Map. 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. The Japanese planned to fight through the Jinpu Railway from the north and south, regrouping at Xuzhou.

The battle involved a Japanese plan to conquer Xuzhou, a major city in the East. 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 lin… 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. This opened up a large gap in the 5th War Area's northern region, allowing the Japanese 10th Division to capture Zhoucun (zh:周村). 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. It humiliated the Japanese military and its reputation as an invincible force, while for the Chinese it represented a tremendous morale boost. On 16 March, the Japanese deployed a force primarily composed of the Watanabe (瀨谷) detachment to launch a three-pronged offensive on the county under the cover of heavy aerial and artillery bombardment. 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. Unwilling to risk losing the Central Army's elite divisions, Li Zongren withdrew both the 85th and 52nd Corps from their head-on engagements with the Japanese.
It was also the terminus of a local branch railway from Lincheng. This division came from Hebei, crossing the Yellow River and moving southwards along the Jinpu Railway. The ancient city of Taierzhuang under the night shows the beauty of the other side. 9-1, This page was last edited on 18 October 2020, at 15:25. The district was 1.2 km long from east to west. The Japanese successfully broke into the county the next day and began engaging the Chinese in house-to-house combat. Translated by Wen Ha-hsiung, Chung Wu Publishing; 33, 140th Lane, Tung-hwa Street, Taipei, Taiwan Republic of China. The Japanese then advanced southwards along two columns from Tai'an. Taierzhuang Ancient Town: Nice - See 35 traveler reviews, 128 candid photos, and great deals for Zaozhuang, China, at Tripadvisor. Translated by Wen Ha-hsiung, Chung Wu Publishing; 33, 140th Lane, Tung-hwa Street, Taipei, Taiwan Republic of China. Because Southern Shandong had historically been the site of many wars, many of its villages had walls around them, akin to fortresses. As the acting regimental CO, Wang Guanwu formed a 72-strong assault team in commemoration of the 27th anniversary of the Second Guangzhou Uprising and its 72 Martyrs. Thus, he continued advancing his force southwards towards the district. Rather, it was supposed to have waited for Rippei Ogisu's 13th Division to close in on Xuzhou and Itagaki Seishiro's 5th Division to pass Linyi for additional security.

For example, a "dare to die corps" was effectively used against Japanese units. [6][7][8][9][10][11], Due to lack of anti-armor weaponry, Suicide bombing was also used against the Japanese.

At this time, Sun Zhen's (zh:孙震) 22nd Army Group, a unit from the Sichuan clique also arrived at the Shanxi-Henan region, only to be rejected by both Yan Xishan (commander of the 2nd War Area and chairman of Shanxi) and Cheng Qian (commander of the 1st War Area and chairman of Henan). While the 31st Division continued to defend Tai’erzhuang and its surrounding areas, the aforementioned units launched simultaneous attacks on the Japanese north of the district, seeking to relieve the pressure on the 31st Division.