Charles River Editors - The Japanese Invasion of Manchuria and the Rape of Nanking: The History of the Most Notorious Events of the Second Sino-Japanese War

By Charles River Editors

A picture of Japanese troops marching into Mukden on September 18, 1931

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A picture of Lieutenant General Shigeru Honj, commander in chief of the Japanese forces in Manchuria, acknowledging the salutes of a procession of Japanese residents of Mukden celebrating the establishment of a new puppet state in Manchuria

The Invasion of Manchuria

Here, many hundreds of leagues from home,

The red setting sun of distant Manchuria

Shines down on a stone at the edge of a field,

Beneath which my friend lies.

It grieves me to think of the brave hero

Who only yesterday headed the charge

Ruthlessly setting upon the enemy.

I wonder, will he sleep well here? - Senyu, a Japanese song from the Russo-Japanese War,

Though scarcely mentioned in the world of early 21 st century politics, Manchuria represented a key region of Asia during the first half of the 20 th century. Once the heartland of the fierce Manchu empire, this northeastern Chinese region's rich natural resources made it a prize for nations in the process of entering the modern age, and three ambitious nations in the midst of such a transformation lay close enough to Manchuria to attempt to claim it: Japan, Russia, and China.

For countries attempting to shake off their feudal past and enter a dynamic era of industrialization, Manchuria's resources presented an irresistible lure. With immense natural resources coupled to economic activity more concentrated than elsewhere in China, this region, abutting Mongolia, Korea, the Yellow Sea, and the Great Wall accounted for 90 percent of Chinas oil, 70 percent of its iron, 55 percent of its gold, and 33 percent of its trade. If Shanghai remained Chinas commercial center, by 1931 Manchuria had become its industrial center. (Paine, 2012, 15).

Thus, its not altogether surprising that Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931 resulted from a long, complex chain of historical events stretching back to the late 19 th century. Approximately 380,000 square miles in extent, or 1.4 times the size of the American state of Texas, Manchuria came into Imperial Russia's possession in 1900 due to the Boxer Rebellion in China, but the Russians held it only briefly; their defeat in the Russo-Japanese War shook loose their control from important parts of Manchuria by the end of 1905.

The Japanese gained two important footholds in Manchuria thanks to their victory. One consisted of Port Arthur (renamed Ryojun by the Japanese), an economically and strategically vital harbor city on the Liaodung Peninsula, plus the peninsula itself. The other comprised the South Manchurian Railway, which the Russians gave to the Japanese as a prize of war, in lieu of a cash indemnity. The Japanese subsequently formed the South Manchurian Railway Company, mostly owned by the Japanese Army, and Japanese civilians began investing heavily in Manchuria's lucrative industries. Tens of thousands of entrepreneurs flooded into Manchuria, greatly strengthening Japan's interests in the area. The Japanese Army stepped up their presence in this economically vital region, creating a quasi-independent military force and government known as the Kwantung Army.

Naturally, the Chinese also wanted their portion of the tempting Manchurian feast. Unable to go head to head with the organized, thoroughly militaristic Japanese, they sent some 6 million emigrant laborers and settlers into the area as a sort of demographic occupation. Nominally Chinese but subject to massive Japanese investment and military infiltration, filled with bandits and rival chieftains, Manchuria hovered on the brink of another conflict in the 1920s.

The Kwantung Army deliberately shoved it over that brink in 1931, and the Japanese invasion and occupation of Manchuria is sometimes described as the true beginning of World War II. At the very least, it marked the expansion of Japans imperial empire, its ongoing friction with China, and what would turn into a Chinese resistance campaign that would last nearly 15 years until the end of World War II. Given its importance, the invasion of Manchuria continues to be remembered as one of the seminal events of the 20 th century.

The Japanese Invasion of Manchuria and the Rape of Nanking: The History of the Most Notorious Events of the Second Sino-Japanese War examines the important events in northeastern China. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the invasion of Manchuria like never before.

The Rape of Nanking

From a military point of view, the taking of Nanking may be considered a victory for the Japanese army but judging it from the moral law, it is a defeat and a national disgracewhich will hinder cooperation and friendship with China for years to come, and forever lose her the respect of those living in Nanking today. - Minnie Vautrin, missionary, writing in her diary during the Nanking Massacre (Hu, 2010, 41).

When you're talking about the Japanese military, thievery and rape just come with the territory. We stabbed them with bayonets, cut open pregnant women and took out the child. I killed five or six of them myself. I used to do some pretty brutal things. - Kodaira Yoshio, former Japanese soldier (Honda, 2015, 122).

This is the shortest day of the year, but it still contains twenty-four hours of this hell on earth. - Dr. Robert Wilson, diary entry in Nanking, December 21 st , 1937 (Brook, 1999, 219).

Three days of plundering traditionally befell cities taken by storm, a fate usually avoided by those surrendering before the first attacking soldier penetrated beyond the outer walls. In Europe and areas influenced by Enlightenment thinkers, this practice faded rapidly after the Napoleonic Wars. In 1937, however, as the Imperial Army of Japan invaded China, this custom returned in a horrifying new form the Rape of Nanking or the Nanking Massacre, a bloodbath lasting more than six weeks and possibly claiming more than a quarter of a million lives.

Even the Japanese participating in the Nanking Massacre provided no rationale for their actions. They made no effort to explain it as a measure to terrorize other Chinese cities into surrender, or even to extract the location of hidden valuables. Instead, the Rape appears on the page of history as a psychopathic orgy of sadism for sadism's sake. Insatiably driven by hatred and, apparently, an unabashed relish for cruelty, the Japanese soldiery abandoned any semblance of restraint.