January 28 incident
January 28 incident | |
---|---|
China | |
Result |
Ceasefire; Shanghai demilitarized |
19th Route Army:
5th Army:
Commander:
Chief of staff:
5th Army
Imperial Japanese Navy
80 ships
300 aeroplanes
Western Estimate:
3,000 KIA[1][2]
738 killed
2257 wounded[3]
The January 28 incident or Shanghai incident (January 28 – March 3, 1932) was a conflict between the
Internationally, the episode intensified opposition to Japan's aggression in Asia. The episode helped undermine civilian rule in Tokyo; Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi was assassinated on May 15, 1932.[6]
Naming
In Chinese literature it is known as the January 28 incident (simplified Chinese: 一·二八事变; traditional Chinese: 一·二八事變; pinyin: Yī Èrbā Shìbiàn), while in Western sources it is often called the Shanghai War of 1932 or the Shanghai incident. In Japan it is known as the First Shanghai Incident (Japanese: 第一次上海事変), alluding to the Second Shanghai Incident, which is the Japanese name for the Battle of Shanghai that occurred during the opening stages of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937.
Background
After the
One policeman was killed and several more hurt when they arrived to quell the disorder.[7] This caused an upsurge of anti-Japanese and anti-imperialist protests in the city and its concessions, with Chinese residents of Shanghai marching onto the streets and calling for a boycott of Japanese-made goods.
Battle
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2020) |
The situation continued to deteriorate over the next week. By January 27, the Japanese military had already concentrated some 30 ships, a number of seaplanes, and nearly 2,000 troops around the shoreline of Shanghai to put down any resistance in the event that violence broke out. The military's justification was that it had to defend its citizens and their property. In addition,
Throughout this period, the Chinese 19th Route Army had been massing outside the city, causing consternation to the civil Chinese administration of Shanghai and the foreign-run concessions. The 19th Route Army was generally viewed as little more than a warlord force, posing as great a danger to Shanghai as the Japanese military. In the end, Shanghai donated a substantial bribe to the 19th Route Army, hoping that it would leave and not incite a Japanese attack.[8][page needed]
However, shortly before midnight on January 28, plainclothes Chinese troops that had infiltrated the Hongkou district in the Japanese Defense Sector fired upon Japanese sailors leaving their headquarters.[9] Three thousand Japanese sailors were mobilized in response, attacking the neighboring district of Zhabei and assuming control of the "de facto" Japanese settlement in Hongkou. In what was a surprising about-face for many, the 19th Route Army, which many had expected to leave after having been paid, put up fierce resistance. Also on the 28th, the Chinese Air Force dispatched nine planes to the Hongqiao Aerodrome, and the first aerial battle between Chinese and Japanese aircraft occurred on that day, although neither side suffered losses.[citation needed]
Though the opening battle took place between the Hongkou and Zhabei districts of extra-settlement Shanghai, the conflict eventually spread outwards towards
Because Shanghai was a metropolitan city with many foreign interests invested in it, other countries, such as the
The Japanese issued another ultimatum, demanding that the Chinese Army retreat 20 km from the border of the Shanghai concessions, a demand promptly rejected. This only intensified fighting in Hongkou. The Japanese were unable to take the city by the middle of February. Subsequently, the number of Japanese troops was increased to nearly 18,000 with the arrival of the
On February 14, Chiang Kai-shek sent the
On February 20, Japanese bombardments were increased to force the Chinese away from their defensive positions near Miaohang, while commercial and residential districts of the city were set on fire. The Chinese defensive positions deteriorated rapidly without naval and armored support, although the number of defenders was nearly five divisions. Meanwhile the Japanese forces had a single division—the IJA 9th Division, alongside the IJA 24th Mixed brigade and the Shanghai Naval Landing Force, numbering around 18,000 troops, also backed by aerial and naval bombardments.
On February 28, after a week of fierce fighting characterized by the stubborn resistance of the troops mainly from
On March 1, the advance contingent of the
Peace process
On March 4, the League of Nations passed a resolution demanding a ceasefire, though sporadic fighting persisted. On March 6, the Chinese unilaterally agreed to stop fighting, although the Japanese rejected the ceasefire. On March 14, representatives from the League of Nations arrived at Shanghai to broker a negotiation with the Japanese. While negotiations were going on, intermittent fighting continued in both outlying areas and the city itself.[8][page needed]
On May 5, China and Japan signed the Shanghai Ceasefire Agreement (simplified Chinese: 淞沪停战协定; traditional Chinese: 淞滬停戰協定; pinyin: Sōnghù Tíngzhàn Xiédìng). The agreement made Shanghai a demilitarized zone and forbade China to garrison troops in areas surrounding Shanghai, Suzhou, and Kunshan, while allowing the presence of a few Japanese units in the city. China was allowed to keep only a small police force within the city.
Aftermath
After the ceasefire was brokered, the 19th Army was reassigned by Chiang Kai-shek to suppress the
See also
- Events preceding World War II in Asia
- Jinan incident (May 1928)
- Huanggutun incident (Japanese assassination of the Chinese head of state Generalissimo Zhang Zuolin on 4 June 1928)
- Second Sino-Japanese War
- Japanese invasion of Manchuria
- Mukden Incident(18 September 1931)
- Defense of the Great Wall (1933)
- Marco Polo Bridge Incident(7 July 1937)
- Battle of Shanghai (1937)
- Japanese invasion of Manchuria
- Robert McCawley Short
- Toshio Kuroiwa
References
- ISBN 9781447253433.
- ISBN 978-1922539205.
- ^ "Showa 6.7 Nen Jihen Kaigun Senshi". Japan Center for Asian Historical Records. Gunreibu. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "The Fall Of Shanghai: Prelude To The Rape Of Nanking & WWII". Warfare History Network. August 17, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
- ISSN 0729-2473.
- ^ Jordan 2001, p. 239.
- ^ ISBN 0-07-030612-5.
- ^ a b Jordan 2001.
- ^ "2、上海調査委員会報告(国際連盟)I、II、III、IV/LEAGUE OF NATIONS.SHANGHAI COMMITTEE. SECOND REPORT.SHANGHAI,12th.February,1932.". JACAR. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
- ^ Ke Jiayun (March 3, 2015). "Bombed-out library with revolutionary past". Shanghai Daily.
- ^ Jordan 2001, p. 55.
- Canberra Times. February 29, 1932.
- ^ 日支紛争に関する国際聯盟調査委員会の報告. 国際聯盟協会. 1932. p. 145,146.
Further reading
- Fenby, Jonathan (2003). Chiang Kai-shek: China's Generalissimo and the Nation He Lost. Carroll & Graf Publishers. ISBN 0786713186.
- Jordan, Donald A. (2001). China's Trial by Fire: The Shanghai War of 1932. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-11165-5.
- Hsu Long-hsuen; Chang Ming-kai (1971). History of The Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). Translated by Wen Ha-hsiung (2nd ed.). Taipei: Chung Wu Publishing.
External links
- "On The Eastern Front", April 1932, Popular Mechanics photo collection of invasion of Manchuria and Shanghai incident
- National Archives (USA) film, "On the Japanese bombing and occupation of Shanghai."