The Battle of Nanjing

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The Battle of Nanjing, also known as the Rape of Nanjing was a particularly horrific battle during World War II from December 9, 1937 to January 31, 1938. After World War I, Japan was suffering crucial economic complications. Due to the fact that America was experiencing the Stock Market crash, they were not purchasing any goods from the Japanese and business was deteriorating. They started to demand more territory, and they were bothered by the fact that countries were investing more in China. The Japanese viewed China as a threat, and they assassinated Chang Esolin, and blew up one of their own railways that was located in southern Manchuria on September 18, 1931. Not only did they blow up the railway, but also they then murdered Chinese guards and contrived a story that made the Chinese look atrocious. This then gave the Japanese a justification to obtain Manchuria, and rename it Manchukuo. Chinese were maddened by this action, and a group of Japanese Buddhist Priests was besieged by a Shanghai mob. One of the priests was murdered, and Japanese immediately reciprocated this action by bombing the city of Shanghai. The bombing killed thousands of civilians, and exasperated the Chinese so deeply that it provoked a full-blown war with the Japanese. When the Japanese came to their destination of Nanjing, the Chinese were apathetic to their demands of surrender. General Iwane Matsui along with Lieutenant General prince Asaka instructed the Japanese 36th Infantry Regiment of the 9th division to bombard the Chinese at Guanghua Gate. Their technologically advanced weaponry absolutely devastated the Chinese troops, and they gained entrance to Nanjing through the demolished gate. Tang Shengzhi, the leader of the Chinese troops fundamenta... ... middle of paper ... ...Matsui had said, “Both Prince Asaka and Lieutenant General Yanagawa... were there. I told them everything had been lost in one moment through the brutalities of the soldiers. And can you imagine it, even after that, those soldiers laughed at me.” Tang Shengzhi was the First Commander for the Chinese during the battle, due to the fact that Chiang Kai-Shek did not want the burden. Works Cited n.a., . "Nanjing Massacre." New World Encyclopedia. n.p., 5 Sept. 2008. Web. 8 Mar 2014. C. Peter Chen, . "Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing." World War II Database. Lava Development. Web. 8 Mar 2014. n.a., . "Rape of Nanking." Constitutional Rights Foundation. Consitutional Rights Foundation. Web. 8 Mar 2014. C. Peter Chen, . "Iwane Matsui." World War II Database. Lava Development. Web. 8 Mar 2014. Chang, Iris. Rape of Nanking. New York: Basic Books, 1997. Print.

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