Perspectives on Nanking

1
Perspectives on Nanking

• Key battle in Japanese invasion of China
• Japanese invaded in December 1937
• Spent six weeks pacifying the city
• Safe Zone
• Foreigners (white) living in Nanjing.
• Stayed in city.
• Protected zone with no combatants on either side.
• Japanese swept area to ensure there were no
  Chinese fighters hiding out.

2
Japan Invades China 1937-1939
3
War Strategies

• Japanese strategy
• rapid occupation
• set up puppet governments.
• Communist strategy
• Avoid full battles
• Wait for Nationalists to become weakened
• Nationalist strategy
• Buy time with space
• No formal declaration of war

4
Capture of Beijing

• Battle of Longuo Bridge July 1937
• Beijing falls August 1937
• Neither side expected this to become a full-scale
  war

5
Battle of Shanghai

• Japanese Shanghai in 3 days, China in 3 months.
• Battle lasted Aug-Nov 1937
• Urban warfare Chinese resistance
• Chinese strategy buy time
• Move industry into the interior
• Hold out for Western intervention.
• But, it didnt come

6
Nanjing Massacre

• Nanjing fell Dec 1937
• Ensuing 6 weeks of brutality pillaging, rape,
  murder, arson
• Casualties 100,000 to 300,000
• Ongoing controversy
• daigyakusatsu or jiken?
• massacre or incident?

7
Battle of Wuhan

• Chinese moved headquarters to Wuhan after Nanjing
  fell
• Japanese won the battle
• BUT didnt accomplish their goal of annihilating
  the Chinese army

8
1939 STALEMATE

• Result after two years
• Japan occupies most of eastern China
• No successful puppet governments (direct
  occupation, difficult to sustain)
• Ongoing guerilla warfare against Japanese
• Chinese still holding out for Western support