The Second Sino-Japanese War Notes

The Second Sino-Japanese War
Stalemate

  • Despite Japanese offensives after 1938, they failed to hold territory due to Chinese forces returning.

  • Japanese advance slowed significantly from 17.4 km/day in 1937 to 0.6 km/day in 1940.

  • The war stalemated.

China's Illusive Center of Gravity

  • Japanese targeted various centers of gravity to force Chinese capitulation.

  • Initially, the Nationalist capital (Beijing, Nanjing, Wuhan) was targeted, but the Nationalists moved to Chongqing.

  • Second presumed center of gravity: Chinese will to resist, leading to brutalization of occupied populations.

Brutalization of Occupied Populations

  • Japanese troops were ordered to treat Chinese as belligerents, leading to massacres (e.g., Rape of Nanjing), terror bombing, and epidemics.

  • Over 95 million Chinese became refugees, devastating local economies.

  • However, the Chinese continued to resist.

Nationalist Economy as Center of Gravity

  • Japan targeted the Nationalist economy, concentrated in coastal cities.

  • By 1938, Japan controlled key economic centers, causing an economic implosion.

  • Nationalists moved industry inland, but lost significant productive capacity and tax revenue.

  • Government budget deficits increased, leading to currency devaluation and reliance on the opium trade.

Economic Effects on Japan

  • Economic gains in China were offset by collapsing trade and rising military expenditures, straining relations with Western powers.

Nationalist Response

  • Nationalists retreated inland, overextending Japanese lines, and employed guerrilla warfare.

  • By 1938, 600,000-700,000 guerrillas harassed Japanese operations.

  • This impeded Japanese offensives, undermined security, and stymied economic development.

  • Chinese strategy denied Japan a quick victory.

Communist Strategy

  • Insurgency forced Japan into a point-line strategy, leaving the countryside to guerrillas and Communists.

  • Communists organized peasantry with promises of land ownership.

  • Chiang Kai-shek believed overextension would force Japan to withdraw.

Counterinsurgency

  • Japanese and Communists conducted counterinsurgencies, weakening Nationalist base areas.

  • Communists focused on organizing behind Japanese and Nationalist lines to prepare for the postwar civil war.

Nationalism

  • Japanese officers underestimated Chinese nationalism, which undermined their military strategy.

"Providing for the war by war"

  • Japanese decision to live off the land alienated the Chinese population.

  • They turned to drug trafficking and used poison gas and germ warfare, further alienating public opinion.

Hatred Instilled

  • These actions fueled recruitment for Nationalists and Communists and increased Japan's diplomatic isolation.

  • The Japanese began targeting China's trade and aid from outside, leading to the capture of key ports and the construction of the Burma Road.

The Interplay of Policy and Strategy

  • Japan's goals expanded from Manchuria to regime change in Chongqing.

  • Escalating demands precluded negotiated settlement, uniting Chinese against Japan.

Konoe Fumimaro

  • Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro aimed for regime change, believing Japan deserved a greater share of the world's riches and promoted imperial expansion.