Battle of West Henan–North Hubei

Battle of West Henan-North Hubei
Part of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the China Burma India Theater and the Pacific Theater of World War II
Date (1945-03-21) (1945-05-11)March 21 – May 11, 1945
(1 month, 2 weeks and 6 days)
Location
Western part of Henan province and Northern part of Hubei province in the Republic of China
Result Stalemate
Territorial
changes
Japan seizes Laohekou airbase in Hubei
Belligerents
China Japan
Commanders and leaders
Hu Zongnan
Liu Zhi
Sinnosuke Sasaki
Takashi Takamori
Strength
5 army group
4 airforce group
7 divisions
5 brigades
100+ tanks
13 armoured cars
1,000+ vehicles
Casualties and losses
From 21 March until 18 July 1945 :
474 officers and 18,403 soldiers killed
903 officers and 15,699 soldiers wounded
190 officers and 6,312 soldiers missing
Chinese claim : ~16,000 dead and wounded
Japanese claim : Japan admitted to suffering tremendous casualties in a failed counter attack north of Xixia, Henan from 29 April – 10 May, but did not give any specific figures

The Battle of West Henan–North Hubei (simplified Chinese: 豫西鄂北会战; traditional Chinese: 豫西鄂北會戰; pinyin: Yù Xī È Běi Huìzhàn) was one of the 22 major engagements between the National Revolutionary Army and Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was fought in March–May 1945 in northern Hubei and western Henan. While it was a tactical stalemate, the Japanese forces at Laohekou in Hubei seized control of the local airbase, denying Chinese forces any localized air support, after heavy fighting from 22 March to 8 April. Japan lost a failed counteroffensive in fighting against Chinese north of Xixia in Henan from 5 April to 10 May.