In late February 1933 the Japanese attacked Jehol in the Battle of Rehe in Operation Nekka. With insufficient troops—and those poorly equipped and led—his defenses soon fell, despite the mountainous terrain and snowstorms hindering the Japanese. Some of his officers went over to the Japanese. With his capital soon to fall, Tang diverted 200 trucks assigned to support his army to transport his wealth to Tianjin. When they were stopped and the cargo seized at the Great Wall, Zhang Xueliang ordered Tang arrested. He fled the province, with a 200-man bodyguard, into Chahar along with remnants of his provincial forces.