Prior to that it had fought in Shanghai against the Japanese during the January 28 Incident in 1932, and following the second engagement in 1937 the division saw action during the Battle of Nanjing and the Burma Campaign.

[5] When Zhang Zhizhong, 71st Corps commander, ordered the 87th and 88th—equipped with their German helmets and stick grenades—to move into the city the former used trucks to quickly deploy into downtown Shanghai.

[9] On August 14, the unit advanced against the Kung-ta Textile Mill, where the Japanese Special Naval Landing Force troops were based.

Being as wide as a river, it was an obstacle that the Japanese needed to secure in order to surround Chinese forces in Shanghai in a massive pocket.

[13][14] By the time the engagement at Nanjing was over, barely 300 soldiers of the division were still alive, but despite having lost many of its original personnel it still had an elite aura in the eyes of many Chinese commanders.

When their offensive against the Japanese-held town of Lungling failed, the 87th Division commander Major General Zhang Shaoxun almost committed suicide.