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Tsinan (Jinan; 117.00E
36.65N) is a city and rail junction in northern China
with a population of about 421,000 in 1941. It is the capital of
Shantung (Shandong) province. Chiang Kai-shek
was defeated here by Manchurian
warlord Chang Tso-lin in 1927, which prevented Chiang from asserting
control over Manchuria.
When Chiang again attempted to assert authority
over the province in 1928, he clashed with the Japanese, who had landed reinforcements
at Chingtao to defend their interests in the Shantung Peninsula. A
Japanese regimental commander ordered his troops to
fire on the Chinese, sparking a pitched battle that cost the Chinese
3600 casualties and helped
poison Sino-Japanese relations. It is alleged that the Japanese
tortured and murdered Chiang's commissioner for foreign affairs, Tsai
Kung-shih, when he refused to sign a statement that the Japanese had
fired on Chinese because the Chinese were attempting to loot the city.
The city fell to the
10 Division in
mid-January 1938 after the governor of the province, Han Fu-chu, tried
to cut a deal with the Japanese. Han retreated south on 24 December
1937, forcing all Chinese forces in east Shantung to retreat or be
trapped. Han then abandoned his armies and fled to Kaifeng, where he
was arrested by the
Kuomintang, who later tried and
executed him. The execution of Han marked a major political turning
point in China, bringing together diverse cliques in support of Chiang
against the Japanese.
The loss of Tsinan allowed 10 Division to link up with Navy
forces at Tsingtao and advance
along the Tsinpu Railroad south of Tsinan.
12 Army was based in Tsinan
when war
broke out in the Pacific.
References
Populstat.info (accessed 2014-6-8)
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