"The Soviet Invasion of Manchuria and the Kwangtung Army" Topic

"From the start of the twentieth century, the Japanese considered Russia, and later the Soviet Union as its potential primary adversary. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905 temporarily removed the Russian threat and the Japanese proceeded to garrison Manchuria. Initially this garrison consisted of two Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) divisions; however by 1910 this was reduced to six reserve battalions. In 1916 these reserve battalions were replaced by IJA regulars and in 1919 the Kwangtung Army was established with astrength of 10,000 soldiers by the IJA Order Number Twelve.[1]

Officers in the Kwangtung Army considered themselves the guardians of Japan's frontiers, and they believed the War Ministry did not appreciate the danger to Manchuria that the Soviets posed. The Kwangtung Army moved quickly to consolidate and expand control of Manchuria, and they began political maneuvers to establish a puppet government.[2] A group of Kwangtung Army officers led by Ishiwara Kanji judged that the moment was ripe for bold action.[3]

They manufactured the Manchurian Incident of 1931 which involved an incident with a Manchurian Warlord, and used it as a reason to take control of all of Manchuria. In 1932 the Kwangtung Army created the state of Manchukuo. The Kwangtung Army takeover of Manchuria in 1931 brought the Japanese face to face with the Soviet Red Army along a three-thousand mile border. Though the Kwangtung Army controlled all of Manchuria they were surrounded on three sides by the Soviets. By this time the Kwangtung Army had expanded to five divisions.[4] Soviet positions in the Far East began to feel threatened by Japan. Although the Soviet Far Eastern Army was more than a match for the Chinese it could not yet hope to defeat the Kwangtung Army. Stalin tried to gain time by offering a non-aggression treaty but Japan refused the offer. In another attempt to placate the Japanese Stalin offered to sell the Chinese Eastern Railway to Japan. It took two years to complete the deal which was concluded 23 March 1935. This agreement meant the loss of all Soviet influence in Manchuria, but it was the price that had to be paid to appease Japan. This transaction demonstrated Soviet respect for the Kwangtung Army…"
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Amicalement
Armand

Great article! I have read about the history of this "theatre" many times and this was still a good read.

I found the mention of "the Kwangtung Army at this point was more of a counter-insurgency force rather than a conventional military force" to be interesting as well. I feel like this statement might have some relevance today in relation to some modern armies.

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Happy you enjoyed it as myself my friend!. (smile),

Amicalement
Armand