Chinese armies in the Second Sino - Japanese War The Second Sino - Japanese War was fought between the Chinese and Japanese armies , mostly on Chinese soil , during the late 1930s and early 1940s . Western historians generally view the Second Sino - Japanese War as a theater of World War II . During this war , the Chinese Army had two severe handicaps . First , the Chinese army was ill - equipped , with significantly less advanced military technology than the Japanese and its allies . Second , the Chinese army lacked political unity . Because the Guomindang and the Chinese Communist Party had not reconciled before 1937 , when Japanese troops invaded Chinese territory , these two groups were forced to paper over important differences for the duration of the war , occasionally leading them to destructively hinder each other ' s efforts to defeat the Japanese . Degree of success . Early stages of the war . Despite these handicaps , the National Revolutionary Army were moderately successful in the early stages of the war . They repulsed the Japanese army ' s tentative offensive in Shandong , Hebei and Shanghai , causing Japanese forces heavy losses . The second battle of Shanghai almost ended similarly , but Japanese reinforcements arrived . While defending Nanjing , Chinese infantry forces with very little equipment destroyed the notorious Japanese Army Special Forces units " Shikaya " and " Kisarazu " . During the battle of Suzhou , the Japanese 2nd Corps suffered some 30 , 000 casualties . Finally , in the battle of Wuhan , 100 Japanese aircraft were shot down , many Japanese patrol boat s were sunk , and Japanese land forces suffered further casualties . After the outbreak of World War II . General Chu Teh , Commander - in - Chief of the Communist Army , published a message to his nation on July 7 , 1942 . In this message , he noted that the 8th Route Army had not received money or munitions from the government in three years . Between 1941 and 1942 , the 8th Route and New 4th Route Armies had to combat more than 24 Japanese divisions , comprising 44 % of the total Japanese Armed forces dispatched in China . During the same period , the 8th Route Army suffered heavy casualties , including 65 high - ranking officers . In total , 23 , 034 soldiers died and 10 , 856 were wounded . General Chu estimated that the number of casualties " inflicted " by the Chinese Communist armies was more than 24 , 000 ; this number includes both the Japanese soldiers and their Chinese collaborators . The Chinese armies captured a total of 38 , 985 prisoners , together with a great quantity of war equipment . The New 4th had captured 15 , 721 rifles , 301 machine guns ( light and heavy ) and many other articles , including clothing , food , and medicine . Other testimonies reported the New 4th Route Communist Army " had withstood 231 battles , captured 1 , 539 rifles , 32 light machine guns , 4 heavy machine guns , 48 sub - machine guns , 50 , 000 munitions for light weapons , 22 , 738 occupation Yen money in Japanese bank notes , radios , horses , mules , flags , 200 trucks and railway wagons , 20 km of rail lines , 7 km of roads , 95 bridges , 20 km of electric lines and captured others , 38 Japanese officers and 613 collaborationist soldiers and wounded 3 , 253 of the enemy " . General Chung Yee . On May 9 , 1940 , several Chinese units under the command of Chinese General Chung Yee fought to the death against a well - equipped Japanese armored division . All the Chinese soldiers who entered battle were killed , but Chung Yee , with two members of his personal escort , retreated to the forest and searched for reinforcements . To his misfortune , a second Japanese force outside the village of Tsuan Tai Chen had killed potential reinforcements . On May 18 , General Chung Yee , his second - in - command General Fang Chih - an , and the units they controlled fought the Japanese Army in the Tsaoyang area . General Chang ' s two regiments were surrounded by 6 , 000 enemy cavalry and infantry units in the Fengjiang area . The ensuing battle lasted eight hours causing terrible losses to the defenders ; Chung Yee was wounded in the right arm . Chinese officers petitioned for a strategic retreat , but Commander Yee overruled them , ordering a last stand to defend the land . He saw this as a debt owed to his country , and a dishonour if left unpaid before his death . The enemy advanced with reinforcements . During the battle , a round of machine gun fire reached the party of General Chang and wounded one of his officers . Only a few hours later , General Fang Chih - an encountered the same Japanese force , and his army defeated it . Among the corpses , he found the enemy commander . Subsequent Japanese radio broadcasts glorified the late Japanese commander and stated his remains would be sent to Shantung . The Chinese left with the remains of the enemy commander , as well as the corpse of Major General Chung Yee , and conducted funerals in Peipei , 50 km from the Capital . When news of this reached the Japanese , they dispatched bombers to strike the area . The funerals continued even as these attacks occurred , and Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek conferred high honours upon the dead chiefs . Honours were bestowed upon the General Chung Yee for his role as Chinese supreme commander . Other Chinese engagements . Chinese General Chang Yun - ee , chief of the Fourth Detachment , was killed in combat during the spring of 1942 . There were approximately 500 , 000 soldiers left in the Chinese army . In the Second Changsha battle , Chinese forces destroyed advancing Japanese forces . During the ensuing Japanese retreat , the Chinese pursued and destroyed the remaining Japanese groups who fled the battle . A Chinese expeditionary force annihilated the entire Japanese 33rd Division in the Battle of Yenangyaung , of the first Burma campaign . They liberated around 7 , 000 British prisoners , took roughly 1 , 000 horses , and freed 500 other prisoners , which included American journalists and missionaries captured by the Japanese forces . After the Battle of Kweshan , Chinese forces captured 10 soldiers of the Manchukuo Imperial Forces , two 9 . 3 cm pieces of heavy artillery , and a plaque which read " Manufactured in Tokyo , 1940 " . In Juikwotan , Chinese forces confiscated two American trucks from the Japanese , one of which was full of packages of hand grenades . The Chinese general headquarters was filled by Japanese flags , parts for trucks and cars , tools , rifles , pistols , revolvers , munitions , mortars with munitions , covers , and raincoats . One secret peasant society , " Hwang Shih Hwei " , helped capture Japanese troops and the aforementioned equipment during combat . The Chinese mourned the loss of the young officer Loh Hun - ping , in the battle near the enemy position of Miaoerpu , who had led one offensive unit against the enemy . In the Chekiang - Kiangsi skirmish , Chinese forces rescued members of the American Doolittle Raid . When they arrived at Chekiang , they encountered Japanese and collaborationist armies . During intense skirmishes , the Chinese forces killed approximately 17 , 000 of the enemy forces . After these skirmishes , Chinese forces engaged in guerrilla combat , impeding Japan ' s first attempt to organize the large number of Japanese units needed for a pincer attack , which the Japanese planned to use during their invasion of Sichuan province . The Chinese were aided by the U . S . Navy , which defeated the Japanese Navy in the Midway , and by the U . S . Army , which defeated the Japanese Army in the Solomon Islands campaigns ; these defeats prevented the Japanese forces from sending adequate reinforcements to the Chinese mainland for their previously planned invasion of Sichuan , and also deprived the Japanese of control over important sea routes . Finally , Chinese forces joining the Anglo - American " Flying Tigers " destroyed the new Japanese divisions slated to invade Sichuan during the Battle of Hubei . In the Battle of Changteh , the Japanese were defeated by the New Fourth Chinese forces , even when the Japanese used chemical warfare against the population and the Chinese forces . End of the war . During the last offensive , Japanese forces were again defeated in North Hupei , West Hunan , Hsihsiaoko , Laohoku , Ninhsiang , Yiyang , Wuyang , Liuchow - Kweilin , Nanning , Kwangsi , and Yuehcheng Shan . On May 22 , 1945 , Chinese forces took prisoner " 17 Japanese officers , 230 soldiers and captured 347 horses , 24 cannons of various caliber , 100 light and heavy machine guns , 1 , 333 rifles , and 20 tonnes of assorted equipment " . Chinese forces launched a fierce counter - offensive against the last Japanese positions in Canton and Kwangsi . They also took part in other counter - offensives with the Allied Forces in the South China area against the remaining Japanese forces in the area .