Ili Rebellion
Encyclopedia
The Ili Rebellion or was a Soviet
-backed revolt by the Second East Turkestan Republic
against the Kuomintang
Government of the Republic of China
from 1944-1949.
was a Hui muslim
Kuomintang officer and was sent by Urumchi to subdue the Hi area and crush the Turkic muslims, who were prepared to overthrow Chinese rule. His mission failed due to being long overdue. Several Turkic cavalry armed by the Soviets crossed into China in the direction of Kuldja. In November 1944 Liu was killed by Turkic Uyghur and Kazakh rebels backed by the Soviet Union. This started the Ili rebellion, with the Uyghur Ili rebel army fighting against Republic of China forces.
The Soviet Army assisted the Ili Uyghur army in capturing several towns and airbases. Thousands of Soviet troops assisted Turkic rebels in fighting the Chinese army. In October 1945 suspected Soviet planes attacked Chinese positions.
As the Soviet Red Army and Turkic Uyghur Ili Army advanced with Soviet air support against poorly prepared Chinese forces, they almost succeeded in reaching Urumqi, however, the Chinese military threw up rings of defences around the area, sending Chinese muslim cavalry to halt the advance of the Turkic Muslim rebels. Thousands of Chinese muslim troops under General Ma Bufang
and his nephew General Ma Chengxiang
poured into Xinjiang from Qinghai to combat the Soviet and Turkic Uyghur forces.
Much of the Ili army and equipment originated from the Soviet Union. The Ili rebel army pushed the Chinese army across the plains, and reached Kashgar, Kaghlik, and Yarkand, however, the Uyghurs in the oaseses gave no support to the Soviet backed rebels. Due to this, the Chinese army expelled the rebels. The Ili rebels then butchered livestock belonging to Kirghiz and Tajiks of Xinjiang. The Soviet backed insurgents destroyed Tajik and Kirghiz crops and acted aggressively against the Tajiks and Kirghiz of China.
The Chinese Muslim
General Ma Bufang
was sent with his Muslim Cavalry to Urumqi
by the Kuomintang in 1945 to protect it from the Uyghur army from Hi.
Ma Chengxiang
, a Kuomintang Chinese Muslim General, and the nephew of Ma Bufang, allegedly used his Chinese Muslim cavalry to butcher Uyghurs during an uprising in 1948 in Turfan. Ma Chengxiang led the 5th cavalry army which was stationed in Xinjiang.
Bai Chongxi
, the Defence Minister of China, and a Muslim, was considered for being appointed Governor of Xinjiang. The position was then given to Masud Sabri
, a pro Kuomintang Uyghur who was anti-Soviet.
Ehmetjan Qasim, the Uyghur Ili leader, repeatedly demanded that Masud Sabri be sacked as governor.
All races in the Ili region, including White Russians and Tungans (Chinese Muslims), even though some of them were hated by the Uyghurs, were forcibly conscripted into the Uyghur Ili army. There were no Han in Ili region because they were removed by Uyghurs.
The Salar muslim General Han Youwen, who served under Ma Bufang, commanded the Pau-an-dui (pacification soldiers), composed of 340 man battalions, of which he had three. They were made out of many troops, including Kazaks, Mongols, and White Russians serving the Chinese regime. He served with Osman Batur and his Kazakh forces in battling the ETR Ili Uyghur and Soviet forces.
Riots against white Russians occurred, with Uyghurs calling for White Russians to be expelled along with Han Chinese.
cavalry regiment was sent in response by the Chinese government to attack Mongol and Soviet positions.
As commander of the First Cavalry Division, General Han Youwen was sent to Beitashan by the Kuomintang military command to reinforce Ma Xizhen with a company of troops, approximately three months before the fighting broke out.At Pei-ta-shan, Major General Han Youwen was in command of all the Muslim cavalry defending against Soviet and Mongol forces.
Chinese Muslim and Turkic Kazakh forces working for the Chinese Kuomintang, battled Soviet Russian and Mongol troops. In June 1947 the Mongols and the Soviets launched an attack against the Kazakhs, driving them back to the Chinese side. However, fighting continued for another year, with 13 clashes taking place between 5 June 1947 and July 1948.
Elite Qinghai
Chinese Muslim cavalry were sent by the Kuomintang to destroy the Mongols and the Russians in 1947.
. He was forced to flee through Tibet, where the Dalai Lama's troops attacked his forces, to Calcutta in India
, where he then took a steamer to evacuate with the Kuomintang to Taiwan
. He was then appointed governor (in exile) of Xinjiang.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
-backed revolt by the Second East Turkestan Republic
Second East Turkestan Republic
The Second East Turkestan Republic, usually known simply as the East Turkestan Republic , was a short-lived Soviet-backed Turkic people's republic which existed in the 1940s in three northern districts of Xinjiang province of the Republic of China, what is now the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous...
against the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
Government of the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
from 1944-1949.
Fighting
Liu Bin-DiLiu Bin-Di
Liu Bin-Di was a Hui muslim KMT officer in Xinjiang, working for the Republic of China government and was sent by Ürümqi to subdue the Hi area. Turkic Muslim rebels backed by the Soviet Union were revolting against the Republic of China. His mission failed due to being long overdue...
was a Hui muslim
Hui people
The Hui people are an ethnic group in China, defined as Chinese speaking people descended from foreign Muslims. They are typically distinguished by their practice of Islam, however some also practice other religions, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers.In modern People's...
Kuomintang officer and was sent by Urumchi to subdue the Hi area and crush the Turkic muslims, who were prepared to overthrow Chinese rule. His mission failed due to being long overdue. Several Turkic cavalry armed by the Soviets crossed into China in the direction of Kuldja. In November 1944 Liu was killed by Turkic Uyghur and Kazakh rebels backed by the Soviet Union. This started the Ili rebellion, with the Uyghur Ili rebel army fighting against Republic of China forces.
The Soviet Army assisted the Ili Uyghur army in capturing several towns and airbases. Thousands of Soviet troops assisted Turkic rebels in fighting the Chinese army. In October 1945 suspected Soviet planes attacked Chinese positions.
As the Soviet Red Army and Turkic Uyghur Ili Army advanced with Soviet air support against poorly prepared Chinese forces, they almost succeeded in reaching Urumqi, however, the Chinese military threw up rings of defences around the area, sending Chinese muslim cavalry to halt the advance of the Turkic Muslim rebels. Thousands of Chinese muslim troops under General Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang was a prominent Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the northwestern province of Qinghai. His rank was Lieutenant-general...
and his nephew General Ma Chengxiang
Ma Chengxiang
Ma Chengxiang was a Chinese Muslim general in the National Revolutionary Army. He was the son of general Ma Buqing, and nephew of general Ma Bufang. He commanded Hui cavalry in Xinjiang, the 5th cavalry army. Ma was a member of the Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang party and a hardliner...
poured into Xinjiang from Qinghai to combat the Soviet and Turkic Uyghur forces.
Much of the Ili army and equipment originated from the Soviet Union. The Ili rebel army pushed the Chinese army across the plains, and reached Kashgar, Kaghlik, and Yarkand, however, the Uyghurs in the oaseses gave no support to the Soviet backed rebels. Due to this, the Chinese army expelled the rebels. The Ili rebels then butchered livestock belonging to Kirghiz and Tajiks of Xinjiang. The Soviet backed insurgents destroyed Tajik and Kirghiz crops and acted aggressively against the Tajiks and Kirghiz of China.
The Chinese Muslim
Hui people
The Hui people are an ethnic group in China, defined as Chinese speaking people descended from foreign Muslims. They are typically distinguished by their practice of Islam, however some also practice other religions, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers.In modern People's...
General Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang was a prominent Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the northwestern province of Qinghai. His rank was Lieutenant-general...
was sent with his Muslim Cavalry to Urumqi
Ürümqi
Ürümqi , formerly Tihwa , is the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, in the northwest of the country....
by the Kuomintang in 1945 to protect it from the Uyghur army from Hi.
Ma Chengxiang
Ma Chengxiang
Ma Chengxiang was a Chinese Muslim general in the National Revolutionary Army. He was the son of general Ma Buqing, and nephew of general Ma Bufang. He commanded Hui cavalry in Xinjiang, the 5th cavalry army. Ma was a member of the Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang party and a hardliner...
, a Kuomintang Chinese Muslim General, and the nephew of Ma Bufang, allegedly used his Chinese Muslim cavalry to butcher Uyghurs during an uprising in 1948 in Turfan. Ma Chengxiang led the 5th cavalry army which was stationed in Xinjiang.
Bai Chongxi
Bai Chongxi
Bai Chongxi , , also spelled Pai Chung-hsi, was a Chinese general in the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China and a prominent Chinese Nationalist Muslim leader. He was of Hui ethnicity and of the Muslim faith...
, the Defence Minister of China, and a Muslim, was considered for being appointed Governor of Xinjiang. The position was then given to Masud Sabri
Masud Sabri
Masud Sabri , also known as Masʿūd Ṣabrī , , was a Uyghur political leader in Xinjiang and Governor of Xinjiang during the Ili Rebellion...
, a pro Kuomintang Uyghur who was anti-Soviet.
Ehmetjan Qasim, the Uyghur Ili leader, repeatedly demanded that Masud Sabri be sacked as governor.
All races in the Ili region, including White Russians and Tungans (Chinese Muslims), even though some of them were hated by the Uyghurs, were forcibly conscripted into the Uyghur Ili army. There were no Han in Ili region because they were removed by Uyghurs.
The Salar muslim General Han Youwen, who served under Ma Bufang, commanded the Pau-an-dui (pacification soldiers), composed of 340 man battalions, of which he had three. They were made out of many troops, including Kazaks, Mongols, and White Russians serving the Chinese regime. He served with Osman Batur and his Kazakh forces in battling the ETR Ili Uyghur and Soviet forces.
Ethnic fighting
Mobs of Uyghur muslims in Urumchi on July 11 attacked houses belonging to Han chinese who married Uyghur muslim women. The wives were abducted, some forcibly remarried to elderly Uyghur men. In response curfew placed at 11 p.m. to restore order.Riots against white Russians occurred, with Uyghurs calling for White Russians to be expelled along with Han Chinese.
"Pei-ta-shan Incident"
The Mongolian People's Republic became involved in a border dispute with the Republic of China, and so a Chinese Muslim HuiHui people
The Hui people are an ethnic group in China, defined as Chinese speaking people descended from foreign Muslims. They are typically distinguished by their practice of Islam, however some also practice other religions, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers.In modern People's...
cavalry regiment was sent in response by the Chinese government to attack Mongol and Soviet positions.
As commander of the First Cavalry Division, General Han Youwen was sent to Beitashan by the Kuomintang military command to reinforce Ma Xizhen with a company of troops, approximately three months before the fighting broke out.At Pei-ta-shan, Major General Han Youwen was in command of all the Muslim cavalry defending against Soviet and Mongol forces.
Chinese Muslim and Turkic Kazakh forces working for the Chinese Kuomintang, battled Soviet Russian and Mongol troops. In June 1947 the Mongols and the Soviets launched an attack against the Kazakhs, driving them back to the Chinese side. However, fighting continued for another year, with 13 clashes taking place between 5 June 1947 and July 1948.
Elite Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
Chinese Muslim cavalry were sent by the Kuomintang to destroy the Mongols and the Russians in 1947.
PLA invasion
The Uighur Yulbars Khan was on the Chinese payroll, and led White Russian and Chinese Muslim troops against the Communist Party of ChinaCommunist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
. He was forced to flee through Tibet, where the Dalai Lama's troops attacked his forces, to Calcutta in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, where he then took a steamer to evacuate with the Kuomintang to Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. He was then appointed governor (in exile) of Xinjiang.
American telegrams
Multiple telegrams between the Chinese government, the Mongolians, the American government, the Uyghur Ili regime, and the Soviet Union were exchanged. There were preserved by the American agents and sent to Washington, D.C. They can be seen here:See also
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- Manchouli Incident
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