Battle of Taierzhuang

The Battle of Taierzhuang (Chinese: 臺兒莊會戰; pinyin: Tái'érzhuāng Huìzhàn) took place during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1938. It was fought between the armies of the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan in the peak of the Xuzhou Campaign. The battle was the war's first major Chinese victory. It humiliated the Japanese military and its reputation as an invincible force; for the Chinese, it represented a tremendous morale boost.

The battle was characterized by vicious close quarters combat. The cramped conditions of urban warfare neutralized Japanese advantages in cannon and heavy artillery. In these circumstances, the Chinese were able to fight the Japanese as equals. Unlike previous engagements, the Chinese managed to resupply their troops while also preventing the Japanese from doing the same. After two weeks of heavy fighting, the Japanese were bled dry of men and material. The Japanese were then virtually encircled by a Chinese counterattack, and were forced out of Taierzhuang with heavy casualties.

Taierzhuang is located on the eastern bank of the Grand Canal of China and was a frontier garrison northeast of Xuzhou. It was also the terminus of a local branch railway from Lincheng. Xuzhou itself was the junction of the Jinpu railway (Tianjin-Pukou), the Longhai railway (Lanzhou-Lianyungang), and the headquarters of the KMT's 5th War Zone.