The 88th Division was an infantry unit in the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War, being known as one of its best divisions due to having undergone training from German military advisors. Due to its elite status, the 88th was deployed in the Battle of Shanghai in the summer and fall of 1937 against the Imperial Japanese Army in a decision by Chiang Kai-shek, agianst the advice of his chief German advisor, Alexander von Falkenhausen. During the ensuing urban warfare, the 88th Division lost much of its strength in the initial phases of offensives against well-fortified Japanese positions. By the end of the battle in Shanghai the 88th had lost the majority of its 25,000 German-trained elite troops and was filled with replacements, but throughout the war it continued to hold the aura of one of the best units in the Chinese army.