When the July 7 Incident broke out in 1937, Japan launched a large-scale invasion of China, and China also launched a comprehensive War of Resistance Against Japan. On August 13 of the same year, the Battle of Songhu broke out in Shanghai and the surrounding areas, which was one of the most tragic battles during the War of Resistance. The stubborn resistance of the Chinese defenders caused heavy losses to the Japanese army, and although they eventually lost more than 330,000 people, Shanghai fell. But the battle shattered the Japanese plan to die in March, and also bought time for the material migration of factories in Shanghai and the lower Reaches of the Yangtze River for the long-term war of resistance in the future.
After the fall of Shanghai, the Japanese army did not stop, but attacked Nanjing in three ways. Originally, the Shanghai defenders had a plan to retreat, that is, to hinder the Japanese army from reaching Nanjing, but the order was too hasty and the Japanese bombers bombed widely. Even the retreat turned into a rout, and the main force of the Japanese army arrived very smoothly in Nanjing, which was the capital at that time. Not only that, but also the location of Sun Yat-sen's mausoleum, its significance is self-evident, so although it was moved to Chongqing, Nanjing must be defended.
This important task was entrusted to Tang Shengzhi, who repeatedly vowed to coexist and die with Nanjing, promising absolutely no retreat without orders. Even in order to prevent anyone from crossing the river without permission, the ships were handed over to the headquarters and two ferries were withdrawn to Wuhan. However, this laid a hidden danger for the tragedy of the defenders later, the disparity between the enemy and our forces was too great, and the defenders sacrificed countless times. So as we know now, on December 12, 1937, Tang Shengzhi ordered a retreat.
The next day, Nanjing fell, and this retreat was more hurried than the Battle of Songhu, which can be said to be completely disorderly. Some did not receive orders to retreat, some died in battle, and others remained in the city of Nanjing, which was about to become a hell. Only a small number of people retreated across the river, and after the fall, the prisoners of war and soldiers who laid down their weapons were subjected to a brutal persecution with the people in the city. On December 15, more than 3,000 prisoners of war were taken to Hanzhong Gate to be fired intensively with machine guns, many of whom were killed, and the wounded and undead were cremated along with the corpses.
That night, more than 9,000 prisoners of war and civilians were killed, more than 30,000 people were killed in the area of Pagoda Bridge, and 200 people were killed near the air defense trench on Zhongshan North Road. On December 16, more than 5,000 refugees of both sexes were escorted to Zhongshan Wharf, where blood stained the river red and its remains floated everywhere. Only Bai Zengrong and Liang Tingfang swam to the other side after being shot, and only then did they survive. These are just a few examples, and there were countless such incidents at the time, and the total number of people killed in the end was at least more than 300,000.
Thousands of women were killed, often tortured to death, in at least 20,000 such incidents at the time. Why don't these women resist? Because they could not resist, the army abandoned the city and fled, and Nanjing had no protective barrier. Most of the PRISONERs who laid down their arms were killed, how could they resist unarmed? Moreover, among these women at that time, there were many elderly people and children.
The last point is that the scene was so terrible that people had never seen such a brutal army, and they were killed if they were not satisfied. They do not resist, to a certain extent, in order to survive, and there is hope for survival. How could no one resist at that time? Take the mother of survivor Jiang Genfu, who was shot and killed for resistance, and his second sister was stabbed to death for resistance. So it's a heart-wrenching national humiliation, and what's even more hateful is that they don't want to admit it, and the argument doesn't exist.
But the evidence is overwhelming, history can be dressed up, but the truth will never be buried. As future generations, we should not forget the shame and forget the history. Backwardness will be beaten, only when it is strong, such things will not happen again, and there will be a chance to seek justice for the departed ancestors.