The defense of Shanghai against the Japanese during the early stages of the Second Sino-Japanese
War was crucial for the Chinese war effort.
Over three months of brutal warfare in Shanghai, described as “Stalingrad on the Yangtze”
would see a conclusion, similar to the ancient battle of Thermopylae, as a single battalion
of 452 Chinese of the National Revolutionary Army would face 20,000 soldiers of the Imperial
Japanese Army from October 26th to the November 1st, 1937 to defend a single Warehouse.
In this video we will talk about the defense of the Sihang Warehouse, also known as the
“Eight Hundred Heroes”.
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What began as sporadic skirmishing, escalated into a full-scale battle during the Marco
Polo bridge incident on July the 7th, 1937.
The Empire of Japan used the incident as a pretext to invade China beginning the second
Sino-Japanese war.
Beijing and the port city of Tianjin quickly fell to the IJA by august 1937.
Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek needed to give his nation a fighting chance against the Empire
of Japan.
He reorganized the absolute cream of the crop of his forces, over 300,000 soldiers into
twenty newly formed divisions.
Of these 80,000 were German-trained divisions composed of the elite units of Chiang Kai-Shek's
Central Army.
He sent them all to Shanghai aiming to stall the Japanese advance and to give the Chinese
government time to move vital industries to the interior.
Shanghai was chosen because of the large number of western foreign residents within the Shanghai
international settlement . Chiang Kai-Shek hoped that showcasing to the western world
the plight of China, would force it to finally intervene.
By the end of October of 1937, Japan’s superior firepower, combat effectiveness and overwhelming
air superiority had brought the Chinese of the National Revolutionary Army - NRA to the
brink of defeat within Shanghai.
On October 26, Chiang Kai-Shek ordered the withdrawal of all forces in the Shanghai area,
but would leave a single battalion of the 524th regiment of the elite 88th division
behind to buy them time and canvass international support.
Lieutenant Colonel Xie Jinyuan , a new commander in the 88th Division volunteered to lead the
battalion and defend the Sihang Warehouse, which the Japanese had to take to cross the
river.
The Sihang Warehouse was a six-story concrete building situated in Zhabei district just
north of the Suzhou Creek at the north-western edge of New Lese Bridge.
The warehouse was built jointly by the four banks, hence the name Sihang which means four
banks.
On the other side of the Suzhou Creek, layed the Shanghai International Settlement, a neutral
territory where western foreigners resided.
The fighting would take place literally just across the Creek, meaning the western viewers
were forced to watch up close the heroic last stand China would make in Shanghai.
The 1st battalion originally had eight hundred men, but casualties suffered over the course
of the Battle of Shanghai reduced their strength prior to the defense of the Sihang Warehouse
to only 452 men.
Each soldier was equipped with a Hanyang 88 or Chiang Kai-shek rifle, an 8mm Mauser, grenades,
a German M1935 Stahlhelm, gas mask with some Czech ZB vx.26 light machine guns and four
Type 24 Maxim guns.
They would be facing the 3rd IJA division commanded by General Iwane Matsui.
Xie Jinyuan consolidated his battalion’s defenses inside the Sihang Warehouse believing
it would give his men the best chance of holding out for the maximum amount of time.
He also correctly judged that the IJA would not be able to use their heaviest artillery,
aerial bombing, gas attacks or naval guns in fear of accidentally hitting the international
settlement.
This was 1937 and the Empire of Japan was not risking an open war with the western nations
yet.
On October 27th, various companies of the battalion reached the Sihang warehouse.
These men essentially volunteered for a suicide mission and are later noted by Chiang Kai-Shek
to have “exemplary soldierly conduct”.
The 1st Battalion commander was army major Yang Ruifu and their forces consisted of the
1st, 2nd, 3rd Companies and Machine gun Company for a total of 452 men.
Because of the two months of intense fighting in Shanghai many of the german trained elite
troops were killed or wounded leaving the majority of reinforcements that made up the
1st Battalion at Sihang to be garrison troops from the surrounding provinces.
Many of these men were from the 5th regiment of the Hubei province Garrison, and thus many
were also green recruits.
On October 27th, news began to circulate throughout Shanghai that there still were Chinese forces
resisting the Japanese in Zhabei district at the Sihang warehouse.
At 4am a Girl Guide named Yang Huimin learned of the battle plans from a British soldier
in the international settlement and convinced the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce to deliver
ammunition and supplies to the soldiers in the warehouse.
They also procured a Republic of China flag for her to deliver to the soldiers.
Xie deployed the 1st company led by Captain Tao Xingchun on the right side of the warehouse
along the Tibet road, the 3rd company led by Shi Meihao on the left across from the
Bank of Communications building and the 2nd company led by Deng Ying on the other sides.
Two heavy Type 24 Maxim machine guns were installed on the Sihang rooftop with other
machine guns spread out among the companies.
A forward platoon from each company was sent out to provide an early warning of an enemy
attack.
Xie ordered his combat engineers to place remote detonated charges in front of the warehouse.
His units were dispersed with rifles and machine guns throughout the warehouse and rooftop.
They reinforced the building with bags of sand, corn and beans and razed surrounding
buildings to clear a killing field.
At 7am the IJA 3rd division reached Shanghai North Railway Station and by 1pm was in the
general vicinity of the warehouse.
First bloodshed occurred when ten IJA soldiers were killed trying to secure fortifications
around Sihang warehouse that were rigged with explosives by the NRA.
At 2pm a NRA platoon led by Yin Qiucheng exchanged fire with around fifty IJA.
By 3pm a IJA company launched an attack on the warehouse from the west.
3rd company commander Shi Meihao was shot in the face but continued to command the defense
until he was shot again in the leg.
Around seventy IJA took cover in a blind spot, just south-west of the warehouse.
The NRA in response climbed to the rooftop and threw grenades at the IJA killing seven
and wounding twenty.
The initial IJA assault was a failure and in response they set fire to the north-west
section of the warehouse where fuel and lumber were stored.
By 5pm the fire was put out as the IJA were busy looting the Zhabei area.
At 9pm battalion commander Yang Ruifu decided that there would be no more IJA attacks for
that day and ordered the NRA to repair fortifications and eat their meals.
No one slept that night.
The NRA have two dead and four wounded while the IJA have seventeen dead and twenty wounded.
At 7am on October 28th, Japanese bombers began to circle the warehouse, but did not drop
any bombs for fear of hitting the international settlement.
There was a sea of Rising Sun flags surrounding the rooftops of buildings around the Sihang
warehouse to intimidate the NRA, letting them know they were surrounded.
At 8am Xie gave the defenders a speech and noticed an IJA squad advancing along the Suzhou
creek.
According to Yang Ruifu’s memoirs, Xie picked up a rifle and killed one of the IJA soldiers
over a kilometer away, halting the squads advance.
At 3pm the IJA launched a major attack on the west side of the warehouse, occupying
the Bank of Communications building . They used a cannon on the north side of the warehouse
causing minor damage.
The IJA did manage to cut the electricity and water supply to the warehouse.
After two hours of exchanging fire the IJA gave up the assault at 5pm as the NRA had
the high grounds of the warehouse rooftop giving them a distinct advantage.
During the night, crowds emerged cheering on the defenders on the south bank of the
Suzhou Creek.
Ten truckloads of donated supplies from the Chamber of Commerce were brought in, taking
four hours to unload.
Three NRA soldiers were killed by the Japanese sharpshooters during the process.
Yang Huimin courageously run to the warehouse to personally deliver the Republic of China
Flag to Xie . She asked for a list of the soldiers' names to announce to the entire
country, and Xie, aware that by doing so would also inform the IJA of their real strength,
decided to write down eight hundred names from the original roster of the 524th regiment.
Thus the “Eight Hundred Heroes” legend was born.
Before returning to the international settlement, Yang Huimin asked what their plan was and
Xie stated “defend to the death”.
Xie also arranged with British officers in the international settlement, to transport
ten heavily wounded NRA soldiers from the battle under cover of darkness.
The morning of October 29th the Republic of China flag was hoisted on a thirteen foot
pole on top of the Sihang warehouse.
The NRA used a makeshift pole with two bamboo culms tied together and held a flag raising
ceremony, stirring a crowd of 30 thousand citizens gathered in the international settlement
to shout “long live the republic of China”.
Japanese aircraft attempt to destroy the flag with strafing fire, but fail to do so and
have to flee because of the NRA firing at them from the rooftop.
At noon the IJA mounted a large offensive on the warehouse from all directions using
tankettes and cannons.
The 3rd NRA company was pushed out of their defensive lines to the base of the warehouse
then again into the warehouse itself.
The IJA cannonfire has chipped away at the warehouse structure creating new firing ports
on the windowless west wall and the IJA attempted to scale the walls to the second floor using
ladders.
Xie was positioned near a window when two IJA soldiers managed to climb into the second
floor beside him.
He choked the first to death and shot the other while kicking over the ladder they used.
Still, the situation was looking dire as a platoon of IJA began placing explosives to
breach the west wall.
Twenty-one year old NRA private Chen Shusheng armed with a grenade vest jumped from a second
story window onto the IJA platoon planting the explosives, and his suicide attack killed
himself and twenty japanese below.
The fighting lasted until it got dark with waves of IJA storming the warehouse using
armored vehicles.
The IJA eventually had to give up the assault and instead began to dig a tunnel using an
excavator to the warehouse.
In response posters emerged in international settlements showcasing the movement of the
IJA to the NRA.
At 7am of October 30th the IJA recommenced attacks, this time with heavy artillery, approximately
shooting one shell per second for the entire duration of the day.
The NRA responded by refortifying the warehouse with more sandbags.
When night approached the IJA used floodlights to illuminate the warehouse for artillery
fire to continue.
Yet for all their firepower the defenders still managed to destroy some of the IJA armored
vehicles.
The international settlement pressured the IJA to stop the artillery fire as it was dangerously
close to them.
However, they also told the IJA that they will try to convince the NRA to cease the
defense and sent Chiang Kai-Shek a petition to stop the fighting for humanitarian concerns.
By this point, the defense of the Sihang Warehouse had met all its objectives.
NRA forces in Shanghai had successfully been redeployed in more favourable positions in
the west.
The defense of the warehouse had also gained the attention of the West.
Chiang Kai-Shek ordered a retreat of the battered regiment and British General Telfer-Smollett
helped arrange it.
The 524th regiment would retreat to the international settlement by crossing the New Lese Bridge
and then rejoin the 88th division fighting in west Shanghai.
The 3rd IJA division commander Matsui Iwane agreed and promised to let the NRA retreat,
but later would go back on this promise.
At midnight on November 1st, Xie led the retreat of 376 men out of the warehouse and over the
New Lese Bridge into the international settlement.
The NRA had twenty-seven wounded by this point, and those, who could not make the retreat,
volunteered to stay behind and man the machine guns on the rooftop to cover the retreat.
Ten NRA were wounded by IJA sharpshooter fire during the crossing.
At 2am on November the 1st the retreat was complete, ending the defense of the Sihang
Warehouse.
The NRA had ten deaths and thirty-seven wounded and the IJA had an estimated two hundred killed
with several hundred wounded.
After the retreat, the British troops seized their weapons and placed the NRA soldiers
under arrest, as the IJA threatened to invade the international settlement if they were
allowed to leave the area.
Chiang Kai-Shek promoted every defender by a rank and awarded Xie Jinyuan and Yang Ruifu
the “Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun”.
The media capitalized on the defense of the Sihang warehouse and lauded the “Eight Hundred
Heroes” as national heroes, even creating the patriotic song “China will not Perish”
about them.
However, the Western support only came in the form of verbal condemnation of Japan,
only Germany and the Soviet Union provided substantial aid to China prior to the outbreak
of WW2 in Europe.
The fate of the Eight hundred heroes is quite tragic, they became known as the “lost battalion
barracks” trapped for three years within the international settlement.
Wang Jinwei’s collaborationist government made numerous offers to Xie Jinyuan to release
his men, but he refused them.
On April 24th 1941 Xie Jinyuan was assassinated at 5am by Sergeant He Dingcheng who was working
for Wang Jingwei.
Xie Jinyuan’s funeral was attended by over one hundred thousand people and he was posthumously
made brigadier general of the NRA.
After the Pearl Harbor attack and the declaration of war on the allies, the Japanese forces
occupied the international settlement and captured the soldiers still stuck there.
Most were shipped to Hangzhou and Xiaolingwie to do hard labour.
Thirty-six soldiers were sent to Papua New Guinea to do hard labour and by the end of
the war, they overpowered their Japanese captors and imprisoned them.
Today the warehouse still stands at the Sihang Warehouse Memorial Museum stands in Shanghai
which opened in 2015.
There you can see the remains of the building accompanied by details of the battle, photographs,
maps, recollections and wax models of the defenders.
The battle also was made into a film in 2020 titled, “the Eight-Hundred” which became
the second highest-grossing film of 2020.
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