Nanjing Falls to Japan: Massacre Follows the Siege
Japanese forces overwhelmed Nanjing's Chinese defenders under General Tang Shengzhi after a brief but fierce siege. The fall of the capital triggered the Nanjing Massacre, a six-week campaign of mass murder, rape, and arson that killed an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 civilians and became one of the worst atrocities of the twentieth century.
December 13, 1937
89 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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