The 1929 Sino-Soviet War Begins
05/14/25 • 21 min
Some basic military history of the beginning of the war.
Further reading:
Bruce A. Elleman and Stephen Kotkin, eds., Manchurian Railways and the Opening of ChinaMichael M. Walker, The 1929 Sino-Soviet WarJohn Erickson, The Soviet High Command: A Military-Political History, 1918-1941
Some names from this episode:
Vasily Blyukher (née Gurov, aka Galen), commander of the Special Far Eastern Army
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Prussian general in Napoleonic wars
Aleksandr Cherepanov, commander of the 39th Rifle Division in the Soviet Far East
Andrei Bubnov, head of the political administration of the Soviet Red Army
Feng Yuxiang, warlord close to both the USA and the Soviet Union
A. I. Traynin, captain of the Soviet warship Sverdlov
Mok Yiuming, captain of the Chinese gunboat Lishui
Fedor Vulahov, lead petty officer of the Sverdlov
R. I. Yuanzem, commander of the Soviet warship Red East
I. I. Nikitin, captain of the Soviet warship Sun Yatsen
I. A. Onufriev, the commander of the 2nd “Amur” Rifle Division
Episode artwork:
Photo of Soviet soldiers with captured Guomindang banners
Some basic military history of the beginning of the war.
Further reading:
Bruce A. Elleman and Stephen Kotkin, eds., Manchurian Railways and the Opening of ChinaMichael M. Walker, The 1929 Sino-Soviet WarJohn Erickson, The Soviet High Command: A Military-Political History, 1918-1941
Some names from this episode:
Vasily Blyukher (née Gurov, aka Galen), commander of the Special Far Eastern Army
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Prussian general in Napoleonic wars
Aleksandr Cherepanov, commander of the 39th Rifle Division in the Soviet Far East
Andrei Bubnov, head of the political administration of the Soviet Red Army
Feng Yuxiang, warlord close to both the USA and the Soviet Union
A. I. Traynin, captain of the Soviet warship Sverdlov
Mok Yiuming, captain of the Chinese gunboat Lishui
Fedor Vulahov, lead petty officer of the Sverdlov
R. I. Yuanzem, commander of the Soviet warship Red East
I. I. Nikitin, captain of the Soviet warship Sun Yatsen
I. A. Onufriev, the commander of the 2nd “Amur” Rifle Division
Episode artwork:
Photo of Soviet soldiers with captured Guomindang banners
Previous Episode
The Chinese Eastern Railway: Background to the 1929 Sino-Soviet War
The Guomindang moves to seize Soviet assets in Manchuria. Also, subscribe to the new substack at https://peopleshistoryofideas.substack.com/.
Further reading:
Bruce A. Elleman and Stephen Kotkin, eds., Manchurian Railways and the Opening of ChinaMichael M. Walker, The 1929 Sino-Soviet War
Some names from this episode:
Li Lisan, Chairman of Central Committee Propaganda Department
Chen Duxiu, Co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party
Li Dazhao, Co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party
Lev Karakhan, Soviet deputy commissioner for foreign affairs in 1919 and acting commissioner in 1929
Zhang Zuolin, Manchurian warlord killed by Japan in 1928
Zhang Xueliang, Manchurian warlord, son of Zhang Zuolin
Martemyan Nikitich Ryutin, Bolshevik leader of Harbin soviet in 1917
Episode artwork: Flag of the Chinese Eastern Railway
People's History of Ideas Podcast - The 1929 Sino-Soviet War Begins
Transcript
Welcome to episode 127 of the People’s History of Ideas Podcast.
We ended the last episode by noting the appointment of General Vasily Blyukher on August 6, 1929, to take command of the Special Far Eastern Army, which had been recently constituted in order to wage war in Manchuria. The appointment took place in Moscow. Blyukher didn’t arrive on the ground in the theater of operations until August 24. The way I worded this at the end of last episode might have been a little misleading
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