Key Facts
- Duration
- April–August 1945 (approx. 5 months)
- Fronts
- Three-front offensive
- Objective
- Retake last major Japanese stronghold in Guangxi
- Theater
- South China
- War context
- Final phase of eight-year Second Sino-Japanese War
Strategic Narrative Overview
The campaign was organized as a three-front counter offensive launched in April 1945, targeting Japanese positions across Guangxi province. Chinese forces advanced systematically, and the operation proved successful in dislodging Japanese troops from their strongholds. Plans were subsequently drawn up to continue mopping up scattered Japanese units near Shanghai and along the eastern coast of China.
01 / The Origins
By early 1945, Japanese forces had conducted extensive operations across South China but were increasingly overstretched. Guangxi province remained a significant Japanese stronghold in the south. Following years of Japanese occupation and the broader Allied advance across Pacific and Asian theaters, Chinese Nationalist forces began planning a major counter offensive to reclaim lost territory and expel Japanese forces from southern China.
03 / The Outcome
Before the follow-on operations could be fully executed, the Soviet Union invaded Manchuria and the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, prompting Japan's surrender. This ended the eight-year Second Sino-Japanese War and rendered further large-scale Chinese offensive operations unnecessary. Guangxi was restored to Chinese control as part of the broader Japanese capitulation.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent