powerful , so this operation should have been done with relative ease . As a result , the commanders did not deploy their full forces to complete the task . But unexpectedly , from January to March , Shunroku Hata ' s Ogisu division ( 13th division ) met stiff resistance from the forces of KMT commanders Wei Yunsong and Yu Xuezhong during its attack along the southern section of the railway . Eventually , KMT general Liao Lei ' s forces arrived , and the bloody battle became tightly entangled . The Japanese were forced onto the southern bank of the Huai River , unable to escape . As a result , it was unable to launch the planned pincer attack on Xuzhou with the Isogai division ( 10th division ) . In the northeast , the Itagaki division ( 5th division ) was also advancing towards Xuzhou . However , it was halted at Linyi by KMT generals Pang Bingxun and Zhang Zizhong and their Northwestern Army . Although insufficiently trained and not very well equipped , the Chinese troops inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese , who retreated . This engagement not only broke the myth of Imperial Japanese invincibility , but also humiliated Japanese commander Seishirō Itagaki . Even the Tokyo headquarters were shocked . Although the 5th division picked itself back up and tried again , it had already lost the element of surprise . As a result , the Chinese victory at Linyi would later have a big impact on the actual battle in Tai ' erzhuang . Of the three Japanese divisions driving into the 5th War Area , the Isogai division ( 10th division ) was the most successful . This division came from Hebei , crossing the Yellow River and moving southwards along the Jinpu Railway . Because of KMT general Han Fuju ' s desertion , the division occupied Zhoucun and moved into Jinan without meeting any resistance at all . From there , they arrived at Tai ' an . Here , they were faced with fierce resistance from the forces of KMT generals Sun Tongxuan and Sun Zhen . Although the Japanese did suffer losses , the Chinese were very poorly equipped . As a result , the Chinese soldiers could only form line after line of defense in a desperate attempt to fight off the Japanese , who were backed up by planes , tanks and heavy artillery . When one line was wiped out , they would move onto the next line . Step by step , the Chinese fell back . By mid - March , the 10th division had fought its way to Yixuan . At this time , KMT commanders Sun Lianzhong and Tang Enbo arrived in the region with their forces . Although Sun ' s second group army consisted of 2 armies , it had taken heavy casualties during the defense of Niangzi Pass in 1937 and had not recovered yet . As a result , its actual strength was only 3 divisions . These three divisions were Zhang Jinzhao ' s 30th division , Chi Fengcheng ' s 31st division and Huang Qiaosong ' s 27th division . The 30th and 31st divisions made up up the 30th army ( under command of Tian Zhennan ) , while the 27th division made up the 42nd army ( under command of Feng Anbang ) . 5th War Area commander Li Zongren gave the responsibility of defending Tai ' erzhuang to Sun Lianzhong , who stationed Chi Fengcheng ' s 31st division inside the district . On the other hand , Tang Enbo brought 4 full - strength divisions . They were Zheng Dongguo ' s 2nd division , Zhang Yaoming ' s 25th division , Chen Daqing ' s 4th division , and Zhang Xuezhong ' s 89th division . The 2nd and 25th divisions made up the 52nd army , while the 4th and 89th divisions made up the 85th army . All of these divisions were reorganized according to the German model and had German advisors attached . As soon as Tang ' s troops arrived at the battlefield , they began engaging the Japanese north of the Tai ' erzhuang area . However , Li Zongren thought that there was too big of a risk losing the Central Army ' s elite divisions . His plan was to open up a route for the Japanese to drive southwards into Tai ' erzhuang . Then , as long as Chi Fengcheng could hold onto the district , Tang Enbo ' s forces could drive around the back of the Japanese forces to encircle them and give the Chinese the upper hand . On the Japanese side , Rensuke Isogai ' s 10th division was not supposed to drive deep into enemy territory alone and attack Tai ' erzhuang . It was supposed to have waited for Shunroku Hata ' s Ogisu division ( 13th division ) to close in on Xuzhou and Itagaki Seishiro ' s 5th Division to pass Linyi for additional safety . However , Isogai was confident enough in his forces . His plan was to take out Tai ' erzhuang in a single swift blow to complete objective of clearing the Jinpu Railway . At this time Tang Enbo ordered Chi Fengcheng to send out a small force to the north and attack the Japanese 10th division . His aim to lure the Japanese into Tai ' erzhuang was successful . Isogai deployed 40 thousand troops and around 80 tanks to attack Tai ' erzhuang from the north . From the 21st of March onwards , the Japanese Air Force launched an extensive bombing operation on the Chinese positions , causing the civilians to flee in terror . On the 23rd , the district was razed by artillery fire . On the 24th , KMT generalissimo Chiang Kai - shek flew to the front lines to inspect the defences . He also left general Bai Chongxi there to help Li Zongren . The Battle of Tai ' erzhuang had begun . The Battle of Tai ' erzhuang . The battle involved a Japanese plan to conquer Xuzhou , a major city in the East . However , the Japanese failed to consider the plans of generals Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi , who planned to encircle the Japanese in the town of Tai ' erzhuang . The Japanese operation started on 24 March . Overconfidence led the Japanese commanders to overlook the thousands of inconspicuous " farmers " in the area , who were affiliated with Li Zongren and cut communication lines and supplies , diverted streams , and ruined rail lines . By late March , supplies and fuels were being dropped from airplanes to Japanese troops , but the quantities were insufficient . On 29 March 1938 , a small band of Japanese soldiers tunneled under Tai ' erzhuang ' s walls in an attempt to take the city from within . They were caught by the Nationalist defenders and killed . Over the next week , both sides claimed to hold parts of the city and surrounding area , and many were killed in small arms battles . Finally , the Japanese attacked frontally , failing to consider the greater Chinese numbers . A major encirclement on 6 April , with Chinese reinforcements , preceded a major Japanese defeat and retreat , which the Chinese failed to capitalize upon fully through pursuit due to a lack of mobility . The Chinese captured 719 Japanese soldiers and large quantities of military supplies , including 31 pieces of artillery , 11 armored cars , 8 armored fighting vehicles , 1 , 000 machine guns and 10 , 000 rifles . Amid the celebrations of the victory in Hankow and other Chinese cities , Japan tried to deny and ridiculed the reports of the battle for days . It was reported in the world ' s newspapers , however , and by mid - April had provoked a Cabinet crisis in Tokyo . The Chinese scored a major victory , the first of the Nationalist alliance in the war . The battle broke the myth of Japanese military invincibility and resulted in an incalculable benefit to Chinese morale .