Battle of Samdunja

The Battle of Samdunja (Korean: 삼둔자 전투; Hanja: 三屯子戰鬪) was fought between June 4 and June 6, 1920 on the banks of the Wolshin River in Manchuria between the combined force of the Northern Korean Military Office and the Shinmindan against the Imperial Japanese Army.

One company of the Korean Independence Army joined forces and defeated one company of the Japanese Army's Nanyang Garrison (南陽守備隊) led by Lieutenant Jiro Nihimi at Samdunja on the banks of the Wolshin River in Hwaryong County, East Gando, Manchuria. The Korean Independence Army preemptively attacked the Japanese army with the aim of taking over the country. It led to the Battle of Bongo-dong and is broadly seen as a part of the Battle of Fengwudong.^[1][2]

After the battle, a unit of Japanese military police pursued the Korean force into Chinese territory on June 6. As they could not find the Korean force, the Japanese massacred civilians in retaliation. The Korean unit, which was hiding at Beomjinryeong Hill, ambushed the Japanese and then retreated.^[1][2]

The Battle of Samdunja in Wolshin River led to the Battle of Fengwudong on June 7, 1920. The Battle of Samdunja was a small-scale domestic incursion operation that the independence army had normally carried out until now. At the same time, it was the first time the Japanese army invaded mainland China.^[1][2]