Japanese Invasion of China: 7 July 1937

On the night of 7 July 1937, Japanese and Chinese Nationalist troops clashed at Lukouchiao, near Beijing. Japan responded with a full-scale invasion of China, and its troops quickly occupied most of northern China and soon advanced southward. The poorly equipped Nationalist army retreated to the interior of China, while Japanese troops occupied the coast as far south as French Indochina. The Japanese expansion would eventually lead to a confrontation with the British and Americans in the Far East.