Japan's invasion to China, 1937-1941

The Second Sino-Japanese War, which lasted from 1937 to 1945 and which was the result of a long-lasting Japanese penetration into China, is one of the events that influenced the twentieth century in a significant way. The fierce battles took place far from Europe, to which the world's attention was tied at the end of the thirties, yet the conflict between the Chinese and the Japanese profoundly influenced the Second World War, to which it made a certain prelude. The expansionistic tendencies and growing militarism of the Japanese clashed with unexpectedly strong nationalism of the Chinese and a campaign which was planned to last only a few months turned into an exhausting conflict of many years. Eventually, an inconclusive situation and resistance from the Powers led Japan into the Pacific War