Battle of Nanking

Battle of Nanjing
Part of the Second Sino-Japanese War
Japanese tanks attacking Nanjing's Zhonghua Gate under artillery fire
Date (1937-11-11) (1937-12-13)November 11 – December 13, 1937 (1 month and 2 days) Location Nanjing and surrounding areas, Republic of China 32°0′50″N 118°46′35″E / 32.01389°N 118.77639°E / 32.01389; 118.77639 Result Japanese victory Fall of Nanjing Beginning of the Nanjing Massacre
Belligerents
China Supported by:  Soviet Union[1]	Japan
Commanders and leaders
Tang Shengzhi	Iwane Matsui Prince Asaka Heisuke Yanagawa
Units involved
Nanjing Garrison Force Soviet Volunteer Group[1]	Central China Area Army
Strength
Campaign Total: 100,000~ Battle of Nanjing: 73,790 to 81,500[2]	Campaign Total: 200,000[3] Battle of Nanjing: 70,000[4]
Casualties and losses
Campaign Total: 33,000–70,000 dead Tens of thousands wounded (many later died of wounds or executed) Battle for Nanjing: 6,000–20,000 killed and wounded 30,000–40,000 POWs executed after capture[5] Postwar Estimates : From 5 November until 2 December 1937 : about 100,000 casualties.[6] In Nanjing : at least 47,382 dead[7] Japanese claim : 84,000 killed and 10,500 captured in Nanjing[8]	Campaign Total: According to internal archive : 27,500[9] or 26,000[10] killed and wounded According to official Japanese newspaper : Imperial Japanese Army from 13 November until 31 December 1937[11][12] : 4,202 combat deaths[a] Imperial Japanese Navy from 13 November until 17 December 1937[13]: 45 combat deaths Battle for Nanjing: 1,953 killed 4,994 wounded[14]
40,000–300,000 POWs and civilians killed in subsequent massacre
^ Subtracting the combat deaths (killed in action and deaths from wounds) in the battle of Shanghai from the total combat deaths in Eastern China in 1937

The Battle of Nanking (or Nanjing) was fought in early December 1937 during the Second Sino-Japanese War between the Chinese National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army for control of Nanjing (Chinese: 南京; pinyin: Nánjīng), the capital of the Republic of China.

Following the outbreak of war between Japan and China in July 1937, the Japanese and Chinese forces engaged in the vicious three-month Battle of Shanghai, where both sides suffered heavy casualties. The Japanese eventually won the battle, forcing the Chinese army into a withdrawal. Capitalizing on their victory, the Japanese officially authorized a campaign to capture Nanjing. The task of occupying Nanjing was given to General Iwane Matsui, the commander of Japan's Central China Area Army, who believed that the capture of Nanjing would force China to surrender and thus end the war. Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek ultimately decided to defend the city and appointed Tang Shengzhi to command the Nanjing Garrison Force, a hastily assembled army of local conscripts and the remnants of the Chinese units who had fought in Shanghai.

In a five-week campaign between November 11 and December 9, the Japanese army marched from Shanghai to Nanjing at a rapid pace, pursuing the retreating Chinese army and overcoming all Chinese resistance in its way. The campaign was marked by tremendous brutality and destruction, with increasing levels of atrocities committed by Japanese forces against the local population, while Chinese forces implemented scorched earth tactics to slow the Japanese advances.

Nevertheless, by December 9 the Japanese had reached the last line of defense, the Fukuo Line, behind which lay Nanjing's fortified walls. On December 10 Matsui ordered an all-out attack on Nanjing, and after two days of intense fighting Chiang decided to abandon the city. Before fleeing, Tang ordered his men to launch a concerted breakout of the Japanese siege, but by this time Nanjing was largely surrounded and its defenses were at the breaking point. Most of Tang's troops collapsed in a disorganized rout. While some units were able to escape, many more were caught in the death trap the city had become. By December 13, Nanjing had fallen to the Japanese.

Following the capture of the city, Japanese forces massacred Chinese prisoners of war, murdered civilians, and committed acts of looting, torture, and rape in the Nanjing Massacre. Though Japan's victory excited and emboldened them, the subsequent massacre tarnished their reputation in the eyes of the world. Contrary to Matsui's expectations, China did not surrender and the Second Sino-Japanese War continued for another eight years, leading to an eventual Chinese victory.