Michael M. Walker - The 1929 Sino-Soviet War: The War Nobody Knew

The 1929 Sino-Soviet War

MODERN WAR STUDIES

Theodore A. Wilson

General Editor

Raymond Callahan

Jacob W. Kipp

Allan R. Millett

Carol Reardon

Dennis Showalter

David R. Stone

James H. Willbanks

Series Editors

The 1929
Sino-Soviet War

The War Nobody Knew

Michael M. Walker

2017 by the University Press of Kansas

All rights reserved

Published by the University Press of Kansas (Lawrence, Kansas 66045), which was organized by the Kansas Board of Regents and is operated and funded by Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Kansas State University, Pittsburg State University, the University of Kansas, and Wichita State University

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Walker, Michael M. (Colonel), author.
Title: The 1929 Sino-Soviet war : the war nobody knew / Michael M. Walker.
Description: Lawrence, Kansas : University Press of Kansas, [2016] | Series:
Modern war studies | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016051187
ISBN 9780700623754 (cloth : alkaline paper)
ISBN 9780700623761 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: ChinaForeign relationsSoviet Union. | Soviet UnionForeign relationsChina. | Chinese Eastern RailwayHistory. | Joint venturesHistory20th century. | Limited warHistory20th century. | BorderlandsChinaHistory20th century. | BorderlandsSoviet UnionHistory20th century. | Manchuria (China) History, Military20th century. | Zhang, Xueliang, 19012001. | Soviet Union. Raboche-Krestianskaia Krasnaia ArmiiaHistory. | Soviet Union Raboche-Krestianskaia Krasnaia Armiia.
Osobaian krasnoznamennaia dalnevostochnaia armiiaHistory.
Classification: LCC DS 775.8 .w3853 2016 | DDC 951.04/2dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016051187 .
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data is available.

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The paper used in this publication is recycled and contains 30 percent postconsumer waste. It is acid free and meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials z39.48-1992.

To the soldiers of both sides and especially those who
fought, suffered, and died in a long forgotten war.

No history book is the product of one individual. That is especially true in this case, and this book only adds one more stepping-stone to a path begun by others, notably Felix Patrikeeff, Bruce Elleman, and the late Peter Tang. Research is the heart of history, and a number of people played key roles in that process, earning my lasting gratitude and appreciation. Three in particular are Asada Masafumi of Tohoku University, who generously compiled a master list of Japanese sources on the 1929 Sino-Soviet conflict; Maochun Miles Yu of the US Naval Academy, who forwarded Chiang Kai-sheks August 1929 national address on the CER crisis and brought to my attention the compilation of papers by Chinese scholars presented in Guo Shenjuns The Chinese Eastern Railway and the Chinese Eastern Railway Crisis ; and Michael Carlson of the National Archives and Records Administration, who helped greatly in gaining access to restricted military intelligence and Office of Naval Intelligence documents.

More than any other individual, David Glantz made this book a reality. Not only did he help in locating the lions share of the Russian-language sources that got the ball rolling, but he also provided unstinting help and guidance from the inception of this project to its completion. Deep thanks are also due to the military history masters program faculty (especially John M. Jennings of the US Air Force Academy) and the library staff at Norwich University, whose support made possible the thesis that formed the nucleus of this book.