OTL equivalent: Sino-Soviet conflicts
Russo-Chinese conflict | |||||||
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The Russo-Chinese conflicts were a series military clashes between Russia and China in the aftermath of World War II and time frame encompassing the early parts of our OT Cold War.
In spite of Chiang Kai-shek receiving the blame from mainstream media, the war was truly caused by his rival Wang Jingwei, as well as ex-Japanese collaborators and rogue and disobedient factions of the Chinese military, which in the aftermath of World War II, was very decentralized.
Prior, Russia and China had been allies unified in their fight against the Japanese Empire, in spite of their political differences.
Many political observers felt that the Japanese Empire's territorial ambitions were emulated, even adopted by Chinese ultranationalists, who saw Chiang kai-shek as a coward and a sell-out, and a weak leader.
the Russian decision to revive the Chinese royal traditions and the Manchu Aisin Gioro, the Qing Dynasty line, as dynasties of Manchuria (a Russian Grand Principality), only infuriated the situation, leading to anti-monarchial movements across China.
Before either nation fired a shot, both were already having bitter-sweet relations.
This led to a number of proxy wars and skirmishes, caused by Chinese military leaders who no longer took any orders or regards from Chiang Kai-shek, mostly Wang Jingwei, whom Chiang Kai-Shek pardoned from military trials due to the former's collaboration with Japan. Wang Jingwei considered himself the Chinese head of state. The Korean War ensued, which ended in a Russian and Korean victory. However, Chinese forces successfully drove Russian forces out of Xinjiang, and defeated Russian forces in many Inner Manchuria cities, but allowed the remaining troops to leave unharmed, knowing that Russia had a large-scale technological advantage over China. Chiang Kai-shek had attempted to cease the war, but his military generals disobeyed his orders.
Relations normalized with a ceasefire in the 1960s, after Chen Cheng turned many Chinese generals against Wang Jingwei, with both nations having a fear of sustain great losses. Chiang Kai-shek feared Russia's technology superiority, as well as its arsenal of powerful allies in neighboring Korea, East Japan, as well as Germany and France, while Georgy Zhukov had feared exhausting Russia's military arsenal, and the peoples of Russia did not want to fight another blood war in the homeland. Trade relations resumed between the two afterwards.
History[]
In 1945, the entire Eurasia region was divided mainly between three rivaling superstates: Russia, China and the United States. Like in our OTL, Russia came out of World War II as the superpower of the Eastern World, and also is hostile with the U.S., not due to communism vs. democracy, but of territorial and political issues (namely monarchism vs. republicanism).
The three countries signed the Pacific Treaties, dividing the Asia-Pacific region into their respective spheres of influence. A portion of eastern Japan, the Korean Peninsula, the Kuril Islands, and Mongolia was now designated under the Russian sphere of influence, while the rest of Japan, the Philippines, Oceania was under the influence of the United States. The former Dutch East Indies, soon to form into the nascant Indonesia, became an uneasy Russia-friendly state. China however, received no share.
In spite of having the largest military force, China was the least developed and modernized of the three, militarily and economically, and Chiang Kai-shek knew that it had no means to compete against Russia and the U.S., at least for the time-being. They had full knowledge of Chiang Kai-shek's unhappiness with how Manchuria, Mongolia, Korea and Japan were divided, claiming that it catered to Western, American, European and Russian interests.
Moscow and Beijing both backed one another, with the Russians arguing that China should be treated as a major power and a political signatory, which the United States and British Empire reluctantly agreed to.
Wang Jingwei and Yan Xishan, two very important high-ranking generals within the nascent Chinese military, did not agree and heavily opposed the terms set forth by the North Pacific Treaty. The loss off Mongolia, as well as the cities of Harbin and Dalian (became Port Arthur) was not taken too lightly within the extreme radical factions of the Kuomintang.
China's military was under limited support from the European powers, especially its air force, tank force and nearly non-existent navy, to which were American-refurbished Japanese Imperial warships. In spite of this grim reality, Chiang Kai-shek did what he could to attempt making China appear as a dominant power of the East - but even more importantly, to keep stable relations with Russia and the United States, ordering the imprisonment of unruly military leaders.
Vladimir Ipatiev, Russia's Foreign Minister, on behalf of the Tsar, lambasted the Chinese military for the Korean Genocides, leading Korean monarchists to side with Russia and banned the Hanja script.
Hostilities begin - 1951[]
Wang Jingwei's opposition to the North Pacific Treaty[]
Extremists within the Chinese military began to form their own factions, and act according to their own without Chiang Kai-shek's approval, seeing him to be a weakling and a sell-out who compromised Chinese integrity. Wang Jingwei, the most vocal of these, spearheaded the fierce opposition to the Pacific Treaties signed with Russia and the United States, proclaimed himself the president of China, and proclaimed Beijing once again, the capital city of China, seeing the danger of Nanjing as the capital city, which would become a victim to either Russian or American naval bombardments. The situation once-again, mirrored the warlord era.
In the city of Nanjing, a city that the Russians had liberated from Japanese rule not too long ago, the 5th Nanjing Guard led by Bao Wenyue, carried out kidnappings of Russian diplomats and overseas. Chiang Kai-shek attempted to quell the unruly soldiers, to no avail, which simply worsened. At this point, China was technically at civil war, however Chiang Kai-shek's opponents attempted to portray themselves as "working together with differences", leading historians to label Chiang-Kai Shek as the main head of state of a China that warred against its former ally.
In 1952, another rogue Chinese military division, the 4th Inner Mongolia Army attacked Outer Mongolia, and fired artillery shells into the borders. In 1954, the situation spiraled out of control, and now, half of the Chinese military was acting on their own accords. These various actions were now in direct violation of the Pacific Agreements, therefore, China forfeited any possibly backings and aid from the United States, which would have been possible if the Russians had been the aggressors.
Full-out armed conflict - 1955-1956[]
In 1955, all bets were off, and the Russian Senate approved for military mobilization against what was, once its ally, forcing Chiang Kai-shek into a war he never instigated in the first place. His military advisors believed that a big military could overcome a technologically superior Russia. Wang Jingwei led Chinese forces to attack Russians in Inner Manchuria, ending up with a Chinese success. Generalissmus Alexander Kutepov immediately expelled China's ambassador, and ordered all military schools in Russia to expel Chinese soldiers, who had previously relied on Russia for military training.
General Zhukov sent forces into Xinjiang, however they too, were crushed by a Hui cavalry who served as part of the larger 1st Qinghai Army led by Ma Bufang, creating some feelings of hope for Chinese war hawks. But the Chinese victories in Xinjiang and Inner Manchuria led them to grow increasingly complacent.
In addition, Korea and Mongolia, both Russian allies contributed troops and sided with their ally against China, something which the Chinese military leaders had not considered. Therefore, Chinese forces started to attack and fired rockets and artillery into the borders with Korea, and made attacks deep into Korean territory, and committing atrocities against Koreans. After some mode of success, the attack was repulsed by Koreans and Russians.
The majority of Chinese military successes were owed to Wang Jingwei and Ma Bufang. Chen Cheng, one of Chiang Kai-shek's top military advisors who shared his views, reminded him of what had happened to Imperial Japan, who had technological on-par with the Russians, worrying that a similar fate awaited China if Chiang Kai-shek had continued attacking and provoking Russians. But at this point, Chiang Kai-shek could do little but issue orders that fell on deaf ears.
Attacks continued against Outer Mongolia, and several cities and airbases in Outer Manchuria, and utilizing an outdated navy consisting of old Imperial Japanese warships to attack the Russian naval base at Port Arthur, an attempted attack on Russian bases in the Korean Peninsula.
The Chinese ultranationalists had hoped to emulate Imperial Japan's early victory, on the belief that he could achieve what Emperor Hirohito couldn't. However, all of these attacks, ended up in miserable defeats. The humiliating Chinese defeats shattered China's image as a dominant power in the East.
Chiang Kai-shek Steps down, Wang Jingwei backstabbed - 1954[]
Chiang Kai-shek eventually stepped down as the President, replaced by Chen Cheng, who spearheaded the normalization of ties with Russia. The Russians offered Chiang Kai-shek refuge, upon recognizing that he had nothing to do with the instigation of war. Wang Jingwei however, continued to fight Russia, and inflict serious damage against Russian forces in China, until he was backstabbed by his generals, most notably Feng Yuxiang, who due to his conversion to Christianity, stated that it was a "spiritual duty" for Chinese Christians to side with Russia, since he latter was the protector of Christians of the Eastern World, in spite of the differences in theology between Methodists and Eastern Orthodox. The betrayal of Wang Jingwei by Feng Yuxiang ended any Chinese war hopes against Russia.
Cheng publicly re-iterated the vicious reality of China's state of being, non-existent economy, outdated military and political and economic isolation from the world. While he stood by Chiang Kai-shek's grievances, admitted that China in its current state was not a great power and was in no position to be asserting influence, and needed to restore diplomatic, economic and political relations with other nations.
Russian invasion of Outer Manchuria[]
As the Chinese had triggered the angry bear, the Senate approved for a full-on military incursion into the rest of Manchuria. They were greeted by Manchu Bannermen, who soured their views on the Republic of China as well, and shared the Bogd Khanate's wishes of retaining a monarchy.]
Formation of the Chinese Northern Alliance[]
Towards the mid and end of the war, many Chinese monarchists, mostly descendants of nobles and royals and warlords, became influenced by the Aisin Gioro, and followed their footsteps in siding with the Russians. ??? consulted with the Russian Stavka of reviving the Interwar-era period support for the northern governments, and therefore, came the serious talks of creating a northern Chinese monarchial state on the side of the Russian Empire.
Therefore, the Northern Alliance (北方聯盟, Běifāng liánméng) sometimes known as the Chinese Whites (中國白人) was formed, based on the same alliance of governments that fought Sun Yat Sen's, with the goal of creating a "Northern Han Dynasty".
However in the end, due the extreme factionalizing within it, and the disagreements over who would become the Northern Han Emperor, the Northern Alliance decided to proclaim Vladimir I as their Emperor. Seen as traitors in China, the various generals and nobles of this Northern Alliance were evacuated to Russia, where they now domicile themselves as titled nobility within Manchuria.
End of the conflict - Tokyo Cease-Fire[]
In 1955, Russia and China signed a cease-fire in Tokyo, officially ending military hostilities, and having prevented possibly cultural retaliations. Economic relations soon grew quickly, since many Russians were growing reluctant by the day to even fight the war. Many Chinese too, had become sick of the war, and basqued in the relief of the treaty.
President Cheng acquitted all members of the Northern Alliance, however it would be decades until they returned to China due to attacks by rogues.
Territorial and demographic changes[]
The Bogd Khanate of Mongolia, fearing Chinese attacks, and a future all-out assault by China, joined the Russian Empire as a Grand Principality-level territorial administration of the Empire. The war provoked a huge feeling of mistrust between China and the other East Asian countries. This saw a huge surge of Mongolic immigrants into the now Russian Bogd Khanate. Korea distanced itself from Chinese culture, even going so far as to ban the Hanja script. Although no paper treaty was signed recognizing Russian suzerainty over Manchuria, the Russians solidified their control and annexation of Manchuria, having the majority support of Manchu monarchists, uniting both Inner and Outer Manchuria into a single political entity known as the Governorate-General of Manchuria, to which, the Russians allowed Manchu Bannermen to serve as its high local military leadership.
This pretty much increased the Buddhist population of Russia by 34.5%, and added a huge Mahayana sect. population, since most of Turkic and Mongolic were either Tibetan Buddhist, or Russian Orthodox.
Although Chiang Kai-shek's successor, Chen Cheng opposed Russian occupation and annexation of Manchuria, made no military efforts, and soon declared martial law in China to quell the unruly military.
The Russian acquisition also Manchuria also gave it a huge population of Chinese-speakers, as the Manchus themselves by that time, no longer spoke Manchu language.
International reaction[]
The military conflict had initially stunned the Western powers, who regarded Russia and China as the closest of allies in the East. For the United States however, it relieved the fear of the two becoming allies, and possibly forming a bloc against it.
To the world, it also exposed China as being a weak country, in spite of its big military and its appearance as a major power on paper.
As a result, sick and tired of the constant wars, a huge wave of Chinese immigrants fled either to Taiwan, the United States or Southeast Asia, many even to Russia itself, mostly Chinese Christians. After the retaliatory assassination of Feng Yuxiang by Buddhist ultra-nationalists, many Chinese Christians felt unsafe, in spite of assurances by Chen Cheng of protection.
The foreign minister of the U.S. urged both the Russians and Chinese to resort to diplomatic relations. The U.S., unlike Russia, did not cut off relations with China, and had sent munitions support to Chiang Kai-Shek, whilst choosing to remain neutral, regarding both the Russian and Chinese state as threats to the stability of the Eastern Hemisphere.
End of the conflict[]
Chen Cheng succeeded Chaing Kai-shek as the President of the Republic of China, and spearheaded and oversaw the normalization of ties with Russia. Cheng stated that China would no longer attack Russia, or its Korean and Japanese allies, and recognized Korea as a Russian ally. Feng Yuxiang was appointed as the Secretary of War, however as many Chinese ultranationalists considered him a traitor, an infilitrator set fire to his ship which was headed for Russia in 1957.
Under Cheng, China would undergo a similar industrialization and modernization as Russia under Kiril I's early years of rule.