Kumul Rebellion

Kumul Rebellion
Part of the Xinjiang Wars

Turkic conscripts of the New 36th Division near Kumul
Date20 February 1931 – July 1934
Location
Result Defeat of the Turkic Islamic Republic of East Turkestan (First East Turkestan Republic)
Territorial
changes
Chinese warlord Sheng Shicai and the Xinjiang clique take control of Northern Xinjiang, while the Chinese Nationalist government retains Southern Xinjiang.
Belligerents

Republic of China

Xinjiang clique

Soviet Union
Turkic Islamic Republic of East Turkestan
Commanders and leaders
Units involved

National Revolutionary Army

Han, Hui, and White Russian troops Uyghur and Kyrgyz local fighters, as well as Afghan volunteers
Strength
Around 10,000 Hui cavalry and infantry, 15,000 Han infantry, and several thousand Kumul Khanate loyalists Several thousand Han troops, 250 White Russians, some Hui troops Thousands
Casualties and losses
Thousands

The Kumul Rebellion (Chinese: 哈密暴動; pinyin: Hāmì bàodòng; lit. 'Hami Uprising') was a rebellion from 1931 to 1934 of Kumulik Uyghurs who conspired with Hui Chinese Muslim General Ma Zhongying to overthrow Jin Shuren, the governor of Xinjiang Province. The Kumulik Uyghurs were loyal to the Kumul Khanate and wanted to restore the heir to the khanate and overthrow Jin. The Kuomintang wanted Jin removed because of his unapproved negotiations with the Soviet Union, so Chinese Premier Chiang Kai-shek secretly approved of the operation while ostensibly acknowledging Jin as governor. The rebellion eventually catapulted into large-scale fighting as Khotanlik Uyghur rebels in Southern Xinjiang started a separate rebellion for independence in collusion with Kyrgyz rebels. The various groups of rebels were not united and some even fought each other.