Defense of the Great Wall | |||||||
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Part of the Inner Mongolian Campaign | |||||||
Great Wall, 1933 | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
China | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
Northeastern Army: 50,000+ |
Japan: 50,000 Manchukuo: 42,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown |
The defense of the Great Wall (simplified Chinese: 长城抗战; traditional Chinese: 長城抗戰; pinyin: Chángchéng Kàngzhàn) (January 1 – May 31, 1933) was a campaign between the armies of Republic of China and Empire of Japan, which took place before the Second Sino-Japanese War officially commenced in 1937 and after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. It is known in Japanese as Operation Nekka (熱河作戰, Nekka Sakusen) and in many English sources as the First Battle of Hopei.
During this campaign, Japan successfully captured the Inner Mongolian province of Rehe from the Chinese warlord Zhang Xueliang, and incorporated it into the newly created state of Manchukuo, whose southern frontier was thus extended to the Great Wall of China.