Battle of Taierzhuang
Taierzhuang, Shandong, China, on the Grand Canal
What happened
Chinese commanders Li Zongren, Tang Enbo and Sun Lianzhong fought Japanese forces led by Rensuke Isogai and Seishirō Itagaki. During Japan's invasion of China, Japanese armies advanced on the important railway city of Xuzhou. At the walled town of Taierzhuang, on the Grand Canal, Chinese troops fought the Japanese street by street at close range, where Japan's planes and big guns were much less useful. Chinese forces then surrounded the Japanese column and forced it out with heavy losses.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It was China's first major victory of the war against Japan. It broke the belief that the Japanese army could not be beaten and greatly lifted Chinese morale.
What came next
The fighting for the nearby city of Xuzhou went on. In 2006 the battlefield became a protected national site.
Did you know?
The town of Taierzhuang was almost completely destroyed in the fighting.
Timeline
- 22 March 1938The battle at Taierzhuang begins.
- 7 April 1938Chinese forces drive the Japanese out.
- 2006The battlefield becomes a national protected site.