Defense of Sihang Warehouse The Defense of Sihang Warehouse ( ) took place from October 26 to November 1 , 1937 , and marked the beginning of the end of the three - month Battle of Shanghai in the opening phase of the Second Sino - Japanese War . Defenders of the warehouse , known in China as the Eight Hundred Heroes ( ) , held out against numerous waves of Japanese forces and covered Chinese forces retreating west during the Battle of Shanghai . The successful defense of the warehouse provided a morale - lifting consolation to the Chinese army and people in the demoralizing aftermath of the Japanese invasion of Shanghai . The warehouse ' s location just across the Suzhou Creek from the foreign concessions in Shanghai meant the battle took place in full view of the western powers . It was across from the foreign concessions in Shanghai , and the Japanese did not dare to call naval artillery strikes on the area , since a stray shot might land in the concessions and provoke an incident with the Europeans and Americans , whom the Japanese wanted to keep out of the war . Moreover , the Japanese dared not use mustard gas here as they did elsewhere in Shanghai , in full view of the foreign powers . This proximity drew the attention , if only briefly , of the international community to Chiang Kai - shek ' s bid for worldwide support against Japanese aggression . Background . Using the Marco Polo Bridge Incident as a pretext , Japan launched an invasion of China on 7 July 1937 . As the Imperial Japanese Army swept down from the north , fighting between Chinese and Japanese forces started in Shanghai on 13 August . Despite having logistical problems , inferior training , and a lack of air and artillery support , the Chinese held on to Shanghai City , much of it reduced to ruins . However , the Japanese did not attack the foreign concessions in the city and remained on peaceable terms with the foreign powers , though tensions were high . They would not occupy the concessions until four years later , following Japan ' s decision to go to war with the Allies . By 26 October 1937 , Chinese resistance in the district of Zhabei was faltering . Generalissimo Chiang Kai - shek wanted to withdraw all forces in the area to defend the rural western regions of Shanghai , and ordered Gu Zhutong , acting commander of the 3rd Military Region , to leave the 88th Division behind to buy time and canvass international support by showing the other nations of the Nine Powers ( which were to convene on 6 November ) China ' s determination to resist the Japanese war of aggression . Gu was personally attached to the 88th and unwilling to leave the division behind , as he used to be the commanding officer of the 2nd Division , which became the 88th after reorganisation . He telegraphed the 88th ' s divisional commander Sun Yuanliang , who vehemently opposed this plan and sent his chief of staff Zhang Boting ( 張柏亭 ) to Gu ' s Headquarters , about 20 km from the frontlines , to argue against it . Neither Gu , Sun nor Zhang were about to disobey Chiang ' s orders , but Sun ( via Zhang ) suggested to Gu that the number of troops left to cover the withdrawal would not matter for such a show of determination . In his words , " How many people we sacrifice would not make a difference ; it would achieve the same purpose . " He proposed that a single regiment from the division be left behind to defend one or two fortified positions , and Gu approved this plan . Zhang returned to the 88th ' s divisional headquarters at Sihang Warehouse . Back at the headquarters , Sun decided that even a regiment would be a terrible waste of lives and decided on a single over - strength battalion instead . Xie Jinyuan ( 謝晉元 ) , a relatively new commander in the 88th Division , volunteered to lead the battalion . At 10 p . m . on 26 October , the 524th Regiment , based at the Shanghai North Railway Station , received orders to withdraw to the divisional headquarters at Sihang Warehouse . 1st Battalion commander Yang Ruifu was distraught at having to abandon a position he had held for more than two months , but agreed to do so after being shown Sun ' s orders for the 1st Battalion to defend Sihang Warehouse . The warehouse , also known as the " Chinese Mint Godown " by those from the concessions , is a six - story concrete building situated in Zhabei District north of Suzhou Creek , at the north - western edge of New Lese Bridge ( now North Tibet Road Bridge ) . Built jointly by four banks — hence the name Sihang ( literally meaning , " Four Banks " ) — in 1931 , it sits on a plot of land , with an area of 20 , 700 square metres ( 222 , 800 sq ft ) , 64 metres ( 210 ft ) wide by 54 metres ( 177 ft ) long , and 25 metres ( 82 ft ) high , making it one of the tallest buildings in the area . The warehouse , used as the divisional headquarters of the 88th Division prior to this battle , was stocked with food , first aid equipment , shells and ammunition . Order of battle and equipment . National Revolutionary Army . Initially containing around 800 men , the 1st was technically an over - strength battalion , but casualties suffered over the course of the Battle of Shanghai reduced its actual strength just prior to the battle to 423 men ( some sources give 453 ) , including officers . As a further reduction in strength , only 414 were present at the beginning of the battle : Because of the confusion of the general retreat , it is possible that some units failed to make it to the warehouse . Two months of intense fighting had also whittled down the original German - trained troops , and after five reinforcements , the majority of soldiers and officers in the battalion were garrison troops from the surrounding provinces . Most of the men were from the 1st Battalion , 5th Regiment of the Hubei Provincial Garrison . Hubei did not want to send its best troops , trained over a decade to fight against the Chinese Communists , to Shanghai . Thus , many of the soldiers sent as reinforcements to Shanghai were green recruits , with the latest batch recruited after the outbreak of war on 7 July . Official communications referred to the defenders as the 524th Regiment to mislead the Japanese as to their actual strength , even though only the 1st Battalion took part in this battle , and other elements of the regiment continued to be active well into 1939 . Eventually the 1st Battalion came to be equated with the 524th Regiment , even within official documents of the period . The regiment was assigned used equipment from the front - line troops of the 88th , and was well equipped considering the shoddy equipment that most Chinese forces had . Photos and records show that soldiers were each issued a rifle , likely a Gewehr 98 or Karabiner 98k , 300 rounds of 8 mm Mauser , two crates of grenade s , a German - made M1935 helmet , a gas mask , and food pouch . There was a total of 27 light machine gun s , mostly Czech ZB vz . 26 , approximately one for each squad . The four water - cooled Type 24 Maxim gun s were the only heavy weapons available to the battalion — a mortar platoon assigned to them was never mentioned by participants of the battle , and was therefore unlikely to have joined the battle . Imperial Japanese Army . The Japanese 3rd Division ( one of the most elite IJA divisions at the time ) had suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Chinese 88th Division , whom they called the " Hated Enemy of Zhabei " . However , their organization , officer corps and command structure were mostly intact , and Japanese forces enjoyed air and naval superiority , as well as access to armoured vehicle s , likely Type 94 tankette s , and also Type 89 grenade discharger s . Japanese infantry used the Arisaka Type 38 Rifle . 27 October . The various companies of the battalion were spread out across the front lines that night . Yang Ruifu sent the 1st Company to Sihang Warehouse and personally led the 2nd Company . The 3rd Company , Machine Gun Company and part of the 1st Company could not be contacted . What initially seemed a disastrous start to the defense was averted at nine in the morning , when these companies turned up at the warehouse , having heard the orders through word of mouth from other forces that had retreated from Zhabei . That these men essentially volunteered for this suicidal mission was later noted by Chiang Kai - shek as exemplary soldierly conduct . In early morning , news circulated throughout Shanghai that there were still Chinese forces defending Zhabei at Sihang Warehouse . This piqued the interest of Girl Guide Yang Huimin ( 楊惠敏 ) , who would later play a large part in this battle . At around 4 a . m . she walked to the British guard post at the Chinese end of New Lese Bridge , where she noticed the British soldier throwing a pack of cigarettes into the warehouse . She asked the soldier what he was doing , and he answered that there were Chinese soldiers inside . She wrote a message and asked the British soldier to stuff it in a pack of cigarettes and throw it over . After a while a message was thrown back saying that the soldiers in the warehouse wanted food , ammunition and lubricant for their firearms . Yang Huimin left the bridge and pleaded with the head of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce , who initially did not believe her story , much to her frustration . Xie deployed the 1st Company on the right side of the warehouse along Tibet Road , the 3rd Company on the left across from the Bank of Communications building , and the 2nd Company on the other sides . Two heavy machine guns were installed on the roof , and the other machine guns were spread out to each company . Xie noted that the fortifications built by the Nationalist Army before the war in preparation against a European attack from the foreign concessions could be used by the Japanese against the warehouse . Consequently , he ordered these fortifications to be rigged with explosives in case the Japanese tried to occupy them . Makeshift defenses were constructed from sandbags and the sacks of corn , beans , and other merchandise stocked within the warehouse . The electric lights in the warehouse were destroyed , and some of the immediate surrounding buildings were razed to clear a killing field . By 7 a . m . the Japanese 3rd Division had moved to the Shanghai North Railway Station , and by 1 p . m . they had reached the general vicinity of the warehouse . Around ten Japanese soldiers tried to secure the rigged fortifications and were promptly killed . At 2 p . m . a group of Chinese reconnaissance troops , led by platoon leader Yin Qiucheng ( 尹求成 ) , exchanged fire with around fifty Japanese soldiers . A short while after , a Japanese company attacked the warehouse from the west , and 3rd Company commander Shi Meihao was shot in the face but continued to command the defense until he was shot again in the leg . About seventy Japanese soldiers had taken cover in a blind spot at the south - west of the warehouse , and some Chinese troops climbed on the roof and threw grenades down at the Japanese . They reported seven Japanese killed and about twenty wounded . Having failed their first assault , the Japanese set fire to the north - west section of the warehouse , which stored fuel and wood . It was put out by 5 p . m . In their wake the Japanese looted and burned Zhabei . At 9 p . m . Yang Ruifu concluded that there would be no more Japanese attacks for the day , and ordered meals to be prepared and fortifications repaired . Two defenders were killed and four wounded on this day . 28 October . The defenders rushed to construct fortifications during the night ; nobody was given any sleep . In the morning Xie contacted the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce , whose telephone number was provided by Yang Huimin . The location of the warehouse , chosen mainly for its sturdy structure and availability ( already a divisional headquarters ) , turned out to be a fortunate one for the defenders . It was across from the foreign concessions in Shanghai , and the Japanese did not dare to call naval artillery strikes on the area , since a stray shot might land in the concessions and provoke an incident with the Europeans and Americans , whom the Japanese wanted to keep out of the war . Moreover , the Japanese dared not use mustard gas here as they did elsewhere in Shanghai , in full view of the foreign powers . At 7 a . m . a flight of Japanese bombers circled the warehouse but did not drop any bombs , for fear of hitting the concessions . They were driven away from the warehouse by anti - aircraft fire . At 8 a . m . Xie gave a pep talk to the defenders and inspected the defenses constructed by the soldiers . While on the roof , he noticed a group of Japanese soldiers along the Suzhou River , which according to Yang Ruifu ' s memoirs was some 1 km ( 1 , 100 Yard ) away . Xie grabbed a rifle and shot ; one of them promptly fell . It started to drizzle around 3 p . m . , and the fire and screen of smoke around the warehouse were gradually extinguished . The Japanese launched another major attack concentrated in the west , occupying the Bank of Communications building , and deployed cannon to the north of the warehouse . The cannon were unable to heavily damage the thick walls of the warehouse , and Japanese troops in the bank building were easily suppressed by the defenders on the roof of the warehouse , who had a higher vantage point . After two hours the Japanese gave up the attack , but managed to cut electricity and water to the warehouse . Some time in the day , a small group of Chinese soldiers led by the 524th ' s executive officer Shangguan Zhibiao and battalion field surgeon Tang Pinzi ( 湯聘梓 ) arrived and joined the battle . Meanwhile , the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce was overjoyed at the news of Chinese defenders left in Zhabei , and news of this spread quickly through radio . Crowds gathered on the southern bank of the Suzhou River in the rain , cheering the defenders on . More than ten truckloads of aid were donated by Shanghai ' s citizens . At night the trucks drove near the warehouse , and the defenders constructed a sandbag wall to the trucks , and then dragged the supplies into the warehouse . The unloading of supplies took four hours , during which three soldiers were killed by Japanese fire . The defenders received food , fruits , clothing , utensils and letters from the citizens . A couple of journalists arrived at the scene , but the commanding officers were busy , and the journalists ended up only meeting Lei Xiong , the Machine Gun Company commander . Xie arranged with the British officers in the concessions , via the Chamber of Commerce , to transport around ten heavily wounded soldiers from the battle . The British agreed , and the wounded were carried off under the cover of darkness . The same night , the Chamber of Commerce decided to send the soldiers a flag of the Republic of China . Regiment - sized Chinese units did not carry army or national flags during the war , so when Yang Huimin delivered the flag to the warehouse , Xie had to personally accept the flag as the highest - ranking officer present . Yang Huimin asked for the soldiers ' plans , to which the answer " Defend to the death ! " was given . Yang Huimin , moved , asked for a list of all the soldiers ' names to announce to the entire country . As doing so would inform the Japanese of their real strength , Xie did not want to release this information . However , he did not want to disappoint Yang Huimin either . Instead , he asked someone to write down around 800 names from the original roster of the 524th Regiment , and this fake name list was given to her . According to Yang Ruifu , the wounded soldiers sent out earlier that night were also ordered to say 800 if questioned about their strength . Thus the story of the " " 800 Heroes " " spread . 29 October . In the early morning of 29 October , residents of Shanghai found a 4 metre - wide ( 13 ft ) flag of the Republic of China flying atop Sihang warehouse . Yang Huimin only brought the flag , and the defenders did not have a flag pole in the warehouse . Therefore , the flag was hoisted on a makeshift pole made of two bamboo culm s tied together . In the warehouse , only a small group of soldiers attended the flag - raising ceremony . The crowd gathered across the river , reportedly thirty thousand strong , was jubilant , shouting " Long live the Republic of China ! " while the Japanese were furious and sent aircraft to attack the flag . Because of heavy anti - aircraft fire and fear of hitting the foreign concessions , the planes soon left without destroying the flag . Meanwhile , two days of fighting had damaged or destroyed many field fortifications around the warehouse , and the warehouse itself was also damaged . At noon the Japanese mounted their largest offensive thus far . Attacking from all directions with cannon fire and tankettes , they pushed the 3rd Company out of their defensive line at the base of the warehouse and forced the 3rd into the warehouse itself . The west side of the warehouse originally lacked windows ( as can be seen from the photos above ) , but the Japanese attacks conveniently opened up firing holes for the defenders . A group of Japanese soldiers tried to scale the walls to the second floor with ladders , and Xie just happened to be at the window they appeared from . He grabbed the first Japanese soldier ' s rifle , choked him with the other hand , pushed him off , and finally shot another Japanese soldier on the ladder before pushing the ladder off . A private , traumatized by the battle , jumped off the building while strapped with grenades and took out some twenty Japanese soldiers in exchange for his own life . The battle lasted until dark , with Japanese waves now frequently supported by armoured vehicles and cannon fire . Finally , after all else had failed , they used an excavator and tried to dig a tunnel towards the warehouse . During this day ' s battle , Chinese citizens across the river helped the soldiers by writing on big posters , warning of the Japanese army ' s movements . One individual even telephoned the warehouse after witnessing the Japanese preparing a new attack . 30 October to 1 November . The Japanese launched a new wave of attack at 7 a . m . on the 30th . There were fewer infantry assaults at the warehouse this time ; the Japanese attack was mainly concentrated cannon fire . Because of the sturdy construction and the abundance of sandbags and materials with which to fortify and mend the warehouse , the defenders simply repaired the warehouse while the Japanese tried to destroy it . Cannon fire was so rapid , recalled Yang Ruifu , that there was approximately one shell every second . When night approached , the Japanese deployed several floodlight s to illuminate the warehouse for their artillery to strike at . The battle on the 30th lasted the whole day , and the defenders destroyed and damaged several armoured cars . The foreigners in the concessions in Shanghai did not want the site of combat to be so close to them . With that consideration in mind , and faced with pressure from the Japanese , they agreed to try to convince the Chinese to cease resisting . On the 29th the foreigners submitted a petition to the National Government to stop the fighting " for humanitarian concerns " . To Chiang , the battle was already won as most of the Chinese forces in Shanghai had successfully been redeployed to defend more favourable positions , and the defense of the warehouse now had the attention of the western world , so he gave the go - ahead for the regiment to retreat on 31 October . A meeting was arranged with the British general Telfer - Smollett through the commandant of Shanghai Auxiliary Police ( 上海警備 ) , Yang Hu ( 楊虎 ) , and it was decided the 524th would retreat to the foreign concessions and then rejoin the rest of the 88th Division , which had been fighting in west Shanghai . The Japanese commander Matsui Iwane also agreed and promised to let the defenders retreat , but later reneged on the deal . Xie , on the other hand , wanted to remain in the warehouse and fight to the last man . Zhang Boting finally convinced Xie to retreat . At midnight , 1 November , Xie led 376 men in small groups toward the British concession across New Lese Bridge . Ten defenders had died , and another 27 were too heavily wounded to be moved . Consequently they agreed to stay behind to man the machine guns to cover the retreat of the remaining forces . About ten soldiers were wounded by Japanese machine gun and cannon fire during the crossing . By 2 a . m . the retreat was complete . Aftermath . After the retreat the remaining soldiers set forth to regroup with the rest of the 88th Division . However , British troops seized all their weapons and placed the soldiers under arrest . The reason was that the Japanese threatened to invade the concessions if the soldiers were allowed to leave the area . They were herded into the Italian area of the concessions and fenced off . Chiang Kai - shek promoted every defender by a rank and awarded Xie Jinyuan and Yang Ruifu the " Order of Blue Sky and White Sun " . After their incarceration , citizens of Shanghai would often visit the troops , giving them performances and entertainment . The officers opened classes for the soldiers , teaching foreign language s , mathematics , and even Christian theology . Chen Wangdao , the Chinese translator of the Communist Manifesto , would also visit the camp from time to time . The soldiers spent their day doing military drills and kept their fighting spirit high . Their practice of singing the National Anthem of the Republic of China every day was continuously disrupted by the foreign authorities , until it was violently put down by White Russian mercenaries . Faced with defeat in the Battle of Shanghai and the loss of a third of the National Revolutionary Army ' s best - trained troops , the failed but morale - boosting defense of Shanghai proved to the Chinese people and foreign powers alike that China was actively resisting the Japanese . The media capitalized on the defense of the warehouse and lauded the " Eight Hundred Heroes " , embellished from the original 414 , as national heroes , and a patriotic song was also composed to encourage the people to resist Japanese aggression . However , the foreign aid that Chiang tried to canvass for did not arrive ; none of the European powers delivered anything more than verbal condemnation of Japan . Only Germany and the Soviet Union provided substantial aid to China before the outbreak of war in Europe , and Germany withdrew its advisors in 1938 because of Japanese pressure . Within the " Lost Battalion Barracks " , the Heroes languished for more than three years . The Japanese had offered to free the soldiers , but only if they disarmed and left Shanghai as refugees . Xie did not agree to these terms , and after refusing numerous offers from Wang Jingwei ' s collaborationist government , Xie Jinyuan was assassinated on 24 April 1941 at 5 a . m . by Sergeant He Dingcheng and three others of his own troops , who were bought over by Wang Jingwei ' s government . He died at 6 a . m . More than 100 , 000 people turned up for his funeral , and he was posthumously made a brigadier general of the National Revolutionary Army . After the Pearl Harbor attack , Japanese forces occupied the foreign concessions and captured the soldiers . They were shipped off to Hangzhou and Xiaolingwei to do hard labour . Part of the group sent to Xiaolingwei escaped , and some rejoined the Chinese forces . Thirty - six officers and soldiers were sent to Papua New Guinea to do hard labour , and in 1945 when the war went against Japan , they overpowered their captors and took them prisoners instead . At the end of the war , some one hundred survivors of the battalion returned to Shanghai and Sihang Warehouse . When the Chinese Civil War broke out , most of them wanted to fight no more and returned to civilian occupations . Later , some of them , including Girl Guide Yang Huimin , retreated to Taiwan with the Kuomintang government , while some of those who remained were persecuted in the Cultural Revolution because they were Kuomintang soldiers . Legacy . Xie Jinyuan ' s body was interred in a small garden along " Singapore Road " ( now " Yao Road " ) where his bunk used to be . In 1947 the Shanghai city government renamed " Jiaoyuan Park " ( where the soldiers lived ) as " Jinyuan Park " , and renamed an elementary school in the vicinity " 12th District Jinyuan National Elementary School " . The road to the immediate north of the warehouse was renamed " Jinyuan Road " . On 16 April 1983 , Xie ' s grave was moved to the Wanguo Public Mausoleum ( 万国公墓 ) , among other Chinese patriots buried there . In the same year , the barracks area was rebuilt and named " Jinyuan Alley " . In March 1986 the city council of Xie ' s hometown , Jiaoling , Guangdong , set up a monument in his honour , and his alma mater " Jiankeng Elementary School " was renamed " Jinyuan Elementary School " . The renovated Sihang Warehouse ( including an additional level and a new wing ) is still standing , and part of it is now a repository of documents , photos and journals from the Battle of Shanghai . Most of the warehouse is still what it was meant to be — a furniture warehouse — and there is even a bowling alley on the third floor . The exhibition room is open every Friday 1 : 30 – 4 : 00 p . m . The story of the Eight Hundred Heroes were made into a 1938 movie of the same name , and then later in 1976 made into a Taiwanese production starring Brigitte Lin . In 2005 , to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Chinese victory in the Second Sino - Japanese War , as well as the Allied victory in World War II , China Telecom released a set of themed telephone card s . One card featured Sihang Warehouse and Xie Jinyuan .