Japan captured Chinese cities from 1937 but could not end Chinese resistance, so the war drained resources and angered the USA.
Taking Manchuria in 1931 did not give Japan control of China. In July 1937, a clash at the Marco Polo Bridge near Beijing grew into full war. Japan captured major cities, including the capital, Nanjing, in December 1937. But Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists and the Chinese Communists kept fighting, even though they were rivals.
A long war needed soldiers, money, weapons and fuel, and holding captured land used up more. Japan had to import many of these. Taking a city was a military gain, but it did not end Chinese resistance, which was Japan's larger aim.
Japan's advance threatened China's sovereignty, its right to rule itself. It also hurt US trade in China. Reports of Japanese brutality won China sympathy in the USA. The USA gave China more help and slowly limited supplies to Japan. But it did not declare war in 1937.
- July 1937
- Marco Polo Bridge clash starts full war in China.
- December 1937
- Japan captures Nanjing.
- Resistance
- Nationalists and Communists keep fighting.
Worked example: Why taking the capital did not help
Japan captured Nanjing in December 1937, but Chinese forces fought on.
- China does not surrender, so Japan must keep fighting.
- Ships, planes and troops still need fuel and supplies.
- So Japan depends more on imports, which the USA can restrict.
Watch out for this
China stopped fighting when Japan captured Nanjing.
Chinese Nationalist and Communist forces kept resisting after Nanjing fell.
Check your understanding
Why was the war in China a problem for Japan?
- China surrendered in 1937, leaving Japan with nothing to do.
- The USA declared war on Japan in 1937.
- China kept resisting, so the war used up resources Japan had to import.