TIn 1927, after the dissolution of the First United Front between the
Nationalists and the Communists, the ruling Kuomintang purged its
leftist members and completely eliminated Soviet influence from its
ranks. Chiang Kai-shek turned to Germany, historically a great
military power, for the reorganization of the National Revolutionary
Army.

The Weimar Republic sent advisors to China, but because of the
restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles, they could not serve in military
capacities. When Adolf Hitler became Chancellor in 1933 and
disregarded the Treaty, the anti-communist NSDAP and the
anti-communist KMT were soon engaged in close cooperation with
Germany training Chinese troops and expanding Chinese infrastructure,
while China opened its markets and natural resources to Germany.

In 1934 General Hans von Seeckt, acting as advisor to Chiang,
proposed a "60 Division Plan" for reforming the entire Chinese army into
60 divisions of highly trained, well-equipped troops along German
doctrines. The 88th Division was one of the first divisions to be
reorganized and together with the 36th and 87th Division the créme
de la créme of the National Revolutionary Army.

In 1937, still not completely reorganized, the 88th was rushed to the
Battle of Shanghai (1937) with the other German-trained divisions.
The division performed admirably, pushing the Japanese marines back
to the shores of Shanghai, but due to a combination of the absence
of air and naval support, poor coordination between units, and the
lack of defense in depth, the division suffered heavy casualties near
the end of the three-month battle. On Christmas Day, 1937, the
division withdrew to join the ill-fated Defense of Nanjing, though the
800 Heroes of the 524th Regiment remained at the Sihang Warehouse
for days and successfully covered the retreat of the division, while
beating back numerous Japanese assaults on the warehouse.

After the Battle of Nanking, the 88th Division never recovered, and was
of limited significance later in the war.

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