Key Facts
- Total air raids
- 268 raids recorded
- Bombers per raid
- Few dozen to over 150
- Duration
- 18 Feb 1938 – 19 Dec 1944
- Conducting forces
- IJAAF and IJNAF
- Target status
- Provisional wartime capital of China
Strategic Narrative Overview
Over nearly seven years, Japanese Army and Navy air services conducted 268 documented raids on Chongqing and surrounding Sichuan targets, deploying anywhere from a few dozen to over 150 bombers per mission. The Chinese Air Force and National Revolutionary Army anti-aircraft artillery units mounted defensive resistance throughout the campaign. Raids varied in intensity across different phases, with the heaviest bombardments aimed at breaking civilian and governmental morale.
01 / The Origins
After Japan's invasion of China in 1937, the Nationalist Chinese government relocated its capital inland to Chongqing in Sichuan province. Japan's Imperial General Headquarters authorized a campaign of strategic terror bombing beginning in February 1938, aiming to destroy the Chinese government's will to resist and potentially support a planned invasion of Sichuan. The city's status as the provisional wartime capital made it a primary strategic and psychological target.
03 / The Outcome
The bombing campaign ultimately failed to compel Chinese surrender or enable a Japanese invasion of Sichuan, which never materialized. The raids concluded in December 1944 as Japan's broader strategic position in the war deteriorated. Chongqing remained the Nationalist capital throughout the Second Sino-Japanese War, and China continued to resist until Japan's overall defeat in 1945.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent