Nanjing Massacre, mass killing and ravaging of Chinese citizens and capitulated soldiers by soldiers of the Japanese Imperial Army after its seizure of Nanjing, China, in December 1937 during the Sino-Japanese War that preceded World War II. Casualty estimates for the massacre range from 100,000 to more than 300,000.
The Numbers Game The first thing to bear in mind is that any number given is only an estimate. No one will ever be able to determine the exact death tol.