![]() The warehouse, also known as the Chinese Mint Godown by those from the concessions, is a six-story concrete building situated in Zhabei District north of Suzhou Creek, at the north-western edge of New Lese Bridge (now North Tibet Road Bridge). 1st Battalion commander Yang Ruifu was distraught at having to abandon a position he had held for more than two months, but agreed to do so after being shown Sun's orders for the 1st Battalion to defend Sihang Warehouse. on 26 October, the 524th Regiment, based at the Shanghai North Railway Station, received orders to withdraw to the divisional headquarters at Sihang Warehouse. Xie Jinyuan (謝晉元), a relatively new commander in the 88th Division, volunteered to lead the battalion.Īt 10 p.m. There, Sun decided that even a regiment would be a terrible waste of lives and decided on a single over-strength battalion instead. Zhang returned to the 88th's divisional headquarters at Sihang Warehouse. In his words, "How many people we sacrifice would not make a difference it would achieve the same purpose." He proposed that a single regiment from the division be left behind to defend one or two fortified positions, and Gu approved this plan. Neither Gu, Sun nor Zhang were about to disobey Chiang's orders, but Sun (via Zhang) suggested to Gu that the number of troops left to cover the withdrawal would not matter for such a show of determination. He telegraphed the 88th's divisional commander Sun Yuanliang, who vehemently opposed this plan and sent his chief of staff Zhang Boting (張柏亭) to Gu's Headquarters, about 20 km from the frontlines, to argue against it. Gu was personally attached to the 88th and unwilling to leave the division behind, as he used to be the commanding officer of the 2nd Division, which became the 88th after reorganisation. Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek wanted to withdraw all forces in the area to defend the rural western regions of Shanghai, and ordered Gu Zhutong, acting commander of the 3rd Military Region, to leave the 88th Division behind to buy time and canvass international support by showing the other nations of the Nine Powers (which were to convene on 6 November) China's determination to resist the Japanese war of aggression. They did not occupy the concessions until four years later, following Japan's decision to go to war against the Allies.īy 26 October 1937, Chinese resistance in the district of Zhabei was faltering. ![]() However, the Japanese did not attack the foreign concessions in the city and remained on peaceable terms with the foreign powers, though tensions were high. Despite having logistical problems, inferior equipment and training, and a lack of air and heavy artillery support, the Chinese held on to Shanghai, much of it reduced to ruins in the three month battle. As the Imperial Japanese Army swept down from the north, fighting between Chinese and Japanese forces started in Shanghai on 13 August. Using the Marco Polo Bridge Incident as a pretext, the Imperial Japanese Army launched an invasion of China on 7 July 1937. In Chinese, the warehouse defenders are known as the Eight Hundred Heroes, because commander Xie Jinyuan, not wanting to reveal their true strength to the Japanese, provided an exaggerated number to Girl Guide Yang Huimin to announce to the public.īackground Map of the area around the warehouse:įoreign concessions, international settlements This proximity drew the attention, if only briefly, of the international community to Chiang Kai-shek's bid for worldwide support against Japanese aggression. Moreover, the Japanese dared not use mustard gas here as they did elsewhere in Shanghai, in full view of the foreign powers. The warehouse's location just across the Suzhou Creek from the foreign concessions in Shanghai meant the battle took place in full view of the western powers.īecause of the warehouse's proximity to the foreign concessions in Shanghai, the Japanese did not use naval bombardment on the area, since a stray shot might land in the concessions and provoke an incident with the Europeans and Americans, whom the Japanese wanted to keep out of the war. The successful defense of the warehouse provided a morale-lifting consolation to the Chinese army and people in the demoralizing aftermath of the Japanese invasion of Shanghai. Defenders of the warehouse held out against numerous waves of Japanese forces and covered Chinese forces retreating west during the Battle of Shanghai. The Battle of Sihang Warehouse ( Chinese: 四行倉庫保衛戰) took place from October 26 to November 1, 1937, and marked the beginning of the end of the three-month Battle of Shanghai in the opening phase of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
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