The Battle of Pingxingguan, commonly called the "Great Victory of Pingxingguan" (平型关大捷) in Mainland China, was an engagement fought between the 8th Route Army of the Chinese Communist Party and the Imperial Japanese Army on September 25, 1937. It resulted in a minor, morale-boosting victory in which 8th Route Army was able to capture a cache of weapons and annihilate a Japanese brigade. In this map of China, the light-coloured areas represent Mainland China, while yellow coloured area refers to Taiwan. ... The Eighth Route Army (八路軍 Pinyin: bālù-jūn) was one of the main military forces of the Communist Party of China, active during the Chinese Civil War and Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). ... Communist Party of China flag The Communist Party of China (Simplified Chinese: 中国共产党; Traditional Chinese: 中國共産黨; pinyin: Zhōnggu ngchǎndǎng) is the ruling party of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Imperial Japanese Army (大日本帝国陸軍 Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun) was the official armed force of Japan from 1867 to 1945. ... September 25 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... 1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The bayonet, still used in war as both knife and spearpoint. ... Brigade is a term from military science which refers to a group of several battalions (typically two to four), and directly attached supporting units (normally including at least an artillery battery and additional logistic support). ...

Background

After the capture of Beiping (present Beijing) at the end of July, Japanese forces advanced along the Beiping-Suiyuan railway line to Inner Mongolia. Having anticipated the move, Chiang Kai-shek had appointed the Shanxi warlord Yan Xishan as Pacification Director of Taiyuan. Theoretically Yan had authority over all the Chinese military forces in his theatre of operations, including Lin Biao's 115th Division of the Communist 8th Route Army, Liu Ruming's ex-Kuomingtang troops and various Central Army contingents responsible to Chiang Kai-shek. In reality these forces operated independently from Yan's provincial army. Beijing (Chinese: 北京; pinyin: Běijīng; Wade-Giles: Pei-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Peking), is the capital city of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Inner Mongolia (Mongolian: ᠥᠪᠦᠷ ᠮᠣᠨᠺᠤᠯᠤᠨ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠺᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠣᠷᠤᠨ r Mongghul-un bertegen Jasaqu Orun; Chinese: 内蒙古自治区; Hanyu Pinyin: N i Měnggǔ Z qū) is an Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887–April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925. ... Yen Hsi-shan (閻錫山; pinyin: Yán Xíshān) (1883 - 1960) was a Chinese politician who served in the Republic of China government. ... Lin Biao (林彪; pinyin: lín biāo; Wade-Giles: Lin Piao;) (December 5, 1907 - September 13, 1971) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, once known as Mao Zedongs comrade-in-arms and likely successor, but later discredited as a traitor. ... The Kuomintang (KMT) or Nationalist Party of China (Traditional Chinese: 中國國民黨; Simplified Chinese: 中国国民党; pinyin: Zhōngguó Guómíndǎng; Wade-Giles: Chung-kuo Kuo-min-tang; Tongyong Pinyin: Jhongguo Guomindang; literally the National Peoples Party of China) is a conservative political party currently active in the Republic of China (ROC) on...

Japanese forces, mainly the 5th Division and 11th Independent Mixed Brigade, moved out from Beiping and advanced on Huaili, in Chahar. A Japanese column advanced quickly into Shanxi, making use of the railway which the Chinese did not attempt to destroy. The Chinese abandoned Datong on September 13, falling back to a line from Yanmenguan on the Great Wall east to the mountain pass of Pingxingguan. Yan Xishan's troops became more demoralised as the Japanese exerted their air supremacy. Chahar (察哈爾 in pinyin: Cháhāěr), also known as Chahaer, Chakhar, or Qahar, was a 24-year-old China established in 1912 now mostly in Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. ... Alternative meaning: Datong (Taipei City), Datong (Company) Datong (Chinese: 大同, Hanyu Pinyin: Dàtóng, WG: Ta-tung) is a city in the northern Shanxi Province in China. ... September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... The Great Wall of China (Traditional Chinese: 長城; Simplified Chinese: 长城; pinyin: ), also known in China as the Great Wall of 10,000 Li¹ (Traditional Chinese: 萬里長城; Simplified Chinese: 万里长城; pinyin: ), is an ancient Chinese fortification built from the end of the 15th century until the beginning of the 16th century, during the Ming... Pingxingguan Pass is a mountain pass in the Shanxi Province of China. ...

The main body of the Japanese 5th Division, under the command of Itagaki Seishiro, advanced from Huaili to invade northeastern Shanxi. Although it had a motorised transport column, its rate of advance was limited by the poor roads. By the time they reached the Shanxi border, Lin Biao's 115th Division, after a forced march from Shaanxi, was in place at Pingxingguan. Itagaki Seishiro (板垣 征四郎) (1885-1948) was a Japanese military officer in the Guandong Army. ... Shanxi (Chinese: 山西; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal System Pinyin: Shansi) is a northern province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Shaanxi (Simplified Chinese: 陕西; Traditional Chinese: 陝西; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal System Pinyin: Shensi, pronounced like Shahn-shee) is a northwestern province of the Peoples Republic of China, and includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River as well as the Qinling Mountains...

The battle

The pass of Pingxingguan was a narrow defile worn through the loess, with no exit for several kilometres except the road itself. Having pushed their way through many easily defensible position, the Japanese were careless and contempuous, and began their march through the pass without scouting or securing the heights on either side. At about 9000 men, Lin's division was of respectable strength, and had enough rifle and machine guns to make an impression. Machine gun post on Pingxingguan, photo provided by Peoples Liberation Army File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

At dawn on September 25 Lin attacked the head of the Japanese column, at noon the centre and rear. The battle consisted chiefly of Chinese troops shooting and throwing hand grenades into the packed mass of Japanese soldiers trapped in the defile fifteen feet below their attackers. When it was over there were about 1000 Japanese killed and 1000 Chinese casualties (according to the latest Chinese history book). The battle yielded some 100 trucks loaded with supplies, and large quantities of weapons, ammunition and clothing. September 25 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... A WWII-era pineapple fragmentation hand grenade A hand grenade is a hand-held bomb designed to be thrown by hand. ... Casualties of war. ...

Evaluation

The Kuomingtang official history of the Sino-Japanese War deals with it in a sentence, without any credit to the communists. Communist accounts, on the other hand, describe Pingxingguan as a typical example of Red guerrilla tactics, inspired by Mao Zedong's conceptualisation of People's war. However, like the victory at the Battle of Taierzhuang, Pingxingguan was explained by Japan as Japanese officers succumbing to what they came to call "victory disease". After a series of easy victories against their opponents, they failed to take elementary precautions. Japanese commanders seldom repeated the operational blunders that had led to Pinxingguan. There were two wars known as the Sino-Japanese War (between China and Japan): The First Sino-Japanese War occurred between 1894 and 1895, primarily over control of Korea. ... Guerrilla (also called a partisan) is a term borrowed from Spanish (from guerra meaning war) used to describe small combat groups. ... Mao Zedong (December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976; Mao Tse-Tung in Wade-Giles) was the chairman of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China from 1943 and the chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China from 1945 until his death. ... Peoples war (also called protracted peoples war) is a military strategy invented by Mao Zedong. ... The Battle of Taierzhuang was a battle of the Second Sino_Japanese War in 1938, between armies of Chinese Kuomintang and Japan. ... Victory disease happens when a nation, army or commander has military victories and falls for some combination of: arrogance complacency, established patterns of fighting, stereotypes of opponents, and / or ignorance of alternatives or refusal to recognize them, and loses badly as result. ...