The First World War, the Washington System, and the Asia-Pacific War: A Definitive Study Guide

The First World War and the Twenty-One Demands in East Asia

• Context of Japanese Expansion: After the Russo-Japanese War, Japan solidified control over the Korean peninsula. The First World War (1914–1918) presented a "divine provenance" for Japan to advance its destiny, as stated by elder statesman (genro) Inoue Kaoru.
• Entry into World War I:
  • Japan utilized the Anglo-Japanese Alliance ($1902$) as a pretext to declare war on Germany on August $23$, $1914$.
  • Objectives: Seize German concessions in Jiaozhou Bay (Kiautschou) and German-controlled Pacific islands north of the Equator.
  • Economic Shift: Japan transitioned from a debtor nation with $1.1 \times 10^9\,\text{yen}$ ($550\,\text{billion US\$}$) in debt in $1914$ to a creditor nation owed over $2.7 \times 10^9\,\text{yen}$ ($1.35\,\text{billion US\$}$) by $1920$ due to a munitions boom.
• The Twenty-One Demands ($1915$): Submitted by Minister Hioki Eki to Chinese President Yuan Shikai. Divided into five groups:
  • Group 1: Secure rights in the German concession in Shandong.
  • Group 2: Strengthen Japan's special position in Southern Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia.
  • Group 3: Joint management of the Hanyeping Iron and Steel Company.
  • Group 4: Prohibiting China from ceding or leasing coastal ports to other powers.
  • Group 5: (The most controversial) Demanded Japanese advisors in Chinese political/military departments and joint policing. This group was eventually withdrawn due to intense international pressure and Chinese opposition.
• Consequences of the Demands: China accepted the reduced demands on May $9$, $1915$, a date remembered as "National Humiliation Day." This sparked the first earnest wave of anti-Japanese nationalism in China.

The Russian Revolution and the Siberian Intervention

• Russian Revolution ($1917$): The February Revolution (abdication of Tsar Nicolas II) and the October Revolution (Bolsheviks led by Lenin). Lenin issued the "Decree of Peace," advocating for national self-determination and peace without annexations or indemnities.
• Siberian Intervention ($1918\text{--}1922$):
  • Triggered by the "Czech Legion" ($50,000$ soldiers) fighting the Red Army along the Trans-Siberian Railway.
  • Japan's Deployment: Mobilized an massive force of over $70,000$ men, significantly larger than the US ($9,000$), Britain ($6,000$), or China ($2,000$).
  • Goal: Secure influence from Lake Baikal to Vladivostok and suppress the spread of socialist ideology, which threatened the Japanese Emperor system.
  • Withdrawal: Japan's presence became isolated after other nations left by $1920$. Domestic opposition spiked following the "Rice Riots" of $1918$ and the "Nikolayevsk Massacre" ($380$ Japanese killed in $1920$). Japanese forces finally withdrew from Siberia in $1922$.

The Versailles and Washington Systems

• Paris Peace Conference ($1919$): Established the "Versailles System." Japan attended as one of the "Big Five" (with US, Britain, France, Italy).
  • Shandong Question: Despite Chinese protests, the Treaty of Versailles ($1919$) recognized the transfer of German rights in Shandong to Japan.
• The Washington Conference ($1921\text{--}1922$):
  • Four-Power Treaty: (US, Britain, France, Japan) Agreed to maintain the status quo in the Pacific; terminated the Anglo-Japanese Alliance.
  • Five-Power Treaty (Washington Naval Treaty): Set capital ship ratios at $5:5:3$ for the US, Britain, and Japan respectively.
  • Nine-Power Treaty: Signatories agreed to respect China's sovereignty and "Open Door" policy, though extraterritoriality and fixed tariffs remained in place.

Nationalist Movements: The March First and May Fourth Movements

• March First Movement (Korea, $1919$):
  • Inspired by Woodrow Wilson’s "Fourteen Points" and the principle of self-determination.
  • Scale: Over $2,000,000$ people participated in $1,500$ gatherings. Brutal suppression followed (e.g., Jeam-ri massacre).
  • Transition: Forced Japan to shift from "Militaristic Rule" to "Cultural Rule" (Bunka Seiji), allowing limited freedom of speech and Korean-language publications.
• May Fourth Movement (China, $1919$):
  • Began as a student protest in Tiananmen Square ($3,000$ students) against the Versailles Treaty and pro-Japanese traitors like Cao Rulin.
  • Outcome: Developed into a nationwide boycott of Japanese goods and strikes by workers and merchants. The Chinese delegation refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles.

The First United Front and the Northern Expedition

• Communist Movements: Comintern (Communist International) promoted the "Thesis on the National and Colonial Question." Communist parties formed in China ($1921$), Japan ($1922$), and Korea ($1925$).
• Guomindang (GMD) and Soviet Cooperation: Sun Yat-sen established the "First United Front" ($1924$) with the USSR and CCP. The Whampoa Military Academy was created to train a revolutionary officer corps.
• The Northern Expedition ($1926\text{--}1928$): Launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) under Chiang Kai-shek to defeat warlords (Zhili, Fengtian cliques).
  • April $12$ Coup ($1927$): Chiang Kai-shek purged the CCP in Shanghai, leading to the collapse of the First United Front and the establishment of the Nanjing Nationalist Government.
  • Jinan Incident ($1928$): Japanese troops clashed with the NRA in Shandong, killing thousands of Chinese to protect Japanese interests.

Japan’s Invasion of Manchuria and the Puppet State of Manchukuo

• The Manchurian Incident (September $18$, $1931$): Officers Ishiwara Kanji and Itagaki Seishiro of the Kwantung Army blew up tracks of the South Manchuria Railway (Mantetsu) at Liutiaohu (Mukden) as a pretext for invasion.
• Manchukuo ($1932\text{--}1945$): A puppet state established with its capital at Shinkyo (Changchun). Puyi (the last Qing emperor) was installed as "Chief Executive" and later Emperor.
  • International Response: The Lytton Commission (League of Nations) found the occupation illegal. Japan withdrew from the League in $1933$.
• Shanghai Incident (January $28$, $1932$): Fighting between Japanese forces and the Chinese Nineteenth Route Army in Shanghai to divert attention from Manchuria.

Sino-Japanese Conflict and the Second United Front

• North China Buffer State Strategy: Japan attempted to detach five northern provinces from Nanjing. The "Tanggu Truce" ($1933$) established a demilitarized zone in eastern Hebei.
• Xi’an Incident (December $1936$): Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng kidnapped Chiang Kai-shek to force a cessation of civil war and a joint front with the CCP against Japan. This led to the "Second United Front."
• Marco Polo Bridge Incident (July $7$, $1937$): A skirmish involving the Japanese Garrison Army in China erupted into all-out war. Chiang Kai-shek issued the "Lushan Declaration," calling for total resistance.

All-Out War: Massacres and Stalemate

• Nanjing Massacre (December $1937$): After the fall of Nanjing, Japanese troops engaged in six weeks of slaughter and rape. Death toll estimates reach over $300,000$ people; an estimated $20,000$ rapes occurred.
• Protracted War: The Chinese government moved the capital to Chongqing. Significant battles included Pingxingguan ($1937$) and Taierzhuang ($1938$), where China achieved major tactical victories.
• Japanese Atrocities: The "Three Alls Strategy" (Sanko Sakusen): "Burn all, kill all, loot all." Regular use of chemical weapons ($375$ times during the Battle of Wuhan alone).

The Asia-Pacific War ($1941\text{--}1945$)

• Strategic Shift: Japan signed the Tripartite Pact ($1940$) with Germany and Italy. Following a US oil embargo, Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December $7$, $1941$.
• Mobilization and Plunder:
  • Labor: Over $800,000$ Koreans were forcibly recruited for munitions factories and mines. Military drafting for Koreans began in $1944$.
  • "Comfort Women": Women from Korea and elsewhere were forcibly mobilized as sexual slaves for the Japanese military.
  • Co-Prosperity Sphere: Japan promoted the "Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere" as a "holy war" to liberate Asia, which functioned as a system to exploit resources.

The Collapse of Imperial Japan

• Allied Conferences:
  • Cairo Conference ($1943$): Stipulated Japan’s return of Manchuria/Taiwan and recognized Korea’s eventual independence.
  • Potsdam Declaration ($1945$): Demanded unconditional surrender.
• Atomic Bombings and Soviet Entry: Atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima (August $6$) and Nagasaki (August $9$). The Soviet Union declared war on Japan on August $8$, attacking the Kwantung Army in Manchuria.
• Surrender: Emperor Hirohito broadcast the surrender on August $15$, $1945$. The formal signing took place aboard the USS Missouri on September $2$, $1945$.

Biographies and Perspectives

• Jeong Yul-seong ($1914\text{--}1976$): A Korean patriot and composer who wrote the military anthems for both the Chinese People's Liberation Army (March of the Eighth Route Army) and the North Korean People's Army.
• Historiography of Atomic Bombs: Different views exist. US/China/South Korea often view the bombs as a necessary means to end the war quickly, whereas in Japan, the focus is frequently on a shared consciousness of victimhood and pacifism.
• War Terminology: Various names include "War of Resistance against Japan" (China), "Pacific War" (US), "Sixteen-Year Sino-Japanese War" (Post-war Japan), and "Asia-Pacific War" (Modern scholarship).