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China of all the beligerants asailed by the Axis countries fought the longest war. At he time Hitler and Stalin invaded Poland, launching World War II, China had already been fighting the Japanese for 4 years. The casualties were enormous, but the actual fighting was a small part of it. The Nationalists after fighting the Japanese for a year in northern China were forced to withdraw into the interior because their best units were chewed by the better arnmed and led Japanese. The Communists for the most part avoided field engagements with the Japanese. The War with some exceptions continued at a low-level, largely because the Japanese could not get at the Nationalists in their remote interior strongholds. They began boming Nationalist-held cities, but after the Americans entered the War, American air power made this costly for the Japanese. The Japanese also used chemical and biological weapons, but while killing Chinese civilians had little military impact And the Japanese engage in horific attrocities like the Rape of Nanking. There were many more such attrocities on a smaller scale that are virtually unreported. The Japanese war time policy was the Three Alls (三光作戦): kill all, burn all, loot all. This is also reffered to as the Burn to Ash Strategy (燼滅作戦). Along with these horific actions, it was starvation that was the big World War II killer in China. Opposing armies (Nationlist, Japanese, and Communist) seized food from the peasants. And as the Japanese advanced deeper and deeper into China, they seized a great deal of the productive agriultural land. Thus the Nationalists were hard pressed to feed thei population and military formations, let alone the millions of refugees who fled Japnese terror into Nationlist held areas. Adding to the carnage was fighting between the Nationalists and Communists. The food situation got particularly severe in the last years of the war. And wth the Japanese controlling Chinese ports, there was no way to get substantial quantties of American food aid to China. Military casualties are only estmates, but are probably reasonably accurate. They include lossess due to malnutrition and related causes which are substantial. There is mo way of estimating the number of civilian casualties, but they are know to be huge. One estimate places it at 14 million. [Mitter] This is within the range of most estimates. Generally estimtes range from 10-20 million people. Military deaths may have been 3-4 million, a relatively small part of the total. This is because, unlike the more evenly matched German-Soviet conflict on the Eastern Front, there was a relatively low level of combat during much of the Civilin deaths related to militry operations and Japanese attrocities may have totaled 7-11 million people. Deaths related to strvation and malnutrition are the most difficult to estimate We have seen estimates of some 5 million people, but this seems like a relatively low estimate. Some historians focus more on famine and starvaton than Japanese attrocities. [Collingham, pp. 248-6.] The Chinese peasantry in the best of times suvived on the edge. With the Japanese controlling much of the richest agricultural areas, disaster was inevtable. There are much higher estimates which bring possible Chinese deaths to 25 million or more. The actual numbers will never be known with any certaintty While the percentage losses compared to the overall population is relatively small compared to European countries, the absolute numbers are huge with only the Soviet Union suffering comparable losses. Total losses are estimated at 2-5 percent of the population, the wide range is because there is no precise accounting of the casualties.
China of all the beligerants asailed by the Axis countries fought the longest war. At the time Hitler and Stalin invaded Poland, launching World War II, China had already been fighting the Japanese for 4 years. Japan invaded China proper (1937). There were casualties in Manchuria and northern Chimabefore the actual invasion, but nothng like occurred after the invasion. The Chinese went toe-to-toe with the Japanese during the first year of the war. This was when actual combat deaths were the highest. Afterwards the Chinese began withdrawing into the interior and avoiding major battles when possible. As the Chinese withdrew into the interior, the Japanese had more and more difficulty bringing the Chinese to battle and much greater logistical problems. While combat deaths declined, as the Japanese acquired more and more Chnese territory, ncluding much of the richest agricultural lands, deaths due to malnutrition and actual starvation increased. This was especilly the case in the last 3 years of the War.
The casualties in China were enormous, but the actual fighting was only one cause of the casualties and not the most important cause. Military causualties over more than 10 years of fighting were enormous. And they were greatly increased because the Jpanese killed Cinesse prisoners rather than holding POWs. The striking aspect of Chinese Word War II casualties is what a small prportion were military casultie. The much larger number are the civilian casualties caysed by war crimes and atrocities ot due to malnutrition and starvation caused by the Japnese. The other notable observation is that despite intense nd understandave Chinese criticism of Japan that constantly flares up een tida, the Japanese killing is a small fraction of the killing and other deaths attributed to the Communists after they seized power in China (1948).
The Nationalists after fighting the Japanese for a year in northern China were forced to withdraw into the interior because their best units were chewed by the better arnmed and led Japanese. The Communists for the most part avoided field engagements with the Japanese. The War with some exceptions continued at a low-level, largely because the Japanese could not get at the Nationalists in their remote interior strongholds. Military deathseem to have totale about 3-4 million people. One Western source suggests 3 million. [Clodfelter, p. 412.] A Chinese source is closer to 4 million. [Ho] Military casualties are only estmates, but are probably reasonably accurate. Certainly more accurte than than estimates of cvilian casualties. The militry casulties not only include deaths resulting from combat, but also a range of non-combat fatalities. These are quite substantial in that causes like dsease and mlnutrition continued even during the long periods in which there was lull in fghting. The military casualties are very high in large measure because the Japanese murdered the Chinese prisoners they took. At the end f the war they hd no POWs to turn over to the Chinese.
The Japanese began bombing Nationalist-held cities. Bombing is a relatively expensice way of killing people. And gien the Chiese population was not a feaible way of winning the War. And after the Americans entered the War, American air power made this costly for the Japanese.
Japanese war crimes and atrocities defy human credulity. The Japanese used chemical and biological weapons, but killing Chinese civilians had little military impact. The Japanese engaged in horific attrocities like the Rape of Nanking. There were many more such attrocities on a smaller scale that are virtually unreported. The Japanese war time policy was the Three Alls (三光作戦): kill all, burn all, loot all in areas resisting Japanese control. This is also reffered to as the Burn to Ash Strategy (燼滅作戦). The death toll resulting from war crimes appear to be in the 7-8 million deth range. That seems to us to be a level of percission we find surprising. We note one historian who estimates 7.4 million. [Rummel Tablr 5A.] Another historian suggests 8.2 million. [Gruhl, p. 85.]
Despite the horific Japanese actions, it was starvation that was the big World War II killer in China. Opposing armies (Nationlist, Japanese, and Communist) seized food from the peasants. And as the Japanese advanced deeper and deeper into China, they seized a great deal of the productive agriultural land. Thus the Nationalists were hard pressed to feed thei population and military formations, let alone the millions of refugees who fled Japnese terror into Nationlist held areas. Adding to the carnage was fighting between the Nationalists and Communists. The food situation got particularly severe in the last years of the war. And wth the Japanese controlling Chinese ports, there was no way to get substantial quantties of American food aid to China.
The estmates of the Cinese people killed during the war are huge. Actual military casualties seem amall pat of the total, commonly estimatd at 3-4 million people. The available estimates have to include lossess due to malnutrition and related causes which were substantial and very diffiult to assess. There is mo way of estimating the number of civilian casualties with any percission, but they are known to be huge. One estimate places it at 14 million. [Mitter] This is within the range of most estimates. Generally estimtes range from 10-20 million people. There are lower estimates, but almost all from Japanese sources. Military deaths may have been 3-4 million, a relatively small part of the total. This is because, unlike the more evenly matched German-Soviet conflict on the Eastern Front, there was a relatively low level of combat during much of the War. Civilian deaths related to militry operations and Japanese attrocities may have totaled 7-11 million people. Deaths related to strvation and malnutrition are the most difficult to estimate. We have seen estimates of some 5 million people, but this seems like a relatively low estimate. Some historians focus more on famine and starvaton than Japanese attrocities. [Collingham, pp. 248-6.] The Chinese peasantry in the best of times suvived on the very edge ofeistence. With the Japanese controlling much of the richest agricultural areas, disaster was inevtable. There are much higher estimates which bring possible Chinese deaths to 25 million or more. The actual numbers will never be known with any certaintty While the percentage losses compared to the overall population is relatively small compared to European countries, the absolute numbers are huge with only the Soviet Union suffering comparable losses. Total losses are estimated at 2-5 percent of the population, the wide range is because there is no precise accounting of the casualties.
Clodfelter, Michael. Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Reference to Casualty and Other Figures, 1500–2000 (2nd ed. 2002).
Collingham, Lizze. The Taste of War: World war II and the Battlke for Food (New York: Peguin: 2012), 634p.
Gruhl, Werner. Imperial Japan's World War Two, 1931–1945.
Ho Ping-ti. Studies on the Population of China, 1368–1953. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1959).
Mitter, Rana. Forgotton Ally: World War II, 1937-45.
Rummel, R.J. China's Bloody Century (Transaction 1991).
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