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How Much of China did Japan Control at its Greatest Extent?

7/24/2017

1 Comment

 
by Mark Witzke
Japanese Occupation of China in the end of WW2
Furthest extend of Japanese occupation in China at the end of World War II
In the late 19th century, as China declined in the face of internal struggles and foreign intrusion, Japan was on the rise. As the world moved on to the 20th century, China’s loss of influence over Korea and the stunning victory of Japan in the Sino-Japanese War confirmed that China was no longer the premier power in the Pacific.
(continued) With this victory, Japan, the former tributary state to the Chinese Empire, followed the example set by the Western powers and claimed territory from China. They forced China to sign another humiliating unequal treaty (Treaty of Shimonoseki 1895), which ceded Taiwan, the Penghu islands, and the Liaodong Peninsula to the Japanese Empire.  This was the beginning, but far from the end of Japanese conquest in China. This conquest would eventually become one of the most destructive conflicts in world history, engulfing China in a storm of chaos and destruction and causing the deaths of millions and the loss of much of China’s territory.
Sino-Japanese War Map
Military actions taken in the 1st Sino-Japanese War
In the years following the 1st Sino-Japanese War, China continued to be weakened by internal instability. The fall of the Qing Empire in 1911 was soon followed by the Warlord Era, a time where a central authority in China barely existed. Eventually, beginning in 1926, Chiang Kai-Shek led both the Guomindang (GMD) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on the Northern Expedition, which restored some resemblance of order. However, his betrayal of the Communists soon after in 1927 during the Shanghai Massacre ensured that a fully united government had no hope of continuing. As the two Chinese parties struggled, Japan saw its chance for conquest and in the 1931 Mukden Incident created a staged explosion as a pretext to invade Manchuria and establish a puppet regime, naming it Manchukuo. At this point, Chiang Kai-Shek, the ruler of most of China, felt the military was too weak to effectively resist Japan and instead continued to fight the Communists, hoping to gain strength and eventually fight off the Japanese. However, with the loss of Manchuria the Japanese now dominated much of China’s northeastern territory. Although the conflict ended with a truce, the GMD refused to recognize Manchukuo as a legitimate state.

In the years following from 1931-1937, guerilla warfare and skirmishes were common but much of the GMD’s troops and resources were allocated towards fighting Communists rather than Japanese. In the south of China, the GMD fought to eliminate the CCP once and for all and began to encircle the last of the Communist territories. The CCP broke out from this containment in late 1934 and began an epic retreat to the northwest of China in Shaanxi. This “Long March” saved the Communist party and consolidated Mao Zedong’s role as the undisputed leader of the CCP.  In 1936, the Xi’an incident led to the capture of Chiang Kai-Shek and forced him to once again form a United Front with the Communists. The GMD and Communists prepared for war and it would soon arrive.

The Marco Polo Bridge Incident began as misunderstanding followed by a small exchange of fire. Although both units’ commanders apologized, reinforcements were called in for both sides, tensions escalated and within a week the war had begun in earnest. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese flowed into northern China, quickly pushing the Nationalist forces back and leaving only Communist guerilla insurgencies remaining. Beijing and Tianjin soon fell to the Japanese armies and the Japanese continued marching southward. Although the GMD took a determined stand with its most well-trained and equipped army divisions in the defense of Shanghai, that city too soon fell to the onslaught of the Japanese military. The Japanese continued on slaughtering and pillaging as they went, including the horrific Nanjing Massacre. By the beginning of 1938 Japan had extended its territory from the north of China into Shanghai, Nanjing, Xuzhou, Wuhan and vast areas of the middle and coastal areas of China.  
Japanese Troop in Beijing
Description: Japanese troops march through Beijing, August 13, 1937
The Japanese had soundly defeated the GMD and the CCP forces and conquered many of China’s most populous and industrious cities. The GMD was forced to flee to the southwest of China and establish a headquarters in Chongqing while the CCP hid in Shaanxi and conducted guerrilla warfare behind Japanese enemy lines. As 1938 turned to 1939, the Japanese advance slowed and this Sino-Japanese conflict became part of an even greater one—World War II. The remains of Free China held out against sustained bombing campaigns as it hoped to outlast Japan. In this chaotic time, world politics was in flux and soon China would find itself a member of the Allies, joining with Britain, the Soviet Union, and later, the United States against Japan, Germany, and Italy.
Japanese Occupation of China 1940
Japanese occupation of China by 1940
Stuck in a stalemate on the Chinese mainland, Japan turned towards the seas and moved its fleet out, conquering islands and spreading throughout the Pacific. During this time Japan also consolidated their gains in the south of China, taking both Chinese and foreign administered cities; including, Canton, Xiamen, and Hong Kong. The GMD and CCP were both ineffective in their counterattacks while shock and awe campaigns in southern China killed thousands and reduced buildings to rubble.  In CCP infiltrated areas, Japan carried out the “three-alls policy” a campaign of “Kill all, burn all, loot all”. Villagers throughout China were slaughtered, their food stolen, and their homes burned to the ground.

By 1942 the Japanese Empire had reached its greatest extent. It dominated the northern cities of China, controlled the puppet state of Manchuria, administered Taiwan, and ruled the prosperous southern port cities. Japan had possession of roughly 25% of China’s enormous territory and more than a third of its entire population. Beyond its areas of direct control, Japan carried out bombing campaigns, looting, massacres and raids deep into Chinese territory. Almost no place was beyond the reach of Japanese intrusion. However, at this peak the tide began to turn. Despite the death and destruction, Japan in the end could not defeat the last of Chinese resistance. Meanwhile, although the British had failed to effectively defend Hong Kong, Singapore and Burma, as the United States entered the War in the Pacific, Japan began to know defeat and eventually was on the run. After many years of struggle and hardships, all of China would soon be free of Japanese rule.
Japanese Occupation of China in the end of WW2
Furthest extend of Japanese occupation in China at the end of World War II
References
  1. Holcombe, Charles. A History of East Asia: From the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-first Century. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge UP, 2017. Print.
  2. Kissinger, Henry. On China. New York: Penguin, 2012. Print.
  3. Spence, Jonathan D. The Search for Modern China. New York: Norton, 1990. Print.
  4. Taylor, Jay. The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 2011. Print.

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1 Comment
Robert Strike
7/12/2019 01:46:02 am

Great article - any Idea where the Japanese planned (not issued) to use the 4 occupation banknotes(10 Kopecks, 50 Kopecks, 1 Ruble, 5 Ruble) for USSR Territory. Planned issue date was to be 1940. Japanese Government refuses to say.

Reply



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  • Home
    • About >
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        • Distributing Books
        • Presenting at 112th Annual Meeting of Pacific Coast Branch
        • Summer Research Relocation Fund
    • Contact
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      • Black Hearts (2021)
    • Blog
    • Podcast: Forgotten History
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    • Supplementary Research Guides >
      • Unit 731 - Guide >
        • Background of Biochemical Warfare Development
        • Imperial Japan's Chemical Warfare Development Program
        • Map of Unit 731
        • Personnel of Unit 731
        • Duties of Unit 731
        • Human Experimentation
        • [GRAPHIC] Germ Warfare Attacks
        • Cover Ups After the War
        • [OLD] Cover Ups After the War
      • Philippines' Resistance - Guide >
        • Philippines World War II Timeline
        • The Japanese Invasion & Conquest of the Philippines
        • Bataan Death March
        • Formation of Underground Philippines Resistance
        • Supplies of the Guerrilla Fighters
        • The Hukbalahap
        • Hunter's ROTC
        • Marking's Guerrillas
        • United States Army Forces in the Philippines of Northern Luzon (USAFIP-NL)
        • The Aetas
        • Chinese and Filipino-Chinese Nationalist Guerrilla Units
        • The Female Faces of the Philippine Guerrillas
      • Rising Sun Flag - Guide >
        • History of the Rising Sun Flag
        • Atrocities Committed Under the Flag
        • Rising Sun Flag in Pop Culture
      • Pinay Guerrilleras - Guide >
        • Japanese Occupation of the Philippine Islands: Pinays Answering the Call to Arms
        • The Fierce Heneralas and Kumanders of the Hukbalahap Guerrillas
        • Amazons of the Pacific Theater
        • Filipina American Veterans: Recovering the Extraordinary Feats of the Ordinary Pinays
        • The Legacy of the Asian Women Soldier
      • Fall of Singapore - Guide >
        • Singapore World War II Timeline
        • History of World War II in the Pacific
        • History of Singapore
        • Japan's Conquest in Asia
        • Japan's Invasion of the Malay Peninsula
        • Sook Ching Massacre
        • Double Tenth Incident
        • Social Changes and Challenges in Singapore
        • Voices from Syonan
        • Return to British Rule
      • Three Years and Eight Months - Guide >
        • Hong Kong before WW2
        • Buildup to World War 2
        • The Battle of Hong Kong
        • Life during 3 Years and 8 Months
        • East River Column Guerrilla Fighters
        • Prisoners of War Camps
        • End of Japanese Occupation
        • War Crimes Trials
      • Siamese Sovereignty - Guide >
        • The Land of Smiles
        • The Thai-Japanese Relationship
        • Phibun’s Domestic and International Policies
        • The Free Thai Resistance Movement
        • Post WW2 Aftermath of Thailand
      • The Khabarovsk War Crimes Trial - Guide >
        • Defendants of Khabarovsk War Crime
        • The Japanese Empire and USSR in WW2
        • The Employment of the Bacteriological Weapon in the War
        • Planning of Japan invasion to USSR
      • Unit 731 Cover-up : The Operation Paperclip of the East - Guide >
        • Establishing Manchukuo
        • The Development of Unit 731
        • Plan Kantokuen and Bacteriological Warfare
        • The Downfall of the Japanese WW2 Era
        • Three Stages of Interrogations
        • Lasting Impacts
      • Marutas of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • How did Ishii Shiro start unit 731?
        • A Beta Testing Site
        • Establishing Pingfan
        • Experiences at the Human Experimentation Complex
        • Vivisection at the Unit 731
        • Anta Testing Grounds
        • Overall Advance from the Laboratory Creations
        • The End of the War
      • Prince Konoe Memoir - Guide >
        • Who is Prince Konoe?
        • Preparation to Tripartite Pact
        • Emperor Hirohito and Prince Konoe
        • The End of Prince Konoe
      • Competing Empires in Burma - Guide >
        • What was the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • When did the China-Burma-India Theater Happen?
        • Who Fought in the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • The Second Sino Japanese War
        • Japan in the South
        • Operation U-Go
      • Battle of Shanghai - Guide >
        • The Battle of Shanghai. Background
        • Shanghai Before War
        • The First Battle of Shanghai 1932
        • Battle of Shanghai 1937
        • Aftermath of Battle for Shanghai
      • Ishi Shiro - Guide >
        • History of Biological Weapons and The Young Ishii Shiro
        • Establishment in Manchuria
        • Pingfang District - Harbin
        • Failures and Corruption
        • Post War
      • Taiwan The Israel of the East - Guide >
        • Background of Formosa
        • Industrialization of Japan
        • China During WWII
        • Taiwan under Kuomintang
        • New Taiwanese National Identity
      • Seeking Justice for Biological Warfare Victims of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • Introduction of Wang Xuan
        • Colonel Memorandum
        • The Beginning of Biological Warfare
        • The Bacteriological Warfare on China
        • Victims in Zhejiang’s Testimonies
        • After the War
      • Rice and Revolution - Guide >
        • The French Colonial Period
        • Anti-Colonial Resistance
        • The Rise of the Communist Movement
        • Imperial Japan’s Entry into Indochina
        • The Portents of Famine
        • The Famine (1944-45)
        • Legacy of the 1944-45 Vietnam Famine
      • Clash of Empires - Guide >
        • Japan’s Imperialist Origins
        • Japan’s Competition against the West: Nanshin-ron and Hokushin-ron
        • Japanese Imperialism Through the Lens of French Indochina
        • The U.S.-Japan Relations and the Pearl Harbor Attack
      • Hunger for Power and Self-SufficiencyI - Guide >
        • The Influence of War Rations on Post-War Culinary Transformations
        • How World War II Complicated Food Scarcity and Invention
        • American Military Innovations
        • Government-Sponsored Food Inventions in Europe during World War II
        • Feeding the Army: The Adaptation of Japanese Military Cuisine and Its Impact on the Philippines
        • Mixed Dishes: Culinary Innovations Driven by Necessity and Food Scarcity
    • Lesson Plans >
      • Reparations
      • Ethics in Science
      • Writing the Narrative of a Pinay Fighter
      • Privilege Journal
      • Environmental Injustices
      • Female Guerrillas
      • Hunter's ROTC
      • Scientific Advancements
      • Seeking Justice: A Humanities Lesson Plan
      • The Hukbalahap
      • Trading Immunity
      • Bataan Death March
      • Biochemical Warfare Development
Contribute