Ma Hongkui - Second Sino-Japanese War

Second Sino-Japanese War

During World War II, he took over the command of 17th Army Group. He was also the vice-commander of the 8th War Zone.

During the early 1930s, Ma received some weapons from Japan when he was fighting the communists, and met visiting delegations, but after Japan's invasion of China in 1937, he veered sharply against Japan, supporting the imam Hu Songshan in spreading anti Japanese propaganda, and sending limited amounts of troops to his cousin Ma Hongbin to fight the Japanese. Ma has allowed a Japanese military airfield and some personnel in Ningxia, but evicted them after the start of the Sino Japanese War in 1937, reaffirming alleigance to China.

Ma Hongkui maintained a sharp watch against Japan during the war. Ma Hongkui seized the city of Dingyuanying in Suiyuan and arrested the Mongol prince Darijaya in 1938 because a Japanese officer of the Kwantung Army, Doihara Kenji, visited the prince. Darijaya was exiled to Lanzhou until 1944.

In 1940, Ma Hongkui's Muslim troops took part in the Battle of West Suiyuan against Japan and their Mongol puppet state Mengjiang.

Because of fierce resistance by Ma Hongkui and Ma Bufang's Muslim cavalry, the Japanese never captured Lanzhou during the war.

Ma Hongkui cooperated with the Yihewani imam Hu Songshan, ordering all imams in Ningxia to preach Chinese nationalism in their sermons.