Japanese Invasion of Manchuria

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JAPANESE INVASION OF MANCHURIA AND NORTHERN CHINA

The Empire of Japan's Kwantung Army invaded Manchuria on 18 September 1931, immediately following the Mukden Incident. Consequently, in February 1932, the Japanese established the puppet state of Manchukuo.

Then in 1933, Japanese authorities took advantage of an ongoing Mongolian separatist movement in Chahar Province and co-opted Mongolian nationalists with promises of military and financial support for secession. In June 1935, China agreed to cede control of much of Chahar to the Mongolian nationalists, whose forces then seized control of the rest of the province. With the subsequent capture of Suiyuan in 1937, in September 1939, the Mongolians formed the “Mengjiang United Autonomous Government”, whose jurisdiction covered Chahar, Suiyuan, and northern Shanxi – territories that were still legally under Chinese sovereignty, but wholly under Japanese military and economic control.

Japanese Invasion of Manchuria and Northern China - Timeline

1850s - Japan emerges from two centuries of near total isolation and begins aggressive industrialization and modernization

1870s - Japan uses gunboat diplomacy on Korea to force a commercial treaty

1894 – 1895 – In the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan decisively defeats China in Korea, the Liaodong Peninsula, and Taiwan

1904 – 1905 – In the Russo-Japanese War, Japan defeats Russia and gains control of Korea and Manchuria; Japan subsequently annexes Korea; although Manchuria is occupied by Japanese forces, it legally remains a part of China

1920s – Japanese Kwantung Army officers draw up a plan to invade Manchuria and annex it outright, which is approved in principle by the Japanese government, but contingent only if China provokes a war that would justify such an invasion

1928 - The invasion plan takes on more urgency because of China’s successful reunification and because the new Nationalist Chinese government under Chiang Kai-shek has begun to re-establish civilian authority in Manchuria

September 18, 1931 – The Mukden Incident becomes the pretext for Japan to accuse the Chinese of armed provocation and justify Japanese military retaliation for a full conquest of Manchuria; war breaks out and within a few days, the Kwantung Army seizes much of Liaoning and Jilin provinces; Japanese authorities co-opt many Chinese military commanders, warlords, and officials, who organize local and provincial administrations

January 1932 - Japanese forces have seized all of southern Manchuria, with Chinese forces offering no resistance and withdrawing south

November 1931 - In Heilongjiang Province in northern Manchuria, Japanese forces come to the assistance of collaborationist Chinese Army units to capture the capital Tsitsihar; in February 1932, Harbin, the last Kuomintang stronghold in Manchuria, also fall; by then, Japanese forces control all of Manchuria

February 1932 - Japan establishes Manchukuo in Manchuria, purportedly an independent nation, but in reality, is a puppet state of Japan that receives little foreign recognition and is rejected by the League of Nations; as a result, in March 1933, Japan withdraws its membership from the League of Nations

January 1933 - To secure Manchukuo, Japanese forces invade and occupy Jehol Province, pushing the Chinese Army south of the Great Wall into Hebei Province; subsequently, Chinese forces also withdraw from Hebei Province, which then also comes under Japanese control

1933 - Japanese authorities take advantage of an ongoing Mongolian separatist movement in Chahar Province and co-opt Mongolian nationalists with promises of military and financial support for secession

June 1935 – With Japanese authorities using aggressive diplomatic tactics, China is forced to cede control of much of Chahar to the Mongolian nationalists, whose forces then seize control of the rest of the province

1937 – Mongolian forces, with covert Japanese support, also capture Suiyuan Province

September 1939 - The Mongolians form “Mengjiang United Autonomous Government” with jurisdiction over Chahar, Suiyuan, and northern Shanxi – territories that are still legally under Chinese sovereignty, but wholly under Japanese military and economic control