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The Japanese launched an invasion of China proper, launching the Second Sino-Japanese War. (July 1937). The Japanese Kwantung Army turned a small incident into a full-scale war. Chinese forces were unable to effectively resist the Japanese. The Japanese military was not only better armed and organized, they were also incredibly brutal. The rape of Nanking was ome of the most terrible attrocities of World War II. The Japanese methodically moved south, seizing control of most of eastern China and all of the major ports by the time war broke out in Europe. (1939). The Kuomintang Army was battered, but the Japanese were unable to destroy it. Chiang used the samed tactics that Mao and the Communists had used, withdraw into the rugged, easily defensible interior. The Japanese moved up rivers and railroad lines into the interior of China. Much of the Japanese Army was committed to the war in China. It did not prove as draining for Japan, however, as the Soviet campaign did for Germany. This was in pat because of the ineffectiveness of the Kuomintang Army. Resistance to the Japanese fell primarily on the Kuomintang because the Communists were in the remote areas of northwestern China. Also neither Chiang or Mao wanted to weaken their forced by fighting pitched battles with the Japanese.
The Japanese Kwantung Army occupied Manchuria, a Chinese province, using as a pretext a faked incident on the main railroad (1931). Japan then decalared "Manchukuo" an independent state, setting up Pu Yi, the last Manchu Emperor of China as puppet Emperor (1932). Anti-Japanese disturbances broke out in Shanghai. The Japanese bombed the unprotected city to quell the disturbances. There was no effort to hit military targets. This was the first of many Japanese terror bombings of civilian populations. Japan withdrew from the League of Nations as a resulted of the criticism of her military operations in Manchuria and China (1933). The Japanese encouraged Japanese "colonizers" to emmigrate to Manchukuo, but few responded to the propaganda films depicting an Asian paradise. For the Chinese in Manchukuo, life became increasingly difficult.
The Japanese Army was professionally competent compared to the Chinese, but they were not economists. The occupation of Manchuria did not return notable economic benefits to Japan. In fact, the occupation has necesitated considerable costs, primarily increased military outlays. The Government was forced to adopt costly monetary and tax policies that affected living standards. This did not disuade the militarists who sought another incident to justify their next step, the invasion of China proper.
The Japanese invasion of China proper, launching the Second Sino-Japanese, developed from a small border squirmish (July 1937). Some historians also date the beginning of World War II with the Japanese invasion. Fighting began with the Battle of Lugou Bridge, often referred to as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident (July 7, 1937). The incident occurred during provactive Japanese military maneuvers. Precisely what occurred at the bridge is not know with any real certainty. There were casualties on both sides.
After the incident. as armistice was negotiated, but lasted only a short period. Chinese resistance was stiffer than the Japanese had anticipated.
The Japanese government yielded to pressure from the military and dispatched more troops to China expanding their presence.
It was enough for the Militarits to cast the invasion of China in terms necessary to avenge the Emperor's honor. The Japanese Kwantung Army turned this relatively small incident into a full-scale war between Japan and China. The Japanese Government, however, did not formally declare war.
Chinese forces were unable to effectively resist the Japanese. Japan had a modern, well-equipped army. China did not. China had not industrialized like Japan. The country did not have the capability of designing and manufacturing modern weapons. The Nationalist Army relied on importing weapons. They had almost no air force, few armored units, and inadequate artillery. Nor was the leadershio of the Nationalist Army as professionl, honest, or as committed as the Japanese.
The Japanese military was not only better armed and organized, they were also incredibly brutal. The rape of Nanking was one of the most terrible attrocities of World War II. The Japanese military had no idea what they were getting involved with in China. Some commanders estimated that they would be able to defeat Chiang's Nationalist Army in 3 months. This was a midtake they would repeat again when several years later they attacked the United States. Curiously the Japanese seemed not to have realized that their success in China was due in large part to superior equipment and exceptionally poor leadership of the Nationlist armies. Rather the Japanese seemed to have assumed that their success was largely due to a mixture of racial superiority and a martial spirit. Thus they were illing to go to war with the Unites States, a country with a far superior industrial base that was able to equip its military with modern weapons .
The Japanese after the incident of the Marco Polo Bridge quickly seized Tianjin and then drove for the key port of Sghanghai. Chzang did not want to commit his army, but for Shanhhai he had no choice. He knew his forces were not capable of ctopping the Japanese, but he also knew that the Chinese people would not accept acquiesence to the Japanese advances. The Chinese fought a series of set piece battles with the Japanese. The Japanese were shocked at the level of Chinese resistance, but brought in added forces. The Japanese committed terrible attrocities both on Chinese soldiers and civilins. This proved to be the conventional phase of the War. The Chinese would never again challenge the Japanese in conventionsl operations. The best divisions in the Nationalist Army were shattered, but the Japanese were unable to destroy Chinese resistance. After suffering a series of defeats, the Chinese adopted the strategy of trading of "space for time". The Nationalist Army refused to engage the Japanese in pitched battles in which it could be cut off and destroyed. Rather they engaged in delaying actions around important northeastern cities. The objective was to allow to allow important professionals and officials to flee west into safe interior cities. There was also an attempt to move key industries.
The international community had been shocked by the Japanese invasion of Manhuria. In response to League of Nation condemnation, Japan withdrew from the League. The internatiinal community did not see what happened in Manchuria as few Europeans lived there. And after the Japanese seized control, Manchoukuo was essentially closed off the foreigners, espercially journalits. The Japanese placed former Qing emperor PuYi onto its throne, creating a puppet regime with the fiction of an independent state. The Japanese invasion of Chima proper was a different matter. The Japanese moved south. When they reached the Great Wall of China, Chiang Kai-shek pulled back his army in order to avoid a war with Japan whle he fought the Communists. Elemenrs in the the Natioinalists Armywere less willing to tolerate Japanese advances. This led to the Marco Polo Bridge incident which the Japanese military followed up with an attsack on Shanghi. The Japanese bombing of Shanghai was the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was something that Chiang could not tolerate or hush up. Japanese bombers virtually obliterated the city for no real military objective before brutally occupying it. And this was done in the full glare of international scrutiny from the international sector of Shanghai which the Japanese did not attack. A few months later, the Japanese Army committed "The Rape of Nanjing" which was all observed by mumerous international observers. The Japanese behaved with a barbarity unseen since the Middle Ages and made all the more horrible by the use of moidern weapons. These reports were widely published around the world. The Missionary movement helped create an emotional attachment with the Ameruican public that mafe the Japanese brutalities in China a more personal matter. The reports firmly established an image of Japan as both lawless and brutal. A reputation it would live up to in its 7-year occupation of China and then other countries after launching the Pacific War. These reports were not only moved the Chinese communities in America and other countries, but also public opinion in Europe and more importantly the United States. The Japanese attrocities in China so affected American opinion are one reason that President Roosevelt had more leaway in dealing with Japan than NAZI Gerrmany. Amereican diplomatic prptests were gradually escalated to both economic sanctions and economic and military support for China. The primary issue which divided America and Japan was China which ultimsately led to Pearl Harbor.
The small Chinese air force consisted of mostly obsolete air craft. The Chinese also had no tactical doctrine for effectively persuing the aircraft they had. As a result, the Japanese destroyec most of the Chinese air force early in the War. This left the Chinese Army without air cover. The Japanese used their air superiority not only to attack military targets, but to indiscrinately attack Chinese citis as well. The cities had no anti-aircraft defenses or organized civil defense systems. The result was extensive civilian casualties. It is unclear what the Japanese objective was in attacking civilian targets. Presumably it was to terrorize the Chinese into surrendering. This did not occur. The Chinese simply moved deeper into the interior of China beyond the reach of the Japamese Army, but not beyond the range of Japanese bombers. One unintended impact of the Japanese bombing raids was a huge impact on the Japanese image among Americans. The Japanese attacks were reported by Western journalists as impages appeared in both newspapers/magazines and movie newreels. Public opinion in America which was already oro-Chinese turned massively anti-Japanese. There was no interest in enterung the war, but there was considerable sympathy for aiding China. And one of China's main requests was aid in feveloping a modern aor force.
After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident (1937) resulted in negotialtions between the Kuomintang and the Communists and a Second Truce. The alliance never really took hold. There was to much distrust between the two. There were incidents as early as 1938 which became more frequent in 1940. The Japanese operations were primarily aimed at areas occupied by the Nationalists. The Communists used the Nationlist weakness to expand their influence. They courted the peasantry with administrative reforms as well as land- and tax-reform.
The Japanese methodically moved south, seizing control of most of eastern China, all of the major ports, and the rich Chang Jiang Valley in central China by the time war broke out in Europe. (1939).
The Kuomintang Army was battered, but the Japanese were unable to destroy it. Chiang used the same tactics that Mao and the Communists had used, withdraw into the rugged, easily defensible interior. The Nationalist learned that open combat with the Japanse was suisidal. Thus Chaing's strategy was to preserve his army at all cost. The army was withdrawn into remote areas that the Japanese found difficult to reach in strength. The Nationalist and Chinese also attempted to maintain pockets of resistance within Japanese occupied areas to harass the enenmy. This helped to complicate Japanese attempts to administer and exploit occupied reas economically. It also forced the Japanese to divert combat troops to occupation duties.
The Japanese moved up rivers and railroad lines into the interior of China. Much of the Japanese Army was committed to the war in China. It did not prove as draining for Japan, however, as the Soviet campaign did for Germany. This was in part because of the ineffectiveness of the Kuomintang Army. Resistance to the Japanese fell primarily on the Kuomintang because the Communists were in the remote areas of northwestern China. Also neither Chiang or Mao wanted to weaken their forced by fighting pitched battles with the Japanese.
The Japanese goal was not to conquer China and adn=minister it as they did in Formosa and Korea. The Japanese invasion had been launched by the Kwantung Army. The Goverment policy which eventually developed was to destroy the Nationalist Army so China had no potetially string central government that could offer effective resistance. They could then set up puppet governments that they could control. The Japanese gained victory after vicyory, but could not decsively defeat the Nationaliss who withdrew into the vastness of central China. The growing nationalism of the Chinese people made it difficult for the Japanese to establish pupet regimes. Their incredible brutality made it impossible.
Foreign military especially after the sweeping Japanese advances concluded that the Japanese would defeat the Chinese. They moted in particular that the Japanese were seizing the coastal, most industrialized and most prosperous areas of the country. Thus they reason that China could not adequately equip and supply its armies. In addition, other countries except for the Soviet Union seemed reluctant to get involved by supplying war material least they damage their owm relations with Japan.
Jing-hui, Fu. An Introduction of Chinese and Foreign History of War (2003).
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