Sunday, December 9, 2007
"On December 7, the Japanese army issued a command to all troops, advising that because occupying a foreign capital was an unprecedented event for the Japanese military, those soldiers who "commit any illegal acts", "dishonor the Japanese Army", "loot", or "cause a fire to break out, even because of their carelessness" would be severely punished. The Japanese military continued to march forward, breaching the last lines of Chinese resistance, and arriving outside the walled city of Nanjing on December 9. At noon, the military dropped leaflets into the city, urging the surrender of Nanjing within 24 hours:
The Japanese Army, one million strong, has already conquered Changshu. We have surrounded the city of Nanking... The Japanese Army shall show no mercy toward those who offer resistance, treating them with extreme severity, but shall harm neither innocent civilians nor Chinese military personnel who manifest no hostility. It is our earnest desire to preserve the East Asian culture. If your troops continue to fight, war in Nanking is inevitable. The culture that has endured for a millennium will be reduced to ashes, and the government that has lasted for a decade will vanish into thin air. This commander-in-chief issue bills to your troops on behalf of the Japanese Army. Open the gates to Nanking in a peaceful manner, and obey the following instructions.
The Japanese awaited an answer. When no Chinese envoy had arrived by 1:00 p.m. the following day, General Matsui Iwane issued the command to take Nanjing by force. On December 12, after two days of Japanese attack, under heavy artillery fire and aerial bombardment, General Tang Sheng-chi ordered his men to retreat. What followed was nothing short of chaos. Some Chinese soldiers stripped civilians of their clothing in a desperate attempt to blend in, and many others were shot in the back by their own comrades as they tried to flee. Those who actually made it outside the city walls fled north to the Yangtze, only to find that there were no vessels remaining to take them. Some then jumped into the wintry waters and drowned. On December 13, the Japanese entered the walled city of Nanjing, facing hardly any military resistance."
http://www.b-29s-over-korea.com/Nanking-Massacre/index2.html
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In my opinion, I feel that the Japanese committed those atrocities against the Chinese because the Chinese refused to surrender. From the source, the Japanese gave the Chinese an option to open the gates of Nanking to them in a peaceful manner, so that war would be prevented. However, when the Chinese failed to do so, the Japanese troops decided to take Nanking by force. This seemed to be reasonable, but then again, who would agree to open the gates of their own country to await invasion of another?
So, when the Chinese refused to obey their instructions, they launched a massive attack in Nanking, which caused chaos. The Chinese army then decided to retreat because they knew that there was nothing they could do, since the Japanese had besieged the city from various directions. On the 13th December 1937, Nanking fell into the hands of the Japanese.
But why did the Japanese commit such atrocities? I feel that it was because the Japanese were too angry with the Chinese, that they refused to listen to them. Out of rage and anger, they decided to take revenge on the innocent people in Nanking, to release their uncontrollable aggression.
The Japanese Army, one million strong, has already conquered Changshu. We have surrounded the city of Nanking... The Japanese Army shall show no mercy toward those who offer resistance, treating them with extreme severity, but shall harm neither innocent civilians nor Chinese military personnel who manifest no hostility. It is our earnest desire to preserve the East Asian culture. If your troops continue to fight, war in Nanking is inevitable. The culture that has endured for a millennium will be reduced to ashes, and the government that has lasted for a decade will vanish into thin air. This commander-in-chief issue bills to your troops on behalf of the Japanese Army. Open the gates to Nanking in a peaceful manner, and obey the following instructions.
The Japanese awaited an answer. When no Chinese envoy had arrived by 1:00 p.m. the following day, General Matsui Iwane issued the command to take Nanjing by force. On December 12, after two days of Japanese attack, under heavy artillery fire and aerial bombardment, General Tang Sheng-chi ordered his men to retreat. What followed was nothing short of chaos. Some Chinese soldiers stripped civilians of their clothing in a desperate attempt to blend in, and many others were shot in the back by their own comrades as they tried to flee. Those who actually made it outside the city walls fled north to the Yangtze, only to find that there were no vessels remaining to take them. Some then jumped into the wintry waters and drowned. On December 13, the Japanese entered the walled city of Nanjing, facing hardly any military resistance."
http://www.b-29s-over-korea.com/Nanking-Massacre/index2.html
----------------------------------
In my opinion, I feel that the Japanese committed those atrocities against the Chinese because the Chinese refused to surrender. From the source, the Japanese gave the Chinese an option to open the gates of Nanking to them in a peaceful manner, so that war would be prevented. However, when the Chinese failed to do so, the Japanese troops decided to take Nanking by force. This seemed to be reasonable, but then again, who would agree to open the gates of their own country to await invasion of another?
So, when the Chinese refused to obey their instructions, they launched a massive attack in Nanking, which caused chaos. The Chinese army then decided to retreat because they knew that there was nothing they could do, since the Japanese had besieged the city from various directions. On the 13th December 1937, Nanking fell into the hands of the Japanese.
But why did the Japanese commit such atrocities? I feel that it was because the Japanese were too angry with the Chinese, that they refused to listen to them. Out of rage and anger, they decided to take revenge on the innocent people in Nanking, to release their uncontrollable aggression.
what we could have been, 10:59 PM.
