Japan’s Impregnable Fortress

The marine’s main base was the Special Naval Landing Force’s headquarters, a building taking up two house blocks and capable of housing thousands of troops at a time. It is testimony to foreign powers’ ability to roam at will in Shanghai in the 1930s that the building was actually located outside the area legally considered foreign, inside sovereign Chinese territory.

Once the battle broke out in August 1937, the headquarters immediately became the focus of Chinese attacks. Especially China’s elite 88th Division, moving in from the district of Zhabei to the west, attempted to take it out. It was also assisted by Chinese airplanes, which, however, could do nothing against the building’s thick concrete roof.

The headquarters never fell, and wasn’t even seriously threatened, during the three months of battle in 1937. It remained a symbol of Japanese influence in Shanghai during eight years of occupation, and still stands today. Below see the photos juxtaposing it then and now. The modern photo is courtesy of M. Takehara.

Categories: Aftermath, War

2 Comments

Gilman Grundy (AKA FOARP) says:

5 June, 2015 at 5:33 pm

Nice article Peter. I’m interested to know, when was the Japanese SNLF HQ built? Was it also there during the 1932 battle for Shanghai?

Reply
- Peter Harmsen says:
  
  9 June, 2015 at 4:17 am
  
  Thanks very much! It was built after the first battle, and in reaction to it, so the Japanese SNLF could be better prepared if hostilities broke out again.
  
  Reply