1937 ⟶ Marco Polo Bridge Incident Begins Second Sino-Japanese War

The Marco Polo Bridge incident occurs, beginning the Second ...
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Year
1937
1939

💥 Marco Polo Bridge Incident Begins Second Sino-Japanese War

The Marco Polo Bridge incident occurs, beginning the Second Sino-Japanese War. Some scholars consider this to be the start of World War II. Japanese forces were doing military exercises near the Marco Polo Bridge; which begun on July 6 which the Chinese objected to but let occur. The Chinese requested that locals be informed of exercises occurring at night which the Japanese promised but did not end up doing this. During that night Captain Shimizu reported one of his soldiers, Private Shimura as being missing as he was not present during a rollcall but later reappeared 20 minutes later. However Shimizu postponed reporting Shimura's return by 4 hours for unknown reasons. The Japanese demanded they be granted access to search for the missing soldier in Chinese territory but the Chinese refused this request. Whether it was the Japanese or Chinese forces that fired first is unclear.⟶
Marco Polo Bridge Incident Begins Second Sino-Japanese War (1937)
ChinaJapanSino-Japanese WarWarConflictMilitaryExpansionismDiplomacyBridgeJuly

🇯🇵 Japanese Forces Occupy Beijing

Japanese forces occupy the city of Beijing.⟶
Japanese Forces Occupy Beijing (1937)
ChinaJapanOccupationMilitarySino-Japanese WarBeijingWarConflictAsia

⚔️ Battle of Shanghai Commences

Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Shanghai commences.⟶
Battle of Shanghai Commences (1937)
ChinaJapanBattleShanghaiWarSino-Japanese WarMilitaryConflictAsia

🚩 Battle of Shanghai Ends: Japanese Victory

Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Shanghai ends in Japanese victory as Chinese forces evacuate the city.⟶
Battle of Shanghai Ends: Japanese Victory (1937)
ChinaJapanBattleShanghaiVictoryWarSino-Japanese WarMilitaryConflictAsia

💣 Battle of Nanjing Commences

Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanjing commences as Japanese forces attack the city.⟶
Battle of Nanjing Commences (1937)
ChinaJapanBattleNanjingWarSino-Japanese WarMilitaryConflictAsiaMassacre

⚔️ Second Sino-Japanese War Enters Third Year

The Republic of China and the Empire of Japan are involved in the early stages of the third year of armed conflict between them during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The war is in what will be known as the "Second Period", which begins after the fall of Wuhan in October 1938 and ends in December 1941 with Pearl Harbor. This conflict will eventually be swept up into World War II when Japan joins the Axis and China joins the Allies.⟶
Second Sino-Japanese War Enters Third Year (1939)
ChinaJapanSecond Sino-Japanese Warmilitary conflictAsiawarconflictregional warpre-WWII