The Korean Independence Army () was the military branch of the Korean Independence Party, which was founded and was active in North Manchuria during the Japanese Occupation of Korea. Meanwhile, between 1929 and 1934, the Korean Revolutionary Army was separately organized and active in southern Manchuria under the Korean Revolutionary Party and the National People's Prefecture. Afterwards, the Korean Revolutionary Military Government (November 1934 – September 1938) was established.
Subordinates of the Korean Independence Party In July 1930, the Korean Independence Party (Korean Independence Party) was founded in the Korean People's Association in Manchuria and Saengyuksa (生育社), which were self-governing organizations for the Korean people in North Manchuria. The Korean Independence Party had six committees, and the Korean Independence Army was under the Korean Independence Party.
Organization of the Korean Independence Army The Korean Independence Army, commanded by General Kim Chwa-chin, formed the military of Shinmin Prefecture. Effectively a peasant militia, the army's experienced soldiers were supplemented by guerrillas, trained in the prefecture's military academy, with which the army waged guerrilla warfare against both the Empire of Japan and Soviet Union. It also established a Safety Unit () and an Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Unit, in order to protect Koreans from local bandits and Imperial Japanese forces respectively.
Reorganization and battle of the Korean-Chinese Allied Forces
In September 1931, the year after the Korean Independence Party absorbed the remnants of the Korean Independence Army and reorganized its armed units. Japan accelerated its invasion of Manchuria by causing the Manchurian Incident, and the Japanese and Manchurian troops combined to invade northern Manchuria.
The Korean Independence Party established 26 military districts centered on the Middle East Railway in North Manchuria and fought against the Japanese.
Commander-in-Chief: Ji Cheong-cheon Deputy Commander: Nam Dae-gwan Chief of Staff: Shin Sook Treasurer and diplomat Anyasan (安也山) Lee Gwang-un, leader of the volunteer army training group Volunteer Company Commander: Oh Gwang-seon Assassination Battalion Leader: Lee Chul- jeong Volunteer Platoon Commander: Lee Chun-jeong (李春正) Detached Battalion Commander: Han Gwang-bin (韓光彬) Bae Seong- woon, military police battalion commander Shin Won-gyun (申元均), communications unit and prosecutor Kwon Soo-jeong, Chairman of the National Salvation Support Association, and Jang Hong-jin, Secretary. Sim Jung-geun, leader of the Propaganda Corps Seo Il-bong (徐日鳳), Advisor and Chairman of the National Assembly of Korea
Accordingly, the Korean Independence Party issued a general mobilization order to each military district in November 1931 to focus all activities on the military and discuss joint Korean-Chinese operations with the Chinese authorities.Haruhiro Fukui (1985) Political parties of Asia and the Pacific, Greenwood Press, p671
Joint operation between Korea and China Japan established Manchukuo, a puppet government, in 1932. The Imperial Japanese Army, jointly with the Manchukuo Imperial Army, launched a full-scale subjugation operation against the Korean Independence army. At this time, numerous Chinese military units advocating anti-Manchurian and anti-Japanese activities were organized in the Manchurian area and fought against the Japanese and Manchukuo armies. In these units, a part of the Zhang Haek-ryang army, a security guard group, or even some magic soldiers participated. In the Dunhua region, Wang Delin and Feng Jeonhae troops were stationed, in Heilongjiang region, Ma Zhanshan troops were stationed, and in Harbin, the commander of the Chinese Tiger Army, Zheng Chao, was stationed in Harbin. There was a unit led by Cho and a unit led by Goh Bong-rim, Brigadier General of the Horo Army, fighting against the Japanese Army.
Prior to this, on November 2, 1931, the Korean Independence Party set new activity goals in response to the Japanese occupation of Manchuria. On the 10th of the same month, the Korean Independence Party carried out convocation and recruitment activities through each military district, and on the 12th, it dispatched party and military representatives Shin Sook and Nam Dae -gwan to China's Jilin Self-Defense Force and the Huro County Combined Forces Headquarters to establish and appoint the military commander. They discussed joint Korean-Chinese operations with 3rd Army Commander Yang Mun-hwi (楊文揮) and Go Bong-rim. As a result, on December 11 of the same year, Ji Cheong-cheon, commander-in-chief of the Korean Independence Army, and executives including Choi Choi, Oh Gwang - seon, Shim Man-ho, Kim Cheong -nong, Choi Gwan-yong, and Choi Jong -won signed a mutual agreement with the Chinese military authorities was concluded.
The Korean Independence Army suffered a massive attack by 10,000 troops on February 12, 1932 while rushing to train soldiers and organize troops called up according to the general mobilization order. Although the unit had not yet been reorganized and the necessary equipment was not yet in place, the Ten Thousand Army defeated the Chinese army in the Harbin direction on February 5 and advanced along the Middle East Line under the cover of aircraft. The Korean-Chinese combined forces killed 10,000 people in places such as Wishaha, Ilmyeonpi, Ogilmil, Milocham, Dongbinbangjeong, and Uiran. There was a fierce battle with the army, but due to lack of food and ammunition, they suffered a crushing defeat and were dispersed. Ji Cheong-cheon, commander-in-chief of the Korean Independence Army, personally led Chief of Staff Shin Suk and Iljidaegun (一支隊軍) and fought a fierce battle in Uiran, but retreated to Tongha County (通河縣) in Heilongjiang Province and recovered the unit. Ahn Jong-seon, the commander of the separate unit, achieved a successful victory by temporarily recapturing the fortress on March 3 through a joint operation with the Gobongrim unit of the Chinese 3rd Tiger Army, but he was not able to hold the fortress for long, and Cha Cheol The 3rd, 4th, and 5th battalions led by (車澈), Ya Sang-gi (也相奇), and Jeon Buk-bin (全北賓) are led by the 3rd and 4th female commanders Yu Ji-gwang (劉志光) and Gung Yeong-mu (劉志光) of the Chinese Tiger Army. They fought for about a month, and then retreated to the northern region.
The Korean Independence Party held an emergency meeting in Moasan, Ssangseong County, and notified the Chinese Army's Gobongrim Unit to continue joint operations while rallying scattered independence forces. Within a month, the independence army was assembled, Kim Chang-hwan (金昌焕) was appointed as acting commander-in-chief, the troops were reorganized, and they began training. The Korean-Chinese Allied Forces, which had reorganized their forces, began full-scale joint operations in August 1932 .
Battle of Ssangseong The Korean-Chinese combined forces, consisting of 3,000 independence troops and 25,000 Chinese troops, established a plan to attack Ssangseong Fortress. Ssangseongbo was a place of great strategic value as it was a key point of the Japjang Line railway and a distribution center for important products in Northern Manchuria. On September 3, when General Lee Cheong-cheon, commander-in-chief, led the troops from the Heilongjiang region, the independence army was reorganized and Kim Chang-hwan became deputy commander and marched toward Ssangseongbo on the 19th. Defeating the resistance of the Manchurian army during the march, they advanced about 200 ri in 3 days and arrived at Soseongja, 5 ri south of Ssangseongbo. There, by joining forces with the Chinese army's Gobongrim unit, the Chinese army decided to attack the east gate and the south gate, and the independence army decided to attack the west gate and then launched an attack. Inside the fortress, three brigades of the Manchurian army stubbornly resisted, but under the fierce attack of the independence army, most of them fled to the north gate and were killed by the Allied forces who had ambushed them in advance. With this victory, enough supplies were captured to sustain the Allied forces' 30,000 troops for three months.
In consideration of a counterattack by a large Japanese force, the Allied Forces moved the main force to Uga Dun (牛家屯), 5 ri outside of Ssangseongbo, and left a small number of troops in Ssangseong. As expected, a large unit of Japanese troops attacked the Ssangseong Fortress and the Ssangseong Fortress was taken over by the Japanese army. On November 7, the Allied forces divided the Independence Army and the Chinese Army into left and right wings and launched an operation to recapture Ssangseongbo. The independence army organized 15 units of 200 men and advanced from the vanguard, and the Chinese army provided ammunition and food. An all-out attack began at 6 p.m., with one unit charging to the front, one unit to the left, one unit to the rear, and a machine gun unit to the center. The enemy stubbornly resisted with grenades and mortars for several hours, but the independence army that entered the fortress disrupted the enemy camp, and the independence army artillery, which occupied the mountain behind Ssangseongbo, shelled the main buildings of the city. After a fierce battle, all Manchurian soldiers surrendered and opened the gates. In this battle, one Japanese company was annihilated. The Allied forces, who recaptured Ssangseongbo for the second time, immediately organized their loot and prepared for an enemy counterattack.
On November 20, the Japanese army launched a retaliatory battle as usual. The main force of the Japanese army and the large forces of the Manchurian army stationed in Harbin and Changchun counterattacked under the cover of aircraft. Accordingly, the friendly forces divided their entire force into seven units and established defense lines at each strategic point to prevent the Japanese army's counterattack. A fierce battle took place over the course of a day and night, and casualties continued to mount among both sides. On the night of the 21st, the Japanese army launched an all-out attack. The friendly forces' defense line began to shake, and the enemy's aircraft attacks and artillery fire finally collapsed the defense line. The independence army continued its resistance until dawn on the 22nd, but the morale of the Chinese army gradually declined and they were forced to give up the castle to the enemy and retreat about 500 ri, staying at Chunghajin (冲河鎭) in Osang-hyeon. Not only did the independence army suffer enormous damage in this battle, but the Gobongrim unit alone held ceasefire talks with the enemy army. Although the independence army did its best to dissuade this, the Gobongrim unit continued to negotiate a ceasefire. Accordingly, the Independence Army took independent action on the 27th of the same month.
The Korean Independence Party decided on its future action plan on November 29. The Independence Party dispatched three representatives to Wang Deok-rim, Commander-in-Chief of the National Salvation Army, and also sent a separate representative to Nanjing to discuss joint Korea-China operations with the Chinese government. On December 25, the Korean Independence Army joined forces with the Chinese army and fought a fierce battle with 2,000 Manchurian guerrillas at Gyeongbak Lake, annihilating them. The Manchurian army pursuing the Allied forces was ambushed on both sides of Gyeongbak Lake, and when the Manchurian army entered the entrance of the lake, they took advantage of it and attacked from both sides.
Battle of Sadohaja