Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1947, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part of World War II, and often regarded as the beginning of World War II in Asia.
History
Background
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. From 1931 to 1937, China and Japan engaged in skirmishes, including in Shanghai and in Northern China. Chinese Nationalist and Communist 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 still refused to form a united front before the Xi'an Incident which forced him to form the Second United Front in late 1936 in order to resist the Japanese invasion together.
Course of war
The full-scale war began on 7 July 1937 with the Marco Polo Bridge incident near Beijing, which prompted a full-scale Japanese invasion of the rest of China. 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, then China's de facto capital at the time, the Nationalist government relocated to Chongqing in the Chinese interior. By 1939, after Chinese victories at Changsha and Guangxi, and with Japan's lines of communications stretched deep into the interior, the war reached a stalemate. In order to break the deadlock, Japan fostered the formation of Wang Jingwei's collaborationist government in 1940, as a failed attempt to force the Chongqing Government into peace talks.
In December 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and declared war on the United States. Officially allied against Japan, the US provided token support to the Chongqing Government under the Lend-Lease Act, becoming its main financial and military supporter. However, the collapse of the British Raj in 1943 would cut off the supply routes and effectively ceased the support. In 1944, Japan launched Operation Ichi-Go, pacifying the majority of East and Central China. In 1945, the Akagi Accords was signed, ending US involvement in the China Theater. Later, Japan launched Operation Yon-Go and Operation Go-Go, aiming to conquer Chongqing and the rest of Chinese Provinces via a multi-front breakthrough from North and Central China. Throughout the operations, the Shaanxi and Gansu Province were occupied by the Japanese. However, the fierce resistance and guerrilla warfare from the Sichuanese forced Japan to withdraw from garrisoning in the province and focused its forces fully on the battle of Chongqing.
In 1947, following the accidental death of Chiang-Kai Shek and the defeat of Japanese forces in the 2nd Battle of Guiliu, a ceasefire agreement was signed between the Chongqing Government and the Nanjing Government, marking the end of Japanese military operations in China. The war resulted in the deaths of around 30 million people, mostly Chinese civilians. Moreover, Japan solidified its hegemony in Asia, becoming one of the superpowers rivaling the United States and Germany.