The was the major

navy base A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that usu ...

for the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

in the

Kwantung Leased Territory The Kwantung Leased Territory () was a Concessions in China, leased territory of the Empire of Japan in the Liaodong Peninsula from 1905 to 1945. Japan first acquired Kwantung from the Qing dynasty, Qing Empire in perpetuity in 1895 in the Tre ...

before and during

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 ...

. Located in at Ryojun ), (present-day Lüshunkou,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, The Ryojun Guard District was responsible for control of the strategic seaward approaches to

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 ...

and to

north China North China () is a list of regions of China, geographical region of the People's Republic of China, consisting of five province-level divisions of China, provincial-level administrative divisions, namely the direct-administered municipalities ...

and for patrols in the

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea, also known as the North Sea, is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. Names It is one of four ...

and along the China coastlines. It was disbanded in 1943.

History

The were second tier naval bases, similar to the first tier , with docking, fueling and resupply facilities, but typically lacked a shipyard or training school. They tended to be established by strategic waterways or major port cities for defensive purposes. In concept, the Guard District was similar to the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Sea Frontiers concept. the Guard District maintained a small

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

force of ships and Naval Land Forces which reported directly to the Guard District commander, and hosted detachments of the numbered fleets on a temporary assignment basis. The port of Ryojun on the Kwantung Peninsula was an area with a long association with the Imperial Japanese Navy, having been first seized during the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...

in December 1894. Japan was forced to abandon the port due to the

Triple Intervention The Triple Intervention or was a diplomatic intervention by Russia, Germany, and France on 23 April 1895 over the terms of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, imposed by Japan on Qing China at the end of the First Sino-Japanese War. The treaty, signed on ...

in February 1896, and its port facilities were soon occupied and developed by the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until being dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution and the declaration of ...

as Port Arthur, Russia's most important naval base in the Far East. The Russian naval base was seized by Japan after the

Battle of Port Arthur The of 8–9 February 1904 marked the commencement of the Russo-Japanese War. It began with a surprise night attack by a squadron of Imperial Japanese Navy, Japanese destroyers on the neutral country, neutral Imperial Russian Navy, Russian fl ...

in August 1904 and was proclaimed the . However, it lacked the shipyards, armories and the training facilities associated with other naval districts, (for which it relied on

Sasebo Naval District was the third of five main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the western and southern coastline of Kyūshū, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan and Korea, as well as patrols in the East China Sea and t ...

). Tasked primarily with coastal patrols of the

Liaodong Peninsula The Liaodong or Liaotung Peninsula ( zh, s=辽东半岛, t=遼東半島, p=Liáodōng Bàndǎo) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located ...

and control of the strategic seaward approaches to

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

and

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, it was regarded as a prestigious posting, with its commander receiving his commission directly from the Emperor. However, on March 14, 1914, the status of the Ryojun Naval District was reduced to that of a third echelon naval port, or . It served as a staging point and refueling base in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

for operations against the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for ...

’s

East Asia Squadron The German East Asia Squadron () was an Imperial German Navy cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the mid-1890s until 1914, when it was destroyed at the Battle of the Falkland Islands. It was based at Germany's Ji ...

based out of

Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...

. With the Allied victory in World War I eliminating the German threat and with the

Washington Naval Treaty The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was signed during 1922 among the major Allies of World War I, Allies of World War I, which agreed to prevent an arms race by limiting Navy, naval construction. It was negotiated at ...

limiting naval forces, Ryojun Military Port was deactivated on December 1, 1922. In April 1933, the base was reactivated, and its role expanding to include patrols and guard of the coastline of

. On November 20, 1941, in anticipation of the coming war with the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, Ryojun was upgraded to Guard District status. However, on January 15, 1942, with Japan in full control of the seaward approaches to China and Manchukuo, the Guard District was again deactivated.

Order of Battle at time of the attack on Pearl Harbor

*Ryojun Guard District *Minesweeper Division 32 **Shanan Maru #16

List of commanders

Commanding officerWendel, Axis History Database Chief of Staff

References

* *

External links

* * {{Authority control Imperial Japanese Navy Naval installations Manchukuo Imperial Navy History of Dalian Kwantung Leased Territory 1904 establishments in China 1943 disestablishments in China 1904 establishments in the Japanese colonial empire 1943 disestablishments in the Japanese colonial empire