Jiangqiao campaign
Japanese infantry unit in Manchuria
| date | November 4, 1931 - November 19, 1931 |
|---|---|
| place | Heilongjiang , Manchuria , Republic of China |
| output | Japanese victory |
| Territorial changes | Japanese occupation of Heilongjiang Province |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 23,000 soldiers | 3,500 soldiers |
| losses | |
|
3,000 soldiers (Japanese estimate) |
300 |
The Jiangqiao Campaign was a series of battles and minor skirmishes as a result of the Mukden Incident during the Japanese occupation of Manchuria between the Imperial Japanese Army and the Chinese National Revolutionary Army in November 1931. It led to the conquest of the Chinese province of Heilongjiang .
background
After the Mukden incident, the Japanese Kwantung Army quickly began occupying the Chinese provinces of Fengtian and Kirin from their local bases . At the time, Heilongjiang Province Governor Wan Fulin was in Beijing and was unable to take control. The Chinese general and de facto ruler of Manchuria , Zhang Xueliang , sent a telegram to the Chinese government in Nanjing for further instructions on how to deal with the vacant provincial government, but a short time later, on October 16, he arbitrarily set the general Ma Zhanshan as governor and military commander in chief of Heilongjiang. Ma arrived in Tsitsihar , the capital of the province, a few days later, on October 19, and took office the next day. He began to tour the city's defenses and convened a military council. Administrative officials and the military who advocated a surrender without a fight to the Japanese were removed from office by him.
Battle of the Nen Jiang Bridge
At the beginning of November Ma decided to disregard the government directive from Nanjing, according to which all confrontation with the Japanese armed forces should be avoided, and to prevent the Japanese from marching into Heilongjiang at a railway bridge over the Nen-Jiang River . Since this had already been blown up earlier by Ma's armed forces during the fighting against the pro-Japanese general Zhang Haipeng , a Japanese engineer unit, covered by around 800 soldiers, was in the process of repairing it. On November 4th, there were firefights between the Japanese and around 2,500 Chinese soldiers who were occupying the other bank of the river. Which side opened fire first is unclear. After about three hours, the Chinese troops began to withdraw and retreat to Tsitsihar. Ma later ordered a further advance under his personal leadership against the bridge, which the Japanese were able to repulse again due to their more favorable positioning and the possible support from tanks and artillery. However, it is unclear whether the Japanese were really supported by heavy weapons. Although his plan had failed, Ma was hailed as a hero by the Chinese press after this battle because he had dared to face the Japanese at all.
Battle of Tsitsihar
As a result of the two defeats at the railway bridge over the Nen-Jiang, the Japanese began to advance further on Tsitsihar and to occupy the surrounding country. By November 15, Ma had suffered an additional 700 casualties, approximately 400 of which had fallen and 300 were wounded. Nevertheless, on that day he rejected an ultimatum by the Japanese to surrender the city without a fight. On November 17, the Japanese army under General Tamon Jirō therefore began an attack on Tsitsihar, despite temperatures well below freezing. From Tangchi , about 3,500 Japanese soldiers of the 2nd Division advanced over a width of about eight kilometers towards the city. About 8,000 poorly equipped defenders had holed up in this. The battle began with isolated cavalry attacks on both sides, with a Chinese attack intended to bypass the Japanese right flank being repulsed by Japanese artillery and air support. The Japanese cavalry, however, was able to strike a first breach in the Chinese defense, into which infantry units could penetrate. Due to their superior firepower, they were able to completely break up the Chinese front and make it flee. On November 19, Ma finally ordered the evacuation of the city and ordered his troops to turn east and gather to defend Baiquan and Hailun . However, due to the high casualties and general chaos, these orders were not directly followed. Rather, a general direction of escape began upstream along the Nen-Jiang. On the upper reaches of which Ma was finally able to gather his troops again. Japanese troops pursuing the refugees were repulsed at Koshen and suffered further losses due to the bad weather on their retreat. At the same time, however, the Japanese had already occupied Tsitsihar, bringing all three provincial capitals of Manchuria under their control. They installed the pro-Japanese general Zhang Jinghui as the new governor and stationed troops in the city to protect the local section of the East China Railway .
literature
- Anthony Coogan: Northeast China and the Origins of the Anti-Japanese United Front. in Modern China Vol. 20. No. 3, Sage Publications, July 1994.
- Yoshihisa Tak Matsusaka: The Making of Japanese Manchuria, 1904–1932. Harvard University Press, Cambridge 2001, ISBN 978-0-674-01206-6 .
Web links
- Two Warlords , Time Magazine, Nov. 16, 1931. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
- Held Ma , Tima Magazine, November 23, 1931. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
- Route Ma's , Time Magazine, November 30, 1931. Retrieved June 15, 2011.