The Second Sino-Japanese War was a conflict between the Japanese and Chinese in the years leading up to World War II. My great grandma, who is almost a hundred years old, lived through this event, and was able to provide a lot of detail and insight into this war.
It started with the Japanese conquest of Wanping. They demanded permission to enter the city, and the Chinese refused. The Chinese were warned a war would start if permission was not granted, and the Chinese ignored this warning. It eventually blew out into a war, which my great-grandmother described as "terrifying". She was scared of another World War, because she had seen first hand the effects of World War I since China was under British control back then, and was forced to fight. The war went on for a long time, more than 10 years. The Japanese had many early victories- such as the capture of the Chinese capital of Nanking and the city of Shanghai. My great-grandma lived in Hong Kong during the war, which was Britain's only Chinese colony at the time. The Japanese surrounded and captured Hong Kong, but my great-grandma says she does not remember a lot of details about the occupation, other than the fact that there was a lot of racism during that time. However, the war reached a stalemate in 1939, when the Japanese could no longer extend into the vast Chinese countryside. American aid helped the Chinese reconquer some cities. Finally, when the Americans bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki near the end of World War II, the Japanese surrendered. All land that the Japanese annexed was restored to China.