Page "Battle of Nanking" Paragraph 59

After abandoning the Xicheng line on November 26, the Supervisory Unit, the 36th and 88th divisions, and the 10th, 66th, 74th, and 83rd armies were ordered to assist in the defense of Nanking.

Since all of these units had been engaged in combat for quite some time, their members were exhausted.

They withdrew from the banks of the Suzhou River, and headed for Nanking.

However, on their way there, they became involved in several conflicts, and were unable to regroup.

The majority of 10th Army soldiers were raw recruits lacking combat skills, a factor that significantly reduced the effectiveness of that unit.

Beginning on December 5, battles were fought at Tangshan and Chunhuazhen.