"Do you know how a Komodo Dragon hunts, gentlemen? They say the animal strikes the poor prey from its spot, and if it escapes the first attack the creature then trail it for days or weeks until the bacteria injected by the bite kills the animal. When I review our recent military history, I say that the Chinese escaped our first attack, but the wounds are not so easily shed." -General Hideki Tojo
Early Attacks
Following the Marco Polo bridge incident in 1937, Imperial Japan declared war on the fractured Chinese states and opened the second Sino-Japanese war. The Kwangtung army, stationed in Manchukuo and led by General Hideki Tojo, saw several swift victories early in the war. Between August and December of 1937, the army saw several victories. Split up into 3 groups (estimated at 300,000 troops total), 200,000 swept through the Mongol Military Government, 50,000 through Hebei, and 50,000 through East Hebei and saw the collapse of defences from the splintered and underprepared Chinese forces. Nationalist and Communist forces responded by beefing up defenses in Shandong and on their borders, however the army attacked in a bloody campaign through Shanxi-Suiyan that cost them nearly 19,000 total in casualties. A series of naval attacks and invasions near or on Qingdao, Shanghai, and an attempted attack on Nanjing via river created disarray among the nationalists, and by March of 1938 many major Chinese cities in the north or along the coast had fallen. With the coast secure, the Imperial Japanese landed armored support and reinforcements in mainland China and started the push towards Nanjing.
Midpoint of the War
Due to his involvement in the opening moves of the war and their success, Tojo was appointed as official head of the IJA. Under his new command, immediately the military set up a puppet government by the name of the Sensaisho Empire out of Shanxi, the lands of the Chinese SR, and the Northeastern Army remnants. Weapons, armour and training funneled into Sensaisho saw another quasi-independent front opened up with a governing center much closer to the mainland and that was years more familiar with the terrain. Following this, the IJA returned their focus to the nationalists. Combined arms warfare, or essentially a blitzkrieg with Japanese elements, saw a massive punch into Chinese lines and the capture of Nanjing. This nearly unprecedented success saw major setbacks, as they were quickly beset by arriving Western Chinese troops in July of 1938. Combined with supply issues, Nanjing was lost 22 days after it was taken on July 14th. Noticing this, the high command used Taiwan for another set of invasions aiming to take Fuzhou, Quanzhou, and Wenzhou to even out the front and divert Chinese troops. This strategy worked, and a breakdown of Communist-Nationalist relations in the Nanjing incident in which an undisciplined platoon of communist troops decided to raise the CSR colours over the city and proclaimed it to be communist. This division, Japanese advances, and the success of the Sensaisho Empire in the North brought the "War of Chinese Domination" into its final phase.
Final Phase
The Sensaisho, for about 4 months, had been relentlessly attacking the Ma cliques in the north and finally saw their capitulation on July 29th. This allowed for a massive amount of troops to be diverted into the now almost undefended borders of Sichuan and Chaunbian. The once more divided Chinese forces were steamrolled by the better equipped, better trained, and better supported Japanese and Sensaisho troops. The unification of the Eastern and Western Chinese fronts in Wuhan on September 6th, 1938 saw celebration across the Imperial Armed Forces. The 27 day push south towards Guangzhou was some of the bloodiest fighting of the war, seeing around 100,000 Japanese casualties in total. What remained of the combined Kwangtung and Sensaisho armies took Kunming the day before the battle of Guangzhou, on October 2nd. The desperate remaining Chinese rallied what they believed a valiant defense, but a traitor revealed their plans to the Japanese army. Rather than an infantry assault, the IJAF decided to launch an extensive bombing campaign against the city of Nanning.
Aftermath
On October 13th, a congregation of Chinese leaders met in the ruins of Nanjing to sign a treaty with the Emperor and head of the Imperial Japanese Army, Hideki Tojo. The Treaty of Nanking saw any state west of Sichuan that participated in the war reduced to Protectorate states. Hebei, East Hebei, Shandong, and the Mongol Military Government were annexed by the Sensaisho Empire, and what remained was directly annexed by the Empire of Japan. Upon learning of the Rape of Nanking, Emperor Hirohito saw over 200,000 soldiers court martialed, exiled, disgraced, or executed for their crimes in the conflict. Due to his reputation and capability, the Emperor avoided charging Tojo with Dereliction of Duty, but made it rather clear the outcome of a repeat offense under his watch.
Early Attacks
Following the Marco Polo bridge incident in 1937, Imperial Japan declared war on the fractured Chinese states and opened the second Sino-Japanese war. The Kwangtung army, stationed in Manchukuo and led by General Hideki Tojo, saw several swift victories early in the war. Between August and December of 1937, the army saw several victories. Split up into 3 groups (estimated at 300,000 troops total), 200,000 swept through the Mongol Military Government, 50,000 through Hebei, and 50,000 through East Hebei and saw the collapse of defences from the splintered and underprepared Chinese forces. Nationalist and Communist forces responded by beefing up defenses in Shandong and on their borders, however the army attacked in a bloody campaign through Shanxi-Suiyan that cost them nearly 19,000 total in casualties. A series of naval attacks and invasions near or on Qingdao, Shanghai, and an attempted attack on Nanjing via river created disarray among the nationalists, and by March of 1938 many major Chinese cities in the north or along the coast had fallen. With the coast secure, the Imperial Japanese landed armored support and reinforcements in mainland China and started the push towards Nanjing.
Midpoint of the War
Due to his involvement in the opening moves of the war and their success, Tojo was appointed as official head of the IJA. Under his new command, immediately the military set up a puppet government by the name of the Sensaisho Empire out of Shanxi, the lands of the Chinese SR, and the Northeastern Army remnants. Weapons, armour and training funneled into Sensaisho saw another quasi-independent front opened up with a governing center much closer to the mainland and that was years more familiar with the terrain. Following this, the IJA returned their focus to the nationalists. Combined arms warfare, or essentially a blitzkrieg with Japanese elements, saw a massive punch into Chinese lines and the capture of Nanjing. This nearly unprecedented success saw major setbacks, as they were quickly beset by arriving Western Chinese troops in July of 1938. Combined with supply issues, Nanjing was lost 22 days after it was taken on July 14th. Noticing this, the high command used Taiwan for another set of invasions aiming to take Fuzhou, Quanzhou, and Wenzhou to even out the front and divert Chinese troops. This strategy worked, and a breakdown of Communist-Nationalist relations in the Nanjing incident in which an undisciplined platoon of communist troops decided to raise the CSR colours over the city and proclaimed it to be communist. This division, Japanese advances, and the success of the Sensaisho Empire in the North brought the "War of Chinese Domination" into its final phase.
Final Phase
The Sensaisho, for about 4 months, had been relentlessly attacking the Ma cliques in the north and finally saw their capitulation on July 29th. This allowed for a massive amount of troops to be diverted into the now almost undefended borders of Sichuan and Chaunbian. The once more divided Chinese forces were steamrolled by the better equipped, better trained, and better supported Japanese and Sensaisho troops. The unification of the Eastern and Western Chinese fronts in Wuhan on September 6th, 1938 saw celebration across the Imperial Armed Forces. The 27 day push south towards Guangzhou was some of the bloodiest fighting of the war, seeing around 100,000 Japanese casualties in total. What remained of the combined Kwangtung and Sensaisho armies took Kunming the day before the battle of Guangzhou, on October 2nd. The desperate remaining Chinese rallied what they believed a valiant defense, but a traitor revealed their plans to the Japanese army. Rather than an infantry assault, the IJAF decided to launch an extensive bombing campaign against the city of Nanning.
Aftermath
On October 13th, a congregation of Chinese leaders met in the ruins of Nanjing to sign a treaty with the Emperor and head of the Imperial Japanese Army, Hideki Tojo. The Treaty of Nanking saw any state west of Sichuan that participated in the war reduced to Protectorate states. Hebei, East Hebei, Shandong, and the Mongol Military Government were annexed by the Sensaisho Empire, and what remained was directly annexed by the Empire of Japan. Upon learning of the Rape of Nanking, Emperor Hirohito saw over 200,000 soldiers court martialed, exiled, disgraced, or executed for their crimes in the conflict. Due to his reputation and capability, the Emperor avoided charging Tojo with Dereliction of Duty, but made it rather clear the outcome of a repeat offense under his watch.