| Conflict: | Battle of West Suiyuan |
| Partof: | Second Sino-Japanese War |
| Date: | January 1940 – February 1940 |
| Place: | Suiyuan |
| Result: | Chinese victory |
| Combatant1: | Republic of China |
| Combatant2: | Empire of Japan |
| Commander1: | Ma Hongkui Ma Hongbin |
| Commander2: | Shigenori Kuroda |
| Strength1: | Thousands of Chinese Muslim and Han Chinese troops |
| Strength2: | Thousands of Japanese and Mengjiang troops |
| Casualties1: | According to commander Fu Zuoyi's report on 24th April 1940 : [1] 2,129 killed 1,767 wounded 1,895 missing According to history of the Anti-Japanese War : [2] 2,872 killed or wounded 2,126 missing |
| Casualties2: | 160 killed, 461 wounded, 534 afflicted with frostbites [3] |
The Battle of West Suiyuan was part of theSecond Sino-Japanese War. It was fought from January - February 1940, as part of the Chinese 1939 Winter Offensive.
In 1937 the Chinese government picked up intelligence that the Japanese planned a puppet Hui Muslim country around Suiyuan and Ningxia, and had sent agents to the region.[4]
The Middlesboro Daily News ran an article by Owen Lattimore which reported on Japan's planned offensive into the Muslim region in 1938, which predicted that the Japanese would suffer a massive crushing defeat at the hands of the Muslims.[5]
The Japanese planned to invade Ningxia from Suiyuan in 1939 and create a Hui Muslim puppet state. The following year in 1940, the Japanese were defeated militarily by the Kuomintang Muslim General Ma Hongbin, who caused the plan to collapse. Ma Hongbin's Hui Muslim troops launched further attacks against Japan in the Battle of West Suiyuan.[6] [7]
In Suiyuan 300 Mongol collaborators serving the Japanese were fought off by a single Muslim who held the rank of Major at the Battle of Wulan Obo in 1939 April.[8]
Muslim Generals Ma Hongkui and Ma Hongbin defended west Suiyuan, particularly Wuyuan in 1940 against the Japanese. Ma Hongbin commanded the 81st corps and sustained heavy casualties, but eventually repulsed the Japanese and defeated them.[9]
Japan used poison gas against Chinese Muslim armies at the Battle of Wuyuan and Battle of West Suiyuan.[10] [11]