Actions in Inner Mongolia (1933–1936)

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Inner Mongolian campaign (1933–1936)
Date April 1933 – December 1936 Location Chahar and Suiyuan provinces Result 1933 Japanese victory 1936 Chinese victory
Belligerents
Empire of Japan  Manchukuo Chinese collaborators Mongol Military Government (1936)	Republic of China
Commanders and leaders
Liu Guitang (1933) Demchugdongrub (1936) Wang Ying (1936)	Feng Yuxiang (1933) Fang Zhenwu (1933) Shang Zhen (1933) Liu Guitang (1933) Fu Zuoyi (1936)
Units involved
Japanese and collaborator armies Kwantung Army 4th Cavalry Brigade Military advisers Manchukuo Imperial Army Detachment of the Taoliao Army Cui Xingwu Detachment Liu Guitang Detachment Collaborationist Chinese Army Grand Han Righteous Army Inner Mongolian Army Prince De Wang's bodyguards Li Shouxin Detachment Pao Yueh-ching Detachment	Chinese army and guerrilla units National Revolutionary Army Chahar People's Anti-Japanese Army 1st Rout Army 2nd Route Army 3rd Route Army Cavalry Army Reserve Army Northeastern Loyal and Brave Army Rehe Anti-Japanese Militia Chahar Self-Defense Army
Strength
1933 2,000 Japanese and 6,000 collaborators 1936 10,000 Inner Mongolians 6,000 Chinese collaborators 30 Japanese advisers	1933: ~100,000 troops 1936: ~45,000
Casualties and losses
?	?

The Inner Mongolian campaign in the period from 1933 to 1936 were part of the ongoing invasion of

Background

In February 1933, following the successful Japanese

By the time the Anti-Japanese Allied Army had been established, the Kwantung Army strengthened its defenses at Dolonnur. The city was garrisoned by over 2,000 men of the Japanese 4th Cavalry Brigade and an artillery unit. Outside the city, the Japanese erected 32 blockhouses connected with trenches, a wire communications network, and multiple lines of obstacles. These outer defenses were guarded by Manchukuo troops under the command of Li Shouxin. To the south the Japanese 8th Regiment was stationed in Fengning, for mutual support with the forces in Dolonnur.^[2]

The Anti-Japanese Allied Army found its situation worsening day-by-day. On June 1, Japanese airplanes bombed Dushikou, on June 4, Baochang fell to the Japanese, as did Kangbao on June 5. On June 21, Feng Yuxiang ordered the Anti-Japanese Allied Army to launch a counteroffensive in three columns to regain the lost territory. On the June 22 its vanguard approached Kangbao, and after several hours of fighting, the Manchukuo force under General Cui Xingwu fled, allowing the Chinese forces to re-occupy the town.

In late June, a force under Ji Hongchang pushed northeast against Dolonnur with two corps. The Northern corps recaptured Baochang from the now-demoralized Manchukuo force under Cui Xingwu. The Southern corps under Fang Zhenwu advanced on Guyuan, held by the collaborationist General Liu Guitang. Liu was persuaded to change sides, and surrendered Guyuan and other places on the

On July 8, before dawn, Ji Hongchang began an assault on Dolonnur, capturing the two outer defense lines outside the city before being driven back with heavy casualties. Later some of Ji's soldiers were sent in disguise into the city as covert operatives to gather intelligence for a second attack. This second attack re-captured Dolonnur on July 12, effectively driving the Japanese-Manchukuo armies out of Chahar province. In late July, Feng Yuxiang and Ji Hongchang established the "Committee For Recovering the Four Provinces of the Northeast" at Kalgan, directly challenging threatening Japan's hold on the recently established puppet state of Manchukuo.

The end of the Anti-Japanese Allied Army

Chiang Kai-shek believed that communists dominated the Anti-Japanese Allied Army, and felt that it was a threat to his authority.^[3] When the Anti-Japanese Allied Army was proclaimed, the Kuomintang military committee in Peking issued an order to cut off passenger train service to Kalgan. Later they sent an armored train close to Kalgan, and directed Yan Xishan to station troops on the Shanxi border with Chahar, including the 42nd Division under Feng Qinzai, Chinese 35th Army under Fu Zuoyi and Chinese 3rd Army under Pang Bingxun. In July the Chinese 17th Army under Xu Tingyao and 87th Division under Wang Jingjiu relieved the forces of Sun Dianying and took control of the Peiking - Suiyuan rail line, preventing outside supply and reinforcement to the Anti-Japanese Allied Army.

Chiang Kai-shek also used the Anti-Japanese Armies internal disunity against it, sending spies in to gather intelligence, create rumors, sow dissension, and buy or win over some of the leaders. Generals Gang Bao, Feng Zhanhai, Li Zhongyi, Tan Zixin eventually defected to Chiang. Deng Wen was assassinated.

Japan seized the opportunity provided by this disunity to invade Chahar again in August. On August 8, the Japanese bombed Guyuan and again attacked Guyuan and Dolonnur. Ji Hongchang temporarily stopped the Japanese forces, but the effects of Chiang's blockade meant that food, clothing, ammunition and money were all in short supply. Feng Yuxiang was not able to bring these in from outside Chahar, and the province itself lacked the resources to support the army.

Feng Yuxiang sent a telegram on August 5, announcing that he was going to officially disband the Anti-Japanese Allied Army and asked the national government to let Song Zheyuan return to oversee the process. Many officers and men in the Anti-Japanese Allied Army, now unpaid, suffering starvation, disease and lacking the means to fight were now easily persuaded to join the Chinese Army or submit to being disbanded. Feng Yuxiang resigned his post on August 18, and left Chahar; Dolonnur was re-captured by the Japanese immediately afterwards.

Song Zheyuan made Ruan Xuanwu (former commander of 5th Corps) Shandu garrison commander, overseeing two regiments and Fu Chun (former commander of 24th Division) commander of another regiment under Ruan's command. Zhang Lingyun (former commander of 6th Corps) became Baochang garrison commander; Mie Yuling (former commander of Guerrilla Division) was his deputy, commanding two regiments. Huang Shouzhong (former commander of 18th Corps) oversaw the two battalions of the provincial guerrilla detachment. Sun Liangcheng (former commander of Herald Corps), Liu Zhendong and guerilla leader Tang Juwu were each given command of regiments. Zhang Lisheng accepted the post of provincial government consultant in return for disbanding the Chahar Self-Defense Army. Tan Zixin, Zhang Renjie, Li Zhongyi were put under the command of the Peiking Branch Military Committee. The units of Yao Jingchuan, Song Kebin, and others were reduced and reorganized.

With the Anti-Japanese Allied Army under Fang Zhenwu and Ji Hongchang considerably reduced by Song's activities, Fang Zhenwu as the new commander-in-chief ordered the army east to Dushikou. Some of the subordinates of Ji Hongchang attempted to move west to Ningxia via Suiyuan. However Fu Zuoyi and Zhang Lingyun pursued and blocked them east of Ertaizi, forcing them east to join Fang Zhenwu at Dushikou.

On September 10, Ji Hongchang went to

Meanwhile, Liu Guitang, after talks with Sung Che-yuan, defected back to the Japanese side again. Liu was given the title of "Bandit Suppression Commander of Eastern Chahar", commanding three regiments stationed at Chicheng,[4] Dushikou and Yunzhou. Liu's force blocked Tang's troops from following the rest of the Anti-Japanese Allied Army south, leaving Fang Zhenwu and Ji Hongchang to continue alone.^[5]

On September 25, Fang Zhenwu attacked and occupied

General Jirō Minami, commander of the Kwantung Army and Colonel Seishirō Itagaki gave support to the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Government. However, when General Minami sent Major Ryūkichi Tanaka and another officer to interview Prince Demchugdongrub in April 1935, an agreement could not be reached at that time.

In June 1935 the

On December 24, 1935, General Minami sent two battalions of irregular Manchurian cavalry under Li Shouxin, a squadron of Japanese planes, and a few tanks to assist Prince Demchugdongrub in occupying the northern part of Chahar province. The six xian of northern Chahar, were defended by only a few thousand men of the Peace Preservation Corps. With Li's assistance the Inner Mongolian forces soon overran the area.

Suiyuan campaign 1936–1937

Japanese preparations

For some time before the capture of northern Chahar, Japanese

In late April 1936, Prince Demchugdongrub and Li Shouxin met with the Japanese Special Service Chief Captain Takayoshi Tanaka, at West Wuchumuhsin. Representatives from Inner Mongolia, Qinghai and Outer Mongolia also attended the meeting, which was called the "State-Founding Conference". A plan was made to create a new Mongolian Empire, which would encompass all of Inner and Outer Mongolia and Qinghai province. As a result of this conference, the Mongol Military Government (蒙古軍政府), was formed on May 12, 1936. A mutual assistance agreement with Manchukuo was concluded in July 1936, and Japan agreed to provide both military and economic aid.

Prince Demchugdongrub set out to enlarge and equip his army, increasing from three

On October 14, Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to Yan Xishan, advising that he was sending Tang Enbo and the Chinese 13th Army (with 2 divisions) and Men Bingyue's 7th Cavalry Division to reinforce Suiyuan. On October 30, Yan Xishan and Fu Zuoyi met with Chiang Kai-shek, to assess the military situation and determine troop dispositions. On November 11, Yan Xishan divided his forces into three Route Armies, a Cavalry Army and a Reserve Army, with troop dispositions to be completed as soon as Tang Enbo's forces arrived. However, the Japanese struck first on November 15, 1936.

Suiyuan campaign

The

After several days of fighting the attackers failed to capture the town. On November 17 a Chinese counterattack surprised the invaders and led to a disorganized retreat. Taking advantage of the Mongolian disorder General Fu Zuoyi made a flanking movement to the west of the Mongolian headquarters at Bailingmiao and attacked, capturing it and routing the Mongolian forces. Wang and his Grand Han Righteous Army were trucked into a location near Pai-ling-miao and launched a counterattack, which failed dismally on December 19, with most of the attackers either taken prisoner or annihilated. ^[9]

Aftermath

The defeat of Japan's proxy forces encouraged many Chinese into pushing for a more active resistance against the Japanese. The Xi'an Incident which occurred immediately after the successful outcome of this campaign was possibly triggered by this event.

Small scale combat continued in Suiyuan until the beginning of open hostilities following the

• Second Sino-Japanese War
• Mongolia in World War II
• Soviet invasion of Xinjiang

Notes