Forgotten Ally: China's World War II, 1937-1945

by Rana Mitter

That moment came in April 1927, when the greatest prize, the city of Shanghai, fell to the Nationalists. The British had already anticipated the rise of a more coherent nationalism in China and while they did not welcome it, they were prepared to deal with the country’s new, more assertive face. The British settler community in Shanghai was less sanguine, and armed itself against what they feared would be leftist marauders. Some even termed Chiang “the little red general.” But in fact the greatest victims of the capture of Shanghai were not the foreigners (who were anyway mostly safe in the concession areas), but the Communists. They had infiltrated much of the city, awaiting the joyous moment when the NRA would arrive. What they did not know was that Chiang had used his secret society contacts with the Green Gang, the largest criminal outfit in the city, to have all known Communists rounded up and murdered.