Podcasts about Nonni

Nonni er magnaður maður sem á stóra sögu. Hann ólst upp við alkóhólisma, þróaði með sér fíkn, sat inni og var í mörg ár í undirheimum Íslands. Saga hans einkennist af áföllum, sorgum og sigrum.

We loved having another chat with Melbourne based content creator Massimo Corrente, this week we had a light hearted chat about our favourite 'Nonni words' and funny things Nonni say. This is a topic children and grandchildren of Italian immigrants can all relate to, in Australia and anywhere there are Italian immigrants. We loved remembering our Nonni in this episode, they are so special and there will never be another generation the same as them.To see more of the fun things Massimo gets up to you can find him on Instagram at Massimo Corrente (@masscorrente) • Instagram photos and videosYou can also listen to our first episode with Massimo here Episode 68: The Fully Sickest of Them All featuring Massimo Corrente - The Italian Australian Podcast | Podcast on Spotify

Last time we spoke about Gokokujo and Collaborators. In September 1931, the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters aimed to contain the Mukden Incident but faced resistance from the Kwantung Command. Led by General Honjo, Japanese forces quickly overwhelmed Chinese troops, seizing key cities in Manchuria. Despite Tokyo's disapproval, military leaders acted independently, invoking the Emperor's authority. Amidst the chaos, local Chinese leaders cooperated with the invaders, leading to a swift Japanese victory. As the military expanded its power, the civilian government struggled to regain control, illustrating the complexities of Japan's political landscape. In 1931, the Kwantung Army's officers, led by Ishiwara and Itegaki, aimed for a military occupation of Manchuria, initially allowing local officials autonomy. However, Tokyo's rejection of annexation forced them to claim Manchurian independence. Amidst confusion and infighting, Komai Tokuzo emerged as a key figure, manipulating local elites to establish control. The Japanese employed violence and persuasion, swiftly occupying cities while puppet leaders maintained a facade of governance. As resistance brewed, Zhang Xueliang and others sought to reclaim their homeland from Japanese dominance.   #140 The Jiangqiao Campaign: The Resistance of Ma Zhanshan 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. For quite some time we have spoken about countless variables involved with the conquest of Manchuria. More or less we broke down three sorts of players in this invasion: those Chinese who chose to collaborate with the Japanese, those who tried to act neutral and sit upon the fence and then there were those who resisted. The resistance against the Japanese was not unified, often it was pockets of groups trying to hold out as long as possible. The resistance took on various forms for various reasons. One of the resistance stories I always found more interesting than the rest was the story of Ma Zhanshan. Ma Zhanshan was born in 1885 in Gongzhuling of Jilin province to a poor shepherding family. Ma was of Manchu heritage as stated by his grandson Ma Zhiwei who became a member of the Chinese Peoples' political consultative conference. At a very young age, Ma joined a bandit group in Heihushan. This bandit group gradually was incorporated into some troops of Huaide county yamen. During the Russo-Japanese War, Ma was one of the many local soldiers who served under the Japanese. At the age of 20, as a result of his exceptional marksmanship and equestrianism, Ma was promoted to Guard Monitor of the 4th security Guard Battalion under Wu Junsheng. Wu Junsheng commanded the Tianhou Road Patrol and defense battalion for Mukden in 1908. In 1913 Ma was appointed as Major and Company commander over the 3rd company, 3rd regiment, 2nd Brigade of the Central Cavalry Army of Republic China. By 1920 he was promoted to Colonel and followed his superior Wu Junsheng who became a warlord. He gradually found himself serving Zhang Zuolin's Northeastern Army, serving as a brigade commander of the 5th cavalry brigade, 17th cavalry division. By 1927 he was transferred to Heilongjiang where he became a garrison commander at Heihe, along the Soviet border. After Zhang Zuolins death in 1928 Ma was nominated as Heilongjiang's Provincial Bandit Suppression Commander and the provincial cavalry commander in chief. During the Mukden Incident of September 18th, 1931, General Xie Ke, the deputy commander in chief of Qiqihar took a series of strategic measures to block the Japanese and their Chinese collaborationist troops from invading their territory. Xie Ke dispatched two battalions of infantry and an artillery regiment to defend Qiqihar under Park Bingshan; a regiment led by Zhu Fengyang from Xiaohaozi station to Tailai to guard in the direction of Taonan; the first cavalry brigade of Wu Shongli from Baiquan to Qiqihar; a guard regiment under Xu Baozhen, with a battalion of artillery, a company of engineers and a company of baggage, roughly 2000 people to take up a position north of Jiangqiao where they began building fortifications, laid minefields south of the critical Nenjiang bridge there and mounted 100 Czech made light machine guns to the front lines.  Now when the Mukden Incident broke out, the Governor of Heilongjiang province, Wan Fulin was in Beiping leaving no one of real authority in the province to take charge of its defenses against the Japanese. Meanwhile Liaoning and Jilin were basically trampled upon without much incident. From Beiping Zhang Xueliang telegraphed the Nanjing government to ask for instructions as what he should do, but in the meantime he appointed Ma Zhanshan as acting Governor and Military commander in chief of Heilongjiang Province on October 10th, 1931. Now a full General, Ma Zhanshan arrived at the capital Qiqihar on the 19th and began personally inspecting the troops and defensive positions. By this point Chiang Kai-Shek had made it known the stance of Nanjing was one of passiveness, to wait for negotiations to unfold to settle the matter. Zhang Xueliang loyally followed said commands, but multiple parties within Manchuria sought to either surrender, openly collaborate or resist the Japanese. Under the circumstances, Ma Zhanshan told his troops “I am appointed as Chairman of the Province, and I have the responsibility to defend the Province and I will never be a surrendering general". Thus Ma Zhanshan chose to disobey the Kuomintang's orders not to resist the Japanese. Meanwhile also during the month of October, General Zhang Haipeng of the 2nd Provincial Defense Brigade at Taonan had just been approached by the Japanese seeking collaboration. Zhang Haipeng had been a Honghuzi irregular cavalry commander during the first sino-japanese war. He later became a mercenary during the Russo-Japanese War and went on to study at the Northeast Military academy. After the Xinhai revolution he was assigned command of an infantry regiment, but was one of the morons who supported Zhang Xun's attempt to restore the Qing Dynasty in 1917. After that debacle he went to work for Zhang Zuolin and in 1923 was appointed a commissioner of the Chinese Eastern Railway. When the Japanese asked him to collaborate, Zhang Haipeng immediately seized command of the local forces including the Xing'an Reclamation Army to declare the district independent from China. He did this in return for a shipment of military supplies from the IJA. Upon taking charge on October 23, Zhang Haipeng dispatched 3 regiments from Baichengzi to attack Jiangqiao led by General Xu Jinglong. Xu Jinglong's advance guard with an engineering company was attacked by forces led by General Dou Lianfang defending the north bank around the Nenjiang Bridge. During the battle, Ma Zhanshan had his forces use dynamite to damage the Nenjiang railroad bridge. The Japanese began to repeatedly demand Ma Zhanshan allow them to repair the bridge, but he continuously refused and had his forces defend the area near Daxing preventing Zhang Haipengs men from proceeding north. By October the 15th, the Japanese provided some fighter-bomber support, but Zhang Haipengs forces suffered heavy casualties and were counterattacked until they retreated. At this time Ma Zhanshan was traveling from Heihe to Qiqihar. By the 20th Ma officially took office as the acting chairman of Heilongjiang and went to the front lines to encourage the men. He issued a reward for the head of Zhang Haipeng and announced the establishment of the Heilongjiang Army Provincial HQ. Xi Ke became his chief of staff and deputy commander. On October 22nd, Ma Zhanshan issued a declaration in response to the Japanese massing forces along the border of Heilongjiang. "In this difficult time for the country, two of the three provinces have been lost. Those who have a little conscience will all sleep on straw and taste gall, and swear to survive. Although our Heilongjiang is still a clean piece of land... From now on, anyone who invades our province will fight to the death." Ma Zhanshan then went to work, grabbing reports from his generals such as Xie Ke about the state of their defenses. He immediately began adjusting the deployment of forces: He appointed Pu Bingshan as the commander of the provincial capital garrison to enhance the defense of the area. Wang Nanping was designated as the commander of the Heihe garrison, taking over from Ma Zhanshan. Additionally, he organized three infantry regiments, one cavalry regiment, and one artillery battalion from the Northeast Reclamation Army into the 1st Infantry Brigade, positioning them south of Daxing. The cavalry unit was deployed to the west of Fulaerji to secure the Jingxing direction. By October 29, 1931, the establishment of three defensive positions, extending approximately 40 kilometers in depth and 10 kilometers in width from Jiangqiao to Yushutun and Ang'angxi, was largely completed, with the railway serving as the central axis. Liu Wankui, the former head of the Ning'an Public Security Bureau, led over 1,000 troops to be reorganized west of Ning'an on the 15th, forming the 5th Independent Regiment of the Self-Defense Army. Following the defeat of Zhang Haipeng's rebels, the Kwantung Army was prepared to deploy troops directly. They viewed the destruction of the Nenjiang Bridge by the Chinese army as a prime justification for action. Consequently, they decided to establish the Nenjiang Detachment, consisting of one infantry battalion, one artillery battalion, and an engineering squadron from the 16th Regiment of the 2nd Division, supported by the 8th Independent Flying Squadron. Their plan was to use military force to secure the bridge repair, incite trouble, and launch an attack. However, the Japanese Army Ministry and General Staff Headquarters were still wary of the Soviet Union at that time and did not endorse the Kwantung Army's offensive. Kanaya Nobumitsu sent a telegram to the Kwantung Army stating, "You may proceed to repair the river bridge. However, you are not permitted to deploy troops to North Manchuria, far from the Nenjiang River, without my approval, regardless of the circumstances." However, when Hirota Koki, the Japanese ambassador to the Soviet Union, learned from Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Kajiekan on October 29 that the Soviet Union would not support either side in the conflict and would maintain a "strict non-interference policy," the stance of the Japanese Army Ministry shifted, leading them to back the Kwantung Army. On November 2, 1931, Honjo Shigeru instructed Hayashi Yoshihide, the head of the Qiqihar Japanese secret service, to deliver an ultimatum to Ma Zhanshan. The ultimatum demanded that Ma Zhanshan's troops withdraw to a location at least 10 kilometers from the Nenjiang Iron Bridge by noon on the 3rd, and refrain from entering the area until the Japanese army had completed repairs on the bridge. If these conditions were not met, the Japanese army would resort to force.  On November 4th Ma Zhanshan sent subordinates to accompany Major Hayashi Yoshihide “so that the Japanese might begin work, and so that I could order my army to start to retreat”. Ma Zhanshan gave assurances the Japanese repairing operation would not be interfered with, meanwhile teelgraming his subordinates “paint all Manchuria red with the blood of Japanese troops”. A force of 800 Japanese led by Major General Shogo Hasebe with repair crews came to the area to find Daxing a warzone. Shogo found Ma Zhanshans subordinate on the ground, Xu Baozhen and demanded the fighting cease so they could repair the bridge. Xu Baozhen said he never received any orders to cease fighting. The Japanese claim the nearby 2500 Chinese forces of Ma Zhanshan began opening fire upon them using rifles and machine guns. The Japanese retaliated likewise and Japanese aircraft began strafing the Chinese forcing them to retreat towards Qiqihar. The Chinese suffered 120 casualties, the Japanese 15. That day the Japanese Nenjiang Detachment's advance squadron moved northward from Jiangqiao Station, supported by aircraft. After crossing the Nenjiang Bridge, they launched an assault on the Chinese army positions south of Daxing Station. At that time, Xu Baozhen's and Zhang Jingdu's troops from Ma Zhanshan's Guard Regiment, totaling 2,700 soldiers, rose to confront the enemy and successfully repelled them. In the afternoon, the Japanese forces, now numbering around 4,000 and led by Colonel Hamamoto, attacked Jiangqiao with the support of aircraft, tanks, and heavy artillery. They initially penetrated the left flank of Jiangqiao before launching a fierce assault on the main Daxing Line position in front of the town. Despite the Chinese defenders' resistance, the Japanese managed to breach their positions, leading to intense hand-to-hand combat. Despite this the Japanese forces were forced to retreat to the riverbank, where they were ambushed by Chinese troops concealed in the reeds. As reinforcements for the Japanese arrived, they were quickly flanked by the defending cavalry, forcing them to retreat once more. By 20:00, the Japanese forces had completely pulled out, leaving behind over 400 casualties. That night, following a sustained artillery bombardment, the Japanese attempted a surprise boat attack. As their boats neared the northern bank, the Chinese troops hidden in the reeds opened fire, resulting in many Japanese soldiers falling into the water, either killed or wounded, while the remainder retreated. On that day, the Chinese army suffered over 300 casualties, while the Japanese and their puppet forces incurred more than 1,000 losses. Despite concentrating their forces and launching continuous attacks with air and artillery support, the Japanese were ultimately repelled by the defenders. Lieutenant Shinichiro Ojin, a Japanese pilot flying low and dropping bombs, was also injured during the conflict. The Japanese sent word to Ma Zhanshan, demanding he make true on his promise, but Ma Zhanshan responded that of his 15,000 troops he could only nominally control a third. Ma Zhanshan then sent a telegram to the League of Nations reading this “I am helpless. I have exhausted all attempts to preserve peace. I have strictly instructed my commanders to act only on the defensive, and that they must not attack. But Major Hayashi has seen this behavior by the Japanese military, and not only has not stopped it but, on the contrary, wants our army to withdraw from Heilongjiang province, so that they can carve up the whole lot... Since the 4th, the Japanese army has started to attack our army . . . They are coordinating land and air attacks, carrying out utterly horrible bombings!”  On the morning of the 5th, the Japanese army focused all its efforts on launching another assault. At 6 am., the Japanese forces bombarded the defenders' positions with numerous cannons. By 7 am, over 8,000 Japanese and puppet troops crossed the river via the central route, while additional puppet forces advanced from the left and right, shielded by artillery and aircraft. As the boats reached the midpoint of the river, the Chinese army mounted a vigorous counterattack. Despite suffering significant casualties, the Japanese and puppet troops persisted in their attempt to cross. By 10 am, the Japanese army had taken the frontline positions on the riverbank, forcing the defenders to retreat to the flanks. The Japanese then launched an assault on the second line of defense at Daxing, where they faced staunch resistance from the defenders. At noon, Ma Zhanshan arrived at the front lines to direct Wu Delin's and Xu Baozhen's regiments in a counteroffensive, urgently sending the Sabli Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Brigade to encircle the Japanese forces from both sides. The brutal fighting continued from 3pm until dusk. The Japanese acknowledged, "The Chinese army executed an encirclement counterattack using infantry and cavalry. The Japanese army suffered heavy losses and was compelled to retreat" . The Japanese forces were forced to shift from an offensive to a defensive stance, with many of their support units annihilated by our cavalry. In this engagement, the Chinese army incurred over 200 casualties, while the Japanese army lost 167 soldiers and sustained more than 600 injuries. That night, a battalion from the 29th Regiment of the Japanese Army arrived as reinforcements. Upon their arrival, they immediately launched an attack but were quickly surrounded by Ma Zhanshan's forces. In response, Honjo Shigeru urgently dispatched an infantry battalion and three artillery squadrons from the 16th Regiment to assist. On the morning of the 6th, Japanese reinforcements arrived and launched a vigorous assault, supported by aircraft that conducted strafing and bombing runs in an attempt to rescue the encircled Japanese forces. On that day, Ma Zhanshan personally visited the front lines to oversee the battle. Both sides incurred significant casualties. Despite the fierce resistance from Ma Zhanshan's troops, the Japanese offensive struggled to gain ground. In response, Honjo Shigeru ordered Tamon Jiro of the 2nd Division to lead the 29th Regiment, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, the 2nd Field Artillery Regiment, the Temporary Field Heavy Artillery Battalion, the Engineer Squadron, and a battalion from the 39th Mixed Brigade in the Shenyang area to rush to the vicinity of Kaijiang Bridge. Their objective was to reinforce their forces, attack the defenders, and capture the key position at Daxing. The Chinese army fought desperately, with the sounds of hand-to-hand combat echoing loudly as they repeatedly recaptured lost positions. That day, the Chinese forces suffered over 1,850 casualties, while inflicting more than 2,000 deaths on Japanese and puppet troops and shooting down one aircraft. The Japanese Hamamoto Detachment was nearly annihilated, and the Gaobo Cavalry Team sustained almost total losses. After three days and two nights of continuous fighting without reinforcements, the soldiers were extremely fatigued, and the Daxing position had been heavily damaged. General Ma Zhanshan then ordered the main forces to withdraw to the secondary position at Sanjianfang, located 18 kilometers from Daxing Station, to reorganize defenses alongside the 1st Cavalry Brigade and the 1st Infantry Brigade. On the morning of the 7th, a significant force of Japanese and puppet troops, supported by ten aircraft, launched an attack on the Nantangchi area of Sanjianfang. In response, a combined regiment from Zhang Dianjiu's Brigade and Su Bingwen's Brigade quickly mobilized to counterattack, successfully repelling the enemy by the afternoon. The Chinese forces incurred over 300 casualties, while the Japanese suffered more than 600 casualties, along with over 1,000 from the puppet troops. Notably, and take this one with a heavy grain of I am using a PRC source grain of salt quote “despite ongoing enemy air assaults and the lack of anti-aircraft artillery, the courageous soldiers displayed remarkable ingenuity by lying on the ground in groups of 20 and firing their rifles upward, ultimately managing to shoot down an enemy aircraft”. Upon inspection, the wreckage revealed 26 bullet holes in both wings, marking the first enemy plane downed in China's war against Japan. As a result, Japanese aircraft became hesitant to fly at low altitudes in subsequent battles. Observing the heavy losses inflicted on his forces, Honjo Shigeru ordered Duomen Jiro to halt their advance and return to their original positions. To conceal the reality of their defeat, the Japanese army circulated rumors claiming that the Soviet Union supplied ammunition to the defenders in Heilongjiang. They also propagated various falsehoods to downplay the number of Japanese casualties, worried that anti-war sentiments in Japan would gain momentum. In response, Ma Zhanshan sent a telegram to counter the Japanese army's claims. The Japanese army experienced significant losses during the initial phase of the battle. To resolve the stalemate quickly, they deployed additional troops and made every effort to prepare for a renewed attack. Simultaneously, they issued an ultimatum to Ma Zhanshan, pressuring him to resign, relinquish power, and withdraw Chinese forces from Qiqihar, but Ma Zhanshan firmly refused. The Kwantung Army recommended that the Japanese Army Central Department expedite the deployment of an extra division. In response, Honjo Shigeru ordered the "2nd Division to gather in Daxing with full force." By the 11th, the Japanese army had assembled the Hase Brigade Headquarters, the 16th Infantry Regiment, the 4th Regiment , the 1st Battalion of the 29th Regiment, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, and the 2nd Squadron of the 28th Regiment, along with the 2nd Field Artillery Regiment and the 2nd Engineer Squadron on the north bank of the Nenjiang River. On the south bank, they had the 3rd Battalion of the 26th Field Artillery Regiment and a Temporary Field Heavy Artillery Battalion, totaling over 30,000 troops. In response to the Japanese army's troop deployment, Ma Zhanshan convened a military meeting on the evening of the 7th to discuss strategies for countering the enemy and to reorganize troop placements, establishing three lines of defense. The first line of defense was located in Tangchi, Wunotou, and Xinlitun, with front-line positions at Houyiriba, Qianguandi, and Houguandi, defended by two regiments from Wu Songlin's 1st Cavalry Brigade. After the 14th, Lu Zhiyuan's 2nd Cavalry Brigade was fully deployed to engage in combat in Tangchi and surrounding areas. The second line of defense was situated in Yinglaofen, Sanjianfang, Daxingtun, Xiaoxingtun, and Huotuoqi, serving as the primary position for the black army's frontal defense. This line was manned by four regiments from Yuan Chonggu's 1st Brigade, Wu Delin's 2nd Infantry Brigade, Li Qingshan's 3rd Infantry Brigade, Wang Kezhen's 1st Cavalry Brigade, as well as Park Bingshan's artillery regiment and various engineering and support units. Following the 14th, Sun Hongyu's 1st Infantry Brigade and 2,000 personnel from the Suihua Security Battalion joined the frontal defense efforts. The third line of defense was established in Zhujiakan, Fulaerji, Ang'angxi, and Yushutun, defended by two regiments from Zhang Dianjiu's 1st Infantry Brigade, the entire 2nd Cavalry Brigade, and the Guard Regiment, totaling over 13,000 troops. Sanjianfang is a station located on the railway line from Taonan to Ang'angxi, situated 70 li north of Qiqihar and 60 li south of Nenjiang Bridge. It served as a crucial defensive site for the Chinese army in protecting the capital of Heilongjiang Province. For the Japanese army to take control of Heilongjiang Province, capturing Sanjianfang was essential for a direct route to Qiqihar. Consequently, the struggle for Sanjianfang became a central point in the second phase of the Battle of Jiangqiao. On the morning of the 12th, a vanguard of 500 Japanese infantry and cavalry launched an assault on Ma Zhanshan's frontier positions at Qianguandi, Houguandi, and Zhanghuayuan. The defending forces under Wu Songlin mounted a counterattack. By 1:00 pm, the Japanese army had taken control of the positions, forcing over 600 defenders to retreat to the front lines. At 5:00 am on the 13th more than 500 Japanese soldiers, supported by two aircraft, attacked Xinlitun, but they faced a strong counteroffensive from the defenders. By 10:00 am, the defenders had successfully repelled the attack. At noon that day, the damaged Nenjiang Bridge was repaired, creating advantageous conditions for a large-scale Japanese offensive. At this time, Kwantung Army commander Honjo Shigeru issued a third reinforcement order: "Deploy the remaining troops of the 2nd Division, along with three infantry battalions from the 39th Mixed Brigade and the rescue squad, to the vicinity of Daxing." He also instructed Lieutenant General Duomen, the commander of the 2nd Division, to lead the Nenjiang Detachment. In response, the Japanese headquarters hastily dispatched three air squadrons to Heilongjiang Province and redirected the 4th Mixed Brigade, initially set to land in Dalian, to Busan, Korea, for a swift deployment to Heilongjiang. In the afternoon, over 3,000 Japanese infantry and cavalry, supported by artillery, launched a vigorous attack on Tangchi, Unotou, and Xinlitun. The defenders fought back fiercely until midnight, when the Japanese finally occupied Unotou. On the morning of the 14th, the Japanese army launched an attack on the Tangchi position, supported by two aircraft and heavy artillery, but they were repelled by the forces of Ma Zhanshan. Around 10 a.m., over 2,000 Japanese troops, led by Hase, split into two units—infantry and cavalry—and employed a strategy of large encirclement to assault Tangchi from both the left and right flanks. The cavalry engaged in combat but eventually retreated. The intense fighting continued until the morning of the 15th, when the Japanese army targeted Shuanma. By this time, Ma Zhanshan had already dispatched two cavalry regiments to quietly encircle the enemy's flanks. At his command, the front guard regiment charged into the Japanese positions first, while the cavalry regiments surged from both sides, forcing the Japanese to retreat hastily. Ma Zhanshan's forces captured two artillery pieces and 70 horses, killed 300 Japanese soldiers, and took 200 prisoners, while the puppet army suffered over 2,000 casualties and fled with their weapons. To bolster their defensive capabilities, the defenders organized the 2,000 members of the Suihua Security Battalion into an independent regiment and integrated them into the frontline. On the 15th, following orders from Japanese Army Minister Minami Jiro, Honjo Shigeru presented three demands to Ma Zhanshan: that Ma's troops withdraw from south of the Chinese Eastern Railway, that the area be administered by the Taomao Bureau, and that Ma refrain from interference. However, Ma Zhanshan rejected these demands. At 7:30 a.m. on the 15th, Lieutenant General Tamon, the commander of the Japanese 2nd Division, led the main contingent of his division to the Daxing front. By 11:00 am on the 16th, with the backing of 10 aircraft, heavy artillery, and tanks, 4,000 Japanese infantry and cavalry launched a vigorous assault on positions including Xinlitun and Sanjiazi. The defenders fought valiantly and managed to repel the Japanese forces by 3:00 pm, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. At 10:10 a.m. on the 17th, Honjo Shigeru received orders from the Chief of Army General Staff to "advance north of Qiqihar and attempt to destabilize the enemy with bold maneuvers, and have the 2nd Division  capture Qiqihar in one decisive strike." He also instructed the 39th Mixed Brigade to "mobilize all remaining troops in Daxing, except for one infantry company and an engineering company, placing them under the command of the 2nd Division leader." At 1:00 p.m., Division Commander Duomen ordered the Japanese troops stationed at the Houyiriba train to launch a full-scale assault on the Black Army, particularly targeting Sanjianfang. By 10:00 pm on the 17th the Japanese forces, having received supplies and reinforcements, split into three groups and mounted a fierce attack on the Mabu position. Under Amano's command, the right-wing troops advanced from Wunotou to assault the left-wing positions in the Xinlitun area. Despite the Wu Songlin Brigade being exhausted from several days of fighting, they fiercely resisted the numerically superior enemy, repelling more than ten Japanese attacks. However, by early morning, most of the defenders' trenches had been destroyed, and their positions were compromised in numerous locations, forcing a retreat to the second line in the Daxingtun area. At 10:40 pm on the 17th, the left-wing Japanese forces, commanded by Hase, attacked the right-wing positions in the Tangchi area, where the Cheng Zhiyuan Brigade fought tenaciously. By 2:00 am the following day, the Japanese intensified their assault, deploying 8 tanks and over 30 artillery pieces. Unable to sustain their defense, the defenders retreated to the main position at Sanjianfang. At 3 am on the 18th, the Japanese army mobilized various units and moved to the designated staging area as planned. By 6:30, aircraft and artillery began a one-hour bombardment of the front-line positions at Sanjianfang, to which the defenders responded with their own artillery fire. The booming of the cannons echoed across the entire Shuobei wilderness. At that time, Japanese heavy artillery had a range of 30 kilometers, while the Ma army's heavy artillery could only reach 15 kilometers, resulting in significant losses. Around 8 o'clock, the Japanese forces launched a full-scale attack, supported by tanks. Despite the fierce fighting from the defenders, the Japanese advance was initially repelled. At 9:20, Duomen ordered reinforcements from the reserves and initiated another aggressive assault. By 10 o'clock, although the defenders on the right flank fought valiantly, they were unable to hold their ground and retreated to Mao Mao Creek. At 10:30, the left flank position at Xiaoxingtun fell, forcing the troops to fight their way back to Hongqiyingzi and Yushutun. At this point, Hase directed the infantry and cavalry to assault the main position at Sanjianfang with support from aircraft and tanks. The defending troops, including the Yuan Chonggu Brigade and Zhang Dianjiu Brigade, put up a fierce resistance. By 14:00, the Japanese 39th Mixed Brigade, followed by a regiment from Sanjiazi to the west of Sanjianfang, joined the fight. Together with the Hase Brigade launching a direct assault, they executed a coordinated pincer movement. After 15:00, the Japanese forces added 12 aircraft, 12 tanks, and over 30 artillery pieces, bombarding the trenches with intense fire. Due to insufficient reinforcements, the Japanese army captured Qiqihar on the 19th. Ma Zhanshan's army was on the brink of starvation after Japanese planes bombed their food storage facilities. The Chinese defenders, battling fiercely despite their empty stomachs, were undeterred by their enemy's overwhelming numbers. They engaged in hand-to-hand combat, fighting to the death, their battle cries echoing through the ground. Fighting in the Sanjianfang area continued throughout the night. Although the Chinese troops shared a common hatred and displayed "extraordinary bravery," many had gone several days without sleep due to relentless fighting, and their food supplies had been cut off, leaving them without reinforcements. The ammunition available at that time was part of a long-term stockpile from the Heilongjiang defenders, with much of it rendered unusable due to mold. Meanwhile, the invading forces were continuously bolstered by fresh supplies and reinforcements, creating a dire imbalance between the strong enemy and the weakened defenders. Furthermore, the position had been heavily damaged and was "truly unable to sustain" the fight. On the afternoon of the 18th, Ma Zhanshan was forced to make the difficult decision to order a withdrawal. By the 19th, over 5,000 Japanese troops had taken control of Qiqihar, marking the end of the Battle of Jiangqiao. The civilian population had pushed Ma Zhanshan to pull out, a long held Chinese tradition that did not mean losing face, but rather living to fight another day. On November the 18th, Ma Zhanshans forces evacuated Qiqihar and by the 19th he led them east to defend Baiquan and Hailun. His army suffered tremendous casualties, possibly up to 3000, with the Japanese claiming 300 casualties for themselves. Ma Zhanshans forces then retired to the Nonni river valley and eventually over the Soviet Border. The Japanese began an occupation of Qiqihar, thus securing the control of all three Manchurian provincial capitals. They quickly established a collaborist government under General Zhang Jinghui and secured control over the central section of the Chinese eastern railway. However the eastern section of the railway was still under the control of General Ting Chao operating in Harbin. Ting Chao would follow Ma Zhanshans example, inspiring local Chinese to aid and enlist in the resistance efforts.  Ma Zhanshan drew international attention through a series of telegrams he sent describing his campaign of resistance against the Japanese in Heilongjiang. His stand along the Nonni river near Qiqihar lionized him amongst the Chinese nationalists who sought to use his public image to shame Chiang Kai-shek into action against the Japanese.  During the Battle of Jiangqiao, Ma Zhanshan fought independently without any assistance from the Northeast Army based in Jinzhou. Although Zhang Xueliang instructed Ma to hold his position, the troops in Jinzhou were "not ready for combat." Following the battle, Zhang Xueliang faced significant public backlash. The Shanghai National Salvation Federation stated that "Ma's forces in Heilongjiang Province fought valiantly against the Japanese and demonstrated loyalty on the battlefield, while Zhang Xueliang failed to provide support." The Citizens' Federation sent a telegram to the National Government, accusing Zhang of "neglecting his responsibilities while allowing the Japanese invaders to attack the Northeast, leading to national humiliation and territorial loss." Additionally, the National Student Anti-Japanese National Salvation Federation sent a telegram urging the government to "severely punish Zhang Xueliang and deploy troops immediately." Chiang Kai-shek sent multiple telegrams to praise Ma Zhanshan for his brave resistance and instructed Zhang Xueliang to quickly provide reinforcements. For instance, on November 12th,, Chiang Kai-shek sent a message to Ma Zhanshan stating: "Japan has once again invaded Heilongjiang Province under the pretext of repairing the Jiangqiao Bridge. Our defensive actions were justified. Fortunately, due to your careful leadership and the bravery of the soldiers, we managed to defeat the relentless enemy and protect our territory. I was furious upon receiving the telegram. You and your comrades have brought honor to the party and the nation, fighting for our survival. The entire Chinese populace is inspired. The people's spirit remains unbroken, justice prevails, and the future is hopeful. We pledge to unite in our efforts. I shed tears in the wind and snow, unable to express all my thoughts. Chiang Kai-shek." Additionally, on the 19th, Chiang Kai-shek wrote to Ma Zhanshan: "I have read your telegram and am filled with sorrow and anger that words cannot capture. Our army has fought valiantly for days, bringing glory to our nation. Our reputation has spread widely, earning admiration both domestically and internationally, which is truly commendable. I have urged Deputy Commander Zhang to send troops to assist you. I miss you dearly as I write this message. Chiang Kai-shek." All major domestic newspapers covered the Jiangqiao Anti-Japanese War prominently, and various sectors of society conveyed their condolences to the frontline soldiers in numerous ways. Life Weekly, backed by Zou Taofen, remarked, "This spirit of defending the nation and refusing to surrender even in death is crucial for the future of the Chinese people. It demonstrates to the world that our soldiers are not entirely dishonorable and have restored significant pride for the nation." The Shanghai Fuchang Tobacco Company even created "General Ma Zhanshan Cigarettes," promoting the slogan, "May everyone emulate General Ma." On November 17th,, the Binjiang Times published an editorial stating, "The Chinese soldiers in Heilongjiang fought valiantly against the brutality of the Japanese army. The blood shed along the Nenjiang River is the legacy of our brave men. The Chinese army in Heilongjiang represents the true warriors defending the nation. After the September 18th Incident, we began to doubt how many Chinese soldiers could confront the enemy, and we were deeply disappointed. Fifty days after losing Liaoning and Jilin provinces, we realized that Ma Zhanshan in Heilongjiang truly deserves the title of Chinese soldier." People across the country spontaneously formed groups for condolences and support, donating money and supplies to aid Heilongjiang's resistance efforts. Many young students set aside their studies to join the Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army. 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. Thus ended the Jiangqiao Campaign. General Ma Zhanshan proved himself quite a formidable rebel leader in the face of pretty overwhelming odds. His name was propagandized heavily by the Chinese press to boost morale and try to awaken the Chinese that a fight for their very existence was at hand, but China simply did not have the means yet to face such an enemy. 

Last time we spoke about the Mukden Incident. In the early 1930s, Ishiwara and Itagaki of the Kwantung Army believed Japan must seize Manchuria to secure its interests against China and the USSR. Frustrated by delays from Tokyo, they orchestrated a surprise attack, framing it as retaliation for the mysterious death of a fellow officer. On September 18, 1931, they bombed railway tracks, claiming a Chinese atrocity, and swiftly attacked, overwhelming Chinese forces despite being outnumbered. Their decisive actions sparked Japan's occupation of Manchuria, defying orders from high command. In a bid to expand Japan's influence, Ishiwara and Itagaki incited chaos in Manchuria, leading to the Mukden Incident. They manipulated local unrest to justify military action, swiftly capturing Kirin without resistance. Despite Tokyo's orders against expansion, they continued their aggressive tactics, pushing for Manchuria's independence. Ishiwara's defiance of command led to significant military successes but also sowed seeds of indiscipline within the army. Ultimately, their actions set Japan on a path toward conflict with China and the West, forever changing the region's fate.   #138 How Zhang Xueliang lost Manchuria 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. Little disclaimer this is not a quote en quote regular episode. In this one we are going to look more so into the reasons the Japanese had an easy time conquering Manchuria. Its honestly a very complicated subject involving numerous variables, but I thought it be important to talk about this before we get into the campaign itself.  So last we left off are good friend Ishiwara Kanji had unleashed the Mukden Incident, initiating an unofficial war with China. On September 18, 1931, the Japanese executed a false flag operation by detonating explosives along the South Manchurian Railway near Mukden. This action was followed by an assault from 500 Kwantung soldiers on the Peitaying Barracks, which were defended by 7,000 troops under Zhang Xueliang. At the time, Zhang was in Beiping serving as the North China garrison commander. Those around him, including Chiang Kai-shek, urged him to instruct his men not to resist, to conceal their weapons, and to retreat westward if possible. Chiang Kai-shek recognized that the Japanese were attempting to provoke a full-scale war with China, a conflict they were not prepared to win at that moment. China needed additional time to organize and train its forces to confront such an adversary. Zhang Xueliang understood the weakness of his own forces and aimed to preserve a significant army, making these orders advantageous for him. Both men also believed that the League of Nations or the Wakatsuki cabinet might intervene to halt the illegal occupation. During the confrontation at the Peitaying Barracks, approximately 500 Chinese soldiers were killed, many surrendered, and others fled as the Japanese forces destroyed the barracks and the small air force stationed there. Now what is known as the invasion of Manchuria, is actually an extremely complicated story. For those interested over on the Pacific War Channel I have a full documentary covering it with a lot of combat footage and Chinese Drama Series footage which is always absolutely hilarious. To overly summarize, the officials in charge of various regions of Manchuria did one or more of three options when faced with Japanese aggression. 1) Most defected in return for monetary gain and new positions under the emerging puppet government. 2) They attempted to sabotage and thwart the Japanese while portraying themselves to be complicit. And 3) they actively fought back. So before we begin this story lets talk about Manchuria during this time period. After the death of his father Zhang Zuolin, Zhang Xueliang inherited an extremely chaotic Manchurian dynasty one could call it. The problems were political, social and economic and while the Young Marshal was tackling these issues, 3 years into his new reign, on September 18th of 1931 the Japanese commenced an invasion. The Japanese had been greatly concerned at Zhang Xueliang' moves to assume control over the regional industries and railways, whose income was incredibly important to Japan after the Great Depression had hit in 1929. What ultimately happened to Zhang Xueliang echoed the fate of Yuan Shikai during his tenure of 1912-1916. Yuan Shikai had made moves to centralize China while simultaneously alienating its populace by abolishing its provincial assemblies and trying to make the militarists dissolve their armies. Both men faced enormous external threats while trying to transition their regimes. Nonetheless, Zhang Xueliang did oversee a lot of real change in manchuria in terms of political awareness, education, greater availability of foreign goods and increased the populations feeling they were part of China proper. This increased awareness alongside a sense of international crisis caused by the clashes with the USSR and Japan, spur a new sense of nationalism that would persist for the 15 year war.  So lets talk about the regions of Manchuria shall we. There are 3 provinces in Manchuria, Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang, altogether they encompass 380,000 square miles. The central third of Manchuria consists of plains, with the Xing'an range extending around the border areas from the west to northeast and the Changbaishan mountains following the border from east to southeast. To the west of the Xing'an Mountains lies a region that is geographically part of Mongolia and is characterized by steppe terrain. The most fertile regions include the alluvial plain extending from the Gulf of Liaodong to Changchun, as well as the areas near the Sungari and Nonni Rivers in northern Jilin and Heilongjiang. This area experiences significant seasonal climate variations, with average temperatures in July reaching approximately 24 degrees Celsius, while winter averages drop to around –12 degrees Celsius in southern Manchuria and –24 degrees Celsius in the far north. By 1931, there had been no official census conducted in the area, but the Research Bureau of the South Manchurian Railway estimated the population in 1930 to be approximately 34.4 million people. This included 15.2 million in Liaoning, 9.1 million in Jilin, and 5.3 million in Heilongjiang. Population density varied, with Liaoning having 212 people per square mile, Jilin with 89, and Heilongjiang with 23. By 1931, over 90 percent of the population was Han Chinese, while Manchus accounted for about 3 percent, Mongols around 6 percent, and the remaining population comprised Koreans, Russians, and Japanese. During the Japanese occupation, the economy of Manchuria was primarily agricultural, with soybean products accounting for 60 percent of the region's total exports in 1930. In contrast, industrial development was limited in 1931, mainly concentrated in the Japanese-controlled cities of Dairen and Harbin, as well as in areas managed by the South Manchuria Railway and the Chinese Eastern Railway. However, since the early 1920s, a military-industrial complex had begun to emerge, driven by Zhang Zuolin's demand for modern weaponry. The Shenyang arsenal, established in 1919, manufactured rifles and ammunition, employing 20,000 skilled workers who operated at full capacity during the Zhili-Fengtian wars, producing up to 400,000 rounds daily at its peak in 1924-25.The population of Manchuria was overwhelmingly rural and the rivers and roads remained their principal means of transportation. The Amur, Nonni and Sungari rivers were the lifeline of trade, while the roads were in quite a terrible state of repair by 1931. There were 3 key groups of people who met the Japanese invasion, military power brokers, nationalists and civilians who were largely alienated from Zhang Xueliang's regime. Amongst all of them was a large level of interprovincial rivalries.  Local militarism in Manchuria was heavily factionalied with each clique retaining both civilian and military followers. The old comrades of Zhang Zuolin were categorized by the Japanese as “the old faction”, such men as Zhang Zuoxiang and Zhang Jinghui who had risen up alongside the Tiger of Manchuria during the 1920s. They had amassed large fortunes and although they had been subordinate to Zhang Zuolin, they were also power brokers in their own right with private armies and economic bases under their control. Some like Zhang Zuoxiang and Wan Fulin stayed loyal to the Young Marshal once he assumed power. They were often aided by the Japanese who were not keen at all with Zhang Xueliang's enthusiasm for Chinese nationalism. Zhang Zuoxiang would become one of Zhang Xueliangs most important associates. He was born in Jinzhou and at the age of 16 fled his village to escape a family feud and became a bricklayer in Shenyang. However in 1901 he got involved in an incident ending with him stabbing another man, prompting him to flee for Xinmin where he joined forces under Zhang Zuolin. He quickly rose within the military and attended the Fengtian Military Academy. During the 1920s he remained a close ally to Zhang Zuolin, serving as a military governor of Jilin. When Zhang Zuolin was assassinated, Zhang Zuoxiang used his authority to preserve power for Zhang Xueliang who was stationed outside Manchuria at the time and needed time to return to Manchuria.  Wan Fulin would become Zhang Xueliang's other second in command. He was born in 1880 in Changling county of Jilin. Born to a poor farming family, he joined a local militia of around 50 men. His militia was gradually incorporated into the local militarist Wu Junshengs troops in 1900 and from then on Wan rose through the ranks. After Zhang Zuolin's death Wan Fulin was appointed as the military affairs supervisor or “duban” for HEilongjiang. He then took a newly created position of provincial chairman “Zhuxi” in 1929 and held said position during the Mukden Incident.  Now after the Old Tiger had died, one of his old associates Zhang Zongchang, whom I think we all know very well, proved to Zhang Xueliang he could not rely on his fathers old guard. Zhang Zongchang and Chu Yupu tossed their lot in with the Japanese and attacked from Tangshan with 60,000 troops trying to overthrow the new KMT led government. That little venture only lasted from August 2-8th, ending in a hilarious defeat for the so called rebels, but the experience taught Zhang Xueliang that his Fengtian army needed to be reformed, even though it was against the wishes of many of its senior officers.  The most significant opposition to Zhang Xuliang came from his fathers former chief of staff Yang Yuting and his associate Chang Yinhuai. Yang Yuting had been born in Hebei, but his family moved to Faku county in Fengtian when he was young. He was an adept student, rising through the system and by 1909 joined the Japanese military academy “Shikkan gakko”. During the republic days, he joined the Old Tiger and slowly became a trusted ally. In 1925 as General Guo Songling rebelled, in a large part because of Yang Yuting's advocacy of continued militarism even after the failure of the Fengtian army during the second Fengtian-Zhili War. Yang Yuting was chosen by Zhang Zuolin to lead the unsuccessful counterebellion and then became his chief of staff. By 1927 Yang Yuting began negotiations with the Japanese, some of whom thought he would make a much better replacement to the Old Tiger. Yang Yuting saw Zhang Zuolins death as an opportunity to development himself, however in 1928 he began negotiations with Nanjing as well. This led him to change his mind about Japan and adopted unification measures with Nanjing. He hoped to snuggle up to Chiang Kai-Shek, but likewise retained close connections with the Japanese. Dishing out appointments was something Yang Yuting was quite keen upon. When Zhang Xueliang sought to appoint one of his supporters as the new governor of the Eastern Special Zone, this was an area around Harbin that had been made autonomous in its role as a hub for the Chinese Eastern Railway, well Yang Yuting made Zhang Jinghui the de facto governor instead. Yet Yang Yuting's spiderlike nature would become his downfall. One of his closest friends was Chang Yinhuai, who was appointed governor of Heilongjiang by Zhang Xueliang in 1928. Chang Yinhuai's contempt for the Young Marshal became more and more open, until it reached the point where he would money to Yang Yuting for ordnance expenses but not the Young Marshal, oh and he was building his own private army. On the 10th of January of 1929 Chang and Yang went to meet Zhang Xueliang, demanding he create a new post of Northeastern Railway Supervisor for Chang. They both argued they wanted to take control over the Chinese Eastern Railway, currently under Soviet-Chinese dual control, but Zhang Xueliang dragged his feet during the meeting. When the two men left, Zhang Xueliang instructed his police chief Gao Jiyi to arrest and shoot them, which he did. M.S Myers, the American consul in Shenyang cabled his superiors about the execution, noting, “the elimination of the two most powerful and probably able members of the Fengtien Party[,]... although strengthening the position of the existing head of this territory for the time being, may later result in the breakup of that party through internal and external agencies.” Well Mr. Myers was quite right. Although Zhang Xueliang's actions had the effect of stopping Yang Yutings overreach, it ultimately was more of a sign of his weakness, rather than strength. Some like Zhang Jinghui were saved by the fact they were old associates with Zhang Zuolin and had built their own power bases. However other like Zang Shiyi for example, who were close associates of Yang Yuting had to wait for Zhang Xueliang to move to Beiping to take up his position as deputy commander of the Nationalist forces before gaining office as chairman of Liaoning. Zhao Xinbo only managed to grab the office of mayor over Shenyang after the Japanese took over. Overall Zhang Xueliang did not exercise strong enough control over his local militarists any more than his father did. When Guo Songling had rebelled in 1925, Zhang Zuolin's support had bled considerably, it was only Japanese intervention that saved him. His son would find out his rule was more tolerated rather than supported. There was also a lot of friction between those supporting the KMT vs those supporting the CCP in Manchuria. Qian Gonglai was a professor at the Shendao school in SHenyang and was arrested as a Bolshevist agitator in march of 1927. He had developed a large following amongst his students and the local intelligentsia. Qian had been involved with multiple organization such as the local YMCA and within the Shendao school, which were breeding grounds for young activities. These youthful types were inspired by the May Fourth and May Thirtieth movements, most being from Fengtian. Once Zhang Xueliang and his close followers set up a base of operations in Beiping after 1931, these types of intellectuals would become the founders and key movers of the Northeast National Salvation Society or “NNSS”, the most important propaganda organization to favor the military recapture of Manchuria in defiance of Chiang Kai-Shek's nonaggression strategy. One of their members, Yan Baohang was born in a village within Haicheng county of Fengtian. He came from a poor family, but managed to attend the village school and performed well enough to encourage a local elite to pay for his primary schooling. He went on to study at the teacher training college in Shenyang where he came under the influence of Christianity, but also nationalist ideas promoted by the May fourth movement. He attended the Shenyang YMCA and went to college where he met other young activities such as Wang Zhuoran, Du Zhongyuan and Gao Chongmin. After graduating Yan attempted his new teaching methods at various Fengtian schools, before setting up a free school in Shenyang for poor children. This school was supported by the YMCA and funds from Guo Songling's wife. The school was widely admired, and Zhang Xueliang gave it his full support. Yan became quite famous and was sent to Beijing for further training. By 1925 Yan received a scholarship to go to Edinburgh University where he earned a certificate in Social Studies. While in Europe he traveled widely, visiting places like Denmark and Moscow. He came back to Shenyang in 1929 and alongside Lu Guangji, Gao Chongmin, Wang Huayi and Che Xiangchen formed the Liaoning Provincial Nationalist Foreign Affairs association. This organization, whose core members formed the NNSS, was supported by Zhang Xueliang. Their aim was to seek China's freedom and equal status, which obviously stood against the Japanese. By 1931 it had 46 branches and Yan also set up within the YMCA a Liaoning anti-opium association and a Liaoning Provincial Nationalist Education Advancement Association. By 1930 the Educational Advancement Association's speakers went out on 14 occasions to talk about “exposing various crimes and secret plans the Japanese had for invading the Northeast”. Yan would become one of the heads of the NNSS's propaganda section after 1931. The adoption of the KMT in Manchuria post 1929 meant the nationalist activists all became party members. Yan Baohang and his friends Lu Guangji, Che Xiangchen, Du Zhongyuan,Wang Huayi, Zhao Yushi, and Wang Zhuoran were among thirteen delegates sent to Nanjing for the KMT national conference in May 1931. Lu Guanji had a similar career to that of Yan. Born in 1894 in Haicheng county, he came to Shenyang at the age of 15 and graduated from the teacher training college in 1918. He taught in a SMR-zone Chinese school. In 1922 he attended a national YMCA meeting in Shenyang and soon after was dismissed from teaching for supporting student protests. After this he went to Shenyang to see if his friend Yan Baohang could use his influence with Zhang Xueliang to obtain him a job as a schools inspector. By 1926 he left education for business, becoming a manager over a local printing firm. By 1929, he was elected deputy head of the Fengtian Chamber of Commerce where he frequently met with Zhang Xueliang who liked to make use of the chamber to organize anti-Japanese protests that would not be officially linked to himself.  Chen Xianzhou was born in Huanren county to a family who were handicraft manufacturers, but they went bankrupt during the First Sino-Japanese War. Chen moved in with other relatives who paid for his education. He entered the Huanren Teacher training college in 1915, where he also learned Japanese. In 1919 he won a scholarship to Sendai Industrial College where he studied electrical engineering and became active in overseas chinese student groups protesting for the return of Port Arthur and Dairen. After graduating in 1924 he was employed by the Shenyang municipal administration to negotiate with the Japanese on the building of a new tram line. Through his efforts it was built in a year for less than 2 million yuan and for this in 1927, he was asked to do the same service for Harbin. Under Zhang Xueliang's administration, Chen was given permission to restructure the Northeasts telecommunications and broadcasting network. He added 12 new transmitters linking Shenyang, Harbin, Qiqihar, Yingkou and Changchun. After the Mukden Incident, Chen became a committee member of the NNSS in Beiping, advising resistance armies on how to operate field radios.  Du Zhongyuan was born in Huaide county, once located in Fengtian, now in Jilin. He came from a poor village family, but local elites helped pay for his education, allowing him to study at the Fengtian Provincial teacher training college. He also studied english and japanese. He first became a english teacher, but then developed an interest in the porcelain industry, which was heavily dominated by the Japanese in Manchuria. He thought he could break into their market, so he went to Tokyo Industrial college from 1917-1923, before returning to set up a porcelain manufacturing firm in Shenyang. In 1929, Zhang Xueliang authorized a 120,000 yuan loan to support his factory. Du rose into a prominent figure and was elected deputy chairmen of the Liaoning Chamber of Commerce in 1927, then chairman in 1929. His time in Japanese had been spent mostly as a student, but he was also an activist. He had led a group of 29 Chinese students to protest Zhang Zuolin's government for continuing to allow the Japanese to control the Kwantung leased territory. He had a flair for publicity and found himself in a good position to head the NNSS. He befriended Yan Baohang and Lu Guangji along his journey. Che Xiangchen was born in Faku county to a local elite family. He attended Beijing University extension school in 1918 and was quickly caught up in political activities, taking part in the May fourth movement. After graduating he studied at Zhangguo University then after that joined the Shenyang YMCA befriending Yan Baohang. Encouraged by Yan Baohang, he established schools for delinquent and disadvantaged children. The exact field I work in outside of Youtube and Podcasts. By July 1929 he sponsored 41 schools within ities and over 200 rural schools. Alongside Yan Baohang, and Zhang Xiluan he organized the Liaoning Associate for the Encouragement of Nationalist Education. Wang Huayi was born in Liaozhong county to a poor farmer family. He managed to get funding for his education at the Fengtian Teacher training college in 1916. During his studies he befriend Yan Baohang who introduced him to the YMCA and involved him in its activities. He also became friendly with Zhang Xueliang and this paid off after 1928 when he was made deputy head of the Liaoning Education Department. Wang Zhuoran was born in Fushun county to a farmer family. He attended teacher colleges in Beijing and Shenyang where he befriended Yan, Du, Lu and Wang Huayi and other activists at the YMCA. From 1923-1928 he studied at Columbia University in New York and traveled to England often before returning to Shenyang in 1928. He became the tutor to Zhang Xueliang's children and was active in the Northeastern Nationalist Foreign affairs association. All of these figures dominated Liaoning, specifically the area of Shenyang and this meant the core of nationalist activism was also found here. Here the Japanese would manage to co opt local elites, but many of said elites would fight to see Manchuria recaptured by China. Now that covered the educated, nationalistic and politically aligned to Zhang Xueliang types, but the elites of Manchuria at the county level were anything but aligned with the Young Marshal. In fact most of the provincial elites were actually prejudiced against Zhang Xueliang. As a result of the Warlord Era wars, an enormous amount of Manchuria's spending went to the military. To give a more specific idea. Between 1922 and 1924, Zhang participated in the Fengtian-Zhili Wars. Thanks to the careful financial management of his finance minister, Wang Yongjiang, the budget was able to accommodate these expenses even in 1923, despite approximately 50 percent of revenue being allocated to military spending. Fengtian's revenue amounted to 26.8 million yuan, with expenditures totaling 18.2 million yuan; of this, 13.9 million yuan—around 76 percent—was directed towards the military, while only 3 percent was spent on education. However, by 1925, Fengtian's income had decreased to 23 million yuan, while military expenditures surged to 51 million yuan. In an attempt to address this issue, Zhang Zuolin resorted to printing money, which led to rampant inflation. On March 1, 1927, the exchange rate was 6.71 Fengtian dollars for one Japanese gold yen, but by February 1928, it had plummeted to 40 dollars per yen. As Ronald Suleski observes, “Zhang Zuolin drained the provincial economy in order to pay his troops fighting in China proper.” Local elites became very resentful of the increased military spending and rising inflation and this was furthermore met by Zhang Zuolin silencing their complaints by neutralizing their provincial assemblies. The military spending kept growing, alongside the inflation causing high unemployment. By February of 2918 the Shenyang Chamber of Commerce reported , “5,089 businesses were forced to close, among them 456 sundry goods shops, 416 restaurants, 165 factories, 157 machine shops, 142 rice shops, 116 foreign goods stores, and 83 general stores.” When the Young Marshal assumed power he promised major changes including “the development of industry and commerce, the pursuit of education, and utmost efforts to maintain peace.” Yet his fathers pattern of spending did not change. In 1930, total regional expenditure reached 144.2 million yuan, with 98.6 million yuan allocated to the military (68.3%), compared to just 4.7 million yuan for education (3.26%) and 0.34 million yuan for construction projects (0.24%). Regional revenue from taxes and other government sources, including fines, amounted to 122 million yuan, resulting in a deficit of 22 million yuan. Of this revenue, only 8.3 million yuan (6.8%) came from direct taxation, primarily land tax, while the salt gabelle was the most profitable source, generating 45.9 million yuan (37.3%). Following their occupation, the Japanese observed that “if such a large sum were not spent on military purposes, the finances of the Three Eastern Provinces would show a significant surplus.” Many of the civilians who served in Zhang Zuolin's government became quickly disillusioned with the rule of militarists and felt very uneasy about Zhang Xueliangs alliance with Nanjing, as to most in Manchuria, Chiang Kai-Shek was just another warlord. Many of the elites saw Japan as a more rational alternative for an alliance. Yu Chonghan who had been the foreign minister to Zhang Zuolin until he resigned in 1927 had a long lasting relationship with the Japanese. During the Russo-Japanese War he had been a spy for Japan and always kept close contact with Tokyo. Chen Xinbo, the advisor to Yang Yuting was a former legal adviser to Zhang Zuolin. However he also had long standing connections to Japan, working as a school teacher in Dairen, before studying at Meiji University for law. Yuan Jinkai, the former minister of civil affairs for Zhang Zuolin was “a mentor figure to the civilian clique in the 1920s”. He was born in Liaoyang in the 1870s and was a scholar who became head of the conservative faction in the joint provincial assembly. But when Zhang Xueliang came to power, in the words of a Japanese reporter “demoted by the ‘new faction' and completely lost his power. He was exalted to being a member of the Northeastern Governmental Affairs Committee [Dongbei zhengwu weiyuanhui: the highest political body in the Northeast after 1928] and a committee member in the Nanjing Government's Control Yuan, but from the start he was treated as a relic of the past [kotto].” Understandably he became disillusioned with Zhang Xueliang. Yuan was just one of many prominent disenfranchised elites who sought an opportunity to regain what they had lost to the Young Marshal and the Japanese occupation proved a great opportunity.  The South Manchurian Railway was a major factor that contributed to the co-option of the Chinese towards Japanese occupation. It ran 700 miles, over 5 lines and had land rights attached to it encompassing 105 cities, towns and villages. Not only did it provide railway services but also administration and social services. By 1924 the SMR had expanded its workforce to nearly 40,000 with ¾'s being local chinese. It provided expensive facilities, such as hospitals in Mukden, Tieling, Changchun and Dairen. The growth in Chinese nationalism against the Japanese grew amongst the intelligentsia, but the average blue collar types more or less enjoyed the benefits the Japanese were providing. Historian Chong-Sik Lee noted “The living conditions among the Chinese population in the Kwantung Leased Territory were much better than those in China proper, and this was true throughout the region” A combination of improved conditions compared to those in intramural China and the appeal of Japanese-sponsored jobs in industry and mining, he argues, resulted in a significant influx of immigrants to the area. The Japanese capitalized on this newly available labor force by implementing a development strategy that necessitated the hiring of large numbers of unskilled Chinese workers, even with the use of modern equipment. This approach was largely motivated by a desire to avoid widespread unemployment, as these workers also served as consumers of Japanese products. Furthermore, although the working conditions for manual laborers employed by the Japanese were poor by contemporary standards, they were not necessarily worse—and may have even been better—than those faced by factory workers in Japan, such as women aged twelve to thirty-five employed in Nagano's silk factories, where the mortality rate due to lung disease was 23 per 1,000, compared to the typical rate of 7 per 1,000 for that age group.The Japanese had also set up the Manchurian Youth League “Manshu Seinen renmei” in 1928 to specifically deal with the threat of the growing Chinese nationalism, by advocating for a separate state in Manchuria. Both the Japanese army and civilian settlers aspired to set up a Japanese controlled Manchuria that could make use of the existing Chinese local government structures.  There was also the issue of currency. Coins, ingots and notes were all in circulation, but their value differed from region to region. There were competing currencies, Chinese, Japanese and Soviet. Zhang Zuolin had set up three eastern provincial banks aiming to issue a unified currency to supersede the foreign currencies, backed by silver reserves, but it never worked out. Politically when Manchuria joined the new Nanjing system, it meant the KMT would begin a process of elections and appointments, but in the interim it fell upon Zhang Xueliang, who simply reverted to his fathers old way of relying on regional figureheads. Basically only Liaoning saw any real political reform. Militarily Zhang Xueliang inherited his fathers Fengtian military. He wished to reduce the spending of it, but found himself unable to deal with the high unemployment that would result from mass demobilization. Zhang Xueliang also feared reducing his military strength to the point he might become vulnerable to any of his given rivals. On the economic front, it was really Japan who benefited the most from Manchuria's economic activities. 70% of Manchurian imports came from Japan as were 75% of its exports. Zhang Xueliang was determined to reverse the Japanese economic dominance, but the great depression greatly hampered any efforts.  Ultimately, Zhang Xueliang had grand plans when he rose to power in 1928. He intended to align the Northeast with the Nanjing government and diminish Japanese influence in the region. Additionally, he sought to enhance local infrastructure in Manchuria and regain the trust of provincial elites who had been alienated by his father. Although some progress was made toward these objectives, the outcomes fell short of the efforts invested. His alliance with Chiang Kai-shek was marked by mutual suspicion. The economic depression devastated the agricultural exports that had fueled Manchuria's remarkable growth, undermining the financial resources needed for Zhang's initiatives. Both civilian and military leaders in the area struggled to trust Zhang, as incidents like the assassination of Yang Yuting and the outbreak of civil war in 1930 led them to believe that, despite his claims, he was much like his father. Most importantly, the Japanese grew increasingly concerned about the possibility of a nationalist regime threatening their “special position.” By 1931, they recognized a risk to their dominance, while Zhang's reforms remained incomplete and unpopular. Concurrently, the sentiment in Japan was shifting toward aggression against China, which was being partially blamed for exacerbating Japan's economic difficulties. These combined factors led to the coup on September 18, 1931. 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. Zhang Xueliang sure inherited one hot potato so to say. Much could be blamed upon his father Zhang Zuolin, but likewise the Young Marshal failed to meet the demands of his new reign. Many Chinese would ultimately throw their lot in with the Japanese, rather than what appeared to be a failing warlord. 

AI BSMT abbiamo scoperto come Aurora Ramazzotti ha comunicato a Michelle Hunziker e Eros Ramazzotti che sarebbero diventati nonni. Vuoi vedere l'episodio completo?

“Beato chi non ha perduto la sua speranza”: il tema scelto dal Papa per la prossima Giornata Mondiale dei Nonni e degli Anziani, che cade il 27 luglio Stop ai dazi americani contro Messico e Canada. La Cina risponde applicando una stretta alle esportazioni di metalli rari. L'Europa chiede un immediato confronto con gli Usa Repubblica Democratica del Congo: i ribelli dell'M23 annunciano il cessate il fuoco umanitario

Our dad Melo joins again on the podcast, this episode is in honour of our Nonni, those who we are still lucky enough to still have with us and those passed. We thought it was good timing as this episode airs a few days after what would have been our Nonno Rocco's 100th birthday and also the birthday of our Nonno Benito, he has also passed. We heard Melo's memories of the Nonni he had in Australia and of his experience as a Nonno to his three grandchildren. We enjoyed this chat, telling stories and celebrating the special place of Nonni in an Italian Australian family.

Quando il dodicenne Chris viene trovato nei boschi da due cacciatori, racconta una storia che a prima vista sembra credibile: un uomo ha ucciso i suoi nonni e ha cercato di rapirlo. Ma è andata davvero così?Diventa un supporter di questo podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-mistery--5398711/support.

Quando il dodicenne Chris viene trovato nei boschi da due cacciatori, racconta una storia che a prima vista sembra credibile: un uomo ha ucciso i suoi nonni e ha cercato di rapirlo. Ma è andata davvero così?Diventa un supporter di questo podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-mistery--5398711/support.

Our good friend, the incredibly talented Etta D'Elia is back for a chat, we talked about so many things, food of course, the impact of Italian immigration on Australian culture and we were so excited to hear about her new show 'From Naples with love.' In case you missed our last chat with Etta- episode 23- Etta is a successful Jazz performer, having studied classical music in Italy prior to moving to Australia. Her 2024 show 'Buonasera Signorina was a hit and she is back at Fringe World Perth with her new show 'From Naples with Love' which will bring the audience a celebration of the city of Naples with classic Neapolitan songs reimagined in a Jazz style. And for some extra fun- there is a pre-show demonstration 'From Naples with Cheese' by La Delizia Latticini. The show is family friendly, you can bring your Nonni and your kids! We can't wait to see the show and we are so proud to help promote it, as these are the events that help to keep our Italian culture alive and celebrated in Australia. The show is 31st January, 1st and 2nd February at the State Theatre Centre of WA Courtyard. To hear more about the show listen to the episode, there is a discount code available for our listeners and to book your ticket follow the link but be quick as it's selling fast!! From Naples... With Love! l State Theatre Centre of WA, Perth

In this episode, Lisa, Jamie, and Mikey are back with some fun new finds to start out the year: a breakfast meat stick, shortbread cheese biscuits, a new snack find from Nonni's, an out-of-this-world peanut butter rice cake, and so much more! Plus, a pretzel snack that's an early candidate for the top finds of the year! Oh, and did we mention that HG friend Ilana Muhlstein is our guest food taster for the entire episode? What are you waiting for?? Push play now, then head on over to our Foodcast page for a list of all the finds mentioned in the episode.

Quasi tre metri di albero con un diametro di poco inferiore al metro e mezzo e tante mattonelle colorate. E' stata grande l'emozione e lo stupore nell'androne della Casa di Riposo "Casa Nostra" di Valdastico dove gli ospiti, dopo un riposino pomeridiano, sono stati accolti dalla maestosa installazione natalizia tutta cucita a mano per loro.

In questo episodio di Italia con Fra, parliamo di alcune delle festività più belle dell'autunno in Italia. Discuteremo della vendemmia, il periodo della raccolta dell'uva, durante il quale i vigneti si riempiono di attività e celebrazioni. Esploreremo anche la Festa dei Nonni, una giornata speciale per onorare i nostri nonni, e la Festa di San Martino, che celebra la fine delle raccolte con buon cibo e vino nuovo. Ti racconterò delle tradizioni, dei piatti tipici e delle attività che puoi goderti se visiti l'Italia in questo periodo. Non perdertelo!fiera del tartufofesta dell'uva di Imprunetaexpo Chianti classico

En este episodio de Italia con Fra, platicamos sobre algunas de las festividades más bonitas del otoño en Italia. Hablaremos de la vendemmia, la época de la cosecha de uvas, donde los viñedos se llenan de actividad y celebraciones. También exploraremos la Festa dei Nonni, un día especial para honrar a nuestros abuelos, y la Festa di San Martino, que celebra el final de las cosechas con buena comida y vino nuevo.Te cuento sobre las tradiciones, las comidas típicas y las actividades que puedes disfrutar si visitas Italia en esta época. ¡No te lo pierdas!feria del tartufofesta dell'uva di Imprunetaexpo Chianti classico

Le voci dei nonni di Irene Ganz, collaboratrice e autrice di questo podcast, raccontano - in stretto dialetto opportunamente tradotto - la macellazione del maiale. Un evento crudo in tempi di fame e miseria.Sito: www.storiedimontagna.comContatti: andataeritorno.podcast@gmail.com Newsletter: https://andataeritornopodcast.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andataeritornostoriedimontagna/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/andata-e-ritorno-storie-di-montagna/?viewAsMember=trueFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557903953187&name=xhp_nt__fb__action__open_userThreads: https://www.threads.net/@andataeritornostoriedimontagnaMusic by Epidemic SoundCrediti immagine: https://www.patrimont.org/it/schwarzes-alpenschwein/sviluppo-storico/74-veccie-foto-di-suini-alpini-provenienti-da-diverse-aree

Today's conversation is the third in a series of check-ins with my good friend and new bilingual mom, Samantha. We previously checked in when Samantha's daughter was 12 months and 15 months.  If you missed our first two conversations, you can go back and hear them (they are episode 50 and episode 56). We recorded this update back in the spring, when Samantha's daughter was 18 months old, right after her family returned from a trip to Italy to visit her partner's family. I hope you enjoy this 18-month check in with Samantha! Follow Multilingual Montessori:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Consultations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support the Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/multilingual-montessori/support

Riceviamo una lettera firmata che utilizziamo per dare avvio alla puntata odierna. A inviarla è un gruppo di nipoti appartenenti al Colon (Comitato Lotta Nonnofobica) che manifesta la propria contrarietà alla celebrazione della festa dei nonni e all'esaltazione della figura del nonno e dei valori della tradizione da parte di un'altra Associazione, il Gepene, che riunisce la Gente per bene.

Treni (feat. Nonni e chiodi) Il treno del nonno (famiglia pig); Love Train (O'Jays); La Locomotiva (Guccini); Soul Express (Enzo Avitabile); Gaza (Train to Roots); This Train (Staple Singers); Il Chiodo (Skiantos); Blue Train (John Coltrane); Slow Train (Bob Dylan); The Locomotion (Little Eva); Downtown Train ( Tom Waits); Il vagone per Frosinone (Pippo Franco) and many more A cura di Piergiorgio Pardo

"Nonno in the Kitchen" è un progetto di Jessica Timpano che celebra le tradizioni culinarie italiane, filmando i nonni ai fornelli.

Nonni var merkilegur maður. Var þessi þáttur kannski of stór biti fyrir Villa? Vonandi ekki. Hann vonar það allavega ekki. Vonandi hefur fólk gaman að þessum þætti. Við skulum vera góð við Villa

ROMA (ITALPRESS) - "Una storia di vita coraggiosa, che regala speranza. Alfonso e Linda donano un segnale positivo in un mondo che sta vivendo gravi crisi e invitano tutti a capire che c'è del bello da difendere". Così il presidente della Camera dei deputati, Lorenzo Fontana, premiando a Montecitorio i due giovani nonni Alfonso Tirotta, 37 anni, e Linda Porcasi, 39 anni. La coppia - di Ca' degli Oppi (Verona) - è unita dal 2004. La figlia Asia, a 19 anni, ha dato alla luce Gabriel, nato il 6 settembre di quest'anno. Il papà è il ventenne Daniel Basoni. Nel 2010 Alfonso e Linda hanno festeggiato anche l'arrivo di due gemelli, Giuseppe e Alessandra."Questi ragazzi, entrambi lavoratori, hanno deciso, giovanissimi, di fare famiglia e accudire il nipote, con grande senso di responsabilità, affrontando sicuramente sacrifici e problematiche, con coraggio e con la gioia che i figli regalano. Penso che il loro sia un bell'esempio, che dona forte speranza", ha sottolineato il presidente. "Aver accolto nuove vite nella nostra famiglia è stata una gioia grande ed essere nonni ci ha fatto scoprire un mondo nuovo, diverso, aprendoci a una felicità impagabile - ha raccontato Alfonso -. Lo possiamo dire: dopo che ci siamo sposati è continuata la nostra supervita. Certo, non sono mancate e non mancano le difficoltà, ma pensiamo sia importante dire che con i bambini si può fare tutto e anche divertirsi, molto di più che da soli. L'arrivo di Gabriel è stata una sorpresa straordinaria". "La figura dei nonni è centrale perché sono un sostegno prezioso - ha detto Linda -. Come mia suocera ha aiutato me, oggi cerco di aiutare mia figlia, che si sta rivelando una supermamma. Non ci sentiamo 'diversi'. Abbiamo più responsabilità di qualche nostro coetaneo, ma viviamo con serenità, condividendo momenti felici insieme e con amici. La forza di volontà e il grande sostegno delle nostre famiglie sono alleati insostituibili nelle nostre vite".sat/gsl (Fonte video: Camera dei Deputati)

ROMA (ITALPRESS) - "Una storia di vita coraggiosa, che regala speranza. Alfonso e Linda donano un segnale positivo in un mondo che sta vivendo gravi crisi e invitano tutti a capire che c'è del bello da difendere". Così il presidente della Camera dei deputati, Lorenzo Fontana, premiando a Montecitorio i due giovani nonni Alfonso Tirotta, 37 anni, e Linda Porcasi, 39 anni. La coppia - di Ca' degli Oppi (Verona) - è unita dal 2004. La figlia Asia, a 19 anni, ha dato alla luce Gabriel, nato il 6 settembre di quest'anno. Il papà è il ventenne Daniel Basoni. Nel 2010 Alfonso e Linda hanno festeggiato anche l'arrivo di due gemelli, Giuseppe e Alessandra."Questi ragazzi, entrambi lavoratori, hanno deciso, giovanissimi, di fare famiglia e accudire il nipote, con grande senso di responsabilità, affrontando sicuramente sacrifici e problematiche, con coraggio e con la gioia che i figli regalano. Penso che il loro sia un bell'esempio, che dona forte speranza", ha sottolineato il presidente. "Aver accolto nuove vite nella nostra famiglia è stata una gioia grande ed essere nonni ci ha fatto scoprire un mondo nuovo, diverso, aprendoci a una felicità impagabile - ha raccontato Alfonso -. Lo possiamo dire: dopo che ci siamo sposati è continuata la nostra supervita. Certo, non sono mancate e non mancano le difficoltà, ma pensiamo sia importante dire che con i bambini si può fare tutto e anche divertirsi, molto di più che da soli. L'arrivo di Gabriel è stata una sorpresa straordinaria". "La figura dei nonni è centrale perché sono un sostegno prezioso - ha detto Linda -. Come mia suocera ha aiutato me, oggi cerco di aiutare mia figlia, che si sta rivelando una supermamma. Non ci sentiamo 'diversi'. Abbiamo più responsabilità di qualche nostro coetaneo, ma viviamo con serenità, condividendo momenti felici insieme e con amici. La forza di volontà e il grande sostegno delle nostre famiglie sono alleati insostituibili nelle nostre vite".sat/gsl (Fonte video: Camera dei Deputati)

In occasione della Festa dei Nonni del 2 ottobre, Pina, Diego e Vale giocano d'anticipo: una puntata tutta dedicata ai nonni per arrivare preparati ai festeggiamenti del giorno dopo.

Si parla di nonni, vicende losche di VIPs, morti, Esselunga, e un ramen finito male!Sostieni questo podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/space-valley-live--5686515/support.Live su Youtube: https://youtu.be/ltpSMHNBescSegui le LIVE su Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/spacevalleyDal Lunedì al Giovedì alle ore 9:00!Shop Ufficiale Space Valley: https://spacevalley.shop/Canale Yakety-Yak: https://www.youtube.com/@YaketyYakSpace Valley: https://www.youtube.com/@vallespazialeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/vallespazialeTelegram: https://t.me/vallespazialeAround the Valley: https://www.youtube.com/AroundtheValley

EPISODE 335. Rocco sits down with Italian-Canadian Frank Moyo to talk about Frank's Calabrese upbringing in Toronto, his passion for Italian music and culture, and his incredible relationship with his Nonni. Be sure to follow Frank here https://instagram.com/frankmoyomusic Follow Rocco here https://instagram.com/rocloguercio To shop our merchandise, visit https://www.growingupitaliangui.com Be sure to check our Instagram https://www.instagram.com/growingupitalian For Dual Citizenship https://theitalianpassport.com/growingupitalian As always, if you enjoyed this video, be sure to drop a Like, Comment and please SUBSCRIBE. Grazie a tutti! 1:00 - Moyo Roots 3:00 - Canadian-Calabrese 8:00 - Nonna's Boy 13:00 - Traditional Italian Life 17:00 - Nonna Knows Best 20:00 - ‘Nduja Folk Lore 24:00 - Teaching with Music 32:00 - Italian Music Influence 36:00 - Who is Frank Moyo? 41:00 - Toronto Pizza & Ferrari's 47:00 - Knowing Yourself 50:00 - Positive Content 53:00 - What's Next?

ANSA - di Igor Greganti.Sentito ancora sulla strage. 'Non pensavo di arrivare a uccidere'.

Cole Palmer og Nonni með sýningu gegn Úlfunum. Haaland kominn með 4 mörk í 2 leikjum. Það ættu öll að eiga einn Son. David Raya þyngdar sinnar virði í gulli og Liverpool byrja mótið mjög sannfærandi. Man Utd að gefa ódýr mörk.

In this episode, we spotted & tried some amazing foods, 14 to be exact! Finds like mashed cauliflower, a new sausage from Beyond, a miso broth that tastes like it came from a restaurant, a biscottini from Nonni, a new drink from Poppi, and so much more. Plus, a cinnamon raisin bread find that you need to buy right now! Oh, and did we mention AMAZING yogurt bark from Enlightened?? So, what are you waiting for? Push play now, then head on over to our Foodcast page for a list of everything mentioned in the episode!

Spekingar voru tveir þessa vikuna og hafa aldrei verið ferskari. Vikan, Slúðrið, EM uppgjör margt margt fleira.... Spekingar taka upp í Podcaststöðinni og eru í boði Gull Lite.

Che ruolo hanno svolto nonni e nonne nella vostra vita?

Beppe Tosco"Fiabe per addormentare i nonni"Gallucci Editorewww.galluccieditore.comCome sarebbe andata a finire con la mela avvelenata se i sette nani di Biancaneve fossero state le sette nonne di Biancoghiaccio? T'immagini se la casetta nel bosco di nonno Hänsel e nonna Gretel fosse in realtà una residenza per anziani? E nonno Pollicino riuscirà a ritrovare la strada di casa, lasciando dietro di sé una scia di punti del supermercato? Dall'ispirazione comica di un quasi nonno, ecco una raccolta delle favole più famose rivisitate con un sorprendente capovolgimento di prospettiva: a dover fare i conti con lupi, orchi e streghe questa volta non saranno i bambini, ma i loro nonni! Anziane e anziani vispi e combattivi, lesti nel far buon uso della loro esperienza del mondo per sconfiggere i cattivi e ricongiungersi con gli adorati nipoti.“Prendete una vecchia fiaba, mettetela a testa in giù e contaminatela con un pizzico di presente. Ed ecco comparire nonni magici che sfidano orchi, brasano streghe e liberano dal male. E come fanno? Facile! Ammansiscono la vita con robuste dosi d'amore. Questo libro è un distillato di felicità” Luciana LittizzettoBeppe Tosco è da sempre l'autore di fiducia di Luciana Littizzetto. Ha firmato diversi libri e scrive testi per la televisione (tra gli altri, per gli attori comici Enrico Bertolino, Ale e Franz, Luca e Paolo, Geppi Cucciari, Sabrina Impacciatore). Con Gallucci editore, ha già pubblicato La notte delle spazzature viventi, scritto insieme al figlio Francesco.Joshua Held, cartoonist fiorentino, è autore di vignette di satira di costume e politica pubblicate su quotidiani e periodici, serie tv animate, spot pubblicitari, video musicali, libri per bambini e video scenografi e animate per il teatro.IL POSTO DELLE PAROLEascoltare fa pensarewww.ilpostodelleparole.itDiventa un supporter di questo podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/il-posto-delle-parole--1487855/support.

Ci sono molti stereotipi e molte storie che ruotano attorno all'idea di famiglia italiana: gli italiani sono mammoni? Tutte le famiglie sono tradizionali? Nonni e nipoti vivono insieme? Oggi, con dati alla mano e qualche aneddoto, riflettiamo insieme' sulla famiglia moderna italiana.Ti interessa studiare con le trascrizioni? Le trovi qui:https://www.piccolomondoitaliano.com/trascrizioni-pensieri-e-parole/Vuoi sostenere il podcast con un caffè? Ecco qui il link:https://ko-fi.com/piccolomondoitalianoGrazie mille!

Ti do il benvenuto su Italiano bello, il podcast in italiano semplice pensato per chi vuole imparare l'italiano o semplicemente migliorare. Tutti gli episodi sono disponibili in formato video ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sul mio canale YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, dove puoi attivare i sottotitoli. Ecco cosa puoi fare dopo aver ascoltato l'episodio:

On this episode Melanie and I discuss my recent trip to NYC: why Tedeschi Trucks Band is the best ever, all the wonderful things about the hotel where we stayed, and the fact that I found myself feeling actual feelings before we left Saturday morning. We also talk about Melanie's determination to clean her house and our current challenges with reading.  Plus, Melanie shares some thoughts about trying to figure out meals, and it's my turn for Five Favorites. Hope you enjoy! - Join Us on Patreon - Our Amazon Shop - Dallas Live Show Tickets for Friday, November 8th (now less than 20 remaining) - Live Stream Tickets for Birmingham Show Show Notes: - Tedeschi Trucks Band - Days of Wine and Roses - Christine Baranski - Nom Wah Tea Parlor - 9-11 Memorial & Museum - The Wallace (ALL THE STARS) - ***Birmingham Live Show t-shirts*** - Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix - Libro.fm - The Gilded Age on HBO - Gus Mayer shoes, my beloved - two-tier lazy susan - Pilcro half-button tunic shirt - refrigerator deodorizer - Nonni's Biscotti - high-waisted chino shorts Sponsors: - ZocDoc - OSEA (use code BIGBOO for 10% off) - AG1 (use this link for a free year's supply of vitamins D3 & K2 plus 5 free travel packs with your first purchase) - Factor (use code BIGBOO50 for 50% off)

Liverpool vann deildabikarinn í gær eftir frábæran úrslitaleik gegn Chelsea á Wembley. Óskar Smári Haraldsson, þjálfari kvennaliðs Fram, og Jón Aðalsteinn Kristjánsson, þjálfari 2. flokks karla hjá Haukum, fóru yfir leikinn ásamt undirrituðum. Óskar er stuðningsmaður Liverpool og Nonni er stuðningsmaður Chelsea. Einnig er farið yfir aðra leiki helgarinnar á Englandi en lengst af var rætt um úrslitaleikinn frá því í gær.

INTRO:  Welcome to the award winning, Nationally syndicated My Big Fat Bloody Mary podcast where you will never drink alone. Special hello to our new listeners! We are coming to you from the studios of the Bloody Mary Concert Series and we are being fueled by the La Crosse Distilling …

Spiegare Bitcoin non è semplice, Gianluca, Franco e Alessandro ci stanno provando nel nord est Italia (zona Monfalcone) con una serie di incontri/presentazioni dal titolo “BItcoin spiegato a mio nonno“. Sentiamo il loro approccio nello spiegare Bitcoin e quali sono le domande più ricorrenti di chi comincia a interessarsene sapendone poco e nulla. Sicuramente le...

Skicka era frågor och funderingar till någon av dessa profiler:Bob: https://www.instagram.com/bobeborta/Malte: https://www.instagram.com/malte.gardinger/Nonni: https://www.instagram.com/nonniardal/ Producent: Jakob Almgren

In this first podcast, I will be introducing vocabulary included in the story, as well as explain various grammatical rules. The vocabulary, Italian transcript, and translation are found in the blog section of my website: learnitalianfortravel.com. Grazie!

Last time we spoke about the Blagoveshchensk massacre and war over the Amur river. The Chinese began a bombardment of the city of Blagoveshchensk striking panic and fear into her Russian inhabitants. The panic and fear led the Russian commanders ordered the deportation of many Chinese over the Amur river and this soon became a large-scale massacre. Countless Chinese drowned or were killed under the orders of the local Russian commanders. After the horrors on the Amur river the russians gradually received reinforcements and began a large scale offensive over the river to stop the Chinese attacks. First to be hit was Sakhalian, sending its Chinese defenders fleeing towards Aigun and Tsitsihar. The Chinese tried to fortify mountain positions to stop the Russians, but each fell one by one until the Russians had taken the cities. More Russians were crossing the border into Manchuria, the minor conflict had become a full scale invasion.    #70 The Russo-Chinese War Part 3: The Conquest of Northern Manchuria   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. The conflict spread anywhere there was a Russian presence in Manchuria. The Manchu were gradually tossing their lot in with the Boxer cause and to be honest, the Manchu always hated the Russian encroachment in their homelands. Harbin held the headquarters for railroad construction in Manchuria. Its population swelled since the outbreak of the Boxer Rebellion, with refugees pouring in from the Liaodong peninsula, including other nationalities and Chinese christians. The month of june was rather peaceful for Harbin, the Chinese continued to work on the railway alongside their Russian colleagues. 60,000 Chinese laborers had recently come to Harbin to work and telegrams poured in from Manchu generals from Heilungchiang, Fengtian and Kirin guaranteeing the complete safety of the railway and Russians. But beginning in July, rumors spread of anti-foreign activity, telegrams from other Russian settlements being attacked flooded in. On July 5th, a report came in that the Roman catholic mission in Mukden had been destroyed and its Bishop was murdered. Civilians began to evacuate Harbin to Khabrovsk on steamers and barges. Harin braced itself for a Chinese attack, volunteer militias sprang up. Thousands of Chinese inhabitants of Harbin fled as Russian refugees flooded in from all over. Large numbers of Qing forces were reportedly converging on Harbin, so Captain Rzhevutskii came over from Tiehling with 6 officers, 250 Cossacks, militiamen and all of their families. His arrival bolstered the Harbin garrison who were only around 600 men, 300 of which had just come from Tsitsihar on July 14th. A force of 67 Cossack fought their way out of Kirin against a much larger force of Chinese. Their commander Savitskii was found at Laoshaokou on July 19th with only 38 Cossacks left, many wounded. Savitskii's left eye was riddled with bullet splinters and his arm was in a sling. His men had rode out under the assurances of safe passage from the Manchu General of Kirin only to be attacked by 500 Manchu with artillery support. The Manchu fired shrapnel not just over the Cossacks, but their own infantry when they engaged in hand to hand combat. Savitskii claimed their killed some 200 Chinese before breaking through their lines and were pursued for over 5 days. A eyewitness to their arrival in Harbin had this to say “tears welled up in our eyes and anger began to boil in our hearts, when we saw the valiant heroes who had arrived. The men walked barefoot, with feet that were skinned almost to the bones, many only in their underwear, exhausted and emaciated. Truly one could not believe somehow that the Chinese had not succeeded in wiping this handful of men from the face of the earth”. Luckily for Harbin, on July 21st a steamer arrived to her dock from Khabarovsk carrying 1000 rifles, ammunition and 4 companies of reservists. Now Harbin counted 2000 defenders. On July 22nd a telegram came to Harbin from the Manchu General of Heilungchiang. It stated that while there had been cooperation with the Russian railway builders until this point, he regarded the Russian drowning of Chinese to be tantamount to a declaration of war and now both sides were free to attack the other. The message confused the Russians at Harbin for some time, having not heard of the Blagoveshchensk massacre. The rest of the message was crystal clear. The same Manchu General proclaimed the assault against Harbin would come soon and that the Russians should fight bravely for they would be exterminated without mercy. He did however offer safe passage for women and children out of Manchuria. 3000 women, children and wounded men departed Harbin aboard steamers on July 23rd. Meanwhile the Russians prepared their defenses and on the 25th the Chinese arrived. At 4am on the 26th the Chinese began firing their artillery from across the river. Their forces approached Harbin from the south and east successfully seizing the railway depot of the First Sungari Station and that railroad between the New part of the city and old Harbin. A Cossack counter attack during the afternoon drove most of the Chinese back in the direction of Ashiho. The Russians attempted to encircle the Chinese and quickly capture their artillery, but the Chinese withdrew in haste before they could. Countless Chinese who failed to rejoin the main body of their force were cut down by Cossacks. A smaller group of Chinese tried to hunker down at the railway depot and offered a stubborn fight until they were killed.  The Chinese took up a new position at the Hanhsin plant which had some large walls with towers providing good defense. From their fortifications the Chinese fired back upon the Russians, but once they burst open the main gate the Chinese were again on the move. As Sergei Grudzinskii entered the plant he had this to say of the scene “The corpses of men and cadavers of horses lay strewn about everywhere. Sabers and bayonets sparkled. People jostled each other in disorder. All had agitated faces, as if drunk. The noise of voices and swear words filled the air, which was saturated with the heavy smell of blood, sweat and gunpowder. Frightened children, ducks, oxen and horses ran around. Now and then the short, whiplashed like shots of our 20 caliber rifles were heard. The men had gotten all excited. There was no mercy for anyone. Aroused, someone had set fire to a house, and thick, black smoke rose to the sky, as the bright sun beamed indifferently on the picture of death and destruction below”. The Russians captured many Krupp field guns, German rifles and other war materials.  On July the 27th and 28th the Chinese continued to bombard Harbins dock from across the river and fired upon any trains going by. The Chinese were using any local infrastructure around for protection so the Russains began burning everything. By July 28th the Chinese were abandoning their positions on the other side of the river. Some skirmishing was done with rearguards and some Chinese POW's revealed a second offensive, 25,000 men strong was scheduled to hit Harbin for August 3rd. But when the time came no Chinese army was to be found and steamers were coming to Harbin with relief forces, the siege of the city was over. With reinforcements on hand, the Russians sent word to nearby Ashih-ho where some 10,000 Chinese forces were gathering. The Russians notified them they wanted to re-establish friendly relations and called upon the Chinese to disband. They also wrote to the Manchu General of Heilungchiang who responded simply “I will be seeing you soon”. The commander of Ashihho responded by sending a small battery to fire upon Harbin. On August 17th the Russians advanced upon Ashiho, Major General Gerngros led a Cossack vanguard; Major General Alekseev commanded the main body around a mile behind; and overall command was under Major General Sakharov. They were 16 companies, 12.5 sotnias and 16 artillery pieces. By the 18th they reached Ashihho, they sent word to the Manchu commander asking his surrender and he replied he would disband his forces when General Sakharov compensated China for the destruction of Pa-yen-tung, Sanhsing and other places damaged while withdrawing from Manchuria. It seems his words were braver than his actions, for when the Russians stormed the gates they would find the city in a state of evacuation. Cossacks with artillery support stormed around the city from the west and east to cut off the fleeing Chinese. A large number were killed, many others taken prisoner. The commander of the 4th East Siberian Rifle regiment was appointed commandant of Ashihho. The major objections of the Russians in Manchuria by this point was to defeat the Qing forces allying themselves to the Boxers, to secure the railway construction and secure the Amur River navigation. For logistical purpose the job was divided in two; north manchurian campaigns were led by Lt General Grodekov and South Manchurian were under Vice Admiral Alekseev. Russia sought to recover the main railway line of the Chinese eastern railway that ran from the Transbaikal region, to Tsitsihar, Harbin, Pogranichnaia and Nikol'sk-Ussuriiskii. Alongside this the Russians also needed to seize Kirin and Mukden to consolidate control in the region. Now this was all a colossal task, the sheer distance from the Transbaikal region to Manchuria was incredible. There was a shortage of steamers, so barges and rafts had to be constructed, bad harvests resulted in less provisions and just getting men and supplies to the front was hellish. Nonetheless the job was to be done, and between June and July 16 battalions, 38 guns, 6 sotnias, 2 sapper companies and 2 railway companies were rushed from Priamur to Kwantung and Pechihli. To compensate for depleting the Priemur region, Siberia would need to send forces.   The mobilization was incredible. In the Transbaikal region in 1900 there was roughly 25,000 Russians of working age, from these 5000 men made up 5 cavalry regiments, 4 cavalry batteries and 4 infantry battalions were tossed together to form the “Hailar detachment” called so because they would advance against Hailar. They all had military training, but lacked a lot of discipline. The men were notorious for smoking in front of their superiors and during saluting times would often just nod their head. The Cossacks amongst them would not let superior officers strike them which was a custom in the army. But the men were pretty crack shots and could live off meager rations. Furthermore most of them had dealings and were on good terms with Mongols and Manchu. The leader of the Hailar detachment was Major General Orlov who mobilized them on July 25th and they proceeded from Abagaitui to cross the border. They followed the Hailar rivers until they reached the Dalai Nor railroad station on July 27th. They captured there 51 well armed Mongols without resistance and sent them back to Russia to help construct the Transbaikal railroad. From here they advanced to Ongun whereupon they saw at a distance some Manchu and Mongol cavalry spread out in orderly lines of single rank, behind them were infantry. According to some Chinese prisoners, the force was around 10,000 strong under the command of a General in Hailar. The Mongol cavalry advanced and fired upon them from a great distance, not hitting very much. The Russians held their fire, so the Mongols drew closer and pelted them with bullets. This time the Russian returned fire, but the Mongols persisted and dismounted from their horses, beginning to dig foxholes. The Russians resumed their defensive stance, watching the Chinese pull up artillery. At 11:45am the Russian's received some reinforcements, 2000 additional bayonets, 1000 savers and 6 cannons of the Verkhneudinsk Cossack regiment. The Chinese artillery was roughly 5000 feet away, their riflemen just 800 or so. The Verkneudinsk regiment rode out upon their right flank at 1:50pm signaling the Russian general attack. Orlov took the left flank performing a small envelopment maneuver. It was a bold and bloody advance. At 2:10pm the Russian artillery began to fire and it was deadly accurate, the Chinese artillery quickly evacuated, unable to properly return fire. At 2:25pm Orlov tossed some reserves into the advance and soon the Russians were charging across an open plain driving the Chinese from a hill position. The mounted Cossacks pursued any retreating Chinese forces who were seen tossing their weapons and equipment as they ran. Orlov got caught up in the chase and excitement and was almost shot while his staff officer screamed “Sir! You're being shot at!” Some Boxer forces stood their ground defiantly against Cossack sabers, butchered on the spot. The Russians had only 8 deaths and 17 wounded and claimed an incredible 900 casualties for the Chinese. Orlov sent his mounted forces to pursue the enemy and perform reconnaissance of Hailars defenses which his scouts reported was being abandoned. Orlov ordered a Cossack battery to rush to Hailar during the night of August 1st as he led more men against Urdingi. The roads were littered with abandoned equipment, but Orlov received a new report in the morning, Hailar was not abandoned after all. There was a call for help at the Hailar front, so Orlov sent two Sotnias of the 4th and 6th battalions and he personally came by August 3rd. Upon seeing the reinforcements, the Chinese began to abandon the city and Orlov would have his dinner inside Hailar on that day. Hailar was a small district city, but it was important strategically for the Chinese eastern railway's construction. Orlov formed a supply depot at Hailar not only for his detachment, but for other Russian forces going through the area. Upon seeing the taking of Ongun and Hailar, the Mongols realized the Russians were stronger than the Manchu. The Mongols began abandoning the Chinese and fled to their homelands to wait out the conflict.  Meanwhile General Bao, one of China's more able commander, realized the loss of Hailar was significant and began to approach the region from the Greater Hsing-an Mountains with a force 7000 strong. Cossack patrols reported Bao's advance to Orlov and Orlov decided to go out and meet him. On August 14th the Russian took up a position at Ya-koshih some 23 miles east of Hailar. The two forces would clash at 2pm and the battle would rage for many hours. The brunt of the fighting was felt by the Transbaikal Cossack battalions who charged into Bao's left flank. A severe thunderstorm broke out during the battle and Orlov used it to conceal a held back reserve battalion to charge into the right flank of the Chinese. When both flanks were being hit Orlov called for a general forward assault. General Bao was a well recognized figure and some Russian sotnias came across his dead body on the battlefield before they crashed into a Chinese rear guard at 10pm. The Chinese had routed and enraged by the intensity of the battle the Cossacks ran them down hard. The victory at Yakoshih would give Russia control over the western part of Manchuria up to the Greater Hsing'an Mountains. On the mountains a newly formed detachment under General Chou Mien established a heavily fortified position.  A flying detachment led by Bulatovich was sent to Hsing-an on August 19th and the approached the Chinese positions on the mountain to prod their defenses. Bulatovich personally led a small group to drive out a Chinese forward post near a bridge so most of his forces could get across a river to venture into the foot of the mountains. A full reconnaissance was performed, while the rest of the Hailar detachment were 40 miles away enroute. On August 20th, without waiting for reinforcements that were due to Hailar at any moment, Orlov advanced. Orlov took his forces to seize the Mien-tu-ho station, Ha-la-kuo station and I-Lieh'ko'te from which at a moment's notice he could help Bulatovich's position, being just 10 miles away or so. Orlov ordered the forces to slowly push into the mountains proclaiming to the men “Well done Verkhneudinks Cossacks! With God, lets see what the mysterious Greater Hsing-an is like!” From the 3 different locations the men advanced. Orlov planned to cross over a ridge 20 miles south of the Chinese position to get behind their rear and cut off their road towards Tsitsihar. While planning his attack, Orlov received word that Beijing had just been taken by the 8 nation alliance on August 14th and that Harbin was occupied by Russians as well.  At 5am on August 23d, Bulatovich began a envelopment maneuver while the main body advanced with Orlov. The Chinese would be unable to see the main bodies movements due to the mountain ranges. Once they approached the Chinese rear, Orlov began planning out artillery positions and watched with binoculars through some bushes at the Chinese positions. His report of the actions state the Chinese trenches were dug absurdly, in a line of square holes across the main road that could only face a frontal attack. He was also surprised to find out many nearby heights held no enemy posts, they easily could be used against them. Orlov took up a position that overlooked the entire left flank of the Chinese position. His artillery positions were perfect, nothing would obstruct their bombardment. At 2am the next day Orlov sent forward companies to seize the nearby heights lest the Chinese grab them at the last minute. At 6:45am the Chinese had advanced forward on the right flank catching the Russian position in enfilade fire. Cossacks charged into them swiftly and at 7:30am the Russian artillery began its bombardment which quickly silence the Chinese artillery. Suddenly the Chinese right flank was hit with Cossack sotnia's causing confusion. Chinese riflemen tried to get out of their trenches but were pinned down by the artillery shrapnel and soon the Cossacks were firing into the trenches butchering them. The battle was a brief one, the Chinese were simply not prepared to face attacks from multiple directions. After only 50 minutes the Chinese began a withdrawal. The Russians would have completely encircled and annihilated them, but the rear units rushed over to help a pinned down Russian company. Russian reported 3 deaths and 9 wounded, taking countless Chinese lives and seizing 5 artillery pieces and 120 carts of war materials.  The Chinese fled to Tsitsihar the capital of Heilungchiang province. Manchu General Shou Shan held a very strong garrison there. A detachment led by Bolsheretsk was already advancing upon Tsitsihar and Orlov was to meet up with him. On September the 2nd, Orlov arrived to the outskirts of Tsitsihar and 2 days later he entered the city, as the Bolsheretsk detachment had already battled and taken the city by August 28th. Its large Chinese garrison had fled towards Petuna. The reason they had fled was due to the psychological impact of General Rennenkampfs daring campaign, as you will recall General Shou Shan had committed suicide having lost to him. Apparently Shou Shan swallowed gold to rupture his intestines, I've never heard of that one before.  With the Hailar detachment and Bolsheretsk detachment together at Tsitsihar, they now had a force of 12 battalion, 14 sotnias and 22 artillery pieces altogether. Orlov sent orders for Rennenkampt to take 12 sotnias and 6 cavalry guns to advance upon Petuna while he would follow behind. Petuna was around 200 miles away and the Russians would have to ford the Nonni and Sungari rivers. Rennenkampft managed to get to Petuna in 5 days and found it sheltered 1500 Chinese Infantry and 150 cavalry units. A Qing official named Li rode out to parley with Rennenkampt, asserting to him they had 5000 men and asked for a armistice of 2 days. Rennenkampf replied that his detachment would be within Petuna that very evening and that by 6am all of the Chinese must come to their camp and lay down their arms. Rennenkampf really does seem like a badass doesn't he? At 6am on september 12th, the Chinese cavalry fully armed approached the camp and made a display of surrendering their arms. Then the Chinese infantry followed suit. The Chinese forces were herded away to help construct the railroad. On the 19th the main body reached Petuna, there Orlove and the other commanders decided to hit Kirin city, the capital of Kirin province. Mounted Cossacks were sent south of the Sungari river to hit Kirin from the south while the main body would advance north of the Sungair to hit Kirin from the north. Rennenkampf elected himself to perform a reconnaissance and set out on September 22nd with two sotnias. At 3pm the village of Tashuiho which lied on the junction of Mukden and Kirin was attacked by Rennekampfs force. Rennekampf was nearly speared to death during the attack, but they managed to fight off the Chinese. At 7am on the 23rd Rennenkmapf arrived to Kirin and a bearer of a flag of truce came out. The flag bearer asked for an armistice and again Rennenkampf rejected this and literally galloped into Kirin and headed for the Governor's mansion. This guy fancies himself Julius Caesar I guess. 220 Chinese cavalry who guarded the mansion were quickly surrounded and disarmed. Within Kirin Rennenkampf captured 69 modern rifles and 5000 other rifles of various dates which he tossed into the Sungari river. Rennenkampf had thus taken a fortified city of 120,000 inhabitants with 200 Cossacks, an unbelievable feat. But in reality, Prince Qing had actually ordered the governor of Kirin to suspend all hostility against the Russians. I bet Rennenkampf forgot to mention that part in his action report. Like I said a Julius Caesar kind of guy haha.  With Kirin in their hands, Orlovs detachment turned back to Harbin, where he would soon receive orders to return home so the Transbaikal Cossacks could tend to their farms, just in time for harvesting. Rennenkampf would remain in Kirin until the arrival of Major General Kryshanovskii with 4 squadrons of dragoons, 1 Chita Cossack sotnia, the 3rd Transbaikal cossack battery and a mounted train of artillery on September 26th. Rennenkampf took his small force to Tiehling where Russian forces were preparing for a large offensive against Mukden. Orlov's campaign was an extremely fast one, his forces covered extreme distances, going 20 miles or so per day. A telegram from Lt General Matsievskii, the commander of the Transbaikal Cossack forces told Orlov his men had broken all records in the campaign. Casualties for the Hailar detachment were 468 in total. The Chinese had been routed, not by cowardice however. They fought bravely and were well armed, it seemed to Russian eye witness accounts they lacked proper marksmanship. The Qing officers seemed to be ignorant of modern military tactics and this heavily affected their organization. The Manchu General of Heilungchiang had sent troops simultaneously in three directions against the Hailar detachment, the Bolsheretsk detachment and the Khabarovsk detachment, not to mention sending other dispatches against Harbin. Orlov believed the Chinese could have won if they consolidated and hammered the Russians one force at a time. With the capture of Kirin, Qing officials now tried to ingratiate themselves with the Russians, giving them the old wine and dine treatment.  The final Russian offensive would be mounted in southern Manchuria. Major General Fleisher, was appointed commander of the newly formed South Manchurian Detachment. On August the 8th after Yingkou was taken, Mishchenko joined up with Domrovskii at Tashihciao. The Chinese had consolidated around Haicheng with a strength of around 4 battalion and 4 artillery pieces. The Russian forces at Tashihciao did not have many mounted Cossacks to perform a proper reconnaissance and as a result would not have a good idea of the Chinese strength. Thus the Russians overestimated the enemy. Fleisher ordered 3 columns to advance, in the middle was Colonel Aurenius leading the 3rd East Sierian rifle regiment with 8 guns and a section of Cossacks; on the left was Mishchenko with two companies, two Cossack squadrons and the 1st Transbaikal Cossack battery; and on the right was Dombrovskii with 4 and a half companies of the 11th east siberian rifle regiment, 4 guns and a squadron of Cossacks. The three columns departed Tashihciao on August 10th. Aurelius's central column ran into a Chinese outpost who upon seeing them began to flee north towards Haicheng, only to run into Mishchenko's forces. Dombrovskii's column were advancing through some difficult mountain terrain to try and block escape routes for the Chinese. Mishchenko's force suffered casualties from Chinese artillery, but when the Chinese tried to press an attack, the 1st Cossack Battery battered their formations. Aurelius tried to advance faster to catch up to the Chinese, but they kept slipping away. In the face of the advancing Russians, the Chinese evacuated Huchuangtun, destroying all useful war materials there. On August 11th the Russian columns reunited for and made camp, then the next day continued towards Haicheng in two columns. The main column commanded by Fleisher consisted of his detachment, Dombrovskii's detachment and sotnia of Cossacks. They advanced northward along the railway line. The other column led by Mishchenko traveled parallel with the main column to the left.  General Shou planned to lure the Russians over towards Newchwang and spring a trap, but his subordinates refused to abandon Haicheng without a fight. Yun assumed command over the Haicheng militia and had his forces harass Mishchenko's smaller column as they advanced. Yun set up an ambush for Mishchenko, deploying some artillery on a mountain range, but the Russians quickly overran them. While Mishchenko was fighting in the mountain range, a large force of Boxers from Haicheng tried to recapture the Chinese artillery. The Russians saw a hoard of yellow sash wearing Boxers, most of whom were prepared for hand to hand combat. The Boxers charged the Russians furiously, and Russians reported seeing very old men, some young boys and even a few girls amongst their force. Cossacks reported the Boxers tried to grab them down from their horses, but were no match for sabers. At 2am on August 12th the Russians were brushing off the attacks and ambushes and continuing their advance. By this point the Chinese had roughly 4000 regular troops, 8 artillery pieces and 1000 Boxers who had all retreated during the night for Haicheng. When the Russians reached Haicheng, the Chinese defenses collapsed. The Russian artillery had only just begun firing as the Chinese artillery crews abandoned their equipment and began fleeing. The only real resistance would be rear guard actions as the Russians stormed into Haicheng. Patrols were first sent into the city to see what kind of state it was in. Many inhabitants were known to the Russians as they were workers on the railway and the patrol forces assured them all they would see no harm. As the Russian main force entered the city, the Chinese came out with gifts of chicken, eggs and vegetables and both sides were quite relieved by the outcome. Konstantin had entered the city and met with some Chinese families he knew from railway work, gave them all assurances there was going to be no violence within the city. Railway guards were initially stationed in the city, but soon relieved whereupon regular Russian troops came in. Konstantin had departed Haicheng for some meetings and when he returned some days later, he went to a Chinese family acquaintance to find they had been butchered inside the home. Konstantin recalled “two old men lay in puddles of blood, bayoneted to death, while a young boy, about eight years old, with his belly ripped open, squirmed in agony”. Konstantin was livid, and went to the nearest sergeant major to ask where the other Chinese were and was told “they are farther away from their sin”. That same day a doctor in Konstantins regiment was called upon to revive an old woman and younger girl. Both had been expelled for the city, ran into solders who killed the older womans husband and raped the younger girl. In agony the two tossed themselves into a river to commit suicide. The old woman was revived, and the girl died. Konstantin bitterly watched as more innocent bystanders died. 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. Northern Manchuria is firmly under Russian control and gradually southern Manchuria is falling to the same fate. The price of war as usual is always felt heaviest on the innocent civilian populations. Unfortunately Manchuria will face such horror for decades to come. 

Tra gli artisti che faranno parte dello spettacolo condotto da Pupo - dal 14 al 21 ottobre nelle principali città australiane - vi sarà anche il soprano, che ci svela con quale canzone si esibirà.

Skicka era frågor och funderingar till någon av dessa profiler:Bob: https://www.instagram.com/bobeborta/Malte: https://www.instagram.com/malte.gardinger/Nonni: https://www.instagram.com/nonniardal/

Last time we spoke about the beginning of the Russo-Chinese War of 1900. Though its been only referred to as the Russian invasion of Manchuria during the Boxer Rebellion, this event was far larger and more impactful than it seems. The recent Russian acquisitions after the Triple Intervention brought numerous railway workers and guards into the Manchu homelands. It was a joint venture between the Qing and Russian empires, but the year of 1900 brought the Boxer movement into the mix. The Russians were isolated in various pockets throughout Manchuria and were being attacked by Boxers and Manchu's who likewise shared their anti foreign sentiment. Violence broke out in places like Hsiungyuehcheng, Baitouzi, Liaoyang and Haicheng, seeing Russian forces fleeing one to the next, trying to consolidate for protection. The Russians have received a pretty bloody nose, but they were just about to punch back.   #69 The Russo-Chinese War Part 2: The Blagoveshchensk Massacre on the Amur River    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. The Russo-Chinese War is a bit more difficult to talk about in a chronological order as so much is going on in different places at roughly the same time. It differed from the conflict going on in China proper also in the fact it was very much bilateral rather than international. However there were exceptions seen in places like Yingkou. Yingkou was a treaty port on the Liaodong gulf and had an international settlement. Foreign consulates and missions were present. Yingkou was going to be connected to the South Manchurian railway line and would experience Boxer agitation early on. Boxers began by plastering the city with anti-christian placards, proclamations and youth were practicing martial arts in her streets. Then adult Boxers began pouring into Manchuria where they gradually harassed westerners. It did not happen overnight, it was gradual work, but soon Boxers were fortifying positions. In June of 1900, Vice Admiral ALekseev telegraphed the Russian Minister of War from Yingkou, indicating he required more guards. The Minister of War forwarded the telegram to the Minister of Foreign affairs with the recommendation the Admiral should be given authority to take whatever measures necessary to prevent the outbreak of hostilities near Russian held railway territory. The foreign Minister, Count Mikhail Murav'ev agreed and recommended Russian forces not go far beyond the Kwantung region in their efforts. Tsar Nicholas II also added comments “It is extremely important for us not to scatter our forces”. When Tientsin saw an outbreak of violence, and the railway lines in Manchuria were being attacked, Colonel Dombrovskii was sent from Port Arthur to Tashihciao with the 11th East Siberian Rifle regiment, a battery and a Sotnia of Cossacks. Colonel Khoreunzhenkov followed this up with his detachment from Port Arthur coming via train to Tashihciao while the 7th and 8th East Sierian rifle regiments proceeded to Yingkou and Tashihciao via sea transport. Because Yingkou was a treaty port, Russian gunboats were on hand when the violence erupted. When Qing forces began to mass up around Yingkou a bit due north, the Russians sent an envoy to meet with the local General Shou to inform him Russian gunboats would level the city to the ground should the Chinese attack the Russian settlement. General Shou was livid at this, but kept everything at Bay until August 4th. By that point in time, Russian Consul Andrei Timchenko-Ostroverkhov had asked Colonel Mishchenko and General Fleisher who arrived on July 29th not to disrupt the peace with any military actions.  Meanwhile General Chin Cheng the commander of Qing forces in the province of Fengtian decided to counteract Russian occupations of key points in the Liaodong Peninsula. He deployed large numbers of troops to Yingkou and Anshanchan, while retaining a reserve at Shahotzu. Chin Cheng also sent a request to Beijing to release 20 battalions to the Liaodong Gulf to operate behind the Russian lines and smash their railway lines. Smaller detachments would fight delaying actions while gradually pulling back to Yingkou. The Qing's plan was to lure the Russians over to Anshan, then overwhelm them with superior numbers from 3 directions coming from Yingkou, Shahotzu and the Chienshan mountains. The detachments coming from Yingkou and Beijing would cut off escape routes. Before this, the Qing were more or less uncoordinated and not very effective in their military actions. However now with forces larger than, 50,000 men each, with 60 or so artillery pieces under the command of a commander in chief, they were about to become a lot more threatening.  Now while this large maneuver was being prepared, a smaller battle took place at Yingkou on July 26th. Mishchenko now at Yingkou received reports that Khorunzhenkov had pushed out many Qing forces away from Hsiungyuehcheng, and now those said forces were enroute to Yingkou. Mishchenko elected to go out and meet them head on with two and a half companies alongside two artillery pieces. His forces advanced northeast of the city walls and proclaimed the Qing there had one hour to remove their forces from the walls. The Qing defenders armed with Mauser rifles fired off in defiance and soon messengers from incoming Qing forces began galloping towards the city. 15 minutes before an hour had passed the Russians began deploying themselves to a fight. Konstantin and Mamonov led their companies towards the northern and eastern forces; Troitskii and Prokipenko with their 7th siberian companies guarded the right flank incase Qing came from the city. When the ultimatum expired the Russians began to open fire, met equally back with Qing fire. Within 15 minutes the Russians had battered the walls with their artillery and were scaling the walls. The Qing fired back while making an evacuation of the city. Two Cossack squadrons with sabers in hand pursued the fleeing Qing. The Russians gradually advanced against the city, then suddenly a special message arrived from the Consul demanding they halt the attack. The fleeing Qing forces from Hsiungyuehcheng whom Mishchenko was trying to cut off from Yingkou had found out about their attack and were now scattering amongst neighboring towns. Thus Mishchenko's actions seemed to have worked. Mishchenko's forces would have to sporadically raise up similar actions against the hostile elements within Yingkou, seeing countless Boxers and sympathizers flee the city. This peaked one day seeing a small battle before the Russians finally stormed the city now greatly depleted of its warriors. The Russians captured the arsenal and military stores and left a half company to guard the entrance to the city. On August 5th, Vice Admiral Evgenii Alekseev arrived at Yingkou on the cruiser Zabiiaka. Alekseev was 55 years old at the time, a short stocky man, with a rather large head and hooked nose. His large beard was beginning to gray, but the man was full of energy and demanded swift action from his men. He issued a speech on August 6th “the hostile behavior of the Chinese authorities who had first encouraged the rebellion and then declared that they could not maintain order ended in an open attack on our forces placed in the city in accordance to the wish of the Consular body. During the said attack the Chinese authorities had fled leaving the town to its fate. To avoid disorder and looting by the Chinese mo and with the object of protecting the commerce of the port and the property of the foreigners the Russian military authority found it necessary to place the town under the guard of the Imperial Russian troops.” Foreign consuls began to request Alekseev send for more reinforcements, stating if he did not do so they would have to ask the Japanese. The British were not very keen on the Russian occupation, and when the Russians attempted placing their flags over British owned establishments it got pretty heated. But the foreigners did feel more at ease with Russian forces guarding the international settlement, for now it seemed peaceful. Over on the western side of the Amur River at its juncture is a place called Blagoveshchensk. It was founded in 1856 as a military post, originally named Ust-zeisk. In 1858 because of its strategic location and economic value, it became the military, civil and judicial center of the newly formed Amur province. It also held a seat for a military governor. It was renamed Blagoveshchensk meaning “good news place” and its first governor General, Nikolai Murav'ev Amurskii announced its annexation in 1858. Soon some Cossacks moved in to form a local village called Verkhne-Blagoveshchensk “upper blagoveshchensk”. The city grew quickly, by 1900 she had nearly 38,000 inhabitants with over 3700 houses. An American traveler descried the city “as fine for its leading banks and stores as Portland, Maine or Oregon could show, or any smaller city of the Union. ”.The city had schools, libraries, a theater and telephone service. Now the Amur river formed the boundary between the Qing dynasty and the Russian empire going for hundreds of miles. To the east opposite Blagoveshchensk was the Manchu city of Sakhalian. Sakhalian had opened up to foreign trade in 1858 when there was a Manchurian gold rush and in the 1880's her population boomed to 50,000. Both cities freely went back and forth by boats and junks or over ice in winter to trade.  In May of 1900, reports of unrest in China reached Blagoveshchensk, but this aroused little concern, it sounded to everyone like the common troubles of any given year. The people of Manchuria resented foreign activity in their heartland and were eager for the Russians to withdraw, but for decades relations between the Russians and Chinese were pretty good, friendly, certainly more so than with other western powers at least. The residents of Blagoveshchensk failed to see the signs of the looming conflict. On July 8th, Chinese living in Blagoveshchensk suddenly began crossing the Amur river, with all of their belongings.  By late May some Russians went to trade for cattle in Sakhalian and reported sighting 7000 troops in the mountains beyond Sakhalian. The activity was dismissed as routine maneuvers. On June 24th word was received that the 8 nation alliance had just ceased the Taku forts and that same day posters emerged in Blagoveshchensk about mobilizing the Priamur region. Reservists began pouring into the city from neighboring towns, ships were carrying men up the Zeia river. The city's residents thought everything was ridiculous, how could China resist so many powers, was this all necessary? A resident of Blagoveshchensk, A .V Kirkhner wrote this of the situation “So accustomed had everyone become to looking on China and the Chinese with utter disdain, and so familiar had their cowardice become to all inhabitants along the border, that there was hardly anyone who expected a serious war with china”. The russian reservists were pretty angry about the situation. They had been pulled away from their work, their families, now with nothing but bottles of vodka to drown their sorrows. Many cursed the Chinese for driving wages down in the region and this led to violence on the Russian side. Angry Russians would frequently harass neighboring villages, causing many Chinese to flee across the Amur. On June 28th telegrams came to Blagoveshchensk conveying the Russian government's declaration made on the 24th that there was no war with China, the troops that took Taku and Tientsin were merely helping the Qing government crush the insurgents who were destroying railroads. This created more confusion for the people in the Amur region. The governor feared things might get out of hand so he closed down bars and warned residents to not spread false rumors or cause panic and above all else not to molest the Chinese inhabitants, anyone who did would be punished. The military began preparing measures to stop internal disorder, to quell possible bandit raids. Cossacks were dispatched out to protect telegraph lines and patrols were sent to thwart banditry. Chinese and Russian homes began to be robbed or at least rumors suggested as such and the different nationalities became suspicious of the other. Newspapers began spreading messages to thwart violence, asking the Russian population to have a “sober view” of things. News came of von Kettelers murder on July 12th, and of the outbreak of hostility at Harbin and along numerous railway lines in Manchuria. However the people of Blagoveshchensk simply believed all of the hostility was confined to the area of Beijing and perhaps the interior of Manchuria, certainly it would not reach them in such a remote place. On July 14th a private steamer, the Mikhail enroute from Khabarovsk to Blagoveshchensk alongside 5 barges passed by the Qing village of Aigun, when Qing officials signaled them to dock. The Russians failed to understand what they wanted and kept going. The Qing opened fire on Mikhail until it stopped, they then came aboard and saw the cargo was all military supplies, thus they placed the crew under arrest. A few hours later the Russian steamer Selenga was going downstream and came over to investigate the Mikhail. The Qing officials on the shore screamed at the vessel and her commander COlonel Kol'shmit could see there were Qing troops set up on the shore. He quickly ordered his men to go full steam ahead, but when they did the Qing opened fire. The Colonel, 4 Cossacks and 2 sailors were severely wounded in the mayhem. Kol'shmit rushed Blagoveshchensk with his battered ship.  News of the conflict raised an alarm that this was a premeditated act of war. The arrested men of the Mikhail were let go and returned bearing a message from the district chief of Aigun stating he had acted on the orders of the military governor of Tsitsihar, not to let any ship pass. That same night two companies of the 2nd East Siberian line battalion, 6 artillery pieces and the Amur Cossack regiment crossed the Zeia river taking up defensive positions. The next day Blagoveshchensk organized a volunteer defense force. On July 15th, everything seemed quite calm, some Manchu came over to Blagoveshchensk calmly asking to fetch some belongings. A steam cutter patrolled the Amur and police searched any Chinese who came over. The reservists were at ease, many cooped up in their barracks. Suddenly the Qing began firing from across the river caughting the Russians by surprise. Panic ensued, residents fled the Amur river area, pursued by Qing bullets. Rumors spread that the Manchu were landing on their side of the river, countless turned to defend their homes, women and children surged out of the area. When volunteer fighters found Chinese trying to get across the river away from Blagoveshchensk they immediately attacked them, all having heard of the rumors Chinese had landed ashore on their side. Chinese tossed grenades in the streets wounding many innocent civilians. By 9pm the Qing guns finally went silent as volunteers dug trenches along the waterfront. Steamers Mikhail and Selenga proceeded up the Amur and saw Chinese forces building ramparts along the river bank.  On July 16th the Qing opened fire again, this time on a larger scale. Men were now in foxholes, police were running through the streets looking for Chinese. Boxer posters were discovered in the Chinese quarter of the city. Allegedly, these posters stated that Manchu had landed ashore and for all Chinese in the city to raise up arms against the Russians. The police began rounding up any Chinese they found, aided by volunteers. Many Chinese were beaten up, all weapons were confiscated. Wild rumors were rampant amongst the residents. At 5pm a force was seen on the horizon, many thought it was Manchu coming to kill them all. It turned out to be more Chinese being herded from local villages by Cossacks. All the Chinese were being kept at the police station, but now the numbers were swelling to several thousand. There was simply no room for the mass of people at the police station, so many were moved to a lumber mill along the Zeia. They were left under the guard of 80 recruits armed with axes. The night was quiet, none tried to escape. The next day, the first group of Chinese, around 3500, were moved to the Verkhne-Blagoveshchensk station for deportation across the river. They were escorted by a small forces, marching 6 miles during a particularly hot day. Many of the old and sick collapsed and some police officers ordered them axed to death, several were killed. Evidence later would show countless were robbed. A number of armed Cossacks rode out to meet the caravan and help convoy them across the river. There were no boats, not even sampans at the shore they were brought to. Some Russians argued they could not send the Chinese back, as there was a siege-like situation. They argued they could not provide the guards for 3000 Chinese in the city.  Ten years after this controversial event that had been argued to this very day, a Russian journal called Vestnik Evropy tried to tell the story of what happened based on gathered evidence and testimony of locals. This is what the article had to say “Nevertheless the point of crossing was the width of the river at this place was over 700 feet, while the depth reached 14 feet. The current was very strong here, and furthermore a considerable wind was blowing. Having chosen the place, it was decided that this was enough, that nothing further was needed for the crossing. The Chinese were simply driven into the water and ordered to swim. Part of those in front went into the water. Some swam, but soon began to drown. The remainder did not dare to go into the water. Then the Cossacks began to urge them on with nagaikas (whips) and all who had rifles, Cossacks, settlers, old men and children opened fire. The shooting lasted about half an hour, after which a considerable number of Chinese corpses piled up on shore. Then, after the shooting, the commander of the detachment decided to resort to ordinary arms as well. The Cossacks chopped with their sabers, while the recruits were ordered to kill the “disobedient” Chinese with their axes. When some of the recruits lacked fortitude for this, the Cossacks threatened “to decapitate them as traitors”. The Chinese cried; some crossed themselves with the “orthodox cross” pleading that they not be killed, but nothing helped. Before the completion of the crossing a mounted party of Cossacks from one of the Amur Cossack regiments also participated in the shooting at the Chinese. The commander of the mounted party at first had not wanted to fire, but upon the demand of the Police chief ordered his men to fire five rounds each, and then continued on his way, in spite of the request of Ataman N (commander of the Cossacks who came out to meet the caravan), to remain with his detachment and “shoot a while longer”, as the Cossacks of the settlement had run out of ammunition. He agreed only to take a note from the Cossack commander to the squadron commander about the sending of help; but this request remained unfulfilled. During the crossing of the first party of Chinese, it was found, the majority had perished, some had drowned, others had been slain. Not more than a hundred Chinese had swum to the other shore and saved themselves. The article goes on to state the crossing was more of an extermination. Many recruits testified during the investigations after that orders were to drown the Chinese.  This massacre did not seem to satisfy the Russians involved, for on July 19th and 21st two more parties were sent to the crossing of 170 and 66 Chinese. They were killed in a similar fashion, all of this was overseen by the chief of police. Some Chinese swam to safety, but not many. The people who butchered the Chinese did not hide their actions, though their superiors sent reports that most of the Chinese had swam to the other side and only a few were killed for disobedience. The military governor of the Amur region demanded an inquiry be made, but he did not self report the matter to the Governor General after the investigation showcased the horror. General Griskii was indicted for the crime, he argued in his defense that he acted in accordance with preserving the peace and that he left the matter to the chief of police. He had taken no interest in the details of what occurred during deportation operation. The chief of police accused a Colonel chairman of the Amur military government for being responsible for the massacre.  There was an investigation looking into atrocities committed elsewhere in the Amur region. It was found out in the village of Poirkovkaia, 85 Chinese including a Qing colonel were arrested and the chief of police at Blagoveshchensk telegram the police over there “send Chinese river or annihilate if they resist”. When the police replied whether they were to drown the Chinese or just let them cross the river the chief replied on July 20th “one must be crazy and foolish to ask what to do with the Chinese. When one is told to do away with them, one should do so without deliberation. The Chinese colonel is not to be kept in a separate place, but in a cell on the same level as the others. Everything in his possession should be taken away. All my orders are to be executed without any evasion; do not act willfully or bother me with nonsense.” The chief would then sent a circular telegram out to all his subordinates stating “annihilate Chinese appearing on our side, without asking for instructions”. The police force at the village testified they provided boats to the Chinese, but that Cossacks who were providing escort had fired upon them and killed most of them. At the village of Albazinskaia it was reported that 100 Chinese were peacefully boated across the river when they saw the telegrams. At the village of Pokrovka, the local forces asked for confirmation of the telegram orders from General Gribskii, who ordered on July 20th “that it be impressed on the local Russian authorities that Russia's struggle was with armed Chinese, who engaged in hostilities against them. Peaceful, harmless Chinese, particularly unarmed ones, are not to be harmed in any war. To save their lives, they are to be sent to their side on boats or steamers”. Upon hearing this, the police chief of Blagoveshchensk suddenly reversed his telegram orders and now stated that peaceful Chinese must not be molested.  In the end, the investigation found no real steps were taken by the Russian government to punish the guilty. General Gribskii was relieve of his duties, but in consideration of his otherwise perfect record, he was not dismissed from the service. The chief of police was dismissed from his position and other culprits of the ordering of atrocities were discharged dishonorably, but all subordinates who performed the murders were freed of the responsibility. In the public eyes, Gribskii and the others were disgraced. The topic of the massacre on the Amur was one the Russians would continue to avoid. Not all the villages in the region treated the Manchu poorly. At Dzhalinda, Markova and Ignashina, where boats were available, they safely moved the Chinese across. At Stretenskaia station Chinese residents were not molested. But certainly at Blagoveshchensk it saw the very worst horrors.  The gunfire across the Amur gradually ceased, the Russian population on their side of the border were relieved many of the Chinese had crossed to the other side. The Russian residents of Blagoveshchensk began returning to their homes. However the lull was a deception. During the night thousands of Chinese crossed the Amur river between Aigun and military post no 1 near the mouth of the Zeia. They got over undetected and were within 1400 feet of the military post, guarded by a handful of soldiers with some militiamen, around 400 men strong in all. At dawn on July 18th the Chinese opened fire at the militiamen. The men of the military post fired back, but made a withdrawal over to Blagoveshchensk. The Chinese followed quickly towards a part of the Zeia. Fortunately for the fleeing Russians a steamer was coming that way carrying a large number of Cossack troops who immediately landed and began to face the Chinese. One of the Chinese detachments tried to flee across the Amur and was wiped out. Rumors spread in Blagoveshchensk that the Manchu were trying to get around the city from the rear, and this caused a panic. The situation was critical, the few military troops in the area were moving back and forth between Blagoveshchensk and Aigun exhausting themselves. If the Chinese had seriously tried to invade, they would have easily overwhelmed the Russians settlements, but they didn't. It could perhaps be due to simply fear or poor strategy, but the Chinese never took advantage of the situation. Russian artillery, vastly outnumbered, tried to reply to the Qing artillery. One night when the Chinese fire was slack, 150 Russians crossed the Amur to prod the Chinese positions leading to a minor skirmish.  On July 19th, the Chinese tried to cross the Amur in two places, but were repulsed. The Qing gunfire continued to pound Blagoveshchensk and harass the Russian forces who were slowly being reinforced by men coming over from Khabarovsk. The Russians gradually were crossing the Amur to harass and cease Qing held outposts. Between July 19-21st, many smaller Chinese settlements on the Russian side of the Amur beyond the Zeia were plundered and destroyed. On the 22nd the Sungari made its way to the city dropping off large quantities of ammunition and guns from Khabarovsk. 380 rifles were then brought via horseback from Poiarkova and 700 new recruits were landed by the steamer Chikoi. The bombardment of Blagoveshchensk continued sporadically, but the Chinese were losing morale and disertions were increasing. On the 27th the steamer Selenga performed a reconnaissance of the enemy fortifications at Sakhalian as the Chinese fired wildly upon it. Selenga bombarded the enemy entrenchments and on the night of the 29th landed a detachment of Cossacks. General Gribskii estimated the Chinese had around 18,000 men and 45 artillery pieces in the Aigun-Blagoveshchensk region. By the end of the month the Chinese opportunity to take the city had passed, now the Russians were pouring their troops between Aigun and Blagoveshchensk, pressing the war upon the Chinese side. The Russians planned to attack Sakhalian and Aigun on the night of August 1st. In overall command were Major General Subotich and Captain Zapol'skii. The plan called for Colonel Pechenkin and Lt Colonel Ladyzhenskii to take the 4th and 5th Sotnias of the Amur Cossack regiment and 1st Sotnia of the Nervchinsk Cossack Regiment over the Amur just above Verkhne-lagoveshchensk. They would perform reconnaissance and take up an assembly position on the right flank. Colonel Frimann with 4 companies of the 2nd East Siberian Line battery, 8 guns of the 2nd east Sierian artillery brigade and half a sotnia of Amur Cossack regiment across from Verkhne-Blagoveshchensk. Frimann would be followed up by Colonel Shverin with 3 companies of the Chita Reserve regiment, 3 companies of the Stretensk reserve regiment, 8 guns of the 1st battalion of the Transbaikal artillery division and half a sotnia of the Amur Cossack regiment. Lt Colonel Poliakov would cross with the compositie reserve battalion of 5 companies. The steamer Aigun and the barge Kalifornia alongside 52 smaller vessels would convey the troops.  The Chinese artillery fired upon the steamers Selenga, Grazhdanin, Mikhail and Sungari who were going up and down the Amur trying to deflect enemy attention from the invasion. The Chinese expected a landing near the No 1 military post and placed their units accordingly. Where the Russians would actually land had a very small number of Chinese defenders. The Russians encountered little resistance landing and by the time the Chinese advanced to the landing site from the direction of Sakhalian, the Russians had already occupied strategic positions. The Russians bombarded the coastal entrenchments from the flank, driving the Chinese to abandon them. By 7:30am the Russians advanced against the incoming Chinese. At first the Chinese were withdrawing orderly, continuing to fire back, but by noon they began to route and fled for the mountains towards the road to Aigun. A major blunder on the side of the Chinese was continuing to use their artillery on the Russian steamers rather than hitting the advancing troops. The Chinese believed the steamers were carrying the invasion force and were duped.  Sakhalian was being evacuated without a fight, Cossack raiders would enter the city putting everything to the torch leaving just a few buildings standing. By 6pm when the Russian infantry reached Sakhalian, the Manchu town ceased to exist. While Sakhalin was being taken, the military transports and reserve of Major General Aleksandrov were ferried across the Amur and the Chinese were regrouping at Aigun. The Chinese dug into the mountains building up fortifications. When the Russians prodded their defenses on August 3rd, the Chinese fire was heavy upon them. However when the Chinese tried to follow up their successes, the Russians flanked them forcing them back to their entrenchments. The Russian Cossack cavalry made wild charges followed up with bayonet charges overrunning the Chinese positions. Most of the Chinese fled south for other mountain spurs in the direction of Tstsihar. Many of the units were scattered unable to provide much resistance. Around 200 Chinese were killed in the mountains while the Russians reported 5 deaths and 24 wounded. At 2pm on August 4th, the Russians resumed their offensive against Aigun, expecting a fierce resistance as it was an important commercial town. The main defensive entrenchments between the mountains and Aigun had to be taken one by one. For 5 hours the Russians advanced under Chinese fire, but their losses were light. The Chinese attempted a counter attack in the mountains, but were met with harsh artillery fire forcing them back by 7pm. Once in range Russian artillery began smashing Aigun. Fotengauer guns were setting the town ablaze while 400 Chinese infantrymen valiantly fought on the open field to their death to try and stop them. The Chinese were forced to abandon Aigun during the night. The following day the Russians moved in fighting house to house against the stubborn towns defenders who did not flee. In Aigun the Russians ceased cannons, machine guns and ammunition. Meanwhile Rennenkampf's Cossack pursued the fleeing Chinese from village to village fighting skirmishes. Between August 7th to the 9th, Chinese rear guards, roughly 800 men with 300 cavalry, tried to fight the Cossacks off. On August the 10th the Chinese rallied to make a stand at the Hsing-an mountains. Rennenkampfs force of around four and half sotnia's and 2 cavalry guns ran right into 4000 Chinese infantry and another 4000 Manchu Cavalry supported by 12 guns. The Cossacks galloped beyond the Chinese positions causing an onslaught that devolved into a struggle for survival for all. Cossacks slashed wildly as Chinese fired at point blank range. Artillery blasted the area causing carnage. The Chinese eventually were dislodged, but Rennenkampf had to wait for reinforcements to do so. It was on August 16th the Russians stormed the Chinese positions and on the 17th the Hsing-an pass was taken. Rennenkampt received a report the Chinese had fled to Tsitsihar and so he carried on for it. Tsitsihar was the capital of Heilungchiang province and on August 20th as Rennekampf's cavalry approached 45 miles from it a flag of truce bearer sent by General Shou Shan, the Manchu General of the province proposed armistice. Rennekmapt rejected the offer and pushed forward. On August 18th Rennekampf took the city with 460 Cossacks while one of his units secured the ford across the Nonni river. The Chinese offered light resistance, General Shou Shan had poisoned himself. Rennenkampfs forces entered the city on August 29th captured 31 guns, it was an incredible set of victories. From this point Lt General Gribskii made a official proclamation to the Chinese of Manchuria telling them they had started the war by attacking Blagoveshchensk and now Russian held Aigun and countless towns in the region. Soon they would come to all of their villages and if they did not shoot at them, no harm will come to them. He said the Russians only wanted to peacefully build railroads and everyone would be left in peace to tend to their fields as was before. 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 horrible massacre that occurred along the Amur river is a sore spot to this very day between Russia and China. What began as a rather small conflict quickly unfolded into a full blown Russian invasion of the Manchu homeland.

Skicka era frågor och funderingar till någon av dessa profiler:Bob: https://www.instagram.com/bobeborta/Malte: https://www.instagram.com/malte.gardinger/Nonni: https://www.instagram.com/nonniardal/ Producent: Jakob Almgren

Skicka era frågor och funderingar till någon av dessa profiler:Bob: https://www.instagram.com/bobeborta/Malte: https://www.instagram.com/malte.gardinger/Nonni: https://www.instagram.com/nonniardal/ Producent: Jakob Almgren

Skicka era frågor och funderingar till någon av dessa profiler:Bob: https://www.instagram.com/bobeborta/Malte: https://www.instagram.com/malte.gardinger/Nonni: https://www.instagram.com/nonniardal/ Producent: Jakob Almgren

Skicka era frågor och funderingar till någon av dessa profiler:Bob: https://www.instagram.com/bobeborta/Malte: https://www.instagram.com/malte.gardinger/Nonni: https://www.instagram.com/nonniardal/ Producent: Jakob Almgren