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| 1937–1945 phase of the Second Sino-Japanese War | |
|---|---|
| Conflict | 1937–1945 phase of the Second Sino-Japanese War |
| Partof | Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II |
| Date | July 1937 – September 1945 |
| Place | China, Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, Taiwan, Burma Road, coastal regions, Pacific theater |
| Result | Allied victory; Japanese surrender; Republic of China control restored; Chinese Civil War resumed |
1937–1945 phase of the Second Sino-Japanese War The 1937–1945 phase of the Second Sino-Japanese War encompassed full-scale warfare between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan, overlapping with the World War II Pacific theater and shaping East Asian geopolitics. Major battles, prolonged occupation, atrocities, and international intervention transformed Chinese society, influenced leaders such as Chiang Kai-shek, Wang Jingwei, Zhou Enlai, and Mao Zedong, and affected relations among the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and Germany.
The conflict built on the Mukden Incident and the establishment of Manchukuo after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, which put the Kuomintang-led Republic of China and the Imperial Japanese Army on collision courses alongside incidents like the Marco Polo Bridge Incident and tensions involving the Tanggu Truce and the Washington Naval Treaty era. Regional actors including Zhang Xueliang, Puyi, and factions within the Chinese Communist Party influenced mobilization, while foreign policy moves by the League of Nations, Imperial Japanese Navy, and German military advisors under Heinrich Georg Stahmer affected readiness.
Full-scale operations began with the Battle of Shanghai, followed by the Battle of Nanjing and the subsequent Nanjing Massacre, then extended through the Battle of Wuhan, the Second Battle of Changsha, the Battle of Xuzhou, and campaigns across North China and Central China. The Battle of Taierzhuang and Battle of Taiyuan showed early Chinese resistance, while the Battle of Hainan Island and Battle of Chongqing reflected Japanese strategic shifts and Chinese relocations. Later actions linked to the Burma Campaign, Ichigo Operation, and the Battle of West Hunan connected Chinese fronts with Allied operations such as the China-Burma-India Theater and the Pacific War.
Japanese occupation authorities, including formations of the Imperial Japanese Army and units like the Kwantung Army, implemented policies that produced large-scale atrocities exemplified by the Nanjing Massacre, the Unit 731 biological warfare program, and incidents such as the Three Alls Policy and the use of forced labor and comfort women involving military personnel and collaborating administrations linked to figures like Wang Jingwei. International observers from the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone and later tribunals, including the Tokyo Trials, documented crimes that implicated commanders and influenced postwar legal processes.
Resistance involved the National Revolutionary Army, the Eighth Route Army, and the New Fourth Army, with leaders such as Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Peng Dehuai negotiating a complex united front despite tensions and incidents including the New Fourth Army Incident and the Xi'an Incident legacy. Collaborationist regimes under Wang Jingwei and other warlords intersected with guerrilla campaigns in Shaanxi, Hebei, and Guangdong, while the Communist Party of China expanded influence through rural bases like Yan'an and strategies influenced by Mao Zedong Thought.
The conflict drew increasing involvement from the United States, which provided Lend-Lease aid, the Flying Tigers, and later the China Burma India Theater logistical support, while the Soviet Union supplied aircraft, advisors, and the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact context affected deployments. The United Kingdom maintained forces in Hong Kong and supported convoys; diplomats such as John Paton Davies and institutions including the American Volunteer Group became prominent. Global alliances and agreements like the Atlantic Charter, the Cairo Conference, and the shifting relations with Germany and Italy shaped material aid, embargoes, and strategic priorities.
Warfare devastated urban centers like Shanghai, Nanjing, and Wuhan, disrupted transport arteries including the Yangtze River and the Burma Road, and precipitated mass displacement, famine, and epidemics affecting millions. Wartime fiscal measures, hyperinflation in Chongqing-era finance, and industrial relocation to inland provinces such as Sichuan altered production and social structures. Humanitarian responses from organizations like the International Red Cross and missionary networks interacted with relief efforts by the Chinese Red Cross Society and foreign relief missions documenting refugee flows and civilian suffering.
Major technological elements included aerial warfare utilizing Mitsubishi A6M Zero, Curtiss P-40, and Soviet-supplied fighters, chemical and biological programs in Unit 731, and mechanized engagements employing tanks like the Type 89 I-Go and adaptations influenced by German advisors such as Alexander von Falkenhausen. Logistics relied on the Burma Road, the Hump airlift, and riverine transport on the Yangtze River while guerrilla logistics by the Eighth Route Army used rural networks and mobilization in bases like Shaanxi–Gansu–Ningxia. Strategy oscillated between Japanese attempts at decisive campaigns such as Operation Ichi-Go and Chinese protracted-war approaches articulated by leaders including Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong.
Japan's surrender after the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria ended hostilities, leading to repatriation, war crime trials at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, and the restoration of territories including Taiwan to the Republic of China. The wartime experience accelerated the postwar struggle between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China, culminated in the Chinese Civil War resurgence, and reshaped regional order with outcomes linked to conferences such as Yalta and the evolving influence of the United States and the Soviet Union.