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. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, known for his defense of Harbin during the

Japanese invasion of Manchuria The Empire of Japan's Kwantung Army invaded the Manchuria region of the Republic of China on 18 September 1931, immediately following the Mukden incident, a false flag event staged by Japanese military personnel as a pretext to invade. At the ...

in 1931 and 1932.

Biography

Ding Chao's forces commenced mobilization in November 1931 at the request of Ma Zhanshan. Following the Invasion of Manchuria by the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

and the capture of

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and

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 ...

provinces. 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's "New Kirin" Army and then Japanese troops. He appealed to the city's Chinese residents to join his Jilin Self-Defence Army 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 Hsia. Later after Ding's beaten forces retired from Harbin to the northeast down the Sungari River, 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

, from where he opposed the new puppet government 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 ...

in their anti-bandit operations of the pacification campaign.

Notes

References

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