The Japanese Threat (1931-1941)

Question 1

What was the Manchurian Crisis (1931-33)?

Answer 1

Japanese invasion of Manchuria after an engineered ‘attack’ on a Japanese railway line in Mukden, Manchuria

Question 2

Who was behind the railway attack in Mukden in 1931?

Answer 2

The Japanese; the Lytton Report of 1932 exposed the false attack

Question 3

What was the response of the West to the Manchurian Incident (1931-33)?

Answer 3

League of Nations told Japan to leave Manchuria (Japan left the League instead); many countries stopped trade with Japan

Question 4

Why did Japan invade Manchuria in 1931?

Answer 4

Economy was suffering due to Western Depression of 1929; rapid population growth (lack of space) due to industrialisation; abundance of raw materials in China

Question 5

Population of Japan in 1870 compared to 1930?

Answer 5

1870: 30 million
1930: 65 million

Question 6

What was Chiang Kai-Shek’s response to the Manchurian Incident (1931-33)?

Answer 6

Commanded Zhang to withdraw troops from Manchuria; Chiang appealed to the League of Nations

Question 7

Why was Chiang not committed to opposing Japan in 1931?

Answer 7

Too busy trying to eradicate CCP; Chinese army was no match for Japanese

Question 8

Response of Chinese people to Manchurian Incident (1931-33)?

Answer 8

Boycott of Japanese goods; Japanese sales in China were cut by two-thirds

Question 9

Who became the puppet leader of Manchuria?

Answer 9

Puyi - the last Qing Emperor

Question 10

How did Japan justify entering Shanghai in 1932?

Answer 10

Engineered a scenario where Japanese monks were beaten by Chinese thugs

Question 11

How many Japanese troops were sent to Shanghai in 1932?

Answer 11

70,000

Question 12

Effect of Japan’s attack on Shanghai in 1932 on China?

Answer 12

200,000 people forced from the city
Railways and farmland destroyed
GMD driven out of Shanghai
Damages worth $1.5 bn

Question 13

What followed the 1932 conflict in Shanghai?

Answer 13

Treaty of Tanggu

Question 14

Terms of the Treaty of Tanggu (1933)?

Answer 14

Japanse forces retreat to Great Wall; Japanese control over Manchuria; Hebei became a demilitarized zone; Japan could fly recon aircraft to ensure the treaty was respected

Question 15

Long term causes of Sino-Japanese war?

Answer 15

Chinese instability (GMD vs CCP); GMD taking first steps to reform; 1929 Great Depression

Question 16

Medium term causes of Sino-Japanese War?

Answer 16

Manchurian Incident 1931-1933; NRA reform with Ex-German generals; rise of Hitler and Mussolini; 50% of Japanese government spending on military

Question 17

Short term causes of Sino-Japanese War?

Answer 17

Marco Polo Bridge Incident (July 1937); Japanese advance into Beijing and Tianjin (July 1937); Chiang mobilised for war after Joint National Defence Meeting (August 1937)

Question 18

What was the Marco Polo Bridge Incident (1937)?

Answer 18

Japanese soldier got lost and crossed Marco Polo Bridge into Chinese territory; skirmish on bridge as Japanese searched for missing soldier

Question 19

What was the Xi’an Incident (1936)?

Answer 19

Chiang kidnapped by own men; told to stop hunt of CCP in favour of a United Front to attack Japan; Chiang agreed reluctantly

Question 20

Why did Chiang attack Shanghai in August 1937?

Answer 20

Take Japanese by surprise; damage Japanese resources; political pressure on GMD as CCP had already declared a policy of total resistance to Japan

Question 21

Strength of China and Japan at Shanghai (1937)

Answer 21

China: 700,000 troops; 180 aircraft; 40 tanks
Japan: 300,000 troops; 500 aircraft; 300 tanks; 130 naval ships

Question 22

Casualties at Battle of Shanghai (1937)?

Answer 22

China: 250,000
Japan: 40,000

Question 23

What campaign did Japan undertake after the Battle of Shanghai (1937)?

Answer 23

The seizure of the coast - campaign of naval dominance

Question 24

Which Chinese ports were taken in the seizure of the coast (1937-38)?

Answer 24

Tianjin, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Shantou and finally Guangzhou in October 1938

Question 25

What was significant about Nanjing in 1937?

Answer 25

It was the capital of the GMD-controlled China

Question 26

Casualties at the Rape of Nanjing (1937)?

Answer 26

300,000 Chinese killed in total
20,000 women raped and killed
90,000 Chinese soldiers killed

Question 27

Where did the GMD retreat to after the Rape of Nanjing (1937)?

Answer 27

Chongqing

Question 28

How many enterprises were transported from Shanghai after the retreat of 1938?

Answer 28

Over 2000 (like Shanghai Machine Works)

Question 29

How did the Soviets help China during the war?

Answer 29

50,000 rifles
10,000 machine guns
100 tanks
900 aircraft

Question 30

How did the USA assist China economically (1940-1941)?

Answer 30

Loans ranging from $25 million to $50 milion

Question 31

What steps did the USA take to improve the Chinese air force (1940-41)?

Answer 31

Claire Chennault (US adviser) negotiated purchase of 100 P-40 fighter planes from the USA; Chennault recruited US volunteers to help Chinese war effort

Question 32

What happened on the 7th December 1941, which changed the fate of the war?

Answer 32

Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, where the US Pacific Fleet was based
USA entered the war after this

Question 33

Pearl Harbor: key facts?

Answer 33

100 planes destroyed
5 battleships sunk
2400 servicemen killed

Question 34

Help given to China by USA after 1941?

Answer 34

$500 million loan

$630 million ‘Lend-Lease’ package to buy military supplies