Second Sino-Japanese War

The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) was a major invasion of eastern China by Japan preceding and during World War II. It ended with the surrender of Japan in 1945. In Chinese, the war is variously known as the Chinese People's Anti-Japanese War of Resistance (????????), Anti-Japanese War of Resistance (????), War of Resistance (??), or Eight Years' War of Resistance (????).

Invasion of China

Most historians place the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War on the

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Battle of Lugou Bridge (Marco Polo Bridge Incident) on July 7, 1937. Contemporary Chinese historians, however place the starting point at the Mukden Incident of September 18, 1931. Following the Mukden Incident, the Japanese Guandong Army occupied Manchuria and established the puppet state of Manchukuo in February 1932. Japan pressured China into recognising the independence of Manchukuo.

Related Topics:
Battle of Lugou Bridge - July 7 - 1937 - Mukden Incident - September 18 - 1931 - Guandong Army - Manchuria - Puppet - Manchukuo - 1932

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Following the Battle of Lugou Bridge in 1937, the Japanese occupied Shanghai, Nanjing and Northern Shanxi as part of campaigns involving approximately 200,000 Japanese soldiers, and considerably more Chinese soldiers. Chinese historians estimate as many as 300,000 people perished in the Nanjing Massacre, after the fall of Nanjing.

Related Topics:
Shanghai - Nanjing - Shanxi - Nanjing Massacre - Fall of Nanjing

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The Marco Polo Bridge Incident not only marked the beginning of an open, undeclared, war between China and Japan, but also hastened the formation of the second Kuomintang-Communist Party of China (CCP). The collaboration took place with salutary effects for the beleaguered CCP. The distrust between the two antagonists was scarcely veiled. Their alliance was forged literally at gun point when Chiang Kai-shek was kidnapped in the Xian incident and forced to ally with the CCP. The uneasy alliance began breaking down by late 1938, despite Japan's steady territorial gains in northern China, the coastal regions, and the rich Yangtze River Valley in central China. After 1940, conflict between the Nationalists and Communists became more frequent in the areas outside Japanese control. The Communists expanded their influence wherever opportunities were presented, through mass organizations, administrative reforms, land and tax reform measures favoring peasants -- and the Nationalists attempted to neutralize the spread of Communist influence.

Related Topics:
Kuomintang - Communist Party of China - Chiang Kai-shek - Xian incident - Yangtze River

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The Japanese had neither the intention nor the capability of directly administering China. Their goal was to set up friendly puppet governments favorable to Japanese interests. However, the atrocities of the Japanese army made the governments that were set up very unpopular, and the Japanese refused to negotiate with either the Kuomintang or the Communist Party of China, which could have brought them popularity.

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