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Battle of Nanchang Wikipedia

Battlebox|
battle_name=Battle of Nanchang
|campaign=Second Sino-Japanese war
|image=
|caption=
|conflict=Second Sino-Japanese war
|date=March 17 1939 - May 9 1939
|place=Nanchang and proximity
|result=Japanese victory
|combatant1=National Revolutionary Army???Military region 3,9
|combatant2=Imperial Japanese Army
|commander1=Xue Yue
|commander2=Okamura Yasuji
|strength1=200,000 troops in 52 Division (military)|Divisions
|strength2=120,000 troops in 11 Division (military)|Divisions, 200 artilleries, 80 naval ships and several airplanes
|casualties1=51,378
|casualties2=24,000
|

For the Chinese Civil War battle in 1927, see Nanchang Uprising.

The Battle of Nanchang (????????????) (March 1939 -May 1939) was the first major conflict between the Chinese National Revolutionary Army and the Japanese Imperial Japanese Army after the Battle of Wuhan in the Second Sino-Japanese War.

After the Battle of Wuhan, Wuhan was the base of the 11th division of the Imperial Japanese Army, and was surrounded by the 5th and 9th Military Region of the National Revolutionary Army. Nanchang was a railway center, the major support line between the 3rd and 5th Military Region , and the airbase threatenning Japanese naval shipes in Yangtze River. In addition, it was too near to to the center of the Shanghai-Wuhan strip controled by Japan.

The 9th Military Region was reshuffled, with Chen Cheng stayed as the supreme commander in name and Xue Yue became in actural duty. 200,000 troops in 52 divisions were gathered near Nanchang. However, lacking of vehicles, the reshufflement took a long time and the planned attack was delayed.

Japanese troops tried to approach Nanchang during Battle of Wuhan, but they were stopped at Xiushui River (see Battle of Xiushui River). They had to wait for reinforcements, and started the second invasion with 120,000 troops. Japanese troops began with artillery attacks, and then started crossing the Xiushui River. They advanced 2km at March 21, 7:00 am, and began to build bridges. On March 23, Wucheng became a ruin under artillery attacks and airstrikes. On March 26, they arrived the west gate of Nanchang, defeating Chinese reinforcements from the 3rd Military Region. On March 27, Nanchang was fallen after surrounded and sieged by Japanese forces.

However, the battle was not over. After some Japanese forces moved to attack other areas (see Battle of Suizao), the battlefield was stablized until the end of April. On April 21, a supprising attack by the 3rd and 9th Military Region led them to the outer area of Nanchang in 5 days. However, they failed to siege the navy-reinforced city under Japanese airstrike, and retreated on May 9.

After this battle, the 3rd Military Region of National Revolutionary Army lost its major support line, and southeast provinces of China were threatened.

Last Modified:   2005-11-04