- 1937June. Kim Il Sung leads 150–200 guerrillas in the Battle of Pochonbo.
- 1937보천보 전투
- 1938March. Samsung is established in Daegu.
- 1938국가 총동원법 시행, 지원병제 제정, 조선 의용대 창설
- 1940September. The KPG establishes the Korean Liberation Army, a guerrilla army that was intended to eventually fight to liberate the Korean peninsula.
- 1940September. The Chōsen Grand Exposition is held.
- 1941대한민국 건국 강령
| - 南昌会战
- 昆仑关战役
- 随枣会战
- September — The nominally independent Mengjiang was established on the Mongol territories of the Japanese-occupied Chahar and Suiyuan provinces.EN
- September — Battle of Changsha: The Japanese army attacked Changsha.EN
- 日軍轰炸重慶、潼關、洛陽、襄陽、西安、宜昌、泉州、成都等地。裴文中发现北京人头盖骨化石。9月,為紀念淞滬會戰中日首次空戰814空軍大捷,國民政府正式下令8月14日為空軍節。天津发生大水灾。
- 1937December — Nanjing Massacre: Nanjing fell to the Japanese Central China Area Army. A six-week massacre began in which tens of thousands of women were raped and as many as three hundred thousand civilians were killed.
- 1937March — Marco Polo Bridge incident: Roughly one hundred Chinese soldiers were killed defending the Marco Polo Bridge in Beijing from a Japanese attack.
- 1937淞沪会战
- 1937December — Battle of Nanking: The Japanese Central China Area Army launched a full-scale assault on Nanjing.
- 1937太原會戰
- 1937忻口會戰
- 1937平型关战役
- 1937Defense of Sihang Warehouse
- 1937通州事件
- 1937Guanganmen incident
- 1937廊坊事件
- 1937September — The KMT and CCP joined to establish the Second United Front, which led to the Communists recognizing at least for the moment Chiang Kai-shek as China's leader and the official dissolution of the Chinese Soviet Republic. The Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route and New Fourth Armies, which were nominally part of the NRA chain of command.
- 19377月7日盧溝橋事變,抗日戰爭全面爆發。國共第二次合作,成立「抗日民族統一戰線」。淞滬會戰,8月14日中日首次空戰,獲814空軍大捷。南京保卫战国军大败,随后日军发动南京大屠殺杀害约30万平民,十年建設(1928-1937)結束。
- 1938June — 1938 Yellow River flood: KMT forces destroyed a major dyke in an effort to create a flood to slow down Japanese forces. Nearly a million citizens died.
- 1938武汉会战
- 1938台兒莊戰役
- 1938徐州会战
- 1938February — Bombing of Chongqing: The Japanese army and naval air services began a bombing campaign against civilian targets in Chongqing which would kill some ten thousand people.
- 1940August — Hundred Regiments Offensive: Communist NRA soldiers under Peng Dehuai began a campaign of terrorism and sabotage against Japanese targets in North China.
- 1940绥西战役
- 19403月30日汪精衛於南京成立傀儡政权(南京国民政府),发表《和平建国十大政纲》。5月1日枣宜会战开始。12月30日延安新華廣播電台開始播音。
- 1941홍콩 전투
- 1941中條山會戰
- 1941Panjiayu Massacre
- 1941St. Stephen's College massacre
- 19411941年中埔地震
- 1941February — The Communist official Mao Zedong gave a speech in Yan'an entitled "Reform in Learning, the Party and Literature," establishing the Yan'an Rectification Movement and beginning an ideological purge which would claim some ten thousand lives.
- 1941September — Battle of Changsha: A Japanese army began a general retreat after failing to take Changsha.
- 1941皖南事变。太平洋戰爭(1941-1945)起。12月9日國民政府对納粹德国、意大利王國及日本帝國宣戰;「滿洲國」對美、英宣戰。陈纳德“飞虎队”入华作战。
| - September to 8 October — Battle of Changsha begins in Hunan Province, China.EN
- 1937淞沪会战
- 1937보천보 습격
- 1937乾岔子島事件
- 1937Guanganmen incident
- 1937廊坊事件
- 1937Nagoya Pan-Pacific Peace Exposition
- 1937July — Second Sino-Japanese War begins.
- 1938津山事件
- 1940September — Japanese invasion of French Indochina begins.
- 1940샤코탄반도 해역 지진
- 1940Chōsen Grand Exposition
- 1940竹枪事件
- 1940May to 18 June — Battle of Zaoyang-Yichang begins.
- 1940March to 3 April — Battle of Wuyuan begins.
- 1941蘇日中立條約
- 1941to 25 December — Battle of Hong Kong begins in China.
- 1941December — The Empire of Japan attacks the naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Japan declares war on the United States, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, marking the start of the Pacific War theatre of World War II.
- 1941April — Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact is signed.
- 1941to 10 December — First Battle of Guam begins.
| - 1939年紐約世界博覽會
- Golden Gate International ExpositionEN
- Cash and carry proposed to replace the Neutrality ActsEN
- Hatch Act, aimed at corrupt political practices and prevented federal civil servants from campaigningEN
- Nazi Germany invades Poland; World War II beginsEN
- 1937Golden Gate Bridge completed in San Francisco
- 1937Hindenburg disaster, killing 35 people and marking an end to airship travel
- 1937Ponce massacre
- 1937Memorial Day massacre
- 1937Battle of the Overpass
- 1937Neutrality Acts
- 1937Look magazine publishes first issue
- 1937Panay incident, a Japanese attack on the United States Navy gunboat USS Panay while anchored in the Yangtze River outside of Nanjing
- 1937January 20, 1937 – President Roosevelt and Vice President Garner begin second terms.
- 1938The comic book superhero Superman debuts in Action Comics #1 (June 1938)
- 1938Orson Welles' The War of the Worlds broadcast
- 1938Thornton Wilder’s play Our Town wins Pulitzer Prize
- 1938Fair Labor Standards Act
- 1938Wheeler-Lea Act
- 1940Bugs Bunny, Tom and Jerry and Woody Woodpecker make their cartoon debuts
- 1940Oldsmobile becomes the first car maker to offer a fully automatic transmission
- 1940Color television is demonstrated by the Columbia Broadcasting System
- 1940U.S. presidential election, 1940: Franklin D. Roosevelt is reelected president to a record third term, Henry A. Wallace is elected vice president
- 1940New Hampshire earthquakes
- 1940El Centro earthquake
- 1940Alien Registration (Smith) Act
- 1940Billboard magazine publishes its first music popularity chart, the predecessor to today's Hot 100
- 1940Selective Service Act, establishing the first peacetime draft in U.S. history
- 1941珍珠港事件
- 1941威克島戰役
- 1941關島戰役
- 1941June 22, 1941 – Operation Barbarossa: Nazi Germany begins war against the Soviet Union
- 1941Regular commercial television broadcasting begins; CBS and NBC television networks launched.
- 1941January 20, 1941 – President Roosevelt begins third term; Wallace becomes the 33rd vice president
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