it was ultimately overwhelmed by the sheer firepower of the Japanese combined arms offensive, relying primarily on small arms to face the onslaught of Japanese air, naval, artillery, and armoured striking power. As the Chinese commanders had surmised, the Japanese forces were overextended, and were not in a position to pursue their victory. 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. The Navy felt that it was critically needed as a forward base for air attacks against Chongqing. After considerable argument, the Japanese Army agreed to occupy Yichang. This dealt a considerable blow to the morale and fighting capacity of the Chinese as no large-scale offensive was mounted after this operation. See also Order of Battle: Battle of Zaoyang-Yichang References Sources Hsu Long-hsuen and Chang Ming-kai, History of The Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) 2nd Ed., 1971. Translated by Wen Ha-hsiung, Chung Wu Publishing; 33, 140th Lane, Tung-hwa Street, Taipei, Taiwan Republic of China. Page 334-339, Map 20, 21 van de Ven, Hans. War and Nationalism in China: 1925-1945, External links "Occupation of Shashi", Nippon News, No. 3. in the official website of NHK. "Occupation of Yichang", Nippon News, No. 4. in the official website of NHK. Conflicts in 1940 Zaoyang-Yichang 1939 1940 in China 1940 in Japan Military history of Hubei May 1940 events June 1940 events