User:Blueshirts/Sino-Japanese War

The first project I have undertaken is the Second Sino-Japanese War. Nobody really understands how or acknowledges that the KMT troops were able to withstand the vastly superior Japanese army, and I think this deserves more attention.

China fought alone from the Mukden Incident of 1931, to the outbreak of war in 1937, until 1941 when the China Theater was incorporated into the greater conflict of World War II. If one counts from 1937, one would find that for more than four years China fought on its own, refusing to surrender, even when millions of soldiers died in battle and civilians perished in the crossfire. Not to mention that China was vastly underequipped, had comparatively miniscule industrial output, had little experience in modern warfare and logistics, and had to deal with insurrections from the Chinese Communists and resurgent warlords. On the other hand, France's extremely quick six week capitulation, along with the rest of Western Europe to Nazi Germany, casts no further doubt on just how much tenacity and resolve that China fought with. No nation on earth went through what China had to go through. As the announcer of a 1945 newsreel about the signing of the UN Charter says, "the Republic of China is the first one to sign, because she is the first one to stand up against Fascism" (paraphrased as my memory isn't all that clear).

Of course, the ROC army's defeat by the Communists in 1949 makes one have second thoughts on its ferociousness and steadfastness in fighting Japan. One thing to keep in mind was that Chiang Kai-shek and his government were not very popular, and made a series of stumbling economic and political measures that pretty much handed victory to the Communists. Thus, I also plan to address such issues in the future (perhaps in the far future). But right now, I will mostly concentrate on telling the history of the eight years (or fifteen years, depending on how one counts it) of war that China fought with such persistence and valor, that no other country even came close. (okay, maybe the Soviet Union, but they practically started the war together with Germany).

22 Major Engagements:


 * 01. 淞滬會戰 (Shanghai, Aug-Oct 1937)
 * 02. 忻口會戰 (Battle of Xinkou, Oct-Nov 1937) this is also includes Battle of Taiyuan.
 * 03. 徐州會戰 (Xuzhou, Mar-Jun 1938)
 * 04. 武漢會戰 (Wuhan, Jul-Nov 1938)
 * 05. 南昌會戰 (Nanchang, Mar 1939)
 * 06. 隨棗會戰 (Siu-Zhao, May 1939)
 * 07. 第一次長沙會戰 (Changsha, Sep-Oct 1939)
 * 08. 桂南會戰 (Guanxi, Nov 1939-Feb 1940)
 * 09. 棗宜會戰 (Zhao-Yi, May-Jun 1940)
 * 10. 豫南會戰 (Henan, Jan-Feb 1941)
 * 11. 上高會戰 (Shanggao, Mar 1941)
 * 12. 晉南會戰 (Shanxi, May-Jun 1941)
 * 13. 第二次長沙會戰 (Changsha, Sep-Oct 1941)
 * 14. 第三次長沙會戰 (Changsha, Dec 1941 - Jan 1942)
 * 15. 浙贛會戰 (Zhe-Jiang, May-Aug 1942)
 * 16. 鄂西會戰 (Hubei, May-Jun 1943)
 * 17. 常德會戰 (Changde, Nov 1943 - Jan 1944)
 * 18. 豫中會戰 (Henan, Apr-Jun 1943)
 * 19. 長衡會戰 (Changsha-Hengyang, May-Aug 1944)
 * 20. 桂柳會戰 (Guilin, Aug-Nov 1944)
 * 21. 豫西鄂北會戰 (West Henan-North Hubei, Mar-May, 1945)
 * 22. 湘西會戰 (Hunan, Apr-May, 1945)

Wikipedia links

 * Second Sino-Japanese War (Traditional Chinese)
 * Timeline of the Republic of China (Traditional Chinese)
 * History of the Republic of China (Traditional Chinese)
 * Second Sino-Japanese War images at wikipedia commons (category)
 * Second Sino-Japanese War images at wikipedia commons
 * Chinese armies in the Second Sino-Japanese War
 * National Revolutionary Army
 * Manual of Style (China-related articles)
 * APP-6a