The Long March of Nanjing

From 1937 until the Japanese surrender in 1945, something like 100 million Chinese had to flee their homes. Other than its symbolic value, Nanjing wasn't a game changer if they took it. The way Uncle Joe saw it tying down Japan and China distracted them from any actions they could carry out against Russia near Manchuria. A lot of troops that survived the battle of Shanghai retreated to Nanjing to put up a last-ditch defense of the capital.