Before entering Nanjing, the Japanese army recommended declaring the city an open city to minimize civilian casualties. By comparing historical cases such as Mukden, Port Arthur, Paris, Beijing, and Berlin, this section explains the international military norm of keeping cities out of combat and why ignoring it leads to destruction.

2017-06-14
The following is a continuation of the previous section.
The issue of the open city.
Upon further investigation, it became clear that before entering Nanjing, the Japanese army recommended declaring the city an open city.
They urged the defenders not to resist and to open the gates, in order to minimize casualties.
If resistance occurs, the city itself becomes a battlefield.
The problem lies in the fact that the Chinese forces ignored this recommendation.
The concept of an open city is extremely important.
Even in the Russo-Japanese War, there was what is called the Battle of Mukden, but fighting did not take place inside the city of Mukden itself.
Armies in earlier times were disciplined, and even the Russians had no intention of engaging in urban warfare inside Mukden.
They withdrew from the city immediately.
The same applies to Port Arthur.
There was a siege of the fortress, but fighting did not take place within the city itself.
This was because General Stoessel declared it an open city.
In the previous war as well, when German forces entered Paris, the city was declared an open city.
As a result, Paris was not damaged.
Later, when the Allied forces advanced, the German commander again declared Paris an open city.
Paris was spared twice.
Although Hitler, being a barbarian, ordered that Paris be burned, the German commander was more cultured, and Paris was saved.
An example of a city that was not declared open is Berlin.
It became a battlefield and was thoroughly destroyed.
Cities must not be turned into battlefields.
If you are going to fight a war, do it in open fields, not in cities (laughs).
Beijing was declared an open city.
That is why there is no such thing as a “Beijing Massacre.”
Baoding was also an important city, and it too was declared an open city.
The three cities of Wuhan were likewise declared open.
Therefore, Nanjing should also have been declared an open city.
Chiang Kai-shek had received training from the Japanese army and intended to do so.
Outside Nanjing stands the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum.
There is a monument to Sun Yat-sen there.
Placing artillery on the hill where that monument stands and firing from there would have been highly advantageous for the Japanese army, but because General Matsui was very close to Sun Yat-sen, he forbade it.
To that extent, Japanese soldiers were considerate toward the other side.
To be continued.