1933 campaign between the armies of China and Japan before the Second Sino-Japanese War
Japan's capture of Rehe extended Manchukuo's border to the Great Wall, escalating Sino-Japanese tensions before the 1937 war.
Key Facts
- Duration
- January 1 – May 31, 1933
- Japanese name
- Operation Nekka (熱河作戰)
- English alias
- First Battle of Hopei
- Territory captured
- Inner Mongolian province of Rehe
- Incorporated into
- Manchukuo
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and the creation of the puppet state of Manchukuo, Japan sought to expand its territorial control southward into Inner Mongolia. The province of Rehe, held by Chinese warlord Zhang Xueliang, lay between Manchukuo and the Great Wall and was targeted as a strategic extension of Japan's new state.
From January 1 to May 31, 1933, Japanese forces engaged Republic of China armies in a campaign known as the Defense of the Great Wall or Operation Nekka. Japan successfully overran the province of Rehe, forcing Zhang Xueliang's forces back to the Great Wall itself, and concluded the campaign with a ceasefire on May 31.
Japan annexed Rehe into Manchukuo, pushing that state's southern frontier to the Great Wall of China. The campaign ended with the Tanggu Truce, formalizing Chinese concessions and creating a demilitarized buffer zone. This outcome deepened Chinese humiliation and contributed to the conditions that led to the full-scale Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Zhang Xueliang.
Side B
2 belligerents