The New 36th Division was a cavalry division in the
National Revolutionary Army
The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army () before 1928, and as National Army () after 1928, was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in China ...
. It was created in 1932 by the
Kuomintang for General
Ma Zhongying, who was also its first commander. It was made almost entirely out of
Hui Muslim troops, all of its officers were Hui, with a few thousand
Uighurs
The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghu ...
forced conscripts in the rank and file. It was commonly referred to as the "KMT 36th Division", or "Tungan 36th Division".
Original organization
General
Ma Zhongying, a Muslim who had trained under
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
at
Whampoa Military Academy
The Republic of China Military Academy () is the service academy for the army of the Republic of China, located in Fengshan District, Kaohsiung. Previously known as the the military academy produced commanders who fought in many of China's ...
in
Nanjing in 1929, was the new 36th Division commander.
Kamal Kaya Efendi, a Turk and a former
Ottoman military officer was chief-of-staff to
Ma Zhongying. The 1st Brigade was commanded by General
Ma Ju-lung. The 2nd Brigade was commanded by General
Ma Sheng-kuei.
Cavalry regiments were divided into 2,000 men each, by horse color, black, brown, or white.
Infantry then followed cavalry.
Su Chin-shou was General Ma Zhancang's chief of staff.
Pai Tzu-li was another commander in the new 36th division.
An unnamed new 36th division general was encountered by
Peter Fleming.
Ma Hushan
Ma Hu-shan (Xiao'erjing: , zh, t=馬虎山, s=马虎山, first=t, p=Mǎ Hushān; 1910 – 1954) was a Hui (Chinese Muslim) warlord and the brother-in-law and follower of Ma Chung-ying, a Dungan/Hui Ma Clique warlord. He ruled over an area of S ...
was original Deputy Divisional Commander, then promoted to Chief of the new 36th division.
Equipment
Primary equipment consisted of
Dadao swords, bolt-action
Lee–Enfield rifles, captured Soviet rifles, machine guns, and light cannons.
Soviet rifles marked with 1930 dates were seized by Chinese Muslim soldiers from Russians during the
Soviet Invasion of Xinjiang as war booty.
Uniform and Insignia
Ma Zhancang's troops wore green uniforms. Many of the troops wore
Kuomintang Blue Sky with a White Sun armbands, and used
Kuomintang Blue Sky with a White Sun banners.
Training
Ma Zhongying made his men train in subzero temperatures, and they used shadow fencing to train and parallel bars for exercise. Ma Hushan forced his men to drill every day, conducting siege maneuvers and cavalry attacks. Peter Flemings said "I have never seen troops in China train so hard."
It is documented that troops sang Chinese Muslim marching songs; Ma Zhongying himself had a
harmonium with him and spent hours playing Muslim hymns on it. He also kept
Mauser
Mauser, originally Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik ("Royal Württemberg Rifle Factory"), was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols has been produced since the 1870s for the German arme ...
pistols. Ma Zhongying cited as his role models
Genghis Khan
''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan''
, birth_name = Temüjin
, successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = Borjigin
, ...
,
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
,
Bismarck,
Hindenburg, and
Zuo Zongtang.
Recruitment Tactics
Xinjiang War
Kizil massacre
Uighur and
Kirghiz Turkic fighters broke their agreement not to attack a column of retreating
Han Chinese and
Chinese Muslim
Islam has been practiced in China since the 7th century CE.. Muslims are a minority group in China, representing 1.6-2 percent of the total population (21,667,000- 28,210,795) according to various estimates. Though Hui Muslims are the most numerou ...
soldiers from
Kashgar
Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan ...
.
Battle of Aksu
A minor battle in which
Chinese Muslim
Islam has been practiced in China since the 7th century CE.. Muslims are a minority group in China, representing 1.6-2 percent of the total population (21,667,000- 28,210,795) according to various estimates. Though Hui Muslims are the most numerou ...
troops were expelled from the Aksu oases of
Xinjiang by
Uyghurs when they rose up in revolt.
Battle of Sekes Tash
A minor battle when
Chinese Muslim
Islam has been practiced in China since the 7th century CE.. Muslims are a minority group in China, representing 1.6-2 percent of the total population (21,667,000- 28,210,795) according to various estimates. Though Hui Muslims are the most numerou ...
troops under general
Ma Zhancang attacked and inflicted a defeat upon
Uyghur and
Kirghiz armies at Sekes Tesh. About 200 Uyghur and Kirghiz were killed.
Battle of Kashgar (1933)
Uyghur and
Kirghiz forces led by the Bughra brothers and
Tawfiq Bay attempted to take the city of
Kashgar
Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan ...
from Chinese Muslim troops under General
Ma Zhancang. They were defeated.
Han Chinese troops commanded by Brigadier Yang were absorbed into
Ma Zhancang's army. A number of Han Chinese officers were spotted wearing the green uniforms of Ma Zhancang's unit of the new 36th division, presumably they had converted to Islam.
Battle of Urumqi
The new 36th division twice (
First Battle of Urumqi and
Second Battle of Urumqi) attempted to take the city of
Urumqi, the second time, they were joined by a
Han Chinese army under
Zhang Peiyuan
Zhang Peiyuan (traditional Chinese: 張培元) ( – 1 June 1934) was a Han chinese general, commander of the Ili garrison. He fought against Uighur and Tungans during the Kumul revolt, but then secretly negotiated with the Tungan general ...
.
Battle of Tutung
In 1934, 2 brigades of Soviet
Gosudarstvennoye Politicheskoye Upravlenie (GPU) troops of about 7,000 backed by tanks, planes, and artillery with
mustard gas
Mustard gas or sulfur mustard is a chemical compound belonging to a family of cytotoxic and blister agents known as mustard agents. The name ''mustard gas'' is technically incorrect: the substance, when dispersed, is often not actually a gas, b ...
, attacked the new 36th division near Tutung. The battle raged for several weeks on the Tutung frozen river. New 36th division troops dressed up in sheepskins in the snow, and charged Soviet machine gun posts with swords to defeat a Soviet pincer attack. Soviet planes bombed the 36th division with
mustard gas
Mustard gas or sulfur mustard is a chemical compound belonging to a family of cytotoxic and blister agents known as mustard agents. The name ''mustard gas'' is technically incorrect: the substance, when dispersed, is often not actually a gas, b ...
. Heavy casualties mounted on both sides before
Ma Zhongying ordered the 36th division to withdraw.
Battle of Dawan Cheng
Ma Zhongying encountered a Soviet armored car column of a few hundred soldiers near Dawan Cheng. The new 36th division wiped out nearly the entire column, after engaging the Soviet in savage hand-to-hand combat, and rolled the wrecked Soviet armored cars off the mountainsides. When a
White Russian force showed up, Ma Zhongying withdrew.
Battle of Kashgar (1934)
New 36th division General
Ma Fuyuan stormed
Kashgar
Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan ...
, and attacked the
Uighur and
Kirghiz rebels of the
First East Turkestan Republic. He freed another new 36th division general,
Ma Zhancang, who was trapped by the Uighurs and Kirghiz. Ma Zhancang repulsed six Uighur attacks, inflicting massive casualties on the Uighur forces. 2,000 to 8,000 Uighur civilians were killed, in revenge for the
Kizil massacre
The Kizil massacre () occurred in June 1933, when Uighur and Kirghiz Turkic fighters of the First East Turkestan Republic broke their agreement not to attack a column of retreating Hui Chinese soldiers and civilians from Yarkand New City on thei ...
. General
Ma Zhongying gave a speech at Idgah mosque, reminding the
Uighurs to be loyal to the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
government at
Nanjing. Several citizens at the British consulate were killed by the 36th division.
Battle of Yangi Hissar
Ma Zhancang led the new 36th division to attack
Uyghur forces at Yangi Hissar, wiping out the entire Uighur force, and killing the Emir Nur Ahmad Jan Bughra.
Battle of Yarkand
Ma Zhancang defeated the Uighur and Afghan volunteers sent by king
Mohammed Zahir Shah, and exterminated them all. The emir
Abdullah Bughra was killed and beheaded, his head put on display at Idgah mosque.
Charkhlik Revolt
The new 36th division under General
Ma Hushan
Ma Hu-shan (Xiao'erjing: , zh, t=馬虎山, s=马虎山, first=t, p=Mǎ Hushān; 1910 – 1954) was a Hui (Chinese Muslim) warlord and the brother-in-law and follower of Ma Chung-ying, a Dungan/Hui Ma Clique warlord. He ruled over an area of S ...
crushed a revolt by the
Uighurs in the
Charkhlik oasis.
Administration of Tunganistan
The new 36th division under General
Ma Hushan
Ma Hu-shan (Xiao'erjing: , zh, t=馬虎山, s=马虎山, first=t, p=Mǎ Hushān; 1910 – 1954) was a Hui (Chinese Muslim) warlord and the brother-in-law and follower of Ma Chung-ying, a Dungan/Hui Ma Clique warlord. He ruled over an area of S ...
administered the oases of southern
Xinjiang, and their administration was dubbed
Tunganistan by Western travelers. Ma Hushan and the new 36th division declared their loyalty to the
Kuomintang government in
Nanjing and sent emissaries to Nanjing requesting aid to fight against
Sheng Shicai's provincial forces and the Soviet Union.
The administration which was set up was colonial in nature, the
Chinese Muslims started putting up street signs and names in Chinese, which used to be in only
Uighur language. They also sought to live a Chinese lifestyle, importing Chinese cooks and baths. Islam barely played a role except as a "vague spiritual focus" for unified opposition against
Sheng Shicai and the
Soviet Union.
The
Uyghurs in the
Charklik oases revolted against the new 36th division in 1935, and the Chinese Muslims crushed the Uyghur insurgents, executed 100 people, and took the family of the Uyghur chief as hostages.
Camel
A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...
s were requisitioned by the new 36th Division in
Cherchen.
Aftermath
In May 1937, New 36th Division acting Division Commander
Ma Hushan
Ma Hu-shan (Xiao'erjing: , zh, t=馬虎山, s=马虎山, first=t, p=Mǎ Hushān; 1910 – 1954) was a Hui (Chinese Muslim) warlord and the brother-in-law and follower of Ma Chung-ying, a Dungan/Hui Ma Clique warlord. He ruled over an area of S ...
launched a military operation against
Sheng Shicai, Siege
Kashgar
Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan ...
, capture
Bachu
Maralbexi County (Maralbeshi, Maralbishi, transliterated from ; ), Bachu County (), and ) the former long Chinese name as well, is located in the southwest of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China and is under ...
, and vanguard approaches
Aksu. Sheng Shicai request Soviet help. September 1937, three Soviet regiment entry from Artush, defeat Ma Hushan at Bachu, direct to Kashgar and Yarkand, The new 36th division retreats to Hotan, Ma Hushan in early September when the Soviet army occupied Pishan, Abandoned troops and fled to India. The New 36th Division has disintegrated from now on.
[马从新:“马虎山在和阗始末”,《新疆文史资料》第26辑第209页,1994年版。]
References
{{Reflist
Divisions of the National Revolutionary Army