Why didn't Japan annex Siberia during the Russian Civil War? (Short Animated Documentary)

When Russia was divided in the wake of its 1917 revolution, the Entente powers intervened and occupied parts of the country. In Siberia, Japan sent a very large force and took control over a large chunk of it. But it didn't hang around and fully withdrew after a few short years. So why did it leave instead of trying to hold on to all of that resource-rich land? To find out watch this short and simple animated history documentary.

A special thanks to my Patreon supporters:

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[capncake]

The Interwar Period and latter stages of WW1 are criminally overlooked.

[harrisonlee]

"The Japanese government didn't trust the army."

I'm sure that'll work itself out.

[BlahCraft]

The fact that this was land controlled by the Imperial Japanese ARMY instead of the Imperial Japanese NAVY cannot be understated. The IJN/IJA rivalry was unlike any other inter-agency rivalry. At times, Imperial Japan acted more it had two empires, one controlled by the IJA and one controlled by the IJN. The 1920s saw a shift in political dominance of the IJN over the IJA, with one of the factors being continuous assassinations.

[phoenixshadow]

It's interesting to see how the Japanese government went from imperialistic but more cautious to hypermilitaristic and believing they could roll over Shanghai in three days.

[cernejr]

Super interesting. My Czech grandfather was evacuated from Russia via Vladivostok in 1920. Once he reached the Japanese held territory, he was safe - for the first time since 1914.

[connorgolden]

Huh. I didn’t even know that they wanted to annex it. I know they invaded but not that they actually wanted to keep it. The Russian civil war and all the various factions and invading forces were wild and interesting to read about!

[ArthurCSchaperMR]

Now you need to make a video about the following subjects:

1. Why did the revolutions of 1848 fail in Germany and Spain?
2. Why do people drive on different sides of the road in different countries?

[sulapula]

This man makes random history videos and i love it

[theprofessional]

Japan saved hundreds of Polish kids that were in work camps in Siberia . These were Polish families that were deported to the Russian far East by the tsar . A lot of people do not know that the Tsar built the first gulags . These kids were raised in Japanese orphanages and returned back to Poland . While Japan was cruel in many of its conquests this is one good thing they did and a part of history that many people have never heard of.

[iDeathMaximuMII]

I knew that they invaded Siberia but never knew they controlled all of that land. The Interwar period is incredibly fascinating

[emilhuseynov]

I wish lots of luck to those Norwegian scientists in finding the mythical lands of “Denmark” I believe in you !!!

[iordanvassilev]

I love that you cover such underdeveloped subjects like Norways search for the fabled city of Copenhagen in Bolivia. A shame this land remains lost to time

[SenaBryer]

I read this as Serbia at first and got EXTREMELY confused

[malachiphoniex]

I've got a question for you history nerds out there: what are some events during the Interwar period that few people know about? I personally feel like it's an underrepresented part of history and I have been learning about stuff like the Polish Soviet War and the German Friecorps.

[lucianoosorio]

“You’re a Land Rover, I’m a land expander.” Ivan the Terrible

[HistoryHustle]

Awesome! Actually at 0:30 'random peasant' that actually did happen. The delegation was on its way to negotiate with the Germans and realized they needed a peasant to have a proper representation of the revolution. They then snatched one from the streets. During diner this peasant made an impression on the Germans who were bewildered by his table manners.

[KMZX_]

Read on British sailor caps

HMS Floaty Boi 0:52
HMS Ship and Slide 1:05
HMS Ship to be Square 1:35

[Actiaeon]

This is a question I never asked, but one that that as soon as I saw it needed to be answered.

Great videos, keep it up.

[RoScFan]

"The government didnt trust the army"... knowing what will happen to Japan later on, that sentence gave me chills.

[mranimazing]

0:45 "Pictured Japan"

That caught me off guard