China publishes documents of anti-Japanese battle

China on Tuesday published documents chronicling the Battle of Xiangxi, a 1945 confrontation in the central province of Hunan that was crucial to defending Chongqing, the wartime capital.

The documents, the 30th installment in a series of archival releases on China's WWII engagements, detailed events from April 9, when about 80,000 Japanese invaders launched an attack in the west of Hunan, trying to lay siege to Zhijiang Airport and occupy Xiangxi.

The Chinese army organized about 110,000 troops to counterattack. Their endeavors were supported by local residents and in the latter part of the battle, they were assisted by the Chinese and U.S. air forces.

The Chinese army smashed the Japanese scheme and won victory on June 7.

During the battle, about 19,000 Chinese soldiers were killed or wounded, while the Japanese army suffered about 28,000 casualties.

The victory marked the last frontal battle between the Chinese and Japanese armies before Japan officially surrendered on Sept 2.

Every day since Aug. 25, China's State Archives Administration has released a new set of articles outlining historic battles to raise awareness of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.