Timerover51,
I have been scouring the internet looking for where I read that. (I know you can’t believe every thing you read on the internet.)
I don’t know as it was a long term policy. I read about it in reference to the attack Japan staged on a railway. It was a lesser used track that the Japanese rigged to blow. It wasn’t very far from a Chinese post of some kind.
Japan had smuggled some ART units to an officer’s club nearby that sat on a hill overlooking that area. This was done very secretly. Japan was hoping that the explosion would luir the Chinese out to investigate and then Japan would have probable cause to lead a charge in defence of their railway.
The Chinese in this area outnumbered the Japanese by something like 2 or 3 to 1. I think the Japanese attacked first killed 600 Chinese. I don’t know if they were like Army Regular’s or more like a reserve or militia unit. The Japanese only lost 2 soldiers in this attack.
The reason believed for the overwhelming loss of Chinese life was that the commanding office of the Chinese was ordered to comply with the nationalist policy of nonresistance.
I think after the land assult that the Japanese then shelled the Chinese post with the ART. Although I may be wrong they may have done that first then the land assult.
I can’t remember the name of given to the whole mess. It had something to do with bridge in the title. I read that the Japanese gave the incident this name to embelish the story that a Japanese railway on such-and-such bridge was attacked. No bridge was involved in the real event.
Some believe this to be the single largest cause (if there ever can be a single larges cause) as to why Japan stormed mainland China so hard.
I’ll keep looking for more information.
LT
The charge didn’t work as well as planned