[4][5], During this campaign, apart from the Reserve 10th Division's Sun Mingjin, two other Chinese division commanders were killed: the 44th Corps' 150th Division's Lieutenant General Xu Guozhang(zh:许国璋) was killed at Taifushan in Changde's northwest, aged 37, while the 73rd corps' 5th Division's Lieutenant General Peng Shiliang(zh:彭士量) was killed at the Taoyuan-Shimen line, aged 38. [1] The Chinese pursued them for more than 20 days. During the battle, the Imperial Japanese Army extensively used chemical weapons. At the same time, the Japanese 3rd and 116th divisions reached Changde. Heavy casualties and the loss of their supply lines then forced the Japanese to withdraw, returning territorial control to the original status quo. [2], The Japanese were initially successful in their offensive operation through bacteria infected bombing and capturing parts of the city of Changde forcing civilians to evacuate beforehand. Witold Urbanowicz, a Polish fighter ace engaged in air combat over China in 1943, saw the city just after the battle.[2]. On 2 November 1943, Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the Imperial Japanese 11th Army, deployed the 39th, 58th, 13th, 3rd, 116th and 68th divisions, a grand total of around 60,000 troops, to attack Changde from the north and the east. On the 6th of December, Changde was lost. Hsiung, James C. and Steven I. Levine. On 6 December the city of Changde fell to the Japanese control. During the Khabarovsk War Crimes Trials, some witnesses, such as Major General Kiyoshi Kawashima, testified that, as early as November 1941, about 40 members of Unit 731 airdropped fleas contaminated with bubonic plague on Changde and that this caused outbreaks of plague epidemics. [5], On 2 November 1943 Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the Imperial Japanese 11th Army, deployed the 39th, 58th, 13th, 3rd, 116th and 68th divisions—a total of around 60,000 troops—to attack Changde from the north and the east. The purpose of the Japanese offensive was not to hold the city, but to maintain pressure on the Chinese National Revolutionary Army to reduce their combat ability in the region, and their ability to reinforce the Burma Campaign. The city was guarded by the Chinese 74th corps' 57th division, whose commander, Yu Chengwan, led his single division of 8,000 soldiers to fight against the overwhelming attack of 2 Japanese divisions. 71, "Army Operations in China", "HD Stock Video Footage – Newsreel 'Chinese troops drive Japs from Changteh, "HD Stock Video Footage – Newsreel 'Japs Loose Changteh Aka Japs Lose Changte 1944, "HD Stock Video Footage – Chinese troops defeat the Japanese in Changde China and capture their military equipment during World War II", Axis History Forum Index; WW2 in the Pacific & Asia; Battle of Changde, RESISTANCE WARS; Campaign of E-Xi, Battle Of Changde, Japanese capture the city, but later withdraw in January 1944, 8,000+ (Changde itself was defended by the 8,000-strong 57th Division), 7,900+ killed (57th Division suffered 7,900 killed and 100 wounded). While the Chinese 57th division pinned down the Japanese in the city, the rest of the 74th corps, and 18th, 73rd, 79th, and 100th corps, as well as the 9th war area's 10th corps, 99th corps and Jiangxi's 58th corps arrived at the battlefield, forming a counter-encirclement on the Japanese forces. The following units and commanders fought in the Battle of Changde (early November – late December 1943), of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Japanese claim:[3]1,274 dead2,977 woundedAmerican and British claims: 40,000+ killed and wounded[4][5]. [1], Fang Xianjue's 10th Corps was first to strike, successfully retaking Deshan on 29 November before attacking the Japanese positions at Changde from the south. [1], The Changde campaign saw the largest participation of the Chinese air force since the Battle of Wuhan. The Battle of Changde (Battle of Changteh; simplified Chinese: 常德会战; traditional Chinese: 常德會戰; pinyin: Chángdé Huìzhàn) was a major engagement in the Second Sino-Japanese War in and around the Chinese city of Changde (Changteh) in the province of Hunan.During the battle, the Imperial Japanese Army extensively used chemical weapons. During the battle, Japan extensively used biological and chemical weapons. Eleven days and nights of fierce fighting saw heavy casualties on both sides.