On the morning of January 10, 1938, Japanese forces began their occupation of Tsingtao, China, after days of naval presence off the coast. While planes dropped leaflets over the city, Japanese troops landed and cautiously advanced. By early afternoon, a landing force of 50 men marched from Pagoda Pier up Chung Shan Road and raised the Imperial Japanese Navy ensign over the Administration Building without resistance. The Japanese Commander, Admiral Shishido formally declared Japanese control, thanking the foreign Volunteer Police who had maintained order during the city's eleven-day interregnum.

Operation B

Operation B was the Japanese plan to seize Tsingtao during 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 ...

. The Japanese landed on unfortified beaches below Tsingtao’s defenses and took Tsingtao without a struggle. The 5th and 6th Sasebo SNLF landed at Shatzekow Bay, 17 miles from Tsingtao and marched there on foot. Shortly afterward, Kinugasa
Shinsho Maru
and four troopships entered Tsingtao’s harbor and began disembarking additional SNLF troops. Five destroyers lay offshore in support. The Japanese started patrols and lowered white flags, which had been hoisted on public buildings, in a token of surrender.

Sequence of actions

Anticipation and tension

The Volunteer Police Force, led by Mr. A.R. Hogg, had become financially and operationally strained while trying to maintain peace in the city after hostilities erupted with Japan. On January 8, Japanese warships were first spotted off Chi Tao Island. By the evening of January 9, those ships returned and anchored, increasing anticipation of imminent action. Morning of January 10, 1938: 7:00 a.m.: Japanese planes were seen flying over the hills from the Yellow Sea, headed toward Litsun. 7:20 a.m.: A naval force cruisers and destroyers appeared off Iltis-Huk, well within range of the fortifications on Hui ch’uen Hook and Iltis Hills Chinese coastal fortifications. Planes dropped leaflets over Tsingtao, including English-language notices directing neutral foreign nationals to gather at Edgewater Mansions. 9:30 a.m.: Japanese forces landed — but not in the city itself. Instead, they disembarked at Shatzykow Bay, 17 miles east of Tsingtao, frustrating the Volunteer Police, who were dealing with a resurgence of looting in central areas like Kwang Hsien Road. 10:35 a.m.: Chief Hess of the Foreign Police and three Volunteers drove under white and German flags to meet the Japanese at Shatzykow. Just before noon, they returned with two Japanese representatives: an officer named Miyamoto and a soldier.

Afternoon occupation

1:30 p.m.: Japanese naval ships moved around Hui ch’uen Hook and anchored off Tsingtao Island. 2:15 p.m.: A platoon of Japanese Naval Landing Forces landed at Pagoda Pier and marched up Chung Shan Road. 2:30 p.m.: The Japanese naval ensign was raised over the Administration Building, marking official occupation.

Ceremonial declaration

4:30 p.m.: Admiral Shishido formally declared Japanese control over Tsingtao on the steps of the Chinese Administration Building. He thanked the Volunteers and assured the protection of lives and property of third-party nationals. Mr. Hogg asked that foreign guards at Litsun Waterworks remain in place for another day and requested protection for K. T. Railway guards.

Aftermath

The Tsingtao Special Police (T.S.P.) was formally disbanded. The Volunteers toasted their successful effort with a final gathering at the German Club. The Japanese began altering public monuments, including defacing a cenotaph that had marked Shantung’s return to China in 1922, preparing it to celebrate Japan’s "restoration" of the region.

References

{{reflist Military operations of the Second Sino-Japanese War 1938 in Qingdao