Ili Rebellion

Ili Rebellion
East Turkestan National Revolution
Three Districts Revolution
Date (1944-11-07) (1946-06-26)7 November 1944 – 26 June 1946
(1 year, 7 months, 2 weeks and 5 days)
Location
Ili, Tarbagatay, and Altay districts in northern Xinjiang Province, Republic of China
Result
  • Independence of the East Turkestan Republic declared on 12 November 1944
  • Ceasefire and establishment of a coalition government between the East Turkestan Republic and Republic of China on 26 June 1946
  • Collapse of the coalition government on 12 August 1947 and resumption of independent governance in the former territories of the East Turkestan Republic
Belligerents
 Republic of China  East Turkestan Republic
Supported by:
 Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Units involved

National Revolutionary Army

  • 100,000 Han and Hui Chinese (historically known as Tungani) infantry and cavalry[1]
    • Han Chinese 2nd Army (4 divisions)
    • Hui Chinese Muslim 5th Cavalry Army
    • Hui Chinese Muslim 42nd Cavalry Army
    • Hui Chinese Muslim 14th Cavalry regiment[2]
    • Pau-an-dui (保安隊, Pacification troops made up of Kazaks, Mongols and White Russians loyal to the Chinese Kuomintang)
Casualties and losses
Total casualties unknown, many Chinese civilians killed in Ili alongside a number of Chinese soldiers Total casualties unknown, heavy losses among Russian settlers fighting for the Second East Turkestan Republic, many civilian and military losses taken

The Ili Rebellion (simplified Chinese: 伊宁事变; traditional Chinese: 伊寧事變; pinyin: Yīníng Shìbiàn[3]) was a separatist uprising by the Turkic peoples of northern Xinjiang (East Turkestan) against the Kuomintang government of the Republic of China, from 1944 to 1946. The Ili Rebellion began with the East Turkestan National Revolution, known in Chinese historiography as the Three Districts Revolution (simplified Chinese: 三区革命; traditional Chinese: 三區革命; pinyin: Sān-qū Gémìng; Uyghur: ئۈچ ۋىلايەت ئىنقىلابى), which saw the establishment of the Second East Turkestan Republic. The leadership was dominated by Uyghurs but the population consisted mostly of Kazakhs.[4]

  1. ^ Forbes (1986)
  2. ^ Forbes (1986), p. 215
  3. ^ Ildikó Bellér-Hann (2007). Situating the Uyghurs Between China and Central Asia. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp. 109–. ISBN 978-0-7546-7041-4.
  4. ^ Wang 2020, p. 265.