15 Dec 1937
  • In Spain, in order to pre-empt a Spanish Nationalist attack upon Catalonia, two Spanish Republican armies (led by Generals Hernández Sarabia and Leopoldo Menendez) launched an offensive to capture the city of Teruel, surrounding the city by nightfall. The city's garrison commander Colonel Rey d’Harcourt would hold out in the southern part of the city until early Jan 1938. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]
China
  • Troops of the 23rd Company of the Japanese 6th Division executed over 1,000 captured Chinese military and civilians and over 400 police personnel (all captured in the city legislature building area where a temporary refugee camp was located) outside of Hanzhong Gate of Nanjing, China; their 2,000 bodies were burned. At Yijiangmen at about 1400 hours, Japanese troops rounded up 300 residents of the Jiang estate, killing them by machine gun fire and buring. On the Yangtze River, gunboats Futami and Seta of the Japanese Navy 3rd Fleet fired on Chinese refugees attempting to cross the river; nearby, Japanese naval personnel began executing many of the 9,000 captives they held. As reported by the International Committee later, "a number Japanese soldiers entered the University of Nanking buildings at Tao Yuen and raped 30 women on the spot, some by six men." ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Nanjing | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 15 Dec 1937
Japanese troops posing with a captured Chinese Panzer I Ausf A tank, Nanjing, mid-Dec 1937Chinese Panzer I Ausf. A light tanks captured by the Japanese, Nanjing, China, Dec 1937Japanese soldiers saluting a fallen comrade, Nanjing, China, mid-Dec 1937Chinese refugees, Nanjing, 15 Dec 1937
See all photos dated 15 Dec 1937



Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you.

Please help us spread the word:

 Reddit
 Bluesky
 Mastodon

Stay updated with WW2DB:

 RSS Feeds

Search WW2DB
News

Random Photograph

Loading 'Little Boy' bomb into B-29 bomber 'Enola Gay', Tinian, Mariana Islands, 6 Aug 1945, photo 1 of 8

Current Site Statistics

Famous WW2 Quote
"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. You win the war by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country!"

George Patton, 31 May 1944


Support Us

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 a month will go a long way. Thank you!

Or, please support us by purchasing some WW2DB merchandise at TeeSpring, Thank you!