Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Mukden Incident

Starting point is 00:00:00 Most people think that the Second World War started in September of 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. However, that was only the beginning of the European War. The conflict in Asia actually began much earlier. What both the European and Asian theaters have in common is that they started with an invasion by a belligerent power, which was done under false pretenses. Learn more about the Mukden incident and how it began the road to the Second World War on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. What if your perceptions about the past were wrong? ThruLine is a podcast that takes you back in time to uncover the parts of the story that may have gone unnoticed. It effectively turned day into night.

Starting point is 00:00:54 And how it shaped the world now. Time travel with us every week on the Thurline podcast from NPR. To understand what is known as the Mukden incident, you need to understand the background of what was happening with Japan and Continental Asia. that time. As I noted in my episode on the Meiji Restoration, Japan rapidly industrialized and modernized during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As they went down the path of modernization, they also increased in military power and political influence. The big coming out party for Japan, if you will, was the Russo-Japanese War of 2004 and 1905. Absolutely no one, at least no one in Europe, thought that an Asian country could beat a European country, but that is exactly what the

Starting point is 00:01:42 did. In the aftermath of the war, 1905, Korea was declared a protectorate of Japan, and in 2010 it was formally annexed. Japan changed the name of Korea to Chosen, which was what it was known as internationally until the end of World War II. The Japanese occupation of Korea was a very ugly period of history, and is a story for another episode. Bordering Korea, and there was only one Korea at this time, was the Chinese region of Manchuria. Manchuria is the northeastern part of China. In addition to Korea, it also borders Mongolia and Russia. Starting in 1912, with the dissolution of the Qing dynasty, Manchuria was nominally part of the Republic of China. In reality, it was mostly controlled by various warlords

Starting point is 00:02:25 who did the bidding of the Japanese. While the Japanese had a sort of control over Manchuria, it wasn't at a level that satisfied the Japanese imperial government. The Japanese were clearly the dominant military power in the region, and after the conclusion of the Russian-Japanese War, they were looking to expand their territory. The treaty which ended the Russo-Japanese War was the Treaty of Portsmouth, which was actually signed in the state of Maine in the United States. This treaty ceded to Japan control of the southernmost branch of the Chinese Eastern Railway. This area was about 1,100 kilometers long and only 60 meters wide, stretching from the cities of Changchung to Lu Xun. Along the railway, Japan was able to exercise extraterritorial

Starting point is 00:03:08 rights. And if you remember back to my episode on extraterritoriality, this means that the railroad had the same legal status as an embassy, and this was known as the South Manchuria Railway Zone. Because the railroad was basically Japanese territory, they would station military units along the route, which they were able to legally do due to the terms of the Treaty of Portsmouth. In 1915, the Japanese government presented to the Republic of China what was known as the 21 demands. This list was pretty much an ultimatum given to the Chinese government, which would vastly expand Japanese influence in China. It prevented China from giving rights along its coast to other countries. It gave Japan mineral rights within China and a host of other concessions,

Starting point is 00:03:50 which were pretty much demeaning to the Chinese and expanded Japan's influence. It eventually resulted in the Sino-Japanese Treaty that same year, which codified most of the 21 demands. From 1916 to 1928, Manchuria was unified under a single warlord named Zhang Jiuolin, who also briefly ruled all of China for two years from 1927 to 1928. The Japanese assassinated him by blowing up his train in June of 1928 in an event known as the Huang Guton incident. The reason for the assassination, which was discovered after the war, was because Zhang didn't do a sufficiently good job of stopping the nationalist Chinese forces led by Shankai Czech, who were supported by the Soviets. The assassination backfired on the Japanese as Zhang Sun took his place

Starting point is 00:04:35 and he reconciled with the nationalists and also started a conflict with the Soviets, who brought 150,000 troops to the Manchurian border, which made a Japanese takeover of Manchuria that much more difficult. This was basically the situation in 1931. Japan had a great deal of influence in Manchuria, they controlled a strategic railway, they had troops scattered about the region due to the railroad, and they had bullied China into agreements that were overwhelmingly to the benefit of Japan. Moreover, they were worried about the Soviets now possibly invading, thwarting their plans. However, that wasn't enough for the Japanese. They wanted full control over all Manchuria.

Starting point is 00:05:14 The assassination of Zhang in 1928 actually delayed this from happening, but by 1931, they were ready to pull the trigger. They could certainly invade Manchuria, and they would have been the overwhelming favorites to come out on top of such a conflict. However, legally, and in the eyes of the rest of the world, they couldn't just invade. I mean, they could invade, but it wouldn't look good, and it could have negative repercussions if they were seen to be engaging in naked aggression. So they needed some pretense for war. The Japanese kept waiting for some sort of provocation from the Chinese, but nothing ever came. So they decided they need to move things along a little.

Starting point is 00:05:48 They needed a false flag operation. That came on September 18, 1931. What happened was one of those, Won't Someone Rid Me of this meddlesome priest moments. A small group of Japanese officers, taking their own initiative without any orders from high-rup, hatched a plan that would give Japan the excuse they needed to start a war. They planted dynamite near a railroad track of the train station

Starting point is 00:06:12 in the town of Mukden, which is now known as Shenyang. At 9.20 a.m., the dynamite was detonated. And it did pretty much nothing. The plotters had placed the dynamite so far from the tracks that it didn't do any damage. In fact, it did so little damage that just 10 minutes after the explosion, a train arrived on the track that was targeted and it managed to pass without incident. The fact that the attack was so underwhelming didn't really bother the Japanese.

Starting point is 00:06:40 The next day, they opened fire on a Chinese military garrison near Mukden in retaliation for the bombing. Despite being outnumbered 14 to 1, a small Japanese force defeated the nearby Chinese garrison at a cost of only two Japanese dead compared to 500 Chinese. The small number of aircraft controlled by the warlord were quickly destroyed. The commander of the Japanese forces in Manchuria was initially furious over what had happened and the fact that he did not give the order. However, he was quickly convinced to take advantage of the situation.

Starting point is 00:07:10 Within hours, the Japanese had taken control of all of the cities along the railway. Reaction back in Japan was very similar to that of the Japanese commander-in-chief in Manchuria, as they were angered by the lack of centralized planning in the operation. However, over the next several months, the Japanese had an easy time rolling over Manchuria. There were some notable stands made by the Chinese, but overall the resistance was very weak. The Chinese forces were simply outmatched. The nationalist Chinese and the communist Chinese forces were too busy fighting each other to put up any organized resistance to the Japanese.

Starting point is 00:07:44 Within six months, the Japanese conquest of Manchuria was complete. The Japanese renamed it Manchukos. and installed the last Chinese emperor who had been disposed of in 1912 as its puppet ruler. The Chinese appealed to the League of Nations, and their inability to do anything, showed how ineffective they were as an organization. In 1932, U.S. Secretary of State Henry Stimson issued the Stimson Doctrine, which refused to recognize any Japanese-backed government in Manchuria. The Japanese occupied Manchuria for the next 14 years,

Starting point is 00:08:14 and it was the site of some of the worst atrocities in the entire Second World War. The Mukden incident is still remembered today in China. At 10 a.m. on September 18th every year, air raid sirens sound for several minutes in many cities in the country. There is even a September 18th memorial in the city of Shenyang. The invasion of Manchuria was the first of many such invasions by the Imperial Japanese Army, which would eventually spread across much of Asia. And it all started with the detonation of a bomb near a railroad track that actually didn't do any damage. Everything Everywhere Daily is an Airwave Media podcast.

Starting point is 00:08:53 The associate producers are Thor Thompson and Peter Bennett. Today's review comes from listener N-Hand-1022 over at Apple Podcasts in the United States. They write, My Favorite Podcast, except for the five-cylinder engine hate. Everything Everywhere Daily is the ideal podcast for a lover of trivia like me. I regularly learn new things that make my jaw drop, like the Halifax Explosion. Listening first thing in the morning is a great way to kickstart my brain. But, Gary, your blatant disregard for the five-cylinder engine is breaking my heart.

Starting point is 00:09:24 The OM-617 engine in my 1976 Mercedes was produced for 27 years. They're considered to be bulletproof because so many of them reach one million miles. German engineering at its finest. All I ask is a little consideration for the knuckles I've shredded while replacing the fifth-cylinder glow plugged tucked back by the firewall. If you're ever in Cincinnati, I'd be happy to take you for a Sunday drive and convert you. Thank you for keeping our brains engaged during this pandemic. Well, thank you, in-hand 1022.

Starting point is 00:09:52 I have to confess, I never would have guessed that five-cylinder engines would have gotten the type of reaction it has. I suppose the number of cylinders a person has is a very, very deeply personal thing. Remember, if you leave a review or send in a question, you two can have it read on the show.

Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Mukden Incident

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