The Battle of Lanfeng (), in the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific T ...

, was part of the larger campaign for Northern and Eastern Henan (February 7 – June 10, 1938) and took place at the same time as the

Battle of Xuzhou The Battle of Xuzhou was a military conflict between the Empire of Japan and the Republic of China forces in May 1938 during the Second Sino-Japanese War. History In 1937 the North China Area Army had chased Song Zheyuan's 29th Army to the ...

(Late December – Early June 1938) was occurring. It involved a Chinese counterattack at Lanfeng by elements of the 1st War Area against the positions held by the Japanese 14th Division. The 14th Division was the vanguard of the

Japanese First Army The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army. It was raised and demobilized on three occasions. History The Japanese 1st Army was initially raised during the First Sino-Japanese War from 1 September 1894 – 28 May 1895 under the command ...

(

North China Area Army The was an area army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. History The Japanese North China Area Army was formed on August 21, 1937 under the control of the Imperial General Headquarters. It was transferred to t ...

) and numbered 20,000 men with tanks. It was the first action of the Chinese

200th Division The 200th Division ({{zh, t=第200師, s=第200师, w=Ti 200 Shih, p=Dì 200 Shī) was the first mechanised division in the National Revolutionary Army. It was created in 1938 by General Du Yuming, who was also its first commander. Its first act ...

, the first mechanized division in the Chinese Army. In the assault, the 200th Division of the

National Revolutionary Army The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army () before 1928, and as National Army () after 1928, was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in China ...

, located to the west of the line of contact, overran the flanks of Kenji Doihara's 14th Division, successfully encircling 7,000 men of the division in the county of Lanfeng. The battle resulted in a Japanese defeat, forestalling the Japanese capture of the northern section of the Longhai railway. The Chinese victory, which ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described as a second

Taierzhuang Tai'erzhuang District () is the southernmost of five districts under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zaozhuang. The district is located in the south of Shandong Province, China, bordering Jiangsu province to the south. It cover ...

, resulted in the near destruction of the 14th Division. Simultaneously, Japanese forces undertook a successful offensive operation that captured the city of Kweiteh southeast of Lanfeng.

Order of Battle of Lanfeng

See the Order of Battle of the Battle of Lanfeng

References

Sources

Hsu Long-hsuen and Chang Ming-kai, ''History of The Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945)'' 2nd Ed., 1971. Translated by Wen Ha-hsiung, Chung Wu Publishing; 33, 140th Lane, Tung-hwa Street, Taipei, Taiwan Republic of China, page 230–235, Map. 9-2 Lanfeng Lanfeng 1938 in China 1938 in Japan Military history of Henan May 1938 events {{Battle-stub