Initial Japanese conquests By July 1937 practically all Chinese regional military and political groups had rallied to support the Nationalist government and Chiang Kai-shek in their decision to oppose Japan by every means. The communists, who had urged a united front against Japan since 1935, pledged their support and put their armies nominally under command of the government. Learn about the efforts of German businessman John Rabe to protect the residents of Nanjing during the Sino-Japanese War Learn about German businessman John Rabe and his efforts to protect residents of Nanjing (Nanking), China, after the city was seized by the Japanese during the Sino-Japanese War. Contunico © ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Mainz See all videos for this article From a strictly military point of view, however, Japan was so much better prepared than China that its armies achieved rapid initial success. Within the course of two years Japan obtained possession of most of the ports, the majority of the chief cities as far west as Hankow (Hankou), and the larger part of the railways. Peiping and Tientsin (Tianjin) were occupied in July 1937. After fierce fighting, the Chinese armies were driven out of the Shanghai area by the middle of November 1937. Nanking (Nanjing), the Nationalist capital, fell in mid-December 1937, and the liquidation of that city and its inhabitants became known as the Nanjing Massacre. As many as 300,000 Chinese civilians and surrendered troops were killed. Moreover, tens of thousands of women were raped on the orders of Japanese commander Matsui Iwane. The capital was moved west to Hankow. The Japanese followed and took that city in October 1938. In the same month, the Chinese lost Canton (Guangzhou). The Japanese pressed northward and westward from Peiping along the railway lines into Shansi and Inner Mongolia. They dominated Shantung and took possession of the Peiping-Hankow, Tientsin-P’u-k’ou, and Lung-hai railways and of the rail lines in the lower part of the Yangtze valley. They had complete command of the sea. Always superior in the air, before many months they had all but destroyed the Chinese air force and bombed Chinese cities at will. The loss of life, particularly for the Chinese, was enormous. Yet the Chinese did not yield, and the war was prolonged far beyond Japan’s expectations. Chiang Kai-shek moved his capital to Chungking (Chongqing), in Szechwan (Sichuan), at the western end of the Yangtze gorges. Much of China’s leadership migrated to the far west, to Szechwan and Yünnan (Yunnan). Unoccupied China prepared for prolonged resistance. In occupied China, Japan was unsuccessful in inducing many Chinese to take office in the governments that it endeavoured to set up. Even there, Japan’s control was confined to the cities and the railway lines; outside these it was challenged by guerrilla bands that professed allegiance to the Nationalist government. The communists were particularly successful in using guerrilla methods to resist Japan. The rapid Japanese advances broke down the established patterns of politico-military control. Communist troops and organizers moved into the vast rural areas behind Japanese lines. They organized village self-defense units, created local governments, and expanded their own armies, the Eighth Route Army, operating in the mountains and plains of north China, and the New Fourth Army in the lower Yangtze valley. Pacific War: Japanese-controlled areas of China The Japanese seized Manchuria in 1931 and occupied much of the coast and North China Plain by 1941. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.