Battle of Pingxingguan
Pingxing Pass, on the Inner Great Wall, north-eastern Shanxi, China
What happened
Chinese Nationalist forces under Yan Xishan and Fu Zuoyi, and the Communist Eighth Route Army's 115th Division, fought a Japanese army under Itagaki Seishiro. In the early months of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Japanese forces pushed into Shanxi along the line of the Inner Great Wall. On 25 September 1937, the Eighth Route Army's 115th Division ambushed a long Japanese supply column of trucks and carts in a narrow pass. In the wider fighting, though, the Japanese took the pass a few days later.
Why it matters
Why it matters: The ambush was the first important Chinese success on the front line since the full-scale war began. It lifted Chinese morale, even though the larger battle was a Japanese victory.
What came next
The Chinese army retreated to Xinkou, where the Battle of Xinkou was fought. In 1961 the battlefield became a protected national historic site.
Did you know?
In China the ambush is known as the 'Great Victory of Pingxingguan', and a battle memorial hall stands at the site.
Timeline
- 22 September 1937Fighting begins around Pingxingguan.
- 25 September 1937The 115th Division ambushes a Japanese supply column.
- 29 September 1937The battle ends with Japan holding the pass.
- 1961The battlefield is named a protected national site.
- 2014The Ming-style gate city at the pass is rebuilt.