Battle of Harbin

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Battle of Harbin
date January 25 - February 4, 1932
place Harbin , Manchuria , Republic of China
output Japanese victory
Territorial changes Harbin is occupied by Japan
Parties to the conflict

China Republic 1928Republic of China (1912–1949) China

JapanJapan Japan

Commander

Ding Chao

Tamon Jirō

Troop strength
30,000 soldiers ?
losses

1,800 soldiers

?

Manchuria Crisis (1931-1932)

The Battle of Harbin was a battle during the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in advance of the Second Sino-Japanese War . In the course of this operation, which lasted from January 25 to February 4, 1932, the Imperial Japanese Army was able to capture the Manchurian city of Harbin .

background

After General Ma Zhanshan was expelled from Tsitsihar during the Japanese Jiangqiao Campaign , he and his remaining troops withdrew northeast to Hailun and tried to maintain control of Heilongjiang Province from there . Colonel Doihara Kenji started negotiations with General Ma Zhanshan from his intelligence headquarters in Harbin, hoping to win him over to the nascent Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo . Although Ma agreed to the negotiations, his position remained opaque and he continued to support independent Chinese general Ding Chao .

Ding Chao never recognized the Kwantung Army- installed puppet government of Kirin Province under the nominal leadership of General Xi Qia . In November 1931, he and Colonel Feng Zhanhai founded the Anti-Japanese Government of Kirin Province in order to organize the military resistance with its help. This was followed by a split in both the military and civil administration, through which the groups of the Old Kirin under Ding Chao and Feng Zhanhai and the New Kirin under the Xi Qia government were formed.

Ma Zhanshan continued to support Ding Chao over the next several months, and both generals began to socialize with Marshal Zhang Xueliang and Chiang Kai-shek , who gave them limited support. To put Ma under pressure, Colonel Doihara ordered General Xi Qia and his New Kirin Army to advance to Harbin and from there to Hailun, General Ma Zhanshan's headquarters. As a result, the Kirin Self-Defense Army under Ding Chao and Li Du began to position itself around Harbin and to recruit residents of the city.

By January 25, 1932, the New Kirin Army had taken Shuangcheng City . As a result, Zhang Xueliang ordered Generals Ma and Ding not to negotiate any further. In the ensuing fighting, Xi Qia's troops suffered heavy losses and withdrew on January 26th, as a result of which Doihara's plan to use military pressure to pull Ma Zhanshan on his side failed.

Harbin incident

To have a justification for using the Kwantung Army against Harbin in support of Xi Qia, Doihara caused unrest in the city. Although most of the Japanese troops were tied up in the operation to capture Jinzhou , the 2nd Infantry Division under Lieutenant General Tamon Jirō was in Mukden to refresh. When a Japanese and three Koreans perished during the riots in Harbin, the division was allowed to operate on January 28, 1932. Bad road conditions and winter weather slowed the advance, giving Ding Chao the opportunity to take control of Harbin and arrest pro-Japanese governor of Heilongjiang Province, Zhang Jinghui .

From Qiqihar, the Japanese 4th Mixed Brigade, called for reinforcement, approached at the same time. Here, too, the advance was hindered by the cold winter weather of up to −30 ° C, but on February 4 the brigade reached the southern and western outskirts of Harbin.

course

The poorly equipped and largely recruited from civilian volunteers, Ding Chaos troops could not long withstand the personnel and material superior Japanese army, which was also supported by their air force, and after a 17-hour defense, Ding ordered a retreat along the Sungari to the northeast a. As a result, the Japanese army occupied the entire city within a few hours.

consequences

Doihara offered Ma Zhanshan shortly after Harbin's conquest of gold valued at 1 million US dollars if he would defer to the newly established Manchurian Army . Impressed by the rapid Japanese victory, he agreed on February 14, 1932 and received the post of governor of Heilongjiang Province as an additional reward.

On February 27, General Ding Chao offered the Japanese a ceasefire, ending official Chinese resistance in Manchukuo.

Within a few days of the conquest of Harbin, Puyi , the former emperor of China, was proclaimed emperor of the new state of Manchukuo by a Grand Manchurian congress under Japanese control . Ma Zhanshan was appointed Minister of War in Puyi's new cabinet in addition to his position as governor.

literature

  • Anthony Coogan: Northeast China and the Origins of the Anti-Japanese United Front . Sage Publications, 1994
  • Yoshihisa Tak Matsusaka: The Making of Japanese Manchuria, 1904-1932 . Harvard University Asia Center, 2003
  • Guo Rugui: China's Anti-Japanese War Combat Operations . Jiangsu People's Publishing House, 2005

Web links