Taierzhuang Campaign was launched by the
KMT army to protect Xuzhou.
Located about 50 km northeast of Xuzhou, Taierzhuang is a vital transportation hub,
commanding the main north-south railway line and Grand Canal.
After occupying Nanjing in December 1937, Japanese army moved to capture Xuzhou
in order to link their northern and southern forces.
In the spring of 1938, Japanese army launched a two-pronged attack on Xuzhou from
Shandong province. Li Zongren, commander of Fifth War Zone of National Government,
deployed his soldiers to block both paths of Japanese advance at Linyi and Taierzhuang,
respectively, in Shandong.
On March 23rd, a Japanese army of 40,000 soldiers began to attack Taierzhuang. Division
Commander Chi Fengcheng held fast to the town for half a month, drawing the main
forces of Japanese army to the Taierzhuang area. Li Zongren mustered his main force
to make a pincer attack on Japanese. Finally, Chinese army annihilated over 10,000
Japanese soldiers, destroyed 30-odd Japanese tanks and seized a large number of
weapons. Taierzhuang victory became the largest one on the direct front since the
breakout of the nationwide Anti-Japanese War.
Reference data
Li Zongren (1891 - 1969)
Li Zongren was born in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, In 1891, He became
the chief warlord of the line of Gui. He was elected Vice President of National
Government in 1948. After Chiang Kai-shek resigned as president, Li became Acting
President of National Government. He went to the US for medical treatment after
New China was founded in 1949. In 1965, with the help and care from government of
New China, Li Zongren returned to Beijing. He passed away in 1969.
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