Marco Polo Bridge Incident
The Marco Polo Bridge Incident (七七事变，卢沟桥事变), which marked the beginning of China’s Anti-Japanese Aggression War (1937-1945), was a battle between the Kuomintang’s 29th Route Army and Imperial Japanese Army.
On the July 7, 1937, the Japanese Army conducted a drill near the bridge without informing the Chinese garrison. During the drill, the Japanese army falsely claimed a solider were missing and required to cross the bridge for a search. When their requirement was refused by the Chinese army, the Japanese opened fire.
The battle caused great casualties of the 29th Route Army and the incident triggered a nationwide anti-Japanese mood. The Centural Committee of Communist Party of China (CPC) called for a united front to fight against the Japanese invasion on the second day of the incident. Meantime, Chang Kai-shek, the generalissimo of the Kuomintang government (1911-1945), ordered the army to defend.
The Japanese started their eight-year invasion in China from the attack of the Marco Polo Bridge, so the day of the incident is often regarded as a humiliation day by many of the Chinese.
