In September 1940, the Japanese invaded French Indochina (仏印進駐 Futsu-in shinchū) in order to prevent the Republic of China from importing arms and fuel through French Indochina along the Sino-Vietnamese Railway, from the port of Haiphong through Hanoi to Kunming in Yunnan.[1] The fighting, which lasted several days before the French authorities reached an agreement with the Japanese, took place in the context of the ongoing Sino-Japanese War and World War II. Japan was able to occupy northern Indochina, tighten the blockade of China and make a continuation of the drawn-out Battle of South Guangxi unnecessary.