Canton Falls

On October 21, 1938, Canton fell to the Japanese. Canton was China’s last major port through which China could receive outside aid. As a practical matter, China was now cut off from significant foreign assistance.

On October 12, the Japanese had landed a corps of 40,000 men at Taya Bay just north of Hong Kong. This use of sea power gave the Japanese the mobility they needed to take the Chinese by surprise. The Chinese were initially able to oppose only two brigades against this invasion and these along with their hastily assembled reinforcements were brushed aside. Thus did Canton fall in only nine days.

By contrast the main Japanese offensive toward Wuhan (begun on August 22nd) remained a hard slog although the Japanese have been at the outskirts of their main objective, Wuhan, since October 10th. It seems that the fall of Wuhan is imminent.