The tri-city of Wuhan fell to the Japanese invaders in October 1938. The invaders, believing that the Chinese would capitulate with the fall of their temporary capital, were surprised to see Chiang Kai-Shek and the rest of […]
Although the Japanese had successfully eliminated most Chinese air opposition in Southern China during the autumn of 1937, shipments of new aircraft from foreign partners continued to arrive in the area. American, British, German and […]
In March 1938, with the Japanese having consolidated their hold on Shanghai and Nanking, the advance into Central China slowed down. No plan existed for further operations, as the Japanese had expected the Chinese to […]
In November 1937, with Shanghai secured, the Japanese turned their attention on Nanking. The old capital was devoid of any worthwhile defences so the Chinese decided not to fight for the city as they had […]
USS Panay was a river gunboat built in Shanghai in 1927-8 for the US Navy’s Yangtze River patrol. She was a small vessel, only around 500 tons displacement, with a shallow draft that allowed her […]
As the fighting erupted in Shanghai in August 1937, the Chinese authorities began to look to the great powers of the west for assistance. The first to offer meaningful help was the Soviet Union, with […]
After the debacle that was the initial bombing campaign against China, the 1st Rengo Kokutai was forced to take stock. So many bombers had been lost to enemy fighters and anti-aircraft fire that a radical […]
The Battle of Shanghai continued into October 1937. After the Japanese had successfully landed at Baoshan, on the southern bank of the Yangtze, they failed to follow up this success with further gains. Pushing south […]
As the fighting around Shanghai and Nanking raged, events around the southern city of Canton (now Guangdong) were conspiring to draw Japanese air and naval forces into battle in that area. Still hoping to conclude […]
Although the “China Incident”, as the Japanese referred to the war in China, began near the old northern capital of Beijing air activity in the area was minimal compared to the central Shanghai front. Chiang […]
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