Figure 1.--The Japanese Army before and during World War II was primarily deployed in China. The superior Japanese arms eable the Japanese to seize the coastal cities and push deep into China. The Chinese with small amounts of Western arms were able to hild out deep in Chin'a interior. This Japanese soldier is seen being welcomed home from the fighting in China by his family after the first year of fishing in China proper. Hope for victory was still high. His wife and mother wear kimonos. His little boy wears a military-style cap worn by students, although he looks to young for school. His little girl wears a sailor style school uniform. I am not sure what the sign says that his mother is holding.

Japan in the late 19th century as it began to develop a modern military, followed the precedent set by Western nations and forced China to sign economical and political treaties. The First Sino-Japnese War (1895) resulted in Japan's seizure of Taiwan. Japan's victory in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) strengthened Japan's influence in Manchuria. 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). Japan invaded China proper in July 1937, launching the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese Kwantung Army turned a small incident into a full scale war. The well equipped Japanese forces rapidly occupied almost the entire Chinese coast of China and ten moved up rivers and railroad lines into the interior. The Japanese in the process committed war atrocities on an unpresidented level against the Chinese civilian population. The most savage of these explosions of barbarity was the Rape of Nanking, after the fall of the capital Nanking. Here European diplomats and missionaries witnessed the brutality of the Japanese. It should be noted that these attrocities were not inherent in the Japanese caharacter. The Japanese conduct and treatment of both prisionors and civilians during the Russo-Japanese War and World War I had been correct and in accordance with accepted international standards. The Japanese military invading China behaved very differently. Despite the Japnese onslaught, the Chinese government never surrendered. America even before entering the war against Japan funelled supplies to the Chinese through Burma. A covert operation set up the Flying Tigers to provide the Chinese a creditable air capability. The Chinese achieved no real military victories, but the Japanese were never able to defeat them. They moved further inland, setting up a new capital Kumintang. The War continued on a lower scale, but envolving the continued deployment of the bulk of the Japanese Army.

Japanese Military

Japan in the late 19th century as it began to develop a modern military, followed the precedent set by Western nations and forced China to sign economical and political treaties. The First Sino-Japnese War (1895) resulted in Japan's seizure of Taiwan. Japan's victory in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) strengthened Japan's influence in Manchuria and permitted them to proceed with te colonization of Korea..

Formosa

Japan seized Formosa (Taiwan) as a result of the First Sino-Japanese War (1895).

Korea

The Russo-Japanese War gave the Japanese possession of the the Russian naval base at Port Arthur aswell as the Russian railroads in southern Manchuria. This enable the Japanese to proceed with the exploitation of Korea withoutvibterference and in addition gabe them access to needed resources in Manchuria which was Xhinesecterritiry. Japan's government-general in Seoul was primarily concerned with the economic exploitation of Korea. Authorities incouraged Japanese migration to Korea as colonizers. Landless Japanese farmers and fishermen were offered Korean land free or at low cost. The Japanese exported large quantities of rice to Japan causing a serious food shortage in Korea itself. The Korean standard of living devlined sharply. Desperate Korean farmers were forced to move to Manchuria or Japan, only to find conditions there also very difficult.

The Chinese Republic (1912)

China declared a new reoublic, ending millenia of imperial rule (1912). Sun Yat-sen’s Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) deposed Pu-Yi, the last Manchu emperor. Sun Yat Sen found his dreams of a modern republic introducing enlightened rule his country frustrated on many fronts. China's most modern, prosperous port cities had since the Opium Wars been converted in to Treaty Ports, essentially foreign colonies. China's most omportant port and city, Shanghai, has an International Quarter which was in many ways a European city where foreign law held sway and guarded by foreign soldiers (American, British, French and German). Even worse, most of the interior was beyond the control of the new Republic. Most of the poulation lived in feudal conditions, ruled by warlords that risen with the decline of Imperial power. Many had acquired modern weapons and imposing order and cenbtral governmet was a daunting challenge. Sun Yat-senhad only the remnants of the former Imperial Army which was barely capable of defending Peking from the war lords. He was forced to form alliances with various warlords and as a result lost control of the new republican government.

World War I (1914-18)

Japan to Britain's suprise joined the Allies when war broke out in Europe. Britain had not expected the Japanese to be so eager to join the War. The Japanese helped seize the German trary port in China as well as reduce the German Pacific squadron. This helped the British concentrate their foces in Europe. Japan benefitted from the War. Japan at the Versailles Peace Conference (1919), obtained the former German concessions in China. This Chinese territory was awarded to Japan despite the fact that China had joined the Allies. Here Japan's anti-Bolshevick actions were a factor. Japan prvided the largest contigent to join the Allied intervention in Siberia. The German also held important Pacific island colonies. Many of these (Caroline Islands and Marshall Islands) were turned over to Japan. The Japanese turned these into important naval bases.

The Kuomintang

Sun Yat-sen's Republic was not embraced by the European powers who had their colonial possessions to defend as well as the concessions and Treaty Ports in China. Sun Yat-sen did find a potential ally in the new Soviet Union which faced a hostile Europe. Lenin embraced Sun Yat-sen. The Soviet Union renounced Tsarist-era territorial concessions and actually returned Chinese territory. The Soviets supplied weapons and advisers to the Chinese Republic. The Soviets helped establish a military academy under General Vasili Bluecher (Galen) and political commissar Mikhail Borodin. Soldiers that showed special promise received advanced training in Moscow. With Soviet backing, the Kuomintang was able to establish a secure base of operations in Canton. Chiang after Sun's death emerged as the dominant force in the Kuomintang. Chiang's first major action was the Northern Expedition. He suceeded in overcoming all warlords south of the Yangtze river (1927).

The Kuomintang and the Communists (1927)

The Communist Party had been an important part of the Kuomintang. They began to compete with the Kuomintang and with their demnand for agrarian form was increasingly seen as a threat to right-wing ekements in the Kuomintang. Chiang whose father was a wealthy landlord increasingly becane associated with the right wing. Mao Tse-tung emerged as the primary Communist leader. He wrote about Protracted War and tactics against the Japanese. As thge Communists grew in power, Chiang after dealing with the war lords, decided to destroy the Communists (1927). Chiang was strongly influenced by a German mercenary Gen. von Falkenhausen who he appointed his army's chief of staff. Chiang in a surprise action banned the Communist Party and condemned everyone with ties to the Party with death. Chiang launched a horendous campaign using tactics on his own people not unlike methods the Japanese would use. Historianns estimate that Chiang's forces killed an estimasted 1 million men, women, and children. Chiang forces persued horendous operations. Suspected Comminunists were subjected to terrible tortures. Whole families and even villages were wiped out id suspected of Communist sympathies. Chiang's brutality in the anti-Comminist campaign would later impair Chiang's ability to unite China to fight the Japanese. Chiang brutal suppression campaign and nearly succeeded in destroying Communist forces. The Communists encouraged by their own German military adviser. They attempted to fight a conventional campaign. The Kuomintang Army surrounded them, but Mao and Zhou with a part of the Communist force broke out of a Nationalist encircelement. They executed an epic year-long, 6,000-mile fighting retreat--the Long March. They mabnaged to reach remote areas of northwestern China where they set up secure bases (1933). Here they were able to fight off Kuomintang offenses. The Civil War between the two forces would continue for over 20 years. Even after the Japanese invasion the Nationalists and Communists remained bitter enenies.

Kwantung Army

Manchuria (1931)

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 encoyraged 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.

Chinese Domestic Politics (1931-37)

Chiang did not respnd to the Japanese seizure of Manchuria. He recognized that his forced involved with fighting the Communists, did not have the capability of fighting the well equipped Japanese. Rather he continued his series of pacification drives. Chiang insisted, 'pacification first, resistance later'. Popular opinion in China, however, became stridently anti-Japanese. Boycott drives affected sales of Japanese goods. Chiang's generals were also unhappy with him. The Communists in late 1936 helped convince Kuomintang generals to take him hostage. Evebtually an anti-Japanese alliance was negotiated. Zhou Enlai played an important role.

Japanese Invasion (1937)

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.

Foreign Reaction

The foreign reaction to the Japanese invasion varied. Most countries assuming that the Japanese would prevail, did not want to complicate their relations with the Japasnese. The Soviets concerned about Japanese expansion were at first the most supportive. Gradually America became China's major backer.

Soviet Union

Stalin appears to have been somwhat suspious of Mao and the Communists, in part becaise he could not control them. Stalin offered support to the Chinese Nationalistrs until the NAZI invasion (June 1941) when all resources had to be focused on fending off the German invasuion. The Soviets sought to use Union was exploiting the Kuomintang to tie the Japanese Army down in China. Otherwuse it might be used to attack north in an effort to seize Siberia. Soviet technicians worked on logistics. The Soiviets both advisers and supplies. Georgy Zhukov observed Chinese and Japanese operations.

NAZI Germany

Chiang Kai-shek's anti-communist stance attracted Hitler's attention. In the early years of the NAZI state, the Germans provided military advisers as well as shipments of military supplies. This was possible before the Japanese invasion as the Chinese still controlled their ports. Mabny Chinese officers were trained in Germany, including Chiang's second son. There was talk of equipping 30 new divisions with German weapns. This did not occur. As the Germans and Japanese drew closer diplomatically, the Germans withdrew their military mission to China.

United States

Japan had been a British and Americam ally in World War I. The Harding Administration after World War I negotiated the Washington Naval Treaties. The goal was to limit naval arms spending, particularly Japanese spending and to get Japanese acceptance of the Open Door principle in China. The Japanese reluctantly agreed, but the Japanese military was outraged at what they considered a national insult. Few Americans outside the Navy saw Japan as a military threat. Most Americans to the extent that they thought on the subject saw the Japanese as a stable, hard working people in contrast to the tumult and poverty of China. The Japanese invasion and the brutality reported by missionaries and journalists swung American public opinion toward the Chinese, The Japanese attack on the USS Panay also affected public opinion. The Roosevelt Administration took office 2 years after the Japanese seizure of Manchuria and establishment of the puppet Manchuko state. The Roosevelt administration like the Hoover Administration before it refused to recognize Manchuko and after the invasion of China proper (1937) increased diplomatic pressure on Japan to withdraw from China.

Britain and France

Both Britain and France supplied the Nationalists with weapons on a limited basis. When the Japanese seized Chinese ports, supplies were routed through Indo China and Burma.

Soviet-Japanese Clashes (1939)

The Soviets like the Western powers objected to the Japanese seizure of Manchuria. The Soviet premier On January 31, 1935 demanded Japan leave Manchuria. The Japanese refused. Large scale clashes occurred between Japanese and Sovier forces occurred along the border of Manchuria in 1939. The Japanese released photographs of captured Soviet soldiers (July 1939). The conflict was little reported in the West. An offensive planned and executed by Marshall Zukov convinced the Japanese to seek an armistace (September 1939). The clash was, however, of imense strategic significance. It was undoubtedly a factor encouraging Stalin to respond favorably to NAZI initiatives for a Non-Aggression Pact (August 1939) to ensure that the Soviet Union would not face a two-front war. Hitler ignored the Soviet performance and instread saw the inept Red Army offensive in Finland as ecidence that the Soviets couls be easily defeated. The Japanese Army concluded that further attacks on the Soviets were unwise. This was an important facyor in attacking south in 1941 at America rather than north at the Soviet Union. It was also a major factor in refusing entrities from Hitler in 1942 to attack the Soviet Union.

War Crimes and Attrocities

The Japanese in the process of invading China committed war atrocities on an unpresidented level against the Chinese civilian population. The most savage of these explosions of barbarity was the Rape of Nanking, after the fall of the capital Nanking. Here European diplomats and missionaries witnessed the brutality of the Japanese. It should be noted that these attrocities were not inherent in the Japanese caharacter. The Japanese conduct and treatment of both prisionors and civilians during the Russo-Japanese War and World War I had been correct and in accordance with accepted international standards. The Japanese military invading China behaved very differently.

Nationalist Resistance (1938-40)

Despite the Japnese onslaught, the Chinese government never surrendered. The Chinese achieved few real military victories, but the Japanese were never able to defeat them. The Nationalists and Communists moved further inland, setting up new capitals at Kumintang Yenang. The War continued on a lower scale, but envolving the continued deployment of the bulk of the Japanese Army. After the fall of Hankow (October 1938), Nationlist tactics changed. The Nationalists after withdrawing west into the internior were on more defensible ground. The Japanese advantaged diminished as they moved away from the coast and supply lines became streached. The Nationists adopted what they described as "magnetic warfare". They attempted some major engagements if they were able to gain advantageous deployments against over streached Japanese units. The most successful Chinese operation was the repeated defense of Changsha.

Nationalist and Communist Armies

The war in China was never a two part war between the Japanese and Chinese. It was a three part war with the Chinese divided into Nationalist and Communist factions. We do not yet have details about the orgnization, recruitment, and training programs of the two Chinese armies. One basic difference was that the Natiinalist Army was compodsed of war lords who were prone to change sides. Chaing's were aimed at keeping the war lords on his side and this often conflicted with building and training strong units. The Communist Army while smaller seems to have had a stronger more cogerent organization. Both Chiang and Mao saw each other as their primary adeversary. Thus they were never willing to full the full force of their armies against the Japanese. Especiaally after the United States entered the War, they realized thast the Japanese would be defeated and the real struggle would followe after the War. This frustrated the Americans which wanted more aggressive tactics against the Japanese. I have noted suggestions that the Nationalists were the most aggressive force while others have suggested it was the Communists. Here one has to be careful as some authors allow their political leanings color there assessment. Also Americans had little contact with the Communisxts and thus were mostly aware of Nationalist operations. We in fact do not know which was more aggrssive toward the Japanese or if there was an appreciable difference. Perhaps a HBC reader will have some insights here.

American Support

Chiang received little outside help at first. There was, however, considerable sympathy for China in America. Here Madame Chiang, a Chinese Christian and Wellesley graduate, played an important role. American support was a first diplomatic. This shifted to financial and eventually material support. Japan escalated its operations after the fall of France (1940) by seizing the French colony of Indo-China. The United States escalted its protests. The Pacific fleet was moved to Pear Harbor. American diplomatic protests escalated to embargoes of strategic materials. The United States implemented serious embargoes on oil and scrap metal. The oil enbargo was especially important and meant thast Japan would either have to withdraw from China or find another source of oil. This meant that Japan would have to declare war. The United States also began funelled supplies to the Chinese through Burma. In addition, the United States launched a secret effort to provided China a modern air defense--the American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers). Its main task was to protect the Burma Road. President Roosevelt signed an executive order 1940 which permitted U.S. military personnel to resign so that they could participate in a covert operation to support China (May 1940). The All Volunteer Group formed became known as Chennault's Flying Tigers. This covert operation provide the Chinese a creditable air capability for the first time. The Flying Tigers did not, however, go into action until after Pearl Harbor. Their operations were legendary, but could not precent the Japanese from seixing Burma from the British. This cut off China from Allied assistance. The only exception was supplies which could be flown in over The Hump (The Himilayas) from India. This consisted primarily of supplies to support American air operations in China. American entry into the war, however, meant that Japan could no longer focus its military operations on China.

Pearl Harbor (1941)

The American embargos finally caused Japan to go to war with the United States. A Japanese carrier taskforce composed of six carriers on December 7, 1941, executed a surprise attack on the American Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. It was a brilliant tactical victory for Japan, but perhaps the greatest mistake in modern military history as it brought a suddenly united America with its vast industrial capacity into the War. The Japanese launched 360 aircraft which in 2 hours struck Peal Harbor just as the American sailors were waking up on a sleepy Sunday morning. The strike sunk or heavily damaged six of the eight American battleships, thrre cruisrs, three destroyers, and most of the Army Air Corps planes on the island. America was at war. With the attack on Pearl Harbor the focus of the war shifted to the Pacific and provided China a powerful ally.

Fighting in China (1940-44)

Fighting continued in China after Pearl Harbor, but at a low level. The Nationalist Kuomintang Army and the Communist Chinese Army both resisted the Japanese, to a point. Chiang and Mao agreed to a truce, but never really united to fight the Japanese or coordinte operations. Armed encounters between the Nationalists and Communists in fact continued throughout the War. The last major offensive against the Japanese was launched by the Comminists in 1940, the Hundred Regiments Campaign (Summer-Fll 1940). They suffered heavy losses. The New Fourth Army Incident ended any possibility of real cooperation between the Nationalists and Communists (January 1941). The Nationalists did not launch any major offensives. The Japanese were basically restrained by the requirement of garisoning conquered territory and the logistics of moving deeper into the interior. Perodic Rice Offensives were launched. The Japanese attempted to use their air force to bomb the Nationalists into submission. Here they could strike deep into the interior. This was complicated, however, by the American Flying Tigers and later the regular Ameican Army Air Force. Even after the Japanese cloesed the Burma Road, the Allies flew supplies in over The Hump. Most of these supplies went to the air effort. The United States assigned General "Vinegar" Joe Stwillwell to advise Chang. The two clashed, but Stillwell's replacement did little better. Basically a major reform of the Nationalist military was needed. Chang refused to commit his forces to battle or reform them. President Roosevelt and the China Lobby in America had hoped that Chiang's huge army would play an important role in the War. It did not. It simply did not engage the Japanese Army. China's vastness, however, proved a huge commitmet for the Japanese.

Chinese Home Front

The Chinese home front is a very difficult topic because it is such a complicated one. Our information is still very limited. There was no one China. The Japanese occupied much of China, including the costal areas and major cities. Japanese control was only nominal once one move inland. So called Free (unoccupied China) included the Nationalists in the southwest and the Communists in the northwest. The Japanese converted Manchuria into the puppet state of Manchukuo--essentially a colony. Here they promoted Japanese colonization with only limited syccess. In China proper the Japanese attempted to negotiate arrangements with military warlords in areas they occupied. Some of these war lords also had relations with Chiang creating quite a complicated situation. At this time we do not have much information on living conditions in the various regions. The War affected the Chinese economy. Many men were killed or conscripted into the various armies which affected farm production. The Japanese could be very brutal and conducted an especially dreadful repriasal campaign agains Chinese civilians after the Doolittle Raid (April 1942). Their RiceOffensives also disrupted the rural economy.

Burma (1940-45)

The campaign in Burma was one of the least reported of the War. It was also fought in some of the most remote and diffuicult terraine of the War. America and Britain began funneling military supplies to China through the Burma Road (1940). Burma was at te time a British colony. The Flying Tigers were created in part to protect the Burma Road. After seizing Maaysia and Singapore, the Japanese struck west and seized Burma, driving the British back into India (1942). This severed the Burma Road and made it virtually impossible to supply the Nationalists. High prioroty supplies like aviation fuel was flown Over the Hump (the Himilayas) from supply depots in India. The Allies using American, British, Chinese, and Indian units launched an offensive back into Burma. The Battle for Burma involved some of the most vicious of the War.. Allied units drove into northern Burma. A road connction was finally made with the old Burma Road called the Ledo Road which greatly inctrased the flow if war material to the Nationalists. Japanese forced were concentrated in southern Burma where they launched an offensive against the British 14th Army in India. That offensive failed and the British rentered Burma and drove the Japanse back into Malasia. When the war ended, the British were preparing to retake Malaya.

Japanese Ichi-go Offensive (1944)

The Japanese Ichi-go Offensive diverged from their normal rice offensives that they had persued in China. It was a major effort. Even with the Burma Road closed, General Chennault’s 14th Air Force was conducting effective raids on Japanese positions. And plans called for initiating the strategic air campaign against Japan from Chinese bases once the new long-range B-29 bomber became available and the Ledo Road connected with the old Burma Road. (The American capture of the Marianas made the Chinese bases much less important.) The Japanese decided to seize the Sino-American airbases that Chennault was using. The success of the Japanese exposed the weakness of the Nationalist forces. The Chinese units that Stillwell had supplied and trained in Burma and India fought well. The unreformed Natioinalist divisions simply desintegrated and melted away in the face of the Japanese offensive. The Nationalists reported a half million casualties and some of these were reportedly the best divisions in Chiang's army.

Chinese Offensive (1945)

Japan was seriously weakened by the Pacific War, especially the successful American submarine campaign which starved Japanese industries of raw materials. The American strategic bombing campaign began on Japan just as the Ledo Road again conected China to American Lend Lease supplies. Thus beginning in mid and late 1944, the Nationalists were able to mount offensives against the Japanese Army on a level that had not been possible earlier. The Japanese also withdrew divisins from China to strengthen the defenses of the Home Island to counter the anticipated Anerican invasion. It was the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and the American atomic bomb that forced the Japanese to surrender. At the time the Japanese Army in China was still undefeated and in control of large areas of China.

Soviet Invasion of Manchuria (August 8, 1945)

Stalin as promissed at Yalta and Potsdam declared war on Japan. At the time the Japanese were attempting to use the Soviets to mediate and end to the War. He moved the date up after the Hiroshima bombing as he wanted to be in the War before Japan surrendered. The Soviet Union declared war on Japan (August 8, 1945).The Soviets struck in Manchuria and routed the Japanese forces there. The offensive was in sharp contrast to the campasigns the Americans conducted in the Pacific. The Soviets after declaring war immediately launched a massive invasion--the largest ground operation of the Pacific War. The Red Army rapidly swept over Manchuria. Japanese resistance crumpled. The Soviet invasion is not well covered in Western histories of the War. One question that arises is why the Japanese so quickly suceeded in Manchuria while the United States struggled in Okinawa. I think this is primarily because Okinawa was a small island where the Japanese could concentrate their forces in mountenous terraine. Manchuria was a huge area, much of it a flat plane, idea for tank warfare. The Japanese could not defend it like they were able to do on Okinawa. Perhaps readers more familiar with the Soviet invasion will be able to tell us more.

Created: December 30, 2002
Last updated: 4:26 AM 7/23/2007