Thread by @CarlZha

Chiang Kai-shek called Soviet Union a PAPER TIGER during 1929 Sino-Soviet conflict. He says Russians absolutely has no power to enforce their empty threats. We're not scared of them. If they invade, we will just fight them.

The war didn't go well for China. a 🧵

Japan inflicted a crushing defeat on China in 1st Sino-Japanese War 1894-1895 by sinking China's 1st modern fleet and destroying Chinese army in land.
China was forced to cede Taiwan and Liaodong Liaotung Peninsula in S Manchuria.

However Russia wanted Manchuria for itself

Russia led Triple Intervention by sending its fleet w France and Germany to Japan to force Japan to give Liaodong Peninsula back to China in exchange for a large sum of money (30 million tael of silver) China had pay to redeem it

Viceroy Li Hong Chang who signed the humiliating treaty of Treaty of Shimonoseki ceding Taiwan to Japan, then traveled to Russia for coronation of Tsar Nicholas II in 1896 where he signed Sino-Russian Secret Treaty aka Li–Lobanov Treaty for secret alliance agst Japan.

Sino-Russian Secret Treaty 1896 allowed Russia 2 build China Eastern Railway (CER) that cuts thru Manchuria 2 Vladivostok, connect 2 strategic Port Arthur in Dalian which Russia forcibly leased in 1898 as its Far Eastern Fleet HQ.

CER controlled land 10km either side of tracks

After 1905 Russo-Japanese War, Japan sunk Russian Far Eastern Fleet and captured Port Arthur along w S Manchurian Railway. But Northern section of China Eastern Railway remain in Russian control.

Right: Harbin station of China Eastern Railway

After October Revolution, Allied Forces(including China) intervened in Russian Civil War. Lenin announced on July, 1919 and Sept 1920 that Soviet Russia abrogate ALL unequal treaties btw Tsarist Russia and China and unconditionally return China Eastern Railway to China

Side note: Trans-Siberian railway skirting around Chinese territory only completed in 1916 because aft 1905 Russo-Japanese War, Japan took over Southern Manchurian railway south of Changchun

Russia used China Eastern Rail to ship 330k troops outnumbering 270k IJA in the war

Beijing gov didn’t respond to Lenin’s overture bc frictions btw 2 warlord factions Zhili clique under Cao Kun (left) and Anhui clique under Duan Qirui(right) broke out in Zhili–Anhui War in 1920.

Manchurian warlord Zhang Zuolin (left) led Fentian clique intervened in Zhili-Anhui war, led to Zhili victory and coalition gov of Zhili-Fentian.

Then 1st Fentian-Zhili War broke out in 1922, General Wu Peifu (right) led Zhili clique to victory kick Zhang back 2 Manchuria

In July 1919, Soviet diplomat Lev Karakhan officially issued Karakhan Manifesto which offer to gave up all rights Tsarist Russia gained thru unequal treaties w China:
extraterritoriality, economic concessions, Russia's share of the Boxer indemnity.

And return China Eastern Rail

Soviet made the offer of returning China Eastern Rail as Red Army advancing thru Siberia and Treaty of Versailles giving German colony Qingdao to Japan outraged Chinese.

However Soviet took CER off the table as Red Army made rapid gains and pro-Japan Chinese warlords hesitated

Finally in 1924 Chinese diplomat Wellington Koo met w Karakhan to sign 中蘇解決懸案大綱協定. China Eastern Railway to be under joint management of USSR and China.

But 2nd Zhili-Fentian War broke out, Manchurian warlord Zhang Zuolin won. USSR signed another treaty奉俄协定 w Zhang

In 1925, Soviet backed warlord "Christian General" Feng Yuxiang(L) declared war agst Manchurian warlord Zhang Zuolin (R)

USSR controlled China Eastern Rail citing nonpayment refused 2 let Zhang ship his troops 2 Beijing. Zhang arrested Soviet manager. Karakhan issued ultimatum

Soviet backed Sun Yatsen's KMT gov in Guangzhou, setup Whampoa Military Academy to train a KMT army. Chinese Communists encouraged to join KMT.

Zhou Enlai (L) as the Political Director and Chiang Kai-shek (R) as the Principal of the Whampoa Military Academy in 1924

Chiang Kai-shek(L) led the KMT-CPC coalition army in Northern Expedition agst Chinese warlords in 1927.

Zhou Enlai(R) led workers uprising in Shanghai chased out warlord army to welcome KMT army.

Then Chiang started Shanghai massacre agst Communists

After purging Communists, Chiang Kai-shek broke relations w USSR

Soviet military adviser for KMT in Northern Expedition agst warlords was Vasily Blyukher who's known as Galen (aft his wife Galina)加倫將軍. 1 of Blyukher's pupil in Whampoa Military Academy was 17 yr old Lin Biao

Chiang made alliance w other Chinese warlords Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan to defeat Manchurian warlord Zhang Zuolin (R) who had occupied Beijing. Japanese Kwantung Army kill Zhang by blowing up his train.

His son Zhang Xueliang submitted to Chiang nominally uniting China

Chiang Kai-shek(R) encouraged new Manchurian warlord Zhang Xueliang (L), his little sworn brother to turn agst Soviet in Manchuria.

Zhang Xueliang (w wife and Chiang couple) decide to go aft USSR controlled China Eastern Rail bc White Russian general Tomashevsky told him that USSR collectivization caused huge famine, millions death in breadbasket Ukraine, farmers resent its rule. USSR diplomatically isolated

Zhang Xueliang order arrests of Soviet diplomats and seizure of China Eastern Rail. USSR issued ultimatum.
Chiang said USSR is a paper tiger and encouraged Zhang to continue by saying his gov will send 100k troops reinforcement and millions of silver dollars to Manchuria

USSR launched a massive response under the command of none other than frmer advisor to Chiang Kai-shek, Vasily Blyukher. Red Army attack across multiple front of Manchurian border.

Zhang Xueliang's 270k troops crumbled in face of Soviet attack on land, air and water. His entire Amur river fleet wiped out

USSR forcibly occupied islands in Amur river, renamed them Taraborov and Bolshoy Ussuriysky. China only got part of it back in 2004 border negotiation

Chiang Kai-shek wanted Zhang to continue to resist USSR but Zhang came to his sense and started to negotiate. He send his rep to sign Khabarovsk Protocol to restore status quo but KMT gov refused to recognize it.

1 result of 1929 Sino-USSR conflict is massive expulsion of Chinese frm Russian Far East. By 1937, the destruction of Chinese quarter Millionka in Vladivostok is complete. Vladivostok where Chinese once made up significant part of population became Chinese free zone.

1929 Sino-Soviet conflict led Japanese Kwangtung Army officers to conclude Zhang Xueliang's 270k troops are in fact useless. IJA launched its take over of Manchuria shortly after in 1931.

The fact that my China history thread get no where near the amount of likes than those silly Galeev threads tells you all that's wrong w the Anglophone world on Twitter

https://twitter.com/CarlZha/status/1493665318740234240?s=20&t=tfbSmFh4ST3-zGEf9QvQzQ

This thread is also why I steer clear frm Warlords Era in Modern Chinese history on my Silk and Steel Podcast @SteelSilkn because it's a absolute mess. It will take a thousand episodes just to make sense of it all. Ditto Cultural Revolution