On July 7, 1937, fighting broke out between Japanese and Chinese troops near the Marco Polo Bridge outside Beiping (now Beijing). The clash escalated quickly and is widely treated as the start of the full-scale Second Sino-Japanese War. It marked a shift from earlier localized incidents to sustained, nationwide conflict.
From August to late November 1937, Chinese and Japanese forces fought a large, prolonged battle for Shanghai. The battle involved intense street fighting and heavy losses, and it became an early test of whether China could slow Japan’s advance. Japan ultimately captured Shanghai, opening the way toward the Nationalist capital at Nanjing.
From December 1937 into January 1938, Japanese soldiers carried out mass killings, widespread sexual violence, and looting after capturing Nanjing. Estimates of the death toll vary widely, but the event became one of the most infamous episodes of the war. It deepened Chinese resistance and shaped international views of Japan’s conduct in China.
In December 1937, Japanese troops took Nanjing (then the Nationalist capital). The fall of the city was a major strategic and psychological blow, pushing the Nationalist government to relocate further inland. The occupation also set the stage for large-scale atrocities in and around the city.
In late March and early April 1938, Chinese forces fought and won a major battle at Taierzhuang during the wider Xuzhou Campaign. The victory helped counter the image that Japan’s army was unstoppable. It also provided a short-term morale boost for Chinese troops and civilians during a difficult period of the war.
From June to October 1938, Japanese forces attacked the Wuhan region, then a key wartime center after the Nationalist government moved inland. The battle involved massive troop movements and prolonged fighting across multiple provinces. Japan captured Wuhan, but China’s government and armies avoided complete collapse by continuing the war from deeper inland.
In October 1938, Japanese forces captured Guangzhou (Canton), a major port and commercial center in south China. The loss tightened Japan’s control over key coastal areas and reduced China’s access to overseas supply routes. It reinforced the pattern of Japan holding major cities while China relied on the interior for continued resistance.
On March 30, 1940, Wang Jingwei established a Japanese-backed Nationalist government in Nanjing. Japan used this regime to claim it was supporting a “peace” alternative to Chiang Kai-shek’s government in Chongqing. In practice, it depended heavily on Japanese power and intensified political fragmentation inside occupied China.
Beginning in August 1940, Chinese Communist forces launched the Hundred Regiments Offensive in North China. The campaign focused on sabotaging rail lines, bridges, and fortified positions to disrupt Japanese control and transport. It showed the growing military role of Communist-led forces, while also prompting harsh Japanese countermeasures in occupied areas.
From late December 1941 into mid-January 1942, Japanese forces launched a major attack on Changsha as the Pacific War began. Chinese forces successfully defended the city in the Third Battle of Changsha. The fighting demonstrated that, despite Japan’s advantages in equipment and mobility, some major inland targets could be held at high cost.
After the U.S. Doolittle Raid in April 1942, Japanese planners moved to eliminate airfields and punish communities that helped the raiders. From roughly May to September 1942, Japanese forces conducted the Zhejiang–Jiangxi Campaign, causing severe destruction and civilian suffering. The episode linked the China war more tightly to the broader Pacific conflict and highlighted the risks Chinese civilians faced in occupied and contested zones.
Starting in November 1943, Japanese forces attacked Changde in Hunan province, but later withdrew after heavy fighting. The battle showed Japan’s continuing ability to launch major offensives, but also the difficulty of holding gains deep inland against determined Chinese resistance. It foreshadowed the larger, resource-intensive campaigns Japan would attempt in 1944.
From April to December 1944, Japan launched Operation Ichi-Go, its largest ground offensive of the war in China. Key aims included opening an overland route toward French Indochina and capturing air bases used by American bombers. The operation won territory but did not end Chinese resistance, and it further exhausted Japan’s manpower and logistics.
On September 9, 1945, Japanese commanders formally surrendered in the China Theater at a ceremony in Nanjing. The event marked the end of major Japanese military operations in China and closed the main wartime chapter that began in 1937. Although political conflict in China continued afterward, the surrender ended Japan’s wartime campaign on the mainland.
Second Sino-Japanese War and major campaigns in China (1937-1945)