| “Chinese civilian and military casualties outside the Nanking city wall at the Zhonghua Gate, at the center entrance opposite the Yuhua Road Bridge over the Qinhuai River. This view is probably taken on December 14, the day after the battle for the gate. The Nationalist Kuomintang 88th Infantry Division, well-equipped and trained by the Germans, had lost heavily in the Yuhuatai plains outside Nanjing. Raw recruits manned the Zhonghua Gate complex, built in the late 1300s and capable of supporting 3,000 men. The largest of Nanking’s 13 walled gates, Zhonghua was originally named Jubao Gate, but Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek (October 31, 1887 – April 5, 1975) chose the name “Gate of the Nation” in 1931. Japanese “Suicide squads” attempted to blow holes in the Nanking city wall but were lost in a fog and then cut down by Chinese machine guns. 1 survived to plant the Rising Sun flag on the parapet. Artillery from Yuhuatai supported additional crossings of the Qinhuai River as more Japanese troops climbed Zhonghua Gate. Heavy artillery fire caused part of Zhonghua Gate to collapse. The Imperial Japanese 10th Army broke through the Shuxi Gate, supported by tanks. The Chinese lines collapsed. Kuomintang Nationalist General Tang Shengzhi (October 2, 1889 – April 6, 1970) fled Nanking, despite promising his men to fight to the death. Nationalist troops stripped off their uniforms and acquired civilian clothes and soon followed. As Japanese units entered Nanking, they began to round up prisoners, and executed them, as witnessed by the Western diplomats still in the city. The Nanking Massacre began as the city fell. This photo appeared in the January 10, 1938, issue of LIFE Magazine. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1804.jpg |
| Image Size | 426.92 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2027 x 1500 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | December 14, 1937 |
| Location | |
| City | Nanking |
| State or Province | Jiangsu |
| Country | China |
| Archive | |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database