In 1938, the first full year of the Second Sino-Japanese War (the Chinese theater of the Second World War), the combined armed forces of China was almost double the size of the invading Japanese force. However, while China had the numerical advantage, Japanese soldiers were better trained, better equipped, and had stronger supply networks. An additional factor was that control of the Japanese Army was much more centralized than the Chinese forces, who suffered greatly from internal division and sometimes even conflict. China had been in the midst of a civil war between various nationalist, communist, and warlord-led factions before Japan's invasion in 1937, but hostilities were paused in order to defend against the foreign invasion. As the war progressed, disunity and miscommunication between the Chinese forces intensified, to the detriment of the Chinese war effort.
Number of soldiers in the combined Chinese armed forces and the Imperial Japanese Army in 1938
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Thames & Hudson. (December 31, 2021). Number of soldiers in the combined Chinese armed forces and the Imperial Japanese Army in 1938 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 22, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1347530/wwii-china-japan-army-1938/
Thames & Hudson. "Number of soldiers in the combined Chinese armed forces and the Imperial Japanese Army in 1938." Chart. December 31, 2021. Statista. Accessed December 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1347530/wwii-china-japan-army-1938/
Thames & Hudson. (2021). Number of soldiers in the combined Chinese armed forces and the Imperial Japanese Army in 1938. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1347530/wwii-china-japan-army-1938/
Thames & Hudson. "Number of Soldiers in The Combined Chinese Armed Forces and The Imperial Japanese Army in 1938." Statista, Statista Inc., 31 Dec 2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1347530/wwii-china-japan-army-1938/
Thames & Hudson, Number of soldiers in the combined Chinese armed forces and the Imperial Japanese Army in 1938 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1347530/wwii-china-japan-army-1938/ (last visited December 22, 2024)
Number of soldiers in the combined Chinese armed forces and the Imperial Japanese Army in 1938 [Graph], Thames & Hudson, December 31, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1347530/wwii-china-japan-army-1938/