Suiyuan Campaign (1936)

Suiyuan Campaign
Part of Second Sino-Japanese War (Actions in Inner Mongolia)
Chinese field gun crew at Bailingmiao
Date October – November 1936 Location Suiyuan province, Inner Mongolia Result Nationalist Chinese victory
Belligerents
Republic of China	Mongol Military Government Collaborationist Chinese Army  Empire of Japan (unofficially)
Commanders and leaders
Fu Zuoyi Tang Enbo Zhao Chengshou Wang Jingguo	De Wang Li Shouxin Wang Ying
Units involved
35th Army 19th Army Anti-aircraft battalion Cavalry army Reserve army	Inner Mongolian Army Grand Han Righteous Army
Strength
45,000 men	10,000 men 6,000 men Unknown number of advisors, motor vehicles, and 28 aircraft Total: ~16,000 men
Casualties and losses
Unknown	300–900 Inner Mongolians killed, 300 wounded, and 300 captured Most of Wang Ying's forces destroyed At least 1 Japanese adviser killed, 4 planes destroyed

The Suiyuan Campaign (Chinese: 綏遠抗戰; pinyin: Suīyuǎn kàngzhàn; Japanese: 綏遠事件, translit. Suīyuǎn shìjiàn) was an attempt by the Inner Mongolian Army and Grand Han Righteous Army, two forces founded and supported by Imperial 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.

The Empire of Japan had been pursuing its expansionist ambitions in China since the late 19th century, and the situation began escalating in the early 1930s. In September 1931, the Mukden Incident resulted in the Japanese Kwantung Army completely occupying the three northeastern provinces of China and defeating the forces of the pro-Nationalist warlord who had ruled the region, the "Young Marshal" Zhang Xueliang. The Kwantung Army later took part in establishing the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in 1932 under the rule of the last Qing emperor, Puyi. Shortly after that the three eastern Mongolian leagues–ancient regions of Inner Mongolia–were occupied and annexed into fledgling state of Manchukuo. The hostilities in the Manchuria region between the Republic of China and Japan ended in May 1933 with the signing of the Tanggu Truce. However, due to the lingering Japanese territorial ambitions and Chinese public opinion being against the harsh terms of the agreement, it was only a temporary respite.

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