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Marco Polo Bridge Incident
Part of Second Sino-Japanese War
The National Revolutionary Army troops defending the Marco Polo Bridge, 1937 National Revolutionary Army troops at the Marco Polo Bridge, 1937
Date July 7 – July 9 1937 Location Vicinity of Beijing, China Result Japanese victory
Belligerents
National Revolutionary Army, Republic of China	Imperial Japanese Army, Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
Song Zheyuan	Kanichiro Tashiro
Strength
	-
Casualties and losses
	-

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Template:FixBunching Template:ChineseText The Marco Polo Bridge Incident (盧溝橋事變; also known as 七七事變, 七七盧溝橋事變 or the Lugouqiao Incident) was a battle between the Republic of China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army, marking the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). The eleven-arch granite bridge itself, Lugouqiao, is an architecturally significant structure, restored by the Kangxi Emperor (1662-1722).

The battle is known by different names.

• In the West
  • The Marco Polo Bridge Incident
  • Battle of Lugou Bridge
• In China
  • Incident of July 7 (七七事變/七七事变 pinyin: Qīqī Shìbiàn)
  • Lugou Bridge Incident (盧溝橋事變/卢沟桥事变 Lúgōuqiáo Shìbiàn)
  • 7-7 Lugouqiao (七七盧溝橋事變/七七卢沟桥事变 Qīqī Lúgōuqiáo Shìbiàn)
• In Japan:
  • Rokō Bridge Incident (盧溝橋事, Rokōkyō Jihen)

Tensions between the Empire of Japan and China had been inflamed since the Invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and creation of the nominally independent state of Manchukuo with Puyi, the last monarch of the Qing Dynasty, as its sovereign. Although the Kuomintang government of China refused to recognize Manchukuo, a truce had been negotiated in 1931. However, by the end of 1932, the Japanese Army invaded Rehe Province (Jehol) and annexed it to Manchukuo in 1933. Per the He-Umezu Agreement on June 9 1935, China recognized the Japanese occupation of eastern Hebei and Chahar provinces. Later that year, Japan established the East Hebei Autonomous Council. As a result, at the start of 1937 all the areas north, east and west of Beijing were controlled by Japan. Under the terms of the Boxer Protocol of 7 September 1901, China had granted nations with legations at Beijing the right to station guards at twelve specific points along the railway connecting Beijing with Tianjin to ensure open communications between the capital and the port. By a supplementary agreement of 15 July 1902, these forces were allowed to conduct maneuvers without informing Chinese authorities.　By July 1937, Japan maintained a force estimated between 7000-15,000 men along the railway, which was several times the size of the detachments deployed by the European powers, and in excess of the limits set by the Boxer Protocol. ^[1]

The Marco Polo Bridge, located at the town of Wanping (宛平鎮) to the southwest of Beijing was the choke point on the Pinghan Railway (Beijing-Wuhan), and guarded the only passage linking Beijing to Kuomintang-controlled areas in the south. Prior to July 1937, the Japanese military had repeatedly demanded the withdrawal of the Chinese forces stationed in this area, and had attempted to purchase land to build an airfield. The Chinese refused, as Japanese control of the bridge and Wanping town would completely isolate Beijing. ^[2]

From June 1937, Japanese troops carried out intensive military training maneuvers in the vicinity of the western end of the Marco Polo Bridge. These maneuvers were held every night, while night maneuvers held by other foreign garrison troops were held very seldom. The Chinese government had requested that advance notice be given, in order that the local inhabitants not be disturbed. The Japanese had agreed to this condition. However, on the night of 7 July 1937, night maneuvers were carried on without prior notice, which greatly alarmed the local Chinese forces. The Chinese, thinking an attack was underway, fired a few ineffectual rifle shots, which led to a brief exchange of fire at approximately 2300 hours. When a Japanese soldier failed to return to his post, his company commander, Major Kiyonao Ichiki, thought that the Chinese had captured him, and reported the incident to his regimental commander, Colonel Renya Mutaguchi. ^[3] Chinese regimental commander Ji Xingwen (219th Regiment, 37th Division, 29th Route Army) received a telephone message from the Japanese demanding permission to enter Wanping to search for the missing soldier. Although the missing Japanese soldier had turned up unharmed shortly afterwards, neither Mutaguchi nor other senior officers were informed until well after the incident.

At 2340 PM, General Qin Dechun, acting commander of the 29th Route Army and Chairman of the Hebei-Chahar Political Council was contacted by Japanese military intelligence with the same demand. He responded that in his opinion, the Japanese had violated China's sovereignty by conducting maneuvers without advanced notice, and refused the Japanese demand for entry into Wanping. However, Qin said that he would order Chinese troops stationed at Wanping to conduct a search on their own behalf. The Japanese, not satisfied with the reply, insisted on conducting the search themselves, and issued an ultimatum two hours later. As a precautionary measure, Qin contacted 37th Divisional commander General Feng Zhian to place his troops on heightened alert. ^[4]

At around 0330 AM on the morning of 8 July, Japanese reinforcements in the form of four mountain guns and a company of machine gunners arrived from nearby Fengtai. At around 0450, two Japanese investigators were allowed into Wanping. However, notwithstanding the presence of the Japanese investigators within the town, the Japanese Army opened fire with machine guns from 0500 AM. Meanwhile, Japanese infantry backed with armored vehicles attacked the Marco Polo Bridge, along with a modern railroad bridge to the southeast of town.

Colonel Ji Xingwen led the Chinese defenses with about 1000 men, with orders to hold the bridge at all costs. After inflicting severe casualties, the Japanese forces partially overran the bridge and vicinity in the afternoon, but Chinese, after reinforcement from nearby units, soon outnumbered the Japanese. Taking advantage of mist and rain in the morning of 9 July, the Chinese were able to retake the bridge by 0600 AM. At this point, Japanese military intelligence reached a verbal agreement with General Qin, whereby control of Wanping would be left with a civilian constabulary, and not with the 219th Regiment. However, Japanese China Garrison Infantr Brigade commander General Masakazu Kawabe initially rejected the truce and continued to shell Wanping for the next three hours until prevailed upon to cease and to move his forces to the northeast of Wanping.

If the truce and ceasefire had remained in place, with both forces returning their original positions, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident would have ended as a minor skirmish. However, from midnight of July 9, Japanese violations of the ceasefire began to increase, and buildup of Japanese reinforcements continued.

Further escalation temporarily paused when Lieutenant General Kanichiro Tashiro commander of Japanese China Garrison Army fell ill and died on July 12, and was replaced by Lieutenant General Kiyoshi Katsuki, and due to political and diplomatic maneuvering by the civilian government in Tokyo and by General Kanji Ishihara in order to avoid an outbreak of war between Japan and China. These efforts failed, largely due to actions by the Japanese Northern China Area Army commanders and militarists within the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff; Wanping was shelled on 14 July and full scale fighting erupted at Langfang on 25 July. General Sung was forced to retreat behind the Yungding River by 28 July, leaving Wanping and the Marco Polo Bridge securely in Japanese hands. A few days later, Beijing and Tianjin fell to Japan.

The heightened tensions of the Marco Polo bridge Incident led directly into full scale war with the Battle of Beiping-Tianjin at the end of July.

There are some disputes among historians over the incident, with some historians believing that this was an unintentional accident while others believing that the entire incident was fabricated by the Japanese Army in order to provide a pretext for the invasion of China.^[5] The missing Japanese soldier was later found to be unharmed. One Japanese historian alleges that the incident was staged by the Chinese Communist Party, who hoped that the incident would lead to a war of attrition between the Japanese army and the Kuomintang.^[6]

The 29th Route Army, composed mostly of Feng Yuxiang's infantry equipped with outdated rifles and sabers, secured the cities of Beijing, Tianjin, and the western part of Hebei Province. At the time of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, most of the north China was controlled by the warlord Yan Xishan.Some soldiers were recruited from peasants and local gangsters, and were poorly trained and equipped compared to the Imperial Japanese Army. It should also be noted that the KMT leader, Chiang Kai-Shek held a grudge against the 29th Army due to the fact that Feng Yuxiang was his political rival, and thus was unwilling to provide sufficient support.

The Japanese China Garrison Army[was a combined force of infantry, tanks, mechanized forces, artillery and cavalry, which had been stationed in China since the time of the Boxer Rebellion. Its headquarters and bulk for its forces were in Tianjin, with a major detachment in Beijing to protect the Japanese embassy.

• National Revolutionary Army
• History of the Republic of China
• Military of the Republic of China

• Dorn, Frank (1974). The Sino-Japanese War, 1937-41: From Marco Polo Bridge to Pearl Harbor. MacMillan. ISBN: 0025322001. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Dryburgh, Marjor (2000). North China and Japanese Expansion 1933-1937: Regional Power and the National Interest. RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN: 0700712747. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Lu, David J (1961). From The Marco Polo Bridge To Pearl Harbor: A Study Of Japan's Entry Into World War II. Public Affairs Press. ASIN: B000UV6MFQ. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Furuya, Keiji (1981). The riddle of the Marco Polo bridge: To verify the first shot. Symposium on the History of the Republic of China. ASIN: B0007BJI7I. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

• International Military Tribunal Proceedings
• The Marco Polo Bridge Virtual Tour and Photographs
• Bridge described
• Japanese soldiers in the Marco Polo Bridge (Japanese)
• Marco Polo Bridge Incident - July 7, 1937