Atlas of Battles

battle, major, interwar and Second World War

Battle of Taierzhuang

Battle of Taierzhuang was a battle fought on 24 March 1938 at Tai'erzhuang District, in what is now China; it lasted 14 days. It was part of Second Sino-Japanese War, which ran from 1937 to 1945. The recorded result: Chinese victory.

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Chinese soldiers in house-to-house fighting in the Battle of Tai'erzhuang
Chinese soldiers in house-to-house fighting in the Battle of Tai'erzhuang. Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought24 March 1938lasted 14 days
WhereTai'erzhuang District, China34.557N, 117.731E
OutcomeChinese victory
BelligerentsChinaagainstJapan
Part ofSecond Sino-Japanese War1937 to 1945

Where it sits in Second Sino-Japanese War

Defense of Harbin, 1932Battle of Wenzaobang, 1932Battle of Nanking, 1937Siege of Shanghai, 1937Battle of Luodian, 1937Marco Polo Bridge incident, 1937Battle of Beiping–Tianjin, 1937Battle of Zhangjiakou, 1937Battle of Nankou, 1937Battle of Shanghai, 1937Battle of Wusong, 1937Battle of Taiyuan, 1937Battle of Datong, 1937Battle of Jining, 1937Battle of Xinkou, 1937Battle of Pingxingguan, 1937Defense of Sihang Warehouse, 1937Battle of Jinshanwei, 1937Defense of Linyi, 1938Siege of Xuzhou, 1938Battle of Northern and Eastern Henan, 1938Defense of Teng County, 1938Battle of Taierzhuang, 1938Battle of Xuzhou, 1938Battle of Wuhan, 1938Battle of Changsha, 1939Battle of Nanchang, 1939Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang, 1939Battle of South Guangxi, 1939Battle of Baotou, 1939Battle of Kunlun Pass, 1939Battle of West Suiyuan, 1940Battle of Wuyuan, 1940Battle of Zaoyang–Yichang, 1940Hundred Regiments Offensive, 1940Battle of South Henan, 1941Battle of Shanggao, 1941Battle of South Shanxi, 1941Battle of Changsha, 1941Battle of Changsha, 1942Battle of Tachiao, 1942Battle of Oktwin, 1942Battle of Toungoo, 1942Battle of Yenangyaung, 1942Battle of Lashio, 1942Battle of Yunnan-Burma Road, 1942Battle of West Hubei, 1943Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan, 1943Battle of Changde, 1943Battle of Dushan, 1944Battle of Central Henan, 1944Operation Ichi-Go, 1944Battle of Changsha, 1944Defense of Hengyang, 1944Battle of Guilin–Liuzhou, 1944Battle of West Hunan, 194519321945Battle of Taierzhuang, 1938
58 placed engagements of Second Sino-Japanese War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date24 March 1938
to 7 April 1938
PlaceTai'erzhuang District, China
34.557N, 117.731E
KindBattle, interwar and Second World War
Strength100,000–288,000 troops in 10 divisions; 20th Corps and attached units: about 72,278 troops17,000–60,000 troops; 7 tanks; 39 tankettes
Casualties and lossesWestern claims: 20,000–30,000+ killed and wounded; Chinese records: 20th Corps: about 20,342 killed, wounded, or missing; 2nd Group Army: 9,675 killed, wounded, or missing; 22nd Group Army: 2,415 killed, wounded, or missing.Modern Western estimate: 8,000 killed; 12,000 wounded; Contemporary Western estimates: 16,000–20,000 killed; 40 tanks destroyed; 70 armored cars; 100+ trucks; Japanese records: Seya Task Force: 411 killed; 1,319 wounded; 4 tanks; 7 tankettes; Sakamoto Task Force: unknown; Under 2,500 total casualties; Official Japanese newspaper claim: 636 combat deaths.; Seya Task Force: 448 combat deaths; Sakamoto Task Force: 188 combat deaths; ----Chinese claim: 20,000+ killed and wounded; 10,000+ rifles; 931 HMGs; 77 infantry guns; 40 tanks; 50+ cannons; Countless POWs
Commanders
  • Rensuke Isogai
  • Seishirō Itagaki
Battle of TaierzhuangBattle of TaierzhuangBattle of XiapiBattle of XuzhouBattle of PengchengBattle of GaixiaBattle of XiapiBattle of XuzhouBattle of PengchengBattle of GaixiaZaozhuangLinyiSuzhouHuaiyinJiningHuaibeiShuyangRizhao100 km34.557N, 117.731E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Taierzhuang
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Taierzhuang today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-05-13. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 29 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 18 to 87 m, 68 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 41% built-up, 27% cropland, 18% tree cover.

built-up: 41%cropland: 27%tree cover: 18%grassland: 6%water: 5%bare ground: 4%built-up 41%cropland 27%tree cover 18%grassland 6%water 5%
west to east, 10.0 km24 to 37 mnorth to south, 10.0 km22 to 37 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1938

Battle of Taierzhuang is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 339 in present-day People's Republic of China.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q626796, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Taierzhuang, revision 1384773383, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.