Second Sino-Japanese War

Beginning in 1937, but merging into World War Two in the Pacific ending in 1941, the Second Sino-Japanese War was a period of much-increased combat, beyond the fighting at the borders with Manchuria (Manchuokuo) and Korea. It was complicated by varying levels of civil war among Chinese factions, especially the Kuomintang under Chiang Kai-Shek and the Communists under Mao Zedong, and lesser involvement by regional warlords.

It has been broken into three periods:
 * First Period: 7 July 1937 (Battle of Lugou Bridge, also called the Marco Polo Bridge Incident) - 25 October 1938 (Fall of Hankou). "The Chinese army would put up token fights to delay Japanese advance to northeastern cities, to allow the home front, along with its professionals and key industries, to retreat further west into Chongqing to build up military strength." It traded "space for time" ( 以空间换取时间 )
 * Second Period: 25 October 1938 (Fall of Hankou) - July, 1944. "During the second period, the Chinese army adopted the concept of "magnetic warfare"," using tactical and operational art to draw the Japanese into ambushes and encirclements. "The most prominent example of this tactic is the successful defense of Changsha (长沙) numerous times."
 * Third Period: July 1944 - 15 August 1945. This period employs general full frontal counter-offensive. As of mid 1945, all sides expected the war to continue for at least another year. However it was suddenly ended by the  capitulation of Japan to the allies on August 14, 1945. The Japanese troops in China formally surrendered on September 9, 1945 and by the provisions of the Cairo Conference of 1943 the lands of Manchuria, Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands reverted to China.