Battle of South Henan

The Battle of South Henan (simplified Chinese: 豫南会战; traditional Chinese: 豫南會戰; pinyin: Yùnán Huìzhàn), was one of the 22 major engagements between the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) and Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. This battle was the first time the NRA engaged the Japanese in southern Henan.

In January 1941, the Japanese 11th Army split into three routes to attack the Chinese positions. Their main objective was to eradicate Chinese control of the Ping-Han Railway's southern section. Li Zongren, commander of the Chinese 5th War Area, avoided frontal contact with the Japanese as much as possible. Instead, he fought conservatively, diverting his main forces towards the two flanks. Outflanked, the Japanese retreated after taking heavy casualties, and their attack was repelled.

The Japanese Army recorded that the main objective was to force Tang Enbo's troops, which according to Japanese intelligence was moving to suppress the New Fourth Army, into a decisive battle. The Japanese Army was aware of the Fifth War Zone's intent to avoid direct battles with the Japanese as was the case with the Central Hubei Operation and had adjusted their battle plan of action accordingly. The Eleventh Army claimed to have achieved their objective of defeating Tang Enbo's group army by January 30 and the Japanese 3rd Division also captured Nanyang, the communication center of the Chinese participating units, on February 4 after obtaining the approval of Eleventh Army headquarters. In total, the Japanese Army reported engaging approximately 95,000 Chinese troops and claimed to have inflicted approximately 16,000 losses while suffering minor losses. This operation was highly praised by the General Headquarters of the China Expeditionary Army as a model example that was worth emulating for future campaigns.