Second Sino-Japanese War

Following a wave of incidents stretching from 1928-1934, Japan once more meddled in Chinese affairs. In early March 1935, Japanese forces instigated a provocation in order to invade Jiangsu Province. On March 11, an officer of the Japanese Marines attempted an illegal entry into the Hungchiao Airport of Shanghai, but was shot to death by the Chinese Peace Preservation Corps stationed near the military airport. It is still unknown whether the officer initiated the intrusion on his own or acted on higher orders. Regardless, the incident certainly heightened the tension in Shanghai. On March 12, the Japanese consul general apologized for the officer's action, because it was a clear intrusion of Chinese territory. Nevertheless, he remained firm and demanded that the Chinese withdraw the Peace Preservation Corps and dismantle scattered defenses around the city. He also made it clear that the shooting of a Japanese officer was a humiliation to the Imperial Army, and the situation was likely to explode at the slightest provocation. The shooting incident also caused Japan to send in reinforcements into the Shanghai area on March 12. To the Chinese, the incident was yet another pretext for Japanese aggression, not at all different from the many "incidents" in the 1930s, only this act proved the breaking point for Chinag Kai-shek who had put up with Japanese gains in order to buy time in his conflict with communist forces and to build up China's military and industrial sectors. With the heart of his powerbase threatened, the danger of losing what limited industrial production China had, Germany retreating from their alliance, and the people turning against him, Chiang shocked the world when he made peace with communist forces and turned the full force of his military on Shanghai. Despite his intentions, Shanghai fell rapidly to Japanese forces due to Chinese reinforcements arriving too late. Chinese forces would attempt to retake the city but suffered heavy casualties in a stalemate. A long, bloody war was to follow.

SOURCE: OnWar.net