On September 18, 1931, the Japanese Kwantung Army created the "Liujiaogou Incident", launched an armed attack on Northeast China, occupied the three northeastern provinces, and made the vast area of ​​Northeast China a colony of Japanese imperialism.

"The Kwantung Army's Plan to Occupy Manchuria and Mongolia"

On September 18, 1931, the Japanese Kwantung Army created the "Liuzhaogou Incident", launched an armed attack on Northeast China, occupied three northeastern provinces , and made the vast area of ​​Northeast China a colony of Japanese imperialism.

At the end of 1929, the new economic crisis broke out in the world of , and the economic paths of capitalist countries were severely hit. Japan's industrial production has also shrunk significantly, and a large number of workers have been unemployed. The economic crisis lasted for three or four years. In order to get rid of the economic crisis and ease domestic class contradictions, Japanese imperialism stepped up its invasion of China. Based on the policies determined by its "continental policy" and " Eastern Conference ", Japanese imperialism created theoretical basis for armed invasion of Northeast China, expanded its military preparations, created trouble, and looked for excuses to launch an aggressive war.

On August 9, 1928, the Japanese government formulated the "Key Points of Policy toward China", which was the program of Japan's invasion of China at that time. It emphasizes the special relationship between "Manchuria and Mongolia" and Japan, and proposes that "Japan should have the determination to sacrifice according to the policy of safeguarding the security of the three northeastern provinces." In a secret document of "Judgement of the Situation of 1931" formulated in 1930, a plan to fundamentally solve the " Manchuria and Mongolian issue" in three stages, which is proposed to break the status quo, establish a pro-Japanese regime and final complete occupation.

In July 1931, the Japanese General Staff Headquarters and the Army Provincial Capital Committee discussed and formulated the "Outline of Policy to Solve the Manchurian Issues". In this secret document with 8 items, the steps and measures for invading Northeast China are clearly stipulated. In response to the plan of the Kwantung Army who is eager to occupy Northeast China by force, it is proposed: "Try to make the heads of the Kwantung Army familiar with the central government's policies and intentions, and they must endure it in the next year to avoid being involved in disputes arising from Japanese activities. In case of disputes, they will only be handled within a local scope and will not expand their scope." This obviously has the intention to curb the Kwantung Army's immediate action. However, at this time, various preparations for the Kwantung Army to invade the Northeast were already ready.

Kanto Army and Japanese military and government are consistent with the policy of invading Northeast China, but the Kanto Army is more urgent to occupy Northeast China. For this reason, the Kwantung Army has continuously studied and formulated plans to invade the Northeast. In July 1929, the Kwantung Army General Staff Ishihara Kaner drafted the document "The Kwantung Army Plan to Occupy Manchuria and Mongolia". Then, after sufficient investigation and research by another staff officer of the Kanto Army, Ryozo Sakuma, drafted the "Study on the Rule of Manchuria and Mongolian Occupied Land" in September 1930. In May 1931, under the planning of Seishiro Itagaki, Kanir Ishihara, the "Plan for Handling the Manchu and Mongolian Isawara" was formulated, emphasizing that under extraordinary circumstances, the Kanto Army decided to occupy Manchu and Mongolian on its own. While studying and formulating various aggression plans, the Kwantung Army began to deploy to occupy the Northeast by force.

Since 1929, Seishiro Itagaki, Kanji Ishihara and others have organized strategic reconnaissances in various parts of the Northeast in the name of travel. In July 1929, they went to Harbin, Changchun and other places to study "the issue of attacking Harbin and defending Hailar" and "the issue of how to rule the occupied areas." Soon, they went to the western Liaoning area to study the terrain and tactics of attacking Jinzhou , formulated the "on-site study of night attack on Gongchangling", and also studied the "essential methods of attacking Fengtiancheng ". In May 1930, Major General Yan Junjiu, the Operations Minister of the Japanese General Staff, led the Kanto Army staff and others to conduct another strategic reconnaissance, further studying the plan to occupy the Northeast by force. Since 1931, the Kwantung Army Command has studied the issue of invading the Northeast every week.

"Liujiegou Plan"

In April 1931, the Japanese Second Division transferred Northeast China to replace defense. This is a unit that adapts to combat in severe cold areas, because most of the soldiers of the division were born in cold areas in northern Japan. In June, Japan held a military system reform meeting.On July 1, the Army Province issued a statement with the key point being to add a division to North Korea and change the rotation system of Northeast China's garrison to a permanent system. The Japanese Chief of Staff and the Minister of the Army stated that this change was entirely for the need for military use. At this time, the Kwantung Army would secretly transport the two 24-centimeter howitzers needed to attack Shenyang when fighting, and placed them in the independent garrison camp. He also sent Kwantung Army soldiers to disguise and measure the shooting targets near the Northeast Army station Beidaying . At the same time, Itagaki, Ishihara and others once again went to North Manchuria for strategic reconnaissance in the name of travel, and formulated the implementation of the "Liuzhaogou Plan" on September 28, blowing up South Manchuria Railway , and launching a war to invade the Northeast.

Liutiaogou is located near the South Manchurian Railway in the northern suburbs of Shenyang City, very close to the Northeast Army Beidaying. The Kwantung Army determined this place as the place for the implementation of force as early as the winter of 1930. At the end of June 1931, the railway was further formulated to explode here, and the Beidaying was bombarded and the city of Shenyang overnight. The time of the

manufacturing incident was originally determined on September 28, because the local sorghum and other crops had been harvested at this time, which was convenient for combat. But by mid-September, the plan for the Liutiaogou incident was exposed in Japan. Japanese Army Mainland Prime Minister Minamijiro sent Major General Miji, the Minister of Operations of the General Staff Headquarters, to the Northeast to convey the military's opinions that the military did not agree to launch an incident in the near future. Miji Jiankawa was promoted to his current position during the personnel adjustment of the military headquarters in August, and is also one of the people who are eager to launch an incident in Northeast China. So before he set out from Tokyo to Northeast China, he secretly instructed the Army Intelligence Division class leader Hashimoto Kingoro to secretly shoot telegrams to notify the Kanto Army. Hashimoto Kingoro sent three telegrams to Itagaki, the first one said, "If the matter is exposed, act resolutely immediately." The second one said, "Before Jianchuan arrives in Shenyang, act resolutely." The third part said: "Don't worry in China, you should take resolute action." After receiving the telegram from Hashimoto, Itagaki studied repeatedly with Kanto Army staff Ishihara, Hanaya, Imada and others. Because he learned that Jianchuan was scheduled to arrive in Shenyang on the evening of September 18, he decided to implement the plan in advance on September 18, that is, to explode the railway in Liutiaogou, causing chaos, and use the excuse to send troops to occupy Shenyang. As the special envoy sent by the Japanese military headquarters to Northeast China to stop the Kwantung Army's operations, Miji Kenkawa arrived in Shenyang on the afternoon of September 18 and came out from Hanagu to welcome the kimono hotel for a banquet. He slept until dawn on the 19th. At this time, the Kwantung Army had launched an incident to occupy Shenyang. During the incident, the Northeastern Chinese Army had 15 infantry brigades of the National Defense Forces and Provincial Defense Forces and 5 cavalry brigades, distributed in the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The number of troops is absolutely superior to the Japanese Kanto Army. Based on the situation of the Chinese and Japanese armies, the Japanese Kwantung Army decided to adopt the strategic policy of using few enemies to take the lead, and quick decisions. When the Liutiaogou Railway exploded, it quickly launched an attack on Beidaying and Shenyang City as planned.

"September 18th" Incident

At 10:20 on the night of September 18, Lieutenant Kawamamoto's Kawamashima Squadron of the Shimamoto Brigade of the Japanese Kanto Army led his subordinates to ignite explosives on the South Manchuria Railway (about 800 meters from Beidaying) on ​​the east side of the scheduled Liutiaogou, breaking up a railway and two sleepers. 20 minutes later, the train from Changchun passed here without cheating and subverting it. It only tilted for a moment and passed smoothly. Since this was an excuse from the Japanese army, it was not important whether the train was subverted or not. Then the Japanese army arranged a fake scene here and placed three bodies in Chinese soldiers' uniforms, falsely as criminals who bombed the railway. At the same time, Lieutenant Kawabata Mosou reported to the brigade headquarters and the Shenyang secret service agency with his portable telephone. At this time, the third squadron of the Second Infantry Battalion of the Japanese Independent Guard Team, 40 miles north of the railway explosion site, immediately attacked Beidaying. The war of aggression launched by the Japanese Kanto Army began. When the incident occurred, the commander of the Kanto Army, Honjo Shin-, was in Lushun, and Seishiro Itagaki issued an order to attack Beidaying and Shenyang Castle in the name of acting commander of the Kanto Army, and advance staff.The Second and Fifth Battalions of the Independent Garage were ordered to attack Beidaying, and the 29th Infantry Regiment attacked Shenyang City. In Lushun, Hon Zhuang received information from the Fengtian Special Service Office Chief Shin-ji Toohiro-ji, at 11:50 pm and 0:30 pm on the 19th. He decided to quickly assemble the main force of the Kwantung Army to Shenyang in order to first control the center of the Northeast region. He issued a telegram at 1:20 pm on the 19th: Second Division quickly concentrated in Shenyang and launched an attack on Shenyang; the third registrar of the Third Infantry Brigade and the Second Cavalry Regiment attacked the Chinese defenders near Changchun; the first and fifth battalions of the Independent Defence Team advanced towards Shenyang, the third battalions quickly occupied Yingkou , the fourth battalions attacked Phoenix City and occupied Andong (now Dandong ), and the two squadrons of the Sixth Battalions concentrated in Shenyang and returned to the command of the Second Division. At the same time, Lieutenant General Lin Xianju, the commander of the Japanese army stationed in Korea, was asked to send troops to reinforce the Northeast. This telegram also reported to the Japanese military headquarters. After the order was issued, Honjo Shin led the 30th Infantry Regiment and the Heavy Artillery Brigade to Shenyang at 3:30 that day.

After receiving the telegram from Honjo Shizuka, the Japanese military headquarters held a meeting at 7 a.m. on the 19th. Participants included Lieutenant General Sugiyama, the deputy chief of the Army and the heads of the departments (departments) who were affiliated with them, unanimously agreed that the actions of the Kanto Army were appropriate and decided to increase the strength of the Kanto Army.

When the "September 18th" Incident occurred, the only troops stationed in Shenyang were the 7th Brigade stationed in Beidaying, and there were more than 2,000 police and public security teams in the city. Zhang Xueliang is far away in Beiping , and the position of commander-in-chief of Northeast Border Defense is represented by Chief of Staff Rong Zhen . Before the incident, in view of the tensions that the Japanese army was preparing to launch an attack, Rong Zhen and Liaoning Provincial Chairman Zang Shiyi sent Police Chief Huang Xiansheng to Peking for instructions. Wang Yizhe, the commander of the 7th Brigade of

, also went to Peking for response measures. In this regard, Zhang Xueliang reported to Chiang Kai-shek . However, Chiang Kai-shek adopted a policy of compromising and selling the country. On August 16, Chiang Kai-shek sent Zhang Xueliang: "No matter how the Japanese army provoked trouble in the Northeast from now on, we should not resist and avoid conflicts. My brother should not show off his anger for a moment and ignore the country and nation." Zhang Xueliang soon conveyed Chiang's telegram to the generals in the Northeast. In this way, although the Northeast Army stationed in Shenyang automatically made some preparations to resist the Japanese attack, it still had to retreat without resistance.

Japanese Kwantung Army followed the orders of Commander Honjo Shizuka and attacked the Northeastern Army in various parts of the Northeast. The Second Battalion of the Independent Guard launched an attack on the Beida Camp. The soldiers of the 7th Brigade of the Northeast Army automatically resisted bravely. Most of the officers and soldiers fought desperately against the attack of the well-equipped and numerous Japanese troops. However, some officers above the regiment had to retreat under the fierce attack of the Japanese invaders because they accepted the Kuomintang government's non-resistance policy and their fighting will was depressed, which made the troops unable to display their combat power well. The second battalion of the Japanese Independent Garrison quickly advanced to the northwest corner of Beidaying.

html At 4:40 am on the 219th, the Fifth Battalion of the Japanese Independent Garrison also arrived at Beidaying by train from Tieling to join the battle. At 5:30, the 7th Brigade of the Northeast Army withdrew from Beidaying. So the Japanese army occupied Beidaying. During the battle, the Northeast Army suffered more than 290 casualties. 24 Japanese soldiers suffered casualties.

The 29th Regiment of the Japanese Army attacked Shenyang City until 4:30 am on the 19th. At 4:45, the main force of the Japanese Second Division took a train from Liaoyang and Haicheng to Shenyang and immediately launched an attack. By 8 a.m., the Japanese army occupied Shenyang City without any resistance. By noon that day, the Japanese army occupied Dongdaying and Shanzuizi Barracks again. The Northeast Army in Shenyang area retreated to Jinzhou.

After Japan occupied Shenyang, it plundered a large amount of Chinese public and private property. The Northeast Army's large number of weapons and ammunition were acquired by the Japanese army, including 262 aircraft, 3019 artillery pieces, 326 tanks, and more than 120,000 guns.

When the Japanese army attacked Beidaying and Shenyang City, Liaoning Provincial Chairman Jian Shiyi and Rong Zhen urgently used long-distance telephone to report to Zhang Xueliang in Peking. At this time, Zhang Zheng and his wife were watching the show at Zhonghe Theater outside the Qianmen.Zhang Xueliang immediately returned to Union Hospital (he was recuperating at the time) and listened to Zang and Rong's reports, and then received an emergency call from Shenyang. Zhang Xueliang hurriedly convened a meeting of senior generals of the Northeast Army in Peking. At the meeting, Zhang stated that the situation should not be expanded to avoid the storm. He also decided to report to the central government to wait for instructions. On the 19th, he issued a telegram, reposting the content of the telegram of "except for the National Government , , and pay homage to the news." At this time, Chiang Kai-shek was taking a warship to Jiangxi to command the central government to encircle and suppress the revolutionary base areas and the Red Army under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. After receiving the report of the incident, Chiang Kai-shek returned to Nanjing. On September 22, he stated at the meeting of the Kuomintang Nanjing Party Committee meeting that he would adopt a submissive attitude towards Japan and wait for the International Federation to make an "axial judgment."

"Non-expansion policy"

After the Kwantung Army occupied Shenyang, Japanese cabinet held an emergency meeting at 10 a.m. on September 19, deciding on the "Non-expansion policy". After the meeting, the Mainland Prime Minister and the Chief of Staff sent a message to the Kwantung Army respectively. In addition to clarifying the non-expansion policy, the Kwantung Army's actions on the night of September 18 were affirmed and encouraged. At the same time, Kingoro Hashimoto sent a telegram to the Kanto Army, but said that the General Staff’s order to stop military operations was a superficial article on the cabinet meeting, and the General Staff’s meaning did not want to stop military operations. The Kwantung Army's actions were not only affirmed and encouraged by the Cabinet Meeting, but also received the intention of the General Staff Headquarters not to stop the military operations, so they continued to launch an attack in accordance with the commander's combat order.

The Third Brigade of the Kwantung Army was ordered to attack the Northeastern Chinese Army near Changchun and occupy Changchun. At that time, the 22nd Brigade of the Northeast Army was stationed in Changchun. After the incident, the brigade, except for one camp in Erdaogou, all the rest were avoided in Shuangcheng County. There are the 50th Regiment of the 25th Brigade and the 10th Artillery Regiment in Nanling. The Third Japanese Brigade ordered the main force of the Fourth Infantry Regiment to attack Erdaogou and Kuanchengzi Barracks, and the Second Battalion attacked Nanling. At 4:30 am on the 19th, the main force of the Japanese Fourth Regiment launched an attack on Kuanchengzi. The 2nd Battalion of the 663rd Regiment of the Northeast Army held its barracks and resisted tenaciously. The battalion commander died after being seriously injured. Part of the troops evacuated from defense ground, and part of them were disarmed by the Japanese army. By 11 a.m., the Japanese army occupied Erdaogou Kuanchengzi Station. The Japanese army attacking Nanling started a battle at 2:00 on the 19th. The 50th Regiment of the Northeast Army stationed in Nanling and the Artillery Regiment , which were stationed in Nanling, rose up to resist and fought fiercely with the enemy. At 10 a.m., the first infantry brigade of the Japanese Independent Guards joined the battle. The defenders insisted on fighting until retreating after 2:30 pm. Nanling was occupied by the Japanese army. Due to the tenacious battle between the Nanling defenders, the Japanese army used the main force of the Second Cavalry Regiment and the Fourth Infantry Regiment to reinforce Nanling for combat. When the two troops arrived at Nanling, the defenders had retreated. Then, the Japanese army captured Nanling and returned to Changchun one after another, and then dismissed the Chinese armed forces in Changchun, so Changchun was also occupied by the Japanese army.

While the Japanese army attacked Shenyang and Changchun, the Third Infantry Battalion of the Independent Guard Team occupied Yingkou at 6:30 am on the 19th, and the Fourth Infantry Battalion occupied Phoenix City at 10:00 am on the 19th. At this point, the South Manchurian Railway was completely occupied by the Japanese army.

After the Japanese army invaded Shenyang and Changchun, they used the excuse to protect Japanese overseas Chinese and occupy Jilin. Kwantung Army Commander Honjo Shizuki made the decision to invade Jilin on the morning of September 21. The Second Division, which occupied Changchun, was ordered to take the armored train to arrive in Jilin at 5:30 pm that day. At that time, the chairman of Jilin Province and deputy commander-in-chief of the Northeast Frontier Defense Army in Jilin, Zhang Zuoxiang returned to Jinzhou for funeral due to his father's death. The position of provincial chairman is represented by Xiqia, Chief of Staff of the Military Administration. When the Japanese army occupied Changchun, Xiqia was preparing to treason and surrender to the enemy. On the afternoon of September 20, he ordered the withdrawal of troops from the provincial capital dozens of miles outside the city and secretly contacted the Japanese Second Division to surrender. Therefore, the Japanese Third Division occupied Jilin without losing one soldier. On the 23rd, the Jilin puppet regime was established, and Xiqia was appointed as the chief of the puppet Jilin Provincial Governor.

When the Japanese Second Division occupied Jilin, the Kwantung Army also informed the Korean Army of Lin Xianjuro Commander. Lin Xian ordered the Mixed 39th Brigade, which was standby in Xinyizhou, to cross the border and move towards Shenyang. The brigade arrived in Shenyang on the night of September 21.The Kwantung Army ordered him to serve as the guards of Shenyang City, and the 15th Brigade, which was originally in Shenyang, returned to the Second Division to Changchun.

From the week starting from the "Liutiaogou Incident" on September 18 to the 25th, the Japanese army occupied 30 cities in the two provinces of Liaoning and Jilin, Northeast China, and completely or partially controlled 12 railway lines. But this is just the first step in the Japanese war of aggression, and it is the minimum so-called "cordon line" on both sides of the Manchurian Railway, which is planned by the Japanese military. From then on, the Japanese invading army became more and more enlarged in aggression under the so-called "non-expansion policy".