17. The Japanese Invasion of China (1937)
In 1937, Japan launched a brutal campaign against China, culminating in the capture of Nanjing on December 13. Over the following six weeks, Japanese forces committed widespread atrocities, including mass executions and the systematic rape of tens of thousands of women, an event now known as the Nanjing Massacre. This invasion escalated into the Pacific front of World War II, drawing parallels to earlier Mongol and Manchu invasions that similarly sought to dominate China (via britannica.com).
