Battle of Tai er zhuang - Definition and Overview

The Battle of Tai'erzhuang was a battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1938, between armies of Chinese Kuomintang and Japan.

Taierzhuang is located on the eastern bank of the Grand Canal of China and was a frontier garrison northeast of Xuzhou. Xuzhou itself was the joint of Jinpu Railway (Tianjin-Pudong) and Longhai Railway (Lanzhou-Lianyungang) and the headquarters of the KMT's 5th War Zone.

The battle involved a Japanese plan to conquer Xuzhou, a major city in the East. However, the Japanese failed to consider the plans of Li Tsung-jen who planned to encircle the Japanese in the town of Tai'erzhuang. The Japanese overconfidently attacked frontally and failed to consider the Chinese numbers. A major encirclement preceded a major Japanese retreat, which the Chinese unfortunately failed to capitalize by pursuing.

Nevertheless, the Chinese scored a major victory, the first of the Kuomintang in the war. The battle broke the infallibility of the Japanese and resulted in an incalculable benefit to the Chinese morale.

External links

• Memorial museum of the Battle of Taierzhuang (http://www.ln632.com/qxsw/main.htm) (in Chinese)