THE AFTERMATH OF THE SINO-JAPANESE WAR (1935-1945)

Above: Unburied corpses during the massacre in Marco Polo Bridge 1937

Tensions were simmering between China and Japan. Only an excuse was needed to ignite the flames. A minor incident on Marco Polo Bridge (near Beijing) between Japanese and Chinese soldiers on 7th July 1937, gave the excuse for Japan to jump into war against China. This was the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War.

The brush between the two Asian powers also speeded up the formal announcement of the second Guomindang or the CCP united front against Japan.

Above: Map showing Japanese Occupation and Control 1940

It was an uneasy truce between the Nationalists and the Communists and soon began to break down from late 1938. After 1940 the conflicts between the two became more and more intense in the areas not under Japanese control. The Communists won over the general masses with their grass root organizations, administrative reforms and various land and tax measures aimed at easing the pressure on the peasants. The Nationalists went all out to counter the spread of Communism as an ideal.

Above: Nationalist Soldiers marching during the second Sino-Japanese War

China came out in 1945 as a great military power but this was only of face value. Actually she was torn apart with civil war. Incessant wars, outside and inside, gnawed into the economy. Inflation spiraled as Nationalists began to thrive on profiteering, speculation and hoarding. Floods aggravated the situation. Millions of starving Chinese became homeless caught in the jaws of violence.

Above: Pictorials with “The Big Three” (Churchil, Roosevelt, and Stalin) during the Yalta Conference - February 2, 1945

The situation became worse for the people when, as per the agreement reached at Yalta Conference, in February 1945 Soviet troops marched into Manchuria to put an end to the war with Japan. On this point China had been consulted although it was not present at the conference. They had not opposed Soviet entry but it was understood that the latter would deal only with the Nationalist Government. After withdrawal of Japan the Soviets, as per terms of the treaty, dismantled and removed major industrial equipments left behind by Japan. However, the Soviet presence in northeast China indirectly allowed the Communists to arm themselves with the discarded Japanese equipments.

Above: Japanese soldier testing their deadly machine gun

The problems concerning the former Japanese occupied regions involving the reconstruction of the nation from the ravages of a long drawn war both outside and inside was staggering - to say the least.

Below: Chinese refugees writhing and make great physical effort in entering French Concession during the second Sino-Japanese War - December 1937

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