The Battle of Xiangxi was the last major battle during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, when Japan was gradually defeated in the Pacific Theater and was in a passive state on the Chinese battlefield. In addition, since Chennault led the Flying Tigers into Zhijiang Airfield, frequent bombing of the Japanese rear supply line, but also threatened the Japanese mainland, the Japanese army in order to pull out this airfield, but also in order to occupy the Western Hunan region, gathered five divisions and two brigades a total of 100,000 troops to launch the Battle of Western Hunan.
After the end of the Battle of Yuxianggui, Henan, Hunan, Guangxi and other large areas of land fell, and the western Hunan region became the last barrier to defend Chongqing and the great southwest, in order to win this battle, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized the most elite troops of the Nationalist army. The commander-in-chief of the Battle of Xiangxi was Wang Yaowu, commander of the Fourth Front, who was a third-term student of Huangpu and the founder of the 74th Army, and although his seniority was shallow, he was already able to sit on an equal footing with Zhang Fakui and other Kuomintang elders. Wang Yaowu mobilized a huge force of 26 divisions of nine armies, including the 74th Army, the 18th Army and the New Sixth Army, which later became the five main forces, and the rest of the troops were also the troops of the Central Army.
On April 14, 1945, the Japanese 47th Division began to advance in the direction of the Chinese army, and the Nationalist 73rd Army launched an attack before the Japanese army was assembled, and the Japanese army was overwhelmed. After the Japanese 116th Division was surrounded, the 47th Division stepped up the rhythm of the attack and launched a fierce attack on the defensive forces of the 74th Army in an attempt to break through the 73rd Army's blocking troops, but the 73rd Army turned to attack and launched a fierce counterattack against the Japanese 47th Division under the cover of the Air Force, and the Japanese army quickly collapsed under the charge of the Chinese army and suffered heavy casualties.
The biggest highlight of the Battle of Western Hunan occurred in the Wugang area, on April 27, 1945, the Japanese 68th Division except for 4,000 people to fight Wuyang, the rest of the main forces, including the division tank heavy artillery, were all transferred to fight Wugang. Guarding Wugang was a battalion of the 172nd Regiment of the 58th Division of the 74th Army, which had just been equipped with American equipment before the war, and this battalion had reinforced the city wall with glutinous rice and triad soil before the war. At the beginning, the Japanese used hundreds of heavy artillery and dozens of tanks to bombard Wugang City, and then the infantry units attacked under the cover of tank armored vehicles. The Japanese army could not attack for a long time, began to organize death squads to climb up the ladder, the officers and men of the 74th Army used submachine guns to strafe the Japanese army, and burned the Japanese ladder with flamethrowers. A week after the fierce fighting between the two sides, Wang Yaowu sent the 44th Division to support the first battalion, the Morale of the Japanese Army was low at that time, and it was about to collapse under the attack of the 44th Division, and the officers and men of the first battalion also all left the city and attacked the Japanese 68th Division inside and outside, causing great losses to the Japanese army.
At the Battle of Western Hunan Province, the Japanese suffered 35,000 casualties, of which 12,000 died, and more than 1,000 Japanese troops committed suicide after being besieged and disappointed by the Chinese army; the Chinese army suffered 20,000 casualties, of which 7,800 were killed. In addition, the Chinese army also captured 447 Japanese troops, including 42 officers.