The Defense of Harbin () occurred at the beginning of the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...
, as part of the campaign of the
Invasion of Manchuria by forces of the
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...
from 25 January to 4 February 1932. The Japanese took the city only after a long battle in the freezing weather against the Chinese.
Background
After General
Ma Zhanshan had been driven from
Qiqihar
Qiqihar (also spelled Tsitsihar) is the second-largest city in the Heilongjiang province of China, in the west central part of the province. The built-up (or metro) area made up of Longsha, Tiefeng and Jianhua districts had 959,787 inhabitants, w ...
by the Japanese in the
Jiangqiao Campaign, he retreated northeast with his depleted forces and set up his headquarters at
Hailun from which he attempted to continue to govern
Heilongjiang Province. Colonel
Kenji Doihara began negotiations with General Ma from his Special Service Office at
Harbin
Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...
, hoping to get him to defect to the new state of
Manchukuo
Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...
. Ma remained in an ambiguous position by continuing negotiations with the Japanese while he continued to support General
Ding Chao.
General Ding Chao had never approved of the puppet government set up in
Jilin
)
, image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg
, image_alt =
, image_caption = View of Heaven Lake
, image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg
, mapsize = 275px
, map_al ...
Province by the
Kwantung Army
The Kwantung Army (Japanese language, Japanese: 関東軍, ''Kantō-gun'') was a Armies of the Imperial Japanese Army, general army of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1919 to 1945.
The Kwantung Army was formed in 1906 as a security force for th ...
under the nominal leadership of General
Xi Qia of the Jilin Army. In November 1932, with Colonel
Feng Zhanhai, he organized the “Jilin Provincial Anti-Japanese Government” to coordinate military resistance. Military and civil authorities in the province fractured into "New Jilin" adherents of the Xi Qia regime and loyalist "Old Jilin" elements in opposition to it, The former predominated near the capital, and the latter predominated in Harbin and the rugged hinterland to the north and the east.
Over the next months, General Ma Zhanshan continued to support General Ding, and both generals maintained contact with Marshal
Zhang Xueliang and
Chiang Kai-shek, who gave them some limited assistance. In early January 1932, in an effort to force General Ma to terms, Doihara requested for General Xi Qia to advance with his "New Jilin Army" to take Harbin and then to advance in the direction of Ma's headquarters at Hailun. However, the forces of the
Jilin Self-Defence Army, organized by General Ding and General
Li Du at Harbin, were between General Xi Qia and Harbin. General Ding appealed to Harbin's Chinese residents to join his railway garrison regulars.
When General Xi's New Jilin Army had advanced to
Shuangcheng on 25 January, Marshal Zhang Xueliang instructed Generals Ma and Ding not stop negotiating. Fighting began on the morning of the 26th. Doihara had failed in his attempt to intimidate. Worse still, his ally General Xi had suffered a serious reverse at the hands of General Ding's forces.
Harbin Incident
To justify the direct intervention of the
Kwantung Army
The Kwantung Army (Japanese language, Japanese: 関東軍, ''Kantō-gun'') was a Armies of the Imperial Japanese Army, general army of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1919 to 1945.
The Kwantung Army was formed in 1906 as a security force for th ...
to assist General Xi Qia, Colonel Doihara engineered a riot in Harbin. During the uprising, one Japanese and three Korean subjects of Japan were killed. Although most Japanese forces had been withdrawn from northern Manchuria for use in the
Jinzhou Operation, the
2nd Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant General
Jirō Tamon, had returned to Mukden for a rest.
On receiving orders to go to the rescue of General Xi Qia, the 2nd Division entrained on the same day that the
January 28 Incident began. Some delays were experienced because of transportation difficulties in the cold winter weather. That gave General Ding Chao time to seize the Municipal Administration in Harbin and arrest pro-Japanese Governor of Heilongjiang General
Zhang Jinghui.
From Qiqihar, the newly-arrived
Japanese 4th Mixed Brigade moved in from the east. For seven days, Japanese columns struggled over the frozen countryside in freezing temperatures of -30 degrees celsius. Finally, they closed in on the city from the west and south on February 4.
Battle of Harbin
General Ding Chao fought a 17-hour battle, which Harbin's inhabitants watched from their rooftops. Possibly in an effort to embroil the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, General Ding's
artillery
Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...
was posted in front of the offices of the Soviet-dominated
Chinese Eastern Railroad but to no effect.
Ding's men, many of whom were poorly equipped and untrained civilian volunteers, finally broke under the fire from Japanese guns and the bombing and
strafing by Japanese aircraft. Ding was forced to retreat from Harbin to the northeast, down the
Sungari River, and was pursued by Japanese aircraft. Within a few hours, the Japanese occupation of Harbin had been completed.
Aftermath
Doihara offered Ma Zhanshan one million dollars in gold to defect to the new
Manchukuo Imperial Army. After General Ding had been defeated, Ma agreed on 14 February 1932 and retained his post as Governor of
Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...
Province in exchange for co-operating with the Japanese.
On February 27, 1932, General Ding offered to cease hostilities, ending official Chinese resistance in
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...
.
Within days, Henry
Puyi
Puyi (7 February 190617 October 1967) was the final emperor of China, reigning as the eleventh monarch of the Qing dynasty from 1908 to 1912. When the Guangxu Emperor died without an heir, Empress Dowager Cixi picked his nephew Puyi, aged tw ...
, the former
Manchurian emperor of China,
deposed in 1911, was made emperor of the puppet state of
Manchukuo
Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...
by the resolution of an all-Manchuria Convention in Mukden (today's
Shenyang
Shenyang,; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly known as Fengtian formerly known by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a sub-provincial city in China and the list of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Liaonin ...
), whose members included General Ma, who had been flown in from the north. The next day, on March 1, the Manchukuo Government established with General Ma as its Minister of War, in addition to his post as provincial governor.
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
International Military Tribunal for the Far EastJapanese Aggression Against China
''
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
''. 15 February 1932.
Topographic Map nl52-7 Ha-erh-pinShuangcheng, Harbin area
{{coord missing, Russia
Military history of Manchuria
20th century in Harbin
Harbin
Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...
1932 in China
Conflicts in 1932
1932 in Japan
January 1932 in Asia
February 1932 in Asia