Jiangqiao campaign

Jiangqiao campaign
	Part of theJapanese invasion of Manchuria
	; Japanese infantry advances in Manchuria after the Mukden Incident
Date	November 4–18, 1931; (2 weeks)
Location	Heilongjiang,Manchuria,Republic of China
Result	Japanese victory
Belligerents
Republic of China National Revolutionary Army;	Empire of Japan Imperial Japanese Army;
Commanders and leaders
Ma Zhanshan	Jirō Tamon
Strength
23,000	3,500
Casualties and losses
3,000 (Japanese estimate)	300

TheJiangqiao campaignwas a series of battles and skirmishes occurring after theMukden Incident,during theinvasion of Manchuriaby theImperial Japanese Army,prior to theSecond Sino-Japanese War.

Background[edit]

After the Mukden Incident, the JapaneseKwantung Armyquickly overran the provinces ofLiaoningandJilin,occupying major cities and railways. At that time, the ChairmanWan FulinofHeilongjiangProvince was inBeijing,leaving the provincial government leaderless.Zhang Xueliangtelegraphed theKuomintanggovernment inNanjingfor instructions, and then appointed GeneralMa Zhanshanas acting Chairman and Military Commander-in-chief of Heilongjiang Province on October 16, 1931.

General Ma Zhanshan arrived in the capitalQiqiharon October 19 and took office the next day. He held military meetings and personally inspected the defense positions while facing down parties who wished to surrender, saying “I am appointed as Chairman of the Province, and I have the responsibility to defend the Province and I will never be a surrendering general".^{[citation needed]}

Resistance at Nenjiang Bridge[edit]

In November 1931, General Ma Zhanshan chose to disobey the Kuomintang government's ban on further resistance to the Japanese invasion and attempted to prevent Japanese forces from crossing into Heilongjiang province by defending a strategic railway bridge across theNen RivernearJiangqiao.This bridge had been dynamited earlier by Ma's forces during the fighting against pro-Japanese collaborationist forces of GeneralZhang Haipeng.

A repair crew, guarded by 800 Japanese soldiers, went to work on 4 November 1931, but fighting soon erupted with the 2,500 Chinese troops nearby. Each side charged the other with opening fire without provocation. The skirmish continued for over three hours, until the Japanese drove General Ma's troops off towardQiqihar.

Later General Ma Zhanshan returned to counterattack with a much larger force. Japanese Major General Shogo Hasebe, had the sluggish river on his left, the railway on his right. Wide swamplands made the Japanese left wing impregnable, forcing Ma to concentrate his cavalry against the exposed Japanese right wing. Although dislodging the Japanese from their advance positions, Ma was unable to recapture the bridge, which the Japanese continued to repair. Ma was eventually forced to withdraw his troops in the face of Japanese tanks andartillery.

Ma became a national hero for his resistance to the Japanese which was widely reported in the Chinese and international press. The publicity inspired more volunteers to enlist in theAnti-Japanese Volunteer Armies.^[1]

Battle of Qiqihar[edit]

On November 15, 1931, despite having lost more than 400 killed and 300 wounded since November 5, General Ma declined a Japanese ultimatum to surrender Qiqihar. On the November 17, in subzero weather, 3,500 Japanese troops of the2nd division,under the command of GeneralJiro Tamon,mounted an attack on Qiqihar's 8,000 defenders along a five-mile front on the heights of San-chien-fang south ofTangchi.

Japanesecavalrycharged down the Chinese front line cutting a swath into which Japaneseinfantryfollowed. Ma's right flank held at first. The Chinese cavalry tried to encircle the Japanese right flank, but were stopped by Japaneseartilleryandclose air support.The superior Japanese firepower turned the battle. Chinese units broke and fled across the frozen steppes.

On November 18, Ma evacuated Qiqihar. By November 19, he led his troops to the east to defendBaiquanandHailun.His forces had suffered serious casualties and their strength was now much reduced. However once Ma was forced to retire up theNonni Rivervalley, he managed to regroup his forces and maintain their morale. Japanese troops attempting to press Ma's men further up the Nonni River towardsKoshenin the cold suffered large casualties on several occasions.

At the same time the Japanese began their occupation of Qiqihar, securing control of all three Manchurian provincial capitals. At Mukden and Kirin the Japanese had already established collaborationist Chinese governments. At Qiqihar they established another government under pro-Japanese GeneralZhang Jinghui.Japan also secured control of the central section of theChinese Eastern Railway,however, the eastern section was still under the control of GeneralDing ChaoinHarbin.^[2]

Notes[edit]

^Coogan, Northeast China and the Origins of the Anti-Japanese United Front, pp.283-314
^Matsuzaka, The Making of Japanese Manchuria, 1904-1932

References[edit]

Coogan, Anthony (1994).Northeast China and the Origins of the Anti-Japanese United Front.Modern China, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Jul., 1994), pp. 282-314: Sage Publications.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location (link)
Matsusaka, Yoshihisa Tak (2003).The Making of Japanese Manchuria, 1904-1932.Harvard University Asia Center.ISBN 0-674-01206-2.

External links[edit]

Topographic maps of campaign area.

Chi-chi-ha-erh nl51-2San-chien-fang tam gian phòng area, Angangxi, Qiqihar
Wang-yeh-miao nl51-5Nenjiang Bridge area

[1] Coogan, Northeast China and the Origins of the Anti-Japanese United Front, pp.283-314

[2] Matsuzaka, The Making of Japanese Manchuria, 1904-1932

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