The July 7th Incident
On July 7, 1937, the Japanese imperialists provoked the Lugou Bridge Incident, and using this as the starting point, they launched a long-premeditated all-out war on China.
At 22 o'clock on the night of July 7, Japanese occupying troops began a military exercise near the Lugou Bridge in southwest Beijing (then Beiping), with taking the bridge as the supposed target. At about 23 o'clock using the pretext of a soldier supposedly gone missing during the exercise, they demanded to enter Wanping Town by the bridge to carry out a search. When this was refused by the Chinese troops garrisoned nearby, the Japanese immediately encircled the town, launched an attack at 04:50 on July 8, and besieged Shagang, northeast of Wanping. The Chinese troops were forced to fight back.
The KMT and the CPC both made rapid responses to the Japanese aggression expressing firm commitment to resistance. On July 8, the CPC issued a public call to arms, stating that a war of resistance by the whole nation was the only solution. It called on the whole country, the government, and the armed forces to unite and build a national united front as a "Great Wall" of resistance against the Japanese. On July 15, at a summer resort on Mount Lushan in Jiangxi, CPC delegates presented to Chiang Kai-shek an Announcement of the Central Committee of the CPC on Kuomintang-Communist Cooperation. The announcement set forth three basic objectives – to launch a national war of resistance, to put democracy into effect, and to improve the lives of the people.
On July 17, Chiang Kai-shek gave a speech calling for united resistance. He said, "Once war breaks out, every person, young or old, in the north or in the south, must take up the responsibility of resisting Japan and defending our homeland." On August 14, the National Government released a statement declaring that China must now act in self-defense and resist the unrelenting invasion by Japan.
On September 22, the KMT Central News Agency released the Announcement of the Central Committee of the CPC on Kuomintang-Communist Cooperation, and the next day Chiang Kai-shek made a statement about the CPC's announcement. These symbolized the formal creation of a national united front based on the second KMT-CPC cooperation.
The July 7th Incident marked the beginning of the Chinese people's all-out war of resistance against the Japanese occupation.
卢沟桥事变
1937年7月7日，日本帝国主义者以制造卢沟桥事变为起点，发动了蓄谋已久的全面侵华战争。
当日夜10时，日军一部在卢沟桥以北地区举行以攻取卢沟桥为假想目标的军事演习。11时许，日军诡称演习时一士兵离队失踪，要求进入宛平城搜查。在遭到中国驻军严词拒绝后，日军迅即包围宛平县城，并于8日晨4时50分，向宛平县城猛烈攻击，强占宛平东北沙岗。中国驻军忍无可忍，奋起还击。
卢沟桥事变爆发后，国共两党对日本的侵略迅速作出反应，表明了坚决抗战的态度。7月8日，中国共产党向全国发出通电，指出只有实行全民族抗战，才是中国的出路，号召全国人民、军队和政府团结起来，筑成民族统一战线的坚固长城，抵抗日本的侵略。7月15日，中共代表团在庐山向蒋介石提交《中共中央为公布国共合作宣言》，提出了迅速发动全民族抗战、实行民权政治和改善人民生活等三项基本要求。7月17日，蒋介石在庐山发表谈话称，“如果战端一开，那就是地无分南北，年无分老幼，无论何人，皆有守土抗战之责任”。8月14日，国民政府发表《自卫抗战声明书》。9月22日，国民党中央通讯社发表《中共中央为公布国共合作宣言》。9月23日，蒋介石发表《对中国共产党宣言的谈话》，标志着以国共合作为主体的抗日民族统一战线正式形成。卢沟桥事变揭开了中华民族全面抗战的序幕。
