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In September 1940, the to prevent the Republic of China from importing arms and fuel through French Indochina along the Sino-Vietnamese Railway, from the port of Haiphong through Hanoi to Kunming in Yunnan.〔(''L'Indochine française pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale'' ), Jean-Philippe Liardet〕 The fighting, which lasted several days before the French authorities reached an agreement with the Japanese, took place in the context of the ongoing Sino-Japanese War and World War II. Japan was able to occupy Tonkin in northern Indochina, tightening the blockade of China and making a continuation of the drawn-out Battle of South Guangxi unnecessary. ==Background== In early 1940, troops of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) moved to seize Longzhou in south Guangxi, where the eastern branch of the railroad from Hanoi reaches the border, and also tried to move west to cut the rail line to Kunming. Chinese resistance, supplied from Indochina, was tough. Then on 22 June 1940, France signed an armistice with Germany, Japan's Axis ally. This established the neutral but Axis-influenced Vichy France government in the unoccupied part of France. Vichy France also controlled at that time most French overseas possessions, including Indochina. The IJA captured Longzhou, closing one route, but the rail line to Yunnan was still open. Japanese aerial bombing did not close it. Japan pressured the Vichy government to close the railway, but the French did not agree. On 5 September, the South China Front Army of the IJA organised the amphibious Indochina Expeditionary Army to move into Indochina. Led by Major-General Takuma Nishimura, it was supported by a flotilla of ships, and planes from aircraft carriers and air bases on Hainan Island. Faced with this invasion threat, Vichy France yielded. On 22 September, Japan and Vichy Indochina signed an accord which granted Japan the rights to station troops in Indochina, and to move troops and supplies through Indochina. The accord allowed up to 6,000 Japanese troops to be stationed in Indochina, with no more than 25,000 troops stationed or in transit at any given time. In addition, all Japanese land, air, and naval forces were barred from Indochinese territory except as authorised in the accord. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Japanese invasion of French Indochina」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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