BEIJING, July 4 (Xinhuanet) -- The Lugouqiao Incident，also The Marco Polo Bridge Incident or the July 7 Incident, which marked the beginning of China’s Anti-Japanese Aggression War (1937-1945), was a battle between the Kuomintang’s 29th Route Army and the Japanese Army.
On July 7, 1937, the Japanese Army conducted a drill near the bridge without informing the Chinese garrison. During the drill, the Japanese Army falsely claimed a soldier was missing and required to cross the bridge for a search. When their requirement was refused by the Chinese army, the Japanese opened fire.
The battle caused great casualties to the 29th Route Army and the incident triggered a nationwide anti-Japanese aggression mood. The Central Committee of Communist Party of China (CPC) called for a united front to fight against the Japanese invasion on the second day of the incident. Meantime, Chang Kai-shek, the leader of the Kuomintang government (1911-1945), ordered the army to defend.
The Japanese started their eight-year invasion in China from the attack of the bridge, so the day of the incident is often regarded as a humiliation day by many of the Chinese.
(Source: china.org.cn)
