THE MUKDEN INCIDENT

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THE MUKDEN INCIDENT AND SEIZURE OF
MANCHURIA 1931/32
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THE MUKDEN INCIDENT

• 18 Sep 1931 Bomb exploded on the Japanese-owned
  South Manchurian Railway near Mukden that night
• A train containing Japanese and other passengers
  was blown up
• This was the Mukden Incident

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THE MUKDEN INCIDENT

• The Japanese army blamed on the Chinese
• Fighting broke out between the Chinese and
  Japanese armies
• Within a short time, the militarily superior
  Japanese forces had defeated the Chinese troops
• The Japanese army took over not just Mukden but
  the whole of Manchuria

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THE MUKDEN INCIDENT

• Highly probable that the explosion was planned
  and carried out by a few Kwantung Army officers
  as an excuse to seize control of Manchuria
• The army quickly occupied Mukden and other areas
  north of it
• Govt in Tokyo was horrified at these events but
  unable to stop the army
• By Dec 1931, the army had occupied the whole of
  Manchuria

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THE MUKDEN INCIDENT

• The Kwantung Army had initially wanted to turn
  Manchuria into a Japanese colony as part of the
  Japanese Empire
• In the end, Japan formed Manchuria into an
  independent puppet state called Manchuko with
  former Chinese Emperor Pu Yi as its head
• In effect, Manchuko did become part of the
  Japanese empire
• As for Pu Yi did as he was told by Japan

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PU YI
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THE MUKDEN INCIDENT

• We have seen how economically important
  Manchuria was for the Japanese
• Politically, the seizure of Manchuria held
  significant advantages
• It was from this point onwards that the army or
  the militarists more-or-less ran the government
• The armys morale was raised tremendously
• Its power and prestige had increased among the
  people

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THE MUKDEN INCIDENT

• The militarists saw Manchuria as the beginning of
  the Japanese Empire, not the end
• And they wanted the empire to be further expanded

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WORLDS REACTION TO JAPANESE OCCUPATION OF
MANCHURIA

• China appealed to the League of Nations for help
  against Japan
• The League reacted quickly, meeting one day after
  the Mukden Incident to consider Chinas appeal
  for help
• Many words of support for China but no action
• A series of meetings followed in which the
  Japanese representative appeared twilling to
  cooperate

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WORLDS REACTION TO JAPANESE OCCUPATION OF
MANCHURIA

• 30 Sep 1931 Japan accepted the Councils demand
  to withdraw its troops to their original
  positions as as stipulated in the Twenty-one
  Demands along the South Manchurian Railway
• But it was an empty promise they did not act on
  this
• Dec 1931 League sent a commission to Manchuria
• Led by Englishmen, Lord Lytton
• No hurry to get to Manchuria, travelling by sea
  rather than by air

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WORLDS REACTION TO JAPANESE OCCUPATION OF
MANCHURIA

• In the meantime, Japan launched an attack on
  Shanghai in Jan 1932
• It then declared the establishment of Manchuko
  in Feb 1932
• Mar 1932 the General Assembly of the League met
  again to debate the issue but decided to wait for
  the commissions report

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WORLDS REACTION TO JAPANESE OCCUPATION OF
MANCHURIA

• Lytton Commission reported in Nov 1932, over a
  year after the Mukden Incident
• Condemned Japanese aggression and demanded that
  Japan withdraw its troops
• Japan had no intention of doing so
• Feb 1933 The report was put to a vote 42
  voted for it, Siam abstained and Japan naturally
  voted against it
• Mar 1933 Japan withdrew from the League of
  Nations

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WORLDS REACTION TO JAPANESE OCCUPATION OF
MANCHURIA

• League took no further action obviously
  powerless to stop a determined aggressor
• Economic and military sanctions were not applied
• Britain and France, both experiencing economic
  problems, were reluctant to apply sanctions in
  case it led to war
• The League of Nations had failed to act
  decisively when face d with opposition from a
  powerful country
• Historians see this event as the first stage in
  the collapse of the League

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WORLDS REACTION TO JAPANESE OCCUPATION OF
MANCHURIA

• Leagues only success Persuaded Japanese Navy
  to leave Shanghai which it tried to capture in
  1932
• Only two countries recognised the new state of
  Manchuko Germany and Italy
• All three countries in the mid-1930s were trying
  to expand their territories
• All were hostile to the League
• This friendship grew and led in 1936-37 to the
  signing of the Anti-Comintern Pact between the 3
  countries

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FURTHER EXPANSION BY JAPAN

• 1932 PM Inukai criticized the militarys
  actions in Manchuria
• He was assassinated by a group of officers
• The militarists were now in control of the
  government and determined to expand beyond
  Manchuria
• Nationalistic feeling was running high, not just
  in the army but among the people too

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FURTHER EXPANSION BY JAPAN

• Feb 1933 Japanese troops took over the Chinese
  province of Jehol, next to Manchuria
• China was unable to further resist the Japanes
  and so signed the Truce of Tangku in Mar 1933

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FURTHER EXPANSION BY JAPAN

• Terms of the truce Japans control of Manchuria
  and Jehol reaffirmed
• Area between Manchuria and Beijing demilitarized
  China could not guard that area with military
  forces
• But Japanese troops were stationed along an
  important railway between Tientsin and Beijing

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FURTHER EXPANSION BY JAPAN

• 1933-34 Kwantung Army strengthened Japanese
  control in eastern inner Mongolia
• 1935-36 Growing intereference in nearby
  provinces of Hebei and Chahar
• As before, the Chinese govt was embroiled in a
  civil war and was powerless to intervene
• North China was now controlled by the Japanese

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MARCO POLO BRIDGE INCIDENT

• 1937 Marco Polo Bridge Incident, near Beijing
• An accident rather than a planned incident
• Japanese accused the Chinese of having fired on
  one of their night patrols
• Provided an excuse for a full-scale Japanese
  attack
• This time it was not just one province but the
  whole of China
• WWII had begun in East Asia