A Preliminary Study On Withdrawal Of British Garrisons In China From 1937 To 1940

When the Anti-Japanese War broke out,there were two British battalions in China,distributed in Shanghai,Tientsin and Peiping.After the July 7th Incident,Japan rapidly controled Tientsin and Peiping,and supported puppetregime in Peiping.To avoid a serious dispute with Japanese army and the puppet regime,The United States withdrew the 15th Infantry Regiment from Tientsin in March 1938.The United Kingdom had meant to withdrew garrisons stationed in North China.In order to defend the British Concession in Tientsin,British government Decided that the evacuation of troops in North China would be carried out after the general settlement of the Tientsin Concession problem.After the August 13th Incident,British government adjusted two batallions from Hong Kong to defend the International Settlement at Shanghai.When the Battle of Shanghai ended,a battalion was withdrawn.When the crisis in Europe broke out in September 1938,there was a Disagreement about the evacuation of troops in China.The military believed that the British garrison in China should be transferred to Hong Kong as soon as possible.The British authorities in China believed that the premature withdrawal of troops would have a bad political influence.British government finally decided that the outbreak of the European war would be a suitable withdrawal opportunity.After the outbreak of World War II,Japan proposed that Britain should withdraw its garrisons in China,which complicated the issue of withdrawal.In order to improve the relationship between Britain and Japan,and avoid the criticism from America,British government finally decided to withdraw its garrisons in North China and retain the garrisons in Shanghai.After Italy declared war on Britain and France in June 1940,Japan proposed again that Britain should withdraw its garrisons in China.Britain was in the mire of European war,and had no guarantee of U.S.military support in the Far East.Therefore,Britain had no choice but to withdraw all garrisons in China,ended the history of stationing an army in China.