Like the rest of the world, the Republic of China this year celebrates the end of World War II. For Chinese, the war started on July 7, 1937, with an armed encounter between Japanese and Chinese troops near the Marco Polo Bridge, about ten miles west of Peking. The skirmish marked the beginning of a conflict that would take the lives of an estimated 35 million Chinese soldiers and civilians and would cost untold billions in terms of destruction. Chinese, like many other Asian and Pacific peoples subjected to Japan’s plan for a Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere, stress the importance of remembering “7-7” (July 7) as a warning, especially as the Japanese government still refuses to apologize for its militaristic past and has continued to use “cleansed” textbooks to teach young Japanese about the war years.
A. Poison gas training session for Japanese soldiers in China—In October 1930, the Japanese military in Taiwan had already used poison gas as a weapon to subdue native tribespeople. Posion gas was later employed against Chinese military and civilian targets during the Sino—Japanese War, 1937-1945.
B. December 1937-January 1938—Estimates vary on the casualties during the Rape of Nanking, more than six weeks of terror and destruction that immersed the whole city in a firestorm of violence and cruelty. After the bombing and shelling came widespread murder, rape, arson, and wanton destruction, leaving the city stunned by the impact of total war.
The “beheading contest” between two Japanese soldiers in Nanking, verified by this Japanese newspaper, is but one symbol of the tens of thousands killed in Nanking. In this case, neither soldier reached his goal of 150.
C. August-November 1937—Refugees run for a train during the battle for Shanghai. An estimated 250,000 Chinese troops were killed or wounded in a hard-fought but futile attempt to hold the city. The Japanese army, navy, marine, and air forces took more than 40,000 casualties
D. Where it started. A soldier of the Chinese Army’s 29th Corps guards the Marco Polo Bridge (Lugouqiao) prior to the July 7 incident, the first in a series of skirmishes between Japanese and Chinese troops that within weeks led to all-out war.
E. One of the greatest engineering feats of the war—In 1938, the base of operations for Chinese forces under the overall command of Chiang Kai-shek had moved to Chungking, Szechwan Province, deep in China’s interior. The 953-kilometer Burma Road, completed in August 1938, was the only major supply route from abroad during the early years of the war.
F. Before the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, brought the United States into the war, American volunteers were already at the Chinese front, including the famed Flying Tigers under the leadership of General Claire Lee Chennault.
G. Japan ruled China’s skies through most of the war. Bombing of civilian targets was an integral part of Japan’s war plan. Here, a raid on Nanking on August 14, War (1894-65). 1937, four months before Japanese troops entered the city.
H. Bringing the war to everyone—Few war images are more indelible than those shown in the countless photos of Japanese soldiers posing proudly with severed heads.
I. Taiwan came under Japan's sword with the Treaty of Shimonoseki, signed at the conclusion of the 1st Sino-Japanese War (1894-65). Among other terms, the Chinese imperial court ceded Taiwan to Japan. But Taiwan's native tribespeople rebelled repeatedly. This was the aftermath of one incident in April 1931.
J. Like the war in Europe and Africa, nearly anyone could end up on the front lines because of troop movements and bombings. Those not in contact with the enemy did their part in other ways, including these Taiwanese stranded by the war on the mainland. Above a group of Taiwan students volunteer for action. Aged 8 to 16, these boys were part of a group of 117 in the Taiwan Youth Corp.