The Battle of Xuzhou was fought between Japanese and Chinese forces in May 1938 during Second Sino-Japanese War. In contemporary accounts in English, the event was usually referred to as the "Battle of Hsuchow", using the Chinese Postal Map Romanization. By the pressure of the Japanese forces, 64 Chinese divisions were gathering around Xuzhou in Jiangsu, the headquarters of 5th Military region of the National Revolutionary Army. Without surrounding it, Itagaki Seishiro moved south first to attack Tai'erzhuang, where he was defeated by Li Zongren in a regional asymmetric battle.