Азия перед Второй мировой войной: от распада Китая к японской агрессии

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This article is concerned with the events that preceded World War II in Asia.

The revolution led by the Kuomintang (KMT, or Chinese Nationalist Party) and others ended the last Chinese dynasty, the Qing dynasty, which was replaced by a republic, the Republic of China, in 1912. Prior to World War I, however, the ROC central government failed to effectively rule its territory. China fell into a fragmented region of local warlords. Other than the warlord controlled central government, two primary forces aimed to unite China under their ideology. The KMT was reorganized in 1919, and the Chinese Communist Party was formed in 1921. The two parties were not immediate enemies and had short term partnership. In 1924, KMT started a military campaign to defeat the northern warlords. In 1927, with much of southern and central China under the KMT control, the KMT openly turned on the CPC. The KMT took most parts of China under its power in 1928, and the warlord controlling Manchuria agreed to KMT leadership of Generalissimo Chiang Kai shek.

Many historians argue that World War II began with the Marco Polo Bridge Incident on July 7, 1937. While other historians believe the war began with the Mukden Incident in Manchuria on September 18, 1931. Japanese occupation of much of Asia would last until 1945.

September 1940: Japan invades French Indochina. April, 1941: American volunteer pilots secretly recruited in U. S. Their first actual combat will be in December 1941 in Burma where they will begin to wreak havoc upon Japanese forces and will soon be named the Flying Tigers. June 22, 1941: Germany invades the Soviet Union in what became known as Operation Barbarossa. August, 1941: The United States, which at the time supplied 80% of Japanese oil imports, initiates a complete oil embargo. This threatens to cripple both the Japanese economy and military strength once the strategic reserves run dry, unless alternative oil sources can be found. December 7, 1941: Japan invades Hong Kong, Guam, Malaya and The Philippines shortly after attacking Pearl Harbor. The United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom formally declare war on Japan the next day.