26 THE SLIDE TO WAR 1918–1939
The hostilities that broke out in July 1937 were the culmination of a
long-term Japanese aspiration to dominate China in order to gain access
to raw materials, food, and labor. Having already captured Taiwan in
1895 (seen here in dark red), Manchuria in 1931, and Jehol province in
1933 (both seen in the right-hand pink area), Japan turned its attention
to the rest of China. On July 7–9, 1937, the Japanese and Chinese
exchanged fire over an incident involving a missing Japanese soldier at
Wanping, 10 miles (16 km) south-west of Beijing. The Japanese opened
fire on Marco Polo (Lugou) Bridge, a key access route to Beijing, and
attacked Wanping. This skirmish developed into a major battle.
Although a cease-fire was soon agreed, Japanese and Chinese forces
continued to clash, leading to full-scale hostilities as the Japanese began
to conquer northern China. Neither side officially declared war.Invasion and expansion
Some Japanese forces then headed south; others landed on the east
coast. In November they captured Shanghai after a three-month battle,
and in December took Nanjing (both in the pink-tinted area on this
map), where they perpetrated a major massacre. In 1938, they won a
victory at Hankou against Chinese forces and Soviet volunteers led by
Chiang Kai-shek. The four-month battle claimed around 1.2 million
lives. These offensives were accompanied by the bombing of civilian
targets, intended to destroy morale; Chongqing, for example, was
bombed more than 200 times and had its center burned out. By 1941,
Japan controlled much of eastern China and almost the entire coastline.Chinese resistance
Despite these victories, the war turned into a stalemate. Chinese
lines of communication stretched far into local territory, and Japan
lacked the manpower to
dominate the countryside.
It was unable to defeat
a major Communist
guerrilla campaign in
Shaanxi, nor could it repel
two massive Nationalist
and Communist counter-
offensives, losing two
major battles at Hankou
and South Guangxi.THE SINO-
JAPANESE WAR
The Japanese attacked China in July 1937, marking the
start of an eight-year war. The fighting was brutal; there
were more than seven million military casualties on both
sides and 17–22 million Chinese civilians lost their lives.
◁ Massacre at Nanjing
The Imperial Japanese Army
entered Nanjing in January- Up to 300,000 civilians are
estimated to have been killed.
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