The revolution led by the
Kuomintang (KMT, or Chinese Nationalist Party) and others ended the last Chinese dynasty, the
Qing dynasty, which was replaced by a
republic, the
Republic of China, in 1912. Prior to
World War I, however, the ROC central government failed to effectively rule its territory. China fell into a fragmented region of local
warlords. Other than the warlord-controlled central government, two primary forces aimed to unite China under their
ideology. The KMT was reorganized in 1919, and the
Chinese Communist Party was formed in 1921. The two parties were not immediate enemies and had short-term partnership. In 1924, KMT started a military campaign to defeat the northern warlords. In 1927, with much of southern and central China under the KMT control, the KMT openly turned on the CPC. The KMT took most parts of China under its power in 1928, and the warlord controlling
Manchuria agreed to KMT leadership of Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-shek.
Noteworthy events
The following events played a significant role in setting the stage for the involvement of Asia and the Pacific in World War II:
1839: Outbreak of the
First Opium War in
Qing China against the
British Empire, forcing China to import British
opium from India. Britain won the war and as a result gained control over Hong Kong.
1853: Commodore
Matthew Perry's fleet arrives in
Tokyo Bay and forces the
Tokugawa Shogunate to allow trade with American merchants with threat of military action.
1858: Western nations force Japan to sign the
Unequal Treaties. These articles established export and import tariffs and the concept of "
extraterritoriality" (i.e. Japan held no jurisdiction over foreign criminals in its land. Their trials were to be conducted by foreign judges under their own nation's laws). Japan had no power to change these terms.
1868: Japan, in an effort to modernize and prevent future Western dominance, ousts the Tokugawa Shogunate and adopts a new
Meiji Emperor. The next few decades see arguably the most rapid and successful industrialization of any economy in world history during the
Meiji Restoration.
1884-1885: A failed diplomatic solution over Vietnam independence results in
Tonkin War.
1899: With newly gained power from recent industrialization, Japan successfully renegotiates aspects of the Unequal Treaties.
1899–1901: The
Boxer Rebellion led China to a humiliating defeat by the
Eight-Nation Alliance of Western powers including the
United States and Japan, ceding more territory, and dealing one of the final blows to the struggling Qing dynasty.
1911: The
Chinese Revolution overthrows the
ManchuQing dynasty and establishes the
Republic of China. Warlord factions, however, continue to fight for personal gains, resulting in near-constant warfare as the
Chinese Nationalists struggle to gain international recognition and support while bringing peace to volatile regions of
China.
1914: During
World War I Japan and other Allies seize
German colonial possessions.
1922: The
Washington Naval Treaty is signed, limiting the fleets and vessels of the navies of the
United States,
United Kingdom,
Japan,
France, and
Italy. Japan is limited to about two-thirds of the fleet allowed for the United States and Britain. This is seen in Japan as a denial of Japanese equality amongst European powers.
Many historians argue that World War II began with the
Marco Polo Bridge Incident on July 7, 1937. While other historians believe the war began with the
Mukden Incident in Manchuria on September 18, 1931. Japanese occupation of much of Asia would last until 1945.
January 28, 1932: The
January 28 Incident: fighting erupts between Chinese boycotters and Japanese troops protecting the Japanese section of
Shanghai. The Japanese dispatch a naval invasion force in an attempt to capture Shanghai. However, the invasion ended in a stalemate. United Kingdom and United States broker a cease-fire between China and Japan three months after the hostilities begin.
February, 1932:
Manchukuo is announced as an independent nation, in reality a Japanese puppet government for
Manchuria. It encompassed the three northeastern Chinese provinces occupied by Japan since the "9.18 Incident." Japanese control remains direct however, and Japanese owned interests gain considerable power. Additionally, the opium trade is encouraged. Manchukuo was not recognized by the
League of Nations and Japan subsequently withdraws from the organization.
May, 1932
May 15 incident: Japanese Prime Minister
Inukai Tsuyoshi assassinated by a group of young officers for his support of the London Naval Treaty, which is seen in Japan as preventing parity of forces.
November, 1936: Japan joins Germany in signing the
Anti-Comintern Pact, concluded to provide a two-front threat to the Soviet Union. Japan is however not interested in being drawn into a European war, and thus the pact is not a true alliance.
July 7, 1937:
Marco Polo Bridge Incident. Japanese forces conducting military exercises outside Beijing claimed that several Japanese soldiers were not accounted for after the exercise. Japanese launch an all-out assault. Nanjing government declares its intent to resist Japan, marking the start of the
Second Sino-Japanese War. (Note: For political reasons, war was not declared by either side at this point. The Chinese declaration of war came on December 8, 1941).
1937–39: The War expands
August–October 1937: the Soviet Union invades the Republic of China in the
Xinjiang War (1937)
August–November 1937: Full-scale fighting erupts throughout northern China, and Japan overcomes initial failures with landings and reinforcements in Shanghai. Before the
Battle of Shanghai, the Tokyo government announced that Japan would complete the conquest of Shanghai in three days, and all of China within three months. KMT troops held Shanghai for over three months.
December 1937: the city of
Nanjing is captured and subjected to months of the rampage. The
Nanjing Massacre resulted in the deaths of up to 200,000 Chinese civilians. This is in line with the
Three Alls Policy: kill all, burn all, loot all.
April, 1938: Chinese Nationalists gain a major victory over Japanese forces in
Shandong province.
June, 1938: The Japanese advance along the
Yellow River is halted by the breaking of dams by the Chinese. The surprise flood kills many Japanese but also as many as 1,000,000 civilians.
July, 1938: Japanese forces provoke a battle with the Soviets at
Lake Hassan in Manchukuo. The Soviets handily defeat the Japanese.
October, 1938: The Japanese Central China Army captures
Hankou in the
Battle of Wuhan, ending their advance up the
Yangtze River. Landings near
Hong Kong capture
Canton, cutting off of the Chinese Nationalists from ocean ports.
November, 1938: The
New Order for East Asia is declared by Japan. This declaration of Japanese plans for dominance of East Asia further deteriorates their relations with western nations.
February, 1939: Japan captures
Hainan Island, which is seen to have strategic implications by the British.
April, 1941: American volunteer pilots secretly recruited in U.S. Their first actual combat will be in December 1941 in Burma where they will begin to wreak havoc upon Japanese forces and will soon be named the
Flying Tigers.
August, 1941: The United States, which at the time supplied 80% of Japanese oil imports, initiates a complete oil
embargo. This threatens to cripple both the
Japanese economy and military strength once the strategic reserves run dry, unless alternative oil-sources can be found.
The revolution led by the
Kuomintang (KMT, or Chinese Nationalist Party) and others ended the last Chinese dynasty, the
Qing dynasty, which was replaced by a
republic, the
Republic of China, in 1912. Prior to
World War I, however, the ROC central government failed to effectively rule its territory. China fell into a fragmented region of local
warlords. Other than the warlord-controlled central government, two primary forces aimed to unite China under their
ideology. The KMT was reorganized in 1919, and the
Chinese Communist Party was formed in 1921. The two parties were not immediate enemies and had short-term partnership. In 1924, KMT started a military campaign to defeat the northern warlords. In 1927, with much of southern and central China under the KMT control, the KMT openly turned on the CPC. The KMT took most parts of China under its power in 1928, and the warlord controlling
Manchuria agreed to KMT leadership of Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-shek.
Noteworthy events
The following events played a significant role in setting the stage for the involvement of Asia and the Pacific in World War II:
1839: Outbreak of the
First Opium War in
Qing China against the
British Empire, forcing China to import British
opium from India. Britain won the war and as a result gained control over Hong Kong.
1853: Commodore
Matthew Perry's fleet arrives in
Tokyo Bay and forces the
Tokugawa Shogunate to allow trade with American merchants with threat of military action.
1858: Western nations force Japan to sign the
Unequal Treaties. These articles established export and import tariffs and the concept of "
extraterritoriality" (i.e. Japan held no jurisdiction over foreign criminals in its land. Their trials were to be conducted by foreign judges under their own nation's laws). Japan had no power to change these terms.
1868: Japan, in an effort to modernize and prevent future Western dominance, ousts the Tokugawa Shogunate and adopts a new
Meiji Emperor. The next few decades see arguably the most rapid and successful industrialization of any economy in world history during the
Meiji Restoration.
1884-1885: A failed diplomatic solution over Vietnam independence results in
Tonkin War.
1899: With newly gained power from recent industrialization, Japan successfully renegotiates aspects of the Unequal Treaties.
1899–1901: The
Boxer Rebellion led China to a humiliating defeat by the
Eight-Nation Alliance of Western powers including the
United States and Japan, ceding more territory, and dealing one of the final blows to the struggling Qing dynasty.
1911: The
Chinese Revolution overthrows the
ManchuQing dynasty and establishes the
Republic of China. Warlord factions, however, continue to fight for personal gains, resulting in near-constant warfare as the
Chinese Nationalists struggle to gain international recognition and support while bringing peace to volatile regions of
China.
1914: During
World War I Japan and other Allies seize
German colonial possessions.
1922: The
Washington Naval Treaty is signed, limiting the fleets and vessels of the navies of the
United States,
United Kingdom,
Japan,
France, and
Italy. Japan is limited to about two-thirds of the fleet allowed for the United States and Britain. This is seen in Japan as a denial of Japanese equality amongst European powers.
Many historians argue that World War II began with the
Marco Polo Bridge Incident on July 7, 1937. While other historians believe the war began with the
Mukden Incident in Manchuria on September 18, 1931. Japanese occupation of much of Asia would last until 1945.
January 28, 1932: The
January 28 Incident: fighting erupts between Chinese boycotters and Japanese troops protecting the Japanese section of
Shanghai. The Japanese dispatch a naval invasion force in an attempt to capture Shanghai. However, the invasion ended in a stalemate. United Kingdom and United States broker a cease-fire between China and Japan three months after the hostilities begin.
February, 1932:
Manchukuo is announced as an independent nation, in reality a Japanese puppet government for
Manchuria. It encompassed the three northeastern Chinese provinces occupied by Japan since the "9.18 Incident." Japanese control remains direct however, and Japanese owned interests gain considerable power. Additionally, the opium trade is encouraged. Manchukuo was not recognized by the
League of Nations and Japan subsequently withdraws from the organization.
May, 1932
May 15 incident: Japanese Prime Minister
Inukai Tsuyoshi assassinated by a group of young officers for his support of the London Naval Treaty, which is seen in Japan as preventing parity of forces.
November, 1936: Japan joins Germany in signing the
Anti-Comintern Pact, concluded to provide a two-front threat to the Soviet Union. Japan is however not interested in being drawn into a European war, and thus the pact is not a true alliance.
July 7, 1937:
Marco Polo Bridge Incident. Japanese forces conducting military exercises outside Beijing claimed that several Japanese soldiers were not accounted for after the exercise. Japanese launch an all-out assault. Nanjing government declares its intent to resist Japan, marking the start of the
Second Sino-Japanese War. (Note: For political reasons, war was not declared by either side at this point. The Chinese declaration of war came on December 8, 1941).
1937–39: The War expands
August–October 1937: the Soviet Union invades the Republic of China in the
Xinjiang War (1937)
August–November 1937: Full-scale fighting erupts throughout northern China, and Japan overcomes initial failures with landings and reinforcements in Shanghai. Before the
Battle of Shanghai, the Tokyo government announced that Japan would complete the conquest of Shanghai in three days, and all of China within three months. KMT troops held Shanghai for over three months.
December 1937: the city of
Nanjing is captured and subjected to months of the rampage. The
Nanjing Massacre resulted in the deaths of up to 200,000 Chinese civilians. This is in line with the
Three Alls Policy: kill all, burn all, loot all.
April, 1938: Chinese Nationalists gain a major victory over Japanese forces in
Shandong province.
June, 1938: The Japanese advance along the
Yellow River is halted by the breaking of dams by the Chinese. The surprise flood kills many Japanese but also as many as 1,000,000 civilians.
July, 1938: Japanese forces provoke a battle with the Soviets at
Lake Hassan in Manchukuo. The Soviets handily defeat the Japanese.
October, 1938: The Japanese Central China Army captures
Hankou in the
Battle of Wuhan, ending their advance up the
Yangtze River. Landings near
Hong Kong capture
Canton, cutting off of the Chinese Nationalists from ocean ports.
November, 1938: The
New Order for East Asia is declared by Japan. This declaration of Japanese plans for dominance of East Asia further deteriorates their relations with western nations.
February, 1939: Japan captures
Hainan Island, which is seen to have strategic implications by the British.
April, 1941: American volunteer pilots secretly recruited in U.S. Their first actual combat will be in December 1941 in Burma where they will begin to wreak havoc upon Japanese forces and will soon be named the
Flying Tigers.
August, 1941: The United States, which at the time supplied 80% of Japanese oil imports, initiates a complete oil
embargo. This threatens to cripple both the
Japanese economy and military strength once the strategic reserves run dry, unless alternative oil-sources can be found.