Operation Manchurian Freedom (1983: Doomsday)

Operation Manchurian Freedom, known by some locals as the First Manchurian War, was a conflict between the Union of Sovereign Socialist Republics and the remnant states of the former Chinese provinces of Manchuria. The operation began in 1990 with the Siberian invasion of Northern Manchuria, ending in the annexation of the region by the USSR. The war is considered the largest conflict to erupt in the region since Doomsday, followed by the Second Manchurian War which would occur twenty-two years later following the bombing of a passenger train heading from Primorskaya Territory in Siberia to Korea, killing 137 people.

Background
Before Doomsday the area of Manchuria was characterized by its importance manufacturing which contributed to the Chinese national infrastructure. Its industrial prominence and its key strategic location made the area a moderately targeted area on doomsday, receiving numerous nuclear strikes from the USSR, particularly along the coast and southern portions of the region. The local government was shattered immensely, leading to an increase in looting and other crimes. Several local military leaders would assume control of the area, fighting for dominance in the chaos. Several generals from the Shenyang Military Region, and the northern section of the Beijing Military Region would claim to be the true successors to the Chinese government, however to little success.

Many fled into the USSR and other neighboring areas in the early months of the post-doomsday conflict. Others, struggling to survive would organize themselves into raiding parties, attacking Siberian frontier towns. Food and other necessities were in great demand for the Chinese, turning many to the border for basic supplies. The raiding soon became widespread, and with the Siberia government in chaos, defense of the border largely fell the Russian citizens themselves. Skirmishes and racial prejudice was common, leaving many dead along China National Highway 301, and other well traveled roads.

As order began to reemerge in Siberia, the local Russian population petitioned the union for aid, as the defense of the region had become too much of an economic strain for the citizens. The Siberian government, tired of the problem, looked for a more permanent solution, hoping to establish a buffer between Siberia and lawless China to the south.

Outbreak of War
In 1990, Geydar Aliyev, 1st leader of the Union of Sovereign Socialist Republics, approved a plan to invade Northern Manchuria by the end of spring that year. Supplies were gathered and guards were established in Zabaykalsky Krai and Amur to stale opposition in time for an army to be gathered. In April the invasion commenced as units from the 7th and 35th armies crossed into Manchuria.

The assault was spearheaded by Russian tanks which entered from the northeast, meeting small resistance near Bei’an. Within a few weeks a separate force consisting primarily of the 21st Guards Motor Rifle Division and the 128th Machinegun-Artillery Division, from the Far East Military District managed to secure Shuangyashan and begin advancing toward Harbin. The eastern force was pinned down along the highway by a large band of raiders, and the front remained through Hiqhar for the next month.

North Manchuria was temporarily designated as a territory and put under military rule. The territory consisted of the Russian occupied zone up to that point, reaching into southern Heilongjiang. It was not until November 1995 that the Territory was integrated as a state in the Union and was renamed the Manchurian Socialist Republic.

For the next several months Russian forces were primarily tasked with pacifying the newly created Manchurian territory. Small arms fire and protests in major cities were common, leading to increased Siberian presence in Qiqihar, Daqing, Harbin, Yichun, and Hegang. Some of the local Chinese forces, loosely rallied under a manchurian warlord, Zhang Caiwen, would continue to resist the Siberia invasion. Although attacks remained uncoordinated and isolated, under the proper leadership the Chinese militia was able to successfully harass Siberia supply trains, rising the Siberia death toll in the countryside where the invaders sought to pacify. Internal fighting began to slowly tear the fledgling resistance apart, starting in January 1991 when Zhang Caiwen was assassinated by a local warlord following a raid on his camp in Jilin.

The main force camped south of Mudanjiang became under the control of Hou Shusen, one of Zhang Caiwen’s officers. Eager to prove himself and hopefully end the opposition from rival factions, an attack was led on Mudanjiang on 12 February 1991.



The attack reached its height at approximately 9:00 PM local time, in which the Chinese forces managed to cross onto the northern river bank, engaging in bloody hand-to-hand combat against the Siberia artillery encampment to the north. As the night went on the Chinese casualties grew. Lack of communication led to friendly fire and many civilians killed. The majority of the surviving Chinese force had already routed by midnight. By the next morning Hou Shusen had withdrawn, suffering horrendous casualties. Fearing that he would suffer a similar fate to his predecessor, Hou Shusen disappeared into the surrounding area, falling into obscurity. The Siberians officially ended the war in 1991, signing a loose agreement with several local militia leaders. The area of Northern Manchuria was incorporated as a territory into the USSR, although skirmishes and raids would continue for years.

Siberian Rule
Following the treaty raids were still common. Northern rebel leader, Liu Yuejun assumed control of the Chinese forces, launching a campaign from the west. The Siberian, fortifying their defenses in the major cities, would fight back dozens of attacks launched from the south and west. On 7 April 1993 the militia managed to salvage enough supplies to launch a major offensive against the Siberian garrison in Daqing. Utilizing artillery seized from the south and from the former factories in Manchuria, Liu Yuejun positioned his men to surround the major routes out of the city, bombarding the garrison for several hours.

Sensing an opportunity to counterattack, the Siberian officer in charge of the defense, Iosif Gusakovsky, sent an assault force to engage a hole in the Chinese defenses. In the hastily established defense, a reasonably sized gap was sighted from Route 301 to the eastern flank, allowing Siberian transports to cut the Chinese in two. The USSR attacked the Chinese right flank, inflicting large casualties and eliminating a valuable Chinese position. The Chinese left flank retaliated, entering the city along route 301, and engaging the Siberians farther down the route. The Chinese managed to make a small advance, securing the center of the city by nightfall. The Chinese attackers to the far left were tasked with continuing the assault, surrounding the Siberian flank. That night the Siberians managed to hold off the assault, routing the Chinese flank, which would flee the battle.

By morning Liu Yuejun was forced to write up a new strategy. The central Chinese force had no choice but to fall back to cover the inevitable Siberian counterattack, drawing a new line farther south. As the main Siberian attack began the Chinese were unable to hold back the Siberians, and Liu Yuejun called for a retreat.

The battle proved to the USSR's command that the Manchurian threat was still as real as ever. Plans for an end to the rebels were written, beginning in April of 1993 with the movement of the Daqing veterans farther south. Liu Yuejun panicked, ordering his ragtag army into Jilin. In the north Chiness forces under Meng Jinxi engaged the Siberian reinforcements at the Battle of Zalantun, where the Chinese managed to achieve a small victory.

Forces in the north were rallied, leading Meng Jinxi to move his forces south to surround the Siberian advance and support Liu Yuejun. The Siberian forces caught up to Liu Yuejun on 1 June 1993, laying siege to the city of Fuyu. The Chinese were able to create defenses out of the city’s rubble, creating a valiant defense against the Siberians, who were using artillery from the north. Meng Jinxi’s army would be pinned down at Ulan Hot by the Siberian flank, preventing reinforcements from arriving in time. On 5 June the city surrendered, and Liu Yuejun was captured. Liu Yuejun was later transferred to a prisoner camp in the northwest, facing malnutrition and disease, he attempted to lead an escape, ending in his execution.

The USSR would take Mudanjiang in the east, one of the last main hubs of resistance against the invasion. Despite this, Chinese raiders would continue to harass Siberian supply trains for months to come, until the last of the Chinese raider factions disbanded in 1995.

Small groups of raiders were sent from Tongliao, destroying two Siberian trucks in the withdraw. The minor victory along Route 202 would be seen by the Qing as a success, although accomplishing little. Small raidering groups would continue to aid the resistance, fighting in the southwest until the end of the war in 1995. One notable raid was led by Yang Jianting on 7 September 1994. The small band, recovering from several days of fleeing the Siberian patrols near Taonan, regrouped and attacked the Siberian watch at Ulan Hot that night. The Chinese ended under the cover of darkness, opening fire on a passing vehicle. The raiders managed to destroy two gas tanks, igniting a fire in the north of the town. When the raiders fled, over two dozen Siberians were killed, including Boris Sergeyev, a Siberian officer.

The Chinese raids, which some speculate were secretly backed financially by Imperial China, became less successful as the USSR established a tighter grip on the region. Although the Siberians had abandoned the south, the Chinese still lacked the resources to retake the area around Dalian. Any remaining factions in southern Manchuria would eventually withdraw all support, falling back to what would later become their border following the peace of 1995.

Aftermath
In 1991 the territory of Northern Manchuria was annexed by the USSR, ending the main phase of invasion. This area would remain under Siberian rule, despite numerous Chinese attempts to take back the region. Although the Siberians perceived hostilities would end, conflict would continue until 1995. With the last of the Chinese freedom fighter groups abandoning the north in 1995, the Siberians solidified their control over the area, leading to the pacification of Sino-Siberian border. With the north firmly in Siberian hands, the Manchurian Socialist Republic was declared in 1995, encompassing the former Siberian territory of northern Manchuria and a large section of the Siberian occupied area.

Imperial China would continue to be hostile toward the USSR following the war. The Qing believe that the USSR annexed several of their "fiefdoms" to the north out of "pure hostility and with brute force". This hatred would finally culminate in the Second Manchurian War, with the Siberian offensive known as Operation Mars. By August of 2012 Imperial China was occupied, and the USSR would reconstitute the Manchurian Territory, ending Chinese resistance in the south for good.