Location
Tientsin is a People's Republic of China Municipality located in the northern coast of China. Borders the Bohai Gulf and a portion of the Yellow Sea to the east. Also borders rs Hebei Province and Beijing municipality. During World War II, known as Tientsin. Also known as Tsiangtsin, Tianjin. Today known as Tianjin 天津市.

Wartime History
On July 30, 1937, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Tianjin fell to Japan but was not entirely occupied. During the Japanese occupation, Tianjin was ruled by the North China Executive Committee, a puppet state based in Beijing.

Tientsin Incident
On June 14, 1939, the Imperial Japanese Army surrounded and blockaded the British concession over the refusal of the British authorities to hand over to the Japanese six Chinese who had assassinated a locally prominent Japanese collaborator, and had taken refuge in the British concession. For a time, the 1939 crisis appeared likely to cause an Anglo-Japanese war, especially when reports of the maltreatment by the Japanese Army of British subjects wishing to leave or enter the concession appeared in the British press. The crisis ended when the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was advised by the Royal Navy and the Foreign Office that the only way to force the Japanese to lift the blockade was to send the main British battle fleet to Far Eastern waters, but given the current crisis in Europe that it would be inappropriate to send the British fleet out of European waters, thus the British turned over the six Chinese, who were then executed by the Japanese.

Japanese Occupation
On August 9, 1940, all of the British troops in Tianjin were ordered to withdraw. On November 14, 1941 the American Marine unit stationed in Tianjin was ordered to leave, but before this could be accomplished, the Japanese attacked the United States and the Marine detachment surrendered on December 8, 1941. Only the Italian and French (loyal to Vichy) concessions were allowed to remain during the Japanese occupation. Japanese forces occupied the city until August 15, 1945.

Tientsin Airfield (Changkueichang)
Wartime airfield

Contribute Information
Do you have photos or additional information to add?

Last Updated
November 6, 2023