Wang Delin
Encyclopedia
Wang Delin or Wang Teh-ling, (王德林) (1875－1938), bandit, soldier and leader of the National Salvation Army
resisting the Japanese pacification of Manchukuo
.
Wang Delin was born in October 1875. He became a bandit in Manchuria
after the Russia
n invasion in July 1900 when Tsarist forces were sent to Northeast China
, to protect the Russian-owned Chinese Eastern Railway
or CER. Wang declared his opposition to both the Russians and China's Qing dynasty, describing himself as "forced to become an outlaw to cast out the Russians and save the nation". His band operated attacking trains along the eastern part of the CER, in the Muleng
and Suifen
areas. He also attacked Russian shipping on the Songhua and Ussuri rivers and held captives for ransom. Wang was an outlaw for years, even beyond the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911.
In 1917, Wang agreed that he and his followers would become part of the Jilin
provincial forces, himself as commander of the Third Battalion of the First Brigade of the Jilin Army. Wang brought with him, two companions who had been with him for many years, Wu Yicheng
and Kong Xianrong
, each commanding a company. Still a battalion commander at the time of the Mukden Incident
in 1931, Wang was stationed near Yanji
, a small town in the east of Jilin province, where the Japanese were constructing a new, railway line. After Wang's troops fired on a party of Japanese surveyors, his commander attempted to persuade him to move his battalion with an offer of promotion. Wang refused to submit to the Manchukuo
regime and his defiance attracted others to join him. When on February 8, 1932, Wang Delin proclaimed the establishment of the Chinese People's National Salvation Army
(NSA), his battalion of 200 men had swollen to a force of over 1,000.
By capturing the town of Dunhua
on February 20, the Wang reversed the Japanese advance which had seemed irrestistible until then. He was attracting the support of peasant brotherhoods and bandits, and a few Korea
n nationalists, that were already taking up arms against the recently proclaimed State of Manchukuo. By the end of the month, the NSA was 4,600 strong. To bring in more recruits. Wang appealed to the patriotism of Chinese soldiers in the Manchukuo forces to not fight other Chinese, shaming them into deserting and joining the volunteers. The tactic succeeded, bringing large numbers of well-armed and trained recruits.
In March 1932, a Japanese and Manchukuoan expeditionary force was defeated in a series of battles with the NSA around the shore of Lake Jingbo
losing hundreds of casualties. These battles were small in scale, the volunteers using their knowledge of the local terrain to set ambushes, eventually compelling the Japanese to retreat to Harbin
.
By this time Wang had about 10,000 men and he was recognized as a general by the "Old Kirin" leader Gen. Li Du
at his headquarters at Sanxing
in Heilongjiang Province on the lower Sungari River. He along with Gen. Ting Chao
raised a number of volunteers to supplement their regulars defeated at Harbin the previous year. These various forces constituted themselves initially as the Kirin Self-Defence Army, but by the end of April 1932 they were known as the National Salvation Army
.
The Japanese had concentrated northwest of Harbin against General Ma Zhanshan
in spring and summer of 1932, which allowed the increase in partisan activity in Jilin and Liaoning provinces. This activity culminated in simultaneous attacks on cities throughout the South Manchurian Railway Zone as severe August floods halted Japanese operations based on Harbin, and isolated the troops engaged on them. Japanese preparations for invading Jehol
province later that year had to be halted by the need to subdue this widespread partisan activity, and with Japanese forces concentrated to the west, the forces of Wang and Feng Zhanhai
managed to briefly occupy the capital of Jilin province.
However things began to go wrong when the NSA became embroiled in disputes with General Li Du's Jilin Self-Defence Army
. One of Li's subordinates tried to persuade one of Wang Delin's commanders to put his force into the Self-Defence Army. Also, NSA troops were killed by the Self-Defence Army for the confiscation of the weapons of a White Russian mine owner. Finally, Li,s subordinate was put in a sack and thrown into a river, probably at the instigation of Wang Delin's deputy, Kong Xianrong. This rift forced the abandonment of the city.
The Japanese followed up with "Anti Bandit" Operations that fall and winter that eventually drove the Volunteer armies to break up into small bands or retreat into the Soviet Union
as Wang's force did on January 13, 1933. Eventually Wang returned to China via Europe, and continued to support the anti Japanese movement. On December 20, 1938 he died in the province of Shandong
.
Anti-Japanese Volunteer Armies
After the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, and until 1933, large volunteer armies waged war against Japanese and Manchukuo forces over much of Northeast China....
resisting the Japanese pacification of Manchukuo
Pacification of Manchukuo
The Pacification of Manchukuo, was a campaign to pacify the resistance to the newly established puppet state of Manchukuo between the Anti-Japanese Volunteer Armies of Manchuria and later the Communist Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army and the Imperial Japanese Army and the forces of the...
.
Wang Delin was born in October 1875. He became a bandit in Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
after the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n invasion in July 1900 when Tsarist forces were sent to Northeast China
Northeast China
Northeast China, historically known in English as Manchuria, is a geographical region of China, consisting of the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The region is sometimes called the Three Northeast Provinces...
, to protect the Russian-owned Chinese Eastern Railway
Chinese Eastern Railway
The Chinese Eastern Railway or was a railway in northeastern China . It connected Chita and the Russian Far East. English-speakers have sometimes referred to this line as the Manchurian Railway...
or CER. Wang declared his opposition to both the Russians and China's Qing dynasty, describing himself as "forced to become an outlaw to cast out the Russians and save the nation". His band operated attacking trains along the eastern part of the CER, in the Muleng
Muling
Muling is a county-level city of Mudanjiang, southeastern Heilongjiang, Northeast China, on the border with the Russia. As of 2004, It has an area of and a population of 330,000.-External links:*...
and Suifen
Suifenhe
Suifenhe , is a city in southeastern Heilongjiang province, Northeast China, located situated where the former Chinese Eastern Railway crosses the border with Russia's Primorsky Krai.The city shares its name with the Suifen River....
areas. He also attacked Russian shipping on the Songhua and Ussuri rivers and held captives for ransom. Wang was an outlaw for years, even beyond the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911.
In 1917, Wang agreed that he and his followers would become part of the Jilin
Jilin
Jilin , is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. Jilin borders North Korea and Russia to the east, Heilongjiang to the north, Liaoning to the south, and Inner Mongolia to the west...
provincial forces, himself as commander of the Third Battalion of the First Brigade of the Jilin Army. Wang brought with him, two companions who had been with him for many years, Wu Yicheng
Wu Yicheng
Wu Yicheng one of Wang Delins companions who had been with him for many years as a bandit, was made one of Wang's company commanders along with Kong Xianrong, when Wang was taken into the Kirin Provincial army and became a battalion commander...
and Kong Xianrong
Kong Xianrong
Kong Xianrong one of Wang Delin's companions who had been with him for many years as a bandit, was made one of Wang's company commanders along with Wu Yicheng, when Wang was taken into the Kirin Provincial army and became a battalion commander. When Wang Delin refused to submit to the Japanese...
, each commanding a company. Still a battalion commander at the time of the Mukden Incident
Mukden Incident
The Mukden Incident, also known as the Manchurian Incident, was a staged event that was engineered by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for invading the northern part of China known as Manchuria in 1931....
in 1931, Wang was stationed near Yanji
Yanji
Yanji , also known as Yeon'gil from its Korean name , is the seat of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, eastern Jilin province, Northeast China. Its population is approximately 400,000 of which a large section is ethnic Korean...
, a small town in the east of Jilin province, where the Japanese were constructing a new, railway line. After Wang's troops fired on a party of Japanese surveyors, his commander attempted to persuade him to move his battalion with an offer of promotion. Wang refused to submit to the Manchukuo
Manchukuo
Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...
regime and his defiance attracted others to join him. When on February 8, 1932, Wang Delin proclaimed the establishment of the Chinese People's National Salvation Army
Anti-Japanese Volunteer Armies
After the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, and until 1933, large volunteer armies waged war against Japanese and Manchukuo forces over much of Northeast China....
(NSA), his battalion of 200 men had swollen to a force of over 1,000.
By capturing the town of Dunhua
Dunhua
Dunhua is a city in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in southeastern Jilin province, Northeast China. It has more than 480,000 inhabitants and was the capital of Balhae between 742–756, known at the time as "Junggyeong"...
on February 20, the Wang reversed the Japanese advance which had seemed irrestistible until then. He was attracting the support of peasant brotherhoods and bandits, and a few Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n nationalists, that were already taking up arms against the recently proclaimed State of Manchukuo. By the end of the month, the NSA was 4,600 strong. To bring in more recruits. Wang appealed to the patriotism of Chinese soldiers in the Manchukuo forces to not fight other Chinese, shaming them into deserting and joining the volunteers. The tactic succeeded, bringing large numbers of well-armed and trained recruits.
In March 1932, a Japanese and Manchukuoan expeditionary force was defeated in a series of battles with the NSA around the shore of Lake Jingbo
Lake Jingpo
Lake Jingpo or Lake Jingbo , is a lake located on the Wanda Mountains, in Ningan County, Heilongjiang in China, in the upper reaches of Mudan River. Earlier names for Lake Jingpo include Meituohu Lake, Huhanhai Lake and Bi’erteng Lake....
losing hundreds of casualties. These battles were small in scale, the volunteers using their knowledge of the local terrain to set ambushes, eventually compelling the Japanese to retreat to Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
.
By this time Wang had about 10,000 men and he was recognized as a general by the "Old Kirin" leader Gen. Li Du
Li Du
Li Du or Li Tu , was one of the leaders of the Kirin Self-Defence Army, one of the volunteer armies resisting the Japanese and the puppet state of Manchukuo in Manchuria in 1932....
at his headquarters at Sanxing
Yilan County, Heilongjiang
Yilan County is a county of central Heilongjiang province in Northeast China. It administratively belonging to Harbin, the provincial capital, more than to the west...
in Heilongjiang Province on the lower Sungari River. He along with Gen. Ting Chao
Ting Chao
Ting Chao or Ding Chao was a Chinese General, known for his defense of Harbin during the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and 1932....
raised a number of volunteers to supplement their regulars defeated at Harbin the previous year. These various forces constituted themselves initially as the Kirin Self-Defence Army, but by the end of April 1932 they were known as the National Salvation Army
Anti-Japanese Volunteer Armies
After the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, and until 1933, large volunteer armies waged war against Japanese and Manchukuo forces over much of Northeast China....
.
The Japanese had concentrated northwest of Harbin against General Ma Zhanshan
Ma Zhanshan
Ma Zhanshan or Ma Chan-san , was a Chinese Muslim general who initially opposed the Imperial Japanese Army in the invasion of Manchuria, briefly defected to Manchukuo, and then rebelled, and fought against the Japanese in Manchuria and in other parts of China.-Early life:Ma was born...
in spring and summer of 1932, which allowed the increase in partisan activity in Jilin and Liaoning provinces. This activity culminated in simultaneous attacks on cities throughout the South Manchurian Railway Zone as severe August floods halted Japanese operations based on Harbin, and isolated the troops engaged on them. Japanese preparations for invading Jehol
Jehol
Jehol could mean either a province or a city:* Jehol Province, former province in northeastern China* Chengde, the capital of above provinceNamed after the province:* Jehol Biota* Jeholodens* Jeholopterus* Jeholornis* Jeholosaurus...
province later that year had to be halted by the need to subdue this widespread partisan activity, and with Japanese forces concentrated to the west, the forces of Wang and Feng Zhanhai
Feng Zhanhai
Feng Zhanhai or Feng Chan-hai, 冯占海,, was one of the leaders of the volunteer armies resisting the Japanese and the puppet state of Manchukuo in Manchuria. Feng was born on November 6, 1899. At eighteen he joined the Dongbei Army, and later entered a military school graduating in 1921...
managed to briefly occupy the capital of Jilin province.
However things began to go wrong when the NSA became embroiled in disputes with General Li Du's Jilin Self-Defence Army
Jilin Self-Defence Army
The Jilin Self-Defence Army was formed in late January 1932, as the Manchukuoan and Japanese troops closed in on Harbin. General Ting Chao, Li Du, Feng Zhanhai, Xing Zhanqing, and Zhao Yi organised the Jilin Self-Defence Army in order to prevent the fall and occupation of the city. This brought...
. One of Li's subordinates tried to persuade one of Wang Delin's commanders to put his force into the Self-Defence Army. Also, NSA troops were killed by the Self-Defence Army for the confiscation of the weapons of a White Russian mine owner. Finally, Li,s subordinate was put in a sack and thrown into a river, probably at the instigation of Wang Delin's deputy, Kong Xianrong. This rift forced the abandonment of the city.
The Japanese followed up with "Anti Bandit" Operations that fall and winter that eventually drove the Volunteer armies to break up into small bands or retreat into the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
as Wang's force did on January 13, 1933. Eventually Wang returned to China via Europe, and continued to support the anti Japanese movement. On December 20, 1938 he died in the province of Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
.