Shanghai Volunteer Corps
| Shanghai Volunteer Corps | |
|---|---|
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| Active | 12 April 1853 – 27 February 1942 |
| Country | Shanghai International Settlement |
| Type | local auxiliary militia |
| Anniversaries | 1854, 1938, 1954 |
| Engagements |
January 28 Incident (1932) Battle of Shanghai (1937) |
| Shanghai Volunteer Corps | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | |||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | |||||||||
| Literal meaning | Shanghai Myriad-Nation Urban Defense Corps | ||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Shànghǎi Wànguó Shāngtuán |
| Wade–Giles | Shang-hai Wan-kuo Shang-t’uan |
The Shanghai Volunteer Corps (SVC) was a multinational, mostly volunteer force controlled by the Shanghai Municipal Council which governed the Shanghai International Settlement. The SVC was in existence from 1853 to 1942.
The Shanghai Volunteer Corps was created on 12 April 1853 during the Small Swords Society's uprising. It saw action alongside British and American military units in the 1854 'Battle of the Muddy Flat', when Qing imperial troops besieging the rebel-held city ignored foreign demands to move further away from the foreign concessions. Concerned that the Qing forces were drawing rebel fire into the settlements, the foreign consuls and military commanders authorised an attack on the Qing forces to dislodge them. The operation was successful, and the battle was thereafter commemorated as an important event in the history of the SVC. The Corps was disbanded in 1855 but reestablished in 1861. In 1870 the Shanghai Municipal Council took over the running of the SVC .
The unit was mobilised in 1900 for the Boxer Rebellion and in 1914 for the First World War. In 1916 the British recruited Chinese to serve in the Chinese Labour Corps for service in rear areas on the Western Front to free troops for front line duty. Many members of the SVC served as officers in the CLC. In 1910 the German contingent consisted of one regular company ("Prinz Heinrich Kompangie") and one reserve company. When the First World War broke out at least forty of the German volunteers in Shanghai left to join the 7. Kompagnie of the III. Seebataillon in the defence of Tsingtao.
At various times during its history the Shanghai Volunteer Corps included Scottish, American, Chinese, Italian, Austro-Hungarian, Danish, German, Filipino, Jewish, Portuguese, Japanese, White Russian, and Eurasian companies, amongst others. British War Office supplied weapons and a commanding officer. The German and the Austro-Hungarian companies were disbanded in 1917 when China declared war on Germany.
Prior to 1914 some of the national contingents wore distinctive parade uniforms at their own expense, modelled on those of their respective armies.
'While the uniforms of each company differed in many ways, each made use of the Cap badge of the SVC which consisted of an eight-pointed Brunswick star with the letters "SVC" and the date "4th April 1854" in a scroll underneath. The official seal of the Volunteer Corps was different however and consisted of the Municipal Council seal as approved in 1868 on a gold Brunswick star and was exactly the same except the council title and motto was replaced with "Shanghai Volunteer Corps" and the Prussian flag (representing Germany) was retained even when it was removed from the council flag after 1917.
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