The Battle of Shanghai is actually used to refer to two seperate battles, the first being an internal security battle fought by the American marines against anti-imperialist patriots on April 4,1854, the other being the protracted siege of Shanghai by invading Japanese forces, Autumn - Winter of 1937. The defending Chinese forces lost both battles, as expected really.

The 19th century battle wasn't too much of a fight, an international force of "peacekeepers" (foreshadow?) landed in Shanghai and cut a swath right through the city, killing all the rebels in a brutal one-day massacre. Details were non-existant. The pale devils landed at several points of the east coast of the city, where the ports are, bombarded the city with the navy then marched through all the way to Nanjing. Another product of the wonderful Open Door Policy.

The 20th century battle was much more even, sparked by a staged incident on Japanese incitors on the railways, which were used by the Japanese to transport resources. They blew up a big part of the railway, declared war, and promptly invaded China at several ports. Shanghai put up the best fight, but it didn't matter, because they lost, and Shanghai remained in Japanese hands until 1945.

Chiang Kai-shek had the sense to put his better troops in Shanghai, for it was one of his main fortresses of power. The invaders fought a very blitzkrieg-like battle, using their air force, armor and infantry. Unfortunately for them, the maze that is Shanghai allows plenty of guerilla warfare. The battle didn't even start well for Japan, a hidden artillery battery blew up several troop transports as they were landing, killing hundreds, including a royal cousin of the Emperor himself.

In the end, it was all in vain, because the overwhelming superiority of the Japanese war machine was too much for the demoralized Chinese, who fled Shanghai by the thousands. Resistance was low in Shanghai in the following years. The Chinese soldiers packed up and left for Nanjing, then were executed when the Japanese came. The Rape of Shanghai is not as well-documented as the Rape of Nanking, but it happened. The Battle of Shanghai, which was months behind schedule by the time it ended, got the Japanese so angry that they decided to take it out on the helpless Chinese civilians, most notably in Nanjing, but also in Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuxi and the Shandong area.

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