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
Taiwan Chiang Kai-shek
Taiwan Bai Chongxi
Taiwan Ma Bufang
Taiwan Zhang Zhizhong
Taiwan Ma Chengxiang
Taiwan Ma Xizhen
Taiwan Han Youwen
Taiwan Liu Bindi †
Taiwan Osman Batur
Taiwan Yulbars Khan
Taiwan Masud Sabri		 Second East Turkestan Republic Elihan Tore
Second East Turkestan Republic Ehmetjan Qasim
Second East Turkestan Republic Abdulkerim Abbas
Second East Turkestan Republic Saifuddin Azizi
Second East Turkestan Republic Ishaq Beg
Soviet Union Ivan Y. Polinov
Soviet Union Fotiy I. Leskin
Units involved

 National Revolutionary Army

  • 2nd Army (4 divisions)
  • 5th Cavalry Army (Muslim)
  • 42nd Cavalry Army (Muslim)
  • 14th Cavalry regiment (Muslim)[1]
  • Security forces[a]
  East Turkestan National Army[b]
Red Army
Strength
100,000 Han Chinese and Tungani Muslim infantry and cavalry[2] Thousands of Soviet troops
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), p. 215
  2. ^ Forbes (1986)
  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.


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