1937 'Il Mattino Illustrato' Propaganda Map of China / 2nd Sino-Japanese War

This is a 1937 Italian Il Mattino Illustrato map of China depicting the theater of the Second Sino-Japanese War. This propaganda piece was issued by Mussolini's Italian fascist regime to support their allies in Asia. Insets of both Beijing and the environs of Shanghai are situated in the lower right corner. Photographs printed on the verso depict Japanese army troops marching Chinese prisoners, Japanese tanks, and a view of burning Shanghai from the International Concession.

The Second Sino-Japanese War

The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. There is some disagreement regarding when the war officially started, since two different so-called 'Incidents' can be used to mark the beginning of hostilities. Historically, July 7, 1937 has been used as the start date, when Chinese and Japanese troops exchanged fire at the Marco Polo (Lugou) Bridge. This exchange escalated to an all-out battle and led to Japanese forces capturing both Beijing and its port city of Tianjin. Other scholars, and since 2017 the Chinese government, trace the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War to the Mukden Incident and the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in September 1931. This 'incident' was based on Japanese charges that their rights in Manchuria, which had been guaranteed following the Russo-Japanese War, had been infringed, when, in all likelihood, the Japanese simply saw an opportunity to easily capture an essentially limitless supply of raw materials, a new market for their manufactured goods, and a chance to create a 'buffer zone' between Japanese occupied Korea and the Soviet Union. After five months of fighting, the Japanese created the puppet state of Manchukuo in 1932 and installed Puyi, the last Emperor of China, as its ruler.

Even though there is some debate over when the war started, the result is essentially the same: years of war, famine, atrocities, and death. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Second Sino-Japanese War is usually folded into the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II, which accounted for the majority of casualties during the Pacific War, numbering over 4 million Chinese and Japanese military personnel and between 10 and 25 million Chinese civilians. Although there is some debate on when the war began, consensus reigns supreme when it comes to the end of the war. Following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, the Japanese unconditionally surrendered to the Allies, signed on September 2, 1945, bringing an end to the largest Asian war of the 20th century.

Publication History and Census

This map was created and published by Il Mattino Illustrato. Examples are scarce and we have traced no other reference to this map.