Manchurian Incident

Manchurian Incident
Conflict	Manchurian Incident
Partof	the Interwar period and the Second Sino-Japanese War
Caption	Map showing the location of the Liutiaohu incident and subsequent Japanese advance.
Date	September 18, 1931 – February 18, 1932
Place	Manchuria, China
Result	Japanese victory
Territory	Establishment of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo
Combatant1	Empire of Japan, Kwantung Army
Combatant2	Republic of China (1912–1949), Northeastern Army
Commander1	Shigeru Honjō, Jirō Minami, Seishirō Itagaki, Kanji Ishiwara
Commander2	Zhang Xueliang, Ma Zhanshan, Feng Zhanhai

Manchurian Incident. The Manchurian Incident was a pivotal event in modern East Asian history, marking the beginning of a new phase of Japanese imperial aggression. It commenced with a staged sabotage operation on September 18, 1931, near Mukden by officers of the Kwantung Army, Japan's garrison force in Manchuria. The incident provided the pretext for a full-scale military invasion, which led to the swift occupation of the entire Liaoning Province and the eventual creation of the puppet state of Manchukuo, fundamentally destabilizing the post-WWI international order in the Asia-Pacific.

Background

Tensions in Manchuria had been escalating for decades due to competing Japanese and Chinese strategic interests. Following its victory in the Russo-Japanese War, Japan secured extensive rights in the region, most notably the lease of the Kwantung Leased Territory and control of the South Manchuria Railway through the Treaty of Portsmouth. The rise of Chinese nationalism under the Kuomintang and the consolidation efforts of Zhang Xueliang, the ruler of Manchuria, threatened these privileges. Within the Imperial Japanese Army, particularly among radical officers like Kanji Ishiwara and Seishirō Itagaki of the Kwantung Army, a doctrine of securing resources through conquest, known as the Strike North Group, gained traction. This faction viewed the Great Depression and internal Chinese conflicts like the Central Plains War as an opportune moment for action, deliberately planning to provoke a crisis independent of the civilian government in Tokyo.

The Incident

On the night of September 18, 1931, a small detachment of Kwantung Army personnel, led by Lieutenant Suemori Kawamoto, placed explosives on a section of the South Manchuria Railway track near Liutiaohu, just north of Mukden. The explosion was minor and did not disrupt traffic on the line, but it was immediately blamed on Chinese saboteurs from the nearby Beidaying barracks of Zhang Xueliang's Northeastern Army. Using this fabricated attack as justification, Japanese forces launched a pre-planned assault on the Chinese garrison at Mukden and the arsenal at Fengtian. The rapid and coordinated nature of the attacks across southern Manchuria demonstrated the operation was not a spontaneous response but a carefully orchestrated plan by field officers, later known as the Mukden Incident.

Japanese military response

The Kwantung Army, under its commander Shigeru Honjō, immediately capitalized on the initial attack, acting with autonomy from the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office in Tokyo. Despite orders from Prime Minister Wakatsuki Reijirō to cease expansion, field commanders like Jirō Minami pressed the offensive. Key cities such as Jilin, Changchun, and Harbin fell in quick succession. The Northeastern Army, following the non-resistance policy ordered by Zhang Xueliang, offered little organized opposition, allowing Japanese forces to occupy most of Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang provinces within months. This rapid conquest was a decisive demonstration of the power of insubordination by junior officers and effectively made the occupation a *fait accompli* for the Japanese government.

Establishment of Manchukuo

With military control secured, Japan moved to create a formal political structure to legitimize its rule. The last Qing emperor, Puyi, was installed as the nominal head of state, first as Chief Executive and later as Emperor. The new state of Manchukuo was proclaimed on March 1, 1932, with its capital at Changchun, renamed Xinjing. Real power, however, resided with Japanese advisors and the Kwantung Army, which commanded the Manchukuo Imperial Army and controlled key ministries. The facade of independence was promoted through symbols like the national currency and the Concordia Association, but the regime's dependence on Japan was formalized in the Japan–Manchukuo Protocol of September 1932, which granted Japan the right to station troops and manage its defense and foreign affairs.

International reaction

The international community, led by the League of Nations, condemned the aggression. The Chinese government appealed to the League under Article 10 of the Covenant of the League of Nations. The League dispatched the Lytton Commission, led by the Earl of Lytton, to investigate. After extensive travel and interviews, the Lytton Report concluded in October 1932 that the incident was not an act of legitimate self-defense, that Manchukuo was not a genuine independent state, and recommended the restoration of Chinese sovereignty. When the League of Nations adopted the report's findings in February 1933, the Japanese delegation, led by Yōsuke Matsuoka, staged a dramatic walkout and Japan announced its withdrawal from the organization, severely undermining its credibility.

Aftermath and legacy

The successful occupation of Manchuria emboldened the Imperial Japanese Army and set Japan on a collision course with the major powers. It directly led to the Second Sino-Japanese War following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937 and was a critical step toward Japan's entry into World War II. The establishment of Manchukuo became a model for later Japanese puppet states like Mengjiang and the Reorganized National Government of China. The Lytton Report became a landmark case in international law concerning aggression. Ultimately, the events demonstrated the ineffectiveness of the League of Nations and the Kellogg–Briand Pact in restraining determined militarist expansion, contributing to the global crisis of the Interwar period and foreshadowing the coming global conflict.

Category:Military history of Japan Category:Wars involving China Category:1931 in Japan Category:20th century in Manchuria