Eyewitness to the Battle (I)

The battle of Shanghai in the fall of 1937 played out in front of a huge foreign audience, and many wrote down their experiences in eloquent manner. One of them … Continue Reading →

The Forgotten Battle

When China and Japan clashed over Shanghai in the fall of 1937, their destinies were set on paths that would stretch decades into the future. From then on a state … Continue Reading →

Strangers at the Gates

Scenes of despair unfolded as the Japanese army moved in on Shanghai in late 1937, spreading terror among the city’s three million civilians. Tens of thousands were thronging at the … Continue Reading →

China’s Best Ambassador

Song Meiling, China’s First Lady during the war, was her country’s best ambassador by far. Mme Chiang Kai-shek, as she was often called, spoke fluent, flawless English, as she had … Continue Reading →

Japan’s Impregnable Fortress

Throughout the battle of Shanghai in the fall of 1937, the Japanese Special Naval Landing Force, the empire’s marines, was defending a narrow perimeter along the northern bank of the … Continue Reading →

64 Seconds in Hell

What was it like to be a Chinese or Japanese soldier fighting for one’s life in and around Shanghai in the fall of 1937? No one who wasn’t actually there … Continue Reading →

A Songwriter’s Tribute

Christian missionary Frank Rawlinson, born in Britain and educated in the United States,  had lived in Shanghai almost his entire adult life when war broke out between China and Japan … Continue Reading →

More Than A Thousand Characters

With their immediate impact and their appeal to the emotions, images have been used in war propaganda since ancient times. Therefore, it’s no surprise that they were employed in China … Continue Reading →

China’s Muslim General

With his kind smile, it would be easy to confuse Bai Chongxi with a Buddhist cleric, detached from the worries of this world. That was one of the first thoughts … Continue Reading →

The First American Casualty of World War II

On August 14, 1937, Chinese planes dropped several bombs over the international parts of Shanghai, in a tragic error that cost the lives of hundreds. Among the victims was Robert … Continue Reading →