A wooden plaque erected by the Japanese army for its officers and men at General's Hill in Nanjing
In the Battle of Nanjing in December 1937, the Chinese defenders relied on the Nanjing city walls and national defense fortifications, stubbornly resisted, and did not retreat from the battle, giving the Japanese army great damage. How many Japanese soldiers were killed and how many Japanese officers were killed in that battle? The historiography of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression has been conducting in-depth investigations based on historical materials.
Killed 27 Japanese officers above the rank of lieutenant
"The battle for the defense of Nanjing in December 1937 was very fierce, and before the city was destroyed, the Chinese defenders held their positions and resisted desperately." Hu Zhuoran said that until Tang Shengzhi, the supreme commander of the defenders, ordered a retreat, the Japanese army was not able to step into the walls of Nanjing. Unfortunately, for a long time, there has been controversy in academic circles about the number of Chinese troops killed and wounded by the Japanese army in this battle. Previously, some scholars believed that the defense of Nanjing killed and wounded nearly 10,000 Japanese troops.
How many officers were there in the Japanese army that were killed in Nanjing? According to the statistics of the Japanese army historical materials, the record of killing Japanese officers in the defense of Nanjing has so far been confirmed by twenty-seven officers above the rank of lieutenant.
Among them, according to the division of duties: there is a squadron leader, five brigade leaders, two acting captains, seventeen squadron leaders, and two officers of the headquarters of the squadron. According to the division of ranks, there are one major, five juniors, thirteen lieutenants, and eight lieutenants.
It is worth mentioning that, according to the relevant regulations of the Japanese Army, the ranks of these killed Japanese officers were basically automatically promoted to one level (posthumous gifts) after their death.
The 6th Division had the most officers killed
List the names, titles, ranks, time and places of death of the Japanese officers who killed them. From the location point of view, the most Japanese officers were killed at Purple Mountain and Yuhuatai, "which is in line with the process of the defense of Nanjing, and these two locations were the areas where the fierce fighting was more fierce at that time." ”
Judging from the units to which they belonged, the Japanese 6th Division had the most officers killed, and most of them died in Yuhuatai. Hu Zhuoran told reporters that the 6th Division was the main force of the Japanese army attacking Nanjing, and committed heinous crimes in the Nanjing Massacre, and its division commander Gu Shoufu was regarded as the culprit of the Nanjing Massacre and a Class B war criminal after the war.
The Japanese wing commander who was killed by the Chinese army was Ryuo Inoue, the commander of the 14th Wing of the Japanese Field Heavy Artillery Corps. The company originally belonged to the 6th Brigade of the Japanese Field Heavy Artillery Corps, and was assigned to the 6th Division during the Nanjing Offensive. On the afternoon of December 12, 1937, Ryuo Izuku was killed by Chinese defenders near the Jinling Arsenal in the south of Nanjing.
Ryuo Izumi was the most senior Japanese officer killed by the Chinese army during the Defense of Nanjing, and was posthumously awarded the title of major general.
In addition, the first brigade commander of the 36th Regiment of the Japanese Ninth Division, who was killed at the Gwanghwa Gate, Ito Zenmitsu Shōsa (posthumously donated to Nakasa), was also more "famous" and regarded as a "combat hero" by the Japanese army, and the Japanese army even built a tomb for Ito Zenmitsu outside the Guanghua Gate.
More than three hundred Japanese troops were killed at General Mountain
The deaths of Ryuo Izumi and Yoshimitsu Ito have been reported before, and an expert has discovered some new historical materials that killed Japanese officers. Newly discovered Japanese historical materials show that on December 8, 1937, Yongshan, the first commander of the Second Regiment of the Japanese Independent Mountain Artillery Regiment, was killed on the spot by a Chinese army machine gun while commanding a squadron in the southern suburbs of Nanjing, when He commanded a squadron to attack with the 13th Infantry Regiment in the southern suburbs of Nanjing.
Experts also found an old photograph of the Japanese army once erecting a "monument" on Shogun Mountain, which reads "The Heroic Spirit of the Three Hundred Names Of the Seven Hundred Names in the Ancient Yong Mountain." This proves that at least three hundred Japanese troops were killed at General Mountain.
In addition, on December 12, 1937, Captain Koo Noda, the commander of the 9th Squadron of the 35th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army," was killed at the Purple Mountain in Nanjing, which is also a newly discovered historical fact. This man was well known in the Japanese army, participated in the "September 18 Incident" in 1931, and was one of the makers of the "Wicker Lake Explosion". During the occupation of a corner of the North Camp of the Northeast Army, the Japanese army reported that "Lieutenant Noda was seriously wounded" and was the first recorded wounded officer of the Japanese army on the night of September 18.
Matsui Ishigen wrote an inscription for this person
In July 2005, Shenyang media reported that at the Lilac Lake construction site in Yuhong District, Shenyang City, noda cultivator tombstones were found. This Japanese officer was involved in the attack on Nanjing. The inscription was written by Matsui Ishigen, the number one war criminal and Class A war criminal who caused the Nanjing Massacre.
On the front of this stone stele is the inscription "The Tomb of the Sixth Rank Fourth Rank, So the Army Infantry Shōsano Noda Cultivator". The payment is "Army General Matsui Ishigen". The stele reads: "On December 12, 1937, the 12th year of showa (December 12, 1937), he was wounded in battle outside the Purple Mountain outside nanjing." "October 1939, 1939) Noda Ryoko Kenyuki".
Reports at the time judged that Noda was wounded in the battle against Nanjing, and died in Shenyang in October 1939, with relatives erecting a monument for him, and Japanese Army General Matsui Ishigen wrote his inscription.
According to one expert, Noda was killed in Nanjing on December 12, 1937, and was buried in Shenyang in 1939, and his wife re-erected a monument for him. Due to the "fame" of Noda, Matsui Ishigen personally wrote an inscription for him.