After Japan decided it
needed to invade Manchuria, they needed a
pretext to justify the invasion. They chose to
create a false flag attack on a railway close to
Liutiao Lake ... a big flat area that had no
military value to either the Japanese or the
Chinese.
The main reason the spot was chosen was for it’s
proximity (about 800 meters distant) to Chinese
troops stationed at Beidaying. The Japanese
press labeled the no-name site of the blast
Liutiaogou, which was Japanese for “Liutiao
Bridge.” There was no bridge there, but the name
helped convince some that the sabatoge was a
strategic Chinese attack.
Colonel Itagaki Seishiro and Lieutenant Colonel
Kanji Ishiwara ordered officers of the Shimamoto
Regiment to place a bomb beneath the tracks. The
original bomb failed to detonate, and a
replacement had to be found. Then, at 10:20 PM,
September 18, 1931, the tracks were blown.
Surprisingly, the explosion was minor. Only one
side of the rail was damaged, and the damage was
so light that a train headed for Shenyang passed
by only a few minutes later. But it was a good
enough excuse to invade ... |