Yang Ruifu of command on 26 October. When he was transferred to the 524th Regiment, Xie was not familiar with any of the men under his command. He commanded the defense of the warehouse from 27 October til 1 November. Its proximity to the Shanghai International Settlement made it world-famous and brought the war between the Chinese and Japanese to the world's attention, if only briefly. During the defense, Girl Guide Yang Huimin secretly delivered a Republic of China flag to the defenders; when she asked what Xie's plans were, he replied, "Defend to the death!" Moved, she asked for a list of the names of the defenders to announce to the entire country. Xie realized that doing so would reveal to the Japanese (who had been fooled into thinking an entire regiment was stationed at the warehouse) their real strength. However, not wanting to disappoint Yang, he gave her the original roster of the 524th Regiment - 800 men, nearly double their actual strength. Thus the defenders of Sihang Warehouse became known as the Eight Hundred Heroes. By 31 October the rest of the Chinese forces had retreated and been redeployed to defend more favorable areas. The nearby Shanghai International Settlement was concerned at the combat taking place so close to them and petitioned Chiang to stop the fighting. Chiang, who considered the fight already won, agreed to withdraw the 524th Regiment to the foreign concessions before regrouping with the rest of the 88th Division. On 1 November the 524th withdrew; in the defense of the Sihang Warehouse, they lost 10 men killed and 37 wounded for over 200 Japanese killed. However, when they retreated, British troops arrested them; the Japanese had threatened to invade the Settlement if the soldiers were allowed to retreat. Though the Chinese had lost the Battle of Shanghai, the defense of Sihang Warehouse proved to be a major morale-booster. Imprisonment Xie and the rest of the "Eight Hundred Heroes" were imprisoned in the Settlement for more than three years. During their incarceration, citizens of Shanghai often visited the troops, giving them performances and entertainment. The officers opened classes for the soldiers, teaching foreign languages, mathematics, and even Christian theology. Chen Wangdao, the Chinese translator of the Communist Manifesto, also visited the camp from time to time. The soldiers spent their days doing military drills. Their practice of singing the National Anthem of the Republic