ChongqingChongqing (ˌtʃɒŋˈtʃɪŋ or ˈtʃɒŋtʃɪŋ ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: tshoŋ˨˩tɕhin˨˩˦, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: AUDChongqing.oggchong2.qing4), alternately romanized as Chungking (ˈtʃʊŋˈkɪŋ), is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Geographically, Chongqing is strategically positioned as a gateway to China's west, a key connection in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and a strategic base for China's Belt and Road Initiative.
Bombing of ChongqingThe bombing of Chongqing (, 重慶爆撃), from 18 February 1938 to 23 August 1943, were massive terror bombing operations authorized by the Empire of Japan's Imperial General Headquarters and conducted by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAF) and Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAF). Resistance was put up by the Chinese Air Force and the National Revolutionary Army's anti-aircraft artillery units in defense of the provisional wartime capital of Chongqing and other targets in Sichuan.
Empire of JapanThe Empire of Japan or Japanese Empire, also referred to as Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation-state that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the reformed Constitution of Japan in 1947. From 29 August 1910 until 2 September 1945, it administered the naichi (the Japanese archipelago and post-1943 Karafuto) and the gaichi (Korea, Taiwan, Kwantung Leased Territory, and pre-1943 Karafuto). The South Seas Mandate was a single Japanese dependent territory in the name of the League of Nations.
ChengduChengdu (UKtʃɛŋˈduː, UStʃʌŋ-; Chinese: 成都; pinyin: Chéngdū; Sichuanese pronunciation: tshən˨˩tu˥, Standard Chinese pronunciation: AUDZh-Chengdu.oggcheng2.du1), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a population of 20,937,757 inhabitants during the 2020 Chinese census, it is the fourth most populous city in China, and it is the only city apart from the four direct-administered municipalities with a population of over 20 million.
Battle of WuhanThe Battle of Wuhan (; 武漢作戦 (ぶかんさくせん)), popularly known to the Chinese as the Defence of Wuhan (), and to the Japanese as the Capture of Wuhan, was a large-scale battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Engagements took place across vast areas of Anhui, Henan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Hubei provinces over a period of four and a half months. It was the longest, the largest, and arguably the most significant battle in the early stages of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Battle of ShanghaiThe Battle of Shanghai () was the first of the twenty-two major engagements fought between the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of China (ROC) and the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) of the Empire of Japan at the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War. It lasted from August 13, 1937, to November 26, 1937, and was one of the largest and bloodiest battles of the entire war, later described as "Stalingrad on the Yangtze", and even regarded by some historians as the first battle of World War II.
WuhanWuhan (wuːˈhaen, USalsowuːˈhɑːn,_'wu:-; ; AUDzh-Wuhan.oggwu 3.han4) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city and one of the nine National Central Cities of China. The name "Wuhan" came from the city's historical origin from the conglomeration of Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang, which are collectively known as the "Three Towns of Wuhan" ().
Second Sino-Japanese WarThe Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan from 1937 to 1945, as part of World War II. In China, the war is called the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (). This total war between China and the Empire of Japan is often regarded as the beginning of World War II in Asia, although some scholars consider the European War and the Pacific War to be entirely separate, albeit concurrent.
