徐州会戦
In July 1937, open hostilities broke out against China and the Second Sino-Japanese War commenced. The 16th Division, under the command of Lieutenant General Kesago Nakajima, was assigned to the Second Army, as part of the Northern China Area Army. The division participated in the Second Shanghai Incident(August–November 1937), Beiping–Hankou Railway Operation (August–December 1937), the Battle of Nanjing (December 1937), the Battle of Xuzhou (January 1938) and the Battle of Wuhan (July–October 1938). It was thus one of the Japanese military units implicated in the Nanjing Massacre. In December 1938, the "16th division" was incorporated into the 11th army.