Japan had been antagonizing the Chinese by executing rigorous military operations near the Marco Polo Bridge in Beijing. One night, a small troop of Japanese soldiers demanded to enter a tiny walled town. The Chinese refused. A shot rang out and a Japanese soldier was killed. A full-scale war between Japan and China would soon follow.
One of the greatest atrocities committed by Japan was after the fall of the city of Nanking. The Japanese Imperial Army raped and murdered more than 10,000 Chinese.