Second Sino-Japanese War Taishō period Shōwa period Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups The Battle of Changsha of 1944 (also known as the Battle of Hengyang or Campaign of Changsha-Hengyang; Chinese: 長衡會戰) was an invasion of the Chinese province of Hunan by Japanese troops near the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War.

This was an attempt to establish a land and rail corridor from the Japanese occupied territories of Manchuria, Northern and Central China and Korea and those in South East Asia.

From there, the American Flying Tigers led by Brigadier General Claire Lee Chennault, had inflicted heavy damage on Japanese troops both in China and Formosa[8] and could launch air strikes against the home islands of Japan.

Two Japanese military detachments moved on to besiege Hengyang, but the NRA's understrength Tenth Corps under the command of Fang Xianjue repelled their advance twice.

In August 1944, Japanese troops led by three two-star generals again attacked Hengyang with air support.

Chinese troops resisted fiercely aided by local knowledge and constructing effective barricades up to four meters high.

[9] The Chinese Military Affairs Commission reactivated the headquarters of the Tenth Corps at Yi-San in Guangxi after the defeat of Hengyang.

Against the unofficial military traditions in east Asia, "Fang and his five tiger-like generals," who surrendered the Chinese Tenth Corps to the Japanese, were welcomed in Chongqing; they were also awarded the Order of Blue Sky and White Sun.

From Saipan, United States aerial fleets began their bombing campaign against the home islands of Japan.

One of the Japanese tactical achievements in this bloody campaign, (Operation Ichi-Go), had been easily neutralized by a simple American military maneuver in the Pacific.

At the same time their negotiating position with China became significantly less powerful—to the point where they agreed to set aside the "Tang Ju" treaty.

The Japanese, in a desperate measure, collected as many troops as possible in April 1945 to invade a heavy settlement (Zhijiang) in the west of Hunan, hoping to open a path to Sichuan.