This deeply researched book describes one of the great forgotten battles of the 20th century. At its height it involved nearly a million Chinese and Japanese soldiers, while sucking in three million civilians as unwilling spectators and, often, victims. It turned what had been a Japanese adventure in China into a general war between the two oldest and proudest civilizations of the Far East. Ultimately, it led to Pearl Harbor and to seven decades of tumultuous history in Asia. The Battle of Shanghai was a pivotal event that helped define and shape the modern world.

In its sheer scale, the struggle for China’s largest city was a sinister forewarning of what was in store for the rest of mankind only a few years hence, in theaters around the world. It demonstrated how technology had given rise to new forms of warfare, or had made old forms even more lethal. Amphibious landings, tank assaults, aerial dogfights and most importantly, urban combat, all happened in Shanghai in 1937. It was a dress rehearsal for World War II—or perhaps more correctly it was the inaugural act in the war—the first major battle in the global conflict.

Actors from a variety of nations were present in Shanghai during the three fateful autumn months when the battle raged. The rich cast included China's ascetic Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and his Japanese adversary, General Matsui Iwane, who wanted Asia to rise from disunity, but ultimately pushed the continent toward its deadliest conflict ever. Claire Chennault, later of “Flying Tiger” fame, was among the figures emerging in the course of the campaign, as was First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. In an ironic twist, Alexander von Falkenhausen, a stern German veteran of the Great War, abandoned his role as a mere advisor to the Chinese army and led it into battle against the Japanese invaders.

Written by Peter Harmsen, a foreign correspondent in East Asia for two decades, and currently bureau chief in Taiwan for the French news agency AFP, Shanghai 1937 fills a gaping chasm in our understanding of the Second World War.

REVIEWS

“…enhances the bare facts with material gleaned from multiple diaries, reports, newspaper and magazine articles, books, and other accounts from combatants and civilians of all nationalities. In addition to on-the-spot impressions from a surprising number of Chinese and Japanese foot soldiers, the book also features eyewitness reports from and about foreigners living and working in the cosmopolitan city at the time. As the author notes, the battle of Shanghai was front page news throughout much of the world, and numbers of journalists from around the globe covered the fighting from both sides of the line while crossing in and out of the safety and comfort of the international concessions. Besides using many contemporary documents as sources, Harmsen has chosen to illustrate the book with an especially noteworthy selection of very striking wartime photographs. …engaging account of a little-known battle. …practically nothing else in English tackles this topic at this level. ..
Stone and Stone


Largely ignored in the West, Japan and China fought a horrible large-scale battle for the city of Shanghai from July to November 1937... Shanghai 1937: Stalingrad on the Yangtze relates the story of this awful months-long battle and its effect on later events... This book is meticulously researched, and vignettes are included from generals and privates alike. Civilian accounts, the bulk of them from residents of the International Settlement, abound. Most of the sources are translated Chinese works. The author weaves them together in a way that gives a sense of the battle's breadth and horror. Readers interested in the history of the Sino-Japanese fighting of the 1930s will find this book a valuable addition to their libraries."
Military Heritage




...presents a gripping chronology of two sides locked in a horrific death dance…genuinely shines by interlacing the chronology with plenty of personal anecdotes and quotidian details… an important reminder between Champagne brunches, art openings and fashion shows—rivers of blood once flowed beneath our feet.
City Weekend Shanghai

Harmsen, a two-decade veteran of east Asia, demonstrates a breathtaking command of the battle itself—from the 10,000 meter, panoramic view of the terrain and history, down to the platoon level—Japanese and Chinese grunts fighting, bleeding, starving and dying, and the types of knots that the Japanese used to tie their helmets on.
Asian Review of Books



“In the voluminous literature on World War II, few books treat the Sino-Japanese War, and few of those are accessible to non-specialists. Thankfully, seasoned East Asian correspondent Peter Harmsen has written an engrossing study that goes far to fill the gap in the historiography of a neglected theater of operations and the first large-scale urban battle of the war. Historians of this battle do have certain advantages. Since Shanghai was a cosmopolitan city with a large contingent of foreign residents that stayed for the duration, scholars possess an additional source of primary documents and valuable eyewitness accounts. Harmsen takes full advantage of these. … a compelling, quite detailed…narrative history of an understudied war. … gives easy entry into the secondary literature on the Sino-Japanese War.
Michigan War Studies


"One of the most sobering things about reading history is realizing the ease with which the deaths of a millions can be forgotten in only a few decades. I am currently reading Shanghai 1937: Stalingrad on the Yangtze, by Peter Harmsen. I recommend it heartily. Even if you thought you knew all there was to know about the Second World War, if you haven’t read up on the Sino-Japanese conflict, you’ve missed one of its principal roots… The Japanese were in real danger of losing the Battle of Shanghai, in part because the Chinese Army was advised by German officers, some of whom were Jewish and fleeing from Hitler."
The Belmont Club



“… rattles along like a modern techno-thriller and moves gracefully between descriptions of the tactical battlefield and the impact on the company, platoon or individual to the strategic machinations of the “top brass” and the movement of armies and divisions. Whilst the book piqued my interest in the pre Second World War Sino-Japanese conflict it stands very successfully as an excellent piece of military writing in its own right. One only has to be interested in warfare to appreciate this book.It is supported as is usual by a centre of black and white pictures showing Shanghai in the thirties and scenes from the conflict. … Also there are a number of maps to allow you to follow the general course of the action.Overall this book is highly recommended. For wargamers it has got all the makings of an excellent campaign or demonstration game - naval gunnery support, tanks, direct tactical air support, two evenly matched forces, Marines, the what if scenario of conflict spreading into the International Settlement (other colonial powers had troops and naval forces in Shanghai), German military advisors and of course a cavalry charge! For military historians it is an interesting insight into the development of the tactical use of military technology in the lead up to the Second World War. And, finally, it is damn good read!”
Wargamer



“…has all the elements of a fabulous historical novel. …Yet from another angle it is a historical minefield…he seamless way in which Harmsen weaves Chiang’s international political maneuvering into battlefield strategy, combining the perspectives of regular privates and commanding generals, along with civilians and combatants, suggests his narrative was of long gestation…one of the really remarkable features of “Shanghai 1937” is the huge collection of high-quality photographs, all of them in-period and directly relevant to the action, in three 16-page inserts. Also, one cannot help noticing that many of them are credited to the “author’s collection.”.. few who have read the book have failed to be gripped by the narrative.”Taiwan Today

What’s special about this book is its comprehensiveness, shifting between Chinese, Japanese and foreign points of view to describe the causes of the battle, Chiang Kai-shek’s strategy, the Chinese army’s attack, the stalemate and the fall of Shanghai. The photos selected for the book also illustrate the operations on the two sides as well as the conditions endured by the people of Shanghai. …. In addition to accounts by participants on both the Chinese and Japanese side as well as contemporary newspaper reports, the book also uses the memoirs of numerous foreigners. In this respect it is richer than a lot of works in the Chinese language.
Shenzhen Special Zone Daily

”This is not traditional war history, but an extremely dramatic documentary thriller. It’s based on facts, collected in meticulous and time-consuming fashion from diaries, newspaper articles, books and memoirs, but in contrast to much other war literature, you get so close to the actors, from generals to Chinese and Japanese privates and civilians, that as a reader you have to constantly remind yourself that this was real, involved a million soldiers, and was to lead to the global changes of the next ten years… Peter Harmsen has written a book that has many qualities and extremely high information and entertainment value. It’s about time that we reach a better understanding of the causes of World War Two, a chain of events where the battle of Shanghai had a much bigger impact than military historians in the west have realized so far. Shanghai 1937… is not only an invaluable piece of military history, but also a book with formidable powers of empathy that at times make the reader feel like an actual participant in the bloody events.”

Jylla...

这本经过深入研究的书描述了20世纪被遗忘的伟大战役之一。在它的高峰期，有近100万中国和日本士兵参与其中，同时吸纳了300万平民作为不情愿的观众，而且往往是受害者。它把日本在中国的冒险变成了远东两个最古老和最自豪的文明之间的全面战争。最终，它导致了珍珠港事件和亚洲七十年的动荡历史。上海之战是一个关键事件，有助于定义和塑造现代世界。

就其规模而言，争夺中国最大城市的斗争是一个险恶的预兆，预示着仅在几年后，在世界各地的剧院中，人类将面临着什么。它展示了技术如何催生了新的战争形式，或使旧的战争形式更加致命。两栖登陆、坦克突击、空中狗斗，以及最重要的城市战斗，都发生在1937年的上海。这是第二次世界大战的一次彩排，或者更正确地说，这是战争的开端--全球冲突中的第一场重大战斗。

在战火纷飞的三个秋季月里，来自不同国家的演员出现在上海。丰富的演员阵容包括中国的禁欲主义者蒋介石将军和他的日本对手松井岩根将军，他们希望亚洲从分裂中崛起，但最终却把亚洲大陆推向了有史以来最致命的冲突。后来以 "飞虎 "闻名的克莱尔-陈纳德和第一夫人埃莉诺-罗斯福都是在这场运动中出现的人物。在一个具有讽刺意味的转折中，亚历山大-冯-法尔肯豪森，一位严厉的德国大战老兵，放弃了他作为中国军队的单纯顾问的角色，带领中国军队与日本侵略者作战。

彼得-哈姆森（Peter Harmsen）在东亚担任了20年的外国记者，目前是法新社在台湾的分社社长，《1937年的上海》填补了我们在了解第二次世界大战方面的一个空白。

评论

"......通过从各种日记、报告、报纸和杂志文章、书籍以及其他来自各国战斗人员和平民的叙述中收集到的材料，加强了赤裸裸的事实。除了数量惊人的中国和日本士兵的现场印象外，该书还收录了当时在这个国际大都市生活和工作的外国人的目击报告和有关报告。正如作者所指出的那样，上海战役是整个世界的头版新闻，来自全球各地的许多记者从战线两侧报道了战斗，同时在国际租界的安全和舒适中进进出出。除了使用许多当代文件作为资料来源外，哈姆森还选择了特别值得注意的、非常引人注目的战时照片作为本书的插图。...对一场鲜为人知的战役进行了引人入胜的描述。......在英语中几乎没有任何东西能在这个层面上处理这个主题。..

石头和石头

1937年7月至11月，日本和中国为争夺上海这座城市进行了一场可怕的大规模战斗，但西方国家基本上对此视而不见。1937年的上海。长江上的斯大林格勒》讲述了这场长达数月的可怕战斗及其对后来事件的影响。这本书经过了细致的研究，包括了将军和士兵的小故事。平民的描述，其中大部分来自国际定居点的居民，比比皆是。大多数资料都是翻译的中文作品。作者将它们编织在一起，让人感受到这场战斗的广泛性和恐怖性。对20世纪30年代中日战争历史感兴趣的读者会发现这本书是他们图书馆的宝贵补充。

军事遗产

......呈现了一个扣人心弦的年表，介绍了双方在一场可怕的死亡之舞中的情况......通过将年表与大量的个人轶事和琐事细节交织在一起，真正发挥了作用......在香槟酒会、艺术开幕式和时装秀之间，一个重要的提醒是，我们的脚下曾经流过血。

上海城市周末

哈姆森是一位在东亚工作了20年的老兵，他对战役本身表现出了惊人的掌控力--从万米高空、全景式的地形和历史，到排级的日本人和中国人的战斗、流血、饥饿和死亡，以及日本人用来绑头盔的绳结类型。

亚洲书评》杂志

"在关于第二次世界大战的大量文献中，很少有关于中日战争的书籍，其中也很少有非专业人士能够读懂的。值得庆幸的是，经验丰富的东亚记者彼得-哈姆森（Peter Harmsen）写了一本引人入胜的研究报告，在很大程度上填补了被忽视的战区和战争中第一次大规模城市战的历史学空白。这场战役的历史学家确实有某些优势。由于上海是一个国际大都市，有大量的外国居民在此停留，学者们拥有额外的原始文件和宝贵的目击者描述。哈姆森充分地利用了这些。......这是一部令人信服的、相当详细的......关于一场未充分研究的战争的叙述性历史。......让人很容易进入关于中日战争的二级文献。

密歇根州战争研究

"阅读历史最令人清醒的事情之一是意识到数百万人的死亡可以在短短几十年内轻易被遗忘。我目前正在读《上海1937》。长江上的斯大林格勒》，作者彼得-哈姆森。我由衷地推荐这本书。即使你认为你对第二次世界大战了如指掌，如果你没有阅读过中日冲突，你就错过了它的一个主要根源......日本人在上海之战中确实面临着失败的危险，部分原因是中国军队得到了德国军官的建议，其中一些人是犹太人，正在逃离希特勒。"

贝尔蒙特俱乐部

"......就像一部现代技术惊悚片一样，在战术战场的描述和对连、排或个人的影响之间，优雅地转移到 "高层 "的战略阴谋以及军队和师的运动。虽然这本书激起了我对二战前中日冲突的兴趣，但它本身就非常成功地成为了一部优秀的军事著作。只要对战争感兴趣，就能欣赏到这本书。像往常一样，书中有很多黑白图片，展示了三十年代的上海和冲突的场景。......此外，还有一些地图，可以让你了解行动的大致过程。总的来说，这本书是强烈推荐的。对于战争玩家来说，这本书具备了一个优秀的战役或演示游戏的所有要素--海军炮火支援、坦克、直接的战术空中支援、两支势均力敌的部队、海军陆战队、冲突蔓延到国际定居点的假想场景（其他殖民国家在上海有军队和海军）、德国军事顾问，当然还有骑兵的冲锋！对于军事历史学家来说，这本书是一个有趣的故事。对于军事历史学家来说，这是一个关于第二次世界大战前军事技术战术使用发展的有趣见解。而且，最后，它是该死的好书！"

战士》（Wargamer）杂志

"......拥有一部神话般的历史小说的所有元素。......但从另一个角度看，它又是一个历史雷区......哈姆森将蒋介石的国际政治演习与战场战略完美地结合在一起，将普通士兵和指挥官以及平民和战斗人员的观点结合在一起，表明他的叙述是经过长期酝酿的......《上海1937》的一个真正显著特点是大量的高质量照片，所有这些照片都是当时的，与行动直接相关，分三个16页的插页。此外，人们不禁注意到，其中许多照片都是 "作者的收藏"......读过这本书的人很少不被其叙述所吸引。

这本书的特别之处在于它的全面性，在中国、日本和外国的观点之间转换，描述了战斗的原因、蒋介石的战略、中国军队的进攻、僵局和上海的陷落。为该书选择的照片还说明了双方的行动以及上海人民所忍受的条件。.... 除了中日双方参与者的叙述以及当代报纸的报道外，该书还采用了许多外国人的回忆录。在这方面，它比很多中文作品都要丰富。

深圳特区报

"这不是传统的战争史，而是一部极具戏剧性的纪实惊悚片。它以事实为基础，从日记、报纸文章、书籍和回忆录中细致而费时地收集，但与其他许多战争文学作品相比，你与演员，从将军到中国和日本的士兵和平民如此接近，作为读者，你必须不断提醒自己，这是真实的，涉及一百万士兵，并将导致未来十年的全球变化......彼得-哈姆森写了一本具有许多品质，信息和娱乐价值极高的书。现在是时候让我们更好地了解第二次世界大战的原因了，在这一连串的事件中，上海之战的影响比西方的军事历史学家迄今为止所意识到的要大得多。上海1937》......不仅是一部宝贵的军事史，而且是一本具有强大同情力的书，有时会让读者感觉自己是血腥事件的实际参与者。"

Jylla...