Navy of the Manchurian Empire
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Navy of the Manchurian Empire |
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|---|---|
| active | April 15, 1935 to November 1939 |
| Country | Manchukuo |
| Type | marine |
| headquarters | Yingkou |
| management | |
| Commander in chief | Emperor Puyi |
| insignia | |
| Naval war flag |
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The Navy of the Manchurian Empire ( Chinese 満 州 帝國 海軍 , Pinyin Mǎnzhōu Dìguó Hǎijūn ) was the navy of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo . Since Manchukuo was largely enclosed by land and was under the control of the Japanese army , which was in strong competition with the Japanese navy when the state was founded, the establishment of a navy was given very little importance. From the political side, however, the establishment and equipment of at least a small force was pursued, as one wanted to reinforce the international impression that the Manchurian government was legitimate and autonomous.
history
When the Japanese army began to occupy Chinese Manchuria after the Mukden incident at the end of 1931, a division of the navy also took part in this operation to take over the coastal protection in the occupied territories. However, securing the Amur and other rivers border with the Soviet Union was more important to the Japanese . When, shortly after the incident, the Chinese Vice Minister of the Navy, Shen Honglie , who was responsible for Manchuria, and the Commander-in-Chief Xian Gongzhe left the region, Captain Yin Zuqian met with the Japanese and ran his small flotilla of five river cannon boats in Harbin on February 15, 1932 over. This small unit later formed the core of the river defense fleet ( 江防 艦隊 , jiāng fáng jiàn duì ) of the Sungari .
The official founding day of Manchukuo's navy was April 15, 1935, when Emperor Puyi announced the decree on the Manchukuo's armed forces . He also became the formal Commander in Chief of the Navy. The flagship was the destroyer Hai Wei . It was an old Japanese Momo-class destroyer called Kashi on loan from the Japanese Navy. The 3rd Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy continued to carry the brunt of the coastal defense.
The Sungari flotilla was active on the Sungari, Amur and Ussuri rivers and their tributaries from 1933 and was equipped with other Japanese gunboats for this purpose . The Manchurian units were unable to prevent the massive movement of partisans and insurgents in both directions across the rivers during the pacification of Manchukuo . As a consequence, Japan launched an intensive training program in which retired or reserve Japanese naval officers went to Manchukuo and Manchurian cadets were sent to Japan to be trained in subjects such as navigation and ballistics at the Naval Academy .
In November 1938, most of the Japanese instructors were withdrawn, officially because the Manchurian naval forces had been adequately trained, in reality because the tensions between the Japanese army and navy continued to increase. The army feared for its largely sole control of Manchukuo. A year later, in November 1939, the Manchurian Navy was placed under the direct command of the Manchurian Army and renamed River Forces ( 江 上 軍 , jiāng shàng jūn ).
In 1942, most of the remaining Japanese naval personnel were withdrawn from the River Forces. Since around half of the officers were Japanese at the time, their withdrawal left large gaps in the officer corps. This severely restricted the operational capability of the river forces. Many ships were no longer operational and their cannons were dismantled and taken ashore. At the time of the Soviet invasion of Manchuria , the river forces were no longer operational and capitulated without first offering any resistance.
organization
The headquarters of the navy was in the Yingkou naval base , while other bases were in Huludao and Andong . In total, it had four patrol flotillas for coastal defense and one for river defense, among which the individual units were divided as follows:
1st Patrol Flotilla (Sungari Flotilla)
- Ting Pien
- Ching Hen
- Shun Tien
- Yan Ming
2. Patrol flotilla
- Hai Lung
- Hai Feng
- Li Sui
- Lin Chi
3. Patrol flotilla
- Kuan Ning
- Kuan Ching
- Chian Tung
4. Patrol Flotilla
- Hai Kuang
- Hai Jui
- Hai Jung
- Hai Hua
5. Patrol Flotilla
- Daichii
- Kaihen
- Kaihi
- Ta Tung
- Li Ming
In winter, the flotillas operated armored vehicles on the frozen rivers. In addition, the Navy had some aircraft, from which it formed a subordinate Navy Air Force .
Marine infantry
The Manchurian marines were made up of Japanese and Manchurian crews and the Secret Manchurian Navy Police. It was divided into two units of 500 men each, armed with light weapons and a few machine guns. Their main task was to secure the ports and naval bases as well as the dikes.
Remarks
- ↑ Weyer's pocket book of the war fleets; XXXV. Born 1941/42; Munich, Berlin 1942; P. 128 f.
literature
- Philip S. Jowett: Rays of the Rising Sun. Armed Forces of Japan's Asian allies, 1931-45. Volume 1: China and Manchukuo . Helion and Company Ltd., Solihull 2005, ISBN 1-874622-21-3 .
- Jürg Meister: The Navy of Manchukuo , in: Marine-Rundschau 1981/2, pp. 148–56.
