Key Facts
- Year
- 1934
- Uyghur civilian deaths (est.)
- 1,700–7,000
- Duration of initial attacks
- Six days
- British consulate staff killed
- Multiple, in two March 1934 incidents
- Distance of Khoja Niyas Hajji's trek
- 300 miles from Aksu
Strategic Narrative Overview
Four separate Turkic attacks over six days besieged Chinese Muslim and Han forces under Gen. Ma Zhancang inside Kashgar. Khoja Niyas Hajji's fighters reached the city walls on 13 January 1934. Gen. Ma Fuyuan's New 36th Division then stormed Kashgar, breaking the siege and routing the Uyghur and Kirghiz forces. Reinforcements from Yarkand, Hotan, and Kyrgyz tribesmen bolstered the Turkic side but could not reverse the outcome.
01 / The Origins
During the Kumul Rebellion in Xinjiang, Turkic Muslim Uyghur and Kirghiz fighters aligned with the First East Turkestan Republic sought to expel Han and Hui Chinese forces from Kashgar. Emir Abdullah Bughra and other separatist leaders launched a coordinated offensive, while Khoja Niyas Hajji marched 300 miles from Aksu to join the assault. The conflict reflected deep ethnic and political tensions between Turkic separatists and the Chinese Republic's authority over Xinjiang.
03 / The Outcome
Ma Zhancang and Ma Fuyuan defeated the remaining Turkic fighters and retook Kashgar. Between 1,700 and 7,000 Uyghur civilians were killed in reprisal for the Kizil massacre. Troops of the New 36th Division also murdered several British consulate staff in March 1934. In April 1934, Gen. Ma Zhongying addressed Uyghurs at Idgah mosque, urging loyalty to the Republic of China government in Nanjing, consolidating central authority over the region.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Emir Abdullah Bughra, Khoja Niyas Hajji.
Side B
1 belligerent
Ma Zhancang, Ma Fuyuan, Ma Zhongying.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.