THE BATTLE OF HENGYANG: Japan's Fateful Siege of World War II

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Details a battle that was erased from Chinese history books since it was heroically fought by Chinese Nationalists, in which the Chinese fought back against the Japanese who sought to eliminate American air bases. Explains how the Japanese tried to take Hengyang because it was a key railway junction in south-central China and site of a major U.S. base. The Chinese 10th Army held off a Japanese force totaling more than 110,000 men, supported by aircraft and artillery, for forty-seven days. Accounts compared the Battle of Hengyang to the German defeat at Stalingrad and to the Battle of Suiyang, the most famous siege in ancient Chinese history, because it blunted the Japanese offensive and led to the fall of Prime Minister Tojo's cabinet. Contains 20 illustrations.