Atlas of Battles

battle, major, interwar and Second World War

Battle of Changsha

Battle of Changsha was a battle fought in 1939 at Changsha, in what is now People's Republic of China. It was part of Second Sino-Japanese War, which ran from 1937 to 1945. The recorded result: Chinese victory.

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IJA soldiers during the battle of Changsha, September 1939
IJA soldiers during the battle of Changsha, September 1939. Imperial Japanese Army, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought1939
WhereChangsha, People's Republic of China28.200N, 112.967E
OutcomeChinese victory
BelligerentsRepublic of China (1912–1949)againstEmpire of Japan
Part ofSecond Sino-Japanese War1937 to 1945

Where it sits in Second Sino-Japanese War

Japanese invasion of Manchuria, 1931Jiangqiao campaign, 1931Jinzhou Operation, 1931Defense of Harbin, 1932Battle of Wenzaobang, 1932Suiyuan Campaign, 1936Battle of Nanking, 1937Bombing of Songjiang, 1937Siege of Shanghai, 1937Battle of Luodian, 1937Bombing of Nanjing, 1937Marco Polo Bridge incident, 1937Battle of Beiping–Tianjin, 1937Operation Chahar, 1937Battle of Zhangjiakou, 1937Battle of Nankou, 1937Battle of Shanghai, 1937Bloody Saturday (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, 1937USS Panay incident, 1937Amoy Operation, 1938Bombing of Chengdu, 1938Defense of Linyi, 1938Siege of Xuzhou, 1938Battle of Northern and Eastern Henan, 1938Bombing of Chongqing, 1938Defense of Teng County, 1938Battle of Taierzhuang, 1938Battle of Xuzhou, 1938Canton Operation, 1938Battle of Wuhan, 1938Battle of Changsha, 1939Swatow Operation, 1939Hainan Island Operation, 1939Battle of Nanchang, 1939Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang, 1939Battle of South Guangxi, 1939Battle of Baotou, 1939Battle of Kunlun Pass, 1939Battle of West Suiyuan, 19401939–1940 Winter Offensive, 1940Battle of Wuyuan, 1940Battle of Zaoyang–Yichang, 1940Hundred Regiments Offensive, 1940Battle of South Henan, 1941Battle of Shanggao, 1941Battle of South Shanxi, 1941Battle of Changsha, 1941proposed Japanese invasion of Sichuan, 1942Battle 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 Longling, 1944Battle of Dushan, 1944Battle of Central Henan, 1944Operation Ichi-Go, 1944Battle of Changsha, 1944Defense of Hengyang, 1944Battle of Guilin–Liuzhou, 1944Second Guangxi campaign, 1945Battle of West Hunan, 194519311945Battle of Changsha, 1939
77 placed engagements of Second Sino-Japanese War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date1939 (year precision)
to 6 October 1939
PlaceChangsha, People's Republic of China
28.200N, 112.967E
KindBattle, interwar and Second World War
Strength~240,000 troops in 5 Army Groups, 1 Army, and 7 Corps divided between 30 Divisions in total.~120,000 troops in the 11th Army split between 6 Divisions; 12 naval ships; 100+ aircraft; 100+ motor boats
Casualties and lossesWestern claim: 20,000 killed and wounded; Chinese claim: 40,193 killed, wounded, or missing; Japanese claim: 44,000 killed; 4,000 capturedWestern estimates: 30,000–50,000 killed, wounded and missing; Chinese claim: 33,480 killed or wounded; Japanese claim: 850 killed; 2,700 wounded
Commanders
Battle of ChangshaBattle of ChangshaBattle of ChangshaBattle of ChangshaBattle of ChangshaBattle of West HubeiBattle of QingshupingBattle of ChangshaBattle of West HubeiBattle of QingshupingPingxiangChangdeYiyangZhuzhouYichunXiangtan100 km28.200N, 112.967E
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 Changsha
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Changsha today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-01-01. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 43 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 0 to 299 m, 299 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 58% built-up, 19% tree cover, 18% water.

built-up: 58%tree cover: 19%water: 18%built-up 58%tree cover 19%water 18%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 160 mnorth to south, 10.0 km26 to 86 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 1939

Battle of Changsha is one of 4,429 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 448 in present-day China.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q709333, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Changsha (1939), revision 1376063780, 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.