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| Operation Chahar | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theSecond Sino-Japanese War and theinterwar period | |||||||
 Chinese soldiers, pictured by theGreat Wall of China inLaiyuan in 1937 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 China | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Kiyoshi KatsukiShigiyasu SuzukiSeishirō ItagakiHideki Tojo Demchugdongrub | Tang EnboChiang Kai-shekYan XishanFu Zuoyi | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 90,000Kwantung Army troops 60,000 Inner Mongolia and Manchukuo troops[1] | 7,432 officers and 122,910 soldiers[2] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Chinese Claim : 8,652 casualties[3] Japanese Claim : 5th division : 1,482 casualties[4] 2nd mixed brigade in the battle of Zhangjiakou : 529 casualties[5] 15th mixed brigade in the battle of Datong : 176 casualties[6][7] 1st and 11th independent mixed brigades : 902 casualties[8] | Western Claim : 26,000 casualties[1] Chinese Claim :[2] 15,710 killed 34,080 wounded 479 missing | ||||||
Operation Chahar (Japanese:チャハル作戦,romanized: Chaharu Sakusen), known in Chinese as theNankou Campaign (Chinese:南口戰役;pinyin:Nankou Zhanyi), occurred in August 1937, following theBattle of Beiping-Tianjin at the beginning ofSecond Sino-Japanese War.
This was the second attack by theKwantung Army and theInner Mongolian Army of PrinceDemchugdongrub onInner Mongolia after the failure of theSuiyuan Campaign. The Chahar Expeditionary Force was under the direct command of GeneralHideki Tōjō, the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army. A second force from the Beiping Railway Garrison Force, later the 1st Army under GeneralKiyoshi Katsuki, was also involved.
The Chinese forces opposing this invasion of Suiyuan were the Suiyuan Pacification Headquarters under the command of GeneralYan Xishan.Fu Zuoyi, the governor of Suiyuan, was made commander of the 7th Group Army, andLiu Ruming, governor ofChahar, was made its deputy commander, defending Chahar with the 143rd Division and two Brigades. GeneralTang Enbo was sent byChiang Kai-shek with the 13th and 17th Armies from the Central Army and made Frontline Commander in Chief. The 1st Cavalry Army was sent to Chahar under the command ofZhao Chengshou, facing the Mongolian forces ofDemchugdongrub.
Following the loss of Beiping, Tang Enbo's 13th Army (4th and 89th Divisions) took up positions in depth along the Peking–Suiyuan Railway atNankou, and further to the rear atJuyongguan (Juyong Pass). Gao's 17th Army stationed its 84th Division at Chicheng (赤诚),Yanqing (延庆), andLongguan, covering the flank of the 13th Army from Japanese forces in Chahar. The 21st Division was deployed inHuailai, on the railroad to the rear of Tang's forces. Zhao Chengshou's (赵承绶）1st Cavalry Army, Liu Ruming's （刘汝明) 143rd Division, and two Peace Preservation Brigades began an attack on the Mongol forces in northern Chahar.
On August 8, the Japanese11th Independent Mixed Brigade, commanded by Gen.Shigiyasu Suzuki, began their attack on the left flank of the 13th Corps position atNankou, but were thwarted after three days by the difficult terrain and the stubborn resistance of the Chinese. A new attack on August 11, supported by tanks and aircraft, took Nankou Station, after which Gen. Suzuki's brigade advanced on Juyong Pass.
That same day, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the activation of the 14th Group Army (10th, 83rd, and 85th Divisions) under Gen.Wei Lihuang. Coming by rail fromYingchia-chuang[clarification needed] toYi County, elements of the 14th Group Army were sent on a ten-day march through the plains west ofBeiping in a flanking movement in support of Tang Enbo's forces. The Chinese 1st Army Region made attacks on the Japanese forces inLiangxiang andChaili[clarification needed] to distract them, and sent a detachment toHeilung Pass[clarification needed] to cover the advance of 14th Group Army. From the dates on a Japanese map of the battle, these forces did not reach the area until September, when it was too late, and clashed with Japanese forces from September 9–17 without achieving its objective.
On August 12, Tang Enbo's army counterattacked, surrounding the Japanese and cutting them off from their supplies and communications. On August 14,Seishirō Itagaki's 5th Division was sent to the relief of the 11th Independent Mixed Brigade atJuyongguan.
On August 16, Itagaki arrived at Nankou and began an enveloping attack on the right flank of 13th Army, making a five pronged attack atHuanglaoyuan. The 7th Brigade of 4th Division underShi Jue was moved to block this maneuver, and reinforcements ofLi Xianzhou's 21st Division andZhu Huaibing's 94th Division were brought up, engaging in days of heavy fighting. On August 17 GeneralYan Xishan, Director of the Taiyuan Pacification Headquarters, directed the 7th Group Army, underFu Zuoyi, to move its 72nd Division and three brigades by rail fromDatong to Huailai to reinforce Tang Enbo's forces.
Meanwhile, in northern Chahar the Chinese 1st Cavalry Army capturedShangdu,Nanhaochan[clarification needed],Shangyi andHuade from the puppet Mongolian Army ofDemchugdongrub. Elements of the 143rd Division took Zhongli, while its main force reachedZhangbei. During this Chinese advance the Japanese Chahar Expeditionary Force under Lt. General Hideki Tōjō, composed of the mechanized 1st Independent Mixed Brigade and the 2nd and 15th Mixed Brigades, gathered for a counteroffensive from Zhangbei toKalgan.
From August 18–19, the Chahar Expeditionary Force counterattacked from Zhangbei, and tookShenweitaiko[clarification needed] on the Great Wall and the Hanno Dam. The scattered and poorly equipped Chinese forces were unable to stop the Japanese, who now threatened the Peking–Suiyuan Railway at Kalgan. On August 20 Gen. Fu Zuoyi's 7th Group Army diverted its 200th and 211th Brigades, which had been moving south by rail to join Gen. Tang Enbo's forces, back to defend Kalgan. Fu's remaining 72nd Division arrived to reinforce Chenpien, and his 7th Separate Brigade was sent to defend the railhead at Huailai.
On August 21, the Japanese forces broke through at the villages ofHenglingcheng[clarification needed] (横岭城) andChenbiancheng[clarification needed] (镇边城) Gen. Tang Enbo's forces awaiting reinforcement; but, having suffered over 50% casualties, still defended Huailai, Juyong Pass, and Yenqing. Liu Ruming's 143rd Division fell back to defend Kalgan from the advancing Japanese.
On August 23, as Seishirō Itagaki's 5th Division pushed toward Huailai from Chenpien against Ma Yenshou's 7th Separate Brigade, advance elements of the 14th Group Army arrived on the Japanese flank atChingpaikou[clarification needed], driving off the Japanese outpost there and contacting the Japanese forces advancing to Chenpien and the front beyond. However, they were delayed in crossing theYongding River, and their attack was delayed until it was too late to stop the Japanese advance. Due to poor communications they also failed to link up with Gen. Tang En-po's forces during the battle. After 8 days and 8 nights fighting, Itagaki, on August 24, linked up with the Kwantung Army's 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade at Xiahuayuan.
On August 26, Gen. Tang Enbo's forces were ordered to break out toward theSangchien River[clarification needed] while Liu Ruming's forces were ordered to withdraw to the far side of theHsiang-yang River[clarification needed].
On August 29, the Japanese unit, called the Oui Column by the Chinese and the Ohizumi Detachment (大泉支隊) by the Japanese, attacked. According to Hsu Long-hsuen this unit moved south fromTushihkou[clarification needed], and on August 30 attacked Yenching via Chihcheng, but was repulsed by the Chinese 17th Army. The unit moved to Guyuan (沽源) on August 25 and to Xuanhua (宣化) by September 7, cutting the railroad in the rear of Tang's forces and east of Chinese forces along the Great Wall.[9]
According to the Chinese account, after repulsing the Oui Column's attack the Chinese 17th Army withdrew to join the rest of Tang Enbo's force on the far side of the Sangchien River.Kalgan fell to the Japanese on August 27. After Gen. Fu Zuoyi's 200th and 211th Brigades failed in a counterattack to recapture Kalgan, Fu's forces fell back to the west to defend the railway to Suiyuan atChaikoupao[clarification needed]. This brought an end to Operation Chahar.
According toTime magazine, on September 4, the Japanese-aligned South Chahar Government was set up at Kalgan.[10] After the fall of Kalgan, Chahar's "complete independence" from China was declared by "100 influential persons", headed by Demchugdongrub, a pro-Japanese Mongolian who had long been the head of the "Inner Mongolia for Inner Mongolians" movement. It was Demchugdongrub, with his Mongolian levies, who helped the Japanese to take Kalgan. Demchugdongrub was rewarded for his collaboration with the highest position in this new Japanese puppet state, theMongol United Autonomous Government.
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