Did you know that this time of the year, 81 years ago, Shanghai was in the state of terrifying turmoil?! We guess that most of you probably didn’t, so here is a quick recap that summarizes the bloodcurdling chapter in the history of the city.
1.It all started in 1931 with ongoing armed conflicts between China and Japan without an official declaration of war.
2.The conflicts escalated on July 7 1937, when the Marco Polo Bridge Incident triggered the full invasion from Japan. It was the battle between the Republic of China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army on the eleven-arch granite bridge from 12th century.
3.Since the Marco Polo Bridge incident, the primary focus on Japanese military operations were in North China, which included Hebei, Shanxi, and Chahar province. Japan wished to defeat China and conclude the war as soon as possible, to avoid disrupting its plans against the Soviet Union. However, the Japanese Naval Command insisted on deploying troops in Central China to forestall any Chinese troops that might be dispatched to North China, where the war was focused.
4.In Shanghai, the anti-Japanese sentiments escalated to higher levels, which were damaging to Japanese commercial interests in the region. The Imperial Japanese Navy had insisted on increasing their military presence in Shanghai, to protect Japanese factories and citizens from possible confrontation with the Chinese.
5.The Ōyama Incident on August 9, 1937 was the last drop that lead to the meltdown from Japanese side.
Lieutenant Isao Ōyama (大山勇夫) of the Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces came speeding in a car up to the gate of Hongqiao Airport. As he was stopped by a Chinese guard, the lieutenant attempted to drive past the gate. The guard stopped him again and Oyama shot and killed the guard. Other Chinese guards returned fire and Lieutenant Oyama was killed in the shootout.
Access to Hongqiao Airport was a violation of the terms agreed by China and Japan under the terms of the ceasefire signed in 1932.
On 10 August, the Japanese Consul General demanded that the Chinese withdraw the Peace Preservation Corps and dismantle their defense works around the city. He also made it clear that the Imperial Japanese Army regarded the shooting of a Japanese officer as humiliating, and that any further incident would escalate the situation. In response to the incident, the Japanese began sending in reinforcements to Shanghai. Facing the increasing Japanese military presence in Shanghai, Chinese troops were also being deployed to the Shanghai area beginning on 11 August.
6.On 12 August, representatives from the United Kingdom, France, United States and Italy along with Japan and China participated in the joint conference held in Shanghai to discuss the ceasefire terms. The Chinese insisted that the Japanese demand of a unilateral Chinese withdrawal was unacceptable since the two countries were already fighting a war in North China. Japan placed all responsibility on China because of Chinese deployment of troops around Shanghai. Negotiations were impossible.
7.Around 9 am on August 13, 1937 the Battle of Shanghai began. It was the first of the twenty-two major engagements fought between the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of China (ROC) and the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) of the Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was one of the largest and bloodiest battles of the entire war, described as "Stalingrad on the Yangtze".
8.In Chinese, the Battle of Shanghai is known as the Battle of Songhu ( 淞滬會戰; Sōnghù Huìzhàn). Song (淞) is short for Wusong (吳凇), a strategic town in the northern suburbs of Shanghai, where the Huangpu River flows into the Yangtze. Hu (滬) is the abbreviation for Shanghai. In Chinese literature, the battle is also referred to as 813, denoting August 13, the date when battle began.
Several Japanese sources refer to the battle as the "Second Shanghai Incident" (第二次上海事変 Dai-niji Shanhai jihen), alluding to the First Shanghai Incident of 1932 ( a conflict between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan, before official hostilities of the Second Sino-Japanese War commenced in 1937). However, unlike that conflict in 1932, the 1937 Battle of Shanghai was a full-scale battle signifying the beginning of an all-out war between the two countries and the beginning of World War II.
9.The Battle of Shanghai lasted for three months in three strategic areas in the city — downtown Shanghai, the towns surrounding the city, and the Jiangsu coast where the Japanese amphibians made their offensive landings.
It occurred in three phases.
The first stage, in downtown Shanghai, lasted from August 13 to August 22 of that year.
The second phase occurred on August 23 until October 26 of the same year. The Japanese forces focused their assaults at the Jiangsu beaches. From house to house, the Chinese fought to defend their city and the surrounding towns while the Japanese tried to invade.
The third stage occurred on October 27 and lasted through the end of November. During this period in 1937, the Chinese were retreating towards the provincial capital of Nanjing while Japanese chased them on the road hurling volleys of fire at every encounter aiming to crush the withdrawing forces.
10.One of the most deadly dates of the Battle of Shanghai is August 14 also known as ‘Bloody Saturday’.
The Chinese did bombing runs on a supposed target, the Japanese cruiser Idzumo. The cruiser was docked near an International Settlement controlled by the British and where many Chinese also reside.However, during the raid, four bombs accidentally landed on the settlement killing 700 and injuring 3,000 on-site. Two of these landed in Nanjing road and the other two in front of the Great World Amusement Center on Avenue Edward VII. The latter bombs killed around 2,000 shoppers and passers-by as reported in Wikipedia.
11.China tried its best to counter Japan’s air force. However, its planes were of lesser quality. Most were second hand and lack the necessary parts. The Chinese were not able to replace the planes they have lost because they did not manufacture spare parts and planes. About half of the China’s air force was lost at the end of the battle. Still, China managed to do damage to Japan’s planes.
12. General Chiang Kai-shek of China summoned all of the best divisions to defend Shanghai. At the end of the battle, these elite divisions lost 60% of their forces including 10,000 of the 25,000 junior officers. The battle crippled China’s forces making recovery next to impossible. Shanghai fell and Japan gained control over the city. The best of its troops were defeated. However, the Japanese were surprised at the length of time that the Chinese troops were able to make a stand in the city.
The Chinese, were successful in relocating many of their industries to the interior. The Japanese also suffered losses that they were not able to immediately penetrate into Nanjing. China also proved in history that its citizens do not easily give in to invading powers despite its inferiority in armaments.
Information sources
warhistoryonline.com
Wikipedia