The Battle of China

This article is written like a encyclopedic style . (January 2015)

The Battle of China
Film
Directed by	Robert Flaherty
Edited by	William Hornbeck
Distributed by	War Activities Committee of the Motion Pictures Industry
Release date	1944 (1944)
Running time	65 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

This article is part of the series on the
Nanjing Massacre
Battle of Nanking (1937) Nanjing Safety Zone International Committee for the Nanjing Safety Zone
Japanese war crimes
Hundred man killing contest International Military Tribunal for the Far East Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal
Historiography of the Nanjing Massacre
Death toll of the Nanjing Massacre Nanjing Massacre denial Nanjing Massacre Memorial Day Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall Japanese history textbook controversies
Films
The Battle of China Black Sun: The Nanking Massacre City of Life and Death Don't Cry, Nanking The Flowers of War John Rabe Nanking The Truth about Nanjing
Books
American Goddess at the Rape of Nanking The Good Man of Nanking The Rape of Nanking Tokyo
v t e

The Battle of China (1944) was the sixth film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series.^[1]

Summary

Following its introductory credits, which are displayed to the

, which has since been largely discredited:

Here was their mad dream:
Phase One – the occupation of Manchuria for raw materials.
Phase Two – the absorption of China for manpower.
Phase Three – a triumphant sweep to the south to seize the riches of the Indies.
Phase Four – the eastward move to crush the United States.

It is claimed that Japan moved gradually to avoid external interference but accelerated its actions in response to the Republic of China's growing unity and development. Contrary to many modern timelines of the war, the film downplays

(then called "Nanking") that is said to have been smuggled out of occupied China by a hospital worker. The death toll is said to be unprecedented, but its figure of 40,000 is far lower than most modern estimates.

The

(then called "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 of 20 kills for each lost plane, only as a supportive group of volunteers and without attempts to downplay China's own mobilization and efforts at self-defence.

The Japanese, often referenced as "Japs" and less often as "Nips", blockade and occupation of China's ports is discussed, and the rebuilding of China's destroyed rail system is called the work of "slave labor". The "New China", which refers to the

behind Japanese lines is lionized and treated as nearly unique in the war.

Bogged down but freed from worry of Soviet interference by

loss of the Burma Road

.

The worsening situation then serves to make the film's extended treatment of the

US Congress

,

We in China want a better world not for ourselves alone ... but for all mankind. And we must have it.

Congress responds with a standing ovation. The montage of the marching armies of China are shown while a Chinese chorus sings "

.

Maps

British India

.

The introductory maps shown in the film show "

is discussed but never treated as actually separate from China. The borders of the outer territories follow the claims of the .

Further, throughout the film,

and not an occupied area of Chinese territory.

International use

The Australian armed services also used the American information film, ending with an extended scrolling text describing the film as "the story of what might have happened in Australia". The language is somewhat stronger than the American version, calling Japan "the yellow flood", "the octopus", and "the little yellow men"; the Germans "Hitler's barbarians"; and Saburō Kurusu "slimy".^[2]

See also

• List of American films of 1944
• Propaganda in the United States
• Why We Fight

References

External links

• The Battle of China at the Internet Archive
• The Battle of China at
  IMDb
• The Battle of China on
  YouTube