Shanghai 1937: Stalingrad on the Yangtze (26 page)

Chinese infantry manning defenses outside Shanghai. The soldier in the foreground is aiming a Belgian-made Fabrique Nationale M1930 light machine gun, based on the American M1918 BAR. He has not inserted a magazine into the weapon, making it likely that the group is engaged in mock battle for the benefit of the photographer.
From the American Geographical Society Library, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries

Chinese soldiers in action. Both men closest to the camera fire Hanyang 88 rifles, modeled on the German Gewehr 88. It had been produced in China’s Hanyang Arsenals since 1895 and was so successful that it even was used by Chinese forces in the Korean War. The soldier in the middle has an umbrella slung across his back.
From the American Geographical Society Library, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries

A camouflaged Chinese tank captured by the Japanese. It is a Vickers-Armstrongs light tank Mark E Type B. Having rolled off the assembly line at the Elswick Works in New - castle upon Tyne in October 1934, it was one of about 20 Mark E tanks purchased by the Chinese Nationalists in 1935 and 1936 as part of a military modernization drive. The Mark E was one of the most popular tanks in the 1930s. The Type B left room for two crew members in the single turret, providing it with significant firepower.
From the American Geographical Society Library, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries

Chinese infantry manning a hastily built barricade in Zhabei. They are wearing the British Mki steel helmet, or its American counterpart, standard issue for the US and British forces in the Great War.
From the American Geographical Society Library, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries

A Chinese soldier during the Shanghai battle, exhibiting the eclectic mix of the uniforms worn by Chiang Kai-shek’s troops.
From the American Geographical Society Library, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries

Battlefield bravado shown by one Chinese soldier. The broadsword, often featured in Chinese propa ganda, was of some use in close com bat, Chinese veterans of the battle would later state.
From the American Geographical Society Library, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries

Chinese soldiers on the move near Shanghai. The soldiers’ headwear was modeled on the German ski cap, and became an iconic uniform item for the Nationalist army in the 1930s and 1940s, made famous not least by Chiang Kai-shek himself.
From the American Geographical Society Library, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries

A Chinese squad deployed outside Shanghai. Gas masks were standard issue, at least among the best Chinese units, and there were several reports of the use of gas on either side during the campaign, although it has proven a challenge to separate reality from propaganda.
Author’s collection

The Chinese military benefited from the help of German advisors, professional officers often with extensive experience from the Great War. Here some of them pose for a photo in Nanjing in 1936. Their leader, General Alexander von Falkenhausen, is in the middle of front row. Their assistance in Shanghai was so crucial that some of their Japanese adversaries later called it “the German war.”
Courtesy Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archives), Photo l46-1978-007-13/Photographer unknown

Chinese soldiers in commandeered office pose uneasily for a foreign photographer.
From the American Geographical Society Library, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries