Japanese Resume the Offensive

On August 22, 1938 the Japanese commenced their long awaited offensive against the Wuhan area including the city of Hankow. To the extent the Chinese still (or at all) possessed an industrial heartland this was it and the Chinese defended ferociously. A number of Chinese division and brigade commanders died with their troops or were executed for failing to hold their positions (or by the Japanese upon capture for holding them).

The Japanese used 13 divisions in the attack against 97 Chinese divisions. Again however, the much larger Japanese divisions were better armed, equipped and supplied. They also had extensive air, naval (riverine) and corps and army level artillery support. Besides executing their own generals to encourage the others, the only asset the Chinese high command had was one more “surge” from their air force which was only briefly effective.

In the end the best Chinese assets were the stubborn resistance of their infantry and the physical limits of the Japanese. I will post later on the outcome of the offensive but it is not giving away too much to point out that at this stage of the war the Chinese were still capable of determined resistance and the Wuhan offensive was no blitzkrieg.  Additional evidence of the limits of Japanese capability comes from the fact that the  Wuhan offensive was scheduled to begin in early June but was postponed  as a result of the border clash with the Soviet Union. The Japanese did not feel they could deal with both if the situation with the Soviets escalated.