Second Sino-Japanese War

Japan had been pursuing an aggressive policy of imperial expansion at the expense of China since 1931, and in 1932, annexed Manchuria as Manchukuo. The ongoing conflict erupted into a full-scale war, which merged with World War II in 1941.

On July 7, 1937, Japanese troops stationed in North China fought with Chinese troops near the Marco Polo Bridge at Luguoqiao (Lukouchiao), just outside of Beijing (Peking). The Japanese troops were ostensibly on night maneuvers, but the resulting “China Incident” had clearly been provoked by Japan as a pretext for a massive invasion.

This, the start of the Sino-Japanese War, might also be deemed the true beginning of World War II.

The National Government Army of China, led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, numbered some 2 million troops; however, his troops were poorly equipped and poorly trained. They were supported by a Communist guerrilla army of 150,000, which suspended its struggle against the Nationalists in order to fight the common enemy, the Japanese invaders.