Map of Nanjing
In 1937, early in the war of resistance against Japan, airplanes of the
invading Japanese army indiscriminately bombed the city of Nanjing. From
beginning to end, the air raid consisted of more than 100 fly-overs. Most
of the bombs fell on non-military targets. Southern Nanjing, the most
lively and densely populated area of the city, suffered from the worst
bombings. The single most devastating bombing incident occurred on the
25th of September. From nine-thirty in the morning until four-thirty in
the afternoon, the Japanese planes made five fly-overs, a total of
ninety-five sorties, and dropped about 500 bombs from the skies above
Nanjing, resulting in more than 600 civilian casualties. A refugee camp at
Xiaguan [a neighborhood in Nanjing adjacent to the Yangtze River] was
unfortunate enough to be hit, resulting in more than 100 deaths. In
addition to power plants, water works and a radio station, bombs were also
dropped on Nanjing's Central Hospital, which had a large red cross painted
on its rooftop.
On November 20th, the invading Japanese forces were approaching Nanjing. The Kuomintang government announced that it would be moving the capital to Chongqing [a city in central China]. Nanjing fell into a state of chaos. High officials and bureaucrats alike hastily fled the city, leaving behind the helpless civilians. Before the war, the population of Nanjing hovered around one million. After the war broke out, people began to flee, but only the high officials and the wealthy had the means to escape to far-off places. The commoners could, at best, flee to neighboring areas to escape temporarily from the war. There was a steady flow of refugees fleeing into Nanjing from the front lines, so the population of the city was still quite large. The Kuomintang government did nothing for the helpless refugees. On the contrary, it took a group of charitable British and Americans [and other foreigners] to propose to the Kuomintang government that an "International Committee" be established in Nanjing and that a certain district be designated as a "safety zone" for the refugees. The Kuomintang [government] concurred.
On November 25th, the Japanese forces spread out along three fronts in preparation for the attack on Nanjing: the eastern front followed the Shanghai-Nanjing railway to attack Nanjing directly; the central front followed along the Nanjing-Hangzhou railway, taking Lishui and Jurong [two prefectures outside of Nanjing], to attack the city from the rear; the western front advanced from Guangde, Xuancheng and Wuhu to encircle Nanjing. By the beginning of December, the Japanese forces advancing along these three routes had reached the outskirts of the city, and a battle ensued with Nanjing's garrison army. At that time, Nanjing's garrison forces consisted of more than 100,000 soldiers under the command of General Tang Shengzhi [1889-1970]. General Tang chose to abandon his positions outside of Nanjing, preferring the strategy of staying shut up within a besieged city to await death.
On December 12th, the main force of the Japanese army mounted a fierce attack on Misty Flower Terrace [an area just outside of Nanjing]; it fell into enemy hands by noon. At two o'clock in the afternoon, they stormed through Zhonghua Gate and the city of Nanjing was exposed. At five o'clock, General Tang Shengzhi hastily convened a twenty minute long meeting of high-ranking military officials of the rank divisional commander and above during which he distributed a mimeographed order calling for the army to break out of the encirclement. But he himself was unwilling to live up to his oath to "live or die with Nanjing." In a panic, he crossed the river and fled the city. On the 13th of December the Japanese army occupied Nanjing, and from this time forward a much more brutal scene unfolds in front of our eyes.
On November 20th, the invading Japanese forces were approaching Nanjing. The Kuomintang government announced that it would be moving the capital to Chongqing [a city in central China]. Nanjing fell into a state of chaos. High officials and bureaucrats alike hastily fled the city, leaving behind the helpless civilians. Before the war, the population of Nanjing hovered around one million. After the war broke out, people began to flee, but only the high officials and the wealthy had the means to escape to far-off places. The commoners could, at best, flee to neighboring areas to escape temporarily from the war. There was a steady flow of refugees fleeing into Nanjing from the front lines, so the population of the city was still quite large. The Kuomintang government did nothing for the helpless refugees. On the contrary, it took a group of charitable British and Americans [and other foreigners] to propose to the Kuomintang government that an "International Committee" be established in Nanjing and that a certain district be designated as a "safety zone" for the refugees. The Kuomintang [government] concurred.
On November 25th, the Japanese forces spread out along three fronts in preparation for the attack on Nanjing: the eastern front followed the Shanghai-Nanjing railway to attack Nanjing directly; the central front followed along the Nanjing-Hangzhou railway, taking Lishui and Jurong [two prefectures outside of Nanjing], to attack the city from the rear; the western front advanced from Guangde, Xuancheng and Wuhu to encircle Nanjing. By the beginning of December, the Japanese forces advancing along these three routes had reached the outskirts of the city, and a battle ensued with Nanjing's garrison army. At that time, Nanjing's garrison forces consisted of more than 100,000 soldiers under the command of General Tang Shengzhi [1889-1970]. General Tang chose to abandon his positions outside of Nanjing, preferring the strategy of staying shut up within a besieged city to await death.
On December 12th, the main force of the Japanese army mounted a fierce attack on Misty Flower Terrace [an area just outside of Nanjing]; it fell into enemy hands by noon. At two o'clock in the afternoon, they stormed through Zhonghua Gate and the city of Nanjing was exposed. At five o'clock, General Tang Shengzhi hastily convened a twenty minute long meeting of high-ranking military officials of the rank divisional commander and above during which he distributed a mimeographed order calling for the army to break out of the encirclement. But he himself was unwilling to live up to his oath to "live or die with Nanjing." In a panic, he crossed the river and fled the city. On the 13th of December the Japanese army occupied Nanjing, and from this time forward a much more brutal scene unfolds in front of our eyes.
