Topic

China

China Events

1931 Dec 21
to 1932 Jan 3
 Chinchow Operation
While the other Japanese forces and collaborationist Manchurian troops spread out from their bases along the South Manchurian Railway rail lines to clear the countryside, from Mukden, the...
1932 Jan 28 'January 28 Incident' Sparks Short War Over City of Shanghai Between Japan and China
After the Mukden Incident, Japan had acquired the vast northeastern region of China and would eventually establish the puppet government of Manchukuo. However, the Japanese military plann...
1932 Feb 18 Proclamation of the Manchu State
On 18 February 1932 the Manchu State (Manchukuo, Pinyin: Mǎnzhōuguó)[3] was proclaimed and recognized by Japan on 16 September 1932. The city of Changchun, renamed Xinjing (新京, literally ...
1932 Mar 3 Japanese Army Withdraws from Shanghai, Officially Ending Conflict, Despite Continued Sporadic Fighting
On 29 February, the Japanese 11th Infantry Division landed near Liuhe behind Chinese lines. The defenders launched a desperate counterattack from 1 March but were unable to dislodge the J...
1932 Apr 7 Ma Zhanshan Announces Reestablishment of the “Heilungkiang Provincial Government” Independent of Manchukuo (Manchu State)
At Heihe on April 7, Ma announced the reestablishment of the “Heilungkiang Provincial Government” independent of Manchukuo, and reorganized his troops into 9 brigades at the beginning of ...
1932 Dec 25 Gansu Earthquake of 1932
A strong earthquake measuring 7.6 Richter scale hit Changma fort (39.7°N, 97.0°E) in Gansu Province at 10:04:27 am on December 25, 1932. The epicenter intensity was X and 70 thousand peop...
1933 Jan 1
to 1933 May 31
 Defense of the Great Wall
Falling back from Rehe, Wan Fulin's 32nd Corps retreated to Lengkou Pass, while the 29th Corps of General Song Zheyuan also fell back, Zhang Zuoxiang's 37th Division retreated to Xifengko...
1933 Jan 7 Japanese Forces Take Over Mishan
On December 24, 1932, the Japanese 10th Division attacked guerrilla forces to the north of Mudanjiang River. January 5, 1933, General Kuan Chang-ching was forced to surrender his Voluntee...
1933 Feb 21
to 1933 Mar 1
 Battle of Rehe
The Battle of Rehe (sometimes called the Battle of Jehol) was the second part of Operation Nekka, a campaign by which the Empire of Japan successfully captured the Inner Mongolian provinc...
1933 May 31 Signing of the Tanggu Truce Formally Ends the Japanese Invasion of Manchuria
The Tanggu Truce resulted in the de facto recognition of the existence of Manchukuo by the Kuomingtang government, and acknowledgement of the loss of Rehe. It provided for a temporary end...
1933 Aug 25 Diexi Earthquake of 1933
The 1933 Diexi earthquake occurred in Diexi, Mao County, Sichuan, Republic of China on August 25, 1933. This earthquake destroyed the town of Diexi and surrounding villages, and caused...
1936 Nov 14 Inner Mongolian Army Faction Attacks Chinese Garrison at Hongort
On November 14, 1936 a coalition of the Inner Mongolian Army's 7th and 8th Cavalry Divisions, Wang Ying's Grand Han Righteous Army, and Mongol mercenaries from Jehol, Chahar and other are...
1937 Jul 7
to 1937 Jul 9
 Marco Polo Bridge Incident (Battle of Lugou Bridge)
From June 1937, Japanese troops carried out intensive military training maneuvers in the vicinity of the western end of the Marco Polo Bridge. These were held every night (other foreign g...
1937 Jul 7
to 1945 Sep 9
 Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (July 7, 1937 – September 9, 1945) was a military conflict fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought alone...
1937 Jul 25 Fighting Erupts at Langfang Between Chinese and Japanese Troops Despite Recent Truce
By 25 July, Japanese reinforcements in the form of the IJA 20th Division arrived and fighting re-erupted first at Langfang, a city on the railroad between Beijing and Tianjin, between com...
1937 Jul 29 Tungchow Mutiny
The Tungchow Mutiny (通州事件 Tsushu jiken, Chinese: 通州事件; pinyin: Tōngzhōu Shìjiàn), sometimes referred to as the Tōngzhōu Incident, was an assault on Japanese troops and civilians by Japane...
1937 Jul 30 Tianjin Falls to Japanese Forces
Meanwhile on the coast at dawn of 29 July, the IJA 5th Division and Japanese naval forces separately attacked Tianjin and the port at Tanggu, which were defended by units of Chinese 38th ...
1937 Aug 8 Beijing Falls to Japanese Forces
On 28 July, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Song Zheyuan to retreat to Paoting in southern Hebei province. Over the next two days, intense fighting took place in Tianjin, where the Chinese forces...
1937 Aug 8 Japanese Forces Begin Attack on Chinese at Nankou
On August 8th the Japanese 11th Independent Mixed Brigade, commanded by Gen. Shigiyasu Suzuki began their attack on the left flank of the 13th Corps position at Nankou but were thwarted a...
1937 Aug 13
to 1937 Aug 22
 First Phase in the Battle of Shanghai
Around 9am on August 13, the Chinese Peace Preservation Corps exchanged small arms fire with Japanese troops in Zhabei, Wusong, and Jiangwan districts of Shanghai. Around 3pm the Japanese...
1937 Aug 23
to 1937 Oct 26
 Phase Two in the Battle of Shanghai
On August 23, the Japanese Shanghai Expeditionary Army, led by Iwane Matsui, landed in Liuhe, Wusong (吳淞), and Chuanshakou. Chiang Kai-shek had expected these coastal towns to be vulnerab...
1937 Sep 21 Japanese Army Air Service Commences Aerial Bombing of Nanking
On September 21, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service, commanded by Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni, began aerial bombardment of Nanking. The aerial bombardment campaign consisted of more t...
1937 Oct 26 Xie Jinyuan Leads Chinese Defense of Sihang Warehouse Against Japanese Aggression as Generalissimo Chiang Withdraws Forces West of Shanghai
The Defense of Sihang Warehouse (simplified Chinese: 四行仓库; traditional Chinese: 四行倉庫; pinyin: Sìháng Cāngkù) took place from October 26 to November 1, 1937, and marked the beginning of th...
1937 Oct 27
to 1937 Nov 26
 Phase Three in the Battle of Shanghai
Starting the night of October 26, the Chinese began withdrawing from Shanghai urban center. Because Dachang and other vital suburban towns had been lost already, Chiang Kai-shek ordered t...
1937 Nov 1 Chinese Defense of Sihang Warehouse against Japanese Ends with with Foreign Intervention
The Japanese launched a new wave of attack at 7 a.m. on the 30th. There were fewer infantry assaults at the warehouse this time; the Japanese attack was mainly concentrated cannon fire. B...
1937 Nov 9 Japanese Forces Take Taiyuan and Surrounding Area, Ending Large-Scale Resistance in the North China Area
The Japanese offensive called 太原作戦 or the Battle of Taiyuan (traditional Chinese: 太原會戰; pinyin: Tàiyuán Huìzhàn; Wade-Giles: T'ai-yüan Hui-tsan) was a major battle fought between China an...
1937 Nov 11 Japanese are Victorious Over Chinese at Xinkou
Yan Xishan gathered all available Chinese troops under his command to make a stand at Xinkou, because this location is flanked by Wutaishan and Yunzhonshan, which is favorable for the def...
1937 Dec 10 General Matsui Iwane Issues Order to Japanese Army to Take Nanking by Force
The Japanese awaited an answer to their demand for surrender. When no Chinese envoy had arrived by 1:00 p.m. on December 10, General Matsui Iwane issued the command to take Nanking by for...
1937 Dec 12 Japanese Attack on United States Gunboat Panay
A flat-bottomed craft built in Shanghai specifically for river duty, Panay served as part of the U.S. Navy's Yangtze Patrol in the Asiatic Fleet, which was responsible for patrolling the ...
1937 Dec 13 Japanese Soldiers Begin Six-Week 'Rape of Nanking'
"I know not where to end. Never I have heard or read such brutality. Rape! Rape! Rape! We estimate at least 1,000 cases a night, and many by day. In case of resistance or anything that see..." —Reverend James M. McCallum
1937 Dec 13 Nanking Falls to Japanese Troops
On the afternoon of December 13, the Shanghai Expeditionary Force Headquarters at Tangshuizhen was ambushed by Chinese stragglers. The Japanese repelled them, but they attacked again arou...
1938 Feb 18 Japanese Army Begins Sustained Bombing of Chongqing
The bombing of Chongqing (Traditional Chinese: 重慶大轟炸, Simplified Chinese: 重庆大轰炸, Japanese: 重慶爆撃, from 18 February 1938 to 23 August 1943) was part of an Imperial Japanese Army Air Service...
1938 Mar 24
to 1938 Apr 7
 Battle of Taierzhuang
The Battle of Tai'erzhuang (simplified Chinese: 台儿庄会战; traditional Chinese: 臺兒莊會戰; pinyin: Tái'érzhūang Huìzhàn) was a battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1938, between armies of Ch...
1938 Mar 24
to 1938 May 1
 Battle of Xuzhou
The Battle of Xuzhou was fought between Japanese and Chinese forces in May 1938 during Second Sino-Japanese War. In contemporary accounts in English, the event was usually referred to as ...
1938 Jun 13 Japanese Forces Capture Anqing, Setting off Battle of Wuhan
On 13 June, the Japanese made a naval landing that captured Anqing, which signalled the onset of the Battle of Wuhan. On the southern shore of Yangtze River, the Chinese 9th Military Regi...
1938 Oct 1
to 1938 Oct 11
 Battle of Wanjialing
Battle of Wanjialing, well known in Chinese text as the Victory of Wanjialing (simplified Chinese: 万家岭大捷; traditional Chinese: 萬家嶺大捷; pinyin: Wànjīalîng Dàjíe) refers to the Chinese Army'...
1939 Feb 10 Hainan Island Operation
The Japanese Navy, after the capture of Canton the previous year, had maintained a formidable blockade all along the coast of south, central and north China. However, loopholes were found...
1939 Mar 17
to 1939 May 9
 Battle of Nanchang
The Battle of Nanchang (Traditional Chinese: 南昌會戰, Simplified Chinese: 南昌会战) was a major battle between the Chinese National Revolutionary Army and the Japanese Imperial Japanese Army in ...
1939 Apr 20
to 1939 May 24
 Battle of Suixian-Zaoyang
The Battle of Suixian-Zaoyang (simplified Chinese: 随枣会战; traditional Chinese: 隨棗會戰; pinyin: Suízǎo Huìzhàn), also known as the Battle of Suizao was one of the 22 major engagements between...
1939 Jun 21 Japanese Occupy Swatow Port to Establish Blockade of Guangdong
The Swatow Operation, (June 21–27,1939) was part of a campaign by Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War to blockade China to prevent it from communicating with the outside world and i...
1939 Sep 17
to 1939 Oct 6
 First Battle of Changsha
After two years of near stalemate, Lieutenant General Seishiro Itagaki led the Japanese 101st and 106th Divisions to Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, while the 3rd, 5th, 6th, 13th...
1939 Nov 1 Chinese Nationalist Army Begins Disastrous Winter Offensive Against Japanese Forces
The 1939–40 Winter Offensive was one of the major engagements between the National Revolutionary Army and Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Nationalist failure t...
1939 Dec 18
to 1940 Jan 11
 Battle of Kunlun Pass
The Battle of Kunlun Pass (simplified Chinese: 昆仑关战役; traditional Chinese: 崑崙關戰役; pinyin: Kūnlúnguān Zhànyì) was a series of struggles between the Japanese and the Chinese in contention...
1940 Feb 3 Japanese Occupy Wuyuan
On 3 and 4 Feb, Wuyuan and Linhe were taken successively. On 20 Mar, Chinese General Fu Zuoyi's 35th Corps, the New 31st Division, and a regiment of the Garrison Brigade, which had been s...
1940 Jun 18 Chinese National Revolutionary Army Repels Imperial Japanese Army from Yichang
The Battle of Zaoyang-Yichang (simplified Chinese: 枣宜会战; traditional Chinese: 棗宜會戰; pinyin: Zǎoyí Huìzhàn), also known as the Battle of Zaoyi was one of the 22 major engagements between t...
1940 Sep 22 Japanese Imperial General Headquarters Gives Order for Japanese Troops to Invade French Indochina
The Japanese Invasion of French Indochina (仏印進駐 Futsu-in shinchū?), also known as the Vietnam Expedition, was an attempt by the Empire of Japan, during the Second Sino-Japanese War to blo...
1940 Nov 24 Japanese Forces Capture Nanning
The occupation of Nanning cut a Chinese line of supply along the highways from French Indo-China into Kwansi Province. The railway from Indo-China into Yunnan Province, however, lies much...
1940 Nov 25
to 1940 Nov 30
 Central Hupei Operation
The Central Hupei Operation was one of the engagements between the National Revolutionary Army and Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Known as the Central Hupei O...
1941 Apr 9 Japanese Forces Retreat from Shanggao
On high at about 120 km southwest of Nanchang, the Jinjiang River north, briefly Hunan and Jiangxi Road (Nanchang to Changsha) hub of the east Poyang Plain, back nine and Luo Xiao Ling Sh...
1941 May 7
to 1941 May 27
 Battle of South Shanxi
The Battle of South Shanxi (simplified Chinese: 晋南会战; traditional Chinese: 晉南會戰; pinyin: Jìn Nán Huìzhàn), also known as the Battle of Jinnan and as Chungyuan Operation by the Japanese, i...