The Battle of China

The Battle of China 1944 was the sixth film of Frank Capras Why We Fight propaganda film series.

It is claimed that Japan moved piece by piece in order to avoid external interference but accelerated its actions in response to Chinas growing unity and development under the Republic. Contrary to many modern timelines of the war, the film downplays Chinese resistance in Manchuria and presents the Marco Polo Bridge Incident as a largely peaceful and foregone conclusion. Instead, the Battle of Shanghai is presented as the beginning of real hostilities. The aerial bombardment which produced the Bloody Saturday photograph is called the first such attack on civilians in history. Although the photograph itself is not used, the thenfamous image is alluded to in footage of the child being carried across the ruins of the old Shanghai South Railway Station. It then includes graphic footage of the aftermath of the Rape of Nanking, said to have been smuggled out of occupied China by a hospital worker. The narration calls the death toll unprecedented, although its figure of 40,000 is far lower than most modern estimates.The Chinese communists are only mentioned obliquely through the films repeated reference to Chinas division and factions. The Xian Incident is similarly omitted instead, the country is said to have finally united in the face of the atrocities in Nanjing. The relocation of personnel and resources to Chongqing is covered. The attendant scorchedearth policy is given only oblique reference or the immolation of Changsha, although the Japanese bombing of Chongqing Chungking is dwelt on. The expansion of the National Revolutionary Army is described, including footage of their drills and of a young girl training with a machine gun. The Flying Tigers are mentioned, along with their record ofkills for each lost plane, but as a supportive group of volunteers and without attempts to downplay Chinas own mobilization and efforts at selfdefence. ........

Source: Wikipedia