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The late 1930s marked a crucial turning point in East Asian history, as three major powers vied for control over the region’s vast territories and resources. This remarkable 1937 map offers a window into this complex political landscape, capturing the mounting tensions that would soon explode into full-scale war.
Looking at this detailed map, we see three main powers dominating the East Asian landscape: the USSR (marked in red), Japan (in yellow), and China (in purple). The Soviet sphere of influence, shown in lighter red, extends well beyond its borders into Mongolia and Qinghai – a fact that greatly concerned both Japanese and Chinese leadership at the time. Japanese influence, depicted in lighter yellow, encompasses Manchuria, a region they had controlled since the Mukden Incident of 1931. According to historian Rana Mitter’s “Forgotten Ally: China’s World War II” (Amazon link), this territorial acquisition marked Japan’s first major step toward its broader East Asian ambitions.
Within China’s borders, we see a nation torn by civil conflict. The map illustrates this internal struggle through an ingenious use of military symbols – blue figures representing Kuomintang government forces and red figures showing Communist positions. What’s particularly striking is the strategic positioning: Communist forces occupy much of the Chinese heartland, while Kuomintang troops concentrate along the borders, presumably to counter potential Soviet advances. This unusual deployment pattern, as noted by Hans van de Ven in “War and Nationalism in China” (Amazon link), reflected the complex balancing act the Kuomintang faced, fighting communists internally while defending against external threats.
The Soviet military presence appears particularly threatening on this map. Their strategy, outlined in red, shows a horseshoe formation: land forces poised to enter northern China through Mongolia, while other armies stand ready to engage Japanese forces in Manchuria. Perhaps most ominously, the map indicates potential air strikes against the Japanese mainland from the Soviet base at Vladivostok – a threat that Japanese military planners took very seriously, according to David Glantz’s “Soviet Strategic Offensive in Manchuria, 1945” (Amazon link).
One of the map’s most revealing aspects is its detailed portrayal of regional resources. Through carefully placed vignettes, it shows the distribution of valuable assets: oil rigs, coal mines, livestock areas, and deposits of gold and copper. Interestingly, hemp plants are marked across Manchuria, China, and northern Luzon – at the time, hemp was primarily valued for industrial applications like rope and textile production. The contrast between resource-rich Korea, Manchuria, and China versus the relatively resource-poor Soviet territories helps explain why these regions became focal points of competition.
The map includes a smaller world map in the lower left corner, using a Japan-centered Mercator projection. This inset provides global context, with colonial powers color-coded: orange for British territories, red for Japanese holdings, brown for Italian possessions, and light red for Soviet regions. This global perspective reminds us that the East Asian situation was part of a broader pattern of international rivalry and colonial ambition.
For modern readers interested in understanding today’s East Asian geopolitics, this historical map offers valuable insights into patterns of regional competition that continue to influence international relations. Current high-quality maps of Asia are available through these Amazon links:
Just months after this map’s creation, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident would trigger the Second Sino-Japanese War, dramatically altering the power dynamics depicted here. The careful attention to resource distribution and military positioning shown in this map helps us understand why this region became a crucial theater in World War II, and why East Asia remains a focus of global strategic interest today.
