Invasion of Manchuria

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Date	September 19, 1931 to February 1932
Location	Manchuria
Result	Japanese Victory

Combatants

Imperial Japanese Army, Empire of Japan

National Revolutionary Army, Republic of China

Commanders

Shigeru Honjo, Jiro Tamon, Senjuro Hayashi

Zhang Xueliang, Ma Zhanshan, Feng Zhanhai, Ting Chao

Strength

30,000 - 60,450 men

160,000 men

Casualties

Second Sino-Japanese War
Major engagements in bold Mukden - Invasion of Manchuria -(Jiangqiao - Nenjiang Bridge - Chinchow - Harbin) - Shanghai (1932) - Operation Nekka - ( Rehe - Great Wall) - Suiyuan - Marco Polo Bridge - Beiping-Tianjin - Chahar - Shanghai (1937) (Sihang Warehouse) - Beiping-Hankou Railway - Tianjin-Pukou Railway - Taiyuan - (Pingxingguan) - Xinkou - Nanjing - Xuzhou- Taierzhuang - N.-E.Henan - (Lanfeng) - (Amoy) - Wuhan - Canton - (Hainan) - (Xiushui River) - Nanchang - Suixian-Zaoyang - (Swatow) - 1st Changsha - S.Guangxi- (Kunlun Pass) - Winter Offensive -(Wuyuan) -S.Henan - Zaoyang-Yichang - Hundred Regiments - Indochina Expedition - Shanggao - S.Shanxi - 2nd Changsha - 3rd Changsha - Yunnan-Burma Road-(Yenangyaung)- Zhejiang-Jiangxi - W.Hubei - N.Burma-W.Yunnan - Changde - C.Henan - 4th Changsha - Guilin-Liuzhou - W.Henan-N.Hubei - W.Hunan- 2nd Guangxi edit

The invasion of Manchuria by the Imperial Japanese Army, beginning on September 19 1931, immediately following the Mukden Incident, marked the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese occupation of Manchuria would last until the end of World War II.

On September 19, the day after the Mukden Incident, the Japanese Government, which had decided upon a policy of localizing the incident, communicated its decision to the Kwantung Army authorities. Despite this, the Kwantung Army rapidly proceeded to expand its operations along the South Manchurian Railway. Under orders from Lt. General Jiro Tamon, troops moved up the South Manchuria Railway and took virtually every city along its 693 miles occupying Anshan, Haicheng, Kaiyuan, Tiehling, Fushun, Szeping-chieh, Changchun, Kuanchengtzu, Yingkou, Antung and Penhsihu. On September 19, 1931, the Chosun Army in Korea under Gen. Senjuro Hayashi had ordered the 20th Division to split its force, forming the 39th Mixed Brigade. The Japanese cabinet, however, disagreed with the army, suspecting that the Mukden Incident was a conspiracy by Japanese army officers.

Without authorization by the emperor, the 39th Mixed Brigade departed on that day for Manchuria. On the same day, Kwantung Army also requested Tokyo to send three more divisions from Japan. Between September 20th and 25th, the Japanese took Hsiungyueh, Changtu, Liaoyang, Tungliao, Tiaonan, Kirin, Chiaoho, Huangkutun and Hsin-min. This secured Liaoning and Kilin provinces and their rail communications to Korea.

In late September the army was only allowed to send one mixed brigade from Japan, the 14th from the 7th Division. However the cabinet finally conceded the point to the military and the movement of the 39th Mixed Brigade from Korea was authorized on September 22nd. Eventually the Emperor did approve units from Korea assisting in the occupation of Manchuria. By the beginning of October the total strength of Kwangtung Army was about 35,400 men.

Of the 160,000 troops of the Northeastern Army at the beginning of the Manchurian Incident about 60,000 went over to the Japanese. 40,000 of Zhang Xueliang's army retreated without much resistance to Chinchow on the orders from Chiang Kai-Shek and Zhang Xueliang. The remaining troops were at Tsitsihar in Heilongjiang Province and near Harbin under Gen. Ting Chao.

After Mukden's Chinese Provincial Government had fled it was replaced by a group of Chinese calling themselves the Peoples Preservation Committee who wanted to declare the secession of Manchuria from the rest of China. Other secessionist movements were organized in Japanese occupied Kirin by Gen. Hsi Hsia head of the "New Kirin" Army, and at Harbin lead by General Chang Ching-hui. In early October, at Taonan in the northwest of Liaoning General Chang Hai-peng declared the district independent of China, in return for a shipment of a large quantity of military supplies by the Japanese Army, shortly after the Mukden Incident.

General Chang Hai-peng followed his political move up by leading the men of the Hsingan Reclamation Army north to attack Gen. Ma Chun-shen the newly appointed governor of Heilungkiang province. Soon after Chang Hai-peng advanced upon Ma's capital at Tsitsihar, Ma offered peacefully to give up the old walled town. Encouraged by General Honjo, Chang advanced cautiously to accept General Ma's surrender. However General Chang's advance guard was attacked by General Ma's troops and in a savage fight it was sent fleeing in a rout. During this fight the Nonni River railroad bridge was damaged.

With the repair of the Nonni Bridge as the pretext the Japanese sent a repair party in early November, under the protection of Japanese troops. Fighting broke out bringing the advance of the Japanese into Heilongjiang province in the Jiangqiao Campaign.

In December a new Japanese cabinet led by Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai was formed. He increased the force in Manchuria, the 8th Mixed Brigade from the 10th Division was sent in December, and the rest of 20th Division along with 38th Mixed Brigade from the 19th Division was sent from Korea. Total strength was now about 60,450 men.

With this stronger force the Japanese command announced on December 21st the beginning of large scale anti-bandit operations in Manchuria to quell a growing resistance by the local Chinese population in Liaoning and Kirin Provinces. They also issued an ultimatum to force the Chinese Army from Chinchow. Despite protests by Britain, France, and America they continued in their advance. Worse, on December 28th, a new Chinese government was formed, all members of the old Nanking government resigned throwing the military command into turmoil, and the Chinese army ceased resistance and retreated to the south of the Great Wall into Hebei. On January 3rd, 1932 Japanese forces occupied Chinchow and the following day they occupied Shanhaiguan completing their military control over South Manchuria.

With the south secure the Japanese turned to the north to complete their campaign to secure Manchuria. Negotiations with Generals Ma Zhanshan and Ting Chao had come to naught. Colonel Kenji Doihara in early January requested the Manchurian puppet General Hsi Hsia to advance with his forces and take Harbin from the last major Chinese regular force in the north lead by General Ting Chao who conducted the defense of Harbin successfully until the 12th Division under General Jiro Tamon arrived to reinforce the attack and took the city on January 5th, 1932. By the end of February General Ma had sought terms and joined the Japanese puppet government and General Ting Chao, commanding Chinese military operations against the Japanese in northeastern Manchuria, offered to cease hostilities, seemingly ending Chinese formal resistance. Within a month the puppet state of Manchukuo was established.