Ding Chao (; 1883–1950s) was a military general of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northea ...

, known for his

defense of Harbin The Defense of Harbin () occurred during the early Second Sino-Japanese War, as part of the campaign of the Invasion of Manchuria by forces of the Empire of Japan from 25 January to 4 February 1932. Background After General Ma Zhanshan had be ...

during the

Japanese invasion of Manchuria The Empire of Japan's Kwantung Army invaded Manchuria on 18 September 1931, immediately following the Mukden Incident. At the war's end in February 1932, the Japanese established the puppet state of Manchukuo. Their occupation lasted until t ...

in 1931 and 1932.

Biography

Ding Chao's forces commenced mobilization in November 1931 at the request of

Ma Zhanshan Ma Zhanshan (Ma Chan-shan; ; November 30, 1885 – November 29, 1950) was a Chinese general who initially opposed the Imperial Japanese Army in the invasion of Manchuria, briefly defected to Manchukuo, and then rebelled and fought against the ...

. Following the Invasion of Manchuria by the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor ...

and the capture of Liaoning and

Jilin Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea ( Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (P ...

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

. Hostilities did not commence in the Harbin area until the end of January 1932 when Ding Chao resolved to defend the northern metropolis, a key hub of rail and riverine communication, against the approach first of General

Xi Qia Aisin-Gioro Xiqia (Aisin-Gioro Hsi-hsia; ; 1883–1950), commonly known as Xi Qia or Xi Xia (Hsi Hsia; ; Hepburn: ''Ki Kō''), was a general in command of the Kirin Provincial Army of the Republic of China, who defected to the Japanese during t ...

's "New Kirin" Army and then Japanese troops. He appealed to the city's Chinese residents to join his

Jilin Self-Defence Army The Jilin Self-Defence Army was an anti-Japanese volunteer army formed to defend local Chinese residents against the Japanese invasion of northeast China. General Ding Chao, Li Du, Feng Zhanhai, Xing Zhanqing, and Zhao Yi organised the Jilin ...

made of railway garrison troops and other regulars in battle against the Japanese. On 29 January, Ding put the Chief Administrator under house arrest and took possession of the office. Formerly, Ding had been in control of the Railway Guard, with the rank of brigade-general. Ding was defeated on 5 February 1932 by a force combining Japanese troops and those of General Hai Hsai. Later after Ding's beaten forces retired from Harbin to the northeast down the

Sungari River The Songhua or Sunghwa River (also Haixi or Xingal, russian: Сунгари ''Sungari'') is one of the primary rivers of China, and the longest tributary of the Amur. It flows about from the Changbai Mountains on the China–North Korea bord ...

, they joined the Lower Sungari garrison of Gen. Li Du as the nucleus of armed opposition in the north. After his retreat from Harbin he was made Chairman of the Government of

Province, from where he opposed the new puppet government of

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 after the Japanese in ...

in their anti-bandit operations of the pacification campaign.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ding, Chao 1883 births 1950s deaths National Revolutionary Army generals from Liaoning Chinese people of World War II People from Fushun People of Manchukuo