Pacific War

:The Pacific War (1937–1945) is not to be confused with the War of the Pacific (1879–1884). In Harry Turtledove's Timeline-191 fictional universe, the Pacific War refers to a 1932-34 naval conflict between Japan and the USA.

The Sino-Japanese War

See the full article on the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)

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In 1937, Chiang was kidnapped by Zhang Xueliang in the Xian Incident. As condition of his release, Chiang promised to unite with the Communists and fight the Japanese. In response to this, officers of the Japanese Kwantung Army, without the knowledge of their high command in Tokyo, manufactured the Battle of Lugou Bridge (also known as the "Marco Polo Bridge Incident") on July 8, 1937, which succeeded in provoking a conflict between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan, the Sino-Japanese War.

Related Topics:
1937 - Zhang Xueliang - Xian Incident - Kwantung Army - Battle of Lugou Bridge - July 8 - Republic of China - Sino-Japanese War

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In 1939 Japanese forces tried to push into the Soviet Far East from Manchuria. They were soundly defeated in the Battle of Halhin Gol by a mixed Soviet and Mongolian force led by Georgy Zhukov. This stopped Japanese expansion to the North and Japan and the Soviet Union kept uneasy peace until 1945.

Related Topics:
1939 - Soviet Far East - Battle of Halhin Gol - Mongolia - Georgy Zhukov

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Japan's policies in the 1930s are remarkable for their disastrously self-defeating nature. Japan's grand strategy was based on the premise that it could not survive a war against the European powers without secure sources of natural resources, yet to secure those resources it decided to undertake the war that it knew it could not win in the first place. Moreover, Japanese actions such as its brutality in China, and its practice of first setting up, and then undermining, puppet governments in China, were clearly antithetical to Japan's overall goals, and yet the country continued to persist in them anyway. Finally, this march to self-destruction is remarkable in that many individuals within the Japanese political and military elite realized these self-destructive consequences, but were unable to do anything about the situation. Also, there appears to have been no debate over policy alternatives which might have enabled Japan to further its goals in China.

Related Topics:
1930s - Puppet government

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In addition, throughout the 1930s Japan succeeded in alienating public opinion in the West, particularly the United States. During the early 1930s, public opinion in the United States had been moderately pro-Japanese; however, reports of Japanese brutality, such as the Nanjing Massacre, written by Protestant missionaries, novelists such as Pearl Buck, and reporters from western media such as Time magazine, caused American public opinion to swing against Japan, as did events such as the Panay incident.

Related Topics:
United States - Nanjing Massacre - Pearl Buck - ''Time'' magazine - Panay incident

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