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Mengjiang United Autonomous Government (1939–1941) 蒙疆聯合自治政府 (Japanese,Chinese) Měngjiāng Liánhé Zìzhì Zhèngfǔ Mōkyō Rengō Jichi Seifu ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ ᠤᠨ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠭᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠬᠣᠯᠪᠣᠭᠠᠲᠤ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠭ ᠤᠨ ᠣᠷᠳᠣᠨ Монголын Өөртөө Засах Холбоот Засгийн Ордон(Mongolian) Mongolian Autonomous Union (1941–1945) 蒙古自治邦 (Japanese,Chinese) Ménggǔ Zìzhì Bāng Mōko Jichi Hō ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ ᠤᠨ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠭᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠤᠯᠣᠰ Монголын Өөртөө Засах Yлс(Mongolian) | |
|---|---|
| 1939[1][2]–1945 | |
.svg) Mengjiang (dark green) alongside theWang Jingwei regime (light green) at its furthest extent | |
| Status |
|
| Capital | Kalgan |
| Common languages | |
| Religion | |
| Government |
|
| Head of state | |
• 1939–1945 | Demchugdongrub |
| Historical era | |
• Established | 1 September 1939[1][2] |
• Incorporated into theReorganized National Government as anautonomous region | 24 March 1940 |
• Disestablished | 19 August 1945 |
| Currency | Mengjiang yuan |
| Today part of | China |
| Mengjiang | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Chinese | 蒙疆 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | Mongolian Frontier | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Mongolian name | |||||||||
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Мэнжян | ||||||||
| Mongolian script | ᠮᠡᠩᠵᠢᠩ | ||||||||
| Japanese name | |||||||||
| Kanji | 蒙疆 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Mengjiang, also known asMengkiang, officially theMengjiang United Autonomous Government, was anautonomous zone inInner Mongolia. It was formed in 1939 as apuppet state of theEmpire of Japan, and from 1940 was placed under the nominal sovereignty of theReorganized National Government of the Republic of China (which was itself also a puppet state). It consisted of the previously Chinese provinces ofChahar andSuiyuan,[5] corresponding to the central part of modern Inner Mongolia. It has also been calledMongukuo[6] orMengguguo (orMengkukuo;Chinese:蒙古國; in analogy toManchukuo, another Japanese puppet state inManchuria). The capital wasKalgan, from where it was under the nominal rule of Mongol noblemanDemchugdongrub. The territory returned to Chinese control after thedefeat of theJapanese Empire in 1945.
Following Japan'soccupation of Manchuria in 1931 and the establishment of the puppet state ofManchukuo, Japan sought to expand its influence inMongolia and North China. In a series of actions,starting in 1933, the armies of Manchukuo and Japan occupiedChahar and in 1936 proclaimed itself the independent Mongol Military Government, allied with Japan under PrinceDemchugdongrub.
In 1936 and 1937,similaroperations inSuiyuan saw the occupation and absorption of that province, too.
Formed on May 12, 1936, the Mongol Military Government (蒙古軍政府) had PrinceYondonwangchug ofUlanqab as its first chairman. It was renamed in October 1937 as theMongol United Autonomous Government (蒙古聯盟自治政府).[7] On September 1, 1939, the predominantlyHan Chinese governments ofSouth Chahar andNorth Shanxi were merged with the Mongol United Autonomous Government, creating the new Mengjiang United Autonomous Government (蒙疆聯合自治政府). The capital was established atZhangbei (Changpei),[citation needed] nearKalgan (Zhangjiakou), with the government's control extending aroundHohhot. On August 4, 1941, it was again renamed: the Mongolian Autonomous State (蒙古自治邦). The term "state" (邦) was specifically chosen to appease both the Chinese and Mengjiang governments, as both "state" and "country" translated toulus (улс) in Mongolian, which means "country". Thus, the name in Chinese implied Mengjiang to be an autonomous region of China, whereas in Mongolian the name implied it to be an independent state.
In 1939,Wang Jingwei reorganized the remnants of the occupied Chinese government for a Japanese puppet state, commonly referred to as theWang Jingwei Regime, or the Reorganized National Government, with its capital inNanjing. Mengjiang was nominally incorporated into the regime in 1940, though it remained autonomous from Nanjing.
Mengjiang capitulated in 1945 when it wasinvaded by theSovietRed Army andMongol Red Army as part of theManchurian Strategic Offensive Operation. Most of the area, with the notable exception of Kalgan, is now part ofInner Mongolia in the People's Republic of China.
_-_en.svg)
.svg)
Flag of the Mongol Military Government (1936–1937) and theMongol United Autonomous Government (1937–1939)
Flag of theSouth Chahar Autonomous Government (1937–1939)
Flag of theNorth Shanxi Autonomous Government (1937–1939)Tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of Mongols were massacred in theInner Mongolia incident in 1967–1969, one of the reasons is that they were accused of being collaborator remnants from the Mengjiang army.
Mengjiang, meaning "Mongol Territories", came from the acceptance speech of chairmanship by Demchugdongrub:
The Japanese established theBank of Mengjiang that printed itsown currency without years on it. Some traditional local money shops also made currency with theChinese year numbering system, such as the Jiachen Year (甲辰年), on it.
The Japanese had mineral interests in their created state of Mengjiang. In one example the Japanese put the iron mine inXuanhua Longyan into production, with a reserve of 91,645,000 tonnes in 1941; and analyzed the reserves of coal in land, one was 504 tonnes, and another with a potential production of 202,000 of tonnes (1934).
The Mengjiang iron deposits were exported directly to Japan. At the same time, the Japanese sought the coal reserves ofSuiyuan (another Mengjiang occupied sector), including one of 417 million tonnes, and one with a potential extraction of 58,000 tonnes in 1940.
TheInner Mongolian Army, or theMengjiang National Army was the Japanese-created native army organized in Mengjiang; not to be confused with theMongol Army. It was aKwantung Army special force group under direct command, having native commanders alongside Japanese commanding officers, as in other auxiliary outer sections of the Kwantung Army.
The purpose of the army was to support any eventualJapanese operations against Outer Mongolia (Mongolian People's Republic), or the north China areas, and to act as a local security force, with the local police forces. It also had the duty of protecting PrinceDe Wang, the head of state, and the Mengjiang native establishment and local government properties.
The army was equipped with rifles,pistols, light and medium machine guns,mortars and someartillery andanti-aircraft guns. It was organised as a mobile cavalry and light infantry force with little artillery support, and did not havetanks or aircraft.
In 1936, theInner Mongolian Army was armed with Mauser rifles and they had 200 machine guns: mostly the CzechoslovakZB-26 and a few SwissSig. Model 1930 submachine gun for Teh Wang's 1,000 bodyguard troops. They had 70 artillery pieces, mostly mortars and a few captured Chinese mountain and field guns of a variety of types (making ammo and spare parts a problem). The few tanks and armored cars were captured Chinese vehicles crewed by Japanese.
After the Suiyuan Campaign, the Mengjiang National Army was rebuilt from the defeated remnants of the Inner Mongolian Army, the new eight Mongol cavalry Divisions were 1,500 men strong, in three regiments of 500 men. Each regiment were to have three Saber companies and a machine gun company of 120 men. However these divisions actually ranged in size from 1,000 men to 2,000 men (8th Division).
In 1939, the ethnic Chinese troops in the Mongol Divisions were brigaded together in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Divisions and turned into the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Ch'ing An Tui Brigades of the "Mongolian Pacification Force" and used against various guerrilla groups.
In 1943, the Mongol 4th and 5th Divisions were combined to form a new 8th Division and the old 7th and 8th Divisions formed the new 9th Division. Strength of the army was between 4,000 and 10,000 men, all cavalry at this time and had little heavy equipment.
The Mengjiang state also had 5 Defense Divisions in 1943, made up of local militia and other security forces, nominally of three regiments. Apparently only one of these regiments in each division was capable of operations[citation needed]. In 1944, the Japanese reorganized them along with the Chahar garrisons into four Divisions of 2,000 men each.
At the end of the war, a total of six divisions (two Cavalry and four Infantry), three Independent Ch'ing An Tui Brigades and a "Pao An Tui" Security Force Regiment made up the Army.
The sole secondary language which could be taught in schools was Japanese while students were forced to pay respect to the Emperor of Japan and Shinto.[8] The government and army of Mengjiang were complete puppets of the Japanese.[9]
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States and territories in the sphere of influence of theEmpire of Japan duringWorld War II | |
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