War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression/ Second Sino-Japanese War
1937-1945
Records in Chinese
START OF THE WAR
After the Lugou Bridge Incident on July 7, 1937 (and as a continuation of the January 28 Incident), the Japanese continued to push its army from Northeastern China and occupied important cities in the south at the same time.
Fighting erupted in Shanghai on August 13. After months of skirmishes, Japan took over Shanghai but realized that their original plan to take over all of China within 3 months was infeasible. In response to the Japanese invasion, CCP and KMT decided to cooperate in September, although underlying conflicts continued between the two parties throughout the war.
On September 25, 1937, the Chinese won the Battle of Pingxingguan (平型关战役). The 8th Route Army ambushed the Japanese, and the latter suffered 1000 deaths. This battle was the first Chinese victory. News of it significantly boosted the Chinese’s morale, as the previous rumor of Japanese invincibility was disproven.
THE NEXT PHASE OF WAR
However, things went downhill for China. On December 3, 1937, the Japanese army marched into Nanjing (南京). In the few weeks after the takeover, Japanese soldiers looted houses, raped women, and killed a total of three hundred thousand (300,000) civilians.
The Chinese won the Battle of Taierzhuang in March 1938, the largest victory during the war until then, killing 20,000 Japanese soldiers. However, disasters ensued. In June 1938, in order to prevent Japan from invading Wuhan (武汉), Jiang bombed the Yellow River’s embankment, resulting in floods that killed 890,000 civilians. This 1938 Yellow River flood (花园口决堤事件) also created a large flood-prone area (黄泛区) that is at risk every year even now. However, Wuhan was still taken over two days later.
In December of the same year, Wang Jingwei (汪精卫), the deputy to Jiang Jieshi, abandoned the Nationalist government and proclaimed loyalty to the Japanese. Wang sent a telegram to Jiang about his change of allegiance, and many other Nationalist government officials followed Wang’s suit. The Japanese created a puppet government with Wang as its head in March 1940.
The Chinese Nationalist government only formally declared war on Japan in December 1941. A month later, China, along with 25 other countries, announced that they will fight the Axis powers until the latter’s unconditional surrender.
THE LAST PHASE OF WAR
In April 1944, the Japanese launched another full scale attack. Known as the Battle of Henan-Hunan-Guangxi (豫湘桂会战, also called Operation Ichi-Go), this ferocious effort was effective. In 8 months, China suffered five to six hundred thousand (500,000-600,000) military deaths and lost 146 cities, which covered around two hundred thousand (200,000) square kilometers, or around 77,220 square miles, of land. [See Note 1]
Fighting effectively continued in the Chinese theater until the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Japan’s emperor announced the decision to unconditionally surrender on August 15; the surrender ceremony occurred in Zhijiang (芷江) on August 21, and then again in Nanjing, the city that the Japanese army once massacred, on September 9. The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression officially ended, but at a high cost. A total of 35 million (35,000,000) Chinese people (civilians included) have died in the war, while Japan witnessed a lower casualty of four hundred thousand (400,000) deaths.
Records in English
START OF THE WAR
After the September 18 Incident, Japan proceeded to take over Northeastern China. There the Japanese set up Manchukuo (伪满洲国), a puppet government, in 1932, and placed the dethroned Qing Emperor Puyi (溥仪) as is nominal leader.
THE NEXT PHASE OF WAR
In the first two years of the war, Japan took over most of China’s ports and major cities east of Hankou (汉口) as it was more prepared for war. Japan occupied Shanghai and Nanjing in November 1937, and massacred three hundred thousand (300,000) people in Nanjing in the few weeks following occupation. The Japanese soldiers also raped many women, potentially by General Matsui Iwane’s orders. [See Note 2]
The situation became progressively worse for the Chinese. In October 1938, the Chinese lost Hankou and Guangzhou (广州). Japan had effectively taken control of the sea and the air, along with many important railways. The Nationalist government of China had to migrate its capital from Nanjing to Hankou, and then again to Chongqing, when both previous capitals were taken.
The war then entered a relative stalemate; Japan sought expansion through imposing a blockade. Japan controlled major Chinese ports, closed up the railway from French Indochina and from Burma to Kunming (昆明), and captured the British-controlled Hong Kong. The Nationalist government therefore suffered economically and lacked goods for the army and the civilians. Inflation ensued, and the resulting high tax rates and corruption rendered the Nationalist government unpopular.
The CCP, meanwhile, was more welcomed by its subjects. The communists started recruiting village people on Japanese-occupied land, and expanded its forces in Northern China and the lower Yangtze River area. Because of its reliance on the peasants, the communist army often treated civilians with respect and was popular for its economic reforms that benefited the poor. Nationalist attempts to suppress communist growth was seen throughout the war, only at a subdued level because Japan was deemed the most important enemy.
In 1940, the Japanese founded the puppet government headed by Wang Jingwei (汪精卫) in Nanjing. Wang asserted that he would follow his once close friend Sun Zhongshan’s (孙中山, also known as Sun Yat-Sen) ideals in governance, but his action was seen as betrayal.
THE LAST PHASE OF WAR
Foreign troops, supposedly mainly from the United States, entered China to fight against the Japanese in 1944-1945. Assistance allowed the Allies to challenge Japan’s control of the sky, and some records state that Chinese troops were “too debilitated to play an important part in the final campaigns.” [See Note 3]
Eventually, the Japanese surrendered after the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. However, conflicts between the Nationalist government and the communist resurfaced shortly after Japan’s surrender. The Chinese Civil War ensued.
Analysis on Differences in Narrative
[Note: Certain events were only mentioned in one language’s records to show the difference of emphasis between Chinese and English records.]
In general, records in English illustrate a sense of Chinese powerlessness and helplessness, and illustrate foreign powers as the only reason why China was able to subsist until the end of the war. Victories on the Chinese side were often glossed over.
This type of narrative portrays the Chinese as victims without agency. This is problematic. Objectively, one must acknowledge that the aid from other Allies countries sent has alleviated the burden on Chinese armies during the later stages of war. It should also be acknowledged that without the U.S.’s atomic bombs, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression would certainly drag on longer. However, the Chinese armies’ and civilians’ own efforts in persevering through eight years of warfare should be noted too. The Chinese fought against an enemy with significantly more modern technology, and each simple word of “stalemate” in historical records often implied thousands of lives lost to protect inches of ground.
In looking at the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, one should look at records (if not in both languages) written by both Chinese and Western historians. Admittedly, each would have their own sets of biases; but objectivity in history often does not come as the view of nowhere. As individuals cannot be totally detached from their backgrounds and experiences, the closest one may get to objectivity is to consider as many views as possible. Therefore, in the case of this war, English speakers should remember the contribution of different states but also assess each party’s accounts with a critical eye.