On August 23, 1914, the Japanese-German Qingdao War broke out, and Qingdao became the only battlefield in Asia in World War I. Looking back more than a hundred years later, the Battle for Qingdao has naturally become the focus of people's attention. As everyone knows, the jiaoji railway battle is also very fierce, but there is little attention. If the Battle of Qingdao is mainly a "military war" between the two countries, the Battle of Jiaoji Railway is a "diplomatic war" involving many countries.
Japan has long coveted the Qingdao and Jiaoji railways
On July 28, 1914, World War I broke out. Taking advantage of Germany's inability to look east in the European war, Japan joined forces with Britain to declare war on Germany. On August 23, the Japanese-German War broke out in Qingdao.
On August 25, Japanese Minister to China, NichijiYi, proposed to China that the area south of the Yellow River in Shandong be designated as a "neutral outer region" (also known as a theater or military region) for Japan to march, and demanded that the Chinese garrison in Weixian be withdrawn to avoid conflict.
??
Sun Baoqi (1867-1931), served as Foreign Minister in 1913.
"South of the Yellow River in Shandong" covers almost half of Shandong. Sun Baoqi, chief foreign minister, rightfully refused. Three days later, on August 28, the Japanese put forward a new demand: to draw a straight line from Weixian to Zhucheng, and the east of the line was the war zone.
On the same day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a telegram to Lu Zongyu, minister in Japan, to reply, demarcating the east of the Weihe River and west of Haimiaokou, Yexian, and Pingdu as military regions. The Jiaoji Railway "runs from Weiwei to Qingdao, and the Japanese can arrange it at will, and from Weiwei to Jidang by our army."
Unable to resist the Japanese offensive, as early as mid-August, malshan, chargé d'affaires ad in charge of the German Embassy in China, told the Beijing government that if China later compensated, Germany could immediately "return the Jiao'ao leased land, including the Jiaoji Railway," to China.
Japan issued a warning through the chargé d'affaires in China, Yukiyoshi Otata: "If China negotiates to collect Jiaowan, it will not consult with Britain and Japan on this matter, but will directly contact German businessmen, and it will certainly give rise to major dangers in the future." The Beijing government is asked to stop the event immediately. Sino-German negotiations were interrupted.
The Beijing government also pinned its hopes on the United States, hoping that the United States would come forward to Britain and Germany to propose that Germany first hand over the Jiao'ao leased land to the United States, and then the United States would transfer it to China. The United States ignored it, and China's plan to use the United States to prevent Japan from sending troops to Shandong was shattered.
Weixian Railway Station: The Japanese army attacked at night, and the Chinese side strongly protested
?
During the German occupation of Qingdao, a large-scale military defense project, qingdao fortress, was built, and many forts, fortresses, military camps and auxiliary facilities were set up, which became a famous coastal defense fortress in the Far East.
In view of the german coastal defense, the Japanese troops were divided into two routes: one was led by Lieutenant General Mitsutomo Kamio, who landed at Longkou, Shandong on September 2, and the other led by Lieutenant General Kato Dingyoshi, who landed from Yangkou Bay on Laoshan On September 18.
The Japanese troops who landed from Longkou did not encounter any obstacles, and drove straight in, over the flatness, to Jimo, to Jiaozhou. On September 17, the Jiaozhou Railway Station was occupied and the Chinese police were expelled.
After the Longkou landing, the Japanese army drove westward straight to Weixian County, with the aim of occupying a large area of Jiaodong and the entire line of Jiaoji Road to control the whole province of Shandong. On September 13, the Japanese General Staff Headquarters informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of its plan to occupy the western section of Jiaoji Road, asking them to convey it to the Chinese government. On the 23rd, chief of staff, Hasegawa Yoshimichi, ordered the field commander, Lieutenant General Mitsutomo Kamio, to occupy the entire Kōji line. ”
The Jiaoji Railway is about to be torn apart by the great powers.
On the night of September 25, "Japanese Lieutenant Nomura led more than 400 soldiers to surround Weixian Station under the cover of night, and more than a dozen unarmed railway workers were arrested, one of whom was stabbed, and four Germans at the station were also abducted." ”
The employee who was stabbed was li Tianxun, a station telegrapher, whose whereabouts have been unknown. Zhang Shuyuan, commander of the Fifth Division of the Army stationed in Weixian County, sent people to search for many parties, and three days later, the body was found in a cemetery northwest of the station. After examination by the medical officer, he stabbed the left rib and died. Zhang Shuyuan ordered his subordinates to negotiate with the Japanese side, and they verbally promised to investigate and deal with the perpetrators on the spot, but there was no further follow-up. ”
Lu Zongyu (1876-1941), served as a minister in Japan from 1913 to 1916.
The next day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent another telegram to Lu Zongyu, asking the Japanese government to "quickly send out the Weixian army and immediately retreat, so as to take care of diplomatic relations and maintain credit." The Japanese government said: "Japan recognizes Jiaoji Road as a German road, and when it is occupied together with Jiao'ao." Please also withdraw the Chinese troops, and in the event of a conflict, Japan will consider it a help to Germany against Japan. ”
On September 30, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs telephoned Lu Zongyu to protest to the Japanese government, refuting the statement that "Jiaoji Road is a German road in Japan": "Jiaoji Road is a Huade Commercial Office, which is contained in the second end of Jiaoji and the first paragraph of Jiaoji Railway. This road is the industry of Chinese businessmen, which is called the industry of the German government, which is a fundamental misunderstanding. The official property of the warring countries is in the territory of the neutral country, and the other belligerent countries cannot infringe on it, and the German business and industry are occupied by Ande?"
Although it has a good foundation and is polite and courteous, it does not play any role in the arrogance and unreasonableness of Japan. China's strength cannot resist, but it is seeking a strategy of concessions.
Informal mediation: China seeks concessions, Japan gains
Nichiren (1861-1926), served as a minister in China in 1914.
"On 2 October, Vice Foreign Minister Cao Rulin held a meeting with the Japanese envoy and proposed an informal mediation case: First, the Chinese Government will not allow jiaoji road to be sold or ceded to a third country outside Japan; second, the Chinese government has no objection to any agreement between Japan and Germany on the Jiaoji railway after the war."
On October 3, Cheng Zunyao, a member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was ordered to go to the German Embassy in China to consult with the chargé d'affaires of the Jiaoji Railway with the chargé d'affaires of Malshan. Malshan agreed to hand over the Jiaoji Railway to China. Unexpectedly, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that the Jiaoji Railway was "handed over to China by the Germans to take over the formalities and cannot be recognized at all."
On October 3, Lu Zongyu and the Japanese diplomat Matsui repeatedly debated, "Why does your government go to extremes by seeking only the dignity of a neutral country and not betraying the original goodwill policy?" Perhaps Matsui also felt that the Japanese side had gone too far, and Lu Zongyu noticed that Matsui was "also inward".
On October 5, the Japanese Embassy in China sent a note to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "(1) The Jiaoji Railway occurred under the Jiaoji Treaty. Although it is now temporarily managed by China, it cannot be said to be the property of non-Germans. If Japan is now at war with Germany, its purpose is not only to reach Qingdao, but also to acquire all the rights of the Germans in the East, which Japan can acquire by force. (2) When the war first broke out, the Germans used the Jiaoji Railway to transport troops and grain, which Was not effectively prohibited by China. For the sake of the military, It is necessary for Japan to occupy the whole road..."
This wild remark speaks to Japan's wolf ambitions.
Jinan Railway Station: Forcibly occupied by the Japanese army, the entire line of Jiaoji fell
The Japanese army insisted on going its own way and continued to expand its military operations. On October 5, Qingzhou Railway Station was occupied; on the 6th, Jinan Railway Station was occupied.
On the evening of October 7, "thirty Japanese troops came to the rescue, and the general Jiaoji was received at all three stations in the provincial capital." The Germans are peaceful and exchanged, and the order and business are peaceful. These "three stations" are Jinan Railway Station (located in Shangbu), Jinan North Railway Station (renamed Beiguan Station in 1916), and Jinan East Railway Station (renamed Huangtai Station in 1917).
At that time, there were two large stations in the Commercial Port District of Jinan: one was the Jinan Station of the Jinpu Railway, which was built in 1911, and the other was the Jinan Station of the Jiaoji Railway, which was being expanded in Germany, about 300 meters south of the Jinan Station of the Jinpu Railway. After occupying Jinan Station, the Japanese army also took over the station expansion project.
As can be seen from the old photos, there are also Japanese occupation forces at Jinan Station of the Jinpu Railway. The Jinpu Railway was China's state-owned railway, and the Japanese army blatantly expanded its military scope.
In the face of a wolf-like Japan, the Beiyang government has only protested.
On 7 July, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs protested to the Japanese envoy: "The Japanese troops at Jinan Station will be withdrawn as soon as possible." On 8 July, the Japanese envoy replied: "The government of our country has the necessity of managing the Shandong Jiaoji Railway."
On the 9th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs protested again and refuted the Japanese envoy's note of October 5 one by one. On 10 July, the Japanese envoy replied: "The Japanese army's occupation of the Shandong Railway is part of the marching plan, and at the beginning of the war, it was declared to China." It's a blind eye!
Japan's actions provoked resentment among the provincial generals, and on October 16 they sent a joint telegram to Yuan Shikai, demanding that the territory be defended. Yuan Shikai, on the other hand, avoided conflict with the Japanese army.
At that time, Britain and Japan wore a pair of pants. Regarding the Japanese occupation of Jinan Railway Station, the British minister actually believed that it was "legitimate defense" in a telegram to the Chinese Foreign Ministry on November 11. And the saying of "Japan's Sudun Friendship" is even more ridiculous!
On November 7, the Japanese captured Qingdao. On the 10th, the Germans surrendered. The whole line of Jiaoji fell.
Subsequently, Japan changed the Jiaoji Railway into a Shandong Military Railway, which was managed by the Temporary Railway Regiment. In March of the following year, mantetsu sent a group of staff to form the "Shandong Railway Management Department" in accordance with the instructions of the Japanese government to assist the Japanese army in managing the Shandong railway and coal mines. The Chinese road police were ordered to withdraw from the railway line, and the stations along the line were garrisoned by the Japanese army. Since then, Japan has controlled the Jiaoji Railway for eight years.
(Some of the information in this article is quoted from Wang Yunsheng's "Sixty Years of China and Japan", Liu Yu's "Japanese Kou Encroachment on Jiaoji Road", etc.)??