Eight Hundred Heroes: China’s Lost Battalion and the Fall of Shanghai

Military historian Robinson (False Flags) delivers a solid account of the famous 1937 standoff between Chinese troops and Japanese forces at Sihang Warehouse during the Sino-Japanese War. Located across Suzhou Creek from Shanghai’s International Settlement, where British and American expats witnessed the battle from rooftops, the warehouse’s defense served the “symbolic purpose” of “winning international support for China.” To confuse the enemy, battalion commander Xie Jinyuan publicly announced that he had 800 soldiers under his command (the real number was closer to 420). Robinson dramatically recounts well-known episodes from the siege, including the tale of 22-year-old Girl Guide Yang Huimin, who crawled across the battlefield to deliver a Republic of China flag to the defenders. Raised on the third day of battle, the flag reportedly shocked the Japanese army and led to shouts of joy from the international settlement. Robinson also recounts how those Chinese soldiers who survived the battle endured hardship and torture as POWs, and analyzes cultural representations of the defense of Sihang Warehouse in China and Taiwan. Well paced and comprehensive, this is a valuable introduction to a turning point in Chinese military history. (Mar.)