Podcasts about central plains

In this episode of The Great Plains Archaeology Podcast, we examine the shift from the Late Plains Woodland Period to the emergence of the Early Plains Village tradition in the Central Plains. We explore the changes in settlement patterns, subsistence strategies, and social organization that accompanied this transition, from increased maize agriculture to the development of more permanent villages. What drove these transformations, and how did they set the foundation for later Central Plains societies? Join us as we unpack the archaeological evidence and discuss what this pivotal period reveals about the resilience and adaptability of Plains communities.Links:The Archaeology of the North American Great Plains by Douglas B. Bamforth (2021)Archaeology on the Great Plains Edited by W. Raymond Wood (1998)Carlton's KU Anthropology Faculty BioContact:Instagram: @‌pawnee_archaeologistEmail: greatplainsarchpodcast@gmail.comAffiliatesMotion

The state provides funding to school districts for adult students earning a high school diploma through a virtual program. KSDE established a process for districts to submit adult virtual student credits for funding. We reviewed about 5,900 credits that 9 school districts submitted for funding across 2 years to determine if those credits complied with state statute. Nearly all (99%) the credits the districts submitted appeared to comply with the criteria set in state law, but there were a few exceptions. In total, districts submitted about 55 credits (out of nearly 5,900) that did not comply with statute.KSDE audits the credits that districts submit for adult virtual school funding each year. For half of the districts we reviewed, KSDE did not approve the number of adult virtual credits that were statutorily compliant. KSDE lacked adequate written policies and procedures to help auditors review adult virtual school credits consistently. The department does not consistently follow some of the written policies they do have. The department also lacks written policies for some important audit best practices such as policies to require supervisory review of audit work.The Central Plains school district raised concerns with the results of KSDE's audit of the adult virtual credits they submitted for the 2021-22 school year. We noted a couple problems with how Central Plains creates and monitors transcripts that contributed to some of the issues with the district's audit. Based on our review of Central Plains 2021-22 credits, we determined there were about 500 credits that appeared statutorily compliant that the department did not fund. The difference in our results and the department's is largely because we took different approaches. 

We saw a solid day of money flow in corn, soybeans, wheat, soybean oil and feeder cattle on Tuesday. In the case of the corn market, it seems to continue to have a strong story ahead of U.S. spring planting. Can that support continue? We discuss that and get market analysis today from Matt Bennett with AgMarket.net. Find more online at https://www.agmarket.net. Extreme cold continues to blanket much of the country with another storm system impacting from the Central Plains to the Mid-Atlantic. Is there a drier and warmer pattern on the way? What is the latest updates to weather in Brazil and Argentina? Eric Snodgrass joins us to discuss on our Weekly Weather Update. More online at https://www.ag-wx.com. Also on today's show, we hear some comments from the National Ethanol Conference and have some news headlines to share as well.

Last time we spoke about the Mandalay Offensive. In the midst of intense warfare, General Krueger positioned his troops strategically to bolster the assault at Rosario. As the American forces repelled counterattacks and advanced, they faced fierce Japanese resistance, particularly at Binalonan and Hill 600. Despite heavy casualties, the Americans gradually gained ground, clearing key areas and preparing for further offensives. Meanwhile, Japanese defenses were fortified but weakened by shortages. As battles raged, both sides braced for decisive confrontations in the ongoing struggle for control of Luzon. In a fierce battle across the hills of Luzon, the 103rd Regiment aimed to secure key positions but faced heavy resistance, capturing Hill 800 by nightfall. The 172nd Regiment achieved surprise at Hill 900, while other regiments advanced under relentless fire. Meanwhile, in Burma, the British-Indian forces captured Shwebo, pushing deeper against Japanese defenses. The Mars Task Force disrupted supply lines, leading to a Japanese retreat. Amidst the chaos, both sides suffered heavy losses, marking a pivotal moment in the campaign. This episode is the Return to Bataan Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  By the end of January, as previously noted on Luzon, the 43rd Division had secured most of the Rosario region and Route 3 from Pozorrubio to the crucial junction with Route 11. The 25th Division had successfully eliminated the Shigemi Detachment at San Manuel, while the 6th Division had cleared the Cabaruan Hills and established outposts between Balungao and Guimba. Meanwhile, the 14th Corps had advanced to Clark Field, where it was engaged in a fierce battle with the Kembu Group. By January 27, the 40th Division had breached General Tsukada's northern defensive line, and the 37th Division had fortified Mabalacat, Angeles, and Runway No. 1 in preparation for the final push toward Manila. On that same day, General Krueger received significant reinforcements, with the arrival of the 1st Cavalry Division, the 32nd Division, and the 112th Cavalry Regiment at Lingayen Gulf. He planned to gather the cavalry division at Guimba to launch a coordinated advance toward the capital along the eastern side of the Central Plains via Route 5. After returning the reserve 35th Regiment to General Mullins, Krueger intended to deploy the 32nd Division, minus the 126th Regiment in Army Reserve, to the San Manuel-Asingan area. This would allow the 25th and 6th Divisions to narrow their fronts and continue south and southeast toward the Licab-Lupao line with reduced risk of exposing the 1st Corps' flank. Additionally, this strategy would enable the 37th Division to resume its advance toward Manila. However, General Griswold wanted to push Tsukada's forces further into the Zambales Mountains first, directing General Beightler to assault the enemy's southern defensive line centered around Fort Stotsenburg, while only the 148th Regiment and the 37th Reconnaissance Troop moved south along Route 3 to San Fernando. On January 28, the attack commenced as planned, with the 129th Regiment advancing westward through Runway No. 2, but it was quickly halted by the formidable forward defenses of the Eguchi Detachment. Meanwhile, with the assistance of Filipino guerrillas, reconnaissance units from the 37th Division successfully secured the San Fernando bridges intact. To the north of the Bamban River, the 160th Regiment faced unexpectedly light resistance as it moved along its ridge line to capture open-crested Hill 620, although it would later encounter stronger opposition when it reached the main defenses of the Takaya Detachment. At the same time, General Patrick began gathering the 1st and 20th Regiments at Guimba and Victoria, while the 6th Reconnaissance Troop advanced toward Cabanatuan, where they identified a significant Japanese concentration. Further north, the 35th Regiment advanced unopposed to barrio Gonzales, while the 27th Regiment moved overland and successfully dislodged a Japanese outpost from barrio Pemienta. Meanwhile, MacArthur was planning a secondary landing on the Zambales coast of Luzon, assigning Major-General Charles Hall's 11th Corps, which included the 38th Division and the 34th Regiment, to land at San Antonio and quickly advance across the base of Bataan to prevent any significant Japanese retreat into the peninsula. He also aimed to divert the Kembu Group's attention to relieve some pressure on the 14th Corps. However, General Yamashita had no intention of retreating to Bataan and had only dispatched Colonel Nagayoshi Sanenobu's 39th Regiment to defend the peninsula and the Kembu Group's right flank. On January 26, Hall's 11th Corps had departed Leyte Island aboard vessels from Admiral Struble's Task Group 78.3, heading directly to Luzon for the San Antonio landing, codenamed Operation Mike 7. The convoy reached its destination on the morning of January 29. After receiving reports from Filipino guerrillas indicating that there were no Japanese forces in the landing area, Struble decided to cancel the planned pre-assault bombardment. Instead, he ordered Hall's four regiments to land simultaneously across a nearly six-mile stretch of coastline from San Antonio. Upon landing, the 151st Regiment secured San Felipe and San Antonio, while the 149th Regiment quickly moved inland to capture the San Marcelino Airstrip. However, they discovered that guerrillas led by Captain Ramon Magsaysay had already taken control of the airstrip three days prior. Before nightfall, the 34th Regiment and the 24th Reconnaissance Troop advanced south along Route 7 to the northern shore of Subic Bay. To the east, the 160th Regiment made significant progress, advancing nearly two miles southwest and breaching a stronghold at the center of the Takaya Detachment. The 129th Regiment also managed to penetrate enemy defenses into Fort Stotsenburg but was halted at barrio Tacondo by six tanks from the Yanagimoto Detachment. Despite this setback, the inability of the Japanese counterattacks to reclaim lost territory compelled Tsukada to order the Eguchi and Yanagimoto Detachments to retreat to their main line of resistance. Meanwhile, further north, units from the 1st and 20th Regiments successfully captured Licab and Talavera, cutting off the road between Cabanatuan and Muñoz. The 27th Regiment engaged a small tank-artillery force from the 2nd Tank Division that had become trapped along the highway between Gonzales and Pemienta.  With the rapid advances of the 6th and 25th Divisions, the 2nd Tank Division main strength in the Tayug-Triangle Hill area was in danger of being cut off from its sole remaining escape route into the northern bastion via San Jose and Highway 5. To meet the new situation, General Iwanaka was directed to pull back all remaining division strength from the Tayug-Umingan and Triangle Hill sectors with the exception of small outpost forces to be left at Gonzales and Umingan to delay an enemy advance from the northwest. The division was instead to concentrate the bulk of its forces in a triangular-shaped area bounded by Lupao, Muñoz and Rizal. These new dispositions had barely been effected when enemy elements swept around the outpost force at Gonzales and cut its withdrawal route to Umingan, forcing the detachment to withdraw through the hills after destroying most of its tanks and all of its mechanized artillery. From 20:00 on the 29th until 04:30 the next morning the force tried unsuccessfully to break through the Pemienta perimeter, against a sharp enemy. By the time the action had ended the 27th Regiment had killed 125 Japanese and had destroyed 8 tanks, 8 artillery prime movers, 4 tractors, 8 105-mm howitzers and 5 trucks, while only losing about 15 men killed and 45 wounded. Only four tanks succeeded in breaking through the enemy encirclement and escaped along the highway to Umingan. The next day, the 27th Regiment began positioning itself to attack Umingan from the north and northwest, while the 35th Regiment started preparations for a holding attack from the west and southwest. In an effort to avert the mass execution of prisoners of war at Cabanatuan, Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Mucci led a contingent of approximately 233 men, composed of Filipino guerrillas, soldiers from the Alamo Scouts, and Mucci's 6th Ranger Battalion. They traversed 30 miles cross-country between January 28 and 30 to liberate 522 weakened prisoners during the night. Most of the prisoners had vacated the camp by 2010 hours. Rangers and guerrillas had to carry most, piggy-backing them or making hasty litters from rifles and shirts. It was 2 miles to the Pampanga River, where carts waited to take them to Platero to be treated, fed, and organized. Many were still in shock and had not yet fully understood that they were free. At 2040 hours, Capt Prince was at the Pampanga River supervising the loading of stumbling prisoners into 25 carts as Rangers and prisoners trickled in. The rest of the Scouts established an ambush at the crossing site. At 2045 hours, one hour after the raid was launched, Prince fired the third red flare and departed for Balangkare. The loaded carabao carts were ordered on their way to Balangkare at 2145 hours.  Meanwhile Major Robert Lapham's guerrilla forces provided cover for their escape, successfully returning them to Allied lines on January 31. During this operation, around 270 Japanese soldiers were killed at the camp, with an additional 900 casualties along the Cabu River. Over 270 Japanese lay dead or dying in the smoldering camp; most of the wounded dying by dawn as no aid was forthcoming. Japanese bodies were literally stacked at the Cabu bridge and scores more littered the riverside woods. The 359th Battalion had ceased to exist. In the morning, battalion commander Capt Oyanu was still alive, but most of his officers were dead. Only 255 men of 1,200 survived and most were wounded.   In contrast, the Americans suffered only 2 fatalities and 7 wounded, along with 12 wounded Filipinos and 2 dead prisoners. Fortunately, the anticipated retaliation against the Filipino population did not occur, as the Japanese retreated from the area within a day of the raid, while the 20th Regiment secured the road junction barrio of Baloc and began advancing toward Muñoz. On January 30, Griswold continued his vigorous offensive against Clark Field; the 129th Regiment cleared the hills near Dolores and took control of the abandoned Fort Stotsenburg area, while the 160th Regiment made only 500 yards of progress against the determined Takaya Detachment. The 108th Regiment finally captured Hill 5 and Thrall Hill. Further south, patrols from the 37th Division reached within a mile of Calumpit and the Pampanga River, and on Bataan, the 34th Regiment took Olongapo after a fierce skirmish, while the 2nd Battalion of the 151st Regiment captured Grande Island at the entrance to Subic Bay. At the same time, MacArthur was strategizing another secondary landing on Luzon, this time utilizing General Swing's 11th Airborne Division to assault Nasugbu, located 45 miles southwest of Manila. With this operation, MacArthur aimed to initiate a southern advance toward Manila while simultaneously hindering Japanese forces in southern Luzon from moving north to challenge Krueger's main offensive. General Eichelberger intended to deploy the 187th and 188th Glider Regiments and advance them approximately twenty miles along Route 17 to Tagaytay Ridge. There, the 511th Parachute Regiment would conduct an airdrop to secure the ridge for the ground troops and capture adjacent sections of Route 17 before the Japanese could regroup to defend the highway. In opposition, General Yokoyama had assigned only the Fuji Force to defend the area south of Manila. This force, centered around Colonel Fujishige Masatoshi's reinforced 17th Regiment, had only deployed the 3rd Battalion of the 31st Regiment in the Tagaytay Ridge region, with a small outpost at Nasugbu and its main defenses positioned on Mounts Cariliao and Batulao. At this stage, Yokoyama was nearing completion of the organization of the diverse Shimbu Group forces east of Manila into a cohesive combat task force. To the north, near Ipo, he had stationed the Kawashima Force, which was composed of the 82nd Brigade and the 31st Regiment. To the south, the main contingent of the former Manila Defense Force had been relocated from the Philippine capital and renamed the Kobayashi Force, guarding the Wawa-Montalban area. However, the departure of General Tsuda's 105th Division to the northern stronghold had created a significant gap in the Shimbu Group's defenses. Although Yokoyama intended to address this vulnerability with the Noguchi Detachment, Major-General Noguchi Susumu's troops were still in the midst of a lengthy march from the Bicol Peninsula by the end of January. As a temporary solution, the Okita Detachment, a composite force consisting of five battalions centered around the 186th Independent Battalion, and the Kuromiya Detachment, a three-battalion unit based on the 181st Independent Battalion, were deployed in the Bosoboso-Antipolo region. Meanwhile, the Kogure Detachment, organized around the 1st Surface Raiding Base Force, was stationed at Lamon Bay. Manila was entrusted to Rear-Admiral Iwabuchi Sanji's Manila Naval Defense Force, which included approximately 13,700 naval personnel from the 31st Special Base Force responsible for defending the islands of Manila Bay and the capital, along with some Army reinforcements. On January 27, Swing's 11th Airborne Division departed from Leyte Island aboard ships from Admiral Fechteler's Task Group 78.2, heading directly to Nasugbu Bay to carry out Operation Mike 6. Following an uneventful journey and a brief preliminary bombardment on January 31, the 188th Glider Regiment successfully landed with minimal resistance and quickly advanced inland toward the Palico River, aiming for the section of Route 17 that leads to Tagaytay Ridge. Pleased with the initial landing, Swing subsequently deployed the 187th Glider Regiment and the division artillery, which began to relieve the rear elements of the 188th by midday. At the same time, the majority of the 188th secured the Palico bridge and crossed the river to reach Route 17. Further north, under pressure from MacArthur and Krueger, the 148th Regiment successfully crossed the Pampanga River and captured Calumpit, just as Beightler was dispatching the 145th Regiment along Route 3 to assist in the advance toward Manila. At Clark Field, the 108th Regiment was patrolling forward, while the 160th Regiment faced challenges in breaking through enemy defenses. Meanwhile, the 129th Regiment launched an attack on the main positions of the Eguchi Detachment at Top of the World hill, successfully securing its steep, grassy southern and southeastern slopes. On Bataan, General Jones sent the 152nd Regiment to travel through Olongapo and advance east along Route 7, while the 149th Regiment moved east toward Dinalupihan via a challenging trail located about 1,200 yards north of the highway. By the end of January, the 32nd Division had successfully taken control of the recently vacated Tayug area. The 6th and 25th Divisions reorganized in preparation for their final push towards San Jose, and the 1st Cavalry Division gathered at Guimba. The World War II brigade structure of Maj. Gen. Verne D. Mudge's dismounted 1st Cavalry Division differed greatly from that of the triangular infantry division of the period. Instead of three infantry regiments the 1st Cavalry Division had four cavalry regiments--the 5th and 12th in the 1st Cavalry Brigade, the 7th and 8th in the 2d Cavalry Brigade. Each regiment had two cavalry squadrons, each smaller than an infantry battalion, as opposed to the three battalions of an infantry regiment. Each cavalry regiment contained a weapons troop armed with 81-mm. mortars, .30-caliber and .50-caliber machine guns, and bazookas, but there was no heavy weapons troop within each squadron. The cavalry regiments lacked the antitank and cannon companies of an infantry regiment. 1st Cavalry Division Artillery was composed of one 75-mm. howitzer battalion, three 105-mm. howitzer battalions, and, for obvious reasons, an attached 155-mm. howitzer battalion. Reinforcing combat and service attachments brought the division's strength up to nearly 15,000 men, somewhat less than the strength of the reinforced 37th Division at the same time. On paper, each of the four cavalry regiments numbered 1,750 men--in contrast to the 3,000-odd of an infantry regiment--but none of the 1st Cavalry Division's regiments was up to strength. The division had received few replacements since entering combat on Leyte in October, and it had come to Luzon after very little rest from its arduous campaign through Leyte's mountains. The 1st Cavalry division was ready to advance towards Cabanatuan as General Mudge dispatched two reinforced motorized squadrons. On February 1, the Flying Columns, led by General Chase, crossed the Pampanga River and began their southern march with minimal resistance. As a result, Cabanatuan and Gapan were quickly captured, although some opposition was encountered south of the Peñaranda River. Meanwhile, the 188th Glider Regiment continued its advance towards Tagaytay Ridge, facing heavy enemy fire from Mount Cariliao but still managing to secure the important Mount Aiming. The 148th Regiment swiftly moved down Route 3 and captured Malolos with little resistance. However, the 152nd Regiment faced increasingly strong resistance at ZigZag Pass. While more rugged terrain than the ZigZag Pass area is to be found on Luzon, few pieces of ground combine to the same degree both roughness and dense jungle. Route 7 twists violently through the pass, following a line of least terrain resistance that wild pigs must originally have established. The jungle flora in the region is so thick that one can step 5 yards off the highway and not be able to see the road. The Japanese had honeycombed every hill and knoll at the ZigZag with foxholes linked by tunnels or trenches; at particularly advantageous points they had constructed strongpoints centered on log and dirt pillboxes. All the defenses were well camouflaged, for rich jungle foliage covered most positions, indicating that many had been prepared with great care and had been constructed well before Colonel Nagayoshi's 39th Regiment had reached the area in December. Colonel Nagayoshi had plenty of food and ammunition for a prolonged stand, and he also possessed numerous mortars and machine-guns. His artillery, however, was inadequate for the task at hand and he lacked certain types of medical supplies, especially malaria preventatives and cures. He had so scattered his mortars and artillery in order to protect them against American artillery and air strikes that his troops would often have difficulty massing their fires. Finally, his defensive line was scarcely 2000 yards wide northwest to southeast, thus rendering his whole position susceptible to vigorous outflanking maneuvers. On the other hand, he had good troops, well-prepared positions, and excellent defensive terrain. The 129th Regiment secured the summit of Top of the World hill, effectively ensuring Clark Field's protection from all but long-range artillery fire. The 20th Regiment launched its initial attack on Muñoz, which was thwarted by Colonel Ida Kumpei's tanks fortified as pillboxes. Additionally, the 27th Regiment attempted to advance towards Umingan but was unable to break through, while elements of the 35th Regiment bypassed this area and occupied barrio San Roque. February 2 mirrored the previous day in the San Jose sector, as the 20th and 27th Regiments continued their battle against the determined Japanese defenders. Meanwhile, Mullins dispatched the 35th Regiment in a two-pronged maneuver towards Umingan, successfully clearing most of the town by noon. In an effort to recover lost time, Mullins then directed the 35th toward Lupao in the afternoon, but its leading battalion was ultimately halted by intense Japanese artillery, mortar, and machine-gun fire. With their forward units stalled at Muñoz and Lupao, Patrick and Mullins resorted to flanking tactics. Accordingly, Patrick sent the 1st Regiment along the Talavera River to attack San Jose from the southeast, while the 63rd Regiment attempted to bypass Muñoz to the east and rejoin Route 5 north of the town. In turn, Mullins ordered the 161st Regiment to move cross-country to positions on Route 99 south of Lupao, then advance to Route 8 between San Isidro and San Jose while the 35th surrounded and cleared Lupao. However, on this day, the 105th Division successfully evacuated San Jose along with its stockpiled ammunition, regrouping north at Puncan and rendering the entire San Jose offensive ineffective. Simultaneously, Chase's Flying Columns passed through Gapan and entered Sabang, fording the Angat River to launch two simultaneous advances to the south and east. The 148th Regiment secured Plaridel after a brief but fierce skirmish, while the 152nd Regiment faced setbacks in the ZigZag Pass due to nighttime Japanese counterattacks and artillery fire. The 149th Regiment became disoriented and had to return to Olongapo, and the 188th Glider Regiment managed to break through to barrio Aga amidst heavy resistance, while the 1st Battalion of the 187th Glider Regiment moved forward to begin the assault toward Tagaytay. On February 3, Swing's glider infantry launched an assault on the western end of Tagaytay, while paratroopers from the 511th Parachute Regiment began to drop along the ridge in a rather scattered manner. The first echelon of the 511th, about 915 in all, had come to Tagaytay Ridge aboard 48 C-47 aircraft of the 317th Troop Carrier Group. The planes had flown north from Mindoro to approach Tagaytay Ridge from the northeast in order to avoid fire from Japanese anti-aircraft weapons west of the drop zone. The first 18 planes, carrying about 345 troops, dropped over the assigned area. At this juncture, planes from succeeding flights were nearly 6 miles and 3 minutes behind the lead aircraft. About 08:20 one of these later planes dumped out a couple of bundles of supplies. Taking this as a signal that they were over the proper drop zone, 'troopers of the succeeding 30 planes began jumping. Aircraft pilots, realizing they had not yet reached the proper point, attempted to halt the jumping, but the 511th's jump-masters continued sending the paratroopers out. Most of them landed almost 5 miles east-northeast of the assigned drop zone. A second group of 51 C-47s began approaching the drop area about 12:10. Some 80 men from the first 5 aircraft of this group landed in the proper place. The rest started out of their planes when they saw on the ground the collapsed chutes of the first misplaced jump. In the end, only 425 men landed on the assigned drop zone; the others, about 1325 in all, made scattered landings 4.5 to 6 miles to the east and northeast. The 11th Airborne Division, blaming the 317th Troop Carrier Group for the premature dropping, reported that the "true reason was the refusal of the Air Force to cooperate in a combined training program for Airborne and Air Force troops." In any event, it appears that some lack of jump discipline within the 511th contributed to the scattered, premature jumping. Fortunately for them, they encountered minimal resistance as they secured the unoccupied ridge. To the north, the 148th Regiment continued its advance southward, facing delays at several tidal streams that were unbridged and unfordable, but managed to reach a point two miles south of Marilao by day's end. At the same time, the 5th Cavalry's Flying Column destroyed a Japanese outpost at Angat and moved through the guerrilla-held Norzagaray before crossing the Santa Maria River to join the 8th Cavalry's Flying Column, which had already progressed to Talipapa and was nearing the outskirts of Manila. Meanwhile, the 27th Regiment successfully eliminated the remaining enemy pockets at Umingan; the 3rd Battalion of the 35th Regiment, advancing over elevated terrain northeast of Lupao, established a position on Route 8 approximately 1500 yards southeast of Lupao, while the rest of the regiment continued to launch unsuccessful frontal assaults on the town. The 20th Regiment managed to overrun a few Japanese strongholds at Muñoz but was unable to break through. On 3 February the 2d Battalion, 20th Infantry, moved in on the northwest, but could not reach Route 99 in its sector. The 3d Battalion pushed across that road at the southwest corner of Muñoz, but gained only half a block into the main section of the town. The 1st Battalion, on the south side of Muñoz, made negligible progress. By dusk, the 20th Infantry had overrun a few Japanese strongpoints, but in order to hold its gains had had to destroy completely and physically occupy every position it had reached so far. Muñoz, General Patrick had begun to realize, was going to be a costly, hard, and time-consuming nut to crack. The 20th Infantry had not yet closed with the main Japanese defenses, but had spent most of the last three days pinned down by Japanese artillery, tank, and machine gun fire. Only by hugging the ground and taking advantage of the little cover even shattered tree stumps afforded had the regiment kept its casualties down to 15 men killed and 90 wounded. Meanwhile the 63rd Regiment successfully bypassed Muñoz and advanced up Route 5 toward Caanawan; and the 1st Regiment similarly advanced along the San Jose-Rizal road, assembling at two points 1000 yards south and 1500 yards east of San Jose. Now, however, it is time to leave Luzon and head toward the Central Pacific. Following the successful capture of the Marianas and the establishment of B-29 Superfortress air bases on these islands, the Allies were finally able to conclude Operation Matterhorn and cease using bases in China and India for conducting raids on the Japanese mainland and other targets in East Asia. Between June 5, 1944, and January 17, 1945, General LeMay's 20th Bomber Command executed a total of 29 combat missions, inflicting significant damage on key military installations in southern Japan, Manchuria, Formosa, and Indochina, with a total loss of 73 B-29s. Meanwhile, General Hansell's 21st Bomber Command, reinforced by the 313th Bombardment Wing, struggled to achieve similar outcomes in both daylight precision bombing and area incendiary bombing, with the first three missions of January yielding the same disappointing results as those in December and November.  On January 3rd, Norstad's incendiary test mission was run on 3 January, when ninety-seven B-29's got off for Nagoya. Each plane carried a mixed load of bombs -14 x 350-pound M18 IB clusters fuzed to open at 8,000 feet and one 420-pound fragmentation cluster fuzed to open 1,000 feet below releasing altitude. What with aborts and planes straying from course, only fifty-seven bombed the urban area designated as primary target, most of them releasing visually though cloud cover was rated as 6/10. Some fires were started but there was no holocaust. Smoke rising to 20,000 feet combined with cloud to make observation of results impossible for the attackers. As a test, then, the mission was inconclusive. To the citizens of Nagoya, who were better informed than intelligence officers of 21st Bomber Command, the damage seemed slight. On January 9th, having satisfied Norstad's requirement, the command returned to its program of precision bombing against aircraft factories. Performance for the most part was of a piece with what had gone before. On 9 January 1945 seventy-two B-29's were sent against Musashino near Tokyo. High winds broke up the formations so that only eighteen planes were able to bomb the target; twenty-four bombs, widely scattered in the plant area, destroyed one warehouse and damaged two others-a slight return for the effort expended and the six B-29's lost. On January 14th, at the Mitsubishi Aircraft Works at Nagoya on the 14th, precision bombing was again less than precise. Seventy-three B-29's were airborne and forty bombed, getting four GP's-one ton-into the No. 5 Works area and damaging three buildings. Frustrated by this, Hansell increasingly blamed his crews for the unsatisfactory outcomes. Remarkably, he would only achieve his first fully successful B-29 attack on his final mission of the war. The target for the January 19 strike was virgin, a plant of the Kawasaki Aircraft Industries Company located 2 miles northwest of Akashi, a village on the Inland Sea some 12 miles west of Kobe. The Akashi works housed Kawasaki's general headquarters and one of the company's two large production units, which built the twin-engine fighters Nick and Randy and engines for Tony, Oscar and Frank fighters. Smaller than Nakajima and Mitsubishi, Kawasaki in 1944 delivered 17% of Japan's combat airframes and 12% of its combat engines. Against Akashi, Hansell sent 77 B-29s, plus 3 others in a diversionary strike. With good weather, 62 bulled it through to the Kawasaki factory, dumped 155 tons of GPs, and then returned with no losses. Interpreting strike photos, intelligence officers estimated that 38% of the roofed area showed major damage. This was an understatement. Every important building in both the engine and airframe branches had been hit and production was cut by 90%. Indeed, the Kawasaki Company liquidated the combined plant and dispersed the machine tools, which had suffered only slightly, to other sites. The Akashi shops were given temporary repairs at the cost of 226 tons of critical materials and over 9000000 yen, but the installation was used thereafter only for limited assembly jobs. It is a pity that the full results of this mission could not have been known to Hansell. His first completely successful B-29 attack, Akashi seemed to epitomize the doctrines of precision bombardment he had championed-and it was his last strike of the war. Unaware of this success, Hansell was replaced the following day as head of the 21st Bomber Command by the determined LeMay, who immediately suggested a shift to firebombing Japan's major cities at low altitude during nighttime, marking a stark departure from Hansell's previous strategies. However, the only obstacle in the flight path was Iwo Jima, which could alert the Japanese to an impending raid and still had operational airfields capable of launching intercepting fighters. These airfields had also been used for sporadic air assaults on the Marianas, although few attacks were actually carried out in January. Capturing Iwo Jima would resolve these issues, and Admiral Nimitz aimed to establish emergency landing facilities for B-29s based in Saipan, as well as a base for their fighter escorts targeting Japan. Consequently, he decided to proceed with the invasion, codenamed Operation Detachment. After this operation, Nimitz planned to invade Okinawa to secure and develop a robust air and naval base for the assault on the Japanese home islands, which we will discuss further later. For the Iwo Jima operation, Admiral Spruance was once again given overall command of the "big blue fleet," which was re-designated as the 5th Fleet. Under his command, Vice-Admiral Richmond Turner led Task Force 51, the Joint Expeditionary Force, responsible for landing Lieutenant-General Holland Smith's Expeditionary Troops. Turner was supported by Rear-Admiral William Blandy's Task Force 52, the Amphibious Support Force, which included ten escort carriers; Rear-Admiral Harry Hill's Task Force 53, comprising all transports and landing craft; Rear-Admiral Bertram Rodgers' Task Force 54, which had six battleships and five cruisers for shore bombardment; and Vice-Admiral Marc Mitscher's Task Force 58, the Fast Carrier Force. For the amphibious invasion, Major-General Harry Schmidt's 5th Amphibious Corps would deploy the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Marine Divisions, planning to land the 4th and 5th Divisions side by side with two regiments each along the two-mile stretch of beach between Mount Suribachi and the East Boat Basin on the island's southeast coast. Smith and Schmidt also decided to limit corps artillery to two battalions of 155mm howitzers, organized as the 1st Provisional Field Artillery Group, due to the limited space available for emplacements on the island. After landing, Major-General Clifton Cates' 4th Marine Division would take control of the Motoyama Plateau and its airfields, while also capturing the O-1 Line on the corps' right flank. Meanwhile, Major-General Keller Rockey's 5th Marine Division would secure the Mount Suribachi region before advancing northeast to capture the O-1 Line on the corps' left flank. They would then push forward across the island until Iwo Jima was fully secured. At the same time, Major-General Graves Erskine's 3rd Marine Division would remain in reserve, with only its 21st Marine Regiment deployed as the corps reserve. To aid in this effort, the 7th Air Force, under Generals Harmon and Hale, had been consistently targeting Iwo Jima's facilities since August 1944. Following intense attacks in December, which included bombardments by Rear-Admiral Allan Smith's 5th Cruiser Division against Iwo Jima, Haha Jima, and Chichi Jima were again struck on January 5, but the next bombardment wouldn't occur until January 25.  A fighter sweep by 28 P-38s opened the attack at 0945; 62 B-29s bombed at 1100 and 102 B-24s at noon; Crudiv 5 (Rear Admiral Allan E. Smith), comprising heavy cruisers Chester, Pensecola and Salt Lake City with six destroyers, arrived off Iwo at 1330 and opened bombardment at 1347. "Hoke" Smith approached the island from the west, rounded Mount Suribachi and then reversed track in a half-circle. Unfortunately the sky was so heavily overcast as to force the planes to bomb by radar and to hamper ships' spotting. Surface visibility was good enough to enable the island to be well covered by a naval bombardment, which lasted for 70 minutes and expended 1500 rounds of 8-inch and 5334 rounds of 5-inch shell. The bombers dropped 814 tons of bombs. Photographs, taken three days later, showed that both airfields on Iwo were wholly or in part operational, but no more enemy air raids hit the Marianas until Christmas Day. The job of keeping Iwo airfields neutralized was now turned over to B-24s of VII A.A.F. Between 8 December 1944 and 15 February 1945 they flew at least one strike daily over the island. The day before Christmas, Rear Admiral Smith's heavy cruisers, together with five destroyers, delivered a second bombardment, coordinated with a B-24 strike. This strike was slightly more eventful than the initial one in December, but even less effective. The bombardment, which expended 1500 rounds of 8-inch, provoked return fire from a 6-inch coast defense battery (designated "Kitty" on the target maps) in the northeast part of the island, but "Kitty's" claws managed to strike no closer than 200 yards. As proof of the slight damage inflicted by this bombardment, the Japanese were able to pay a vicious return visit to Saipan on Christmas Eve, a raid of 25 planes which destroyed one B-29 and damaged three more beyond repair. Crudiv 5 returned 27 December for a repeat performance, lighter than the others; and a fourth bombardment was set up for 5 January 1945. While fighter planes and B-24s hit Iwo Jima the same cruisers and six destroyers bombarded Chichi Jima, 145 northward, and the slightly nearer Haha Jima. Their hope was to catch a convoy bringing Japanese supplies to these islands, whence they were forwarded to Iwo by small craft at night. Destroyer Fanning, steaming ahead of the group as radar picket, encountered at 0206 a surface target, later identified as LSV-102, which she sank. At 0700 Admiral Smith's group opened a one hour and 49 minutes' bombardment of Chichi Jima. During it, destroyer David W. Taylor suffered an underwater explosion, probably from a mine, which flooded her forward magazine. The Haha Jima bombardment by Salt Lake City and two destroyers lasted for an hour. Crudiv 5 then pounded Iwo Jima for another hour and three quarters. The reply was negligible, and a few aircraft which made passes at the cruisers were easily driven off. Starting on the last day of January and continuing for two weeks, 7th Air Force aircraft bombed the island day and night, occasionally joined by LeMay's Superfortresses. For ten weeks, Iwo Jima faced near-daily bombardments from land-based aircraft, with nearly 6,800 tons of bombs dropped. Additionally, there were five naval bombardments that fired 203 rounds of 16-inch shells, 6,472 rounds of 8-inch shells, and 15,251 rounds of 5-inch shells. Under normal circumstances, such a heavy and sustained bombardment would have been more than enough to devastate an island of that size. However, the Japanese managed to restore the airfields on Iwo Jima just hours after each attack and continued to strengthen their defenses on the island. Following the fall of Saipan, the Japanese appointed Lieutenant-General Kuribayashi Tadamichi to oversee the defenses of the Bonin Islands, renaming the Ogasawara District Group as the 109th Division. Kuribayashi stationed Major-General Tachibana Yoshio's 1st Mixed Brigade and most of Colonel Iida Yusuke's 17th Independent Mixed Regiment on Chichi Jima, along with several other units across the islands. He accurately predicted that Iwo Jima would be the target for an Allied landing and took measures to make it virtually indestructible. To this end, he coordinated with Major-General Senda Sadasue's 2nd Mixed Brigade, Colonel Ikeda Masuo's 145th Regiment, and Lieutenant-Colonel Baron Nishi Takeishi's severely weakened 26th Tank Regiment, which had sustained heavy losses from American submarines at sea. Additionally, Major Fujiwara Tamachi's 3rd Battalion of the 17th Independent Mixed Regiment and a robust artillery unit led by Colonel Kaido Chosaku were included in the defense. Rear-Admiral Ichimaru Toshinosuke also provided a significant naval garrison on the island, centered around the 27th Air Flotilla, bringing Kuribayashi's total forces to approximately 21,060 men, far exceeding the American estimate of 13,000. Aware that the beaches would be vulnerable to enemy naval and air assaults, Kuribayashi opted to strengthen the Mount Suribachi and Motoyama Plateau areas. The Mount Suribachi area was made a semi-independent defense sector, its heavily fortified positions bristling with weapons of all types, ranging from casemated coast-defense guns and artillery to automatic weapons emplaced in mutually supporting pillboxes. The narrow isthmus connecting Suribachi to the rest of the island was lightly held by infantry, but heavily defended by enfilade fire from artillery, rockets, and mortars emplaced on both the high ground in the south (Suribachi area) and the northern portion of the island. The main defense line was a belt of mutually supporting positions organized in depth, running generally northwest-southeast across the island. It stretched from the cliffs north of the western beaches south to include Airfield Number 2; then, turning eastward through Minami, terminated at the rugged coast north of the eastern beaches. Pillboxes, blockhouses, bunkers, and dug-in tanks strengthened the defenses in the naturally formidable terrain everywhere throughout this belt. The second defense line generally bisected the remaining area in the northern portion of the island. It began several hundred yards below Kitano Point on the northwest coast, cut through Airfield Number 3 and the Motoyama area in the center, and terminated between Tachiiwa Point and the East Boat Basin on the eastern coast. Man-made emplacements were not as numerous in this second line, but natural caves and other covered positions afforded by the fantastically rugged terrain were skillfully organized for the defense. The beaches would be lightly defended but would receive fire support from the elevated positions. A substantial reserve force, including tanks, was also prepared to counterattack and push the Americans back into the sea if they managed to establish a foothold. In a shift from traditional Japanese defensive strategies, Kuribayashi moved away from full-scale counterattacks and suicidal banzai charges, instead instructing his troops to hold their mutually supportive positions to the last and to carry out small unit counterattacks at cutoff points. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The Allied forces continued their advance through Luzon, battling Japanese defenses, liberating prisoners, and securing key locations, paving the way for a final push toward Manila. Meanwhile, on Iwo Jima, General Kuribayashi was preparing for a final stand, hoping beyond hope to make the Americans pay so dearly they might end the war.

Last time we spoke about the Victory at Leyte. In the Ormoc Valley, General Krueger's forces pushed the Japanese into a retreat toward Palompon. As the Americans advanced, they faced entrenched enemy positions and challenging terrain. On Christmas Day, the 77th Division successfully captured Palompon, cutting off the Japanese's main route. General Suzuki, forced to relocate his headquarters, prepared for a counteroffensive. Despite fierce resistance, American troops continued to push forward, eliminating remaining Japanese units and securing strategic positions along the coast as the year closed. As General Eichelberger's 8th Army took command of Leyte Island, the 77th Division relieved other units in preparation for future operations. Meanwhile, American forces faced fierce resistance while securing strategic positions on Samar and Mindoro. Despite enemy air assaults, they successfully disrupted Japanese plans, including a failed counter-landing. In Bougainville, Australian troops engaged in intense fighting, capturing Pearl Ridge after fierce battles. Their victory provided a crucial vantage point for future offensives, marking a significant moment in the campaign. This episode is the Aitape-Wewak Campaign Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  As previously discussed, General Dunckel's task force successfully invaded Mindoro. Despite recent enemy efforts to reclaim control of the island, the Americans managed to establish airfields that enabled land-based aircraft to target specific locations on Luzon while also safeguarding the assault and resupply ships heading to Lingayen Gulf. This location was chosen because it had direct access to Luzon's key military objective, the Central Plains-Manila Bay region, and it featured the best and most extensive landing beaches on the island. With General Eichelberger's 8th Army taking charge of Leyte and Mindoro, General Krueger's 6th Army was assigned to capture and secure a beachhead at Lingayen Gulf and then advance south through the Central Plains to seize Manila and open Manila Bay. Furthermore, air and logistical bases would be established on Luzon to support future operations against Japan, and the legitimate government of the Philippine Commonwealth would be reinstated in its capital. For Operation Mike I, the reconquest of Luzon island, the Southwest Pacific's intelligence estimates concerning Japanese strengths, dispositions, capabilities, and intentions on Luzon were reasonably accurate from the start of planning. The abundance of information must be attributed in large measure to the efforts of guerrillas on Luzon, an island that was becoming a veritable hotbed of guerrilla resistance, both American-led and Filipino-led. Carefully nurtured by MacArthur's headquarters, especially after mid-1943, the guerrilla organizations had grown steadily in strength and effectiveness not only as sabotage units but also as valuable sources of information. The Leyte invasion in October 1944 gave great encouragement to the guerrillas, who redoubled their efforts in preparation for the invasion of Luzon, which they realized could not be too far off. Throughout 1944 supplies of all types had been sent to the guerrillas, first by submarine and later by airdrop and clandestine inter-island transportation. After the establishment of the Allied base on Leyte, the flow of supplies increased by leaps and bounds. The guerrillas themselves established a network of radio communications that soon came to be sustained and, to some extent, controlled by MacArthur's headquarters, which also sent into Luzon special intelligence parties to develop new sources of information and provide guerrilla efforts with more effective direction. In the end, one of the major difficulties Southwest Pacific intelligence agencies had was not obtaining information from Luzon but rather sifting the plethora of guerrilla reports, which attained every conceivable degree of accuracy and detail. Once sifted, the information had to be evaluated and correlated with that received from other sources such as radio intercepts, captured documents, and prisoner interrogations. MacArthur allocated the majority of his Army's ground combat and support forces, most of General Kenney's Allied Air Forces, and nearly all of Admiral Kinkaid's Allied Naval Forces ships and landing craft. He needed to ensure enough forces to defeat a strong Japanese garrison, secure a beachhead against potential fierce resistance, advance south through the Central Plains against expected strong defenses, defend the beachhead from anticipated counterattacks, and secure the Central Plains-Manila Bay area within four to six weeks. Krueger was assigned command of the 1st Corps, which included the 6th and 43rd Divisions, as well as the 14th Corps, comprising the 37th and 40th Divisions. In reserve were the 25th Division, the 11th Airborne Division, the 158th Regiment, the 13th Armored Group, and the separate 6th Ranger Battalion. Supporting these units were 13 nonorganic field artillery battalions of various calibers, two chemical mortar battalions, two additional tank battalions, the majority of five engineer boat and shore regiments, four amphibious tractor battalions, and 16 engineer aviation battalions, totaling approximately 203,000 personnel, of which 131,000 were classified as combat troops.  By the way, since I mentioned one, for those curious, a Chemical Mortar Battalion were US Army non-divisional units attached to infantry divisions during WW2. They were armed with 4.2-inch chemical mortars. Chemical shells were on standby during WW2, to be used in retaliation should the enemy employ chemical weapons first. Toxic agents such as phosgene or mustard gas could be used as well as white phosphorus. Additionally, Eichelberger's 8th Army was tasked with conducting a subsidiary landing on Luzon with the 11th Corps, which included the 32nd Division and the separate 112th Cavalry and 503rd Parachute Regiments. Furthermore, MacArthur designated the 33rd and 41st Divisions as General Headquarters Reserve and made plans to send the 33rd and 38th Divisions, along with the 1st Cavalry Division and the 19th and 34th Regiments, to Luzon within two months. Krueger's plan for the Lingayen assault, set for January 9, involved an amphibious attack on the southern beaches of the gulf, which were lightly defended but presented numerous obstacles that impeded maneuverability. Aiming for a swift landing with a robust force to achieve tactical surprise, Krueger opted for a broad front assault, with Major-General Innis Swift's 1st Corps landing on the eastern beaches near San Fabian and Major-General Oscar Griswold's 14th Corps on the western beaches facing Lingayen town. Each corps would land two divisions side by side, with one regiment from each division held in floating reserve. The initial missions of the two corps were the same: to capture the beachhead area within their designated zones, protect the flanks of the 6th Army, and maintain communication with one another. Both corps were also ready to advance quickly inland to secure a crossing over the Agno River, which would serve as the starting point for the final push south toward Manila and Manila Bay. Anticipating some congestion on the beaches, Krueger decided to keep the 25th Division, the 158th Regiment, and the 13th Armored Group afloat until January 11. On that date, the 158th would land on the extreme left of the 1st Corps to block the coastal corridor along the eastern shore of the gulf, preventing any Japanese counterattacks from the north. Similarly, the 25th Division and the 13th Armored Group were also ready to be deployed in Swift's area for both defensive and offensive operations. To facilitate the amphibious assault, Kinkaid took direct command of Task Force 77, which comprised the entire 7th Fleet, along with some Australian and Dutch vessels assigned to MacArthur, as well as warships borrowed from Admiral Nimitz's Pacific Ocean Areas. Kinkaid organized his Luzon Attack Force into several combat components, with Admiral Barbey's Task Force 78 tasked with landing the 1st Corps and Admiral Wilkinson's Task Force 79 responsible for the 14th Corps. Admiral Oldendorf once again led the Bombardment and Fire Support Group, which included six battleships and five heavy cruisers, while Admiral Berkey headed the Close Covering Group of four light cruisers. This time, Kinkaid's escort carriers were under the command of Rear-Admiral Calvin Durgin, who had a total of 17 escort carriers to provide convoy protection, conduct airstrikes on the target area alongside pre-assault minesweeping and bombardment, and offer close air support for ground operations until that responsibility was handed over to Kenney's land-based aircraft. Admiral Halsey's 3rd Fleet would once again play a crucial role in the operation by targeting enemy airfields, while also being ready to provide direct support if the Japanese gathered enough surface forces to initiate a significant naval confrontation. Meanwhile, Kenney's Allied Air Forces were tasked with safeguarding the convoy's sides and rear through overwater reconnaissance and attacks on enemy facilities in the southern Philippines and the Dutch East Indies, with General Whitehead's 5th Air Force responsible for carrying out most of these missions. Additionally, army aircraft were to protect convoys traversing central Philippine waters and offer air support for ground operations whenever possible. To complement Operation Mike I, a comprehensive deception strategy was in place, aimed at diverting the enemy's attention to a potential Allied threat against Formosa and southern Japan through naval activities in nearby waters. Consequently, Admiral McCain's Task Force 38 launched its initial strikes in support of the Lingayen operation on January 3 and 4. Although poor weather conditions hindered attacks on Formosa and the Ryukyu Islands, they still achieved moderate success. MacArthur also aimed to mislead the Japanese into believing that the primary focus of any Allied offensive on Luzon would be directed towards western Batangas or the Bicol Provinces. Therefore, on January 1, Company I of the 21st Regiment advanced on Bongabong along Mindoro's east coast, beginning the clearance of northeastern Mindoro. The next day, Company B of the 503rd Parachute Regiment started operations on the northwestern coast, moving towards Mamburao. On January 3, Company K of the 21st Regiment landed without opposition at Buenavista on the southwestern shore of Marinduque Island and established positions to set up radar installations. Meanwhile, other troops continued their advance toward Calapan, ultimately intercepting the recently landed enemy raiding unit at Pinamalayan on January 8, compelling it to retreat back to Calapan. Although some Japanese forces managed to reach Mansalay on the southeast coast of Mindoro and infiltrated overland toward San Jose, all attempts to raid enemy airfields were unsuccessful. Conversely, the 21st Regiment successfully captured Calapan on January 24, resulting in approximately 135 Japanese casualties, while the Americans incurred the loss of 1 soldier killed and 7 wounded. By the end of the month, Dunckel's forces had killed 170 Japanese and taken 15 prisoners, at a cost of 16 American soldiers killed, 71 wounded, and 4 missing, not including casualties from Japanese air attacks, which raised the Allied totals to 475 killed and 385 wounded. Looking back to Luzon, General Yamashita was also focused on finalizing plans and preparations to counter the impending enemy assault. During the latter part of December, battle preparations proceeded with discouraging slowness. Overburdened transport facilities, enemy strafing and bombing attacks, guerrilla interference and an acute shortage of automotive fuel impeded progress in every direction. On the other hand, there were numerous indications that General MacArthur was virtually ready to strike. In the Batangas area, enemy air reconnaissance was conspicuously frequent, while the dropping of dummy parachutists and the activity of small surface craft along the coast also caused grave alarm in the 8th Division. Other reports indicated that guerrilla forces were beginning to assemble in the mountains east of Manila, and that enemy submarines were delivering arms to guerrillas in the Lamon Bay area. Yamashita accurately predicted that the invasion would occur between January 10 and 20, targeting either the Batangas area or Lingayen Gulf. However, recognizing that he lacked sufficient forces for a decisive battle, particularly given the decimation of Japanese air power and the enemy's air superiority. As of the 1st of December the Japanese Army and Navy had probably had a combined air strength of some 500 planes in the Philippines, the bulk of them based on Luzon. This strength had been largely destroyed by Allied air strikes in support of the Mindoro operation and during Japanese air attacks against Mindoro-bound convoys and the Mindoro beachhead area. By the 20th of December, the Japanese Naval Air Service in the Philippines had no more than 30 planes, and the Japanese Army Air Force was down to approximately 100 first-line combat aircraft. About that date, some 50 naval planes flew to Luzon from Formosa to renew attacks against Mindoro, and shortly thereafter, it appears, a few Army aircraft also came down from Formosa or the home islands to reinforce Luzon. Many of these planes were lost during continued attacks against Mindoro until, by 31 December, the Japanese had probably no more than 150 operational aircraft left on Luzon, and about a third that many on other fields in the Philippine archipelago, for a total of about 200. Yamashita planned to execute a coordinated delaying strategy, launching local counteroffensives only when conditions were favorable. This approach aimed to deplete enemy resources and buy valuable time to reinforce Japanese defenses in Formosa and the Ryukyus. Consequently, on December 19, Yamashita finalized a new operational outline that established two forces: one to cover northern Luzon and the other for central and southern Luzon. The plans outlined an initial strategy for the forces defending coastal regions to inflict significant damage on the enemy during their landing. This would be followed by delaying actions aimed at hindering the capture of crucial inland communication hubs and airfields. The final phase would involve a sustained last stand in the three mountainous areas previously identified as zones of ultimate resistance. To delay further enemy operations against Formosa and the Ryukyus, Yamashita decided to strengthen the northern sector, as its mountainous terrain and limited access routes from the central Luzon plain offered the best tactical conditions for prolonged resistance. As a result, Southern Luzon would be nearly stripped of troops to reinforce the second-largest concentration of forces in the mountains east of Manila. Yamashita positioned the 103rd Division in the Aparri coastal area, with three battalions stationed on the northwest coast; the 23rd Division, along with the 58th Independent Mixed Brigade, near the eastern shore of Lingayen Gulf; the 10th Division in the San Jose, Umingan, and Natividad sectors, along with the 11th Independent Regiment at Baler and Dingalan Bays; the 2nd Tank Division as a mobile unit in the Cabanatuan-San Miguel area, with the 6th Tank Regiment in Manila; the Manila Defense Force responsible for Manila and the surrounding mountains, with a garrison on Corregidor and the 39th Regiment on the Bataan Peninsula; the 8th Division securing key communication points to the east and west of Lake Taal, as well as important coastal positions in Batangas; the majority of the 105th Division stationed in the critical area east of Manila, while the Noguchi Detachment continued to hold Bicol; and the 82nd Brigade occupying coastal positions in the Lamon Bay region. Upon its arrival on Luzon, the 19th Division was tasked with gathering its main forces south of San Leon, while also deploying units to secure critical locations around Tuguegarao and Echague. Additionally, the 2nd Mobile Regiment and the newly landed 2nd Glider Regiment were ordered to bolster defenses in the Clark Field area, which was primarily protected by ground air units. However, by the end of the month, due to the slower-than-anticipated withdrawal of the 105th Division, Yamashita instructed the 8th Division to relocate its main forces to the region east of Manila, leaving only the 17th Regiment stationed in Batangas Province. Lieutenant-General Yokoyama Shizuo then took command of the Shimbu Group, which encompassed all forces in the southern half of Luzon, below a line approximately extending from Manila to Lamon Bay. That is gonna be it for the Philippines today as we now need to head over to the Aitape-Wewak region.  In the coastal sector the 19th Brigade had moved forward in accordance with Stevens' orders of 26th November that it should relieve the 2/7th Commando Squadron, clear the enemy from the area west of the Danmap, and concentrate round Babiang and Suain in preparation for operations east of the river. A company of the 2/4th Battalion had therefore relieved the 2/7th Squadron at Suain and Babiang on the 29th and 30th November. In the next 16 days patrols clashed with small groups of Japanese on seven occasions, and killed 28 without loss to themselves. By 17th December the main body of the 2/4th Battalion was at Suain, with a company at Idakaibul and one at Babiang.  In the second week of December, the squadron expanded its control by establishing outposts at Yasile and Yambes, from which they successfully repelled several minor Japanese attacks. On 11th December an enemy patrol approached the perimeter held by Byrne's troop at Yambes. The Australians held their fire until the Japanese were 35 to 50 yards away, killed 6 and, during the day, 2 more. There were patrol clashes that day and on the 13th. At 1.30 a.m. on the 15th an enemy force of at least 35 attacked. This time the Australians let the leading Japanese come to within three yards of the perimeter then fired with automatic weapons and threw grenades. After pressing the attack for a while the enemy withdrew, dragging away their wounded and about 10 dead. By mid-December, the commandos had advanced along the coastal sector to the Danmap, over 40 miles from Aitape and approximately 20 miles into the Torricellis, without encountering significant enemy forces. The majority of Lieutenant-General Mano Goro's 41st Division was positioned south of the Danmap, with the reinforced 237th Regiment under Major-General Aotsu Kikutaro occupying forward positions between the Anumb and Danmap Rivers. Following the defeat at the Driniumor River, General Adachi's 18th Army implemented a strategy to minimize contact with the enemy. They positioned outpost forces for ambush and scattered their units across a broad area, especially in locations where they could cultivate food and regain their strength. Despite these measures, many soldiers faced hunger, malnutrition, and illness, and they often lacked essential modern military equipment. Meanwhile, on December 12, Stevens instructed the seasoned 17th Brigade, led by Brigadier Murray Moten, to relieve the 2/7th Squadron at Tong and conduct patrols south towards Mimbiok and Yanatong, southeast to establish a base at Musimbe, and east to set up a base at Musu. Subsequently, the 2/7th Squadron was to relocate to Makuir and scout a route through Chem to the Dandriwad River and Babiang, aiming to establish a forward base on the Danmap, about five miles east of Makuir. In line with this plan, Moten dispatched Major Ian McBride's Piper Force, consisting of two companies from the 2/5th Battalion, which arrived at Tong on December 20. That day Major Goode of the 2/7th Squadron reported that, except for foraging parties, the area which he had been ordered to patrol had been cleared of the enemy. The squadron had killed 26 Japanese and lost two killed and five wounded; two attached Papuan police had been wounded. The squadron's headquarters were now moved to Lambuain and it began its new task: to clear the Walum area. Walum village was occupied on 30th December after clashes in which several Japanese were killed. Documents captured by the squadron that day indicated that the main enemy line of communication from the coast to Balif was via Walum- Womisis-Womsak. At the same time, Piper Force occupied Musimbe and Musinau, coinciding with the arrival of the rest of the 2/5th Battalion in the Yambes area. Meanwhile, Stevens ordered the 19th Brigade to seize the Abau-Malin line and eliminate the enemy at the Danmap. On December 14, Martin sent the majority of the 2/4th Battalion to cross the river, with one company successfully fighting through Lazy Creek to reach Rocky Point. As the other companies assembled, the 2/8th Battalion began its advance into the foothills to establish a forward base at Idakaibul and move towards Malin. Patrolling from Lazy Creek the 2/11th had two sharp clashes with the enemy force west of Niap on 30th and 31st December, three Aus- tralians and 11 Japanese being killed. At Matapau village, early on 2nd January, from 30 to 35 Japanese attacked the perimeter of Captain Royce's company. Artillery fire was brought down and the Japanese with- drew leaving six dead. This was the beginning of five days of sharp fighting against Japanese who seemed determined to stop the advance along the Old German Road. As soon as the enemy's attack had been repulsed Royce's company pushed forward along the road to a spur whence the artillery observer, Captain Lovegrove, might direct fire. A platoon crossed the little Wakip River at 10.20 a.m. but came under fire from Japanese on the steep-sided spur. The infantry withdrew and accurate artillery fire was brought down. At 2.10 p.m. the spur was occupied and from it Lovegrove directed fire on a pocket of Japanese so close that he had "to almost whisper his orders into the phone". In the day 14 Japanese were killed, and two Australians killed and five wounded, of whom four remained on duty. Next day, and on the 4th and 5th, there was sharp fighting round the spur and towards Niap, and on the 6th, after a strike by 11 bombers and a bombardment by the artillery, a platoon attacked across the Wakip but was held by the resolute enemy pocket at Niap. On January 7, the Japanese defense was finally breached when three tanks broke through the beach and entered the town, followed by infantry. The next day, the leading company of the 2/8th Battalion entered Malin without facing any opposition. However, the 2/11th Battalion struggled to advance towards Doreto Bay, as the determined defenders repelled their attacks for another ten days. On January 18, a company executed a successful flanking maneuver through the foothills to Nimbum Creek and eventually positioned itself south of Abau, capturing the town two days later. Meanwhile, Lieutenant-Colonel Alfred Buttrose had sent one company to assault Perembil and secure the Musu area, while another advanced through Sumul towards Maharingi, and McBride's company at Musinau moved eastward to patrol deep into the south. On January 3, the Australians unexpectedly drove a strong force of the 238th Regiment from Perembil, though they had to fend off several counterattacks in the following days. Continuing their advance, Asiling fell on January 9, followed by Samisai two days later, and another company secured Maharingi by January 15. Now, it is time to return to the Marianas to prepare for the next missions of General Hansell's 21st Bomber Command.  The United States military took steps to improve Saipan's defenses after the damaging raids of November 27. In a frantic effort to detect future intruders, Admiral Hoover stationed two destroyers 100 miles northwest of Saipan to provide early radar warning, and an AN/TPS-3 radar was rushed to Saipan from Oahu by air. The destroyers in some instances gave ample warning, but on other occasions the enemy planes still managed to come in unannounced. Arnold became frustrated that the microwave early warning radar set still was not in use; and on December 3 Admiral Nimitz ordered that the highest priority be given to installing the radar. Despite this, it still was not ready until after the conclusion of the Japanese air campaign. Two B-24 Liberator bombers fitted with air-to-air radar sets were also dispatched to Saipan. This was the first use of airborne warning and control aircraft by the United States, but they were not used in combat. To maintain pressure on the enemy following the San Antonio strikes, he conducted a night radar mission with 30 Superfortresses on November 29, although it was unsuccessful. This mission was part of his preparations for a daylight attack on the Nakajima Aircraft Plant in Ota, scheduled for December 3. By D minus I weather reports were forbidding: at bombing altitudes over Ota, winds were reaching velocities of I 80 miles per hour or more. At 01:30 on the 3d it was decided that the only hope for the day was to go back to Musashino where visible bombing might be possible." Crews had already been briefed twice for the target; the 73d Wing hurriedly cut field orders and by 0945 eighty-six bombers were heading for Tokyo. Seventy-six got over the city to find clear weather but high winds; 59 planes bombed visually from a mean altitude of 28,700 feet with poor results. Out of this mission, six bombers were lost, and another six were damaged, resulting in just 26 bombs hitting the plant area, causing minimal damage to buildings and equipment. Once again, the strike was disappointing. Musashi's records indicate that twenty-six bombs fell in the plant area with some small damage to buildings and equipment and almost none to machinery; Japanese casualties were moderately high. Strike photos, the command's only source of information, seemed to show even less damage, and for these slight results the command had paid dearly, with six B-29's lost and six damaged. In response, on December 7, several Japanese aircraft, including two squadrons of Ki-67 bombers, launched a coordinated attack from both high and low altitudes, destroying three B-29s and damaging 23 others. This assault was observed by Lieutenant-General Millard Harmon, the commander of Army Air Forces in the Pacific, who had been sent by Nimitz to coordinate an extensive attack on Iwo Jima's installations using both air and surface forces. On December 8th, at 0945 twenty-eight P-38's swept over the island, followed at 1100 by the B-29's and at noon by the Liberators. Hoover's crusiers began seventy minutes of shelling at I 347. The bomb load carried by the planes forcefully illustrated the difference in performance between the heavy and very heavy bomber at 725 miles tactical radius: the 62 B-29's dropped 620 tons, 102 B-24's only 194 tons.” All told, enough metal was thrown to produce a good concentration on Iwo's eight square miles, but because the bombers had been forced to loose by radar, results, so far as they could be judged from photography-handicapped, like the bombing, by adverse weather-were much less decisive than had been expected. Eyen so, the enemy's raids on Saipan stopped until 25 December. Although the results were not as decisive as hoped, the enemy raids on Saipan were temporarily halted. On December 13, Hansell sent 90 Superfortresses to bomb the Mitsubishi Aircraft Engine Works in Nagoya.  The choice for primary visual target was the Mitsubishi Aircraft Engine Works at Nagoya, and the same company's aircraft works was named as radar target; strays, it was hoped, would spill into crowded Nagoya, Japan's second city and an industrial center of great importance. The engine works, still in top priority for 21st Bomber Command, lay in the northeast section of Nagoya, about two and a half miles from Nagoya Castle. The plant was considered by the JTG as a single target though it actually consisted of three separate but closely related units of the vast complex comprising the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.: I) the No. 2 Engine Works, responsible for research, design, and manufacture of prototype engines; 2) the No. 4 Engine Works, which between 1939 and 1945 manufactured 44,004 engines, the most important model being the Ha-102, a 1,000-horsepower motor used on the Nick and Dinah 2; and 3) the No. 10 Engine Works, which furnished castings and forgings for all Mitsubishi engine plants. On the 13th, the 73d Wing was able to get ninety bombers up, most of them carrying ten 500-pound GP's but one squadron from each group loaded with incendiary clusters. As on previous missions, a number of planes failed to reach the primary target: sixteen B-29's aborted and three bombed targets of opportunity. Japanese resistance was lively and, in all, four B-29's were lost, thirty-one damaged. Despite significant losses, the recent bombing campaign demonstrated improvement, resulting in the destruction of an assembly shop and seven auxiliary buildings. Additionally, damage was inflicted on an assembly shop, a prototype engine-manufacturing facility, two other shops, and 11 buildings, leading to approximately 351 casualties. The bombing, if of less than pickle-barrel precision, showed improvement. Strike photos indicated that 16 per cent of the bombs dropped had fallen within 1,000 feet of the aiming point and that 17.8 per cent of the roofed area had been destroyed?' Although this in itself was encouraging, had intelligence officers been able to read from their photos the whole story, there would have been even more optimism on Saipan. At the No. 4 Engine Works an assembly shop and 7 auxiliary buildings were destroyed, and an assembly shop and 11 buildings were damaged; at the No. 2 Engine Works a prototype engine-manufacturing shop and 2 other shops were damaged; and personnel losses ran to 246 killed and 105 injured.  For the first time, the 21st Bomber Command made a noticeable impact on the aircraft industry, prompting the Japanese to start relocating equipment to underground facilities. Plant officials calculated that the attack reduced productive capacity from 1,600 to 1,200 engines per month; after December 13 parts were no longer machined at No. 4 Engine Works, and engine production was limited to assembling parts on hand and those received from other plants. Mitsubishi officials had been considering the advisability of dispersing the Nagoya facilities ever since the fall of Saipan. After the strike of December 13 the transfer of equipment to underground sites began, but even at the end of the war the movement had not progressed far enough to allow production in the new plants. Five days later, Hansell dispatched 89 B-29s to target the Mitsubishi Aircraft Works in Nagoya. The Mitsubishi Aircraft Works was the giant assembly plant which used most of the engines produced in the No. 4 Engine Works. Located on reclaimed land at the northeast corner of Nagoya harbor, it was, like the engine works, composed of three integrated plants: I) the No. I Airframe Works for research and experimental engineering; 2) the No. 3 Airframe Works, which built navy planes-Zeke and Jack fighters and Betty bombers; and 3) the No. 5 Airframe Works, which manufactured bombers and reconnaissance and transport planes for the army. Large, compact, and conspicuous, this complex offered an excellent visual target, and the proximity of the harbor's shore line made it suitable for radar strikes as well. On this 18 December attack many planes, as usual, failed to follow the flight plan so that only sixty-three planes bombed the primary target. Cloud cover was heavy and forty-four of these dropped by radar, to add considerably to the damage caused by an earthquake on 7 December. Though few bombs were plotted in the area, 17.8 percent of the roofed area appeared to have been destroyed. The No. 3 Works suffered extensive damage to the sheet-metal, heat-treatment, fuselage assembly, and final-assembly shops, and at No. 5, approximately 50 per cent of the total assembly area was damaged. Casualties, in dead and injured, amounted to 464.  On December 22, Hansell was compelled to alter his tactics and initiated a daylight incendiary mission. Unfortunately, only 48 B-29s targeted Mitsubishi's engine works due to poor weather, resulting in minimal damage. The Nagoya mission on the next day, though using only incendiaries, was not in fulfillment of Norstad's request; it involved only 78 bombers dispatched instead of IOO and it was planned as a daylight precision attack. The weather turned bad, however, and before the last formations were over Nagoya the target was covered by 10/10 cloud. Only forty-eight planes bombed the Mitsubishi plant and they had to drop by radar; strike photos were few and revealed little. Actually there was not much damage to reveal: 252 fire bombs fell in the area of the No. 4 Works, damaging a few buildings but hurting no machine tools and causing no loss to pruduction On Christmas night, the newly renamed 6th Air Army, led by Lieutenant-General Sugawara Michio, launched its final significant assault on the Marianas, deploying 25 aircraft to bomb from both high and low altitudes. This attack resulted in the destruction of one B-29, serious damage to three others, and minor damage to 11. Overall, the Japanese had deployed over eighty planes over Saipan and Tinian, losing around 37, while managing to destroy 11 B-29s, seriously damaging 8, and causing minor damage to 35. Finally, on December 27, Hansell's last mission involved a return trip to Nakajima, where only 39 out of 72 dispatched B-29s caused little damage to the Musashi plant, although an incendiary attack unfortunately set a hospital on fire. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. In a fierce battle for control, forces devised a strategy to defend coastal regions and key locations in Luzon. As troops repositioned, Australian commandos clashed with Japanese units, achieving victories despite challenges. Meanwhile, U.S. bombers targeted Japanese industrial sites, inflicting damage but facing heavy losses, marking a pivotal struggle in the Pacific theater.

Send us a textThis month we read and review She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan. Like all of our reviews, the first part is spoiler free.Here's a little about She Who Became the Sun:To possess the Mandate of Heaven, the female monk Zhu will do anything“I refuse to be nothing…”In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness…In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family's eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family's clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother's identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate.After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu takes the chance to claim another future her brother's abandoned greatness.We hope you enjoy the episode!Do you have a book you'd like us to review on this show? Send us an email at badassliteraturesociety@gmail.comIf you don't already, follow us on Instagram and FacebookArt by Justin Miller DesignCheck us out here!

Last time we spoke about the Chiang-Gui War. China was reunified, but not was all well in Camelot. Chiang Kai-Shek initially popular, faced opposition from various factions, including Northern warlords and rival generals. The KMT decided to relocate the capital from Beijing to Nanking, which sparked resistance from those attached to Beijing's rich history. The KMT then struggled with demobilizing the massive National Revolutionary Army, which had over 2 million troops. Chiang Kai-Shek aimed to reduce this number significantly but faced challenges, including discontent among warlords like Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan. Tensions escalated into the Chiang-Gui War, where Chiang defeated the Guangxi Clique led by Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi. This victory, however, did not end the turmoil as Feng and Yan formed an anti-Chiang coalition with Wang Jingwei. The struggle led to a dramatic showdown, culminating in the Taiyuan Conference where Yan Xishan was promoted to commander-in-chief, setting the stage for further conflict.   #123 The Central Plains War  Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. We last left off with basically every other big dog in China getting ready to gang up on Chiang Kai-Shek. Yan Xishan was now the commander in chief of an anti-chiang coalition with his deputy commanders being Feng Yuxiang, Li Zongren and Zhang Xueliang….however Zhang Xueliang was nowhere to be found. During what has been referred to as the “telegram war” period, the Young Marshal had actually spent the entire time in Mukden frantically telegraming all the significant North Chinese warlords and generals to not join the anti-chiang movement.  To take a small sidestep. In the last episode I explained why Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi and their Guangxi clique turned against Chiang Kai-Shek, but what motivations did someone like Feng Yuxiang and his Guominjun have to do so? A severe famine hit the Guanzhong region of Shaanxi, where Feng Yuxiang held power. This famine, which occurred in the 18th year of the Republic of China, is also referred to as the "Famine of the 18th Year of the Republic of China." Within Shaanxi, a year without any harvest is called a famine year, two consecutive years of poor harvest are also labeled famine years, and three consecutive years are considered a severe famine. During the 18th year of the Republic of China, the region faced an extreme famine with virtually no harvest for six consecutive seasons over three years. Some considered it a once-in-a-century event, while others claimed it was a disaster seen once in 300 years. According to modern historical records and newspaper reports, Shaanxi experienced drought in 1928, which caused poor summer wheat yields, while autumn and winter crops could not be planted due to a lack of rain. By 1929, the drought worsened. No rain fell from spring through autumn, drying up wells and rivers like the Jing, Wei, Han, and Bao. Most trees withered, and crops failed—summer harvests only amounted to 20%, and autumn yields were nonexistent. The famine was so severe that grass roots and tree bark became scarce, with the roads littered with corpses and countless people fleeing the area. According to a report by the Shaanxi Disaster Relief Committee on September 5 of that year, 91 of the province's 92 counties were affected by the drought. Except for a few counties along the Wei River that had some green crops, the rest were barren. Among the 91 counties, 24 were extremely severely affected, 27 severely affected, 15 moderately affected, and 25 slightly affected. The most severely hit areas included Chang'an, Wugong, Fengxiang, Fufeng, Qianxian, Qishan, Meixian, Xingping, Xianyang, Lintong, Weinan, Zhouzhi, and others. Out of a total population of over 9.4 million, 2.5 million people died of starvation, approximately 400,000 fled, and over 200,000 women were sold to other regions such as Henan, Shanxi, Beiping, Tianjin, and Shandong. Back in 1927, Chiang Kai-shek established the KMT's new government in Nanking. By June, Chiang and Feng Yuxiang succeeded in uniting the two Kuomintang warlord factions during the Xuzhou Conference. In February 1928, Chiang and Feng solidified their alliance by becoming sworn brothers. Before the launch of the "Second Northern Expedition," Chiang Kai-shek had control over the central KMT government and occupied affluent areas like Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou. Feng Yuxiang, on the other hand, controlled the impoverished and remote northwest, where transportation was difficult. He saw the Northern Expedition as an opportunity to expand his own influence, particularly eyeing Beijing and Tianjin for their wealth and strategic transportation routes. After the expedition, Chiang Kai-shek, concerned about Feng's growing power, exploited tensions between Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang. He ceded control of Hebei, Beijing, and Tianjin to Yan Xishan, appointing him commander of the Beijing-Tianjin garrison and allowing his 3rd Army to enter Beijing. Feng's 2nd Army, however, was restricted to Nanyuan and denied entry into the city, which greatly displeased Feng. In response, he ordered his troops to retreat to Shandong and Henan, and feigned illness in Xinxiang, Henan, refusing to travel to Beijing. In the political realm Feng Yuxiang advocated for "civilian politics" and stood against dictatorship. Within the Kuomintang, he opposed Chiang Kai-shek's views, calling for the establishment of a clean government, promoting joint industrial development, providing aid to disaster victims, and fighting corruption. He also opposed salary increases for central government officials, argued for distributing leadership roles based on the strength of different factions, and rejected Chiang Kai-shek's dominance over party matters and the Nanjing government. These positions sharply conflicted with Chiang Kai-shek's ideas. After the success of the "Northern Expedition," Chiang Kai-shek proposed a reorganization of the army. This initiative sparked intense conflict between Chiang and Feng Yuxiang. On July 6, 1928, Chiang invited Feng, Yan Xishan, Li Zongren, and Bai Chongxi to a symposium in Beiping. However, Feng and other faction leaders strongly opposed Chiang's plan to reduce the army, leading to an unsatisfactory end to the meeting. On August 8, 1928, Chiang presided over the Fifth Plenary Session of the Kuomintang's Second Central Committee in Nanjing, where he sought to force the various factions to comply with his military reduction plan. Supported by the Guangdong-born members of the Central Committee, the proposal was passed, and the army reduction plan became part of the Kuomintang's official resolution. Feeling threatened by this plan, Feng traveled along the Longhai Railway, inspecting the Northwest Army, and held a commemorative military parade marking the second anniversary of the Northwest Army's Wuyuan Oath-taking Ceremony. In October 1928, after the reorganization of the Nanjing National Government, Chiang appointed Feng as Vice President of the Executive Yuan and Minister of Military Affairs, asking him to report to Nanjing immediately. Feng, however, refused, citing various excuses. Under increasing public pressure, Feng and other faction leaders were eventually forced to attend the demobilization meeting in Nanjing. On December 26, 1928, Chiang chaired a preparatory meeting for the demobilization conference, using factional politics to manipulate and divide his rivals. Feng proposed a "three haves and three demobilizations" plan, which was initially opposed by Yan Xishan and Li Zongren. Secretly, Chiang won over Yan, encouraging him to submit a proposal that would counter Feng's influence. When the National Demobilization Meeting convened on January 1, 1929, most attendees supported Yan's proposal over Feng's. The "Outline of the Procedure for the Demobilization Committee of the National Army" was passed, favoring Chiang's position. Eventually, Feng, Yan, and Li shifted from opposing each other to uniting against the demobilization process. In March 1929, as we saw in last episode, the Chiang-Gui War broke out. In order to concentrate military forces and eliminate the Guangxi clique, Chiang Kai-shek sent Shao Lizi and others to Huashan to win over Feng Yuxiang. They offered Feng the chance to continue cooperating with Chiang and send troops to help Chiang defeat Guangxi in exchange for the premiership of the Executive Yuan and the territory of Hubei and Hunan provinces. Feng agreed to Chiang's request on the surface. He then frequently deployed troops on the border between Henan and Hubei, hoping to seize the opportunity to send troops to occupy Wuhan when Chiang and Guangxi were both defeated. However, Chiang soon defeated the Guangxi clique, which increased Chiang Kai-shek's resentment and made the contradiction between Chiang and Feng irreconcilable. Now that pretty much covers Feng Yuxiang's motivations, but what about Yan Xishan? In January 1930, after Yan Xishan returned to Taiyuan from Zhengzhou, central Henan began to experience increasing turmoil. On February 10, Yan sent a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek, urging a spirit of courtesy for the country's sake that they "share the burden" to resolve party conflicts. Chiang responded on February 12 with a telegram stating, "Revolution to save the country is an obligation, not a right. The country is in dire straits, and it is not the time for us to be arrogant." By February 21, Li Zongren, Huang Shaohong, Bai Chongxi, Zhang Fakui, and Hu Zongduo all stated supported Yan Xishan to be the commander-in-chief of the anti-chiang national army, navy, and air force. In many ways the issue was simply thrust onto him. Meanwhile Yan Xishan's army went to Peiping, current day Beijing, disarming the KMT forces there and setting up a HQ. With perhaps a stronger backing, Chiang Kai-Shek would have gone to war against the anti-chiang cabal much earlier, but was reluctant to do so now. The terrain was the difficulty, he would have to fight his way into Shandong, where the local sympathy rested on Feng Yuxiang. So for now he battled them through the use of diplomacy. Within the chaos, the CCP also managed to cut their own piece of the pie by capturing Changsha in late July. They would only hold the city for a few days however, before burning it down and fleeing. Early into the conflict Chiang Kai-Shek's attention was drawn to Manchuria. The Young Marshal had not made a move in either direction and he was sitting upon an army 200,000 plus strong. Where did his sympathies truly lie, everyone was waiting to see. Chiang Kai-Shek believed chances were slim the Young Marshal would rebel against him, he was not very much like his tiger of a father. Zhang Xueliang was a thinker, an idealistic and most importantly he had been an opium addict for a long time. Such a life conditioned the young man to be a lot more passive. Zhang Xueliang seemed to be looking to pledge himself to a real leader who could deliver salvation to China. But who was the better choice for him? Chiang Kai-Shek or Wang Jingwei? Chiang Kai-Shek did not wait for an official answer to this question he hastily announced that Zhang Xueliang was his new deputy commander in chief. Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan followed this up by offering Zhang Xueliang a place in the Peiping state council, yet Zhang Xueliang remained quiet until the middle of September. It was a real nail bitter for both sides, Zhang Xueliang had a large, decently trained and pretty well armed army, he would tip the tides for either side. The waiting game had Yan Xishan thinking strongly about pulling out of the coalition. In the meantime the war truly began to heat up in May when Chiang Kai-Shek swore a public oath to attack Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang. On May 11th, both sides began engaged another along a north and south front. The main battlefield in the north was centered around Henan with a secondary front in Shandong fought mainly along the Pinghan, Longhai and Jinpu railways. In the southern theater the fighting was fought mainly in the Yuezhou, Changsha and Xiangjiang river areas. To be more specific the anti-Chiang Kai-shek army organized a total of 8 war front areas: the Guangxi clique army was the 1st front, led by Li Zongren, going north from Hunan and heading towards Wuhan; the Northwest Army was the 2nd front, led by Feng Yuxiang, with Lu Zhonglin being responsible for the Longhai and Pinghan lines in Henan; the Shanxi Army was the 3rd front, led by Yan Xishan, with Xu Yongchang responsible for the Jinpu and Jiaoji lines and the eastern section of the Longhai line in Shandong; Shi Yousan's troops were the 4th front; the Northeast Army, which was designated by Zhang Xueliang, was the 5th front though whether he took up the post or not was yet to be seen; Liu Wenhui's troops were the 6th front; He Jian's troops were the 7th front, and Fan Zhongxiu's troops were the 8th front. The Northwest Army and the Shanxi Army, as the main forces, had been fully mobilized and marched to the Longhai, Pinghan, and Jinpu lines. Yan also appointed Shi Yousan as the chairman of Shandong Province, leading his troops to attack Shandong from Henan, and appointed Sun Dianying as the chairman of Anhui Province, attacking the Bozhou area of ​​Anhui. Altogether the Anti-Chiang forces were about 260,000 men strong The fighting kicked off in mid May. The strategy of the anti-Chiang army was for the first front army, the Guangxi army led by Li Zongren to march into Hunan and advance towards Wuhan; the second front army, the Northwestern Army of Feng Yuxiang, was responsible for the Longhai and Pinghan routes in Henan Province, and would attack Xuzhou and Wuhan respectively; the third front army, the Shanxi Army of Yan Xishan was responsible for the operations along the Jinpu and Jiaoji routes in Shandong Province. It would join Feng Yuxiang to attack Xuzhou, then advance southward along the Jinpu Line and attack Nanking; Shi Yousan was in charge of the Fourth Front Army, which would use its main forces to attack Jining and Yanzhou, and would use part of its forces to join the Third Front Army in the attack on Jinan; Zhang Xueliang's Northeast Army was designated as the Fifth Front Army, and efforts were made to jointly fight against Chiang Kai-shek, but again his status was still unknown; Liu Wenhui of Sichuan was appointed as the Sixth Front Army, and He Jian of Hunan was appointed as the Seventh Front Army. In order to encourage generals of non-directly affiliated units, Shi Yousan was appointed as the chairman of Shandong Province, Wan Xuancai as the chairman of Henan Province, and Sun Dianying as the chairman of Anhui Province. After this, Fan Zhongxiu was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Eighth Front Army. Chiang Kai-Shek deployed the NRA 2nd Corps led by Liu Zhi along the Longhai railway line; the 3rd Crops of H Chengjun was deployed on the Pinhan line; the 1st Corps of Han Fuju was deployed along the Jinpu line and Chiang Kai-Shek set up his HQ in Xuzhou to personally command forces. On May 11th, Chiang Kai-Shek issued his general attack orders, with the 2nd corps attacking Guide from Xuzhou. The two sides began clashing, with the KMT gaining the upper hand rather quickly as they held an advantage in air power. A NRA division led by Chen Jicheng occupied Mamuji due east of Guide. Then Liu Maoen defected to Chiang Kai-Shek handing his forces over at Ningling while also luring Colonel Wan Xuancai into a trap. This left Guide to be easily captured by Chiang's forces as the only other enemy division was that of Sun Dianying who withdrew to Bozhou. Although Chiang Kai-Shek had won technically the first major battle, his situation was not at all enviable.  After losing Guide, Yan Xishan urgently reinforced the Longhai Railway line area with divisions led by Yang Yaofang, Sun Laingcheng and Ji Hongchang. This saw Chiang Kai-Sheks forces suffer extremely heavy losses over the course of 10 days of fighting. Chiang Kai-Sheks forces were reeling from the fierce fighting and forced to retreat into the southwestern portion of Shandong. Along the Pinghan railway, Chiang Kai-Shek ordered He Chengjun's 3rd Corps to depart the Yancheng area and attack northwards. The 3rd Corps quickly found themselves fighting the northwest Army in the Linying and Xuchang areas. The 3rd Corps were trying to contain and isolate the northwest army who were currently receiving reinforcements along the Longhai line.  On May 25th, He Jians forces began occupying Linying and by Juny 7th Xuchang. At this time the Guangxi army invaded Hunan and by the 28th of May had taken Yongzhou, Qiyang, Hangzhou and Baoqing. On June 8th they took Changsha and Yueyang, with their vanguard entering Hubei. Feng Yuxiang took advantage of the situation to launch a full scale attack along the Pingham line. After two days of fighting, Chiang Kai-Sheks men were retreating south to Luohe. However, Feng Yuxiang made an error. His subordinates urged him to link up with the Guangxi army and attack Wuhan. Instead he ordered his forces to advance into eastern Henan where he might annihilate a large portion of Chiang Kai-Sheks army. Meanwhile Chiang Kai-Shek had suffered major defeats across the Longhai and Pingham lines and lost the key city of Changsha, his men were demoralized. By mid June Feng Yuxiang adjusted his battle plan and launched another offensive along the Longhai line as Chiang Kai-Shek came to Liuhe to supervise the battle. Chiang Kai-Shek tossed some of his elite divisions equipped with heavy artillery to attack Feng Yuxiang from Qixian to Taikang, hoping to seize Kaifeng and Chenliu. Yet he fell directly into a pocket-sized encirclement and his forces were battered. Over on the Jinpu line front, Yan Xishan had organized 6 divisions and 3 artillery regiments to perform an offensive against Jinan. They advanced south along the Jinpu line and formed two pincers against the city. Han Fuju knew he would lose considerable forces in a defense of the city and ended up simply pulling out to conserve his strength, handing Jinan over.  July brought significant change to the war. Over in Hunan, Chiang Kai-Shek organized 3 armies to counterattack Changsha; a naval fleet under Chen Skaokuan would assist them and he ordered the 8th route army under Jiang Hauangnai and Cai Tingkai to retake Hengyang. The Guangxi army could not focus on two fronts, so they abandoned Yueyang and Changsha to meet the enemy at Hengyang. The two sides fought bitterly in southern Hunan, but by July 4th the Guangxi army was forced to retreat to the province of Guangxi. Afterwards Chiang Kai-Shek's forces took Bozhou within the Longhai/Jinpu triangle area, effectively trapping forces led by Sun Dianying. On July 8th Chiang Kai-Shek diverted a bunch of divisions from the Longhai line to the Jinpu Line. By the end of the month Chiang Kai-Shek unleashed a general offensive along the Jinpu line. Feng Yuxiang retaliated by launching an offensive over the Longhai line trying to seize Xuzhou. Feng Yuxiang hoped by doing so he could unite the Jinpu and Longhai lines for a combined assault of Xuzhou. Chiang Kai-Sheks Longhai forces were quickly pushed back to an area south of Guide, but mother nature tossed a curveball. Colossal amounts of rain caused river floodings, forcing Feng Yuxiangs men to advance through mud greatly diminishing his supply lines. It was enough to give Chiang Kai-Shek time to stabilize the front as his offensive on the Jinpu line successfully recaptured Jinan by August 15th.  On August 21st Chiang Kai-Shek convened a meeting in Jinan where it was decided they would divert forces from the Jinpu line to the Longhai and Pinghan lines. They would focus the most on the Pinghan line while forces on the Longhai line would try to cut off the retreat of Feng Yuxiang's army. Chiang Kai-Shek even offered 200,00 yuan for the first unit to take Gongxian and 1 million yuan for the occupation of Luoyang and Zhengzhou. On September 6th, Chiang Kai-Shek unleashed another general offensive. Feng Yuxiang believed he had the numbers to win, so he deployed his forces pretty evenly over the Pinghan, Longhai and Zhengzhou fronts. He did urge Yan Xishan to try and help him out if his fronts could afford to spare units. Yet Yan Xishan sought to preserve his strength, and moved his Longhai forces to pull back north of the Yellow River. This action made linking up with Feng Yuxiang pretty much impossible. By the 17th Chiang Kai-Shek captured Longmen very close to Luoyang, effectively cutting off Feng Yuxiang's line of retreat heading west. Thus Feng Yuxiang had no choice but to retreat into northern Henan. Taking another sidestep, you may have noticed one of the largest players remains unmentioned, what about the Young Marshal? Back in March, Zhang Xueliang issued a telegram expressing his neutrality. This of course prompted Chiang Kai-Shek to personally call him, whence negotiations began. On June 10th, Li Shi and Zhang Xueliang discussed the conditions for him to send troops to help the NRA out. The first condition was 2 million yuan to cover the cost of deployment. On June 21st the KMT officially appointed Zhang Xueliang as deputy commander. The next day Zhang Xueliang telegramed everyone suggesting that both sides agree to a cease-fire and establish a buffer zone. In August Li Shi came to meet with Zhang Xueliang again, where the Young Marshal then demanded 5 million yuan for military use and a loan of 10 million yuan to stabilize the northeast economy. Chiang Kai-Shek agreed to the terms on the spot. Then Zhang Xueliang said if Chiang Kai-Shek could capture Jinan, he would send troops. As mentioned this occurred on August 15th. Thus Zhang Xueliang began speaking with his generals. Meanwhile on the other side, the Anti-Chiang leadership began establishing a competing government in Peiping in July whereupon they appointed many Fengtian clique members to be the heads of certain departments. Yet on September 2nd, Zhang Xueliang told Fu Zuoyi, a anti-Chiang representative that he did not support their Peiping government. Then Zhang Xueliang recalled all the Fengtian members they had appointed as officials.  Then on September 18th, Zhang Xueliang issued a telegram urging "all parties to stop fighting immediately to relieve the people's suffering and wait for Nanking to take action." At the same time, he dispatched Yu Xuzhong and Wang Shuchang with the 1st and 2nd armies of the Northeast Frontier Defense army to enter the pass. On October 9th, he officially took up office as the deputy commander for the NRA. Yan Xishan soon received word from forces in Tangshan that Zhang Xuliang was advancing, so he called for a meeting to figure out countermeasures. Zhang Xueliang then sent word to Yan Xishan that he should withdraw from occupied areas. Yan Xishan did indeed comply as Zhang Xueliang quickly occupied Ping and Tianjin without firing a shot. To maintain cordial relations with Yan Xishan, Zhang Xueliang had his army only advance into Hubei and Chahar, but left Shanxi alone. This prompted Yan Xishans forces to cross the Yellow River and retreat back into Shanxi using two routes.  Meanwhile a wave of defections to Chiang Kai-Shek began in late September, severely crippling the Pinghan line for Feng Yuxiang. Along the Longhai line, Chiang Kai-Shek's forces took Kaifeng on October 3rd and were advancing towards Zhangzhou. The KMT government then began announcing amnesty for all Generals if they would stand down. The next days many of Feng Yuxiang's subordinates called upon him to issue a ceasefire. Feng Yuxiang was basically screwed, Chiang and Zhang were surrounding him slowly as his own Generals defected or abandoned the cause. On the 5th Feng Yuxiangs deputy commander withdrew to Xinxiang, due north of the Yellow River. The next day Zhengzhou fell to the NRA 11th division of Chen Cheng. On the 5th Yan Xishan, Feng Yuxiang and Wang Jingwei jointly telegrammed Zhang Xueliang expressing their desire for a ceasefire and to open up negotiations.  By the 15th Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang stepped down together as commanders in chief. Yan Xishan handed command to Xu Yongchang and Feng Yuxiang to Lu Zhonglin. Both men then stated they would go temporarily abroad, though neither truly did. In truth Yan Xishan fled to Dalian under the protection of the Japanese and Feng Yuxiang hid in Yudaohe in Shanxi. That same day Lu Zhonglin telegramed to the Northwest army "withdraw defense immediately upon order inform all injured units to stop fighting and rest the people." On November 4th, Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang telegramed the dissolution of the anti-chiang movement, ending the war. The Central Plains War lasted roughly seven months, with both sides mobilizing more than 1.1 million troops, spending 500 million yuan, and suffering 300,000 casualties. At least half of them were young and middle-aged men from Hebei, Shandong, Henan and other provinces. It was the largest civil war in China after the Northern Expedition to unify China. The war spread to Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi and other provinces. Most of the national troops originally prepared to suppress the Communists were mobilized, allowing the Chinese Communist Party to breathe and develop. Warlords imposed additional donations and taxes on the common people and issued paper money indiscriminately. As usual the ones to suffer the most were of course the common people. Within the Central Plains, 27 counties including Luoyang in Henan Province were severely affected, with agricultural losses amounting to 160.2% of the annual output value; farmers in more than a dozen counties including lost an average of 0.22 heads of livestock and 0.07 carts per household. Within Henan Province, it was said “over 120,000 people died in the war, over 19,500 were injured, over 1,185,000 fled, and over 1,297,700 were forced into exile by the army, of which over 30,000 died in combat, not including soldiers. The total property losses, including the destruction and burning of houses, amounted to over 651,469,000 yuan. It is estimated that it will take 10 years to recover all the losses.” Source in Zhengzhou stated “Since the beginning of the war, planes have been arriving every day, dropping bombs. … Every time a bomb is dropped, five or six people are killed and several buildings are destroyed. This situation is not limited to Zhengzhou. It is the same everywhere in the battlefield cities, the counties and villages near the Longhai and Pinghan railways, even in broad daylight.”  Industry declined and agriculture went bankrupt. The war caused great damage to industrial and agricultural production, seriously hindering the development of the social economy. “The national finances and social economy were both exhausted.” For railway transportation alone saw  “capital losses amounted to 22,165,504 yuan; withdrawals from garrison troops amounted to 4,206,155 yuan; military transport losses amounted to 29,958,042 yuan; and operating losses amounted to 17,018,271 yuan. The total was more than 73 million yuan.Among agricultural products, tobacco leaves were harvested in the three provinces of Henan, Shandong and Anhui, and the war was at its most intense. The losses were between 20 and 30 million yuan. The losses were twice as much as the war expenses.”  Chiang Kai-Shek had won the war, utterly breaking his opponents. Feng Yuxiangs northwest disintegrated into four factions. Yan Xishans Shanxi army took heavy losses that they would not recover from. Zhang Xueliang profited the most, his northeast army gained further territory in North China. He would gradually incorporate a large part of the forces in Shanxi and Suiyuan and would emerge the second largest military faction in China. However, when Zhang Xueliang depleted the northeast of her military forces, this left the borders weak. Zhang Xueliang soon became focused on governing North China, taking his eyes off his powerbase of Manchuria, which Japanese eyes looked upon enviously.  Overall the Central plains war weakened the NRA, the KMT, depleted China of her overall strength and lessened efforts against the CCP. Within the background of the warlord-NRA conflict, the CCP would benefit greatly. The CCP had spread to 11 provinces, including Jiangxi, Hubei, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Henan, Sichuan, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang. Their Red Army formed a total of 14 armies with a total of about 100,000 people. But with the Central Plains War ended, now Chiang Kai-Shek could redirect his efforts against the Red Menace.  I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Chiang Kai-Shek had certainly faced a formidable enemy in the former of his past comrades in arms, Feng Yuxiang, Yan Xishan, Li Zongren and many others. At the last minute the Young Marshal saved the day, allowing the Generalissimo to retain control over the new Republic, yet in the background lurked enemies everywhere still.

Send us a textEver wondered how military forts without traditional defenses managed to secure the American West during the 1860s? Discover the strategic brilliance behind Kansas forts like Fort Zara and Fort Larned, as we unravel their critical roles along the Santa Fe and Smoky Hill Trails. Through the voices of historical figures such as Elizabeth Custer, we bring to light the stark living conditions and immense challenges soldiers faced while safeguarding settlers and aiding railroad construction.Journey with us into the heart of the Central Plains Indian Wars and witness the turbulent period of Kansas expansion from 1857 to 1868. Through the expert narration of Brad Smalley, we immerse you in the harsh realities experienced by early settlers amidst Indian incursions and the resulting conflicts. Explore the historical significance of the trails, forts, and treaties that defined this era, and enhance your understanding with the accompanying audio book available on Amazon. This episode promises a gripping exploration of the dramatic events that shaped the American West.Support the show

Corn and soybeans see fund or corrective buying plus help from flash export sales.  Dave Chatterton, Strategic Farm Marketing, says row crops are in a tug of war between speculative and hedge selling verses end user buying which could keep the markets sideways.  There is also uncertainty tied to the election and possible tariffs or a trade war.  Wheat saw support from disappointing rains in the Central Plains over the weekend but ended mixed with Russia still undercutting world wheat prices in their export program.  Cattle saw profit taking and divergence with steady to higher cash and cutouts. Lean hog futures made new for the move highs as funds continue to buy but will they make new contract highs?  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're back! This is the second part of our deep dive on drawing. I asked my artist-guests: Jennifer Coates, David Humphrey and Catherine Haggarty to bring along a fave drawing from art history to share and describe what "drew" them to it (please forgive the pun). It was so fun to see what they selected. See images of all of the works on IG @peptalksforartists The drawings discussed were: 1) "The Grotto of Neptune in Tivoli" ca 1640 by Claude Lorrain 2) Rocks near the caves above Château Noir (Rochers à Bibémus) 1895/00 by Paul Cézanne, Watercolor on paper 18¼ by 12 in. 3) "Moon and Clouds" 1945 by George Ault 4) Ledger Drawing ca. 1875-78 attributed to William Cohoe, Cheyenne, Central Plains, Inscribed "Cheyenne Soldiers" Find my guests online here: David Humprhrey: ⁠web⁠ and ⁠IG⁠ Jennifer Coates: ⁠web⁠ and ⁠IG⁠ Catherine Haggarty: ⁠web⁠ and ⁠IG⁠ See more Ledger Drawings at DonaldEllisGallery.com: https://www.donaldellisgallery.com/offerings/plains-indian-drawings Artists also mentioned: Georges Seurat ("Monkey"), Alexander Cozens, Caspar David Friedrich, Julia Gleich (choreographer) Books mentioned: "Lake Superior" by Lorine Niedecker, "Keeping Time: Plains Indian Ledger Drawings 1865-1900" (pub by Donald Ellis Gallery) Catherine's show "Just Drawing" online at Geary Contemporary: ⁠https://geary.nyc/exhibition/just-drawing-catherine-haggarty/ You can watch the original IG Live video of my guests' panel talk at Geary here: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9qMilKRs-f/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==⁠⁠ Thank you for listening! All music by Soundstripe ---------------------------- Pep Talks on IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@peptalksforartists⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Pep Talks Website: ⁠https://www.peptalksforartists.com/⁠ Amy, your beloved host, on IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@talluts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Amy's website: ⁠https://www.amytalluto.com/⁠ Pep Talks on Art Spiel as written essays: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://tinyurl.com/7k82vd8s⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BuyMeACoffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donations always appreciated! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/peptalksforartistspod/support

.Debby to move slowly inland through northeast South Carolina intowestern North Carolina Wednesday night-Thursday, then more rapidlynortheastward Friday-Saturday from the Central Appalachians into NorthernNew England......Heavy rains, flash and river flooding likely along and to the north andnortheast of Debby, while isolated tornadoes possible to the east of thetrack......Much above average temperatures to persist next two days across much ofthe West into the Southern Plains and South, while  below averagetemperatures spread across the Northern and Central Plains and UpperMississippi Valley......Record heat coming to and end from the Southwest into the South by theend of the week......Fire weather threat and poor air quality continue from the PacificNorthwest into the Northern Rockies and Great Basin...Debby will make its second U.S. landfall Wednesday evening along the SouthCarolina coast and push slowly northwestward through northeast SouthCarolina Wednesday night into Thursday, across western North Carolinaduring Thursday and then accelerate to the northeast from the CentralAppalachians into Northern New England Friday into Saturday.  Sustainedwinds with Debby will be lessening as the storm pushes inland and weakens,with heavy rains, flash flooding and river flooding being the primarythreat as the system pushes northwestward and then more to the north andnortheast over the next few days.  The continued slow motions of Debbythrough Thursday will produce rainfall totals in the 4-8 inch range, withlocally heavier amounts, across northeast South Carolina, southeast tocentral North Carolina into western Virginia, eastern West Virginia andfar western Maryland.  Flood watches are currently in effect across theseareas, affecting  approximately 19 million people.  As the storm begins toaccelerate to the northeast on Friday through the northern Mid-Atlantic,northern NY State and northern New England, expected precipitation amountswill likely be less than when the storm is slower moving.  Still, rainfalltotals of 2-4" likely across central to eastern Pennsylvania, central tonorthern NY State into northern New England, continuing the threat offlash and river flooding across these areas. No let up to the much above average temperatures over the next two daysacross much of the West into the Southern Plains and South, with recordhigh potential Thursday across portions of Texas and the northeast GulfCoast from southeast Louisiana into North Florida and again on Friday fromsoutheast Louisiana into the Florida Panhandle.  While temperatures arestill above average from the West into the South over the next few days,it does appear that record high potential will be coming to an end by theweekend,   Heat advisories are currently in effect across the SouthernPlains into the South, affecting nearly 44 million people.

There is an Enhanced Risk of severe thunderstorms over parts of theCentral Plains and Middle Mississippi Valley on Tuesday evening andWednesday with a Slight Risk of severe thunderstorms over parts of theOhio Valley on Thursday......There is a Slight Risk of excessive rainfall over parts of the MiddleMississippi Valley and Ohio/Tennessee Valleys on Tuesday evening andWednesday......There is a Slight Risk of excessive rainfall over parts of Northern NewEngland and Southwest on Wednesday and over parts of the Ohio Valley onThursday......There are Excessive Heat Watches over parts of the Pacific Northwestand Excessive Heat Warnings/Advisories over parts of the Central/SouthernPlains, Middle/Lower Mississippi Valley, Ohio/Tennessee Valleys, and theSoutheast.A front with a wave of low pressure over the Northern High Plains willmove slowly eastward to the Ohio Valley/Great Lakes by Thursday. Theassociated boundary will aid in triggering showers and severethunderstorms over parts of the Central Plains, Middle Mississippi Valley,and parts of the Ohio/Tennessee Valleys. Therefore, the SPC has issued anEnhanced Risk (level 3/5) of severe thunderstorms over the Central Plainsand Middle Mississippi Valley through Wednesday morning. The hazardsassociated with these thunderstorms are frequent lightning, severethunderstorm wind gusts, hail, and a few tornadoes. Also, there is athreat of severe thunderstorm wind gust of 65 knots, or greater over partsof the Central Plains, Middle Mississippi Valley and hail two inches, orgreater over parts of the Central Plains. In addition, showers and thunderstorms will create heavy rain over partsof the Middle Mississippi Valley and Ohio/Tennessee Valleys. Therefore,the WPC has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/4) of excessive rainfall overparts of the Middle Mississippi Valley and Ohio/Tennessee Valleys throughWednesday morning. The associated heavy rain will create mainly localizedareas of flash flooding, with urban areas, roads, small streams, andlow-lying areas the most vulnerable.A second area of severe thunderstorms is forecast over parts of theNorthern Plains. Therefore, the SPC has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/5)of severe thunderstorms over parts of the Northern Plains throughWednesday morning. The hazards associated with these thunderstorms arefrequent lightning, severe thunderstorm wind gusts, hail, and a fewtornadoes.

Last time we spoke about the rise of Chiang Kai-Shek. Chiang Kai-Shek had gradually become a rising star in the KMT. Dr Sun Yat-Sen saw some promise in the young man and took him under his wing soon making him something akin to his number 2. Aligning with Sun Yat-Sen, Chiang Kai-Shek helped consolidate KMT power in Guangzhou and played a crucial role in military campaigns, including the suppression of the Canton Merchants Association militia in 1924. Following Sun Yat-Sen's death in 1925, Chiang Kai-Shek navigated the KMT power vacuum that unfolded. When the Guangzhou Coup occurred, Chiang Kai-Shek managed to keep his head and began systematically eliminating or neutralizing his rivals. In the end he solidified his authority and led to the temporary stabilization of KMT-CCP relations, setting the stage for the Northern Expedition aimed at unifying China under KMT leadership.   #108 The Anti-Fengtian War Part 1: The Zhejiang-Fengtian War Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. In this episode we are going to be talking about a new warlord, well new-ish. When I had been introducing the individual warlords and their factions, I had to set a few aside, because they come later on in the warlord Era, one of them being Sun Chuanfang. Sun Chuanfang was born April 17th, 1885 in Fanzhen, of Tai'an county in Shandong province. He lost his father at a early age, and because he grew up in old troublesome Shandong, he was destined to face hardship. One of those hardships was the Boxer Rebellion, which provided much unrest, poverty and famine. His family was forced to flee famine many times before they settled in Jinan. Sun Chuanfang had a little sister who went on to marry Wang Yingkai, a rising officer in the Beiyang Army and a protege under Yuan Shikai. By being the brother in law, Sun Chuanfang received some financial aid and was given a proper education. Sun Chuanfang was quickly deemed talented and strong, so it was recommended he join the Beiyang Army training camp in 1902. Sun Chuanfang graduated in 1904 and was sent to Japan to train at the Tokyo Shimbu Gakko military preparatory school. Reminiscent of Chiang Kai-Shek's experience, Sun Chuanfang joined the Tongmenghui while studying in Japan.He would graduate 6th in his class and served in the IJA before returning to China in 1908. In 1909 he took the Army Civil Service Examination and ha exellent results, obtaining the status of an infantry juren. After this Sun Chuanfang was assigned to the 2nd army regiment of Ma Longbiao. Eventually he was recruited by Wang Zhanyuan who would become something of a mentor to him. During the Wuchang uprising, Sun Chuanfang was assigned to forces who went south to supress the revolutionaries. After the founding of the new republic, Sun Chuanfang took a station in Hubei. Sun Chuanfang rose through the ranks and by 1917 he was appointed commander of the 21st mixed brigade. After this he received a promotion to commander of the 1st Division. During the Anhui-Zhili War Sun Chuanfang was fighting under Wang Zhanyuan as they captured Wu Guangxin. After this Sun Chuanfang was awarded commander in chief over the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. In 1921, the governor of Hunan, Zhao Hengti, attempted to expand his rule to Hubai launching a small war known loosely as the Hunan-Hubei War. Zhao Hengti failed to expand his rule, but forced something of a political struggle upon Wang Zhanyuan who ended up resigning from his post. Wu Peifu then recommended Sun Chuanfang to became the commander of the 2nd division, working under him. During the 1st Zhili-Fengtian War of 1922. Sun Chuanfang officially became a member of the Zhili Clique and began publicly demanding the resignation of Xu Shichang, the current Anhui clique president. In June that year, Xu Shichang resigned and Li Yuanhong took his place. In 1923, Sun Chuanfang was appointed the Military Inspector of Fujian. He led his troops to Fujian and quickly seized control over the province. There he established the Fujian Army. In September of 1924, the Jiangsu-Zhejiang War broke out, a precursor to the 2nd Zhili-Fengtian War. Sun Chuanfang initially held back, but stated he was supporting Qi Xieyuan the governor of Jiangsu against Lu Yongxiang the governor of Zhejiang. When the opportunity opened up Sun Chuanfang invaded Zhejiang to defeat Lu Yongxiang, however during the greater war, the Zhili clique was defeated by the Fengtian forces. Wu Peifu went into exile, many of the remaining Zhili Warlords were tossed into a uneasy situation. For Sun Chuanfang it was a pretty awkward situation as he had just won a smaller war and established a powerbase in southeast China. With Wu Peifu gone, Sun Chuanfang was now one of the biggest Zhili warlords. The new chief executive, Duan Qirui appointed Sun Chuanfang as governor over Zhejiang, casting Qi Xieyuan to the wind. Duan Qirui was struggling to keep the peace across the board, thus he was trying to appease the more troublesome warlords with decent appointments, hoping they would be complacent and not stir up anymore trouble. But this is China's warlord Era, and trouble will be stirred.  Now Two episodes back I mentioned how Feng Yuxiang established his Guominjun, but he lacked funds and arms. Thus he got into bed with the KMT, and by proxy was introduced to Mr. Borodin representing the Soviets. The Soviets agreed to arm and fund his Guominjun as long as he provided the same reciprocity as the KMT, ie; allowing communists to join his ranks. Feng Yuxiang held a sphere of influence in the northwest of China. The new triumvirate between him, Duan Qirui and Zhang Zuolin was honestly a charade. Zhang Zuolin controlled the wealthy provinces of northeast China while Feng Yuxiang controlled the much poorer northwest. Zhang Zuolin was backed by the Japanese, he was essentially more of a conservative. Feng Yuxiang was seen as a radical politically, perhaps even a revolutionary and his backer was the Soviet Union. Duan Qirui was not even in the same league as either, having no real army anymore. Thus Zhang Zuolin was essentially the one calling the shots, it was an arrangement destined to fail.   After winning the second Zhili-Fengtian War, Zhang Zuolin began moving pieces across the chess board to consolidate his power. He first ordered the commander of his 5th army, Kan Chaoxi to lead two Fengtian Mixed Brigades, with some local troops, over to Rehe province to set up shop as its military-governor. The commander of the 2nd Fengtian army, Li Jinglin who was a Zhili native was ordered to serve as a sort of Zhili military affairs director. The Dogmeat General, Zhang Zongchang was given his first big break, Zhang Zuolin made him the commander in chief of suppressing bandits in Jiangsu, Shandong and Anhui. Duan Qirui then ordered the removal of Qi Xieyuan of the Zhili clique from his post as the inspector general of Jiangsu, Anhui and Jiangxi. He was to be replaced by our old friend Lu Yongxiang who would be an envoy to Jiangsu and Anhui. Thus Zhang Zongchang and Lu Yongxiang together marched south along the Shanghai-Nanjing line.    To face the incoming threat Qi Xieyuan banded together with Sun Chuanfang and they likewise marched to Suzhou by January 14th. On the 17th both armies began fighting between Danyang and Wuxi. Yet by the 25th Qi Xieyuan was decisively defeated. Qi Xieyuan fled to Shanghai before getting on a boat to go into exile in Japan. His so-called partner in crime Sun Chuanfang had not ponied up the same amount of troops as he did, choosing to hold back a bit. When Qi Xieyuan fled for Japan, all of his troops were snatched up by Sun Chuanfang. On February 3rd, Sun Chuanfang approached Zhang Zongchang to negotiate, and they signed the second Jiangsu-Zhejiang peace treaty. Under the terms the Zhili army agreed to retreat to Songjiang, the Fengtian army would retreat to Kunshan, while Shanghai would not station troops.    After what was known as the second Jiangsu-Zhejiang war, the Fengtian forces began to dramatically expand their control into the Yangtze River Valley. Zhang Zuolin dispatched 11 divisions to occupy Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, the Beijing-Fengtian Railway and the Jinpu Railway. Zhang Zuolin strong armed the Beiyang government to make his generals Li Jinglin, Zhang Zongchang, Jiang Dengxuan and Yang Yuting military inspectors over Hubei, Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu respectively. This basically made the Yangtze River Valley under Fentgian control and connected them via rail to Zhang Zuolin's northeast power base. The agreement made with Sun Chuanfang to not deploy any troops in Shanghai seemed under threat. When prompted, the Fengtian leaders would claim they would never deploy troops in Shanghai, but to all it seemed like classic trickery.    In fact the Fengtian commanders had become quite arrogant and careless. Some of the generals were running opium operations in Nanshi and Zhabei. A regular inspection at Shanghai-Nanjing station showcased one of their drug runs and led to Fengtian soldiers performing a shoot out. Because of the incident, Duan Qirui ordered Lu Yongxiang and Zheng Qian to go over and investigate the situation. At the same time, Zhang Zongchang had deployed some troops in Shanghai to make sure the opium drug running went more smoothly. Zhang Zongchang ordered Cheng Guorui to figure out a solution to the issues and he was accompanied by Li Kuiyuan the director of the Fengtian Army's HQ in shanghai and Yuan Zhihe the Fengtian supply department director. Cheng Guorui and Li Kuiyuan quickly got into an argument and began drawing their guns upon each other in a shoot out. As reported by an eye witness "Yuan was seriously injured, Li fell to his death, Cheng jumped out of the window and injured his waist. At that time, the guards of each person were outside, and they opened fire on each other when they heard the sound, and the order was very chaotic." Thus Zhang Zongchang's efforts to smooth over the drug trafficking had done the very opposite, it made it much much more visible to the public. However Zhang Zuolin was really arrogant himself by this point and believed their Fengtian empire could get away with just about anything at this point, so he simply dispatched a division of troops to Songhu to make sure things ran smoother. Unfortunately he sent these forces to occupy garrisons that belongs to Sun Chuanfang. At the same time Fengtian forces led by Ding Xichun entered Nanjing.   It really seemed Zhang Zuolin got far too over confident. Apparently he began proclaiming "If I don't beat anyone in the next three to five years, no one will dare to beat me." Likewise his subordinate Yang Yuting mirrored his bosses sentiment, mouthing off to local warlords in Jiangsu. Jiang Dengxuan in Anhui began boasting "that he only brought one battalion with him" and Yang Yuting declared publicly "I went to Jiangsu this time with only more than ten entourages and a company of guards."    Meanwhile Li Jinglin and Zhangzong began to crack down on labour movements in Hubei and Shandong. There was a lot of unrest with workers, especially in Qingdao. Zhang Zongchang brutally suppressed any who would try to demonstrate or strike. A strict anti-labor and anti-communist movement was seen across the board in areas Fengtian controlled. Zhang Zongchang also cracked down on the remaining Zhili clique influence in the Yangtze River Valley. When the Fengtian replaced Qi Xieyuan with Lu Yongxiang as governor over Jiangsu, that lasted about a minute until they replaced Lu Yongxiang, who remember was an Anhui clique guy, with one of their own, Yang Yuting. His appointment was specifically to expand into neighbouring Zhejiang and Fujian provinces. These areas of course were being controlled by the last significant Zhili warlord, Sun Chuanfang. Sun Chuanfang had this to say about the situation "Zhang now dominates the Central Plains, controls the government, and covers the northeast and southeast. He is also planning to succeed Yuan Shikai and establish his own empire. He seduces powerful enemies outside and destroys public opinion inside. He is extremely cruel and does everything he can."   On October 11th of 1925, the governor of Zhejiang, Sun Chuanfang took matters into his own hands. He sent a telegram to the entire nation, opposing suppression efforts against Shanghai workers. He was taking a page out of Wu Peifu's playbook, to play upon the image of patriotism, making it seem you loved the people and were fighting for them. In reality this was a ploy to gather support and sympathy for what he was about to unleash. In early October, Sun Chuanfang began to hold secret meetings in Hangzhou with representatives of the Zhili clique of nearby provinces. The conversation was how to thwart the Fengtian from seizing all of their respective territories. They all came into an agreement, Sun Chuanfang would become their leader and he would lead his armies to attack Shanghai. This would be followed up by the Governor of Fujian, Zhou Yinren to lead his troops into Zhejiang to support Sun Chuanfang; the governor of Jiangxi Fang Benren would send his subordinate Deng Zhuoru also to help out in Zhejiang. Wang Pu the governor over southern Anhui, Chen Tiaoyuan the commander of the 4th Zhili division of Jiangsu and the retired warlods, Qi Xieyuan and Ma Lianjia would lend their forces as well. All together its said their forces were 200,000 strong.   After these meetings, Sun Chuanfang gathered the troops at Songjiang and Changxing calling for a “national day” on October the 10th and they performed a military parade. When Duan Qirui heard about this he sent Lu Zongyu to Hangzhou to try and mediate what was clearly turning into a dire situation. The mediation completely failed. Meanwhile Zhang Zuolin took notice and urgently summoned his 4 new governors, Li Jingling, Zhang Zongchang, Yang Yuting and Jiang Dengxuan. He was pulling them back to discuss how they should deal with this new emerging threat. However Zhang Zuolin was too late, for when the governors were enroute to meet with him, Sun Chuanfang made his move.   On October the 15th, Sun Chuanfang suddenly proclaimed himself the commander in chief of a 5 province coalition. The armies of Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Anhui were now in alliance. Sun Chuanfang created 5 routes armies; the 1st route army was led by Chen Yi consisting of the 1st division of the Zhejiang army; the 2nd route was led by Xiu Hongxun, consisting of the 4th division. The 1st and 2nd route armies were responsible for attacking Shanghai from the Shanghai-Hangzhou line. The 4th Route army led by Lu Xiangting, consisting of the 2nd division of the Anhui army and 5th Route army led by Zhou Fengqi, consisting of the 2nd Division of the Zhejiang armywere responsible for attacking Suzhou from Changxing. Sun Chuanfang took command of the 3rd route army, leading down the middle. On the 11th of October Sun Chuanfang sent a telegram calling on all foreign nations with interests in Shanghai to send personnel to investigate what he claimed was Fengtian Army members abusing workers and peasants. This of course was a guise to launch his attack.   The Fengtian warlords were taken completely offguard by Sun Chuanfangs rapid offensive, they had all unfortunately been enroute north for a meeting with Zhang Zuolin and thus were on a passive footing. Basically the Fengtian army was in a type of snake like formation extending from Yuguan to Tianjing, Pukou, Nanjing and Shanghai. They were quite dispersed. Thus began what is known as the Zhejiang-Fengtian War. Yet to complicate things, this was actually a theater of a larger war known as the Anti-Fengtian War or Third Zhili-Fengtian War. There were other theaters such as the Guominjun-Fengtian War, involving Feng Yuxiang. The Anti-Fengtian War is pretty incoherent, thus I will try to compartmenalize it.    What should be known in regards to the Zhejiang-Fengtian war, is that the Fengtian forces had the threat of Feng Yuxiang to their rear. If the Fengtian diverted forces to thwart the Guominjun, this would disallow them to quell the southern threat of Sun Chuanfang. Because of this, on October 14th, Yang Yuting ordered his subordinate Xing Shillian to withdraw from the Shanghai area quickly explaining to him in a telegram "due to the Shanghai case, in order to maintain order, we had to adjust the army and declare martial law. Now that the Shanghai case has been resolved, the title of martial law commander should be cancelled, the troops should be withdrawn, and the Jiangsu Police Department should be moved to Shanghai to deter the enemy."   The next day, Yang Yuting invited Jiang Denxuan to Nanjing to figure out how they would withdraw their troops along the Shanghai-Nanjing and Tianjian-Pukou rail lines. He also told Jiang Dengxuan, that Sun Chuanfang would "Su would not invade Zhejiang, consider the elegance of our classmates and resolutely stop the war." So it seemed Yang Yuting, who was a classmate of Sun Chuanfang was under the belief their friendship would prevent an escalation. However Sun Chuanfang on that very same day sent out a telegram to the 5 provinces to attack the Fengtian clique. On the 16th, the 2nd route Army of Xiu Hongxun began occupying Shanghai as the 4th Route army of Lu Xiangting occupied Yixing. Both then began advancing towards Suzhou and Wuxi. Roughly an hour before Sun Chuanfangs forces seized Shanghai, there was a mass withdrawal of the Fengtian forces there.   Because the Fengtian forces had adopted a passive, even non-resistant stance towards Sun Chuanfangs offensive, they all retreated quickly upon seeing any troops. Sun Chuanfang's armies made quick and bloodless progress, however upon reaching Lingkou near Danyang on October the 18th, Xing Shilians men did not retreat. Sun Chuanfang's vanguard found themselves facing what seemed to be determined resistance, but in reality it was a rearguard as the Fengtian forces were trying to evacuate Zhejiang province. On that evening, Yang Yuting convened a meeting in Nanjing with the other commanders, whereupon news came to them of the major defeats their forces had incurred. General Chen Tiaoyuan leading the 4th and 10th Zhili divisions stormed Nanjing and ordered Yang Yuting to be arrested. However Yang Yuting managed to escape from the city under the pretext he was. . . taking a bath. Yes a single source I've been relying upon for this event stated that without any context… so in my head I am imagining the classic hollywood, running a bath of water and jumping out of a window scenario. Regardless Yang Yuting abandoned the Fengtian garrison at Nanjing, fording a river and jumping into a car. On the 19th most of the Fengtians 8th Division, including their commander General Ding Chunxi stationed at Nanjing who had not already fled were surrounded and disarmed by Zhili forces. The next day Sun Chuanfang arrived to Nanjing whereupon he ordered Xie Hongxun's division to ford the river to pursue the Fengtian forces fleeing towards Bengdu. On the 21st Ni Chaorong's leading a Anhui Brigade stationed around Sixian, took a car over to Huaiguan where he telegraphed Jiang Dengxuan to resign. Jiang Dengxuan looked on in misery at the doomed Fengtian forces, knowing full well he had not enough time, men or means to halt the enemies advance, so he fled Bengdu on the 23rd, effectively resigning. Most of the Fengtian forces at Bengdu fled for Xuzhou.   Despite the rather embarrasing retreat of the Nanjing to Bengdu lines, the Fengtian forces were not even close to being really defeated. On the 21st, the Dogmeat General led reinforcements to the battlefield who were now ready for an actual battle. Sun Chuanfangs men at this point occupied Bengbu and had stopped their advance. Unbeknownst to the Fengtian commanders, Sun Chuanfang had secret being negotiations with Wu Peifu. Wu Peifu had come out of his forced retirement in Hubei, and to the north Feng Yuxiang was also coordinating with the three. Sun Chuanfang thought he had secured both men in the mission of attacking Xuzhou, but both of them had failed to perform. Thus Sun Chuanfang found himself in a bit of a pickle at Bengbu.   Meanwhile on the 26th, Zhang Zongchang ordered troops from Xin'an to attack Haizhou. Zhili forces led by General Bai Baoshan were defeated there soundly. The Fengtian army then contuined south to attack Qingjiangpu. Zhili troops led by Ma Yuren tried to defend the city, but soon became encircled and forced to surrender. Sun Chuanfang ordered Zheng Junyan and Chen Diaoyuan to reinforce the eastern sector to try and halt the Fengtian advance. On the 1st of November, Zhang Zongchang launched a new attack upon the Jingdu road, using armored cars and white russian forces. This force was led by Zhang Zongchangs subordinate Shi Chongbin, who had ordered to recapture Suxian and Guzhen.   The frontline Anhui troops became terrified of what looked to them to be a foreign force and fled the battlefield from Rengqiao all the way east of Guzhen. At this point Lu Xiangting, deputy commander in chief under Sun Chuanfang, began demolishing the railway to hinder the Fengtian advance. He dispatched Chen Yi and Xie Hongxun's 2nd division to hook around the rear of the Fengtian army to try and cut their retreat. The White Russian army alongside Chinese of the Fengtian forces were advancing alone in a vangard whence they were attacked from two sides. They had no hope of breaking through, nor fleeing backwards and were forced to surrender. Over 300 White Russian troops were killed in the carnage. Shi Chongbin was captured at Xinqiao station and his 47th brigade of the Shandong Army was completely surrounded.   Zhang Zongchang then dispatched Chu Yupu to reinforce and support the 47th Brigade in an counterattack to try and break out, but it failed. On Novemer 3rd, the 47th Brigade were disarmed and surrendered. Seeing no hope of rescue, Chu Yupu took his troops to man a defensive line between Suxian and Jiagou. Sun Chuanfang now took advantage of the crumbling Fengtian situation and ordered the Zhili forces to surround Xuzhou. Zhang Zongchang mobilized everything the Fengtian had for a decisive battle, but disaster was striking elsewhere. It will be discussed more indepth next episode, but Feng Yuxiang entered the fray, attacking the Fengtian rear in Hubei and western Shandong. Zhang Zuolin realized the dreaded two front war had finally come and elected to pull back his strength. Zhang Zuolin ordered Zhang Zongchang to pull the men back into Shandong on the 6th. On the 7th Xing Shilian, Xu Kun, Bi Shucheng and other Fengtian commanders were retreating from Haizhou and Suqian to Tancheng and Taierzhuang. Chu Yupu and other troops retreated from Suxian and Xuzhou to Hanzhuang and Lincheng. On November 8, Sun Chuanfangs army finally occupied Xuzhou. On the 20th, Sun Chuanfang sent a public telegram to return to Hangzhou from Xuzhou. From then on, the five provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi and Fujian were divided by Sun Chuanfang. The Zhejiang-Fengtian War was also declared over   It was a very embarrassing defeat for the Fengtian Clique. Across the Shanghai-Nanjing defensive line, the Fengtian army suffered heavy losses, their entire the 8th division was captured, most of the 20th division was annhilated. It was said only Liu Yifei, the commander of the 44th Brigade of the 20th Division had led his troops to resist the Zhejiang Army for several hours on the way back from Shanghai. Because he was isolated and helpless, Liu Yifei was apparently forced to disguise himself as a monk to escape. When he fled back to Fengtiann,  Zhang Zuolin, said to Liu Yifei "You are back, great! I heard that you disguised yourself as a monk. Damn it! In Jiangnan, you were the only one who fought with Sun Chuanfang for eight hours. Others surrendered without firing a shot because their parents didn't give them the courage! Now I will organize another Type A brigade for you, which is a three-regiment system. Soldiers are being recruited and stationed in the Dongshanzui barracks. Train hard!"   Upon winning the Zhejiang-Fengtian War, Sun Chuanfang immediately called for a ceasefire, literally as he was entering Xuzhou. His top priority was to consolidate his gains, for he understood he had only served the Fengtian a bloody nose, as they were preoccupied with war in the north. Then Chen Tiaoyuan of Jiangsu sent a telegram publicly announcing his support nominating Sun Chuanfang to form a government in Nanjing leading the 5 provinces he had led during their war. To try and remedy the situation, the Beiyang government offered Sun Chuandfang the position of military inspector of Jiangsu, combining his military inspector titles over Zhejiang and Fujian. Thus Sun Chuanfang would legitimately rule 3 provinces. The warlords running Jiangxi and Anhui were no match at all for Sun Chuanfang, thus they would have to submit to him regardless. So unofficially Sun Chuanfang established a new sort of government in Nanjing ruling the 5 provinces. This would be the very peak of his career, but nothing is ever built to last.   I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The Zhejiang-Fengtian War was honestly the result of Fengtian arrogance. Zhang Zuolin let his guard down, turned to his old banditry ways and unleashed his boys southeast, thinking no one would challenge them. Sun Chuanfang proved himself a very capable warlord and now he was a significant player in China's game of thrones.  

主播：Flora（中国）+ Erin（美国） 歌曲 ：Happy今天我们来聊一聊——“小狗”。越来越多的人开始养不同品种的狗狗了，但是你知道“狗”除了用“dog”之外，还有哪些词吗？主播Erin家中有一只巧克力拉布拉多犬（chocolate labrador），这只拉布拉多是她15岁时收到的生日礼物。Her name is Thalia and she is Erin's favorite person in the whole world. 这只拉布拉多很喜欢swimming and playing fetch（游泳和玩飞盘）。 Erin often takes her on hikes (带她去远足) and she will be so happy her tail wags (摇尾巴) the entire time.主播Flora虽然没养狗，但是她也很喜欢狗。前一段时间她沿着青岛的海岸线city walk（城市漫步）的时候，还看到好多的人牵着他们的狗狗出来遛弯。They're so cute!1. 不同种类的狗用英语怎么说？（1）金毛巡回犬（Golden Retriever）Retriever是巡回犬。They are traditionally (先前) used to bring back（带回） birds and animals that their owners（主人） have shot（射击）.（2）哈士奇（Siberian Husky）哈士奇这个名字是从Husky这个词音译过来的。至于为什么是“Siberian”Husky，是因为哈士奇是生活在西伯利亚（Siberia）的一种犬种。如果觉得这个名字太长了，直接说Husky也是可以的。（3）德国牧羊犬（German Shepherd）Shepherd本身也有牧羊人的意思，所以德国牧羊犬就叫German Shepherd。（4）柴犬（Shiba Inu）Shiba Inu是从日语音译过来的。It is an older Japanese dog.（5）柯基犬（Corgis）They are known for (因......而出名) their little butts (屁股) moving when they walk. 柯基犬还因为四肢很短被人们取外号叫“小短腿”。（6）贵宾犬（Poodles）A lot of people in China have poodles. 说贵宾犬可能大家不大熟悉，但是如果说“小泰迪”肯定都不陌生。其实“泰迪”只是贵宾犬的一种造型名称，并不是所有的贵宾犬都叫泰迪。Only poodles that look as cute as a teddy bear (像泰迪熊一样可爱的贵宾犬) when trimmed (修剪) can be called “泰迪”.2. 中国的本土狗，你知道多少？为我们大家所熟知的本土狗就是中华田园犬（Chinese Rural Dog）。In May (在五月), a Chinese Wu Hei Dog (五黑犬) won third place (荣获第三名) in a dog beauty pageant (选美比赛) organized by China Kennel Union (中国光彩事业促进会犬业协会). 这个比赛是由China Kennel Union（简称CKU）举办的，它是世界犬业联盟（简称FCI）在中国地区的唯一正式成员。•rural /ˈrʊrəl/ adj. 农村的，乡村的•kennel n. 养狗场FCI is an international institution (国际机构) of the same nature as (和......有相同性质) international organizations (国际组织) such as the WTO (世界贸易组织) and the WHO (世界卫生组织).The CKU now has full authority (权威) over purebred dog management (管理纯种犬) in China, and is under the authority of the FCI (被FCI授权) to breed and manage (培育和管理) the purebred breeds (纯种犬) it recognizes.•recognize /ˈrekəɡnaɪz/ v. 承认至于刚才我们说的参赛的“五黑犬”，为什么叫这个名字呢，就是这种狗头黑、尾黑、脚黑、舌头也黑。Some say never lose your Wu Hei Dogat night. Because they're so dark that you can't spot (注意到) them at night (因为他们太黑了，一到晚上你就很难发现他们).Wu Hei Dog belongs to the Chinese native dog breed (中国本土犬种), the Chinese Rural Dog(中华田园犬).Because of the glitz and glamor (浮华和魅力) of exotic breeds (外来犬种) that have been introduced in large numbers (大量引入), the Chinese Rural Dog is now discriminated against (被歧视) and considered not to be a breed (并且被认为不能作为一种犬种).或许因为他们不娇贵、好养活，又或许因为人们有一些奇奇怪怪的攀比心理。中华田园犬（the Chinese Rural Dogs）并没有得到人们足够的重视。现在更多的人选择一些名贵的外来犬种来养，而不是这种“小土狗”。很多人觉得中华田园犬不气派、牵出去没有面儿。但据说秦始皇一统中原（unified the Central Plains）的时候牵着的就是这种狗。•unify v.（使）联合，（使）统一此外，史记里面记载秦朝丞相李斯被赵高陷害、处斩之前，他对次子就说：“吾欲与若复牵黄犬俱出，上蔡，东门逐狡兔，岂可得乎！”我原本还想和你再次牵着大黄狗，一起出上蔡东门去追兔子呢，可惜办不到了。He must have missed the time (怀念那段时光) when they had a big yellow dog with them at the time.还有，苏东坡的词里面写到“老夫聊发少年狂，左牵黄，右擎苍”。这里的“黄”就指的就是用于行猎的田园犬。So the Chinese Rural Dog plays an important role (起着重要的作用) in the lives of the people. They're good helpers and companions (好帮手和好伙伴).除了中华田园犬，藏獒（Tibetan Mastiff）、松狮（Chow Chow）、西施犬（Shih Tzus）也都是中国本土的狗品种。3. 想养狗？别急，这些你先了解一下They all have their own little personalities（自己的小性格）.其实，狗狗也有自己的MBTI的。Labrador Retrievers (拉布拉多犬) are friendly and outgoing (友好外向), much like an ENFJ (主人公) personality type.Shiba Inus(柴犬) are independent and reserved (内向独立), similar to an INTJ (建筑师). 真的很难看出来，小柴犬这么一副阳光开朗的外表下竟然装着一个孤独又倔强的灵魂！If you are thinking about getting a dog, it would be good to do some research (做一些调查) on their temperament (性情) before. If you have kids for example, it is important to get a patient dog (如果家里有小孩，最好要一只有耐心的狗).还有，这个狗它掉毛严不严重啊、体型大不大呀、是中小型犬还是大型犬，这可能就关系到它的食量——一顿饭能吃多少了。Large dogs (大型犬) are generally very energetic (都很有活力). They get excited when they go outdoors and love to run wild (当他们去户外时，他们很兴奋，喜欢狂奔).Once they run, if you have very little strength (如果你力气很小), you will definitely not be able to pull them (绝对拉不动它们), and sometimes they can even take people away (有时甚至把人带走). That could be dangerous.4. 狗在中西方文化中不同的含义In traditional Western culture (传统西方文化), dogs are often seen as loyal (忠诚的), diligent (勤奋的), and great companions (很好的伙伴). 比如，"lucky dog"指的是幸运的人（fortunate person），"top dog"指的是成功的人（successful person），而"work like a dog"形容的是工作非常努力的人。In Chinese, people often use words with "dog" to describe bad people (坏人) or disdainful things (让人鄙视的事情), such as 狗腿子 (a bootlicker).•disdainful /dɪsˈdeɪnfl/ adj. 轻蔑的However, there are also positive idioms (积极的成语) like “犬马之劳” (愿意为别人效劳), and “犬不夜吠” (形容社会治安很好).From a language point of view (从语言的角度), it is quite interesting how it reflects (反应) the values and views culturally(文化的价值和观点). And this is a topic that can definitely go much deeper relating to the history, traditions, everything is related (这是一个绝对可以更深入地讲到关于历史，传统以及一切相关事物的话题).5. 狗对现代人生活的影响It feels like a lot of people have dogs and cats now (感觉现在很多人都有了猫狗), even younger people who are less stable (甚至也有不是很稳定的年轻人).Flora doesn't have any pets yet, but she would like to get a Golden Retriever very much (但是她很想养一只金毛). They are warm and intelligent (既暖心又聪明). She feels sure she'll enjoy its company (享受它的陪伴).其实现在有很多人养狗也是因为能从他们身上获取到很多情绪价值。Pets can provide psychological benefits (心理上的益处)，比如情感支持(emotional support)、减轻压力(reducing stress)和对抗孤独(combating loneliness).And they also help facilitate social interactions(促进社交) and build connections (建立联系). You can meet many people by joining clubs (加入俱乐部), walking your dog (遛狗) things like that! It is easy to connect!•facilitate /fəˈsɪlɪteɪt/ v. 促进两个遛狗的人碰上了估计能聊很久。比如，你家的狗吃的多不多呀、你家的狗拆不拆家呀...... It also helps you find a lot of things to talk about in common (共同的事).For young people, you can go on so many adventures (去冒险) with your dog, go running, hiking (徒步旅行), etc.And for older people, if they are alone, they feel less lonely (可以不那么孤独). They can get out of the house (走出房子), walk the dog (遛狗), meet people (见一些新朋友). 这对他们的身心健康也有好处。6. 生命是平等的，汪星人也想要一个爱它的家养狗也是一份很大的责任（it is a lot of responsibility）。在决定养狗之前，一定要确保（make sure）自己有能力照顾它们。现在有很多狗狗被遗弃，让人心痛（it breaks our heart）。狗狗小时候确实很可爱，但它们也会长大、变老。如果真的到了那一天，希望你也可以像当初他们陪着你一样陪伴着他们。So before you buy a dog, make sure you really are ready to make that commitment (确保你自己准备好作出承诺). Erin takes this opportunity to raise awareness (借此机会提高人们对保护狗狗的意识) for this because she really loves dogs.•commitment n. 承诺And it breaks her heart to see abused and abandoned dogs (看到虐狗和弃狗会让她心痛).Flora would also like to make it clear (阐明) that although the word "dog" has some derogatory connotations in traditional Chinese culture (虽然“狗”这个词在中国传统文化中带有一些贬义的含义), this does not prevent us from loving and protecting dogs (但这并不妨碍我们爱护和保护狗). •derogatory /dɪˈrɑ:ɡətɔ:ri/ adj. 贬低的哪里都有爱犬人士，但是虐狗、弃狗的现象也无处不在。She said that she is not a dog owner, but maybe she will have a dog (她虽然现在不养狗，但是可能以后会养一只). Even if she doesn't have one in the future (即使以后她也没有狗狗), she still join Erin today (她仍然和Erin一起) in calling for (提倡) the protection and kindness of dogs (保护和善待狗狗), because she believes that life is equal (生命是平等的). 希望狗狗不再有高低贵贱之分，希望每只狗狗都能找到真正爱它的家。请留言告诉我们：你家里有狗狗吗？或者你想养一只狗吗？欢迎和我们分享你和狗狗的有趣故事！

Severe thunderstorms and flash flooding possible across portions of thecentral Plains and Midwest today......Unsettled weather with the potential for heavy rain and strong stormsenter the Lower Great Lakes and Upper Ohio Valley on Saturday......Dangerously hot conditions will continue from parts of the southernPlains to the Southeast this weekend...A low pressure system is pushing across the northern and central Plainsthis afternoon. The low pressure center is moving east along theU.S.-Canada border with a trailing cold front extending south and westfrom the Upper Mississippi Valley through the Central Plains and a warmfront lifting north across the Midwest ahead of the system. Conditionswill be favorable for scattered severe thunderstorms to develop throughthis evening, and potential storm hazards may include large hail, damagingwinds, and a couple of tornadoes. Strong storms may also produce locallyheavy rainfall that could lead to instances of flash flooding,particularly in areas where soils are saturated from recent heavy rainsand areas where training/repeating storms develop.  The low pressure system will track eastwards on Saturday, slowly movingacross the Upper Great Lakes region, with the trailing cold frontextending back through the Ohio and Middle Mississippi Valleys to thecentral Plains and southern Rockies and with the leading warm frontlifting across the Mid-Atlantic into the Northeast. Shower andthunderstorm chances will shift east with the system, and some storms maybecome severe on Saturday. The main storm hazards will include scattereddamaging winds, a couple of tornadoes, and locally heavy downpours. Due tothe slow moving nature of the showers and storms, isolated to scatteredinstances of flash flooding will be possible along the entire length ofthe cold front.On Sunday, the system will gain a bit more momentum, and the central lowwill push into southeastern Canada while the trailing cold front movestowards the East Coast. Meanwhile, another low pressure system willdevelop over the Pacific Northwest/southern Canada, which will bringprecipitation chances back to the Pacific Northwest on Sunday that willspread into the northern and central Plains on Monday.Dangerous heat will continue to be a major weather story through the lastcouple days of June as an upper level ridge strengthens over thesouth-central U.S. and the Southeast. This will lead to above averagetemperatures impacting areas from the central/southern Plains to theSoutheast, with summer heat also building across the Southwest andnorthern High Plains by Sunday. High temperatures are forecast to reachthe upper 90s and low 100s in the southern Plains and Lower MississippiValley today, where Excessive Heat Warnings and Heat Advisories are ineffect. Scattered afternoon thunderstorms may keep the sizzling heat atbay across the Southeast, but highs into the mid-90s can still be expectedthis weekend. If spending time outdoors be sure to follow proper heatsafety by taking frequent breaks, staying hydrated, and checking onneighbors.

Significant heavy rain/flash flooding threat with gusty winds wellahead of Potential T.C. One expected to impact southern Texas onWednesday......Severe Thunderstorms and Excessive Rainfall possible over portions ofthe Great Plains and Upper/Middle Mississippi Valley tonight......A heat wave will persist over the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and theNortheast through midweek...Potential T.C. One will likely strengthen while it slowly approachesMexico's northeast coast tonight. This system carries with it; coastalflooding, wind impacts, and a significant plume of tropical moisture,which it is poised to transport into the central Gulf Coast down tonortheastern Mexico over the next couple of days. There's a Moderate Risk(at least 40%) of Excessive Rainfall leading to Flash Flooding from theLouisiana-Texas coast down to just north of Corpus Christi, Texas wherethe heaviest axis of precipitation is likely to occur tonight. A broaderSlight Risk (at least 15%) of Excessive Rainfall is also in place from thecentral Louisiana Gulf Coast down to southern Texas. PTC One is thenforecast to strengthen into a Tropical Storm Wednesday afternoon beforemaking landfall over northeastern Mexico that evening. Tropical moisturewill likely continue to flow into southern Texas and the Rio Grande Valleywhere yet another Moderate Risk of Excessive Rainfall is in effect. T.S.One will quickly weaken upon landfall Wednesday night before eventuallydiminishing Thursday evening. Additional heavy rainfall may certainlycontinue over the Rio Grande Valley and south Texas on Thursday beforerainfall rates drop and conditions improve. All in all, Potential TropicalCyclone One is currently forecast to produce rainfall totals of 5 to 10inches from northeast Mexico to south Texas, with maximum totals of 15inches possible.A line of thunderstorms will develop out ahead of a cold front sweepingacross the Plains this afternoon. The Storm Prediction Center issued aSlight Risk of Severe Thunderstorms from parts of the Upper MississippiValley into the Mid Missouri Valley/Central Plains and Southern HighPlains where scattered to severe storms are expected to produce large hailand severe/damaging winds. A few tornadoes may also occur. Rainfall rateswithin some of these storms to support Excessive Rainfall, which is whythere is currently a Slight Risk in effect from the Upper Midwest down tothe Central Plains.Meanwhile, a heat wave continues to impact much of the Ohio Valley, GreatLakes, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic this week. Widespread daily records arelikely for afternoon high temperatures and warm overnight lows, with somemonthly records possible. Heat index readings are expected to peak from100 to 105 degrees in many locations. Those without access to reliable airconditioning are urged to find a way to cool down. Record warm overnighttemperatures will prevent natural cooling and allow the heat danger tobuild over time indoors without air conditioning. Conditions improveslightly this weekend.

A heat wave begins to settle in over the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley andthe Northeast today, continuing through midweek...Significant heavy rain/flash flooding threat for the Texas Gulf Coastlater Tuesday and especially Wednesday associated with Potential T.C.One.Heavy rain and severe thunderstorms possible Tuesday/Wednesday from theUpper Midwest into the Central Plains...Late-season wet snow will persist across the high-elevations of thenorthern Rockies for the next couple of days...An active week is in store across the U.S. as a heat wave builds over theGreat Lakes/Ohio Valley/Northeast, multiple areas of flash flooding andsevere weather impact the central U.S., and even some late season snowcontinues in the northern Rockies. A strong upper-level high will continueto build in over the Great Lakes/Northeast, bringing the first significantheat wave of the season to the region. Forecast highs Tuesday andWednesday will reach into the mid- to upper 90s, even well into northernNew England. Widespread, numerous record-tying/breaking high temperaturesare possible. Additionally, morning lows will remain in about the mid-70s,at record-tying/breaking levels, providing little relief from the heatovernight. The early arrival of this magnitude of heat, the duration,abundant sunshine, and lack of relief overnight will increase the dangerof this heatwave beyond what the exact temperature values would suggest.This is especially true for those without adequate air conditioning, whichbecomes more of a concern for locations further north that are not asaccustomed to periods of persistent, intense heat.Further north, additional rounds of showers and thunderstorms are expectedas the influx of moisture continues to interact with a wavy frontalboundary draped across portions of the northern/central Plains and UpperMidwest. A broad area of showers and thunderstorms will continue throughMonday evening along and ahead of the front as it slowly lifts northward.A Slight Risk of Excessive Rainfall is in effect over portions of thenorthern Plains/Upper Midwest where the available moisture, as well asimpressive upper-level dynamics associated with an approaching trough, maylead to some heavier rain rates (2" per hour) and scattered flashflooding, especially in urban areas. A Slight Risk of severe weather(level 2/5) is also in effect from the Storm Prediction Center, spreadingfurther westward into the northern/central High Plains, for some largehail, damaging winds, and a few tornadoes. The front will begin to pushback southeastward as a cold front Tuesday ahead of the approaching troughbefore stalling out through the Middle Mississippi/Missouri Valleys aheadof the eastern ridge by Tuesday night. To the west, the unseasonably strong upper-level system will also continueto bring an intrusion of much cooler, below average air into portions ofthe northern/central Plains/Rockies and Great Basin. Forecast highs onTuesday will be in the 50s and 60s in the northern Rockies/High Plains,with some low 70s into the Great Basin. In addition, forecast morning lowson Tuesday in the low to mid-30s throughout much of the Great Basin haveprompted Frost/Freeze-related Warnings and Advisories. Temperatures shouldrecover a bit Wednesday for the Great Basin and northern Rockies whileportions of the central Plains drop into the 60s following the cold frontpassage. Areal showers and thunderstorms with some moderate rainfall willalso linger over the northern Rockies/High Plains Monday evening and intothe day Tuesday before tapering off by later Tuesday night. Winter-weatherrelated Warnings and Advisories remain in effect as moderate to heavy snowcontinues for higher mountain elevations. While most of the accumu

Scattered severe thunderstorms and locally heavy rain possible acrossthe Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and parts of the Central Plains through thisevening......Severe weather and flash flood risks shift to the Northern Plains andUpper Midwest this weekend......Above average summer heat continues across much of the Southern Tierbefore expanding into the Midwest by Sunday...A summer weather pattern ripe for mid-June is expected through thisweekend across CONUS, with scattered areas at risk for strongthunderstorms and building heat across the southern and middle sections ofthe country. After a few days of drenching rain throughout the central andsouthern Florida Peninsula, lingering showers and storms could spawnscattered instances of renewed flooding across far southern Floridatonight before rain chances diminish this weekend. This same plume oftropical moisture is forecast to slide toward the central Gulf Coast onSunday and could lead to areas of heavy rain throughout southern Louisianaand Mississippi. Meanwhile, a cold front progressing across the Northeastand Mid-Atlantic this afternoon has led to showers and thunderstorms thatcould contain intense rainfall rates and gusty winds. A few of thesestorms could turn severe through this evening as the cold front eventuallypushes offshore by early Saturday. Following this cold front, arefreshingly dry airmass in place should lead to beautiful weather thisFather's Day weekend throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and OhioValley.A developing storm system over the north-central U.S. will lead to activeand stormy weather extending from the Northern/Central Plains to the UpperGreat Lakes. The first round of showers and storms associated with aleading system is forecast to spark thunderstorm activity across theCentral High Plains late this afternoon through the overnight period. Afew storms could contain large hail, damaging wind gusts, and intenserainfall rates capable of leading to flash flooding. After weakeningovernight, these showers could push into the Upper Midwest by Saturday,with redeveloping storms extending from the central Plains to the MiddleMissouri Valley. Multiple rounds of heavy rain could lead to areas offlash flooding between eastern Nebraska and northern Wisconsin.Additionally, the trailing and stronger system organizing over theNorthern Plains on Saturday will help produce strong to severethunderstorms across parts of eastern Montana and North Dakota. By the endof the weekend a frontal boundary is expected to bisect the Upper Midwestand Northern Plains, creating a focus for additional rounds of showers andstorms.The other main weather story this weekend will be the simmering heatimpacting areas from the Southwest to the Gulf Coast and Southeast. Highsare forecast to reach the triple digits throughout much of the DesertSouthwest, with upper 90s stretching from the Southeast to parts of theSouthern Plains. Above average temperatures are also forecast across thecentral Great Basin and northern Plains ahead of a cold front, with wellbelow average temperatures encompassing the Pacific Northwest. By Sunday,an upper level ridge is anticipated to begin building across the EasternU.S., with anomalous heat starting in much of the Midwest, Central Plains,and Tennessee Valley. Highs are forecast to reach the upper 90s, withmaximum heat indices near 105 degrees. When combined with warm overnightlows, major heat risk could affect anyone without effective cooling and/oradequate hydration. Be sure to remain weather aware and follow proper heatsafety!

There is a High Risk of Excessive Rainfall leading to Flash Floodingover parts of southern Florida for tonight......There are Severe weather concerns over portions of the Northern/CentralHigh Plains as well as portions of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic onFriday......There are Excessive Heat Warnings/Watches and Advisories over SouthernCalifornia, Southwest, Central Plains, and Southern High Plains...In Florida, ongoing rounds of thunderstorm activity are expected tocontinue through Friday before subsiding just in time for the weekend. Aquasi-stationary surface front and upper trough axis swinging through theGulf of Mexico/Southeast U.S. will continue focusing tropical moistureacross the Florida peninsula over the next couple of days. Intensethunderstorms will occur tonight, when storms will bring several moreinches of rainfall, in some cases, over the very saturated and vulnerablesoils/surfaces and urban areas of southern Florida. There is now a HighRisk (at least 70%) of Excessive Rainfall leading to Flash Flooding overparts of southern Florida, particularly along the I-75 corridor fromNaples to Fort Lauderdale and down to Miami. There remains a Slight Risk(at least 15%) of Excessive Rainfall across the central-southern peninsulathrough Friday, with a Marginal Risk (at least 5%) in place throughSaturday when conditions are likely to improve.A closed mid-level low will degrade into an open shortwave trough while itswings through the Southwest and Rockies this weekend. This shortwavefeature will promote thunderstorm activity across the High Plainsbeginning Friday afternoon and continuing into the evening. The StormPrediction Center issued a Slight Risk of Severe Thunderstorms (level 2/5)over parts of eastern Colorado, southwestern Nebraska and eastern Kansas.Scattered severe storms with large hail and severe wind gusts will bepossible along the Front Range into the Central Plains Fridayafternoon/evening. A complex of storms are expected to develop overwestern Pennsylvania Friday afternoon and propagate into theNortheast/Mid-Atlantic Coast that evening.Tonight, convection is expected to flare up along a cold front pushingthrough the Midwest. Surface cyclogenesis along the front could promoteenhanced hourly rainfall rates. Thus, a Slight Risk (at least 15%) ofExcessive Rainfall leading to Flash Flooding is in effect for portions ofthe Midwest, from southeastern Iowa/northeastern Missouri acrossnorth-central Illinois and into northwestern Indiana. Totals of around aninch of rain are expected with isolated amounts closer to two inchespossible in certain spots. Excessive Heat concerns will wane over theSouthwest this weekend as the mid-level disturbance shifts into the Plainsalong with an upper ridge. The newly developing ridge over the CentralU.S. will increase Excessive Heat threats across the eastern half of thecountry heading into next week.

The threat for Excessive Rainfall leading to Flash Flooding continuesover central and southern Florida through Friday......There's an Enhanced Risk of Severe Thunderstorms across parts of theMiddle Mississippi Valley on Thursday......There are Excessive Heat Warnings and Advisories over parts of theSouthwest, and western Texas...A stationary boundary bisecting the Florida Peninsula will be the focusfor thunderstorm activity across much of the state over the next couple ofdays. A complex of storms slowly moving through south-central Florida latethis afternoon and into the early evening will produce heavy to excessiverainfall leading to significant flash flooding. Storms should move intothe Keys tonight before reloading for another round of storms on Thursdayand Friday. There are Slight Risks (at least 15%) in effect for parts ofcentral/southern Florida with the potential for upgrades over the nextcouple of days.Digging mid-level energy will support thunderstorm activity acrossportions of the Middle Mississippi Valley Thursday afternoon and evening.Thunderstorms are expected to initiate somewhere ahead of a cold frontpropagating through the Upper Midwest Thursday afternoon before movinginto the eastern Iowa, northern Illinois/Indiana. Storms should congealinto an MCS and push farther into the Midwest Thursday night. There's anEnhanced Risk (level 3/5) of Severe Thunderstorms in southern Iowa,northwest Illinois and northern Missouri for late Thursday afternoon toearly evening. Very large hail, destructive wind gusts and a few tornadoesare possible. This vort max will shift the convective threat into theinterior Northeast on Friday afternoon and evening, where scattered stormswith severe wind gusts will be possible. The upper low that has beenspinning just off the coast of southern/Baja California will move into theWestern U.S. on Thursday before influencing more thunderstorm activityover parts of the Central Plains this Friday. Storms are forecast toinitiate on the lee side of the Central Rockies on Friday afternoon andpropagate eastward into the Central Plains that evening.An upper-level ridge over the West will degrade and shift eastward as theclosed low move into the region over the next 24 hours. Temperatures willmoderate a bit, particularly over the Four Corners as well as California'scentral valley, where Excessive Heat Warnings and Watches will come to anend tonight. Anomalous temps should shift into the Northwest and northerntier late this week beneath the ridge. In the meantime, Excessive HeatWarnings and Advisories remain in effect across parts of the Southwestinto western Texas.

Excessive Heat Warnings remain in effect across the California'sCentral Valley and much of the Desert Southwest......A couple rounds of severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall possibleacross portions of the Central Plains toward the Mid-Mississippi ValleyFriday and Saturday...A strong upper-level ridge associated with the ongoing heat wave over theSouthwest is forecast to reach its peak intensity today (Thursday) beforesliding off slowly toward the southern Plains during the next couple ofdays.  Widespread high and low temperature records being tied or brokenbetween California Nevada and Arizona today will expand a bit northwardinto Oregon and Washington on Friday and Saturday.  Highs in the 90s and100s followed by lows ranging from the upper 50s to mid 70s will lower bya couple of degrees each day.  HeatRisk will peak between Major andExtreme today for much of the West, with California's Central Valley andthe Desert Southwest being of particular concern due to their lowerelevations and some urban areas.  Little to no overnight relief from theheat will affect those without effective cooling and/or adequatehydration.Mid-level energy propagating through the Florida peninsula will supportscattered thunderstorms that may become severe this evening.  Meanwhile, acouple days of Major to Extreme Heat Risk, particularly over urban areasare forecast for the southern half of the peninsula. Several high and lowtemperature records may be tied or broken on Friday and Saturday.Showers and thunderstorms will develop along a cold front moving acrossthe East Coast today. Locally heavy rainfall may occur over portions ofthe Interior Northeast and southern New England into the evening. Thingsmostly clear out across the East Coast on Friday, save for parts ofnorthern/central New England where some light showers and an isolatedthunderstorm will be possible.  A lingering upper-level low will keeptemperatures cooler than normal across the northern tier states along withwindy conditions into the weekend.  The associated instability will alsosupport occasional showers across the Great Lakes for the next couple ofdays.We shift our attention to the Central U.S. on Friday as a low pressuresystem emerges from the Rockies. Showers and thunderstorms are expected todevelop across the Central Plains and move generally east toward theMid-Mississippi Valley as organized clusters of thunderstorms that day.The Storm Prediction Center issued a Slight Risk (level 2/5) of SevereThunderstorms across south-central Nebraska into northern Kansas due tothe potential of damaging wind gusts and some hail. Excessive Rainfall will be more likely farther downstream from eastern Kansas into westernMissouri.  By Saturday, the thunderstorms and heavy rain are expected topush farther southeast toward the mid-Mississippi Valley when colder airfrom the northern Plains begins to edge southward.  The best chance forthese storms to develop will be from Friday afternoon into the eveningfrom eastern Oklahoma to northern Arkansas and southern Missouri.

On Tuesday, a reinforcing cold front will move out of the Northern Rockiesand merge with the front over the Mississippi Valley, producing showersand severe thunderstorms over parts of the Upper/Middle Mississippi Valleyand Central Plains. Therefore, the SPC has issued a Slight Risk (level2/5) of severe thunderstorms over parts of the Upper/Middle MississippiValley and Central Plains from Tuesday into Wednesday morning.  Thehazards associated with these thunderstorms are frequent lightning, severethunderstorm wind gusts, hail, and a few tornadoes.Moreover, the showers and thunderstorms will cause heavy rain over theUpper/Middle/Lower Mississippi Valley and Central/Southern Plains.Therefore, the WPC has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/4) of excessiverainfall over parts of the Upper/Middle/Lower Mississippi Valley andCentral/Southern Plains from Tuesday through Wednesday morning. Theassociated heavy rain will create mainly localized areas of flashflooding, with urban areas, roads, small streams, and low-lying areas themost vulnerable.On Wednesday, the threat of excessive rainfall will decrease slightly overthe Great Lakes, Ohio/Tennessee Valleys, Lower Mississippi Valley,Southern Plains, Central/Southern Appalachians, Mid-Atlantic andSoutheast. Therefore, the WPC has issued a Marginal Risk (level 1/4) ofexcessive rainfall over the region on Wednesday.  The associated heavyrain will create localized areas of flash flooding, affecting areas thatexperience rapid runoff with heavy rain. Also, on Wednesday, the threat ofsevere thunderstorms will end. However, showers and thunderstorms willdevelop over the eastern third of the lower forty-eight states. Meanwhile, on Monday, rain and snow melt will produce heavy runoff overparts of the Northwest and Northern Intermountain Region. Therefore, theWPC has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/4) of excessive rainfall over partsof the Northern Intermountain Region through Tuesday morning. Theassociated heavy rain will create mainly localized areas of flashflooding, with urban areas, roads, small streams, and low-lying areas themost vulnerable.In addition, early Tuesday, a front will move onshore over the PacificNorthwest and inland to the Northern Intermountain Region and weaken byWednesday. The system will produce rain over parts of the PacificNorthwest and Northern Intermountain Region.Furthermore, a developing upper-level ridging will build over Californiaand continue over southern/western Texas, aiding in spawning ExcessiveHeat Warnings, Excessive Heat Watches, and Heat Advisories overCentral/Southern California and western/southern Texas and CentralCalifornia. Moreover, the ridging will create the first round of dangerous heat thisseason. The hottest temperatures so far for the West will build inCalifornia and the Desert Southwest on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the heatwill create record-breaking daily high temperatures for portions ofCalifornia�s Central Valley. Be sure to break your heat exposure byavoiding outdoor time at the hottest times of the day. Check local mediaand government websites for cooling center locations and hours.

On Monday, the threat of severe thunderstorms moves east of the dryline asupper-level energy moves over the Southern Plains/Lower MississippiValley. Therefore, the SPC has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/5) of severethunderstorms over the Southern Plains/Lower Mississippi Valley fromMonday through Tuesday morning.  The hazards associated with thesethunderstorms are frequent lightning, severe thunderstorm wind gusts,hail, and a few tornadoes.Moreover, the energy that produces the showers and thunderstorms willcause heavy rain over the Middle/Lower Mississippi Valley and SouthernPlains. Therefore, the WPC has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/4) ofexcessive rainfall over parts of the Middle/Lower Mississippi Valley andSouthern Plains from Monday through Tuesday morning. The associated heavyrain will create mainly localized areas of flash flooding, with urbanareas, roads, small streams, and low-lying areas the most vulnerable.On Tuesday, the threat of severe thunderstorms will decrease slightly overthe Upper/Middle Mississippi Valley and Central Plains. Therefore, therewill be a Moderate Risk of severe thunderstorms over the area.However, the threat of excessive rainfall will continue over theUpper/Middle/Lower Mississippi Valley and Central/Southern Plains.Therefore, the WPC has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/4) of excessiverainfall over parts of the Upper/Middle/Lower Mississippi Valley andCentral/Southern Plains on Tuesday. The associated heavy rain will createmainly localized areas of flash flooding, with urban areas, roads, smallstreams, and low-lying areas the most vulnerable. Meanwhile, onshore flow and a steady stream of upper-level energy overthe Pacific Northwest will trigger rain and snow melt over parts of thePacific Northwest into the Northern Intermountain Region from Sunday intoMonday. Therefore, the WPC has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/4) ofexcessive rainfall over parts of the Pacific Northwest through Mondaymorning. The associated heavy rain will create mainly localized areas offlash flooding, with urban areas, roads, small streams, and low-lyingareas the most vulnerable.Additionally, the heavy rain and snow melt will develop over parts of theNorthern Intermountain Region. Therefore, the WPC has issued a Slight Risk(level 2/4) of excessive rainfall over parts of the Northern IntermountainRegion through Monday morning. The associated heavy rain will createmainly localized areas of flash flooding, with urban areas, roads, smallstreams, and low-lying areas the most vulnerable.Moreover, heavy rain and snow melt will develop over parts of the NorthernIntermountain Region on Monday. Therefore, the WPC has issued a SlightRisk (level 2/4) of excessive rainfall over parts of the NorthernIntermountain Region from Monday into Tuesday morning. The associatedheavy rain will create mainly localized areas of flash flooding, withurban areas, roads, small streams, and low-lying areas the most vulnerable.Furthermore, a developing upper-level ridging will build over Californiaand continue over southern/western Texas, aiding in spawning HeatAdvisories over western/southern Texas and Central California.

Guest: Dr. Paul Markowski, Penn StateWe are in the throes of the springtime severe season and even as we transition to summer, the potential for supercells and tornadoes doesn't slow down. In fact, the severe risk moves more from the Central Plains and into the Eastern states…and that's where we find today's guest! Dr. Paul Markowski is the Head of the Meteorology and Atmospheric Science Department at Penn State and an expert in tornado research. You will be surprised with how many papers he's written on aspects of tornadoes you've probably never even heard of! We've also got Dr. Greg Postel on the show today so we can have an all-encompassing tornado geek out!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On Tuesday, showers and severe thunderstorms will develop over Texas alongthe western part of the boundary and dryline. Therefore, the SPC hasissued an Enhanced Risk (level 3/5) of severe thunderstorms over theSouthern Plains from Tuesday through Wednesday morning.  The hazardsassociated with these thunderstorms are frequent lightning, severethunderstorm wind gusts, hail, and a few tornadoes. Additionally, therewill be an added threat of severe thunderstorm wind gusts of 65 knots orgreater and hail, two inches or greater, over parts of the region.The showers and thunderstorms will also create heavy rain from themoisture stream northward from the Western Gulf of Mexico. Therefore, theWPC has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/4) of excessive rainfall over partsof the Southern Plains on Tuesday through Wednesday morning. Theassociated heavy rain will create mainly localized areas of flashflooding, with urban areas, roads, small streams, and low-lying areas themost vulnerable.Meanwhile, a front will develop over parts of the interior PacificNorthwest on Tuesday afternoon and move eastward to the Northern HighPlains to the Great Basin by Wednesday. The system will produce showersand thunderstorms over the Northern Intermountain Region. On Wednesday,the showers and thunderstorms will move to the Northern Plains and expandinto the Central Plains.Furthermore, a sub-tropical upper-level high over Mexico will aid inspawning Excessive Heat Warnings and Heat Advisories over southern Texasand into the Central Gulf Coast. The ridging will create a dangerousearly-season heat wave over south Texas, Central Gulf Coast, and southernFlorida. Record or near-record warm overnight temperatures will providelittle to no relief to those without adequate or reliable cooling. Hightemperatures will be at or near record highs, and heat index readings over115 degrees over the regions will also be possible. Check local media andgovernment websites for cooling center locations and hours, especially ifyou encounter or are dealing with a loss of power. Drink plenty of water,avoid alcohol, wear lightweight clothing, and take regular breaks indoorsor in the shade.

Heavy rain and severe thunderstorm chances extend from the Midwest tothe Southern Plains tonight......Next round of severe weather to develop across the Central/SouthernPlains Saturday evening before shifting into parts of theMid-Mississippi/Ohio Valleys on Sunday......Dangerous and potentially record-breaking heat continues across SouthTexas, the Gulf Coast, and southern Florida through Memorial Day...The relentlessly active spring weather pattern is set to continue throughthe holiday weekend as two separate systems are anticipated to beresponsible for numerous showers and thunderstorms across the middle ofthe Nation. A low pressure system with an attached cold front extends fromthe Upper Midwest to the Southern Plains and should maintain a focus forshowers and thunderstorms to develop. Along the cold front as it extendssouthward, storms could turn severe from the Midwest to the southernPlains. This same cold front could slow it's forward momentum and allowfor thunderstorms to potentially train over parts of, central-westernTennessee, southwestern Kentucky, northwestern Alabama, southern Arkansas,northwest Mississippi, northern Louisiana, and northeast Texas, leading tothe threat of scattered flash flooding. Elsewhere, scattered thunderstormsmay dampen outdoors plans throughout the Southeast and Tennessee Valley.The next shortwave to eject out of the western U.S. and into the GreatPlains is expected to spark another round of severe weather Saturdayevening in the Central/Southern Plains. At the surface, low pressureforming in the lee of the Central Rockies is forecast to lift a warm frontnorthward into the Central Plains and Mid-Mississippi Valley, while asharp dryline extends southward into the Southern Plains. These featurescombined with a strengthening low-level jet will allow for storms to turnsevere, with a risk for large hail, intense rainfall rates, a fewtornadoes, and damaging wind gusts. The Storm Prediction Center has issuedan Enhanced Risk (level 3/5) for severe thunderstorms across parts ofKansas, Oklahoma, and western Missouri in order to highlight the threat.As clusters of storms move eastward with the low pressure system onSunday, the flash flooding and severe weather will also shift into theMid-Mississippi and Ohio Valleys. Tornadoes, hail, strong winds, and flashflooding will all be possible. Residents and visitors located within thethreat for severe weather this weekend are urged to have multiple ways ofreceiving warnings and to continue to check for the latest forecast.

The International Criminal Court says it's seeking arrest warrants for Hamas' leader and Israel's prime minister. Investigations are underway after Iran's president and foreign minister were killed in a helicopter crash. The Central Plains are waking up to more severe weather. Julian Assange will be allowed to appeal his extradition to the US. Plus, Red Lobster has filed for bankruptcy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An energetic upper-level pattern will bring a couple rounds of storms tothe central U.S. over the next few days. Tonight, moist return flowfollowing a warm front moving northward through the Plains and ahead of adryline over the High Plains will provide more than enough instability totrigger robust thunderstorm development over the Central Plains.Increasing upper-level winds will promote supercells with the threat oflarge hail and a few tornadoes. Storms are also expected to grow upscaleinto one or more organized convective systems, bringing a heightenedthreat for potentially widespread, significant damaging winds later thisevening. As such, the Storm Prediction Center has issued a Moderate Riskof severe weather (level 4/5). Storm chances will shift northeastward intothe Upper Midwest tonight and into the Great Lakes by Monday following aninitial upper-wave/accompanying surface frontal system. An amplifyinglong-wave trough over the West will help to enhance lee cyclogenesis overthe High Plains bringing another chance of storms to the CentralPlains/Missouri Valley by Monday evening. The Storm Prediction Center hasincluded a Slight Risk (level 2/5) for the threat of some more damagingwinds and large hail, and possibly a tornado. Some locally heavy downpourswill also be possible, particularly from the Central Plains into the UpperMississippi Valley tonight and the Central Plains once again Monday, withan isolated chance of flash flooding.There will be a renewed threat for heavy rainfall and thunderstorms overthe Northern/Central Plains and Upper/Middle Mississippi Valley on Tuesdayas a deepening low pressure system tracks across the region. The StormPrediction Center issued an Enhanced Risk (level 3/5) of SevereThunderstorms from eastern Kansas to Southwest Wisconsin. There's also aSlight Risk (at least 15%) of Excessive Rainfall for parts of southern andeastern Minnesota, much of Wisconsin and northern Illinois. There are alsosome isolated chances for severe weather and excessive rainfall intonorthern Texas and eastern Oklahoma.

Increasing severe weather and excessive rainfall threats over theCentral U.S. through early next week......Sweltering heat continues across South Florida and southern Texas,building into the southern High Plains this weekend...Stormy conditions should wind down across the central Gulf coast whilepersisting along a quasi-stationary boundary over Florida through Sunday.Attention shifts toward the Central U.S. on Sunday and into early nextweek as a deep mid-level low digs into the West. A surface low pressuresystem will bring heavy rain and thunderstorms to parts of the GreatPlains and Upper/Middle Mississippi Valley on Sunday. Despite theExcessive Rainfall threat being Marginal (at least 5%), the StormPrediction Center issued an Enhanced Risk (level 3/5) of SevereThunderstorms across portions of western and central Kansas on Sunday.Significant damaging gusts, large to very large hail, and a few tornadoesare all possible according to the SPC. A Slight Risk (level 2/5) of SevereThunderstorms is in effect for portions of Nebraska, Kansas, southwestIowa and northwest Missouri. Hail and strong wind gusts will be theprimary threats from these storms. Additionally, some light snow tomoderate snowfall is possible on the backside of this system in theNorthern Rockies over the next couple of days.Intense Summer-like heat will continue over portions of South Florida andsouthern Texas this weekend, and expand in coverage into portions of thesouthern High Plains. Forecast highs will be in the 90s for Florida withmid-90s to mid-100s in Texas, potentially record-tying/breaking levels.When combined with the humidity, heat indices will soar to near 110 inSouth Florida. While not quite as hot, temperatures will still be wellabove average more broadly across much of the country this weekend,particularly from the Central Plains into the Midwest where highs in the80s to near 90 will be common. Highs will also be above average forportions of the West, with 70s and 80s in the Great Basin/interiorCalifornia and 90s to low 100s in the Desert Southeast. More temperate,below average conditions are expected along much of the East Coast, with50s and 60s in New England and 60s and 70s into theMid-Atlantic/Carolinas. The Pacific Northwest/Northern Rockies will alsobe cooler, with highs in the 50s and 60s expected here as well. Variabletemperatures are forecast for the Southeast due to ongoing storms, withmainly 80s expected. 

Unsettled weather with chances for excessive rainfall and severethunderstorms continues across the Southeast Saturday......Severe weather potential returns to the Central Plains on Sunday......Sweltering heat continues across South Florida and southern Texas,building into the southern High Plains this weekend...A wet Saturday is in store for the Southeast as an upper-level wave andassociated surface frontal system focused along the Gulf Coast lead to abroad area of showers and thunderstorms. Rich moisture along and south ofthis boundary may lead to some locally heavy downpours, with a Slight Riskof Excessive Rainfall (level 2/4) in place for portions of southernAlabama, southwestern Georgia, and the Florida Panhandle. An expectedround of widespread, organized thunderstorms over wet soils from stormsalready occurring overnight Friday will lead to the threat of somescattered instances of flash flooding. Some storms will also carry thethreat for damaging winds and an isolated tornado or two, with a SlightRisk of severe weather (level 2/5) extending eastward further intosouthern Georgia and northern Florida. Moderate to locally heavy rainfallwill be possible elsewhere to the north of the boundary, with a fewadditional isolated instances of flash flooding possible. Additionalshowers will expand northward into the Mid-Atlantic, and onshore flowahead of a system over the Atlantic will bring showers to New England aswell, but these should remain lighter than those over the Southeast. Stormchances will taper off from west to east for much of the Southeastovernight Saturday and into early Sunday as the northern part of thefrontal system pushes eastward into the Atlantic. A trailing cold frontwill keep storms in the forecast for Florida Sunday.

The active spring pattern continues across much of the Plains into theGreat Lakes/Ohio Valley......Severe weather threat Monday afternoon into Monday night from theCentral to Southern Plains into the Lower Missouri Valley, spreading intothe Ohio Valley Tuesday......Heavy rains and flooding possible across portions of the Northern HighPlains and eastern portions of the Central to Southern Plains......Elevated to Critical Fire weather conditions across the Southern HighPlains......Late season heavy snows for the Northern Rockies......Much below average temperatures expected across the Great Basin,Central to Northern Rockies, while above average temperatures are forecastacross much of the Plains to the east coast...There is no let up in sight for the active Spring time weather patternacross large portions of the nation.  The next strong frontal boundary isforecast to push into much of the Plains tonight and into the UpperMississippi Valley, Great Lakes and Ohio Valley regions on Tuesday. Thunderstorm activity currently beginning to develop across portions ofthe Central Plains is expected to continue strengthen and expand acrossportions of the Central to Southern Plains late this afternoon into Mondaynight and spread eastward into the Lower Missouri Valley by early Tuesday. There is a moderate to high risk of severe weather across portions of theCentral to Southern Plains with large hail, high winds and tornadoespossible.  Along with the severe weather threat, heavy rains are alsolikely across eastern portions of the Central to Southern Plains from fromthe eastern Dakotas, south through southwest Minnesota, much of Iowa,western Missouri, eastern Nebraska, eastern Kansas and northeast Oklahoma. Across these areas the expected heavy rains may lead to areas of flashand river flooding.  Heavy rains and flooding also possible acrossportions of the Northern High Plains from eastern Montana into farnortheast Wyoming.  This next batch of heavy rains will be falling well tothe north of portions of Texas that have seen very heavy amounts over thepast week. The heavy rain, flooding and severe weather threat will be pushing fartherto the east during Tuesday with areas from the Ohio Valley, northward intothe Great Lakes having the potential for highly impactful weather.  Thisimpactful weather will likely continue across the Ohio Valley region onWednesday and expand into the Tennessee Valley and Mid to LowerMississippi Valley as addition heavy rains, severe storms and floodingdevelop ahead of the next strong system to push into the MississippiValley by mid week.No precipitation is expected over the next few days across the SouthernHigh Plains.  This along with lower relative humidities and windyconditions will support an elevated to critical fire weather threat overthe next several days from southeast Colorado, the Texas/OklahomaPanhandle region, south through much of New Mexico and far West toSouthwest Texas.  Red Flag warnings are currently in effect across thesearea for the extended period of fire weather danger.

Severe Weather and Excessive Rainfall concerns for parts of theUpper/Middle Mississippi Valley and Great Plains through mid-week......Moderate Risk of Excessive Rainfall now in place for the Ark-La-TexThursday......Critical Fire Weather potential over portions of the Southern HighPlains on Wednesday......Cool and snowy in the Northwest; above average conditions continueacross much of the Central and Eastern U.S....Mean ridging over the eastern U.S. with an energetic upper-level troughover the north-central/northwestern U.S. will keep most of the activeweather over the next few days over portions of the Upper/MiddleMississippi Valley and Great Plains. Showers and thunderstorms willcontinue into Tuesday evening as an upper-level wave/surface frontalsystem over the Central Plains moves to the northeast through theUpper/Middle Mississippi Valley. There is an Enhanced Risk (level 3/5) ofsevere weather from the Storm Prediction Center through Tuesday eveningfrom central Iowa southwestward through northeastern Kansas for the threatof very large hail, damaging winds, and a few tornadoes. Additional stormsfurther to the southwest along a trailing cold front will lead to a riskfor some locally heavy rainfall totals as storm motions stall in tandemwith the slowing cold front. Some scattered instances of flash floodingwill be possible from southeastern Kansas into northern Oklahoma with aSlight Risk of Excessive Rainfall (level 2/4) in place.As this system departs to the into the Great Lakes, another upper-levelwave approaching from the west over the Rockies will help toreinforce/organize the trailing frontal system over the Central HighPlains. This will bring yet another round of showers and thunderstormsacross the Plains Wednesday. Severe storms are expected ahead of a drylineover portions of the Central/Southern Plains. A broad Slight Risk is inplace for very large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes, with a localizedEnhanced Risk over southwest Kansas/northwestern Oklahoma. Dry, windyconditions behind the dryline will also bring a heightened threat ofwildfires, with a Critical Risk of Fire Weather (level 2/3) issued by theStorm Prediction Center for the Southern High Plains.Storms are expected to cluster/expand in coverage into the evening hoursWednesday as the frontal system lifts into the Middle Missouri Valley. Asouthern stream upper-level wave will help lead to a second area ofenhanced convective development over portions of southern Oklahoma intomuch of the eastern half of Texas. In both cases, plentiful moisture and astrong low level jet will help foster locally intense rainfall, withSlight Risks of Excessive Rainfall for the threat of scattered flashflooding. Both areas of storms are forecast to continue into the dayThursday with daytime heating bringing the potential for additionaldevelopment from the Upper-Mississippi Valley south-southwestward throughthe Lower Missouri Valley and into the Ark-La-Tex. A broad Slight Risk ofExcessive Rainfall has been issued for the region, with a targetedModerate Risk (level 3/4) now in place for the Ark-La-Tex. Wet antecedentconditions due to rainfall from any initial storms followed by theprospects of additional development will continue the threat for flashflooding.

Tonight's Guest Panelist is the Meteorologist-in-Charge of the NWS office in Pueblo, CO.  He got interested in weather as a youngster in elementary school and never got rid of the "bug".  He attended FSU's Meteorology program and following graduation had employment stops as a freshman meteorologist in Wilmington, Ohio and Pittsburg, PA.  He also worked with the Administrator of NOAA in Washington, DC for two years.  He's a veteran of the show and and at the time was the Pacific Regional WCM in Honolulu.  It's great to have him back.  Charlie Woodrum, welcome! Our Guest WeatherBrain is a northeast Arkansas native currently attending Mississippi State University as a Graduate student.  She's also a Teaching Assistant for the Broadcast Meteorology program and recently presented at the Southeast Severe Storms Symposium 2024.  Kristina Balentine, welcome to the show! Bruce Jones of Midland Weather Radio also is back to discuss the importance of NOAA Weather Radio and its timely warnings and information. ****Also you can now get 25% off a NOAA Weather Radio at MidlandUSA.com by using PROMO CODE SPANN25**** Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: email@weatherbrains.com. Tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in Central Plains (01:30) Sulphur, OK extreme damage (06:30) Recent Oklahoma tornado fatalities  (09:45) 105 confirmed tornadoes from last Fri-Sun's outbreak sequence (11:00) Influence of Call To Action statements (32:15) Correlation coefficient (33:15) Dealing with loss of life in mobile homes in severe weather (47:15) Do most people have a tornado plan?  (55:15) Tips on job search in meteorology field (01:29:00) What does the future weather forecaster look like?  (01:32:30) The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (01:17:30) This Week in Tornado History With Jen (01:18:48) National Weather Round-Up  E-Mail Segment (No segment this week) and more! Web Sites from Episode 954:   Kristina Balentine on X WeatherCall AMS Weather Band Midland Radio Picks of the Week: Kristina Balentine - Video of tornado crossing interstate in Nebraska Charlie Woodrum - NWS Lightning Toolkit Bruce Jones - 2024 EMAT Workshop Conference James Aydelott - Incredible video of a waterspout on Lake Eufaula Jen Narramore - Out Rick Smith - The April 27-28, 2024 Tornado Outbreak and Flash Flooding Event Neil Jacobs - Out Troy Kimmel - Manufactured Homes FAQ Kim Klockow-McClain - Out Bill Murray - Out James Spann - Tornado Outbreak of April 26, 2024 The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like Troy Kimmel, Bill Murray, Rick Smith, James Aydelott, Jen Narramore, Dr. Neil Jacobs, and Dr. Kim Klockow-McClain. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating podcast about weather.

There is a Moderate Risk of excessive rainfall over parts of theCentral/Southern Plains on Saturday......Heavy snow over the Central Rockies......There is an Enhanced Risk of severe thunderstorms over parts of theMiddle/Lower Mississippi Valley and Central/Southern Plains...Low pressure over Central Plains will move northeastward into East-CentralCanada by Sunday morning. A second low develops over the Southern HighPlains by Saturday morning and likewise, move northeastward to the MiddleMississippi Valley by Sunday. Showers and severe thunderstorms willdevelop east of the dryline. Therefore, the SPC has issued an EnhancedRisk (level 3/5) of severe thunderstorms over the Middle/Lower MississippiValley and Central/Southern Plains through Saturday morning. The hazardsassociated with these thunderstorms are frequent lightning, severethunderstorm wind gusts, hail, and a few tornadoes. In addition, there isan increased threat of EF2- EF5 tornados and hail greater than two inchesover the Region.Moreover, heavy rain will be associated with these storms. Therefore, theWPC has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/4) of excessive rainfall over theMiddle/Lower Mississippi Valley and Southern Plains through Saturdaymorning. The associated heavy rain will create mainly localized areas offlash flooding, with urban areas, roads, small streams, and low-lyingareas the most vulnerable. Heavy snow will develop over the higherelevations of the Central Rockies overnight Friday into Saturday.On Saturday, the threat of severe thunderstorms continues, while thethreat of excessive rainfall increases over parts of southeastern Kansas,southwestern Missouri, Oklahoma, and northeast-central Texas. Therefore,the SPC has issued an Enhanced Risk (level 3/5) of severe thunderstormsover the Middle Mississippi Valley and Central/Southern Plains fromSaturday into Sunday morning. The hazards associated with thesethunderstorms are frequent lightning, severe thunderstorm wind gusts,hail, and a few tornadoes. In addition, there is an increased threat ofEF2- EF5 tornados and hail greater than two inches over the Region.Furthermore, heavy rain will be associated with these storms. Therefore,the WPC has issued a Moderate Risk (level 3/4) of excessive rainfall overparts of the Middle Mississippi Valley and Central/Southern Plains. Theassociated heavy rain will create numerous areas of flash flooding.Furthermore, many streams may flood, potentially affecting larger rivers.On Sunday, the threat of excessive rainfall decreases slightly. Therefore,the WPC has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/4) of excessive rainfall overthe Middle/Lower Mississippi Valley and Southern Plains on Sunday. Theassociated heavy rain will create mainly localized areas of flashflooding, with urban areas, roads, small streams, and low-lying areas themost vulnerable.Similarly, the threat of severe thunderstorms decreases slightly onSunday, too. Therefore, the SPC has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/5) ofsevere thunderstorms over parts of the Middle/Lower Mississippi Valley andCentral/Southern Plains on Sunday. The hazards associated with thesethunderstorms are frequent lightning, severe thunderstorm wind gusts,hail, and a few tornadoes.Meanwhile, upper-level troughing over the western third of the country andonshore flow will produce rain and high elevation snow over parts ofPacific Northwest, California, Great Basin, Northern Intermountain Region,and Southwest through Saturday morning. The low elevation rain and higherelevation snow continues over parts of the Northern/Central Rockiesthrough late Saturday night. On Sunday, the rain and higher elevation snowreturns to the Pacific Northwest.

An active weather pattern for much of the Plains into the Mid to UpperMississippi Valley regions......Thunderstorms to bring heavy rains, localized flash flooding and severeweather to portions of the Plains......An elevated to critical fire weather threat across the Southern HighPlains.....Cooler than average temperatures expected from the Rockies to the Westcoast and from the Mid-Atlantic to the Northeast, while much above averagetemperatures spread from the Southern Plains to the Great Lakes...An active weather pattern expected across the mid section of the nationfrom the Plains into the Mid to Upper Mississippi Valley.  Two strongstorms expected to produce a variety of spring time weather over the nextseveral days across these regions. Thunderstorm activity occurring acrossportions of the Central Plains, Lower Arkansas and Lower Missouri ValleysThursday afternoon will be expanding northward into the NorthernPlains/Upper Mississippi Valley region and southward into the SouthernPlains as the first of two strong lows to affect these regions begins todeepen across the Central High Plains and move northeastward.  There isthe likelihood of severe weather across much of the Central to SouthernHigh Plains from Thursday afternoon into Thursday night/early Friday alongand ahead of a strengthening frontal zone.  This severe weather threatwill then push farther to the east during the day on Friday into easternportions of the Central to Southern Plains, Lower Missouri and LowerArkansas River Valleys as the strong cold front also pushes eastward.  Inaddition, heavy rains from the expected thunderstorm activity poses thethreat of localized flooding from this afternoon through Friday,especially across the eastern portions of the Central to Southern Plainsinto the into Lower Missouri and Lower Arkansas River Valleys.  In thewake of the first strong storm pushing northeastward into the NorthernPlains/Upper Mississippi Valley on Saturday, where it will producepotential for moderate to heavy rainfall amounts, a second storm willbegin to deepen across the Central High Plains.  Another round ofthunderstorms, heavy rains, flash flooding and severe weather is againpossible across the Southern Plains beginning Saturday afternoon andcontinuing into Sunday.In contrast to the wet, stormy weather across large portions of the midsection of the nation, windy and dry conditions are expected across theSouthern High Plains from southeast Colorado, the Texas-Oklahoma Panhandleregion, southward through West to Southwest Texas and eastern tosoutheastern New Mexico.  The combination of the windy conditions and lowrelative humidities will support a prolonged period of elevated tocritical fire weather conditions from Thursday through the weekend.A frontal boundary moving off the northeast Pacific into the PacificNorthwest this evening will keep conditions wet across the PacificNorthwest and Northern Rockies tonight. This wet weather and highelevation snows are then expected to spread into the Great Basin andCentral Rockies on Friday. Temperatures are expected to be below average across most areas from theRockies to the West coast over the next few days.  Much above averagetemperatures Thursday across the Central and Northern High Plains will bereplaced by much cooler temps by the beginning of the weekend.  Much aboveaverage temperatures expected from the Southern Plains, northeast theMississippi Valley, Ohio Valley and into the Great Lakes over the next twodays, while cooler,slightly below average temperatures expected from theMid-Atlantic into the Northeast.

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Love Found in Beijing's Hot Pot: A Mandarin Romance Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.org/love-found-in-beijings-hot-pot-a-mandarin-romance Story Transcript:Zh: 那天，张伟醒来时，阳光照在他的床上。他在心里简单练习了几句普通话，然后走出家门，一个人在北京的街头走走。“今天，就是今天。”他对自己说。En: That day, when Zhang Wei woke up, the sunlight shone on his bed. He practiced a few simple Mandarin sentences in his mind, then walked out of the house alone in the streets of Beijing. "Today, is the day," he said to himself.Zh: 张伟是一个具有中原口音的河南人，来到北京已经三个月，对于普通话仍然感觉比较笨拙。然而，他喜欢的人，刘英，是一个地道的北京人，普通话说得流利，让他感觉出奇的亲近。En: Zhang Wei, a Henan native with a Central Plains accent, had been in Beijing for three months and still felt clumsy with Mandarin. However, the person he liked, Liu Ying, was a native Beijinger who spoke Mandarin fluently, making him feel surprisingly close.Zh: 张伟邀请刘英出来吃饭，对于能和刘英独处他感到既期待又紧张。他练习了一整个晚上的北京话，想要给刘英留下深刻的印象。他们约定在一个叫“老北京涮肉馆”的地方见面，地点就在繁华的王府井，是一个具有浓重北京风情的老字号饭馆。En: Zhang Wei invited Liu Ying out for dinner, feeling both excited and nervous about being able to spend time alone with her. He practiced Beijing dialect all night, hoping to leave a lasting impression on Liu Ying. They agreed to meet at a restaurant called "Old Beijing Hot Pot," located in bustling Wangfujing, a famous old restaurant with a strong Beijing atmosphere.Zh: 两人相约的时候，张伟发现刘英穿着一件红色的旗袍，看上去十分惹眼。张伟心里一紧，强硬地对自己说：“没事的，就是普通话，我可以的。”他们相对笑了笑，然后坐下来点菜。En: When they met, Zhang Wei noticed Liu Ying was wearing a bright red qipao, which caught his attention. Zhang Wei felt a tightness in his chest but firmly told himself, "It's okay, just Mandarin, I can do this." They exchanged smiles and then sat down to order.Zh: 面对北京话组成的菜单，张伟紧张到不知所措。他看着那些听起来非常奇特的菜名，开始有点困惑。在一阵手忙脚乱中，他在菜单上随手点了几个他认为的“经典北京菜”。En: Faced with a menu in Beijing dialect, Zhang Wei was so nervous that he didn't know what to do. He looked at the menu with its very peculiar dish names and started to feel confused. In a fluster, he randomly ordered what he thought were "classic Beijing dishes."Zh: 待菜上来时，刘英看着那些他点的“包子炖鸡翅”、“炒疙瘩”和“豆腐脑炒肉”等奇特的组合，顿时笑出了声。张伟初一开始感到非常尴尬，但刘英摇头笑道：“我从来没尝试过这样搭配，很有创意。”听到这话，张伟的心顿时舒展开来。En: When the dishes arrived, Liu Ying looked at the strange combinations like "baozi stewed chicken wings," "fried dough twists," and "tofu brain with stir-fried pork," and burst out laughing. Initially feeling embarrassed, Zhang Wei, but Liu Ying shook her head and said with a smile, "I've never tried such combinations before, very creative." Upon hearing this, Zhang Wei's heart instantly relaxed.Zh: 他们在异样的菜品中度过了欢笑的时光，张伟的模糊普通话再也没有成为他们之间的障碍。他们相对而笑，心中都有了满意的答案。En: They spent a joyful time laughing over the peculiar dishes, and Zhang Wei's imperfect Mandarin was no longer a barrier between them. They smiled at each other, both content with the evening.Zh: 欢乐的晚餐过去后，张伟终于鼓起勇气，打开了心中的小宇宙，向刘英再次展示了他的“北京普通话”。而这一次，他不再紧张和尴尬，因为他知道，即便他的普通话再差，他所喜欢的人，也会喜欢他的坦诚和勇气。En: After the joyful dinner, Zhang Wei finally mustered up the courage to open up his heart and once again showcase his "Beijing Mandarin" to Liu Ying. This time, he was no longer nervous or embarrassed because he knew that even if his Mandarin was poor, the person he liked would appreciate his honesty and courage.Zh: 这个晚上，张伟找到了他的勇气，也找到了他所追求的爱情。这是一个美好的结束，也是一个崭新的开始。En: That night, Zhang Wei found his courage and also found the love he sought. It was a beautiful ending and a fresh start. Vocabulary Words:sunlight: 阳光bed: 床simple: 简单mind: 心里streets: 街头clumsy: 笨拙excited: 期待nervous: 紧张alone: 一个人dinner: 吃饭impression: 印象restaurant: 饭馆smiles: 微笑menu: 菜单confused: 困惑dishes: 菜品laughing: 笑creative: 创意joyful: 欢乐barrier: 障碍content: 满意courage: 勇气heart: 心love: 爱情ending: 结束fresh start: 崭新的开始

Major spring storm to bring numerous weather threats from theSouthern-Central Plains, northeast into the Mid Mississippi , Ohio Valley,Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic and NortheasTSevere weather likely late Monday afternoon/Monday night from theSouthern to Central Plains into the Mid Mississippi Valley...into the OhioValley, Tennessee Valley and Southeast on TuesdayHeavy Rains and Flash Flooding possible from the Mid MississippiValley, into the Ohio Valley and Central AppalachiansHeavy Snows to develop Tuesday and continue through Wednesday acrossmuch of Wisconsin, the U.P. of Michigan the northern portions of the L.P.of MichiganMuch above average temperatures to continue across the South Tuesday,cooling significantly on WednesdayElevated to Critical Fire Weather Threat for West and Southwest TexasA highly impactful, major Spring storm will produce numerous hazards overthe next few days as it strengthens over the Southern Plains Monday nightand pushes northeastward Tuesday across the Mid Mississippi Valley, OhioValley and into the Lower Lakes, becoming nearly stationary over the LowerLakes on Wednesday.  Severe weather likely to develop across portions ofthe Southern to Central Plains late Monday afternoon/evening and spreadnortheastward quickly across the Lower Missouri Valley, Mid MississippiValley Monday night into early Tuesday. This severe weather threat willthen spread into portions of the Ohio Valley, Tennessee Valley andSoutheast on Tuesday.  Large hail, high winds and tornadoes are allpossible with this severe weather over the next two days. In addition to the severe weather threat, heavy rains and flash floodingwill also be possible late Monday into Tuesday from the Lower MissouriValley, across the Mid Mississippi Valley, Ohio Valley and into theCentral Appalachians.   Flood watches currently stretch from centralIllinois, across large portions of Indiana, Ohio, northeast Kentucky, muchof West Virginia, far southwest Pennsylvania and far western Maryland. As this storm deepens on Tuesday across the Mid Mississippi Valley/LowerLakes region, precipitation will change to snow on the northwest side ofthe system from northern Illinois, across much of Wisconsin, the U.P. ofMichigan and the northern L.P. of Michigan.  Early Spring heavy snowfalltotals of 4-8"+ possible across these areas, with regions from eastern Wisconsin into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan having the greatest chancesof heavy snowfall.  By late Wednesday afternoon another area of lowpressure is forecast to begin to deepen along the Mid-Atlantic coast. Heavy snows are forecast to begin to develop late late Wednesday afternoonand continue into Thursday to the north of this low across portions ofUpstate and Northern New York into much of central to northern NewEngland. 

Widespread showers/ storms will bring the threat of severe weatherand flash flooding from the Southern Plains eastward through the MiddleMississippi/Ohio Valleys Monday...Another Critical Risk of Fire Weather for the Southern High PlainsMonday.Advancing storm system will bring increasing showers and storm chancesto much of the eastern U.S. Tuesday, with another risk of severe weatherin the Ohio/Tennessee Valleys and Mid-Atlantic.Unsettled weather in the West, with lower elevation rain and higherelevation snow, continues Sunday night but will taper off through the dayMonday.A storm system passing through the central and eastern U.S. will bring thethreat of severe weather and flash flooding as well a risk of fire weatherover the next couple of days. A deep, energetic upper-level trough overthe West will begin to shift eastward over the Plains Sunday night intoMonday. Increased height falls will help to deepen/organize an area of lowpressure in the lee of the Rockies over the Central Plains, with increasedflow helping to reinforce a quasi-stationary frontal boundary extendingeastward through the Middle Mississippi/Ohio Valleys and a drylineextending southward through the Southern Plains, with a cold frontapproaching from the west through the Southern Rockies/High Plains.Showers and storms will first expand in coverage Sunday night along thequasi-stationary boundary through the Middle Mississippi Valley eastwardinto the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic as moisture advecting northward fromthe gulf continues to pool along the boundary. Enough shear will bepresent that a few storms may produce some large hail from northernMissouri eastward through central Illinois/Indiana through Sunday evening,with a Slight Risk of Severe Weather (level 2/5) in place from the StormPrediction Center. An isolated threat for flash flooding will exist hereas well, extending eastward into the Upper Ohio Valley, as heavy rain mayhave the tendency to repeat over areas as storms run parallel to theboundary.Another day of return flow from the Gulf as well as the arrival of theupper-level trough from the west on Monday will bring a much broader areaof showers and thunderstorms along the east-west boundary as well assouthward along the dryline through the Central/Southern Plains. Somesupercells are expected to develop along the boundary from southernMissouri west through southeastern Kansas and southward along the drylineinto central Oklahoma by late afternoon/early evening in the presence ofincreasing buoyancy and upper-level shear. The Storm Prediction Center hasissued an Enhanced Risk (level 3/5) of severe weather for the chance ofvery large hail as well as damaging winds and a few tornadoes. Some moreisolated storms will be possible further south into northern Texas, with aSlight Risk in place. A Slight Risk also extends eastward through the OhioValley where some isolated daytime storms and the arrival of stormsgrowing upscale upstream over the Middle Mississippi Valley/Plains willbring the threat of damaging winds, as well as large hail and a fewtornadoes.  By evening, increasing storm coverage and the potential forupscale growth into an organized complex of storms, as well as thetendency for storms to move parallel to the frontal boundary, will lead toa higher chance of locally heavy rainfall totals and some scattered flashflooding, with a Slight Risk of Excessive Rainfall (level 2/4) in place.In addition to the threat of severe weather and flash flooding, verystrong winds upwards of 40 to 50 mph, with gusts as high as 75 mph,combined with very dry conditions behind the dryline over portions of theSouthern High Plains have prompted another Critical Risk of Fire Weather(level 2/3) .

Major Winter Storm through Tuesday over the Central Plains into theUpper Mississippi Valley...The major winter storm continues through Tuesday over the Central Plainsinto the Upper Mississippi Valley. Snow and strong winds will continuefrom the Central Plains to northern Minnesota through Monday night, alongwith sleet and freezing rain in parts of the Upper Mississippi Valley.In addition, hazardous impacts will be snow, icing, and wind. Blowing andfalling snow will significantly reduce visibility, and blizzard conditionswill persist into Tuesday across portions of the Plains and northernMinnesota. Travel may be very difficult or impossible at times. Poweroutages and tree damage are possible in some areas due to heavy snow,icing, and strong winds. Also, plan on slippery roads.Meanwhile, the front associated with the storm extends from the MiddleMississippi Valley/Southern Plains and moves eastward to the lower GreatLakes into the Central Gulf Coast by Wednesday evening.The system will create showers and severe thunderstorms over the LowerMississippi Valley. Therefore, the SPC has issued an Enhanced Risk (level3/5) of severe thunderstorms over parts of the Lower Mississippi Valleythrough Tuesday morning. The hazards associated with these thunderstormsare frequent lightning, severe thunderstorm wind gusts, hail, and a fewtornadoes. Additionally, there is an increased threat of EF2 to EF5tornados over the area.In addition, the showers and thunderstorms will produce heavy rain overparts of the Middle/Lower Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys. Therefore,the WPC has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/4) of excessive rainfall overparts of the Middle/Lower Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys throughTuesday morning. The associated heavy rain will create mainly localizedareas of flash flooding, with urban areas, roads, and small streams themost vulnerable.By Tuesday, the threat of severe thunderstorms decreases slightly to aMarginal Risk over parts of the Great Lakes/Ohio Valley, with a SlightRisk of severe thunderstorms over parts of the Central Gulf Coast.Therefore, the SPC has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/5) of severethunderstorms over parts of the Central Gulf Coast from Tuesday throughWednesday morning. The hazards associated with these thunderstorms arefrequent lightning, severe thunderstorm wind gusts, a few tornadoes, and aminimal threat of hail.Similarly, the showers and thunderstorms will create heavy rain over partsof the Central/Eastern Gulf Coast. Therefore, the WPC has issued a SlightRisk (level 2/4) of excessive rainfall over parts of the Central/EasternGulf Coast on Tuesday through Wednesday morning. The associated heavy rainwill create mainly localized areas of flash flooding, with urban areas,roads, and small streams the most vulnerable.On Wednesday, the threat of severe thunderstorms ends. However, the threatof excessive rainfall continues over parts of the Eastern Gulf Coast andSoutheast. Therefore, the WPC has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/4) ofexcessive rainfall over parts of the Eastern Gulf Coast and Southeast onWednesday. The associated heavy rain will create mainly localized areas offlash flooding, with urban areas, roads, and small streams the mostvulnerable.Elsewhere, from Tuesday evening into Wednesday, moisture from the Atlanticwill move onshore over New England, bringing warmer temperatures andtrapping cold air in the interior of Northern New England. The warm, moistair will create rain/freezing rain over parts of Northern New England fromTuesday evening into Wednesday.

Heavy lake-effect snow over parts of the western U.P. of Michigan andlake-effect snow downwind from the Great Lakes; moderate to heavy snowover the Southern Rockies.There is a Slight Risk of excessive rainfall over parts of the SouthernPlains and Western/Central Gulf Coast.There is a Slight Risk of severe thunderstorms over parts of southernTexas.A front extending from the Great Lakes to the Central Plains will move offthe Northeast Coast by Sunday evening. In the wake of the front,upper-level energy moves across the Great Lakes and the Northeast throughMonday evening. The upper-level energy will create lake-effect snowdownwind from the Great Lakes. The heaviest lake-effect snow will be overthe western portion of the U.P. of Michigan from Saturday evening intoSunday evening. A second area of heavy lake-effect snow will developdownwind from Lake Ontario Sunday night into Monday. In addition, snowwill develop over parts of the Central Appalachians and the higherelevations of the Northeast, likewise, from Sunday evening into Monday.Moreover, an upper-level low over the Four Corners Region will producemoderate to heavy snow over parts of the Central/Southern Rockies throughSunday evening. The energy will also create snow and lower-elevation rainover parts of the Great Basin, Southwest, and Southern Rockies throughMonday.Meanwhile, a second front extending from the Southeast to southern Texaswill move off the Gulf Coast on Monday. With favorable upper-level flow,showers and severe thunderstorms develop over parts of southern Texas.Therefore, the SPC has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/5) of severethunderstorms over parts of southern Texas through Sunday morning.The hazards associated with these thunderstorms are frequent lightning,severe thunderstorm wind gusts, hail, and a few tornadoes. Further, thereis an increased threat of hail, two inches or greater, over South-CentralTexas.Furthermore, the showers and thunderstorms will also have heavy rain overparts of the Southern Plains/Western Gulf Coast. Therefore, the WPC hasissued a Slight Risk (level 2/4) of excessive rainfall over parts of theSouthern Plains/Western Gulf Coast through Sunday morning. The associatedheavy rain will create mainly localized areas of flash flooding, withurban areas, roads, and small streams the most vulnerable.On Sunday, the severe thunderstorm threat decreases slightly to a MarginalRisk (level 1/5) along the Western/Central Gulf Coast through Mondaymorning. Moreover, the showers and thunderstorms will produce heavy rainover the Central Gulf Coast. Therefore, the WPC has issued a Slight Risk(level 2/4) of excessive rainfall over parts of the Central Gulf Coastfrom Sunday into Monday morning. The associated heavy rain will createmainly localized areas of flash flooding, with urban areas, roads, andsmall streams the most vulnerable. The threat of excessive rainfall endsby Monday. However, showers and thunderstorms will develop over parts ofFlorida through Monday evening.

Heavy snow over parts of Northern/Central Rockies.There is a Slight Risk of excessive rainfall over parts of Southern NewEngland/northern Mid-Atlantic on Wednesday.There is a Slight Risk of severe thunderstorms over parts of theSouthern Plains on Thursday.Low pressure along the northern Mid-Atlantic Coast will move northeastwardinto Southeast Canada by Wednesday morning. The low will develop lightrain over New England through Wednesday morning.Additionally, a front extending from the Lower Great Lakes to the SouthernPlains will move eastward off the East Coast by Thursday evening. Moisturepooling along the front will aid in developing showers and thunderstormsover parts of the Lower Mississippi Valley northeastward to the LowerGreat Lakes through late Tuesday evening. Overnight Tuesday, the showersand thunderstorms will be over parts of the Central Gulf Coast andSoutheast. The showers and thunderstorms will move off the Southeast Coastovernight Wednesday. Further, light rain will develop over parts of theOhio Valley into parts of the Northeast by Wednesday morning.On Wednesday, the system will produce rain over parts of the Northeast andMid-Atlantic. The rain over Southern New England/northern Mid-Atlanticwill be heavy. Therefore, the WPC has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/4) ofexcessive rainfall over parts of Southern New England/northernMid-Atlantic from Wednesday through Thursday morning. The associated heavyrain will create mainly localized areas of flash flooding, with urbanareas, roads, and small streams the most vulnerable. On Thursday, rainwill continue over parts of New England, with snow over northern Maine.  Moreover, a wave of low pressure along a front over the Northern/CentralRockies will produce heavy snow over parts of the area through Wednesday.The associated boundary will linger through late Wednesday afternoon,producing light snow at the higher elevations. In addition, weak onshoreflow will aid in creating light rain over parts of Northern Californiathrough late Wednesday night.Overnight Tuesday, the onshore flow will move southward, producing rainover parts of Central California through early Thursday morning. Moreover,the onshore flow will move southward over Southern California, creatinglight rain through Thursday evening. Furthermore, the wave of low pressure moves eastward into the NorthernPlains by Wednesday morning and into Central Canada by Thursday. OnWednesday, the low will produce light to moderate snow over parts of theNorthern Plains and the Upper Mississippi Valley.The associated front will move southeastward over the Central Plains intothe Southern Plains by Thursday. On Thursday, the boundary will createshowers and severe thunderstorms over parts of the Southern plains.Therefore, the SPC has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/5) of severethunderstorms over parts of the Southern Plains on Thursday. The hazardsassociated with these thunderstorms are frequent lightning, severethunderstorm wind gusts, hail, and a few tornadoes.

Precipitation chances pick up for the Pacific Northwest/NorthernRockies through the weekend......Chilly Saturday from the Ohio/Tennessee Valleys to the Northeast; lightprecipitation chances from the Great Lakes to the Carolinas......A mild, early Spring-like weekend for much of the central and westernU.S. as temperatures soar as much as 15-25 degrees above average...After a dry Friday, increasing moisture and northwesterly flow over thePacific Northwest/Northern Rockies will bring increasing precipiationchances Saturday. Some light to moderate higher elevation snow showers areforecast for the Olympics, northern Cascades, and portions of the NorthernRockies. More widespread, heavier precipitation will begin to pick up bylate in the day Sunday ahead of an approaching stronger upper-leveltrough. Heavy snow will continue into early next week beyond the currentforecast period for the Cascades and Northern Rockies, with Winter StormWatches now in effect. Additionally, fast moving flow aloft as well astroughing along the High Plains will bring some gusty winds, particularlyon Sunday. High wind-related watches and warnings have been issued forportions of the Northern Rockies/adjacent High Plains and southward intothe Central High Plains for gusts as high as 65-70 mph.A pair of cold fronts pushing through the eastern U.S. today and overnightwill bring some chillier temperatures from the Ohio/Tennessee Valleys tothe Northeast on Saturday. Highs will be in the teens and 20s for theInterior Northeast/northern New England and the 30s and 40s from theOhio/Tennessee Valleys east through the Mid-Atlantic and southern NewEngland. While not quite as cold, temperatures will also be below averagefor the Southeast, with highs ranging from the 50s in the Carolinas to the60s near the Gulf Coast and low 70s into Florida. Temperatures willrebound Sunday, particularly for the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys as highsreach into the 50s and 60s. A mix of light rain and snow shower will passfrom the Great Lakes through the Ohio Valley overnight Friday and into thesouthern/central Appalachians and Carolinas during the day Saturday.Elsewhere, most of the central and western U.S. will be dry with mild,above average high temperatures. The greatest anomalies will be over thePlains Saturday, spreading into the Middle Mississippi Valley Sunday,where highs 15-25 degrees above average will feel more like early Springthan Winter. Forecast highs Saturday-Sunday will range from the 40s and50s for the Northern Plains, 60s and 70s for the Central Plains, and 70sand 80s for the Southern Plains. Highs in the 60s and 70s will come to theMiddle Mississippi Valley Sunday. Parts of western Texas may see highsinto the mid- to upper 80s Sunday. While not quite as anomalous, the UpperMidwest/Great Lakes will also see highs above average, with 30s and 40sexpected. The warmer weather this weekend will only be a preview of evenmore anomalous temperatures heading into next week. In the West, highswill range from the 40s and 50s for the Pacific Northwest/northern GreatBasin, 50s and 60s for northern California and the central Great Basin,60s and 70s for central/southern California, and 70s and 80s for theDesert Southwest.

Fast moving areas of low pressures to produce widespread accumulatingsnows across the Central Plains, Mid Mississippi Valley, Ohio Valley,Central Appalachians, Mid Atlantic, Northern New York and New England...Heavy precipitation to move into Northern to Central California onSaturday.Heavy rains possible for South Texas...Below average temperatures to spread southeast from the NorthernPlains.Active Lake effect snows downwind of the Great Lakes Friday andSaturday.Two fast moving areas of low pressure pushing from west to east will beproducing widespread areas of accumulating snows across large portions ofthe Lower 48.   The lead area of low pressure will be moving eastwardtonight from the eastern Lakes region, across northern NY State and intoNew England.  This system will produce a brief period of snow, withaccumulations of several inches from northern New York State into portionsof central to northern New England.  In the wake of this system, cold airmoving across the relatively warm and ice free Great Lakes will supportwidespread lake effect snow showers downwind of the Great Lakes.  Locallyheavy snowfall totals possible in the favored lake effect areas across theUpper Peninsula of Michigan and across portions of north central tonorthwest New York State, to the east of Lake Ontario. This first fast moving area of low pressure will be followed by a secondmoving quickly east northeast from the Southern Plains Friday, into theTennessee Valley Friday night and off the Mid-Atlantic coast earlySaturday.  An area of snow will develop well to the north of the surfacelow track, with accumulating snows possible from portions of the CentralPlains. east into the Mid Mississippi Valley, Ohio Valley, CentralAppalachians and Mid-Atlantic.  The fast movement of this system will adetriment to heavy totals, with generally 1 to 3 inches of accumulationforecast across these areas, with isolated heavier totals possible. Below average temperatures will be spreading south and southeastward from theNorthern Plains/Upper Mississippi Valley.  This will produce a belowaverage temperature day on Friday across the Northern to Central Plainsand Upper Mississippi Valley, with these below average temperaturesspreading south into the Southern Plains and eastward into the Middle toLower Mississippi Valley, Ohio and Tennessee Valleys on Saturday.  Whilethese colder than average temperatures are a departure from recent warmthacross this regions, the cold shot will be short lived with temperatureswarming from west to east late in the weekend and into next week.The current stormy pattern across the eastern Pacific will be pressingeastward on Friday into Saturday, with heavy precipitation pushing backinto Northern to Central California on Saturday.  This precipitation isthe beginning of a wetter pattern for California, with additional heavyprecipitation likely for much of California for the beginning of nextweek.  The first round of heavy precipitation does have the potential toproduce isolated flash flooding across the central to northern Californiacoastal regions.    The additional heavy rains slated for early next weekwill also pose a flash flood threat, with this threat pushing farther tothe south into central to southern California.An expanding area of rain also likely to develop Thursday night/earlyFriday morning across South Texas, persisting into the day on Saturday. This rainfall will also push east northeastward Friday into Saturday alongthe northern Gulf coast and into North Florida.  The heaviest totalsexpected for South Texas where rainfall accumulations of 1 to 3 inches arepossible.

Joe's Premium Subscription: www.standardgrain.comGrain Markets and Other Stuff Links-Apple PodcastsSpotifyGoogleTikTokYouTubeFutures and options trading involves risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone.Conab, Brazil's equivalent to the USDA, has reduced its forecasts for both Brazil's soybean and corn crops. The soybean estimate has been lowered by 4.2% to 155.3 million tons, but despite this reduction, Brazil is still on track to achieve a record soybean crop this season. Additionally, Brazil is expected to maintain its position as the world's leading soybean exporter, with an estimated export volume of 98.4 million tons. Conab has also downgraded its projection for Brazil's corn crop by nearly 11%, estimating it at 117.6 million tons. Corn exports are anticipated to decline to 35 million tons, down from 56 million tons in the previous year.

CW: Discussion of s*xual assault, and brief mentions of drugging and s*icide, from 1:00:27 – 1:04:15 You've made it to the third and final installment of our semi-accidental mini-series on the Chinese Drama, Lost You Forever. (You either really like us, or you really like Lost You Forever, and we appreciate you either way.) We know you've been waiting for it, so this episode, we finally get to the last three main players fighting for Xiaoyao's heart: Fenglong of the Central Plains; Xiang Liu, everyone's favorite nine-headed sea snake demon man; and last but certainly not least, Tushan Jing, soft beta baby boy of the year. Don't forget to listen to part one, "E35 Lost You Forever Season 1 (Mini-Series Part 1, Spoiler Free)," and part two, “E36 Lost You Forever Season 1 (Mini-Series Part 2, Spoiler Filled),” if you haven't already. Show Notes: Lost You Forever Soundtrack (on Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/album/6opCSvYhh5CiAioySGp0Nm?si=7a6e1432558947d0 Other lit mentioned this episode: Till the End of the Moon Don't forget to subscribe to Sex. Love. Literature! You can find us on Instagram and Threads @SexLoveLit. The SLL Theme music is “Pluck It Up” by Dan Henig. What's Sparking Joy BGM is "Candy-Coloured Sky" by Catmosphere | https://soundcloud.com/ctmsphr; Released by Paper Crane Collective; Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com; Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US SLL is a podcast relishing the romantic, the sexy, and the scandalous in pop-culture. English academics by day and podcasters by night, hosts Ayanni and Corinne take a semi-scholarly look at why the “sex-stuff” in media matters in the bedroom—and beyond. Episode Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:24 Opening Bander 02:32 What's Sparking Joy 6:30 Fenglong doesn't stand a chance 17:58 It's thirsting for Xiang Liu hours 41:14 Poor, sweet Tushan Jing 1:06:30 Some Final Thoughts 1:14:38 Closing Out

We get the real-deal history underway with some very familiar material: a warlord showdown. Except this would be bigger than ever, and would decide if Chiang Kai-shek's centralizing policies even had a prayer.    Bibliography for this episode:    Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983 Fairbannk, John K & Albert Feuerwerker The Cambridge History of China, Volume 13: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 2 Cambridge University Press 1983 Sheridan, James E. China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History 1912-1949 Macmillian Publishing Co, Inc 1975 Taylor, Jay The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China Harvard University Press 2011 Van de Ven, Hans J. War and Nationalism in China, 1925-1945 Routledge 2003   Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

In This Episode Guests: Storm Chasers Daniel Shaw, Hank Schyma and Mike Olbinski Brought to you by our Patreon Team join and support for the show for as little as $5/month Lightning Round - 3 Best Friends amsweatherband.org join other meteorologists and weather professionals Find SFF Gear and other weather geek products at helicity.co #weatherfools - We present the fools doing stupid things in weather situations Tornado Trailer Trash - We play trailers of some of the worst disaster movies we can find Next Episode's Guest(s) Check out our Patreon page for exciting ways to support our podcast and interact with us more!  www.patreon.com/stormfrontfreaks Our Guests Daniel Shaw Daniel actively chases severe weather in Australia and travels to the United States for three months every tornado season. He streams live for his supporters and takes his viewers into the passenger seat during his chases. He works as the National News Director of Severe Weather Australia and dedicates his life to supporting professional and public content creators across the world.   Hank Schyma Hank Schyma, also known as Pecos Hank, is a musician, songwriter, filmmaker and professional storm chaser based in Houston, Texas. He has directed and produced a catalogue of storm and nature documentation on The Weather Channel, Discovery Channel, National Geographic and more.   Mike Olbinski Mike Olbinski calls himself a storm-chasing wedding photographer. He's based out of Phoenix, Arizona, and when he's not shooting weddings, he's chasing storms across the desert southwest and the Central Plains. Mike creates amazing time-lapse films a few times a year. His work has been seen across the world, in commercials, documentaries, magazines and even films.   Thanks to AMS Weather Band.  Now weather enthusiasts can join meteorologists and weather professionals.  Visit AMSWeatherBand.org   Get your new Storm Front Freaks Gear and other super cool weather geek products at Helicity.co #weatherfools Links Greg - Redneck School Bus Won't Turn Around Greg - Dog Walks on the Wild Side Greg - Large Tourist Crowd Does "The Wave" Phil - From Vince Waelti: What? I'm Wearing Hip Boots! Phil - Fishnado Phil - From LunaLight: Looks a Little Windy Tornado Trailer Trash Links Metal Tornado Disaster Movie Submit your questions or comments about this show to questions@stormfrontfreaks.com or on our social media accounts and we may read it on our next episode! Twitter: @stromfrontfreak Facebook: @stormfrontfreaks Instagram: @stormfrontfreaks TikTok: @stormfrontfreakspodcast YouTube "RAW":  YouTube.com/stormfrontfreaks Next Episode…our good friend, Tom Niziol, now the winter weather expert at Fox Weather will be with us again.  Storm Front Freaks will be LIVE Thursday, November 16th at 9pmET/8pmCT on YouTube and the audio podcast will be available Thanksgiving weekend. Credits Opening Music: Brett Epstein Closing Music: Gabe Cox Other Music: “Pecos Hank” Schyma from El Reno Blues

Finalist #16 in the Book Review Contest To tell the story of the fall of a realm, it's best to start with its rise. More than three thousand years ago, the Shang dynasty ruled the Chinese heartland. They raised a sprawling capital out of the yellow plains, and cast magnificent ritual vessels from bronze. One of the criteria of civilization is writing, and they had the first Chinese writing, incising questions on turtle shells and ox scapulae, applying a heated rod, and reading the response of the spirits in the pattern of cracks. “This year will Shang receive good harvest?” “Is the sick stomach due to ancestral harm?” “Offer three hundred Qiang prisoners to [the deceased] Father Ding?” The kings of Shang maintained a hegemony over their neighbors through military prowess, and sacrificed war captives from their campaigns totaling in the tens of thousands for the favor of their ancestors.  But the Shang faced growing threat from the Zhou, a once-subordinate people from west beyond the mountains. Inspired by a rare conjunction of the planets in 1059 BC, the Zhou declared that there was such a thing as the Mandate of Heaven, a divine right to rule—and while the Shang had once held it, their misrule and immorality had forced the Mandate to pass to the Zhou. Thirteen years later, the Zhou and their allies defeated the Shang in battle, seized their capital, drove their king to suicide, and supplanted them as overlords of the Central Plains. If the Shang were goth jocks, the Zhou were prep nerds... https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/your-book-review-zuozhuan 

Ohio police have released body cam footage of the fatal police shooting of pregnant 21-year-old Ta'Kiya Young, an investigation into the incident has begun. Temperature records might be broken across the Upper Midwest and the Northern and Central Plains this Labor Day weekend. In Hunstville, TX, residents have evacuated due to a large wildfire in the area. A 98-year-old former Nazi concentration camp guard has been indicted in Germany. And, Margaritaville pioneer Jimmy Buffett has died at 76.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

Shooting erupts near Denver Nuggets championship parade; Severe weather stretching across Central Plains to Southeast; Zelenskyy speaks on new counteroffensive against Russia: Exclusive; and more on tonight's broadcast.