War and Geopolitics in Interwar Manchuria

Kwong Chi Man, Ph.D. (2012), University of Cambridge, is Assistant Professor of History at Hong Kong Baptist University. He has published books and articles on the military history of modern East Asia, including Eastern Fortress: A Military History of Hong Kong (co-authored, Hong Kong University Press, 2014).

• Acknowledgements ixList of Illustrations xiList of Abbreviations xiiiNote on Romanization xivIntroduction: “Northern Expedition,” or the War for Northeast Asia? 1State Formation and Geopolitics 5Strategic History as an Approach 9Northeast Asia and the “Northern Expedition” 11The Military Factor 16Structure 191 Becoming “The Eastern Three Provinces”: International Conflicts in Manchuria and Northeast Asia, 1850-1920 21Introduction 21Northeast Asia: Implications of Geography 22International Relations of Northeast Asia, 1600-1920 27China and Manchuria: From Empire to Nation? 35Fengjin, Migration and Manchurian Society, 1636-1911 35Manchuria and Mongolia after 1911 41Regional Economy in Northeast Asia 43Manchurian Economy before 1890 43Reorienting the Manchurian Economy 45The Competing Currencies 48Concluding Remarks 502 Manchuria under Zhang Zuolin and the Fengtian Clique 52Introduction 52The Larger Context: Chinese Politics after the Abolition of theExamination System 53The Ascendancy of Zhang Zuolin and the Fengtian Clique 58Exploiting the Circumstances 58Enlisting Elite Support 60From the Fengtian Clique to Anguojun: Zhang’s Military Supporters 65Decision-making Mechanism of the Fengtian Clique 67Military and Economic Build Up and Their Consequences 70Regionalism and Relations with the Central Government 75Japanese Connection Revisited 77Becoming a National Leader: Zhang Zuolin’s Strife for Legitimacy andPolitical Power 79Zhang’s Perception of the Nation’s Problems 79Zhang’s Struggle for Political Legitimacy 83Concluding Remarks 883 The Fengtian Clique’s Strategies and Their Failure, 1925-1931 90Phase I, January-December 1925 93Overview 93Responding to Political Vacuum in North China and the Soviet Design 95The Anti-Fengtian War of 1925 103Phase II, January-September 1926 106The Fengtian Clique’s Attempt to Restore the Beijing Government 106Improving the Internal and External Situation through Decisive Battle: TheBattle of Nankou, 1926 110Phase III, September 1926-June 1927 113Seeking Peaceful Resolution through War: The Creation of theAnguojun 113Increasing Japanese Pressure and Changing British Attitudes 118The Failure in Henan and Its Impact 121Phase IV, June 1927-June 1928 122Responding to Defeats: The Generalissimo Government and Peace Talk with the KMT 122Cracks in the Beijing-Mukden Regime 129Manchuria Encircled: The Coming of a Japanese-Soviet Alliance 131The Final Straw: Military Defeats in Late 1927 and Early 1928 133Phase V, June 1928-September 1931 135Strategic Inconsistency of the Fengtian Clique 135The Decline of the Fengtian Clique’s Cohesion and Authority 137Deteriorating Internal Condition and Geopolitical Situation 140Concluding Remarks 1424 Military Dimension of the “Northern Expedition” 143Introduction 143Military Geography and the War in China in the 1920s 144Warfare in China in the Mid-1920s 145Anguojun, the National Pacification Army 149Organization 152Equipment and Supply 155Training and Recruitment 156Cohesion 157Relations with the People 159The Henan-Anhui-Jiangsu-Zhejiang Operations, Jan-Jun 1927 160Disaster of Dispersal: The Shanghai-Nanjing-Anhui Operations 162The Henan Campaign: Background 166The Henan Campaign: Mobility, Firepower and Geography 168The Battles of Xuzhou and Longtan, June-September 1927 176Situation After the Henan Campaign 176Operational Success, Strategic Dilemma: The Xuzhou Battle and Prelude toLongtan, Jun-Aug 1927 177A Strategic Gamble Lost: The Battle of Longtan, Aug-Sep 1927 182Tipping the Balance: The Autumn and Winter Campaigns of 1927 187The Situation After Longtan 187Wrong Priorities: The Shanxi Campaign, Sep-Dec 1927 188The Second Henan Campaign, Oct-Dec 1927 192Endgame: The Shanxi-Henan-Shandong Campaign of April 1928 195Seeking the Decisive Battle 195An Operational Disaster: The Southern Zhili-Shandong Campaign 197Concluding Remarks 2005 The Manchurian Economy and the Northern Expedition, 1925-1928 202Introduction 202The Fall of the fengpiao and Its Effects, 1926-1928 204Financial Limitations Faced by the Fengtian Clique 212Limited Internal Revenue and High Expenditure 212Decline of the Value of Silver 216Japanese and Russian Presence and Their Financial Policies inManchuria 218Bankruptcy of the Central Government 220The Fengtian Clique’s Attempts to Overcome Financial Difficulties 222Issuing fengpiao 222Increasing Tax and Manipulating Currencies 223Issuing Bonds or Borrowing 226Collecting the Customs Surtax 229The Financial Collapse of the Fengtian Clique 233Failure to Secure Shanghai and the Financial Difficulties of Beijing 233The Succession Crisis and North-South Peace, Jan-June 1928 235Concluding Remarks 238Conclusion 240Appendix 1: Literature Review 245Appendix 2: A Note on the Sources 249Appendix 3: Short Biographies of the Anguojun Figures 251Appendix 4: Glossary 258Appendix 5: Order of Battle of the Anguojun and the NRA, March 1927-April 1928 262Bibliography 285Index 318327