The Manchukuo Imperial Guards (, ja, しんえいたい, translit=Shin'eitai) were an elite unit of the

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...

armed forces created in 1933. It was charged with the protection of the Kangde Emperor, the imperial household, and senior members of the Manchukuo civil government. Their garrison and headquarters were situated in the capital of

Xinjing Xinjing may refer to: *'' Heart Sutra'' or ''Xinjing'' (心經), a Chinese-language sutra in Mahāyāna Buddhism Places in China * Changchun, the capital city of Jilin, known as Xinjing (新京) during the Manchukuo era (1932–1945) * Xinjing Tow ...

, adjacent to the Imperial Palace.

History

The Manchukuo Imperial Guards were inspired by the Imperial Guards of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

and patterned after the

Imperial Guard of Japan In Japan, the Imperial Guard is the name for two separate organizations dedicated to the protection of the Emperor of Japan and the Imperial Family, palaces and other imperial properties. The first was the , a quasi-independent elite branch of the ...

. Its 200 members were selected from candidates of ethnic Manchu backgrounds, and were trained independently of the

Manchukuo Imperial Army The Manchukuo Imperial Army ( zh, s=滿洲國軍, p=Mǎnzhōuguó jūn) was the ground force of the military of the Empire of Manchukuo, a puppet state established by Imperial Japan in Manchuria, a region of northeastern China. The force was prim ...

or the Japanese

Kwantung Army ''Kantō-gun'' , image = Kwantung Army Headquarters.JPG , image_size = 300px , caption = Kwantung Army headquarters in Hsinking, Manchukuo , dates = April ...

. Although largely a ceremonial force, the

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

received the latest firearms and also carried Japanese-style swords ( ja, 軍刀, translit=

Guntō The was a ceremonial sword produced for the Imperial Japanese army and navy after the introduction of conscription in 1872. History During the Meiji period, the samurai class was gradually disbanded, and the Haitōrei Edict in 1876 forb ...

) as dress weaponry. Their uniforms were grey or black with silver or gold insignia, with a five-color, five pointed star on their helmets and

kepi The kepi ( ) is a cap with a flat circular top and a peak, or visor. In English, the term is a loanword of french: képi, itself a re-spelled version of the gsw, Käppi, a diminutive form of , meaning "cap". In Europe, this headgear is most ...

s. An independent brigade called the Jing'an Guerilla Unit () was formed for use in

covert Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controvers ...

and

special operations Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...

during the

Pacification of Manchukuo The Pacification of Manchukuo was a Japanese counterinsurgency campaign to suppress any armed resistance to the newly established puppet state of Manchukuo from various anti-Japanese volunteer armies in occupied Manchuria and later the Communis ...

. It was effective in combat, having participated in the Ki Feng-lung District Subjugation in November 1932 and in anti-bandit operations. The ceremonial unit was part of the corps. The Manchukuo Imperial Guards fought their last battles during the

Soviet invasion of Manchuria The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian strategic offensive operation (russian: Манчжурская стратегическая наступательная операция, Manchzhurskaya Strategicheskaya Nastu ...

and had ceased to exist at the conclusion of the

Soviet–Japanese War The Soviet–Japanese War (russian: Советско-японская война; ja, ソ連対日参戦, soren tai nichi sansen, Soviet Union entry into war against Japan), known in Mongolia as the Liberation War of 1945 (), was a military ...

References

* {{cite book , last = Jowett , first = Philip , year = 2005 , title = Rays of the Rising Sun, Volume 1: Japan's Asian Allies 1931-45, China and Manchukuo , publisher = Helion and Company Ltd. , location = , isbn = 1-874622-21-3 Protective security units Former guards regiments Guards Royal guards Military units and formations established in 1933 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945

History

See also

References