1937 Battle of Shanghai
In the summer of 1937, there were more than 20,000 Japanese citizens in Shanghai, the most prosperous international city in the Chinese Continent facing the East China Sea.
Those Japanese were protected by 5,000 marines of the Imperial Navy of Japan. But on August 13, Chinese troops started a full-scale attack on Shanghai under administration by the UK, the US, France, and the Empire of Japan. This Chinese offense was later to be ended in Nanjing months after as the Empire of Japan dispatched several divisions to Shanghai that drove Chinese troops to Nanjing and beyond.
On August 14, 1937, two divisions of the Chinese Army occupied key positions around Shanghai. Chinese military planes tried to bomb Japanese troops but blindly dropped bombs on streets, killing and wounding more than 1000 Chinese citizens.
On August 17, 1937, the Imperial Government in Tokyo abolished its localization policy on the Shanghai battle due to severe Chinese offense. Tokyo decided to take on main Chinese forces even if battles could expand to inland China from Shanghai. China further mobilized three more divisions, now having 70,000 soldiers in the front line.
On August 23, two divisions of the Imperial Army landed around the Shanghai region. However, these divisions lost 2,582 Japanese soldiers in a month. Chinese leader Chiang Kaishek further intensified forces for his first-full scale offense against Shanghai and the Imperial military.
Till early October, Tokyo sent three more divisions to the Shanghai battle front over the East China Sea. But till the beginning of November, they lost 3,833 Japanese soldiers. The Kuomintang Government of China further called up more troops to this battle which first looked so easy but turned to be so desperate.
On November 5, 1937, three more divisions of the Imperial Army landed on Hangzhou Bay in the south of Shanghai City. The tide finally began to change in favor of the Imperial Army. And then one more Imperial division and one brigade landed from the Chang Jiang river to occupy a key area. Accordingly, the whole Chinese troops started to retreat from the Shanghai front line on November 11.
Then, on December 1, 1937, the Tokyo headquarters ordered the commander of Imperial troops dispatched and stationed in Central China to advance to Nanjing. The history entered a decisive phase for the Empire of Japan and China as well as the US.
In this 1937 Battle of Shanghai, China mobilized 600,000 troops in 75 divisions and 9 brigades with 250 airplanes and 16 tanks, while the Empire of Japan committed 300,000 troops in 8 divisions and 6 brigades with 500 airplanes, 300 tanks and 130 naval ships. But China suffered 335,000 casualties while the Empire 92,640. And over this scale of tragedy, the battle of Nanjing was yet to start...
(to be continued...)
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Mar 6:14 And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
Mar 6:15 Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.