Lin Limin
Editor’s note: 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. To remember history, honor fallen heroes, cherish peace and create a better future, CGTN has launched the “Reframing the War: China’s Strategic Role and Historical Reckoning” series. This is the second article in the series. Lin Limin, a special commentator for CGTN, is a professor at the University of International Relations and the president of the Chinese Society for the Study of the History of World War II. The article reflects the author’s opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.
In response to the global economic crisis triggered by the Great Depression of 1929, countries like Germany, Japan and Italy adopted fascist models characterized by domestic authoritarianism and external aggression. Seeking to escape the crisis through territorial expansion and war, they launched a wave of military invasions that ultimately ignited World War II (WWII).
Meanwhile, powerful Western nations such as the United States, Great Britain and France, despite operating under parliamentary democracy and possessing considerable strength, chose a policy of appeasement. By attempting to “feed the wolf to stop it biting,” they sought to pacify fascist aggression at the expense of so-called middle countries like China, which at that time were either colonies or semi-colonies.
This policy of appeasement only emboldened the Axis powers including Germany, Japan and Italy to accelerate their campaigns of conquest and widen the scope of their aggression. As a result, the flames of war spread from Asia to Europe and eventually engulfed the entire world.
China: The first to raise arms in resistance against global fascist aggression
Japanese militarists deliberately staged the September 18 Incident in 1931 near Liutiao Lake, launching an armed invasion of northeast China. This incident exposed the ruthless ambitions of Japanese fascism and posed a grave threat to global peace and stability.
In response, the Communist Party of China (CPC) was the first to raise the banner of armed resistance against Japanese aggression, sounding the call for a national war of self-defense. The Chinese people’s determined resistance in the northeast marked the starting point of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and, more broadly, signaled the beginning of the World Anti-Fascist War.
War of Resistance lasted the longest and inflicted the heaviest losses on the Japanese military
When Japan invaded China’s three northeastern provinces in 1931, China lagged far behind Japan in terms of economic development, technological capability and military equipment. Yet in the face of a grave threat to the nation’s very survival, the Chinese people, undeterred by a stronger enemy, rose up with extraordinary courage to defend their homeland and uphold national dignity.
From the very outset of Japan’s incursion into China’s three northeastern provinces to its invasion of Shanghai, China’s military and civilians launched determined counterattacks. On September 19, 1931, Chinese forces engaged in fierce combat with the Japanese army near Changchun, inflicting 145 casualties in a single day. In November of that year, Chinese troops and local militias fought valiantly to halt the Japanese advance toward key northeastern cities such as Qiqihar and Harbin, killing as well as wounding over a thousand Japanese soldiers.
In January 1932, over a thousand kilometers away from the northeastern front, China’s resistance expanded to the Battle of Shanghai. In that campaign, Chinese forces forced the Japanese military to increase troop deployments three times and replace their commanding generals four times. Japan committed more than four full divisions, which were supported by large numbers of aircraft and naval vessels. Over the course of around one month, the Japanese suffered tens of thousands of casualties and were ultimately forced to agree to a ceasefire, abandoning their attempt to occupy Shanghai.
Except combats in the northeastern regions, following the Defense of the Great Wall in 1933 and the Suiyuan Campaign in 1936, Chinese forces and civilians launched a series of major battles after July 1937, including the Battle of Beiping-Tianjin, the Second Battle of Shanghai, the Battle of Nanjing, the Battle of Taierzhuang and the Battle of Pingxingguan, etc. These hard-fought campaigns together formed the backbone of the “main Eastern battlefield” of the global war against fascism during WWII.
By the time the European theater of war began in 1939, China had already been resisting the Japanese fascist invasion alone for eight years. After the outbreak of wars in Europe, the Soviet Union’s Great Patriotic War and the Pacific War, Chinese forces continued the fight shoulder-to-shoulder with Allied powers such as the Soviet Union, the U.S. and Great Britain. Chinese forces fought in major campaigns including the Hundred-Regiment Campaign, the Battle of Changsha, the Battle of Kunlun Pass domestically and also participated in the India-Burma Campaign.
Behind enemy lines, the CPC led the main anti-Japanese forces, namely the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army and the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, in a wide-ranging guerrilla war. People of all ages and walks of life joined the struggle, employing tactics such as landmine warfare, tunnel warfare, sparrow warfare (small-group ambushes) and sabotage operations. These forms of irregular warfare dealt heavy blows to the Japanese invaders, leaving them in constant fear and disarray, unable to stabilize their front or rear lines.
According to historical records, the U.S. was directly involved in WWII for three years and nine months, the Soviet Union for four years and two months and the United Kingdom for six years. In contrast, China’s participation in the war spanned a full 14 years. Among all the Allied nations, China engaged in the anti-fascist war for the longest duration and endured the heaviest sacrifices.
From 1931 to 1945, Chinese military and civilian forces fought in nearly 200,000 battles of varying scale, including more than 200 major campaigns. Over 35 million Chinese military personnel and civilians were killed or wounded.
Chinese forces inflicted over 1.5 million casualties on Japanese troops which accounted for more than half of all Japanese military deaths during WWII. Over 100 Japanese generals were killed on the Chinese battlefield. After Japan announced its surrender in August 1945, more than 2.3 million Japanese troops laid down their arms on the China front, making up more than two-thirds of all Japanese forces that surrendered overseas.
China made a major strategic contribution to the Allied victory in the global anti-fascist war
China’s military and civilians shouldered the responsibility of fighting independently at the main Eastern battlefield of WWII. Through prolonged and resolute resistance against Japanese aggression, they achieved remarkable military successes and exerted a profound influence on the overall course of the war. In doing so, China made a major strategic contribution to the Allied effort for ultimate victory in the global anti-fascist war.
Structurally, Japan’s fascist military machine appeared to be divided between army and navy, but in reality, the Imperial Japanese Army dominated in terms of personnel and funding, as it accounted for over two-thirds of Japan’s military resources. This imbalance gave the army a decisive role in shaping Japan’s strategy of external aggression. The longstanding characteristic of Japanese militarist decision-making was “army-led, navy-following.”
Throughout the 14 years of the War of Resistance, sustained and heavy blows delivered by Chinese forces forced Japan to concentrate the bulk of its army on the China front. At the same time, the Japanese navy was also increasingly drawn into operations against China. During WWII, roughly two-thirds of all Japanese ground forces were deployed in China on average, with the figure reaching as high as four-fifths at its peak.
The Chinese military and civilian forces, through prolonged and heroic resistance, effectively tied down and depleted the main forces of the Japanese army, exerting a far-reaching strategic influence on the overall course of WWII.
First, China’s resistance forced Japan to abandon its plan for a “northward advance.” Japan’s fascist leadership had initially contemplated launching a northern campaign against the Soviet Union, which would have required heavy deployment of ground forces. However, because China had already engaged and continuously weakened the bulk of Japan’s army, Japan was left with insufficient forces to pursue the northward advance strategy and had to abandon it.
Second, China delayed and constrained Japan’s “southward advance.” The Imperial Japanese Navy was adamant about a southern push to attack the U.S. and British forces and seize Southeast Asia. But occupying Southeast Asia also required substantial army support. With the Japanese army bogged down on the China front and suffering heavy losses, it was unable to meet the navy’s demands. This forced Japan to postpone its southern campaign and significantly limited the pace, scope and outcomes of its advance into Southeast Asia.
Third, Japan was compelled to abandon its plan to invade Australia. After occupying Southeast Asia, the Japanese navy sought to dominate the Western Pacific and proposed deploying 50 army divisions to invade and occupy Australia. However, due to the Chinese people’s relentless resistance tying down Japan’s ground forces, the Japanese military simply could not spare the required divisions. As a result, the invasion plan was shelved.
Fourth, Japan’s ambition to move westward and launch an offensive into India ended in failure. In 1944, Japan initiated the Battle of Imphal in Burma, hoping to coordinate with Germany’s war efforts against the Soviet Union by advancing into India. But with its main army forces immobilized in China, Japan could send only 100,000 troops to the Imphal front, an insufficient force that ultimately suffered a devastating defeat.
In short, from 1931 to 1945, the Chinese military and civilians fought with extraordinary courage, becoming the first in the world to raise the banner of armed resistance against fascist aggression. They bravely shouldered and fulfilled the historic responsibility of fighting independently at the main Eastern battlefield in the global war against fascism.
Over the course of 14 years of sustained warfare, Chinese forces inflicted heavy casualties on Japanese troops, tied down and depleted the main forces of the Japanese army and forced Japan to abandon its “northward advance,” postpone its “southward advance” and give up plans to invade Australia and India. These efforts made an indelible historical contribution to the Allied victory in the war against Japan and to the broader triumph of WWII against fascism.
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