In August 1937, full scale war broke out between China and Japan. During first three months of the war, a major battle was fought in Shanghai and the city fell after intense fighting.
Following the fall of Shanghai, the Japanese took advantage of their momentum and advanced towards Nanjing — the capital of China at the time. The Japanese advance came from east to west, along the line, from the south bank of the Yangtze River to Taihu Lake, threatening the encirclement of the walled city.
No Escape
Nanjing’s geography played a significant role in its vulnerability to being trapped during the events of 1937. Nanjing’s location along the bank of the Yangtze River served as a natural barrier, but also limited avenues of escape. Additionally, Nanjing was and is still, a walled city, with medieval walls and moats surrounding the perimeter of the city limits. These geographical settings turned Nanjing into a natural fortress, but also a death trap with no escape.
Chinese leader Chiang Kai Shek committed to mounting a defense of the city and appointed General Tang Shengzhi in command, with orders to “defend the city to the last man.” Then Chiang Kai Shek left Nanjing for Chongqing with his staff. The Chinese command quickly broke down, with Chaing and Tang both issuing conflicting orders, causing confusion at the front.
The Great Battle of Guanghua Gate
On December 9, the main Japanese assault on the city began. Particularly heavy fighting took place at the Guanghua Gate in which the Japanese 9th Division suffered around 800 casualties. The Chinese forces responsible for the defense of Guanghua Gate was the 259th Brigade of the 87th Division led by Major General Yi Anhua (易安華). A unit of cadets from the Central Military Academy led by Colonel Xie Chengrui (谢承瑞) was also garrisoned at Guanghua, and later some scattered troops from the 2nd, 5th, 10th and the 2nd Regiments of Military Police led by General Xiao Shanling (萧山令) were rushed to Guanghua Gate as reinforcements.
Under the fierce bombardment of Japanese aircraft, artillery, machine guns, and tanks, a team of Japanese sappers were able to crawl towards the southeast corner of the city wall and explode a section of the wall into a pile of debris. Later In the evening, a small number of Japanese troops climbed the walls and occupied the main city gate. Fighting continued onto the next day.
On December 10, the Guanghua Gate was retaken when General Yi Anhua (易安華), brigade commander of the 259th Brigade of the 87th Division, personally led a charge against the Japanese forces. During this counterattack, a Japanese Major named Ito Yoshimitsu, who was the first Japanese soldier to have climbed onto Guanghua Gate, was hit and killed by the Chinese grenades, and the Japanese flag planted there earlier was thrown off the city wall.
Yi Anhua was wounded in the action and sustained injury to his head, waist, arms and other places, but he still insisted on staying behind, saying: “I am a Chinese soldier. I will never live in vain and betray my country and my people. I swear to live and die with my men and live and die with the position.”
The Japanese media had prematurely printed that the battle of Guanghua Gate was already over and had published numerous articles claiming that all Chinese resistance had been eliminated. The set back on the 10th resulted in massive outrage among the Japanese leadership.
On December 11, as the Japanese broke through in other parts of Nanjing, General Tang Shengzhi fled the city and abandoned his command post, without notifying his subordinates. Nanjing Mayor Ma Chaojun also had fled the city earlier that week on the 7th. The Chinese defenders suddenly found themselves in a leaderless position, with no one to issue orders. Panic began to set in across the ranks.
In the chaos, General Xiao Shanling became the highest-ranking leader who was still personally in the city. Some officers persuaded Xiao Shanling to assess the situation and retreat at the appropriate time to preserve his strength, but he refused. Since Xiao was the head of the Military Police Headquarters, and with the abandonment of the rest of the chain of command above him, Xiao defacto became the highest military and administrative commander in Nanjing, and also the acting civilian mayor, which is particularly noteworthy.
On December 12, the Yuhuatai, a large watch tower, on the right wing of Guanghua Gate was lost, and the Zhongshan Gate position on the left wing was also broken through by the Japanese army. This meant that the Chinese troops at Guanghua Gate were surrounded from three sides. General Yi Anhua ordered his troops to leave the position. During the movement, Yi Anhua killed in action when he was hit in the waist by a Japanese bullet. Yi fell off the city walls from the impact, rolling into the moat below. He was 37 years old.
The Japanese side was deeply impressed by the fierce battles which took place at Guanghua Gate. In the years after the Japanese army occupied Nanjing, they set up tombstones under the Guanghua Gate to pay tribute to the dead in the war. Guanghua Gate was also visited by Japanese military and political leaders such as Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko, during their visit to Nanjing throughout the Japanese occupation until 1945. After the Second World War ended, the gate was demolished by the Chinese authorities.
Unit after Unit of Chinese Troops Were Annihilated by the Japanese
At about 5 p.m. on the 12th of December, Tang Shengzhi, commander-in-chief of the Nanjing Garrison Army, ordered all Chinese troops to leave Nanjing by the next day and conduct a break out of the city wherever possible. By this time in Nanjing, the streets were blocked by large mobs of civilians and soldiers alike, attempting to look for routes to flee. Discipline had largely collapsed and the combat effectiveness of the Chinese forces were almost non-existent. Due to errors in communication, some units of the Chinese Army had not received Tang’s orders.
Across the city, large crowds of civilians and soldiers flooded the streets looking for routes of escape. Colonel Xie Chengrui, while traveling among the crowds was knocked down and was trampled to death by the large numbers of people.
At around the same time, at the suburbs of the Xiaguan district, civilians and soldiers attempted to escape Nanjing by crossing the Yangtze river, but there were not enough boats to cross. Adding to the mayhem were troops of the 36th Division posted atop the city walls, who had previously been ordered to shoot anyone attempting to leave Nanjing, and had not received updated orders to retreat. The 36th began firing into the crowds. General Xiao Shanling himself was in Xiaguan and was caught in this position. Soon, Japanese cavalry and scout troops caught up with the Chinese at Xiaguan. With no escape and refusing to be captured, Xiao Shanling shot himself.
Scattered troops from the Chinese 66th and 83rd Corps attempted to flee Nanjing by traveling east under the cover of the night, but accidentally ran into their own minefields and lost a large number of troops. After giving away their positions, they were attacked relentlessly by Japanese forces. The 66th and 83rd Corps had started the battle at least 11,000 men strong, only 600 of them escaped Nanjing and survived.
At the South Gate, General Situ Fei (司徒非) of the Chinese 160th Division attempted to probe the Japanese lines for weak spots to escape. They encountered strong Japanese resistance and in the ensuing engagement Situ Fei was shot and killed by Japanese troops.
Fall of Nanjing
After fighting with the Japanese army for two weeks, Nanjing fell to the Japanese. The unexpected Chinese resistance and losses inflicted on the Japanese during the Battle of Nanjing and the previous Battle of Shanghai were one of the contributing factors for the atrocities committed by the Japanese on the city following the end of the battle.
After the battle, tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers who could not escape the city responded by taking off their uniforms, disposing of their weapons, and blending in with civilians. Japanese troops mopping-up the city decided that these Chinese troops posed a security risk and arbitrarily murdered any Chinese men that they found indiscriminately, in violation of the laws of war. A large number of male civilians were also falsely accused of being soldiers and executed. The Japanese troops also committed large acts of looting, murder, and other atrocities against civilians for several weeks after the city’s fall.
After the fall of Nanjing, the Chinese leader Chiang Kai Shek declared in a public speech that, “The outcome of this war will not be decided at Nanjing or in any other big city; it will be decided in the countryside of our vast country and by the inflexible will of our people … In the end we will wear the enemy down. In time the enemy’s military might will count for nothing. I can assure you that the final victory will be ours.” Chiang Kai Shek was correct.
The Chinese continued to fight for eight more years until the Japanese were defeated in 1945.
