Battle of Shanghai

Overview

The Battle of Shanghai (太平軍二攻上海) was a major engagement of the Taiping Rebellion that occurred from June 1861 to July 1862. British and French troops used modern artillery on a large scale for the first time in China. Cannon fire inflicted heavy casualties on the Taiping forces, whose commander Li Xiucheng was wounded in the left leg by a shot fired from a cannon.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Shanghai, fought from August 13 to November 26, 1937, was among the largest and longest engagements of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The battle ended with the Japanese capture of Shanghai and heavy destruction to the city. Some historians regard it as the first battle of World War II, reflecting its scale and the broader geopolitical context in which it occurred. The fall of Shanghai represented a significant early blow to Chinese resistance and demonstrated the capacity of Japanese forces to seize major urban centers despite prolonged fighting.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (11)