The Battle of Baotou (Chinese: 包头战役 baotou zhanyi) was fought from 17 to 24 December 1939 in Suiyuan Province, Republic of China as part of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Taking place in the Eighth War Area in Northern China, the engagement was part of the wider 1939–1940 Winter Offensive by the National Revolutionary Army.
Aiming to delay the Japanese advance, initial fighting began on 17 December, leading to the siege of Baotou. During the siege up to half of the city was captured by the Chinese. However, with the arrival of Japanese reinforcements, the Chinese army withdrew. This battle laid the groundwork for the subsequent Western Suiyuan campaign.
Background
The battle was primarily a diversionary attack planned by Fu Zuoyi to relieve pressure on other sectors of the front.
Armies
The Imperial Japanese Army
Japan had formed a Mongolian Garrison Corps on 8 January 1938 to protect the newly acquired regions along the Zhangjiakou-Datong-Baotou line.
Alongside this was a Cavalry Corps headquartered in Baotou and led by Lieutenant General Kojima Yoshizo. The force comprised a Horse Artillery Regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Nagaru Kumagawa, a Cavalry Company, an Independent Tank Team, a rapid-fire Artillery Unit, and two Mongolian Army Divisions alongside more than a hundred gendarmes and partisans.
Stationed nearby at Guyang was Ogami Shigeru's Cavalry Brigade and the 8th Division of the Mengjiang Army.
Further to this was the Western Suiyuan Autonomous Allied Army commanded by Wang Ying. This force had been organised on orders of the Japanese in 1939. Three Cavalry Divisions under the command of Chen Bingyi, Wang Biaozi, and Chang Ziyi were stationed in the area of Gongmiaozi to the west of Baotou.
The National Revolutionary Army
The offensive was centered around the 35th Army under Fu Zuoyi, veterans of the Battle of Taiyuan. The Army was initially composed of the 73rd and 101st Divisions. However, the 73rd was sent to Shanxi, replaced by the 31st and 32nd New Divisions.
Supporting the 35th were local units of the 81st Army, the 6th Cavalry Army, the 3rd and 4th New Cavalry Divisions, the 5th and 6th New Brigades, as well as Guerrilla Forces.
The battle
Opening stages
Fu Zuoyi's orders for the battle were as follows:
1. Our army shall attack the enemy in Baotou with a long-distance surprise attack to achieve the purpose of completely annihilating the defenders and occupying the city. We will make preparations for a battle and a siege of the city, and will advance towards the enemy in Baotou. On December 20, a siege shall be carried out at the Baotou city.
2. Men Bingyue's 6th Cavalry Division shall cross the Yellow River at Maqi Crossing, pass through the Southern Yimeng area, and advance between Sa County and Guisui on December 20. They will sabotage the Ping-Sui Railway, using guerrilla warfare to contain the enemy and prevent reinforcements to Baotou. Senior Staff Officer Miao Yutian shall be sent to accompany the army to maintain contact with headquarters.
3. Sun Lanfeng, the commander of the New 31st Division, will lead the left column to Baotou along the Bao-Wu North Road. He will be supported by the Provisional Police Brigade, Yu Linrui's regiment, and the 1st Mountain Artillery Battalion.
4. Yuan Qingrong's, commander of the New 32nd Division, will lead the right column to Baotou along the Bao-Wu South Road, meeting up with the left column in Baotou. He will be supported by a battalion of mountain artillery.
5. Dong Qiwu's 101st Division, supported by a battalion of mountain artillery will serve as the left column's rear-guard.
6. Brigade Commander Ma Fengchen of the Suiyuan Guerrilla Army shall secretly lead four regiments to the Ula Mountain north of Baotou during the night. If the enemy in Baotou leaves the city to fight with the army west of Baotou, these brigades will occupy Baotou.
7. Wang Zixiu's New Sixth Brigade shall advance to the Dashetai-Baoutou Road to harass and delay Japanese reinforcements from Dashetai.
8. Ma Hongbin, commander of the 81st Army, shall lead his troops along the line from Wuzhen and Wuliangsuhai to Xishanzui to guard the Houtao area.
On December 17, the 6th Cavalry Army, under the command of Men Bingyue, crossed the Yellow River and defeated the Mengjiang troops to the East and West of Laozangyingzi. They then destroyed the Ping-Sui Railway as planned. On the 18th, the 6th Cavalry Division attacked the Japanese Army over a 180 Hectare front. The following night, they launched a surprise attack on the Japanese troops stationed in Salazi. Meanwhile, the 81st Army of Ma Hongbing guarded the Houtao area. On the afternoon of the 18th, Fu Zuoyi twice dispatched the chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Wang Xing and Staff Officer Captain Jin Shuko to liaise with the New 31st Division, confirming that the operation would begin on the night of the 19th.
After learning of the movements of the Chinese 6th Cavalry Army, Japanese Army Group Commander Kojima Yoshizan dispatched most of his Cavalry Group, commanded by Kumagawa Nagaru, late on the night of December 19. With five tanks in the vanguard, the Force was sent to engage Ma Bingyue's 6th Cavalry Army. In the early morning of December 20, after Kumagawa's force had left Baotou, the National Revolutionary Army's 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 93rd Regiment of the New 31st Division entered north-eastern Baotou. Led by Regimental attaché Lt. Col. Feng Zi, they had bypassed the bunkers and barbed wire on the night of the 19th and entered the city. Early on the 20th, Colonel An Chunshan, the commander of the 93rd Regiment, directed its 1st Battalion, commanded by Wang Youliang, to advance on the northwest gate of Baotou City. Finding the gate garrisoned, the Battalion changed plan and the battalion scaled the northwest corner of the wall, known as Shuiba Cave.
The 1st Company of the 1st Battalion set up ladders to the city wall having crossed the outer ditch. As the troops began to scale the wall, two Mengjiang soldiers spotted the attackers. The two soldiers then surrendered, allowing the attackers to enter the city without casualties. With information from the two surrendered Mongolian soldiers, the battalion quickly launched an attack on the Japanese soldiers stationed at the northwest gate, killing more than 20 and capturing the gate. This skirmish alerted the sleeping Japanese to the invasion. The Japanese quickly manned the bunkers across the city. At the same time, a Mengjiang force stationed outside the city at Xiyingpan also began to attack the northwest gate. They attempted to encircle the 1st Battalion but their attack was halted by a squad led by Captain Yao Dezeng. Following this, the Mengjiang soldiers sent a delegation to indicate they would not engage further in the battle, and offered 20 cases of ammunition. This ended the threat of encirclement an allowed An Chunshan to concentrate the 1st Battalion on the rapid capture of the Japanese munitions stores.
In this time, the 91st Regiment of the New 31st Division and the 1st Regiment of the 5th Provisional Police Brigade assembled at the north of the city and, with the support of two battalions of the 93rd Regiment, began their attack on the city. Artillery under the command of Major General Liu Zhenheng took up positions near Huangcaowa and set up a command post. The 1st Regiment of the 5th Provisional Police Brigade under Major Liang Banchi was the first to enter the city. Soon after, the main force of the 91st Regiment, having accepted the surrender of the Mengjiang soldiers, followed the 1st Regiment of the 5th Provisional Police Brigade into the city. By noon, two companies of the 1st Battalion of the 91st Regiment led by Captains Cui Jianxin and Linghu Li joined the assault. The two battalions led by Lt. Col. Feng Zi of the 93rd Regiment were stuck at the northeast corner and failed to enter the city because the trench outside the city was too wide to cross. Instead, the battled Mengjiang forces outside the city.
Japanese counterattack
Japanese command was initially unaware of the attack, and Commander Kojima was taken by complete surprise. However, the Chinese attack was disorganized and poorly coordinated. Timings were inconsistent, reducing the strength of each assault. This allowed the Japanese time to recover and reorganize. Only one battalion of the 93rd Regiment entered the city, the other two were stuck outside, and lost contact with headquarters. The commanders of the 1st Regiment of the 5th Provisional Police Brigade and the 91st Regiment did not personally enter the city to command the battle. This confusion allowed the Japanese troops time to enter their fortifications and use their superior firepower to stall the Chinese Army's attack. Just as the New 31st Division launched their assault, the Japanese Cavalry Group Command made contact with the Mengjiang Garrison Command in Zhangjiakou. However, when the commander, Lt. Gen. Naosaburo Okabe, asked if reinforcements were needed, the Cavalry Group replied that they had already notified the 1st Cavalry Brigade stationed in Sa County of the need for reinforcements and that there was no need to dispatch other reinforcements.
At 10:00 a.m. on December 20, due to the varying progress of the attacking units and the fact that some units had not broken through the city walls, as well as the fact that the 1st Regiment of the 5th Provisional Police Brigade, which was attached for the operation, was unfamiliar with the 35th Army's chain of command, the commander of the New 31st Division, Maj. Gen. Sun Lanfeng, ordered deputy divisional commander Maj. Gen. Wang Leizhen to enter the city and command the operations as the front-line commander in order to unify the command of the siege troops. However, Deputy Divisional Commander Wang did not enter the city after receiving the order, but only set up a temporary command headquarters outside the city to direct the troops outside the city to fight against the Puppet Army. He ordered Colonel An Chunshan, the commander of the 93rd Regiment who had already entered the city, to unify the command of the troops who had entered the city, and dispatched the 3rd Battalion of the 92nd Regiment into the city as reinforcement. At this time, the troops who had already entered the city included the 1st Battalion of the 93rd Regiment, two companies of the 1st Battalion of the 91st Regiment, the 3rd Battalion of the 93rd Regiment, and a part of the 1st Regiment of the 5th Provisional Police Brigade.
After gaining unified command, An Chunshan quickly contacted the various troops inside the city. He deployed the battalions and companies on the line from Qianjie to Jinlongwang Temple and launched fierce street fighting with the Japanese troops in the city. At this time, the Japanese army, relying on their advantages of being well-trained and well-equipped, quickly entered the bunkers set up at various street corners to put up resistance. The fighting inside the city was very fierce and the progress of the Chinese Army was hindered. At 3:00 p.m. on the 20th, under the command of Regimental Commander An Chunshan, the troops which had entered the city pushed the Japanese troops to the southeast corner of the city and raised the national flag. After learning that the Chinese army entered the city, the local Baotou citizens rushed to offer tea and water to comfort the Chinese troops. However, due to the complex configuration of Japanese bunkers in the southeast corner and the fierce fire pinning them down, the Chinese troops who had entered the city were never able to occupy the southeast corner. The Japanese also organized troops to launch several counterattacks, and the battle turned into a tug-of-war state.
In order to speed up the attack, Sun Shimin of the New 31st division ordered the 3rd Battalion of the 92nd Regiment in reserve into battle to strengthen the attack power of the troops in the city. However, he did not expect that the Kumagawa Expeditionary Force of the Japanese Army, which had left the city in the early morning to look for the main force of the Chinese army, to rush back to Baotou at the same time and fought with the Chinese army outside the northwest gate of Baotou city. This sudden incident plunged the Chinese and Japanese armies into a melee. While fierce fighting was going on inside and outside Baotou City, Major General Katagiri Shigeru, commander of the 1st Cavalry Brigade of the Japanese Army, ordered two cavalry regiments to reinforce Baotou from Guyang and Anbei.