The Mukden incident was a false flag event staged by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria.
Japanese troops entering Shenyang during the Mukden incident
Renault FT tanks captured by the Japanese after the September 18th incident, September 19, 1931.
Japanese soldiers of 29th Regiment on the Mukden West Gate
Japanese experts inspect the "sabotaged" South Manchurian Railway.
A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misrepresentation of someone's allegiance. The term was famously used to describe a ruse in naval warfare whereby a vessel flew the flag of a neutral or enemy country in order to hide its true identity. The tactic was originally used by pirates and privateers to deceive other ships into allowing them to move closer before attacking them. It later was deemed an acceptable practice during naval warfare according to international maritime laws, provided the attacking vessel displayed its true flag once an attack had begun.
This US Douglas A-26 C Invader located at Tamiami Executive airport was painted in Cuban Air Force colors for the Bay of Pigs Invasion undertaken by the CIA-sponsored paramilitary group Brigade 2506 in April 1961.
Japanese experts inspect the scene of the "railway sabotage" on the South Manchurian Railway.
Alfred Naujocks
Operation Northwoods memorandum (13 March 1962)