194 Kwantung Army officers took the general to a party, where he became drunk That night Kwantung Army officers blew up a section of track on the South Manchurian Railway 1,200 yards from a Chinese army that failed to derail the night express Kwantung Army troops then attacked and shelled the Chinese barracks, killing many soldiers By 10:00 a.m on September 18, 1931, Mukden was under Japanese control, Chang’s headquarters were ransacked, and his banks and government offices were occupied, as were a dozen other cities in southern Manchuria in a coordinated attack by Japanese units Some 12 hours after their blast, Kwantung Army officers displayed to Western reporters the “proof” that the Chinese had tried to destroy the railroad, which was bodies of Chinese soldiers shot in the back lying facedown, supposedly cut down while fleeing the scene The world was outraged by the political adventurism, and Tokyo was stunned The emperor reminded Prime Minister Reijiro Wakatsuki that he had forbidden such action, and the foreign and finance ministers also objected But Wakatsuki did not overrule his generals and colonels The attack and subsequent conquest of Manchuria were accepted as a fait accompli From October to December 1931, the Kwantung Army, now empowered by Tokyo and advised by units of the Japanese army in Korea, expanded conquest of Manchuria, even plotting a coup in October to overthrow the civilian government in Tokyo This attempted coup was ended when the leading plotters were secretly arrested In December Wakatsuki resigned Ki Inukai became the new prime minister, but General Araki, leader of the Kodo Ha faction, became war minister, effectively providing the military’s endorsement to the Kwantung Army’s actions The Kwantung Army now became an occupation force in Manchuria, and its officers became heroes for all of Japan The Kwantung Army continued to seize Chinese territory, taking Rehe (Jehol) province in 1933 and Chahar province in 1934 Officers of the Kodo Ha movement were assigned to the Kwantung Army, strengthening its radicalism; among them was Hideki Tojo, who would become Japan’s prime minister during World War II In February 1936, the Kwantung Army showed its powerful influence when a group of Kodo Ha officers attempted a coup d’état in Tokyo It failed, the ringleaders were shot, and the civilian leaders regained some control over the Kwantung Army Leaving Chinese unity under Chiang Kai-shek’s leadership, the Kwantung Army set to create an “incident” between Chinese and Japanese forces on July 7, 1937, at a railway junction near Beijing (Peking) in northern China, called the Marco Polo Bridge Incident This led to the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, in which Japan committed unspeakable attrocities, such as the Rape of Nanjing It became World War II in Asia The Kwantung Army promised Tokyo victory in three months As World War II began and dragged on, the Kwantung Army remained in occupation of Manchuria, “Asia’s Ruhr,” against Soviet invasion Over time, the army was stripped of most of its equipment and men, which were needed on other battlefronts When the Soviet Union declared war on Japan on August 8, 1945, and invaded Manchuria, the Kwantung Army had million men under arms equipped with 1,155 tanks, 5,360 guns, and 1,800 aircraft On paper, this was a match for the Soviets’ 1.5 million men, but the Soviets also fielded 26,000 guns, 5,500 tanks, and 3,900 planes In addition, the Kwantung Army was short of gasoline, ammunition, and transport Yet some of the Kwantung Army’s hotheaded leaders refused to surrender when Japan surrendered to the Allies on August 14, 1945 Commanding general Otozo Yamada refused to obey the Imperial Rescript to surrender, summoned his officers to his headquarters at Changchun, debated the news from Tokyo, and by a majority vote chose to go on fighting In the end, the Kwantung Army did obey an imperial command and surrendered to the Soviet Army Several of its leaders, including Doihara and Tojo, were tried, convicted, and executed at the Tokyo International Court Further reading: Harris, Meirion, and Susie Harris Soldiers of the Sun New York: Random House, 1991; Hoyt, Edwin P Japan’s War New York: Da Capo, 1986; Toland, John The Rising Sun New York: Random House, 1970; Tuchman, Barbara W Sand against the Wind: Stilwell and the American Experience in China New York: MacMillan, 1970 David H Lippman