Editing Battle of Nanking (section)

=== Defensive stand of the 2nd Army and the Battle for Old Tiger's Cave ===
On December 6, the Japanese 16th Division attacked Chinese positions 14 miles east of Nanjing. The Chinese defenders were composed of fresh troops from the 2nd Army, and had dug in onto a ridgeline to meet the Japanese assault. Japanese aircraft and artillery shelled the Chinese defenses relentlessly, inflicting extensive damage and confusion. The Chinese defenders were also hampered by their own inexperience, with some soldiers forgetting to ignite the fuses of their hand grenades before throwing them. Only a cadre of experienced officers and NCO's prevented a total collapse, and enabled the 2nd Army to hold an organized defense for three days until December 9, when they were forced back to Qixia.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jun |first=Guo |title=Nanjing Baoweizhan dangan |date=2018 |pages=367–368}}</ref> The fighting had resulted in 3,919 killed and 1,099 wounded for the two divisions of the 2nd Army, an almost four-to-one death-injury ratio.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Yamamoto |first=Mashiro |title=Nanking: Anatomy of an Atrocity |date=2000 |publisher=Praeger |pages=89}}</ref> Additionally, the special service company of the 2nd Army suffered 47 killed and 13 wounded.<ref name="南京保卫战">{{cite book |title=南京保卫战| last1=Xianwen| first1=Zhang| last2=Zhendu| first2=Ma| publisher=江苏人民出版社| date=2005}}</ref>{{rp|61}}
[[File:Nanjing XuanWuLake Purple and Mountain.jpg|thumb|The peaks of Purple Mountain, where the Training Division made its stand]]
Meanwhile, the 16th division had also begun probing Chinese positions around [[Purple Mountain (Nanjing)|Purple Mountain]], which was manned by China's elite [[List of German-trained divisions of the National Revolutionary Army|Training Brigade]]. The Japanese first attacked the Old Tiger's Cave on a hill east of Purple Mountain, which was defended by the Training Brigade's 5th Regiment. After shelling the peak on December 8, Japanese infantry attacked up the hill's slopes, but were cut down by accurate and concentrated fire.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zhenqiang |first=Zhou |title=The Battle for Purple Mountain |pages=168}}</ref> On December 9, the Japanese attacked again using [[Smoke screen|smokescreens]] and air bombardment, but the assault was stopped again when a neighboring Chinese unit counterattacked on the Japanese right flank. However, the 5th Regiment had also suffered heavy casualties in the fighting, losing more than half their men including their commander. In addition, the hill was very exposed and hard to resupply, so the Training Brigade ultimately abandoned the Old Man's Cave and retreated to better positions on the Purple Mountain itself.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harmsen |first=Peter |title=Nanjing 1937: Battle for a Doomed City |date=2015 |publisher=Casemate |pages=167–168}}</ref>

By December 9, Japan's forces had reached Nanjing's last line of defense, the daunting Fukuo Line.<ref name="fuk22">{{Cite book |last=Tokushi Kasahara |publisher=Iwanami Shoten |year=1997 |location=Tokyo |page=121 |language=ja |script-title=ja:南京事件}}</ref> The stage was set for the final stage of the campaign: the battle for Nanjing itself.