Peace In Their Time

My telling of the gigantic opening battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War concludes today! IJA General Matsui continued his slow grind north of Shanghai through October and into early November 1937, but it would be the sudden appearance of yet another Japanese army landing south of the city that would signal the sudden, panicked end of the battle.    Bibliography for this episode:    Mitter, Rana...

The struggle for Shanghai only expanded in late August as the Japanese landed regular army divisions to attack the city from the north. Desperate fighting for both sides ensued as the surrounding villages and countryside became hotly contested pieces of real estate. All the while the scale of the battle would only seem to expand from there.    Bibliography for this episode:    Mitter, Rana Forgott...

It did not take long at all for the hostilities in northern China to spread to other parts of the country, mostly because that was Chiang Kai-shek's whole strategy. And while Japanese planners weren't too keen on fighting in and around Shanghai, they weren't about to lose face by shrinking from a direct challenge. The result was a multi-month battle that left both sides bloodied, exhausted, and gr...

The Second-Sino Japanese War began with a bang around the picturesque riverbanks surrounding the old Marco Polo Bridge. While it was only a skirmish by itself, its aftermath saw a complete breakdown in relations between the two titans of East Asia and the start of an eight-year conflict that is going to be a huge thread in our continued narrative.    Bibliography for this episode:    Mitter, Rana...

The war between China and Japan that raged from 1937 to 1945 was one of the great sagas of WWII. And it has been a while since I checked in on both nations, so today I set the stage for both countries before the real deal shooting started at the Marco Polo Bridge in July 1937.    Bibliography for this episode:    Mitter, Rana Forgotten Ally: China's World War II 1937-1945 Mariner Books 2013 van de...

I make a vague and rambling attempt here to explain the condition of the National Revolutionary Army of China by mid-1937. It's not a complete picture, but you'll get enough to appreciate exactly how the war played out.    Bibliography for this episode:    Ness, Leland and Bin Shih Kangzhan: Guide to Chinese Ground Forces 1937-1945 Helion and Company 2016   Questions? Comments? Email me at  peacei...

All planes this episode as I close out my overview of the Japanese military with a look at the IJA's air arm.    Bibliography for this episode:    Francillon, Rene J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War Putnam Aeronautical Books 1970 Newdick, Thomas Japanese Aircraft of World War II 1937-1945 Amber Books Ltd 2017 Bishop, Chris The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II Barnes & Noble Inc 199...

Allowing myself but one katana joke, today I am covering the weapons of the Japanese military. Quality stuff here and there, but the most striking pieces were the ones where the Japanese had to compromise heavily on account of a lack of resources.    Bibliography for this episode:    Ness, Leland Rikugun: Guide to Japanese Ground Forces 1937-1945, Volume 2: Weapons of the Imperial Japanese Army &a...

Today I finally get to talk about the IJA, specifically its organization and doctrine. Turns out a conflict with China was a low priority and that came back to bite them!   Bibliography for this episode:    Ness, Leland Rikugun: Guide to Japanese Ground Forces 1937-1945, Volume 1: Tactical Organization of Imperial Japanese Army & Navy Ground Forces Helion & Company 2014 Peattie, Mark, Edwa...

My deep-dive into the Imperial Japanese Navy concludes with the unexpected heart of the fleet, the carriers!   Bibliography for this episode:    Evans, David C. and Mark R. Peattie Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941 Naval Institute Press 1997 Peattie, Mark R Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power, 1909-1941 Naval Institute Press 2013 Stille,...

I'm a little under the weather, so all business today. I'm talking about the heavy cruisers, battleships, and submarines of the IJN.   Bibliography for this episode:    Evans, David C. and Mark R. Peattie Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941 Naval Institute Press 1997 Stille, Mark E. The Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific War Osprey Publishing 2013...

Today I get started talking about Japanese ship designs, specifically the Destroyers and Light Cruisers. Especially with the Destroyers, the smaller size of these vessels belied a powerful punch that the IJN hoped would prove decisive in the war to come.    Bibliography for this episode:    Evans, David C. and Mark R. Peattie Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy,...

Technically this is the start of the miniseries covering the first couple years of the Second Sino-Japanese War. But before I properly get going with that, I am going to cover the militaries of the war. And today I am starting with the Imperial Japanese Navy, the IJN. This formidable force wasn't built in a day, so I'm taking an episode to talk about its doctrine and the guiding principles it oper...

It took almost two years of judicial attacks and the confidence inspired by the 1936 electoral landslide for FDR to summon the gumption to go after the Supreme Court. Second term misfortune struck quickly though, and the battle left its mark on the president.    Bibliography for this episode:    Simon, James F. FDR and Chief Justice Hughes: The President, the Supreme Court, and the Epic Battle Ove...

In 1935 the Roosevelt administration came up against the most effective opposition faced yet, which would setup a showdown between the United States' executive and judiciary. Today I introduce the US Supreme Court and the devastating day that set the stage for that confrontation.    Bibliography for this episode:    Simon, James F. FDR and Chief Justice Hughes: The President, the Supreme Court, an...

By 1935 the material conditions of the average America were still unacceptably low and millions had no hope of private employment. Help was on the way though, and FDR would spare no expense in making the new Works Progress Administration a success.    Bibliography for this episode:    Taylor, Nick American Made, The Enduring Legacy of the WPA: When FDR Put the Nation to Work Bantam Books 2008 Kenn...

The next round of advancing worker power during the New Deal saw organized labor's allies in Congress successfully secure their right to organize. And a massive split in the labor movement would set the stage for a quick to materialize test of those new rights.    Bibliography for this episode:    Dray, Philip There is Power in Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America Anchor Books 2010 Kennedy, D...

FDR didn't call it the cornerstone for nothing.    Bibliography for this episode:    Kennedy, David M. Freedom From Fear: The American People in Depression and War 1929-1945 Oxford University Press 1999 Hiltzik, Michael The New Deal: A Modern History Simon and Schuster 2011 Schlesinger Jr, Arthur M. The Coming of the New Deal 1933-1935: The Age of Roosevelt Volume II First Mariner Books 2003 Schle...

Today is the start of the New Deal's second chapter, and I cover the lay of the land before getting in deep with some of the era's greatest reforms.    Bibliography for this episode:    Kennedy, David M. Freedom From Fear: The American People in Depression and War 1929-1945 Oxford University Press 1999 Hiltzik, Michael The New Deal: A Modern History Simon and Schuster 2011 Schlesinger Jr, Arthur M...

The saga finally concludes and the Second Spanish Republic is destroyed. Its demise started with an army coup and it ended with one too.    Bibliography for this episode:    Jackson, Gabriel The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-39 Princeton University Press 1965 Preston, Paul The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution, and Revenge Harper Perennial 2006 Thomas, Hugh The Spanish Civil War M...

The fall of Catalonia wasn't much of a fight, and its loss set off a scramble to try and set the terms for the winding down of the war.    Bibliography for this episode:    Jackson, Gabriel The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-39 Princeton University Press 1965 Preston, Paul The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution, and Revenge Harper Perennial 2006 Thomas, Hugh The Spanish Civil War Mo...

I'm entering the endgame of the SCW, and today I cover the last Republican offensive, the Battle of the Ebro. Fun bonus are the half-hearted machinations going on behind the scenes to try and negotiate a peace. If my voice sounds weird today I'm recovering from a pretty dire illness so hopefully it doesn't sound too terrible!   Bibliography for this episode:    Jackson, Gabriel The Spanish Republi...

I conclude my coverage on the violent quest for internal order in the two zones of Spain.   Bibliography for this episode:    Seidman, Michael The Victorious Counterrevolution: The Nationalist Effort in the Spanish Civil War University of Wisconsin Press 2011 Preston, Paul The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution, and Revenge Harper Perennial 2006 Preston, Paul Architects of Terror: Paranoia, C...

Madrid was a busy place in the fall of 1936, and you can bet the action happening on the front was matched by events unfolding in the city itself.    Seidman, Michael The Victorious Counterrevolution: The Nationalist Effort in the Spanish Civil War University of Wisconsin Press 2011 Preston, Paul The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution, and Revenge Harper Perennial 2006 Preston, Paul Architect...

No civil war would be complete without purges and oppression going on behind the frontlines, and this one was no exception.   Bibliography for this episode:    Seidman, Michael The Victorious Counterrevolution: The Nationalist Effort in the Spanish Civil War University of Wisconsin Press 2011 Preston, Paul The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution, and Revenge Harper Perennial 2006 Preston, Paul...