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The Battle of Shanghai had begun. German equipped and trained—they even wore the distinctive steel helmets soon to be familiar in World War II—the Chinese troops were elite forces who proudly bore the title, “the Generalissimo’s Own.”. Intense fighting between the two sides broke out and quickly escalated into a major conflict. Some of the fires came from the fighting, but most had been deliberately set to cover the Chinese Army’s retreat. Shanghai Battle in Scale 1/35: History in perhaps its broadest sense means finding what can be known about the past and presenting the facts in the form of a coherent narrative. The Chinese offensive, poised on the very brink of success, ground to a halt. One unit was deliberately left behind, entrenched around a concrete warehouse just opposite the International Settlement. 1998-2007. The defense of Sihang Warehouse would rivet the attention of the world, with the American press quickly dubbing it “the Chinese Alamo.”. The wait proved to be a short one. When word came that the Japanese had gained ground outside the city and were threatening the Chinese flank, there was no other choice but to withdraw. China’s economic and political capitals, Shanghai and Nanking, were located there. The Tanngu Truce ended tensions however war erupted again in 1937. A success at the Settlement’s very doorstep would underscore China’s strength and resolution in the face of Japanese aggression. Throughout the 1930s the Japanese military, imbued with an aggressive “samurai” spirit and rabid ultra nationalism, gained the upper hand in Japanese politics. In the mid-1930s, Shanghai was the richest, most progressive, and most decadent city in Asia. On July 7, 1937, a Japanese soldier went missing near Beijing. But local Japanese officers, always ready to find a pretext for open aggression, demanded restitution for the alleged kidnapping. In 1937, during the closing phase of the Battle of Shanghai, Chinese troops made a last stand against invading Japanese forces at Sihang Warehouse. The great Yangtze River of central China nourished the heartland of the nation and the center of its developing economy. 1 Feb 1932 : Japanese carrier Hosho and the Japanese Navy Destroyer Division 3 arrived off Shanghai, China to support the battles in the city. As marines and tommies moved into position, thousands of Chinese civilians poured over the bridges spanning Suzhou Creek, seeking refuge from the inevitable clash. Only around 300,000 men, some 40 divisions, were sufficiently equipped and trained to have a fighting chance against the ramrod-stiff Japanese Army. Japanese Admiral Kioshi Hasegawa’s Third Fleet vessels, which were on station in the Yangtze and Whangpoo Rivers, opened up with thunderous salvos. The Suzhou Creek border was of particular concern, because Zhabei, the Chinese district just beyond, had been the scene of brief but bloody fighting in 1932. On July 7, 1937, a battle was sparked between Japanese and Chinese troops at Lugouqiao, or the Marco Polo Bridge near Beijing. But this time the Chinese flatly refused—a line had been drawn in the sand. To be defeated in battle, and to have that defeat witnessed by the Western powers, was too much for the Japanese to bear. However, they were proved wrong and faced an equal number of causalities from the Chinese. "Nanjing Massacre." 21 Jul 2007 The newly landed expeditionary force tipped the balance in favor of the Japanese. The International Settlement was ruled by a British-dominated Municipal Council, hard-headed businessmen whose primary interest lay in making a profit. On August 14, the Chinese began a major offensive, an attack that was designed to push the Japanese into the Whangpoo River. For some units, casualty rates of 1,000 an hour were not uncommon. As a first step, he began pouring troops into Shanghai, including the crack 87th and 88th Divisions. Soon, there were upward of 50,000 Chinese soldiers in position. August 2000. They almost succeeded. They hoped so. 29 Jan 1932 : Japanese aircraft attacked the Chapei district of Shanghai, China, causing 1,000 deaths, most of which were civilian. More than anything, the Japanese military did not want to be drawn south, because just across China’s northern borders lay the Soviet Union, which the Japanese rightly considered a deadly enemy. Because the water table was only a foot or two below Shanghai streets, trenches could not be dug, and millions of sandbags had to be trucked into the area. It now extended from Shanghai’s city center, down the length of the Whangpoo, finally ending at the northeast coast area where the river emptied into the mighty Yangtze. Around 9 am on August 13, Chinese troops exchanged small-arms fire with Japanese units. © Copyright 2020 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. In 1937 undeclared war broke out after the Marco Polo incident and Japanese troops pressed towards Shanghai and eventually Nanking.Tensions between China and Japan began after Mukden incident in 1931 in which japanese forces detontated explosives near Manchuria. It was a spectacle never to be forgotten by those who witnessed it—the funeral pyre of a great city. Overview | Battle in Shanghai | Invasion of Nanking. The Battle of Shanghai might have created the psychological conditions that allowed the rampage in Nanking. After 1932 there was a series of incidents between the Chinese and Japanese, with the Chinese usually granting concessions and territory to the aggressors. TravelChinaguide.com. Having digested Manchuria, Japan was still ravenous, nibbling away at the rest of China throughout the decade. Soon, massive help was on the way. The Battle of Shanghai had begun. The Battle of Shanghai was one of the largest and bloodiest battles of the entire Second Sino-Japanese War. The Shanghai Expeditionary Army, under General Iwane Matsui, was assembled and sent to China immediately. Under a long-standing arrangement, code-named Plan A, British troops from the Shanghai Area Force and American marines would man a defensive perimeter along the Settlement’s borders. The International Settlement figured prominently in Chiang’s overall plans. Superior Japanese weaponry also began to make itself felt, particularly artillery fire, tanks, and aerial bombardment. Second Battle of Shanghai Interactive Map. They almost succeeded. One battle took place in Shanghai, one of the most developed internationally active cities in Asia. Because the battle front had widened, Chiang was forced to send troops to other locations. Once the perimeter was manned, it was simply a matter of watching and waiting for the Japanese to appear. "Shanghai, known as the Pearl of the Orient, had always been an international center in China. Chiang’s Communist preoccupation was a godsend to Japanese militarists. 7 Aug 1937 : Chinese Navy began planning for the blockade of the mouth of the Yangtze River at Jiangsu Province, China. The battle in Shanghai ended in mid-November when Japan's 10th Army and 16th Divisions entered the battle scene threatening the Chinese forces border. Nanking Massacre. When the war broke out, it was Greater Shanghai that was to see the bulk of the fighting. It was a powerful force, built around the 3rd and 11th Divisions and totaling some 300,000 men, 300 guns, 200 aircraft, and the powerful presence of the Japanese Imperial Navy. On November 19, the 10th Army, led by Lieutenant General Yanagawa Heisuke, cabled to the Japanese Army Headquarters to push the Chinese soldiers to Nanking. On August 12, Colonel Charles F.B. There was even the possibility that the western powers, particularly Great Britain and the United States, would intervene on China’s behalf. The First Battle of Shanghai began in China. The Battle of Shanghai was fought between the forces of The Republic of China and the Empire of Japan ending with Japanese victory. Chinese troops in Shanghai had fought the Japanese to a standstill in 1932; Chiang had every reason to believe he could repeat their performance. China was in turmoil in the 1930s, torn asunder by Japanese aggression from without and internal dissension from within. . The Chinese could attack the Japanese garrison at Shanghai’s Honkou district, which was small and vulnerable. Of these, some 80,000 were members of the Generalissimo’s Own. The major powers, however, particularly Great Britain and the United States, were too preoccupied by the deepening economic depression to do more than lodge a few feeble and ultimately ineffectual protests. The expeditionary forces made successful amphibious landings along the northeast coast at Boashan and elsewhere, and in so doing lengthened the battlefront. Second Battle of Shanghai Timeline. The Imperial Japanese Army generals may have underestimated the Chinese army since they had won many victories in Northern China. http://www.geocities.com/nankingatrocities/Introduction/introduction.htm, http://www.travelchinaguide.com/picture/jiangsu/nanjing/nanjing-massacre/index-2.htm. The Japanese responded in kind, and the Chinese 88th Division retaliated with heavy mortar attacks. The Japanese soon occupied Beijing and large parts of northern China. They forced the Chinese army to withdraw towards the west. Thick coils of smoke reached 3,000 feet into the air, obscuring the skies of central China. On October 27, 1937, the Zhabei district of Shanghai began to burn, an enormous conflagration that stretched for five miles and filled the northern horizon from end to end, almost as far as the eye could see. Greater Shanghai was ruled by Chiang’s central government. The 1937 war was entirely unplanned, but, once begun, the Japanese were confident it would be a quick one. This conflict between the two nations developed into a full-scale war known as the Second Sino-Japanese war. The orange-yellow flames greedily consumed buildings and their contents, finishing the destruction already begun after three months of intense fighting between the Chinese and Japanese armies. During the battle of Shanghai, there was house-to-house fighting, bombs detonating the city and naval gunfire from infantry units. The battle lasted for three months and involved nearly one million troops and approximately 300,000 died on both sides. The nearby French Concession was ruled as an out-and-out colonial possession of France and generally conveyed a kind of Gallic aloofness. Following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937, the Japanese headed for its goal: the capital of China, Nanking. To Chiang, Mao and his followers were like a deadly disease infecting the Chinese body politic.

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