defense of the Great Wall

Overview

The defense of the Great Wall was a campaign between the armies of the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan, which took place before the Second Sino-Japanese War officially commenced in 1937 and after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. It is known in Japanese as Operation Nekka and in many English sources as the First Battle of Hopei.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Defense of the Great Wall was fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan in 1933, occupying the interval between Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and the formal outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937. Known in Japanese as Operation Nekka and in English sources as the First Battle of Hopei, the campaign represented a direct Japanese military advance into Chinese-held territory south of Manchuria, testing the capacity of the Republic of China to resist further encroachment. With 50,000 troops committed on each side, the engagement was a substantial conventional operation, not a border skirmish, and its conduct shaped the terms under which Japan expanded its presence in Inner Mongolia during the 1933–1936 period.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (9)