Chinese troops thwarted Japan's Shanxi siege: archives

Archival material released on Thursday showed how, in May of 1942, Chinese troops thwarted Japanese invaders' attempts to encircle their base, and launched a devastating counterattack.

The latest in a series of publications to mark the 69th anniversary of victory in the Anti-Japanese War, the material covers events in north China's Shanxi Province, where 30,000 Japanese troops had besieged a major Chinese base.

The Chinese Communist force broke out of the encirclement in three directions, with Zuo Quan dying a martyr's death as the battle's commander.

On May 31, the Chinese counterattack destroyed three enemy aircraft, 14 ground vehicles and two oil depots.

The struggle lasted 38 days and saw more than 3,000 casualties on the Japanese side.

Every day since Aug 25, the website of China's State Archives Administration has been publishing archival material on a different battle in the Anti-Japanese War, in a drive to raise awareness of the conflict.

China has officially set Sept 3 as Victory Day to mark Japan's surrender on Sept 2, 1945.