Countries suffered huge losses in World War II. China was no exception. Naturally, against the background of various figures, which are a reflection of the material costs of a certain people, which have found expression in numerous destruction, human losses do not seem large. Especially when you consider that they are replenished due to the excess fertility that occurs after international conflicts. But such judgments are too superficial. Human casualties have always been considered major. Each person plays an important role, and his loss is a significant loss for the nation. This cannot be said about material values.
China's role has not been appreciated
Scientists noted that China played an important role in World War II. The conflict in this country, according to experts, began in 1931. It was during this period that Japan attacked Manchuria. Until today, humanity has not appreciated the role of China in the victory over fascism. However, the troops of this country for a long period constrained the forces of Japan, preventing it from starting a conflict against the Soviet Union. To understand what losses China suffered in World War II, we should study in more detail the events that occurred in those distant times.
The beginning of hostilities
In 1937, two years before the outbreak of hostilities against Poland by Germany, the Chinese forces entered into a firefight with the Japanese garrison. It happened on the south side of Beijing. It was this spark that triggered the conflict in Asia. The years of war entailed great sacrifices. The confrontation continued for 8 years.
Japan began to think about dominance in Asia since the 20s. In 1910, the status of the Japanese colony was obtained by Korea. In 1931, officers of Japanese troops occupied and annexed Manchuria. This region of China totaled about 35 million people and possessed a significant amount of natural resources.
By the beginning of 1937, a significant part of Inner Mongolia was occupied by Japanese forces . In addition, the pressure exerted on Beijing has intensified. In those days, the capital of China was the city of Nanjing. The leader of the country and the nationalist party, Chiang Kai-shek, was aware that everything was going to war with Japan.
Combat clashes
The clashes near Beijing only intensified. The Chinese were not going to fulfill the requirements put forward by the Japanese. They refused to give in. Having suffered losses in World War II, China decided to act more decisively. Chiang Kai-shek ordered the need to defend Shanghai, next to which a significant part of the Japanese army was located. In the ensuing battle, about 200 thousand Chinese were killed. Losses of Japan amounted to about 70 thousand.
One of the episodes is firmly entrenched in history. During the battle, the Chinese unit restrained the attacks of superior Japanese forces, despite the losses. In World War II, China (it should be noted) used German weapons. And largely thanks to this, the Chinese division was able to maintain its position. This episode went down in history under the name “800 Heroes”.
The Japanese still managed to capture Shanghai. Subsequently, reinforcements approached, and the troops began to put pressure on the capital of China.
The incompetence of the leadership of the Chinese army
In the early war years, the Chinese Communists were practically not active. The only thing they were able to achieve was the victory at the passage of Pingsinguan. Naturally, there were losses. In World War II, China was very bloodless. However, this victory claimed many more lives of Japanese soldiers.
The actions were complicated by the incompetence that the leadership of the Chinese troops possessed. It was their fault that there was a riot that led to a large number of deaths. The Japanese took advantage of this, captured the prisoners, who were subsequently executed. China suffered such great losses in World War II that the exact number of people killed is still unknown. What is only the Nanking massacre, during which the Japanese killed the civilian population.
The bloody battle that helped stop the Japanese
The lack of success in hostilities undermined the spirit of the Chinese troops. However, the resistance did not stop even for a minute. One of the largest battles took place in 1938 near the city of Wuhan. The Chinese forces held back the Japanese for four months. They managed to break their resistance only with the help of gas attacks, of which there were a lot. China’s participation in World War II, of course, was very expensive for the country. But Japan was not easy. In this battle alone, more than 100 thousand Japanese soldiers were lost. And this led to the fact that the invaders for several years stopped their march inland.
The struggle of two parties
It should be noted that China during the Second World War was controlled by two parties - the nationalist (Kuomintang) and the communist. They with varying degrees of success acted in different years. Separate territories were controlled by the Japanese. America helped the nationalists. But their joint actions were complicated by the ongoing disputes that arose between Chiang Kai-shek and Joseph Stillwell (American general). The Communist Party collaborated with the USSR. The parties acted separately, which led to an increase in losses among the country's population.
The Communists took care of their strength so that after the end of the confrontation with Japan, military action would begin against the nationalist party. Accordingly, they did not always send their fighters to fight with Japanese soldiers. This was noted at one time by a Soviet diplomat.
At the very beginning of the war, the Communist Party formed an army. And she was quite combat ready. This could be seen after a single offensive, which was later nicknamed the battle of a hundred regiments. The battle took place in 1940 under the leadership of General Peng Dehuai. However, Mao Zedong criticized his actions, accusing him of revealing the strength of the party. And subsequently the general was executed.
Surrender of japan
Japan capitulated in 1945. First, in front of America, and then in front of the troops of the nationalist party. Although China’s participation in World War II ended there, another conflict began. It arose between two parties and had a civilian character. It lasted four years. America refused to support the Kuomintang, which only accelerated the defeat of the party.
The losses in the war were very large.
Those who died in World War II were not only soldiers. Compared to the First World War, a lot of civilians suffered in this conflict. And their number exceeded the scale of damage among the soldiers. Accordingly, the losses were quite large. About 50 million people are killed in World War II. In countries, the largest loss indicators were in the USSR and Germany. There is nothing surprising in this, since the most active and large-scale battles took place on the Soviet-German front. So long, continuous and fierce confrontations between the soldiers were not anywhere. In addition, the length of the Soviet-German front was several times greater than all the other fronts. Moreover, most of those killed in World War II were soldiers of the Red Army, their total number at times exceeded the losses that German troops suffered.
What factors needed to be considered when estimating losses?
Assessing the losses of the Soviet troops, several factors were taken into account. They are as follows:
- The most significant part of the losses occurred in the first years of hostilities. The soldiers retreated, the weapons were not enough.
- About 3 million soldiers died in captivity.
- It is believed that official data on the dead German soldiers is greatly diminished. About 4 million soldiers were buried in the USSR alone. Also, do not forget about the allies of Germany. Their losses amounted to about 1.7 million soldiers.
- The fact that the losses in the armies opposing Germany is much greater indicates its strength.
Losses in Allied Forces
The dead Chinese in World War II (their total number, as well as the level of losses among other allies of the USSR) are not so numerous when compared with the Red Army. This is due to the fact that Soviet troops spent the first 3 years of battles without any support. In addition, America and England had the opportunity to make a choice where exactly to conduct hostilities and when to do it. The USSR did not have such a choice. A highly organized, best, strong army collapsed instantly, forcing soldiers to fight continuously on a large front. All the power of Germany fell upon the USSR, while a small part of it confronted the Allied forces. There was a place for unreasonable losses, which are largely associated with the implementation of orders. For example, many died trying to keep the enemy at any cost.
Victims of the Second World War were among the French and British. But their number is not very large. Especially when compared with the figures of the First World War. This is also easy to explain. The armies of France and Britain participated in the hostilities for only a year. In addition, do not forget that its colonies fought for England.
America’s losses are higher than after World War I. This can be attributed to the fact that American soldiers fought not only in Europe, but also in Africa and Japan. And the largest part of the losses fell on the US Air Force.
Assessing the losses by country, the thought involuntarily creeps into the head that France and Great Britain have achieved their goals. They pitted Germany and the USSR between themselves, while they themselves remained aloof from the hostilities. But it cannot be said that they were not punished. France repaid several years of occupation, the shameful defeat and dismemberment of the state. Britain was threatened by invasion and bombed. In addition, the inhabitants of this country for some time lived starving.
Civilian casualties
The most tragic thing was that a lot of civilians died. Millions of people became victims of the bombing. They were destroyed by the Nazis, capturing the territory. In the several years of the war, Germany lost about 3.65 million inhabitants. In Japan, about 670 thousand civilians died due to the bombing. In France, about 470 thousand people died. But it’s difficult to assess for what reason. Bombing, executions, torture - all this played a role. Losses of Great Britain amounted to 62 thousand. The main cause of death of civilians was the bombing and shelling. Some were starving.
Why were such great losses among civilians? This is due to German policy regarding the lower races. The troops systematically destroyed Jews and Slavs, considering them subhuman. During the war years, German troops destroyed about 24.3 million civilians. Of these, 18.7 million are Slavs. Jews were destroyed in the amount of 5.6 million. These are the statistics regarding the dead people who did not participate in the hostilities.
Conclusion
The role of China in World War II is quite large. The Chinese did everything possible so that the Soviet troops did not have to fight with Japan. But all these hostilities led to incredibly large losses. And both on the one and on the other hand. Soldiers and civilians perished, defending their homeland, opposing the invaders. And this they contributed to the end of hostilities. All of them will remain in memory for many years, as their feat and sacrifice are invaluable.