8 Jul 1937

China
  • At 0330 hours, four Japanese mountain gun crews and a machine gun company were ordered to prepare for an invasion of China. At 0500 hours (still 7 Jul 1937 for the western world on the other side of the International Date Line), the Japanese opened fire, starting the Second Sino-Japanese War. Japanese Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe held a cabinet meeting in an attempt to find a solution to de-escalate the situation, but the Japanese Army was working in the opposite direction, planning to move the Japanese Chosen Army and Kwantung Army units to the contested region. ww2dbase [Lugou Bridge Incident and Second Battle of Hebei | Beiping | CPC]
  • The Chinese Communist Party urged its members over a radio announcement to cooperate with the Nationalist Party in the war against Japan. ww2dbase [CPC]
Photo(s) dated 8 Jul 1937
Chinese ZB vz. 26 machine gun crew at Lugou Bridge, Beiping, China, Jul 1937Chinese ZB vz. 26 machine gun crew at Lugou Bridge, Beiping, China, Jul 1937Chinese sentry at the Lugou Bridge, Beiping, China, Jul 1937

8 Jul 1937 Interactive Map

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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