World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe Beiping-Hankou (Jinghan) Railway was a railway line built in 1905 that connected the city of Beiping in northern China Proper to Hankou in Hubei Province in central China. At Hankou, another major railway, Guangdong-Hankou (Yuehan) Railway, continued on to Guangzhou in Guangdong Province (although a barge ride across the Yangtze River was necessary to make the connection between the two railways).

ww2dbaseTo the east, the Tianjin-Pukou (Jinpu) Railway connected the region to the Chinese capital city of Nanjing since 1912. From there, another railway connected the capital city region to the port city of Shanghai and another went further south.

ww2dbaseUpon completing the conquest of the Beiping-Tianjin area, the Japanese Army moved south along the Beiping-Hankou Railway in order to secure this strategic line of transportation. The operation ended at the end of 1937 as the Japanese troops reached Zhengzhou area in Henan Province near the Yellow River along the Beiping-Hankou Railway, and reached between Tsinan and Taierzhuang in Shandong Province along the Tianjin-Pukou Railway.

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