Loading subject…
Anti-Comintern Pact
An agreement signed in November 1936 between Germany and Japan (Italy joined in 1937) opposing the Communist International (Comintern). It signalled the formation of the future Axis alliance and the alignment of revisionist powers against the Soviet Union.
Autarky
Economic self-sufficiency, where a state aims to produce all goods and resources domestically rather than relying on international trade. Pursued by fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and the USSR.
Battle of Nomonhan (Khalkhin Gol, 1939)
A major border conflict between Japanese and Soviet forces at the Mongolian-Manchurian border in the summer of 1939. Soviet forces under General Zhukov decisively defeated the Japanese, inflicting approximately 18,000 casualties. The defeat discouraged Japan's 'Strike North' strategy and pushed it toward expansion into Southeast Asia instead.
Collective security
Collective security is the idea that nations work together to maintain peace by deterring or punishing aggression.
Collective security
System in which states cooperate to respond to threats.
Eighth Route Army
CCP military force operating in northern China under nominal GMD command during the United Front.
Embargo
A government order restricting trade, used by the United States to limit Japan’s access to oil and war materials.
Gekokujo
A Japanese concept meaning "the lower overruling the higher." It describes how junior military officers took radical action (including assassination and insubordination) to force policy changes, undermining civilian government control.
Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
Japan's imperial vision of economic and political unity in Asia under its leadership, often used to justify conquest.
Guerrilla tactics
Strategy using mobility, ambush and knowledge of terrain against stronger forces.
Guerrilla Warfare
Strategy of irregular combat and mobility, central to Mao’s revolutionary tactics.
Isolationism
A foreign policy stance of avoiding involvement in international affairs, alliances, and conflicts. In the 1930s, the United States pursued isolationism through the Neutrality Acts, refusing to intervene in European and Asian crises.
Kokutai
The concept of Japan's unique national identity or "national polity," centred on the divine emperor. Ultranationalists used kokutai ideology to justify military expansion and suppress political dissent.
Kwantung Army
Japanese military force stationed in Manchuria that initiated the 1931 invasion, defying civilian authority.
League of Nations
The postwar international organization created to maintain peace and collective security; Brazil was an active early member before withdrawing in 1926.
Lend-Lease
A US programme enacted in March 1941 that allowed the president to supply military aid to nations deemed vital to American defence. It provided billions of dollars in equipment to Britain, the Soviet Union, China, and other Allied powers without requiring immediate payment.
Lytton Commission
A League of Nations inquiry led by Lord Lytton (Britain), appointed in December 1931 to investigate the Manchurian Crisis and determine whether Japan's military actions were justified.
Lytton Report
League of Nations investigation that concluded Japan had acted aggressively and should withdraw from Manchuria.
Manchukuo
Japanese-controlled puppet state established in Manchuria in 1932, ruled nominally by the last Qing emperor, Puyi.
Manchuria
a region in northeastern China rich in resources, contested by Japan and Russia.
Marco Polo Bridge Incident (1937)
A clash between Japanese and Chinese troops at Lugouqiao (Marco Polo Bridge) near Beijing on 7 July 1937. A Japanese soldier went missing during a night exercise, and Japan demanded to search the nearby town of Wanping. China refused, and fighting erupted. Japan used the incident to escalate into a full-scale invasion of China, marking the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Mukden Incident (1931)
A staged explosion on the South Manchuria Railway near Mukden on 18 September 1931, orchestrated by Kwantung Army officers Itagaki and Ishiwara. The incident was used as a pretext to invade Manchuria without authorisation from the Japanese civilian government in Tokyo.
Nanjing Massacre (1937–1938)
The mass killing, rape, and looting carried out by Japanese troops after capturing Nanjing (China's capital) in December 1937. Over a six-week period, an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 Chinese civilians and prisoners of war were killed. The atrocity was widely reported in Western media and remains one of the most controversial episodes of the war, with ongoing disputes over the death toll between Chinese and Japanese historians.
New Fourth Army Incident
A January 1941 clash in which KMT forces ambushed and destroyed a column of the CCP's New Fourth Army, killing over 3,000 troops. The incident effectively ended meaningful cooperation between the KMT and CCP within the Second United Front.