Manchuria is located south of eastern Siberia and north of Korea, and is today the northernmost part of China. It is remarkably similar to New England in its native vegetation but experiences much colder winter temperatures. It is also rich in resources, including lumber (it was 36% forested in 1941), arable farmland, iron ore, coal, and aluminiferous shale. There was considerable hydroelectric potential along the Yalu River, which forms the border with Korea, and in the mountains to the north.
The area was rather thinly settled at the start of the 20th century, but it was a rich prize. Both Russia and Japan coveted Manchurian resources and saw the region as an important buffer from the other power. Both forced concessions from the Chinese, who were largely powerless to resist this encroachment. The Russo-Japanese War of 1905 finally placed Manchuria firmly in the Japanese sphere of influence, though it remained nominally a part of China. It soon became a second industrial heartland for the Japanese.
In 1931, Japanese nationalists within the Army staged an incident on the Manchurian Railroad as an excuse to take complete control of Manchuria. The local warlord was overthrown and Henry Pu-Yi, the deposed last emperor of China, was brought in as head of the new puppet state of Manchukuo. Few other powers recognized Manchukuo, and the League of Nations condemned the Japanese action. Japan responded by withdrawing from the League.
Manchuria was heavily exploited during Japanese rule. Large numbers of poor Japanese families emigrated to Manchuria, as well as many Chinese who saw better economic opportunities under the Japanese than under their own weak government. Japan maintained a large garrison in Manchuria against the possibility of either a Russian invasion or a Russian collapse, and the Japanese Army virtually ran the province. This hindered development, as the Army started with a poor understanding of economics and had a slow learning curve.
Russia overran Manchuria in a lightning campaign in August 1945, after the first atomic bomb had been dropped. Three Russian armies totaling 83 divisions took the Japanese by surprise and easily pushed aside the defending forces, which had been depleted to provide replacements and reinforcements in the Pacific and the Japanese homeland. The Russians turned Manchuria over to the Chinese three weeks after the end of hostilities, but not before removing most of the industrial plant and giving the arms surrendered by the Japanese to the Chinese Communists.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia (c) 2007 by Kent G. Budge. Index