They pushed towards the 5th warzone's strongholds in the Tongbaishan and Dahongshan mountains, attempting to encircle and destroy the Chinese 31st Army Group under General Tang Enbo in a pincer movement.

The Chinese strategy aimed to let the Japanese forces run low on supplies, and then counterattack, as had been successfully employed at the Battle of Changsha.

When the Japanese managed to outmaneuver Tang's forces, General Zhang Zizhong marched to his aid with the Chinese 33rd Army Group.

The Japanese forces rallied and pushed back the Chinese, and General Zhang Zizhong was cut down in a burst of machine gun fire when he refused to retreat from the front lines.

However, the Imperial Japanese Navy pushed strongly for the occupation of Yichang, located at the edge of Sichuan Province and connecting the 5th and 9th war zones.