On the night of July 7, 1937, invading Japanese forces used a missing soldier as a pretext to lay siege to Wanping City, thus instigating the long-planned Lugou Bridge Incident and launching an all-out war of aggression against China.

Following the Lugou Bridge Incident, China’s resistance shifted from regional to nationwide, establishing the primary eastern theater of the World Anti-Fascist War and accelerating the formation of the international anti-fascist united front.

China’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the earliest to begin and longest to endure, continuously contained and combatted the bulk of Japanese imperialist forces. At the staggering cost of 35 million casualties, China ultimately secured a monumental victory in the war, making an immense contribution to the global triumph over fascism.