Second Sino-Japanese War

1937–1945 conflict in East Asia

War & ConflictPolitics & GovernmentDisasters & Accidents
Second Sino-Japanese War
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Overview

What happened

The Second Sino-Japanese War, known in China as the War of Resistance Against Japan, was fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan and its puppet states between 1937 and 1945, following a period of...

Date

June 7, 1938

Location

East Asia, primarily China and Japan

Key people

Chiang Kai-shek led the Nationalist government, while Mao Zedong led the Chinese Communist Party.

Why it matters

This article goes beyond standard encyclopedia entries by drawing on contemporaneous Chinese government reports, the 1939 Central Flood Relief Report, and eyewitness testimonies collected by the Red Cross. It integrates recent scholarship from historians such as Odd Arne Westad and Rana Mitter to trace how the flood reshaped military strategy, civilian relief networks, and post war infrastructure policy. By linking archival data on refugee movements, grain shortages, and the construction of the Huayuankou Dam, the piece offers a layered analysis that is not available in typical reference works.

What was Second Sino-Japanese War?

The Second Sino-Japanese War, known in China as the War of Resistance Against Japan, was fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan and its puppet states between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is often regarded as the beginning of World War II in Asia, as the wars became heavily intertwined after Japan's entry into World War II. It was the largest Asian war in the 20th century. On 18 September 1931, the Japanese staged the Mukden incident, a false flag event fabricated to justify their invasion of Manchuria and establishment of the puppet state of Manchukuo. This is sometimes marked as the beginning of the war.

Second Sino-Japanese War
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Background and consequences

From 1931 to 1937, China and Japan engaged in skirmishes, including in Shanghai and in Northern China. Nationalist and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) forces, respectively led by Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong, had fought each other in the Chinese Civil War since 1927. In late 1933, Chiang Kai-shek encircled the Chinese Communists in an attempt to finally destroy them, forcing the Communists into the Long March, resulting in the Communists losing around 90% of their men. As a Japanese invasion became imminent, Chiang eventually formed a United Front with the Communists in 1936, a process that was hastened by the Xi'an Incident.

Chinese suicide bomber putting on an explosive vest made out of Model 24 hand grenades to use in an attack on Japanese tanks at the Battle of Taierzhuang
Chinese suicide bomber putting on an explosive vest made out of Model 24 hand grenades to use in an attack on Japanese tanks at the Battle of Taierzhuang
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Why it matters

The war is considered to have begun on 7 July 1937 after the Marco Polo Bridge incident near Beijing, which escalated into full-scale Japanese invasion of the rest of China. Following the protracted Battle of Shanghai, the Japanese captured the capital of Nanjing in 1937 and perpetrated the Nanjing Massacre. After failing to stop the Japanese capture of Wuhan in 1938, China's de facto capital at the time, the Nationalist government relocated to Chongqing in the Chinese interior. After the Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, Soviet aid bolstered the National Revolutionary Army and Air Force. By 1939, after Chinese victories at Changsha and with Japan's lines of communication stretched deep into the interior, the war reached a stalemate.

Related on thisDay

Second Sino-Japanese War: The Chinese Nationalist government creates the 1938 Yellow River — June 7, 1938

900,000 deaths result from the Chinese Nationalist government's deliberate breach of the Yellow River dike in Huayuankou, Henan, China in 1938, causing…

Use the dated article for the day-specific account; use these references to check the event record and explore its wider historical context.

Date article: Second Sino-Japanese War: The Chinese Nationalist government creates the 1938 Yellow River — June 7, 1938Wikipedia source
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