[Complete Map of the Hankou War Situation].

Very good. Some dampstaining along fold lines. Small spot of loss at fold intersection. Size 21.5 x 15.5 Inches. This is a 1938 map of the Battle of Wuhan in the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937 - 1945) theater of World War II (1939 - 1945). It was published for the Japanese news daily, the Osaka Mainichi Shimbun . It covers much of central and southern China, particularly near the Yangtze River, in great detail; the battle raged over this area for much of the summer and autumn of 1938, resulting in a pyrrhic Japanese victory. A Closer Look at the Map This map shows the terrain of the Battle of Hankou (??; Hankow in contemporary sources, now part of Wuhan). Despite the name of the battle, it was in fact a wide-ranging campaign that spilled far beyond the city (at left-center), covering portions of six Chinese provinces. The map is extremely detailed, providing the names of a sea of small towns and villages. Just prior to the battle, Japan had entered a total war footing with the National Mobilization Law and called up conscripts. A home audience, especially those with family members at the front, would have been anxious to follow recent developments and have some sense of the places mentioned in the (tightly censored) news. The legend shows political boundaries, roads, railways (complete and under construction), and major cities. An inset map (1 : 8500000) shows the southern Chinese coast, including Hong Kong and the French Concession of Guangzhouwan marked out with dotted lines. After Japanese troops seized Guangzhou and other coastal cities, these territories and the Kunming-Haiphong Railway became essential routes for smuggling supplies to Chinese forces. The Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China, led by Chiang Kai-shek and the Guomindang (GMD, or Kuomintang KMT), and the Empire of Japan. Some scholars trace the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War to the Mukden Incident and the September 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria. In the following years, Japan established a puppet regime in Manchuria and extended its influence into northern China through several other 'incidents,' to the extent that it directly or indirectly controlled much of northern China and Inner Mongolia by 1937. Although determined to resist the Japanese, Chiang was eager to eliminate the domestic threat from the Communists first while also buying time to modernize his armies and gain better control over his generals, most of whom were semi-independent warlords. These plans were disrupted when Chiang was kidnapped by one of his own generals in December 1936 and forced to enter a united front with the Communists. Now compelled to turn his attention towards Japan, it was a matter not of if but when a war would come. The July 7, 1937 Marco Polo Bridge Incident has traditionally been considered the start of the war, when Chinese and Japanese troops began exchanging fire at the Marco Polo (Lugou) Bridge, along a main access route to Beijing. This exchange of fire escalated to an all-out battle leading to Japanese forces capturing both Beijing and its port city of Tianjin. As the conflict expanded, Chiang aimed to deliver a knockout blow before Japanese reserves could be thrown into the fight. He launched an assault on Shanghai in the autumn of 1937, hoping to throw the Japanese garrison there into the sea, but was unable to completely drive them out. When Japanese reinforcements did arrive, they launched a counterattack that forced Chiang to retreat from Shanghai with heavy losses. After a cursory defense of the capital, Nanjing, Chiang moved deep into the Chinese interior to prepare for a protracted war of attrition. Battle of Wuhan After their rapid victories at the start of the war, Japan was at an impasse. Years of military modernization and propaganda had laid the groundwork for the successful first phase of the war, but Japan simply lacked the resources and manpower to occupy the vast territory o.…