The Japanese threat, 1931-41- The reasons for all-out war 1937 Flashcards
why did Japan take further action
pressured by its own economic demands and was away that China would eventually resist- needed to act before china grew resilient
what province did Japan annex
Chahar
how did the communists prove to be irrepresible?
the Long March 1934- 6000 mile escape to north-west china
what was the Xi’an Incident? 1936
Zhang Xueliang was angry with Chiang for lack of action against the Japanese- captured Chiang and took him hostage until he agreed to stop fighting the communists and join them in an united front to fight the Japanese
what was the agreement reached at the Xi’an incident?
that Chiang would end the civil war and release all political prisoners, and in return the communists would agree to fight under him
When was the Marco Polo Bridge incident?
7th July 1937
what happened at the marco polo bridge
Japanese garrison troops were challenged by Chinese troops- Chinese opened fire but no one was harmed.
what did the marco polo bridge incident lead to
Japanese troops demanded that they do house to house searches in the area, by late July the Chinese army in peiping was losing control
what were the Chinese given an ultimatum over in Peiping
they had to withdraw all forces from the city- instead of accepting, Chiang declared war.
what did Chiang do in Shanghai (1937)
deployed his best trained and best equipped forces, bold and unexpected move- sucked japan into a prolonged conflict it could ill-afford
what did Chiang order his airforce to do an how did it backfire
to bomb the Japanese fleet int Shanghai Harbour- missed their Target and hit civilian areas in the city (french concession) – casualties were in the thousands
how did Chiang’s actions reflect his approach
he had willingly gone against the demilitarised status of shanghai introduce in 1932- now japan was engaged in the north and the south
how many Chinese troops were in shanghai compared to Japanese troops
500,000 C, 20,000 J
What did Japan launch on civilian areas
air and artillery attacks- but nationalist morale remained high
how was the fate of Shanghai confirmed
Japanese naval landing that put 30,000 more Japanese troops in the rear of the Chinese
