On January 10, 1920, the Treaty of Versailles entered into force, which became the main result of the First World War. Although the treaty itself was signed in 1919, in 1920 it was ratified by the countries - members of the League of Nations. One of the important points in the conclusion of the Versailles Treaty was the solution of the Shandong issue. Back in 1919, a dispute arose over Article 156 of the Versailles Treaty, which was supposed to determine the fate of the German concession on the Shandong Peninsula in China.
Back in the XIV century, after the overthrow of the rule of the Mongol Yuan dynasty, the new Ming dynasty created a new administrative unit - Shandong province, which included the Shandong peninsula and the Liaodong peninsula. However, when China was conquered by the Manchus, the borders of the province were changed - the territory of the Liaodong Peninsula was "subtracted" from it. Since the Shandong Peninsula had an advantageous geographical position, in the second half of the 19th century it began to attract the attention of foreign powers, primarily European countries and neighboring Japan. When China was defeated in the Second Opium War, the port of Dengzhou, located in Shandong province, received the status of an open port, which implied the possibility of organizing trade with foreigners through this port.
The next stage of the colonial expansion of the world powers into Shandong province was associated with the First Sino-Japanese War of 1895. During this war, Japanese troops were able to land on the coast and capture Weihaiwei, which was of strategic importance. The Battle of Weihaiwei was one of the final episodes of the First Sino-Japanese War and was accompanied by a major naval battle between the Japanese and Chinese fleets. In 1898, China placed the port of Weihai under British control. So there was a territory called "British Weihai", which included the port of the same name and adjacent areas on the Shandong Peninsula. Great Britain, renting Weihai, aimed to provide opposition to the Russian Empire, which leased the Liaodong Peninsula. Weihai remained under British rule until 1930, thus surviving the Russo-Japanese and the First World Wars. Naturally, the strategically important territories of the Shandong Peninsula were also drawn by the authorities of the new European power, which is gaining strength, Germany. In the 1890s, Germany actively acquired new colonies in Africa, Asia and Oceania. The territory of China was no exception, where Germany also sought to acquire its own military and trade outpost.
The peculiarities of the historical formation and development of Germany did not allow her to timely engage in the world division of the colonies. Nevertheless, Berlin hoped to consolidate its right to own colonies in Africa, Asia and Oceania. The German leaders also paid attention to China. According to the German leadership, the creation of bases in China could, firstly, ensure Germany's naval presence in the Pacific Ocean, and secondly, ensure the effective management of Germany's other overseas colonies, including Oceania. In addition, huge China was seen as a very important market for Germany. After all, there were practically unlimited opportunities for the export of German goods, but this required the creation of our own outposts on Chinese territory. Since politically and economically China was greatly weakened at the time in question, on March 6, 1898, Germany acquired the territory of Jiao-Zhou from China.
The administrative center of the territory controlled by Germany was the city and port of Qingdao, located on the Shandong Peninsula. It is still one of the fifteen most important cities in China, and at that time its significance was even more ambitious, primarily as a major port. Even during the Ming Dynasty, Qingdao began to be used as an important naval port called Jiaoao. In the second half of the 19th century, the authorities of the Qing Empire, taking into account the situation around the Shandong Peninsula, decided to create a serious naval fortification here. Qingdao City was founded on June 14, 1891. However, given the lack of funding and organizational problems, its construction was slow. In 1897, the city and the surrounding area became the object of close German interest. In order to get Qingdao, Germany, as always, used the method of provocation. Two German Christian missionaries were killed in Shandong territory. After that, the German government demanded from the government of the Qing Empire to transfer the territory of the "Jiao-Zhou Bay" under the control of Germany. A squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Otto von Diederichs was sent to the peninsula. Germany demanded that China either hand over the island to it, or threatened to use military force, ostensibly to protect Christians in China.
Realizing perfectly well that in the event of any armed conflict, the port of Qingdao would become one of the most important outposts of the German military presence, Berlin began to significantly strengthen and strengthen the city. Under German rule, Qingdao became a strong naval fortress. It was fortified in such a way that the city could withstand two to three months of a siege by the enemy's naval forces. During this time, Germany could send reinforcements.
Unlike other colonies, which were subordinated to the Imperial Colonial Administration, the port of Qingdao was subordinated to the Naval Administration - this emphasized the special status of German possession in China. In addition, Qingdao was primarily considered not even as a colony, but as a naval base, which required the management of the territory not by the colonial, but by the naval department. The East Asian Squadron of the German Navy was stationed in the port of Qingdao. Its first commander was Rear Admiral Otto von Diederichs. The German naval command paid great attention to the East Asian squadron, since it was she who was supposed to ensure the inviolability of Germany's interests in the Asia-Pacific region.
- Admiral Diederichs
Before the outbreak of World War I, the East Asian squadron consisted of the following ships: 1) the Scharnhorst armored cruiser, which served as the flagship, 2) the Gneisenau armored cruiser, 3) the Nuremberg light cruiser, 4) the Leipzig light cruiser, 5) light cruiser Emden, as well as 4 seagoing gunboats of the Iltis type, 3 river gunboats, 1 minelayer Louting, destroyers Taku and S-90. Officers, non-commissioned officers and sailors with extensive experience and good training were selected for service on the ships. But, since the ships themselves were not modern and could not withstand an open battle with British warships, in the event of the outbreak of hostilities in the Pacific Ocean, they were faced with the task of attacking the merchant and transport ships of the enemy countries with the aim of sinking them. So Germany was going to wage an "economic war" in the Asia-Pacific region.
The command of the East Asian squadron in 1914 was carried out by Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee (1861-1914, pictured), an experienced naval officer who made a fairly good career in the Prussian fleet. Starting service in 1878, in 1884 he was a lieutenant in the African cruising squadron, in 1887 he became commandant of the port in Cameroon, and in 1912 he headed the East Asian squadron.
The outbreak of World War I caught Vice Admiral von Spee on the way. It was located in the area of the Caroline Islands, which then also belonged to Germany. Considering that the squadron could be blocked in Qingdao, he ordered to move the main part of the ships to the coast of Chile, leaving only destroyers and gunboats in the port. The latter were supposed to engage in attacks on the merchant ships of the countries - enemies of Germany. However, the cruiser "Emden", commanded by Captain Karl von Müller, remained in the Indian Ocean - this was the proposal of Müller himself. The cruiser managed to capture 23 British merchant ships, the Russian cruiser Zhemchug in the port of Penang in Malaya, and a French destroyer, before being sunk off the Cocos Islands by the Australian cruiser Sydney in November 1914.
- "Emden"
As for the main part of the ships of the East Asian squadron, they headed for Easter Island, and on November 1, off the Chilean coast, they defeated the British squadron of Admiral Christopher Cradock, consisting of four ships. Then Admiral von Spee had to go to the Atlantic to join the main forces of the German fleet. But he decided to attack the British forces at Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands, where he suffered a crushing defeat. On December 8, the cruisers Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Leipzig and Nuremberg were sunk. Admiral von Spee himself and his sons, who served on the ships of the squadron, died in the battle.
Meanwhile, after the outbreak of the First World War, the Qingdao Fortress remained under the reliable protection of the German coastal batteries. However, the German command did not count on joining the First World War on the side of the Entente, Japan located next to China. If against the small expeditionary forces of France and England, which were based in the Asia-Pacific region, Qingdao could successfully hold the defense, then Japan had very great capabilities to carry out an active and continuous siege of the fortress. On August 23, Japan declared war on Germany, and on August 27, the port of Qingdao was blocked by an approaching squadron of the Japanese Imperial Navy. At the same time, Japan began the landing of ground units on the territory of China, which declared its neutrality. On September 25, Japanese troops entered Jiao-Zhou territory. The heavy artillery of the Japanese army was actively used to storm the fortress. On October 31, the Japanese army began shelling Qingdao. On the night of November 7, Japanese troops launched an assault on the fortress. The forces of the attackers and defenders were clearly not equal. On the morning of November 7, Qingdao Commandant Mayer-Waldeck announced the surrender of the fortress. Before that, the German garrison, as usual, destroyed the outbuildings, ships, weapons and other property located on the territory of Qingdao.
- defense of Qingdao
Thus, Qingdao and the Jiao-Zhou concession came under Japanese occupation. When the First World War ended with the defeat of Germany and its allies, China began to count on the return of Qingdao to its control. However, the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 decided to leave Qingdao under Japanese rule. Thus began the "Shandong Crisis", which became the subject of discussion at the Versailles Conference. Great Britain and France, which had their own interests in China and did not want its strengthening, supported the position of Japan, which expected to keep Qingdao under its rule. In China itself, anti-imperialist protests began in response. As early as May 4, 1919, a grandiose demonstration took place in Beijing, the participants of which demanded that the Chinese government refuse to sign the peace treaty. Then workers and traders went on strike in Beijing and Shanghai. Under the influence of massive popular uprisings in China, the government of the country, represented by Gu Weijun, was forced to declare its refusal to sign the peace treaty.
Thus, the "Shandong question" became the subject of a major international dispute, in which the United States of America intervened as a mediator. From November 12, 1921 to February 6, 1922, the Washington Conference on the Limitation of Naval Arms and the Problems of the Far East and the Pacific Ocean was held in Washington, in which representatives of the United States, Great Britain, France, China, Japan, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and five British dominions. At this conference, further prospects for political and economic relations in the Asia-Pacific region were discussed. Under pressure from the United States, Japan was forced on February 5, 1922 to sign the Washington Agreement. This agreement, in particular, provided for the beginning of the withdrawal of Japanese troops from the territory of Shandong province, as well as the return of the Qingdao-Jinan railway line and the Jiao-Zhou administrative territory with the Qingdao port to China's control. Thus, in accordance with the decision of the Washington Conference, the Shandong issue was also resolved. The port of Qingdao came under the control of the Chinese administration. In 1930, Great Britain gave the port of Weihai under the control of the Chinese authorities.
When the Kuomintang government was formed with the center in Nanjing in 1929, Qingdao received the status of a "Special City". But in January 1938 it was re-occupied by Japanese forces and remained under occupation until the end of World War II. After the war, the Kuomintang government returned Qingdao to the status of a "Special City" and gave the go-ahead for the deployment of a base of the US Western Pacific Fleet in the port of Qingdao. But already on June 2, 1949, Qingdao was occupied by parts of the People's Liberation Army of China. Currently, Qingdao is a major economic center and a naval base in China, and its port is visited by foreign merchant ships and even military delegations.
