Manchuria

• Where is Manchuria?

  • Manchuria is a region of China on the north-eastern coast
  • It is an area that is rich in natural resources such as coal and iron ore, and countries like Japan and Russia had factories there in the 1930s
  • The Japanese government had a policy of friendship towards the area because of this
  • In the 1930s China was divided and weak
  • The country was split into many regions, often run by local warlords who ignored the national government
• Why did Japan want Manchuria?

  • Japan was suffering in the Great Depression
  • Much of its economy was based on exporting silk to rich countries like the USA
  • However, silk is a luxury item, and people cut back on luxuries when their families were starving
  • So Japanese industry was in decline and many people were unemployed
  • By 1932 silk was worth one fifth of what it had been sold for in the early 1920s and production and employment had fallen by 30 percent by 1931
  • Japan is made up of small islands, with very little open space and few natural resources
  • Therefore, when the Great Depression hit, Japan had to start looking elsewhere for its resources
  • Manchuria, with its fertile farmland, industry and natural resources, seemed like a good place to invade
• Why was Manchuria convenient to invade?

  • Manchuria is geographically close to Japan
  • Japan already had large industries, the South Manchurian Railway, and an army known as the Kwantung Army in the area.
  • There was a history of confusion about who owned the area. Russia, Japan, and China had all claimed it in the past. In 1931 it was ruled by a Chinese warlord, but his power was weakening
  • Japan was scared that China might remove Japanese industry
  • Japan had fought a war against Russia in 1905. Taking over this land would upset their old enemies as well as distract the Japanese people from domestic problems
• The Japanese government

  • The Japanese army was getting stronger and stronger
  • After the Washington Naval Agreement in 1922, when Japanese politicians had agreed that Japan would have a smaller navy than Britain or the USA, Japanese generals felt that they could no longer trust their politicians to protect their country
  • They started acting without instructions from the government: in 1928 they assassinated the warlord of Manchuria
  • They thought the government's policy of friendship with Manchuria was wrong and that they should invade the area and take full control
  • The people of Japan were desperate for some good news and started supporting the army in the hope that Japan would become strong again
  • The Japanese army had murdered its prime minister in 1932, and the government then became dominated by army generals could force them to take more aggressive actions; the politicians were scared of the army
• The Mukden Incident

  • On 18 September 1931, there was an explosion on the South Manchurian Railway. The Japanese army claimed that the train had been attacked by Chinese soldiers, who had also shot at the railway guards
  • The Chinese denied this. They said that their soldiers had been asleep at the time
  • The Kwantung army used the events as an excuse to take over Manchuria
  • The people of Japan were delighted with this victory and celebrated openly in the streets. The government wasn't too happy, but had no choice but to go along with the invasion
  • In 1932 Japan renamed Manchuria to Manchukuo. They put Pu Yi, an ex-Chinese emperor who had been thrown out of power in 1911, in charge as a puppet ruler. This meant that Japan could control him
• Why was the league reluctant to act?

  • Although it was a clear case of Japanese aggression, the League did not want a big fight. Many people felt that Japan owned Manchuria and was entitled to take control - the Chinese had even agreed in treaties that Japan had economic rights in the region
  • China and Japan were far removed from the League's headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Britain and France felt that the incident was simply too far away to be of real concern
  • Japan had been a powerful member of the League. The Japanese claimed that the Chinese had attacked them first; there was so much confusion about the episode that many people chose to believe the Japanese version of events so that they didn't have to get involved
  • China's politics were disorganised. Many members of the League felt that it was a good thing that Japan was trying to introduce order in the region
• How did the League try to solve the issue?

  • The League issued a moral condemnation and told Japan to withdraw its troops, but when Japan refused, there was really very little the League could do about it
  • Members of the League could not afford to send troops so far away to fight someone else's battles. Indeed, Britain and France were still facing depression
  • The League could issue economic sanctions so that members would stop trading with Japan. However, Japan's main trade partner was the USA, which was not a member of the League
  • The nearest powerful country to Manchuria was the USSR, but since it had not been allowed to join the League of Nations it could not be called upon to help
• So what did the League do?

  • The League put together a Commission of Inquiry, led by a British politician named Lord Lytton
  • Lytton went to the area, investigated what had happened, and put together the Lytton Report, which was published in October 1932
  • It concluded what people already knew: Japan was in the wrong
  • Even if there had been an attack on the South Manchurian Railway, Japan had overreacted and should not have invaded
  • The League's findings were official but Japan still ignored them and left the League
  • In February 1933 the Japanese invaded Jehol, another Chinese region
  • They then used these two areas as a base to invade the rest of the country in 1937
  • By 1938 most major Chinese cities were controlled by the Japanese army
• The end of the League?

  • The League had failed
  • One of its own members had ignored the Covenant and acted with aggression
  • The League had acted slowly and had, ultimately, achieved nothing
  • And yet the long-term damage to the League was limited; many people believed that if there was a problem involving European countries, the League would still be able to deal with it
  • At the time, many people did not see the failure of the League in Manchuria as a 'fatal blow'
  • The League had, however, failed to stop an act of war, and in Italy and Germany Mussolini and Hitler began to wonder how they might be able to get around the League, too
• Timeline

  • 18 September 1931 - The Mukden Incident
  • January 1932 - Japan invade Shanghai in China
  • February 1932 - Most of Manchuria under Japanese control
  • March 1932 - China turns to the League of Nations for help
  • April 1932 - Lord Lytton arrives in Manchuria to start his report
  • October 1932 - The Lytton Report is published, condemning Japan
  • February 1933 - In a special meeting of the League of Nations, Japan is ordered to withdraw from Manchuria. Japan leaves the League of Nations and invades Jehol
  • July 1937 - Japan starts a full-scale invasion of China