The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), was fought between China and Japan, and was the largest war in Asia of the 20th century. The tension that started it came from the First Sino-Japanese War, which took place nearly three decades before. In the first Sino-Japanese war, Japan captured Taiwan and Korea, which had previously been under Chinese control. There were years of conflicting national policies, and the instability in the region contributed to hostility. Also known as the “War of Resistance Against Japan” to the Chinese, and as the “Japan-China War” to Japan, the Second Sino-Japanese War began with several years of scattered battles and incidents that eventually led to a full blown war that would not end until the conclusion of World War II.
After the Japanese overtaking of Manchukuo, Japan and China were involved in occasional battles with each other, but the fighting spread in 1937 after some Chinese troops attacked Japanese troops near Beijing. Soon after that, Japan quickly captured the most important coastal cities and Chinese troops retreated, mostly due to their low supply, poor training, and military corruption.
Later that year, the Japanese Army captured and destroyed Nanjing as one of the most important victories in the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese government was afraid that news of the thefts, rapes, and murders of Chinese citizens in Nanjing would spread because American, Dutch, and British soldiers were nearby assisting in an unrelated refugee evacuation. Japanese pilots were given orders to attack, resulting in the deaths of two of the Western soldiers. This shocked many others, but the news of what happened in Nanjing wasn't released in order to prevent declarations of war against Japan.
A short while after the capture of Nanjing, the invading Japanese Army slowed down because of the size and manpower of China and its lack of infrastructure. A stalemate occurred and lasted until 1941. The occupation was very difficult for the Chinese, since conditions were already uneasy from political instability. Many people suffered from food shortages, and the Nationalist and Communist leaders were more involved with fighting each other rather than fighting off the Japanese invasion.
In 1941, when China entered World War II, the Second Sino-Japanese War was entered into the larger World War II effort. The United States and the Soviet Union allied with China in the war against Japan. The Second Sino-Japanese War ended in 1945 from Japan's surrender at the end of World War II, when Japan returned control of Manchuria, Taiwan, and the Pescadores Islands to China. Because the Second Sino-Japanese War weakened the Nationalists, the Communists later took over China in 1949.
