Defense of Sihang Warehouse

"800 Heroes" redirects here. For other uses, see 800 Heroes (disambiguation).
For other uses of "Lost Battalion", see Lost Battalion (disambiguation).

Battle of Sihang Warehouse
Part of the Battle of Shanghai in
the Second Sino-Japanese War

Sihang Warehouse during the battle
Date (1937-10-26) (1937-11-01)October 26 – November 1, 1937
(6 days)
Location
Zhabei, Shanghai, China
31°14′32″N 121°27′59″E / 31.242183°N 121.466298°E / 31.242183; 121.466298
Result Withdrawal of Chinese forces to British concession on November 1st
Belligerents
 Republic of China  Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
Republic of China (1912–1949) Xie Jinyuan Okochi Denshichi
Haji Kitaro
Units involved

Republic of China (1912–1949) 88th Division

  • 1st Battalion, 524th Regiment

Shanghai Special Naval Landing Force[1]

  • 10th Battalion (reinforced)
    • Yokosuka 2nd Independent SNLF Company
    • Kure 1st SNLF
    • 8th and 9th Companies (artillery)
Strength
410-420 soldiers[2] ~1200 naval infantry[3][4]
Casualties and losses
Xie's Claim:[5]
10 killed
37 wounded
2022 Western Estimate:[6]
33 killed and missing
50+ wounded
Japanese Claim:
~80 killed[7]
 Japanese Claim:
1 killed, ~40 wounded[8][9][7][Note 1]
Chinese Claim:
100~200+ killed[10][11][12]
Hundreds wounded
4 tanks destroyed or damaged[5]
Several armored cars destroyed or damaged
Defense of Sihang Warehouse is located in Shanghai
Defense of Sihang Warehouse
class=notpageimage|
Location within Shanghai
Sihang Warehouse
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese四行倉庫
Simplified Chinese四行仓库
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinSìháng Cāngkù
Eight Hundred Heroes
Traditional Chinese八百壯士
Simplified Chinese八百壮士
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinBābǎi Zhùangshì
Japanese name
Kanji四行倉庫
Transcriptions
Romanizationshikousouko

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. Defenders of the warehouse held out against numerous waves of Japanese forces to cover Chinese forces retreating west during the Battle of Shanghai.[13]

Accounts from Chinese/Western and Japanese sources on the Defense of Sihang Warehouse vary in nature, with both Chinese and Western accounts remembering the conflict as an excellent defense against a vastly numerically superior enemy, while Japanese records point to the defense being a relatively unremarkable event within the entire Battle of Shanghai.

Regardless of the integrity of Chinese and Japanese claims, the defense of the warehouse and media reporting of the event provided a morale-lifting consolation to the Chinese army and people in the demoralizing aftermath of the Japanese invasion of China.[14] 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.

  1. ^ "陸戦隊の部". Japan Center for Asian Historical Records. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  2. ^ Harmsen, Peter (2015). Shanghai 1937: Stalingrad on the Yangtze. Casemate. p. 173. ISBN 978-1-612-00167-8.
  3. ^ "陸戦隊の部". C14120644700. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  4. ^ "主要作戦研究 陸１ 上海確保戦（陸戦隊の部） 自８月１３日至８月２２日". Japan Center for Asian Historical Records. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  5. ^ a b Zhu, Xie (2010). My Father General Xie Jinyuan: Blood Fight of Eight Hundred Soldiers. United Press. p. 138. ISBN 978-7-512-60052-2.
  6. ^ Robinson, Stephen (2022). Eight Hundred Heroes: China's lost battalion and the fall of Shanghai. Exisle Publishing. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-922539-20-5.
  7. ^ a b "支那事変概報第３９号 １０月１日～支那事変概報第６９号 １０月３１日（５）". Japan Center for Asian Historical Records. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  8. ^ "１１．閘北進撃戦（１０月２７日）". Japan Center for Asian Historical Records. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  9. ^ 支那事変尽忠録 第三卷. 海軍省教育局. pp. 231–234. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Standing firm in isolation and hardship for four days, the 800 heroes followed orders and made their retreat (CN:堅守孤壘苦鬥四日八百壮士遵命撤退)". Zhongyang Ribao. November 1, 1937. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  11. ^ Yuanliang, Sun (2002). "A Moment In A Billion Years". 8/13 Battle of Songhu (in Chinese). Shanghai Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. pp. 8–9.
  12. ^ Robinson, Stephen (2022). Eight Hundred Heroes: China's lost battalion and the fall of Shanghai. Exisle Publishing. p. 117.
  13. ^ "Sihang Warehouse in Shanghai to Be Memorial of War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression". All Taipei Newspapers. July 15, 2014. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  14. ^ Mulready-Stone, Kristin (2014). "Mobilizing Shanghai Youth" (1st ed.). Routledge. p. 127. ISBN 978-1138779853.


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