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| Battle of Taiyuan |
| Part of the Second Sino-Japanese War |
|
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| Combatants |
| Republic of China, National Revolutionary Army |
Japan, North China Theater Army |
| Commanders |
| Yan Xishan, Wei Lihuang, Zhu De, Fu Zuoyi |
Isogai Rensuke, Itagaki Seishiro |
| Strength |
| 6 Army Groups, ~580,000 men |
5 divisions, ~140,000 men |
| Casualties |
| about 100,000 |
near 30,000 |
The Japanese offensive called 太原作戦 or the Battle of Taiyuan (Traditional Chinese: 太原會戰; Hanyu Pinyin: Tàiyuán Huìzhàn; Wade-Giles: T'ai-yüan Hui-tsan) was a major battle fought between China and Japan near Taiyuan (the capital of Shanxi province), which lies in the 2nd China Theater. This battle concluded in loss for the NRA and effectively ended large-scale regular resistance in the North China Plain area. With these territory occupied, the Japanese obtained the coal supply in nearby Datong, but it also exposed them to guerilla attacks by the Eighth Route Army, tying down a large number of Japanese troops.
[edit] Chronology
In September 1937, Hideki Tojo sent the Japanese army stationed in Chahar to invade Shanxi in order to exploit it resources. Soon the city of Datong fell, and the NRA was forced to go on the defense, and concentrated their troops along the Great Wall, in Niangziguan and Pingxingguan. Yan Xishan also sent troops to reinforce Shijiangzhuang, but that caused a lack of personnel to defend the North China Plain area, allowing the Japanese army to break through in early October. Fighting continued intermittently until November.
