A Contemporary Witness’ Journal Account of the 1941 Invading Japanese Army’s Fatigue Bombing of Chongqing

Abstract

In 1941, on the basis of Operation 101, the Japanese Army continued carrying out Operation 102, a deliberate “fatigue bombardment” against Chongqing civilian targets, in an attempt to cause popular confusion at the rear of the war, disintegrate the wartime morale of the soldiers and civilians, so as to achieve the establishment of a beachhead. However, the army and civilians of Chongqing endured suffering during the bombing, exhibiting the spirit of total war. A contemporary’s journal as an eyewitness account, documenting current affairs in the manner of a contemporary, from the perspective of personal memory, provides a more realistic reproduction of the facts of the fatigue bombing and a more authentic record of the reality, area, and experience of contemporary people during the fatigue bombing. This experience not only reproduces the dehumanizing ravages of the fatigue bombing on the people at the rear of the war, but also, from a microscopic point of view, reproduces the final spiritual essence of the civilians and army of Chongqing.