Suiyuan Campaign

Overview

The Suiyuan campaign was an attempt by the Inner Mongolian Army and Grand Han Righteous Army, two forces founded and supported by the Empire of Japan, to take control of the Suiyuan province from the Republic of China. The attempted invasion occurred in 1936, shortly before the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese government denied taking part in the operation, but the Inner Mongolians and the other collaborationist Chinese troops received air support from Japanese planes and were assisted by the Imperial Japanese Army. The entire operation was overseen by Japanese staff officers. The campaign was unsuccessful, mostly due to lack of training and low morale among the Mongolians and other collaborators. The defense of Suiyuan, one of the first major successes of China's National Revolutionary Army over Japanese-supported forces, greatly improved Chinese morale.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Suiyuan campaign was an attempted seizure of Suiyuan province by Inner Mongolian and collaborationist Chinese forces organized, supplied, and directed by Japan, though the Japanese government publicly denied involvement. Despite receiving Japanese air support and guidance from Imperial Japanese Army staff officers, the invading forces failed to dislodge the Republic of China's defenders. The campaign's failure was attributed primarily to poor training and low morale among the Mongolian and collaborationist troops. For China, the outcome represented one of the first significant battlefield successes of the National Revolutionary Army against Japanese-backed forces, and it produced a measurable boost to Chinese national morale in the period immediately before the full-scale Second Sino-Japanese War began in 1937. The result also exposed the limitations of Japan's proxy-force strategy in Inner Mongolia, demonstrating that lightly committed collaborationist armies were insufficient to project territorial control when facing a defending Chinese force of substantially greater size.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (8)