Xiao Shanling died by the Yangtze River
Introduction
The Japanese army was closing in on Nanjing after capturing Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuxi, Jiangyin, etc. In the face of grave danger, Xiao Shanling was commissioned as Acting Commander of Military Police Command in Nanjing, as well as the Air Defense Commander of Garrison Headquarters and Head of Nanjing Police Department. He led his men in the defense of Nanjing. When covering the retreat of the military and civilians, Xiao led his soldiers fighting against the enemy and was shot dead in the combat.
General Xiao Shanling
More information
The Chinese air force fought for nearly four months from the first enemy air raid on Aug. 15, 1937, to the collapse of Nanjing on Dec. 13. Many Chinese air force pilots sacrificed themselves during the defense of Nanjing. Yue Yiqin was one of them.
On Dec. 3, more than 30 Japanese fighters carried out raid on Nanjing. Yue Yiqin and his comrades fought back. This was one heroic air combat. The defenders were outnumbered and the enemies were well-equipped. Yue was surrounded by a dozen of Japanese fighters. His excellent pilot skill helped him survive enemy planes' attacks over and over again, sometimes even resulting in the collision between the enemy planes. His plane was shot finally and went down in black smoke. Yue had to jump off the plane. To avoid being shot by the Japanese, he did not release parachute immediately. By the time he released it, the 23-year-old pilot had already hit the ground.
After his death, his stories were told in elementary school textbooks. After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Shanghai Lianhua Film Company portrayed Yue in the movie “Wings of China”. In 2011, the Huayi Bros. filmed “Departed Heroes”, a 30-part TV series based on the stories of Chinese air force heroes Gao Zhihang, Yue Yiqin, Liu Cuigang, Shen Chonghai, etc..
