Amoy Operation

The Amoy Operation, also known as the Battle of Xiamen (Chinese: 廈門戰鬥) was part of a campaign by Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War to blockade China to prevent it from communicating with the outside world and importing needed arms and materials. Control of Amoy Island would provide a base to make the blockade of Fujian province more effective. Like the Canton Operation, the Amoy Operation was overseen by Koichi Shiozawa (1881-1943), who was the commander-in-chief of the Fifth Fleet during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). The fleets warships bombarded the city to cover the landing of more than 2,000 invading troops. The poorly equipped defenders of the city were forced to withdraw and move to Sung-yu. The blockade was successful so that China's ability to counterattack was effectively crippled.