The Marco Polo Bridge Incident (7 Jul 1937 Jahr – 9 Jul 1937 Jahr)

Beschreibung:

The Marco Polo Incident marked the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War. It occurred near the Marco Polo Bridge, outside of Beijing. The growing Japanese influence in China was producing a growing anti-Japanese movement, that even resulted in the formation of the Second United front in 1936. On the night of July 7, 1937, a small Japanese force on maneuvers near the Marco Polo Bridge demanded entry to the tiny walled town of Wanping in order to search for one of their soldiers. The Chinese garrison in the town refused the Japanese entry, and then a shot was heard, and so, the two sides began firing. The Chinese government, under strong anti-Japanese pressure, refused to make any concessions in the negotiation of the dispute. The Japanese also maintained their position. As a result, the conflict grew into warfare between the two states.