Battle of Changde The Battle of Changde ( ) was a major engagement in the Second Sino - Japanese War in and around the Chinese city of Changde in the province of Hunan . During the battle , Japan extensively used biological and chemical weapons . The purpose of the Japanese offensive was not to hold the city , but to maintain pressure on the Chinese National Revolutionary Army " " in order to destroy their main units , to deny them the time needed for recuperation , regrouping , and retraining , and to make sure that no Chinese troops could be spared for the Burma front " . " Although the Japanese army initially successfully captured the city , the Chinese 57th division was able to pin them down long enough for reinforcements to arrive and encircle the Japanese . The Chinese army then cut off the Japanese supply lines , forcing them into retreat , whereupon the Chinese pursued their enemy . Contemporary Western newspapers depicted the battle as a Chinese victory . American government film footage shows victorious Chinese troops with Japanese prisoners and captured Japanese flags and equipment on display after the battle . In addition , an American newsreel titled " Chinese troops drive Japs from Changteh " showed Chinese troops firing , with dead and captured Japanese on display . Battle . On 2 November 1943 , Isamu Yokoyama , commander of the Imperial Japanese 11th Army , deployed the 39th , 58th , 13th , 3rd , 116th and 68th divisions , a grand total of around 60 , 000 troops , to attack Changde from the north and the east . The Changde region was protected by the Chinese 6th war area ' s 10th , 26th , 29th and 33rd army groups , as well as a river defense force , and two other corps , for a grand total of 14 corps . On the 14th , the Japanese 13th division , with aid from collaborators , drove south to break through the defense lines of the Chinese 10th and 29th group armies . On the 16th , Japanese paratroopers landed on Taoyuan , a county in the Changde region . At the same time , the Japanese 3rd and 116th divisions reached Changde . The city was guarded by the Chinese 74th corps ' 57th division , whose commander , Yu Chengwan , led his single division of 8 , 000 soldiers to fight against the overwhelming attack of 2 Japanese divisions . 11 days and nights of fierce fighting saw heavy casualties on both sides . When Chinese reinforcements finally arrived , the remaining 100 survivors of the 57th division , all of whom were wounded , escaped the city . On the 6th of December , Changde was lost . While the Chinese 57th division pinned down the Japanese in the city , the rest of the 74th corps , and 18th , 73rd , 79th , and 100th corps , as well as the 9th war area ' s 10th corps , 99th corps and Jiangxi ' s 58th corps arrived at the battlefield , forming a counter - encirclement on the Japanese forces . Fang Xianjue ' s 10th corps was first to strike , successfully retaking Deshan on the 29th of November , before attacking the Japanese positions at Changde from the south . Unable to withstand the fierce Chinese assault , the Japanese utilized chemical weapons . The battle lasted for 6 days and nights . The Chinese 10th division ' s commander Sun Minjin was shot 5 times in the body and killed in action . At this time , the other Chinese units were pressing onto the Japanese positions . On the 11th of December , the Chinese army broke through the Japanese lines and into the city , whereupon intense house to house fighting occurred . The Chinese army then proceeded to intercept the Japanese army ' s supply lines . Without food and ammunition , the Japanese army retreated on the 13th . Upon leaving , their Unit 731 spread bubonic plague , while the army burned buildings and killed civilians in frustration . The Chinese units pursued the retreating Japanese army for more than 20 days . By the January 5 , 1944 , the Japanese forces were pushed back to their original positions prior to the invasion , thus concluding the engagement as a decisive Chinese victory . During this campaign , besides the 10th division ' s Sun Minjin , two other Chinese division commanders died . One was the 44th corps ' 150th division ' s Lieutenant General Xu Guozhang , while the other one was the 73rd corps ' 5th division ' s Lieutenant General Peng Shiliang . General Xu was killed at Taifushan in Changde ' s northwest , aged 37 . General Peng was killed at the Taoyuan - Shimen line , aged 38 . The Changde campaign had the largest participation of the Chinese air force since the Battle of Wuhan . Reporter Israel Epstein witnessed and reported on the battle . Witold Urbanowicz , a Polish pilot fighting in China in 1943 , saw the city just after the battle . According to Urbanowicz , nearly 300 , 000 civilians died in Changde . Biological attacks . During the Khabarovsk War Crimes Trials , some witnesses , such as Major General Kiyoshi Kawashima , testified that , as early as November 1941 , about 40 members of Unit 731 airdropped fleas contaminated with bubonic plague on Changde and that this caused outbreaks of plague epidemics . Overall , 7 , 643 Chinese died in 1942 following this infestation . 10 , 000 Japanese soldiers were also infected with the plague , and 1 , 700 died . Some Japanese soldiers , notably Yoshio Shinozuka , also admitted to have spread bubonic plague within a radius around the city . However , the Japanese actions did not achieve their objective , as the Chinese defenders continued to resist . Conclusion . Although the Japanese army was initially able to capture Changde and cause terror among the civilians , the Chinese were ultimately able to liberate the city and defeat their enemy , inflicting severe losses .