The Battle of Beiping–Tianjin (), also known as the Battle of Beiping, Battle of Peiping, Battle of Beijing, Battle of Peiking, the Peiking-Tientsin Operation, and by the Japanese as the (25–31 July 1937) was a series of battles of the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
fought in the proximity of
Beiping
"Beijing" is from pinyin ''Běijīng,'' which is romanized from , the Chinese name for this city. The pinyin system of transliteration was approved by the Chinese government in 1958, but little used until 1979. It was gradually adopted by various ...
(now
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
) and
Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...
. It resulted in a Japanese victory.
Background
During the
Marco Polo Bridge Incident on 8 July 1937, the
Japanese China Garrison Army
The was formed 1 June 1901 as the , as part of Japan's contribution to the international coalition in China during the Boxer Rebellion. It took the name China Garrison Army from 14 April 1912 and onward, though was typically referred to as t ...
attacked the walled city of
Wanping (宛平鎮) after an ultimatum to allow its forces to search for an allegedly missing soldier had elapsed. Wanping, in the neighborhood of
Lugou Bridge
The Marco Polo Bridge or Lugou Bridge () is a stone bridge located 15 km southwest of Beijing's city center in the Fengtai District. It bridges the Yongding River, a major tributary of Hai River. Situated at the eastern end of the bridge ...
, was on the main railway line west of Beiping and was of considerable strategic importance. Prior to July 1937, Japanese forces had repeatedly demanded the withdrawal of the Chinese forces stationed at this place.
Chinese General
Song Zheyuan ordered his forces to hold their positions and attempted to avert war through diplomacy.
On 9 July, the Japanese offered a ceasefire and truce, one of the conditions of which was that the
Chinese 37th Division, which had proven "hostile" to Japan, be replaced with another division from the Chinese
29th Army. This condition was agreed to by the Chinese the same day. However, from midnight of 9 July, Japanese violations of the ceasefire began to increase and Japanese reinforcements continued to arrive. Lieutenant General
Kanichiro Tashiro, commander of the Japanese China Garrison Army, fell ill and died on 12 July and was replaced by Lieutenant General
Kiyoshi Katsuki
was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Biography
Katsuki was a native of Saga prefecture. He graduated from the 14th class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1902 and from the 24th class of the Army St ...
.
Muslim General
Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang (1903 – 31 July 1975) (, Xiao'erjing: ) was a prominent Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the province of Qinghai. His rank was Lieutenant-general.
General Ma started an industrialization pro ...
of the
Ma clique
The Ma clique or Ma family warlords is a collective name for a group of Hui (Muslim Chinese) warlords in Northwestern China who ruled the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia for 10 years from 1919 until 1928. Following the collapse ...
notified the Chinese government that he was prepared to lead his army into battle against the Japanese when they started the attack on Beiping. Immediately after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, Ma Bufang arranged for a cavalry division under the Muslim General
Ma Biao to be sent east to battle the Japanese. Ethnic Turkic
Salar Muslims made up the majority of the first cavalry division which was sent by Ma Bufang.
Order of battle
Diplomatic maneuverings
Meanwhile, the Japanese civilian government of
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Konoe Konoe (written: 近衛 or 近衞) is a Japanese surname. It is sometimes spelled "Konoye" based on historical kana usage. Notable people with the surname include:
*, the 76th emperor of Japan
*, Japanese politician and journalist
*, Japanese politi ...
in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
held an extraordinary cabinet meeting on 8 July, and resolved to attempt to defuse hostilities and settle the issue diplomatically. However, the
Imperial Japanese Army General Staff
The , also called the Army General Staff, was one of the two principal agencies charged with overseeing the Imperial Japanese Army.
Role
The was created in April 1872, along with the Navy Ministry, to replace the Ministry of Military Affairs ...
authorized the deployment of an
infantry division
A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 6,000 and 25,000 soldiers.
In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades; in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. Histo ...
from the
Chosen Army
The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army that formed a garrison force in Korea under Japanese rule. The Korean Army consisted of roughly 350,000 troops in 1914.
History
Japanese forces occupied large portions of the Empire of Korea dur ...
, two independent combined brigades from the
Kwantung Army
''Kantō-gun''
, image = Kwantung Army Headquarters.JPG
, image_size = 300px
, caption = Kwantung Army headquarters in Hsinking, Manchukuo
, dates = April ...
and an air regiment as reinforcements. This deployment was rescinded on 11 July on news that negotiations were being held by the commander of the
Japanese Northern China Area Army
The was an area army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
History
The Japanese North China Area Army was formed on August 21, 1937 under the control of the Imperial General Headquarters. It was transferred to th ...
and the Chinese 29th Army on location, and with Japanese diplomats at the Chinese capital of
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
. However, even after General Song Zheyuan, Commander of the 29th Army and head of the
Hebei-Chahar Political Council, was reported to have come to terms on 18 July, the Japanese Army pushed forward the deployment of reinforcements citing lack of sincerity on part of the Chinese central government. This mobilization was strongly opposed by General
Kanji Ishihara on the grounds that an unnecessary escalation in the conflict with China was endangering Japan's position in
Manchukuo vis-à-vis the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. At Ishihara's urging, the deployment was delayed while Konoe used his personal contacts with Japanese acquaintances of
Sun Yat-sen in an effort to establish a direct diplomatic settlement with the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
central government in Nanjing. This secret diplomacy failed when elements within the Japanese military detained Konoe's emissary on 23 July, and the mobilization of reinforcements was restarted on 29 July.
One week later, the Commander of the Japanese Northern China Area Army reported that, having exhausted every means of peaceful settlement, he had decided to use force to "chastise" the Chinese 29th Route Army and requested approval from Tokyo. In the meantime, mobilization orders were issued for four more infantry divisions.
Langfang Incident
Despite the nominal truce, numerous violations of the ceasefire continued, including another shelling of Wanping by Japanese artillery on 14 July.
By 25 July, Japanese reinforcements in the form of the
IJA 20th Division arrived and fighting reerupted first at
Langfang
Langfang () is a prefecture-level city of Hebei Province, which was known as Tianjin Prefecture until 1973. It was renamed Langfang Prefecture after Tianjin became a municipality and finally upgraded into a prefecture-level city in 1988. Lang ...
, a city on the railroad between Beiping and Tianjin, between companies of Japanese and Chinese troops. A second clash occurred on 26 July, when a Japanese brigade attempted to force its way through
Guanghuamen Gate in Beiping to "protect Japanese nationals". The same day Japanese planes bombed Langfang.
The Japanese then issued an ultimatum to General Song demanding the withdrawal of all Chinese forces from the outskirts of Beiping to the west of the
Yongding River
The Yongding River () is a river in northern China. It is one of the main tributaries in the Hai River system and is best known as the largest river to flow through Beijing. In recent years, the Beijing segment of the river has dried up due to ...
within 24 hours. Song refused, ordered his units to prepare for action, and requested large reinforcements from the central government, which were not provided.
On 27 July, as the Japanese laid siege to Chinese forces in
Tongzhou, one Chinese battalion broke out and fell back to . Japanese planes also bombed Chinese forces outside Beiping and reconnoitered
Kaifeng
Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the No ...
,
Zhengzhou and
Luoyang
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang ...
.
On 28 July, the
IJA 20th Division and three independent combined brigades launched an offensive against Beiping, backed by close air support. The main attack was against Nanyuan and a secondary attack against
Beiyuan. Bitter fighting ensued with both General
Tong Linge
Tong Linge (; 29 October 1892–28 July 1937) or Tung Ling-ko of Manchu ethnicity was the Deputy Commander of the Chinese 29th Army in 1937 during the Marco Polo Bridge Incident and Battle of Beiping-Tianjin.
Formerly a soldier of the Northwes ...
Deputy Commander of Chinese 29th Army and General
Zhao Dengyu commanding
Chinese 132nd Division being killed, and their units suffering heavy casualties. However, a brigade of
Chinese 38th Division under General
Liu Chen-san pushed back the Japanese in the Langfang area while a brigade of the Chinese 53rd Corps and a portion of the Chinese 37th Division recovered the railway station at
Fengtai.
However, this was only a temporary respite, and by nightfall General Song admitted that further combat was futile and withdrew the main force of Chinese 29th Army south of the Yungging River. Tianjin Major General
Zhang Zizhong
Zhang Zizhong (; August 11, 1891 – May 16, 1940) was a general of the Chinese National Revolutionary Army (NRA) during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Born in Linqing, Shandong, he was the highest- ranked officer and the only Army group comm ...
was left in Beiping to take charge of political affairs in
Hebei
Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...
and
Chahar provinces with virtually no troops. General
Liu Ruzhen's New Separate 29th Brigade was left in Beiping to maintain public order.
Tungchow Incident
On 29 July, the Japanese collaborationist
East Hopei Army
{{no footnotes, date=July 2015
The East Hopei Army was raised from the former soldiers of the Peace Preservation Corps that had been created by the Tangku Truce of 31 May 1933. The Demilitarized Zone Peace Preservation Corps had been the "neutr ...
troops
mutinied
Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among members ...
against the Japanese in
Tungchow (Tongzhou), killing most of their Japanese advisors and other civilians, including women and children.
[中村粲 『大東亜戦争への道』展々社,1990年]
Fall of Tianjin
Meanwhile, on the coast at dawn of 29 July, the
IJA 5th Division
The was an infantry division of the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the . The 5th Division was formed in Hiroshima in January 1871 as the , one of six regional commands created in the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army. Its personnel we ...
and Japanese naval forces separately attacked Tianjin and the port at
Tanggu
Tanggu District () was a district in the Tianjin municipality, now part of the Binhai New Area. It is on the Hai River where it enters the Bohai Sea, and is a port for Tianjin, which is about upriver. The Tianjin Economic-Technological Develo ...
, which were defended by units of Chinese 38th Division and volunteers under acting commander
Liu Wen-tien. General
Huang Wei-kang's brigade defended the
Taku Forts
The Taku Forts or Dagu Forts, also called the Peiho Forts are forts located by the Hai River (Peiho River) estuary in the Binhai New Area, Tianjin, in northeastern China. They are located southeast of the Tianjin urban center.
History
The ...
gallantly and also attacked a nearby Japanese airfield, destroying many aircraft. However, with increasing Japanese reinforcements his position was untenable, and that night (30 July) General Zhang Zizhong was ordered to withdraw toward Machang and
Yangliuching south of Tianjin, abandoning the city and Taku Forts to the Japanese.
Fall of Beiping
On 28 July,
Chiang Kai-shek ordered Song Zheyuan to retreat to
Baoding
Baoding (), formerly known as Baozhou and Qingyuan, is a prefecture-level city in central Hebei province, approximately southwest of Beijing. As of the 2010 census, Baoding City had 11,194,382 inhabitants out of which 2,176,857 lived in the b ...
in southern Hebei province. Over the next two days, intense fighting took place in Tianjin, where the Chinese forces put up a stiff resistance, but subsequently the Chinese retreated south along the lines of the Tientsin-Pukow Railway and the Peiping-Hankow Railway.
On 4 August, General Liu Ruzhen's remaining forces withdrew into Chahar. Isolated, Beiping was captured by the Japanese without further resistance on 8 August 1937. General
Masakazu Kawabe
was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army. He held important commands in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War, and during World War II in the Burma Campaign and defense of the Japanese homeland late in the war. He was ...
entered the city on 18 August in a military parade, and posted proclamations at important points announcing that he was the new military governor of the city. Zhang was allowed to retain his position as mayor, but left the city secretly a week later.
Aftermath
With the fall of Beiping and Tianjin, the
North China Plain was helpless against the Japanese divisions which occupied it by the end of the year. The Chinese
National Revolutionary Army was in constant retreat until the hard fought
Battle of Taierzhuang.
Zhang was vilified relentlessly by the Chinese press, and reviled as a traitor. Upon arrival at Nanjing he apologized publicly. Since he later died fighting against the Japanese, the Kuomintang posthumously pardoned Zhang for the events in Beiping.
See also
*
History of Beijing
The city of Beijing has a long and rich history that dates back over 3,000 years. Prior to the unification of China by the First Emperor in 221 BC, Beijing had been for centuries the capital of the ancient states of Ji and Yan. It was a provin ...
References
Sources
*Hsu Long-hsuen and Chang Ming-kai, History of The Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) 2nd Ed., 1971. Translated by Wen Ha-hsiung, Chung Wu Publishing; 33, 140th Lane, Tung-hwa Street, Taipei, Taiwan Republic of China. Pg.177-180 Map 2
*
*
*
*
External links
Discussion and Map of Peiking Tientsin Operation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beiping-Tianjin, Battle of
Conflicts in 1937
Battle of Beiping-Tianjin
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
1937 in China
1937 in Japan
20th century in Beijing
20th century in Tianjin
July 1937 events
August 1937 events