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.

Battle of South Henan
Part of the Second Sino-Japanese War
Date (1941-01-30) (1941-03-01)January 30 – March 1, 1941 (1 month and 1 day) Location South Henan Result Chinese victory[1]
Belligerents
Republic of China	Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
Li Zongren	Waichiro Sonobe
Strength
5th War Area: 2nd, 31st, 33rd Army Groups, 2nd Army, 36th Corps, 15th Separate Brigade, 14th Artillery Regiment, 4th Separate Engineer Battalion	11th Army: 3rd, 4th, 15th, 17th, 39th, 40th Divisions, 18th Independent Mixed Brigade, 3 Tank Regiments, 1 Separate Heavy Artillery Regiment, 100 Planes
Casualties and losses
Unknown	9,000 killed and wounded[1]

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,[1] and their attack was repelled.