Podcasts about Tai

Last time we spoke about the battle of Nanchang. After securing Hainan and targeting Zhejiang–Jiangxi Railway corridors, Japan's 11th Army, backed by armor, air power, and riverine operations, sought a rapid, surgical seizure of Nanchang to sever eastern Chinese logistics and coerce Chongqing. China, reorganizing under Chiang Kai-shek, concentrated over 200,000 troops across 52 divisions in the Ninth and Third War Zones, with Xue Yue commanding the 9th War Zone in defense of Wuhan-Nanchang corridors. The fighting began with German-style, combined-arms river operations along the Xiushui and Gan rivers, including feints, river crossings, and heavy artillery, sometimes using poison gas. From March 20–23, Japanese forces established a beachhead and advanced into Fengxin, Shengmi, and later Nanchang, despite stiff Chinese resistance and bridges being destroyed. Chiang's strategic shift toward attrition pushed for broader offensives to disrupt railways and rear areas, though Chinese plans for a counteroffensive repeatedly stalled due to logistics and coordination issues. By early May, Japanese forces encircled and captured Nanchang, albeit at heavy cost, with Chinese casualties surpassing 43,000 dead and Japanese losses over 2,200 dead.    #187 The Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang-Shatow 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. Having seized Wuhan in a brutal offensive the previous year, the Japanese sought not just to hold their ground but to solidify their grip on this vital hub. Wuhan, a bustling metropolis at the confluence of the Yangtze and Han Rivers, had become a linchpin in their strategy, a base from which they could project power across central China. Yet, the city was far from secure, Chinese troops in northern Hubei and southern Henan, perched above the mighty Yangtze, posed an unrelenting threat. To relieve the mounting pressure on their newfound stronghold, the Japanese high command orchestrated a bold offensive against the towns of Suixian and Zaoyang. They aimed to annihilate the main force of the Chinese 5th War Zone, a move that would crush the Nationalist resistance in the region and secure their flanks. This theater of war, freshly designated as the 5th War Zone after the grueling Battle of Wuhan, encompassed a vast expanse west of Shashi in the upper Yangtze basin. It stretched across northern Hubei, southern Henan, and the rugged Dabie Mountains in eastern Anhui, forming a strategic bulwark that guarded the eastern approaches to Sichuan, the very heartland of the Nationalist government's central institutions. Historian Rana Mitter in Forgotten Ally described this zone as "a gateway of immense importance, a natural fortress that could either serve as a launchpad for offensives against Japanese-held territories or a defensive redoubt protecting the rear areas of Sichuan and Shaanxi". The terrain itself was a defender's dream and an attacker's nightmare: to the east rose the imposing Dabie Mountains, their peaks cloaked in mist and folklore; the Tongbai Mountains sliced across the north like a jagged spine; the Jing Mountains guarded the west; the Yangtze River snaked southward, its waters a formidable barrier; the Dahong Mountains dominated the center, offering hidden valleys for ambushes; and the Han River (also known as the Xiang River) carved a north-south path through it all. Two critical transport arteries—the Hanyi Road linking Hankou to Yichang in Hubei, and the Xianghua Road connecting Xiangyang to Huayuan near Hankou—crisscrossed this landscape, integrating the war zone into a web of mobility. From here, Chinese forces could menace the vital Pinghan Railway, that iron lifeline running from Beiping (modern Beijing) to Hankou, while also threatening the Wuhan region itself. In retreat, it provided a sanctuary to shield the Nationalist heartlands. As military strategist Sun Tzu might have appreciated, this area had long been a magnet for generals, its contours shaping the fates of empires since ancient times. Despite the 5th War Zone's intricate troop deployments, marked by units of varying combat prowess and a glaring shortage of heavy weapons, the Chinese forces made masterful use of the terrain to harass their invaders. Drawing from accounts in Li Zongren's memoirs, he noted how these defenders, often outgunned but never outmaneuvered, turned hills into fortresses and rivers into moats. In early April 1939, as spring rains turned paths to mud, Chinese troops ramped up their disruptions along the southern stretches of the Pinghan Railway, striking from both eastern and western flanks with guerrilla precision. What truly rattled the Japanese garrison in Wuhan was the arrival of reinforcements: six full divisions redeployed to Zaoyang, bolstering the Chinese capacity to launch flanking assaults that could unravel Japanese supply lines. Alarmed by this buildup, the Japanese 11th Army, ensconced in the Wuhan area under the command of General Yasuji Okamura, a figure whose tactical acumen would later earn him notoriety in the Pacific War, devised a daring plan. They intended to plunge deep into the 5th War Zone, smashing the core of the Chinese forces and rendering them impotent, thereby neutralizing the northwestern threat to Wuhan once and for all. From April onward, the Japanese mobilized with meticulous preparation, amassing troops equipped with formidable artillery, rumbling tanks, and squadrons of aircraft that darkened the skies. Historians estimate they committed roughly three and a half divisions to this endeavor, as detailed in Edward J. Drea's In the Service of the Emperor: Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army. Employing a classic pincer movement, a two-flank encirclement coupled with a central breakthrough, they aimed for a swift, decisive strike to obliterate the main Chinese force in the narrow Suixian-Zaoyang corridor, squeezed between the Tongbai and Dahong Mountains. The offensive erupted in full fury on May 1, 1939, as Japanese columns surged forward like a tidal wave, their engines roaring and banners fluttering in the dust-choked air. General Li Zongren, the commander of the 5th War Zone, a man whose leadership had already shone in earlier campaigns like the defense of Tai'erzhuang in 1938, issued urgent orders to cease offensive actions against the Japanese and pivot to a defensive stance. Based on intelligence about the enemy's dispositions, Li orchestrated a comprehensive campaign structure, assigning precise defensive roles and battle plans to each unit. This was no haphazard scramble; it was a symphony of strategy, as Li himself recounted in his memoirs, emphasizing the need to exploit the terrain's natural advantages. While various Chinese war zones executed the "April Offensive" from late April to mid-May, actively harrying and containing Japanese forces, the 5th War Zone focused its energies on the southern segment of the Pinghan Railway, assaulting it from both sides in a bid to disrupt logistics. The main force of the 31st Army Group, under the command of Tang Enbo, a general known for his aggressive tactics and later criticized for corruption, shifted from elsewhere in Hubei to Zaoyang, fortifying the zone and posing a dire threat to the Japanese flanks and rear areas. To counter this peril and safeguard transportation along the Wuhan-Pinghan Railway, the Japanese, led by the formidable Okamura, unleashed their assault from the line stretching through Xinyang, Yingshan, and Zhongxiang. Mobilizing the 3rd, 13th, and 16th Divisions alongside the 2nd and 4th Cavalry Brigades, they charged toward the Suixian-Zaoyang region in western Hubei, intent on eradicating the Chinese main force and alleviating the siege-like pressure on Wuhan. In a masterful reorganization, Li Zongren divided his forces into two army groups, the left and right, plus a dedicated river defense army. His strategy was a blend of attrition and opportunism: harnessing the Tongbai and Dahong Mountains, clinging to key towns like lifelines, and grinding down the Japanese through prolonged warfare while biding time for a counterstroke. This approach echoed the Fabian tactics of ancient Rome, wearing the enemy thin before delivering the coup de grâce. The storm broke at dawn on May 1, when the main contingents of the Japanese 16th and 13th Divisions, bolstered by the 4th Cavalry Brigade from their bases in Zhongxiang and Jingshan, hurled themselves against the Chinese 37th and 180th Divisions of the Right Army Group. Supported by droning aircraft that strafed from above and tanks that churned the earth below, the Japanese advanced with mechanical precision. By May 4, they had shattered the defensive lines flanking Changshoudian, then surged along the east bank of the Xiang River toward Zaoyang in a massive offensive. Fierce combat raged through May 5, as described in Japanese war diaries compiled in Senshi Sōsho (the official Japanese war history series), where soldiers recounted the relentless Chinese resistance amid the smoke and clamor. The Japanese finally breached the defenses, turning their fury on the 122nd Division of the 41st Army. In a heroic stand, the 180th Division clung to Changshoudian, providing cover for the main force's retreat along the east-west Huangqi'an line. The 37th Division fell back to the Yaojiahe line, while elements of the 38th Division repositioned into Liushuigou. On May 6, the Japanese seized Changshoudian, punched through Huangqi'an, and drove northward, unleashing a devastating assault on the 122nd Division's positions near Wenjiamiao. Undeterred, Chinese defenders executed daring flanking maneuvers in the Fenglehe, Yaojiahe, Liushuihe, Shuanghe, and Zhangjiaji areas, turning the landscape into a labyrinth of ambushes. May 7 saw the Japanese pressing on, capturing Zhangjiaji and Shuanghe. By May 8, they assaulted Maozifan and Xinji, where ferocious battles erupted, soldiers clashing in hand-to-hand combat amid the ruins. By May 10, the Japanese had overrun Huyang Town and Xinye, advancing toward Tanghe and the northeastern fringes of Zaoyang. Yet, the Tanghe River front witnessed partial Chinese recoveries: remnants of the Right Army Group, alongside troops from east of the Xianghe, reclaimed Xinye. The 122nd and 180th Divisions withdrew north of Tanghe and Fancheng, while the 37th, 38th, and 132nd Divisions steadfastly held the east bank of the Xianghe River. Concurrently, the main force of the Japanese 3rd Division launched from Yingshan against the 84th and 13th Armies of the 11th Group Army in the Suixian sector. After a whirlwind of combat, the Chinese 84th Army retreated to the Taerwan position. On May 2, the 3rd Division targeted the Gaocheng position of the 13th Army within the 31st Group Army; the ensuing clashes in Taerwan and Gaocheng were a maelstrom of fire, with the Taerwan position exchanging hands multiple times like a deadly game of tug-of-war. By May 4, in a grim escalation, Japanese forces deployed poison gas, a violation of international norms that drew condemnation and is documented in Allied reports from the era, inflicting horrific casualties and compelling the Chinese to relinquish Gaocheng, which fell into enemy hands. On May 5, backed by aerial bombardments, tank charges, and artillery barrages, the Japanese renewed their onslaught along the Gaocheng River and the Lishan-Jiangjiahe line. By May 6, the beleaguered Chinese were forced back to the Tianhekou and Gaocheng line. Suixian succumbed on May 7. On May 8, the Japanese shattered the second line of the 84th Army, capturing Zaoyang and advancing on the Jiangtoudian position of the 85th Army. To evade encirclement, the defenders mounted a valiant resistance before withdrawing from Jiangtoudian; the 84th Army relocated to the Tanghe and Baihe areas, while the 39th Army embedded itself in the Dahongshan for guerrilla operations—a tactic that would bleed the Japanese through hit-and-run warfare, as noted in guerrilla warfare studies by Mao Zedong himself. By May 10, the bulk of the 31st Army Group maneuvered toward Tanghe, reaching north of Biyang by May 15. From Xinyang, Japanese forces struck at Tongbai on May 8; by May 10, elements from Zaoyang advanced to Zhangdian Town and Shangtun Town. In response, the 68th Army of the 1st War Zone dispatched the 143rd Division to defend Queshan and Minggang, and the 119th Division to hold Tongbai. After staunchly blocking the Japanese, they withdrew on May 11 to positions northwest and southwest of Tongbai, shielding the retreat of 5th War Zone units. The Japanese 4th Cavalry Brigade drove toward Tanghe, seizing Tanghe County on May 12. But the tide was turning. In a brilliant reversal, the Fifth War Zone commanded the 31st Army Group, in concert with the 2nd Army Group from the 1st War Zone, to advance from southwestern Henan. Their mission: encircle the bulk of Japanese forces on the Xiangdong Plain and deliver a crushing blow. The main force of the 33rd Army Group targeted Zaoyang, while other units pinned down Japanese rear guards in Zhongxiang. The Chinese counteroffensive erupted with swift successes, Tanghe County was recaptured on May 14, and Tongbai liberated on May 16, shattering the Japanese encirclement scheme. On May 19, after four grueling days of combat, Chinese forces mauled the retreating Japanese, reclaiming Zaoyang and leaving the fields strewn with enemy dead. The 39th Army of the Left Army Group dispersed into the mountains for guerrilla warfare, a shadowy campaign of sabotage and surprise. Forces of the Right Army Group east of the river, along with river defense units, conducted relentless raids on Japanese rears and supply lines over multiple days, sowing chaos before withdrawing to the west bank of the Xiang River on May 21. On May 22, they pressed toward Suixian, recapturing it on May 23. The Japanese, battered and depleted, retreated to their original garrisons in Zhongxiang and Yingshan, restoring the pre-war lines as the battle drew to a close. Throughout this clash, the Chinese held a marked superiority in manpower and coordination, though their deployments lacked full flexibility, briefly placing them on the defensive. After protracted, blood-soaked fighting, they restored the original equilibrium. Despite grievous losses, the Chinese thwarted the Japanese encirclement and exacted a heavy toll, reports from the time, corroborated by Japanese records in Senshi Sōsho, indicate over 13,000 Japanese killed or wounded, with more than 5,000 corpses abandoned on the battlefield. This fulfilled the strategic goal of containing and eroding Japanese strength. Chinese casualties surpassed 25,000, a testament to the ferocity of the struggle. The 5th War Zone seized the initiative in advances and retreats, deftly shifting to outer lines and maintaining positional advantages. As Japanese forces withdrew, Chinese pursuers harried and obstructed them, yielding substantial victories. The Battle of Suizao spanned less than three weeks. The Japanese main force pierced defenses on the east bank of the Han River, advancing to encircle one flank as planned. However, the other two formations met fierce opposition near Suixian and northward, stalling their progress. Adapting to the battlefield's ebb and flow, the Fifth War Zone transformed its tactics: the main force escaped encirclement, maneuvered to outer lines for offensives, and exploited terrain to hammer the Japanese. The pivotal order to flip from defense to offense doomed the encirclement; with the counterattack triumphant, the Japanese declined to hold and retreated. The Chinese pursued with unyielding vigor. By May 24, they had reclaimed Zaoyang, Tongbai, and other locales. Save for Suixian County, the Japanese had fallen back to pre-war positions, reinstating the regional status quo. Thus, the battle concluded, a chapter of resilience etched into the chronicles of China's defiance. In the sweltering heat of southern China, where the humid air clung to every breath like a persistent fog, the Japanese General Staff basked in what they called a triumphant offensive and defensive campaign in Guangdong. But victory, as history so often teaches, is a double-edged sword. By early 1939, the strain was palpable. Their secret supply line snaking from the British colony of Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland was under constant disruption, raids by shadowy guerrilla bands, opportunistic smugglers, and the sheer unpredictability of wartime logistics turning what should have been a lifeline into a leaky sieve. Blockading the entire coastline? A pipe dream, given the vast, jagged shores of Guangdong, dotted with hidden coves and fishing villages that had evaded imperial edicts for centuries. Yet, the General Staff's priorities were unyielding, laser-focused on strangling the Nationalist capital of Chongqing through a relentless blockade. This meant the 21st Army, that workhorse of the Japanese invasion force, had to stay in the fight—no rest for the weary. Drawing from historical records like the Senshi Sōsho (War History Series) compiled by Japan's National Institute for Defense Studies, we know that after the 21st Army reported severing what they dubbed the "secret transport line" at Xinhui, a gritty, hard-fought skirmish that left the local landscape scarred with craters and abandoned supply crates, the General Staff circled back to the idea of a full coastal blockade. It was a classic case of military opportunism: staff officers, poring over maps in dimly lit war rooms in Tokyo, suddenly "discovered" Shantou as a major port. Not just any port, mind you, but a bustling hub tied to the heartstrings of Guangdong's overseas Chinese communities. Shantou and nearby Chao'an weren't mere dots on a map; they were the ancestral hometowns of countless Chaoshan people who had ventured abroad to Southeast Asia, sending back remittances that flowed like lifeblood into the region. Historical economic studies, such as those in The Overseas Chinese in the People's Republic of China by Stephen Fitzgerald, highlight how these funds from the Chaoshan diaspora, often funneled through family networks in places like Singapore and Thailand, were substantial, indirectly fueling China's war effort by sustaining local economies and even purchasing arms on the black market. The Chao-Shao Highway, that dusty artery running near Shantou, was pinpointed as a critical vein connecting Hong Kong's ports to the mainland's interior. So, in early June 1939, the die was cast: Army Order No. 310 thundered from headquarters, commanding the 21st Army to seize Shantou. The Chief of the General Staff himself provided the strategic blueprint, a personal touch that underscored the operation's gravity. The Army Department christened the Chaoshan push "Operation Hua," a nod perhaps to the flowery illusions of easy conquest, while instructing the Navy Department to tag along for the ride. In naval parlance, it became "Operation J," a cryptic label that masked the sheer scale unfolding. Under the Headquarters' watchful eye, what started as a modest blockade morphed into a massive amphibious assault, conjured seemingly out of thin air like a magician's trick, but one with deadly props. The 5th Fleet's orders mobilized an impressive lineup: the 9th Squadron for heavy hitting, the 5th Mine Boat Squadron to clear watery hazards, the 12th and 21st Sweeper Squadrons sweeping for mines like diligent janitors of the sea, the 45th Destroyer Squadron adding destroyer muscle, and air power from the 3rd Combined Air Group (boasting 24 land-based attack aircraft and 9 reconnaissance planes that could spot a fishing boat from miles away). Then there was the Chiyoda Air Group with its 9 reconnaissance aircraft, the Guangdong Air Group contributing a quirky airship and one more recon plane, the 9th Special Landing Squadron from Sasebo trained for beach assaults, and a flotilla of special ships for logistics. On the ground, the 21st Army threw in the 132nd Brigade from the 104th Division, beefed up with the 76th Infantry Battalion, two mountain artillery battalions for lobbing shells over rugged terrain, two engineer battalions to bridge rivers and clear paths, a light armored vehicle platoon rumbling with mechanized menace, and a river-crossing supplies company to keep the troops fed and armed. All under the command of Brigade Commander Juro Goto, a stern officer whose tactical acumen was forged in earlier Manchurian campaigns. The convoy's size demanded rehearsals; the 132nd Brigade trained for boat transfers at Magong in the Penghu Islands, practicing the precarious dance of loading men and gear onto rocking vessels under simulated fire. Secrecy shrouded the whole affair, many officers and soldiers, boarding ships in the dead of night, whispered among themselves that they were finally heading home to Japan, a cruel ruse to maintain operational security. For extra punch, the 21st Army tacked on the 31st Air Squadron for air support, their planes droning like angry hornets ready to sting. This overkill didn't sit well with everyone. Lieutenant General Ando Rikichi, the pragmatic commander overseeing Japanese forces in the region, must have fumed in his Guangzhou headquarters. His intelligence staff, drawing from intercepted radio chatter and local spies as noted in postwar analyses like The Japanese Army in World War II by Gordon L. Rottman, reported that the Chongqing forces in Chaozhou were laughably thin: just the 9th Independent Brigade, a couple of security regiments, and ragtag "self-defense groups" of armed civilians. Why unleash such a sledgehammer on a fly? The mobilization's magnitude even forced a reshuffling of defenses around Guangzhou, pulling resources from the 12th Army's front lines and overburdening the already stretched 18th Division. It was bureaucratic overreach at its finest, a testament to the Imperial Staff's penchant for grand gestures over tactical efficiency. Meanwhile, on the Nationalist side, the winds of war carried whispers of impending doom. The National Revolutionary Army's war histories, such as those compiled in the Zhongguo Kangri Zhanzheng Shi (History of China's War of Resistance Against Japan), note that Chiang Kai-shek's Military Commission had snagged intelligence as early as February 1939 about Japan's plans for a large-scale invasion of Shantou. The efficiency of the Military Command's Second Bureau and the Military Intelligence Bureau was nothing short of astonishing, networks of agents, double agents, and radio intercepts piercing the veil of Japanese secrecy. Even as the convoy slipped out of Penghu, a detailed report outlining operational orders landed on Commander Zhang Fakui's desk, the ink still fresh. Zhang, a battle-hardened strategist whose career spanned the Northern Expedition and beyond , had four months to prepare for what would be dubbed the decisive battle of Chaoshan. Yet, in a move that baffled some contemporaries, he chose not to fortify and defend it tooth and nail. After the Fourth War Zone submitted its opinions, likely heated debates in smoke-filled command posts, Chiang Kai-shek greenlit the plan. By March, the Military Commission issued its strategic policy: when the enemy hit Chaoshan, a sliver of regular troops would team up with civilian armed forces for mobile and guerrilla warfare, grinding down the invaders like sandpaper on steel. The orders specified guerrilla zones in Chaozhou, Jiaxing, and Huizhou, unifying local militias under a banner of "extensive guerrilla warfare" to coordinate with regular army maneuvers, gradually eroding the Japanese thrust. In essence, the 4th War Zone wasn't tasked with holding Chao'an and Shantou at all costs; instead, they'd strike hard during the landing, then let guerrillas harry the occupiers post-capture. It was a doctrine of attrition in a "confined battlefield," honing skills through maneuver and ambush. Remarkably, the fall of these cities was preordained by the Military Commission three months before the Japanese even issued their orders, a strategic feint that echoed ancient Sun Tzu tactics of yielding ground to preserve strength. To execute this, the 4th War Zone birthed the Chao-Jia-Hui Guerrilla Command after meticulous preparation, with General Zou Hong, head of Guangdong's Security Bureau and a no-nonsense administrator known for his anti-smuggling campaigns, taking the helm. In just three months, Zhang Fakui scraped together the Independent 9th Brigade, the 2nd, 4th, and 5th Guangdong Provincial Security Regiments, and the Security Training Regiment. Even with the 9th Army Group lurking nearby, he handed the reins of the Chao-Shan operation to the 12th Army Group's planners. Their March guidelines sketched three lines of resistance from the coast to the mountains, a staged withdrawal that allowed frontline defenders to melt away like ghosts. This blueprint mirrored Chiang Kai-shek's post-Wuhan reassessment, where the loss of that key city in 1938 prompted a shift to protracted warfare. A Xinhua News Agency columnist later summed it up scathingly: "The Chongqing government, having lost its will to resist, colludes with the Japanese and seeks to eliminate the Communists, adopting a policy of passive resistance." This narrative, propagated by Communist sources, dogged Chiang and the National Revolutionary Army for decades, painting them as defeatists even as they bled the Japanese dry through attrition. February 1939 saw Commander Zhang kicking off a reorganization of the 12th Army Group, transforming it from a patchwork force into something resembling a modern army. He could have hunkered down, assigning troops to a desperate defense of Chaoshan, but that would have handed the initiative to the overcautious Japanese General Staff, whose activism often bordered on paranoia. Zhang, with the wisdom of a seasoned general who had navigated the treacherous politics of pre-war China, weighed the scales carefully. His vision? Forge the 12th Army Group into a nimble field army, not squander tens of thousands on a secondary port. Japan's naval and air dominance—evident in the devastation of Shanghai in 1937, meant Guangdong's forces could be pulverized in Shantou just as easily. Losing Chaozhou and Shantou? Acceptable, if it preserved core strength for the long haul. Post-Xinhui, Zhang doubled down on resistance, channeling efforts into live-fire exercises for the 12th Army, turning green recruits into battle-ready soldiers amid the Guangdong hills. The war's trajectory after 1939 would vindicate him: his forces became pivotal in later counteroffensives, proving that a living army trumped dead cities. Opting out of a static defense, Zhang pivoted to guerrilla warfare to bleed the Japanese while clutching strategic initiative. He ordered local governments to whip up coastal guerrilla forces from Chao'an to Huizhou—melding militias, national guards, police, and private armed groups into official folds. These weren't elite shock troops, but in wartime's chaos, they controlled locales effectively, disrupting supply lines and gathering intel. For surprises, he unleashed two mobile units: the 9th Independent Brigade and the 20th Independent Brigade. Formed fresh after the War of Resistance erupted, these brigades shone for their efficiency within the cumbersome Guangdong Army structure. Division-level units were too bulky for spotty communications, so Yu Hanmou's command birthed these independent outfits, staffed with crack officers. The 9th, packing direct-fire artillery for punch, and the 20th, dubbed semi-mechanized for its truck-borne speed, prowled the Chaoshan–Huizhou coast from 1939. Zhang retained their three-regiment setup, naming Hua Zhenzhong and Zhang Shou as commanders, granting them autonomy to command in the field like roving wolves. As the 9th Independent Brigade shifted to Shantou, its 627th Regiment was still reorganizing in Heyuan, a logistical hiccup amid the scramble. Hua Zhenzhong, a commander noted for his tactical flexibility in regional annals, deployed the 625th Regiment and 5th Security Regiment along the coast, with the 626th as reserve in Chao'an. Though the Fourth War Zone had written off Chaoshan, Zhang yearned to showcase Guangdong grit before the pullback. Dawn broke on June 21, 1939, at 4:30 a.m., with Japanese reconnaissance planes slicing through the fog over Shantou, Anbu, and Nanbeigang, ghostly silhouettes against the gray sky. By 5:30, the mist lifted, revealing a nightmare armada: over 40 destroyers and 70–80 landing craft churning toward the coast on multiple vectors, their hulls cutting the waves like knives. The 626th Regiment's 3rd Battalion at Donghushan met the first wave with a hail of fire from six light machine guns, repelling the initial boats in a frenzy of splashes and shouts. But the brigade's long-range guns couldn't stem the tide; Hua focused on key chokepoints, aiming to bloody the invaders rather than obliterate them. By morning, the 3rd Battalion of the 625th Regiment charged into Shantou City, joined by the local police corps digging in amid urban sprawl. Combat raged at Xinjin Port and the airport's fringes, where Nationalist troops traded shots with advancing Japanese under the absent shadow of a Chinese navy. Japanese naval guns, massed offshore, pounded the outskirts like thunder gods in fury. By 2:00 a.m. on the 22nd, Shantou crumpled as defenders' ammo ran dry, the city falling in a haze of smoke and echoes. Before the loss, Hua had positioned the 1st Battalion of the 5th Security Regiment at Anbu, guarding the road to Chao'an. Local lore, preserved in oral histories collected by the Chaozhou Historical Society, recalls Battalion Commander Du Ruo leading from the front, rifle in hand, but Japanese barrages, bolstered by superior firepower—forced a retreat. Post-capture, Tokyo's forces paused to consolidate, unleashing massacres on fleeing civilians in the outskirts. A flotilla of civilian boats, intercepted at sea, became a grim training ground for bayonet drills, a barbarity echoed in survivor testimonies compiled in The Rape of Nanking and Beyond extensions to Guangdong atrocities. With Shantou gone, Hua pivoted to flank defense, orchestrating night raids on Japanese positions around Anbu and Meixi. On June 24th, Major Du Ruo spearheaded an assault into Anbu but fell gravely wounded amid the chaos. Later, the 2nd Battalion of the 626th overran spots near Meixi. A Japanese sea-flanking maneuver targeted Anbu, but Nationalists held at Liulong, sparking nocturnal clashes, grenade volleys, bayonet charges, and hand-to-hand brawls that drained both sides like a slow bleed. June 26th saw the 132nd Brigade lumber toward Chao'an. Hua weighed options: all-out assault or guerrilla fade? He chose to dig in on the outskirts, reserving two companies of the 625th and a special ops battalion in the city. The 27th brought a day-long Japanese onslaught, culminating in Chao'an's fall after fierce rear-guard actions by the 9th Independent Brigade. Evacuations preceded the collapse, with Japanese propaganda banners fluttering falsely, claiming Nationalists had abandoned defense. Yet Hua's call preserved his brigade for future fights; the Japanese claimed an empty prize. 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 Japanese operations had yet again plugged up supply leaks into Nationalist China. The fall of Suixian, Zaoyang and Shantou were heavy losses for the Chinese war effort. However the Chinese were also able to exact heavy casualties on the invaders and thwarted their encirclement attempts. China was still in the fight for her life.

Send us a textWhat happens when an object that once felt magical becomes a symbol of harm—and then is transformed into an act of remembrance? Today's conversation In the Den invites us to look closely, to move past what we think we see, and to sit with art that refuses to let us look away. Our guest is Tai Ericson, an artist known for transforming the familiar into the unexpected. Tai's current project is as bold as it is devastating: portraits of murdered trans people created from the pages of Harry Potter books. The author of that series has, for years, contributed purposefully and relentlessly to a culture that vilifies and endangers trans people around the world. In Tai's hands, those pages are no longer a vessel for that harm. They are cut, reassembled, and transformed—destroying the work itself and replacing it with a memorial to someone whose life was taken by the very culture it helped foster. This is a conversation about art as resistance, grief as truth-telling, and what it means to honor trans lives—not abstractly, but by name, by face, and by story. Special Guest: Tai EricsonTai Ericson is a Vermont-based artist transforming the familiar into the unexpected. By amassing everyday objects, often in monumental quantities, he crafts objects that tell one story from afar, then reveal their true identity up close. Tai's current project is creating portraits of murdered trans people using the pages of Harry Potter books. The author has contributed purposefully and relentlessly to a culture that vilifies and endangers trans people around the world. The portrait destroys her work, replacing it with a memorial to someone that lost their life to the culture she fosters.Links from the Show:Tai's website Find Tai on IGGlaad accountability account of JK RowlingJoin Mama Dragons todayIn the Den is made possible by generous donors like you. Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at www.mamadragons.org. What happens when an object that once felt magical becomes a symbol of harm—and then is transformed into an act of remembrance? Today's conversation In the Den invites us to look closely, to move past what we think we see, and to sit with art that refuses to let us look away. Our guest is Tai Ericson, an artist known for transforming the familiar into the unexpected. Tai's current project is as bold as it is devastating: portraits of murdered trans people created from the pages of Harry Potter books. The author of that series has, for years, contributed purposefully and relentlessly to a culture that vilifies and endangers trans people around the world. In Tai's hands, those pages are no longer a vessel for that harm. They are cut, reassembled, and transformed—destroying the work itself and replacing it with a memSupport the showConnect with Mama Dragons:WebsiteInstagramFacebookDonate to this podcast

Dave Hendrick looks at all the LFC related news & gossip. Today he looks at Andy Robertson looking likely moving on to Spurs. Sponsored by MedExpress. Visit MedExpress.co.uk to check your eligibility and get 30% off with code TAI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode #465: In a rich discussion on Buddhist manuscript cultures in Southeast Asia, Professor Volker Grabowsky and Dr. Silpsupa Jaengsawang explore how handwritten texts—especially those on palm leaf and mulberry paper—carry spiritual, cultural, and scholarly significance. They distinguish literature from manuscript study, which emphasizes the importance of materials, format and scribal context as much as the content.Manuscripts, they argue, are not just vessels of content, but cultural artifacts, and often used as sacred objects in monastic rituals. In Theravāda traditions, monks often preach from memory, andholding a manuscript mainly to symbolically evoke the connection to the Buddha's teachings. They explain how traditional manuscript forms can also be used to convey secular content—such as histories and political commentary—and sometimes serve as tools of cultural preservation, such as in the Tai community in China.The scholars highlight the many challenges of preservation due to the deleterious effects of a tropical climate and natural disasters, as well as the social barrier of restricted access to manuscripts for women. Another challenge to preservation is the declining knowledge of traditional scripts in the modern world.Digitization efforts like the Hamburg-based Digital Library aim to safeguard these texts, but both scholars insist on the need for public engagement. The pair concludes that manuscript traditions persist not as relics but as dynamic forms coexisting with print and digital media—integrating past, present, and future in a living continuum of cultural practice.

(Part 2 of 2) Tai's young wife was killed in a terrorist attack. He had been struggling to fill in a Worksheet about this devastating issue, so we did it together in real time. This is a very powerful and emotional episode. I hope you're able to have an open mind as you sit with Tai and me.   To catch Byron Katie live every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, 9am/PT on Zoom, register here: athomewithbyronkatie.com

Adam Christopher taps into the Dark Side once again with Master of Evil, and Albert and Lauren are here to discuss their thoughts, impressions, and favorite moments. Zoon, tai, taineechi. Zoon, tai, taineechi. ZOON, TAI, TAINEECHI. Feedback and Promotion Website: https://www.cantinacast.com Subscribe on YouTube: Cantina Cast Email: hellothere@cantinacast.com Follow us on BlueSky: The Cantina Cast Follow us on Threads: @TheCantinaCast Follow us on Twitter @TheCantinaCast Like us on Facebook: The Cantina Cast Follow us on Instagram: The Cantina Cast Follow us on Tumblr: Cantina Cast Discord: Cantina Cast Channel Pandora Link: Pandora Support the Cantina Cast Cantina Cast Patreon page TeePublic Store

Click the post for details on this episode! Welcome back to Open House! Randy Seidman here, coming to you from Thailand with another two hours of the grooviest beats. Happy holidays to you all of my listeners around the world, I'm wishing you the best for 2026. Amazing times this past month at BOHO in Pattaya and Baccarat in Bangkok, thank you to everyone who made it out. This week I'm playing the mighty Jungle Experience in Koh Phangan, and then Mustache in Bangkok January 30th. Today's episode is a special one with some of my favorite tunes in the first hour, followed by an exclusive session with the versatile South East Asian slayer, TNZ. For now, turn it up. Randy Seidman's Website Randy Seidman's SoundCloud Randy Seidman's Beatport Randy Seidman's Spotify Randy Seidman's Facebook Randy Seidman's Twitter Randy Seidman's Track List: 01. Jerome Robins, Karsten Sollors - Don't Stop The Music (Original Mix) [Randy Edit] 02. Noah Devega 'Rock to the Rhythm' (Randy's 'Bad Boy BKK' Edit] 03. Zurra - Pow! (Extended Mix) [Randy Edit] 04. Jorge Montia, Joe Red & Jose Ponce - Dark Valley (Original Mix) [Randy REdit] 05. Angel Heredia - Sing Ha He (Original Mix) [Randy Edit] 06. Angel Heredia - Zurek (Original Mix) [Randy Edit] 07. Angel Heredia - Atlas (Original Mix) [Randy Edit] 08. Angel Heredia - Unknow (Original Mix) [Randy Edit] 09. Siwell, Lucky Vegas - Count On You [Randy Edit] 10. TAI, Son Of 8 - In & Out (Earth n Days Remix) [Randy Edit] 11. Yvvan Back, Helvig - Dream Of You [Randy's 'So Many Times' Edit] 12. Tiesto, Poppy Baskcomb - Drifting (KREAM Remix) 13. Steve Angello - Tivoli (KREAM) [Randy Edit] 14. Kryder, Natalie Shay - Rapture [Randy Edit] 15. Caelu, OutFlux, HYPERS - Afterlife (feat._Caelu) (Extended Mix) [Randy Edit] 16. Thomaz Krauze - I'm Still Standing Feat. Stee Downes (Going Deeper Remix) [Randy Edit] I hope you enjoyed the first hour with some of my top recent tunes. Up next is a special exclusive session with the talented and versatile rising star out of South East Asia, TNZ. I had the pleasure of playing with TNZ at my recent show in Pattaya, and we ended up closing out the night together with a special B2B. I was very impressed by her skills, and I think you will be too! With residencies at Thailand's top spots, and stage time at the best clubs around Asia, TNZ is making her mark on the Asian dance music scene. She commands respect for her well-crafted mixes that range from House to Techno, and today she is here just for you. For the next hour, TNZ is in the mix. TNZ's Instagram TNZ's Linker.ee TNZ's MixClloud TNZ's Track List: 01. Haffenfold - Day & Age (Original Mix) 02. Franc Fala, Benja (NL) - Colombian Shipment (Original Mix) 03. Doruk (TR) - Bounce (Original Mix) 04. Angels Noise - Huracan (Original Mix) 05. Max Styler, Deomid - Every Night (Original Mix) 06. Jon.K - Wimbo (Original Mix) 07. Para Noir - One More Track (Extended Mix) 08. Stefano Mapo - Fuego (Original Mix) 09. Zac, Undercode - Hold Me Closer (Extended Mix) 10. Hidden Empire - Turn It Up (Extended Mix) 11. Landau, Silver Panda - Take No More (Extended Mix) 12. Rozenbergg - Title Doesn't Matter (Original Mix) 13. Clim - Feyko (Original Mix) 14. Contenance - Kush Coma (Extended Mix) 15. Artique - Out Of Mind (Original Mix) 16. Lena Storm - Shukr (Original Mix) Randy Seidman · Open House 251 w/Randy Seidman + TNZ [Jan. 2026]

Karolis Tiškevičius ir Kazimieras Labanauskas apžvelgė 19-ojo turo fantasy skaičius, pasirodymus, paskelbė pirmojo rato nugalėtoją bei pateikė rekomendacijas ateinančiai savaitei. Žaisti „BasketNews Fantasy“, kurį pristato CBet, galite čia: https://fantasy.basketnews.com Temos: Kaip laikomės po švenčių maratono? (0:00); Tai kas laimėjo po pirmojo Eurolygos rato? (3:20); Jūsų praeitos savaitės rekomendacijų apžvalga (5:05); Kazio komandos pasirodymas 19-ajame ture (13:05); Karolio komandos pasirodymas 19-ajame ture (14:50); Keitimai Karolio komandoje (16:25); Keitimai Kazio komandoje (22:25); Karolio ir Kazio savaitės rekomendacijos (30:05); Reaguojam į jūsų komentarus ir pokyčius Eurolygos komandų sudėtyse (33:45); „CBet Lietuvos Fantasy Krepšinio Lygos“ (LFKL) apžvalga (44:30); Vulgarus Jono Lekšo mainų pasiūlymas (49:05).

Tai's young wife was killed in a terrorist attack. He had been struggling to fill in a Worksheet about this devastating issue, so we did it together in real time. This is a very powerful and emotional episode. I hope you're able to have an open mind as you sit with Tai and me. (Part 1 of 2)   To catch Byron Katie live every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, 9am/PT on Zoom, register here: athomewithbyronkatie.com

Karą Azovo pulko žvalgas Dmytro lygina su kompiuteriniais žaidimais. „Battlefield“ ar „Call of Duty“, tik realybėje“. Jis dažnai erzina kovos draugus klausimais apie mirtį ir sako: „jei nesi tam pasiruošęs, tavo vieta bent jau ne kovinėje grupėje“. Kariai mokomi susitaikyti su mirties galimybe, bet niekas jų neruošia būti karo belaisviais. „Nėra tokio kurso“, – sako Julijanas, jūrų pėstininkų kuopos vadas.   Ši garso dokumentika parengta NARA žurnalistams lankantis Ukrainoje 2025-ųjų rugpjūtį. Tai garsiškai intensyvus žvilgsnis į tai, kaip ukrainiečiai bando išlikti nežmoniškomis sąlygomis bei sugrįžti į save iš vietos, kuri tave kaip žmogų bando ištrinti.   Autoriai Sigita Vegytė ir Denis Vėjas.   Palaikykite NARA žurnalistiką: https://nara.lt/lt/support 

Tựa Đề: Mùa Giáng Sinh, Nói Chuyện... Ghi Vào Lòng Và... Bỏ Ngoài Tai; Tác Giả: Mục Sư Nguyễn Đình Liễu; Loạt Bài: Lễ Giáng Sinh

Video này được chuyển thể từ bài viết gốc trên nền tảng mạng xã hội chia sẻ tri thức Spiderum

Kaip Lietuvos leidėjai ir skaitytojai vertina dirbtinio intelekto naudojimą knygų leidyboje? Nuo redagavimo ir vertimo iki rinkodaros – dirbtinis intelektas vis dažniau tampa leidybos proceso dalimi, tačiau tai kelia ir teisinių, ir etinių klausimų. Visa tai analizavo Vilniaus universiteto mokslininkai: profesorius Arūnas Gudinavičius ir docentas Vincas Grigas.Virtuvės šefas Alfas Ivanauskas išleido naują žiemos receptų knygą. Tai jau šešta žiemos šventėms skirta Alfo Ivanausko knyga, kurios pavadinimas – „Tyla prieš audrą“. Knygoje kviečiame nešvaistyti maisto ir geriau sutaupytus pinigus išleisti pramogoms su artimaisiais.Lietuvos negalios organizacijų forumo atliktas tyrimas rodo, kad Lietuvoje tėvai apie vaiko negalią dažniausiai informuojami šaltai ir formaliai, kai kuriais atvejais pasitaiko menkinimo, įžeidinėjimo ir tėvų kaltinimo. Kas penkta tyrime dalyvavusi šeima nurodė, kad su nepagarbiu medicinos darbuotojų elgesiu susiduria dažnai arba labai dažnai. Po tokių patirčių tėvai jaučiasi sugniuždyti arba pikti, nenusiteikę bendradarbiauti, todėl kyla rizika, kad vaikas negaus reikiamos pagalbos arba jos kokybė bus nepakankama.

Kaip Lietuvos leidėjai ir skaitytojai vertina dirbtinio intelekto naudojimą knygų leidyboje? Nuo redagavimo ir vertimo iki rinkodaros – dirbtinis intelektas vis dažniau tampa leidybos proceso dalimi, tačiau tai kelia ir teisinių, ir etinių klausimų. Visa tai analizavo Vilniaus universiteto mokslininkai: profesorius Arūnas Gudinavičius ir docentas Vincas Grigas.Virtuvės šefas Alfas Ivanauskas išleido naują žiemos receptų knygą. Tai jau šešta žiemos šventėms skirta Alfo Ivanausko knyga, kurios pavadinimas – „Tyla prieš audrą“. Knygoje kviečiame nešvaistyti maisto ir geriau sutaupytus pinigus išleisti pramogoms su artimaisiais.Lietuvos negalios organizacijų forumo atliktas tyrimas rodo, kad Lietuvoje tėvai apie vaiko negalią dažniausiai informuojami šaltai ir formaliai, kai kuriais atvejais pasitaiko menkinimo, įžeidinėjimo ir tėvų kaltinimo. Kas penkta tyrime dalyvavusi šeima nurodė, kad su nepagarbiu medicinos darbuotojų elgesiu susiduria dažnai arba labai dažnai. Po tokių patirčių tėvai jaučiasi sugniuždyti arba pikti, nenusiteikę bendradarbiauti, todėl kyla rizika, kad vaikas negaus reikiamos pagalbos arba jos kokybė bus nepakankama.

Švenčių dienomis poliklinikos ir šeimos medicinos centrai nedirba, o netikėtai pakilus temperatūrai, suskaudus gerklei ar atsiradus kitam sveikatos sutrikimui dažnam kyla klausimas: kur kreiptis pagalbos? Pokalbis su VLK Gyventojų aptarnavimo departamento patarėja Vaida Bernotiene.Į Lietuvą atvykę užsieniečiai susiduria su diskriminacija, o jos pasekmės – gyvenimas prasčiau prižiūrimame būste, didesnė nuomos kaina ir didėjanti socialinė atskirtis. Tai atskleidė Lygių galimybių kontrolieriaus tarnybos atliktas tyrimas.Rubrikoje „Savaitgalis už Vilniaus“ pasakojimas apie aviamechanikos studentą Kiprą Kisielių iš Kauno, kuris dalyvavo visuose 4 protestuose už laisvą žodį Vilniuje ir sako protestuosiąs tiek, kiek reikės.Aktorius, pedagogas Vytautas Kontrimas ir jo žmona, programuotoja indė Malini šventinį laikotarpį pradeda jau lapkritį – nuo Divalio šventės. Tai laikas, kai kviečiama sustoti ir tamsoje ieškoti šviesos.Ved. Rūta Kupetytė

Kurnėnų Lauryno Radziukyno mokyklos skambutis kaimo vaikus pakvietė 1936 metais. Modernios mokyklos ir kitų statinių statybas finansavo po studijų Jungtinėse Valstijose apsigyvenęs Kurnėnų kaime gimęs ir augęs Laurynas Radziukynas. Praturtėjęs verslininkas nepamiršo gimtų vietų, kaip teko per pusnis į mokyklą klampoti su medinėmis klumpėmis. Tuomet apie naują amerikonišką mokyklą „Lietuvos aidas“ rašė: „Kurnėnų mokykla it bažnyčia su bokštu. Vietos gyventojams atrodo savotiška ir neįprasta jų akiai, bet ji yra prabangiška, gerai įrengta, su visais patogumais. Didžiulė gimnastikos salė, erdvios klasės, patogūs mokytojams butai ir kambariai, vonios, vandentiekis daro šią mokyklą vienintelę Lietuvoje“2017 m. susirinkę buvę mokyklos mokiniai Bonifacas Valūnas ir sūnus Saulius, ilgametė direktorė Antanina Urmanavičienė vaikščiojo po akyse nykstančią mokyklą ir su ašaromis akyse akino kuo greičiau pradėti jos rekonstrukciją.Alytaus rajono garbės pilietis dr. Kazimieras Sventickas anuomet sakė: „Tai buvo ypatingai moderni mokykla. Įsivaizduokime, iš mėšlinos trobelės ateina vaikas ir jam atsiveria langas į visiškai kitą gyvenimą. Čia buvo ugdoma ateities Lietuvai inteligentų karta“Šiandien Kurnėnų mokyklos statinių kompleksas – kultūros paveldo objektas. Lauryno Radziukyno mokykla rekonstruota, ją galima lankyti, vyksta edukacijos, renginiai. Pasakoja Kurnėnų Lauryno Ivinskio mokyklos kultūrinės veiklos organizatorė Rasa Navakauskienė.Lauryno Radziukyno šeima draugavo su netoliese gyvenančiais Žmuidzinavičiais. Miroslavo seniūnijoje, Balkūnų kaime gimė ir augo dailininkas Antanas Žmuidzinavičius. Sodybos istoriją prisimena kraštotyrininkas Jonas Juravičius.Istorinis Punios miestelis. Laimutė Žūsinienė, buvusi istorijos mokytoja, o šiandien bendruomenės „Punios ainiai“ pirmininkė dalijasi mintimis apie artėjančias šventes ir laukia svečių.Ved. Jolanta Jurkūnienė

The Philadelphia Eagles have had an up and down season. Fans have seen some very good football. Fans have seen some bad football. But the fact is that they're atop of the NFC East and likely heading to the playoffs. How has this team shown growth over this season? This week, O.J. Spivey from The Philadelphia Tribune joined the pod for an in-depth discussion about what we've seen from this Eagles team and where they may be going in the foreseeable future. A great discussion!But first, the guys dove into some of the good hockey that's being played by the Flyers this season as the team is currently at the No. 4 spot in the Metropolitan Division. (Approx. 6:00)From there, they got into a discussion about how this Union offseason is looking, which isn't great. With the Union giving up two key pieces and talents to other MLS teams, what is the strategy here? (Approx. 12:10)Then they talked about what has been happening in the world of college football with the Lane Kiffin situation, Notre Dame refusing a bowl appearance, and intriguing aspects of the College Football Playoff. (Approx. 21:30)The guys they dove into some NFL talk as certain teams have been eliminated from making it to the playoffs. We're saying goodbye this season to some teams that are surprising. (Approx. 34:00)What they threw down on the Table this week was a great and in-depth conversation with O.J. Spivey from The Philadelphia Tribute about what we've seen from his Eagles team this season, how they've grown, and who needs to step up towards the latter part of this regular season. They discussed the criticism of Jalen Hurts, and who may be an under-the-radar player on this team for us to keep our eyes on over these next few games. All of this and much more this week on the Table! (Approx. 43:55)SUBSCRIBE on YouTube: youtube.com/@thephiladelphiasportstableHead over to our website for all of our podcasts and more: philadelphiasportstable.comFollow us on BlueSky:Jeff: @jeffwarren.bsky.socialErik: @brickpollitt.bsky.socialFollow us on Threads:Jeff: @mrjeffwarrenErik: @slen1023The Show: @philadelphiasportstableFollow us on Twitter/X:Jeff: @Jeffrey_WarrenErik: @BrickPollittThe Show: @PhiladelphiaPSTFollow us on Instagram:Jeff: @mrjeffwarrenErik: @slen1023The Show: @philadelphiasportstable.Follow Jeff on TikTok: @mrjeffwarrenFollow us on Facebook: facebook.com/PhiladelphiaSportsTable

OPEN HEAVENSMATALA LE LAGI MO LE ASO TOFI 18 TESEMA 2025(tusia e Pastor EA Adeboye) Manatu Autu: Aua e te lē faatauaina le Atua (Dont take God for granted)Tauloto Tusi Paia: Ioane 15:5 “O a‘u nei o le vine, o la ‘outou. O lē tumau ‘iā te a‘u, ma a‘u ‘iā te ia, o ia lava e fua tele mai; auā e lē mafaia e ‘outou ‘ona fai se mea e tasi pe a a‘u lē i ai.”Faitauga - Tusi Paia: Mataio 10:28-33Ina ua avea a'u ma taitai aoao o le Ekalesia RCCG, na fai sa'u faaiuga o tagata uma e auai i le fonotele faale tausaga a le Ekalesia, o le a fafagaina e le Atua i le taimi o nei fonotaga. Na fai la'u faaiuga i le faatuatua aua o a'u o se faifeau e leai sau galuega masani. Na ou folafolaina o le a faalua ona fafagaina tagata i aso uma o le fonotaga ma na ou faaalia iai le 1 Tupu 17:4-6, i le fafagaina ai e le Atua o Elia e faalua i le aso. O se tasi o alii talavou i le Ekalesia o se fai falaoa, na ia ofo mai e na te saunia falaoa mo le ti o le taeao ma sa ia faia i fonotaga i tausaga uma mo ni tausaga. E iai se tausaga na ia taofia ai le saunia o falaoa ona sa lē fiafia i se tasi o a'u lauga, peitai e na te lei logoina mai a'u. Ao fai  fonotaga o le taeao i lea tausaga, na matou pepese ma vivii i le Atua seia ta le 11 i le taeao ao matou faatali sei taunuu mai falaoa, peitai e lei taunuu mai ni falaoa. Ina ua ta le 12 i le aoauli, na ou suea le alii ma fesili iai, ‘o le a le mea ua tupu? Na leaga le taavale i le auala na momoli mai ai falaoa?' Na ia tali mai, ‘leai'. Ona ou fesili lea iai poo le a le faafitauli ae ia tali mai, ‘ou te lē toe faia ni falaoa mo le fonotaga'. Na ou saili i la'u ava ma fesili iai, ‘o le a le aofai o le tupe mo meaai o le afiafi?' Na ma aumaia le tupe lea ma faatau ai falaoa mo le ti. Na saunia lava e le Atua mea e foia ai le faafitauli i lea taimi. Ini tausaga mulimuli ane, na ou ala ane i se tasi o taeao ma ou vaaia le alii talavou fai falaoa i luma o lou fale. Na ou fesili atu iai, ‘o le a se mea ou te faia mo oe? Tai e usu po mai'. Na ia tali mai, ‘ua leva ona ou fia sau, peitai ua pa le pa'u o le taavale'. Na ou fesili atu poo fea le pa'u e sui ai ae fai mai e leai seisi pa'u e sui ai. O lenei alii talavou, e sili atu ma le 14 ana taavale na iai. Le au pele e, aua e te lē faatauaina le Atua aua o loo ia faia galuega tetele e ala ia te oe. ‘Aua e te manatu e lē mafai ona faia le finagalo o le Atua pe a e lē manao ai, o le eseesega, o oe le tagata e lē mafai ona e faia se mea e aunoa ma ia, e pei ona tatou iloa mai le tauloto mai le Tusi Paia o le asō. Na o tagata valea latou te lē faatauaina tagata o loo taitai ma iai le pule i lo latou atunuu. A e manatu la iai, e lē mafai ona e lē faatauaina Lē e pulea le lalolagi atoa (Kolose 1:16-17). E maualuga mamao atu le Atua ia te oe, o lona uiga afai e te lē o faatauaina o ia i soo se auala, pe e te lē o ava ma faaaloalo ia te Ia e pei e tatau ona iai, salamo i le asō. Aua lava e te lē faatauaina le Atua, e matua leai se mea e ia te oe e aunoa ma ia, i le suafa o Iesu, Amene. 

Sanılanın aksine Çelik Kubbe sistemi, sadece Türk Hava Kuvvetleri değil, Kara ve Deniz Kuvvetleri ile siber ve uzay alanını da ihtiva eden bütünleşik bir güvenlik mimarisine uygun şekilde tasarlanmıştır.  Yazan: Doç. Dr. Merve SerenSeslendiren: Halil İbrahim Ciğer

Ožas zudums un izmaiņas rokrakstā - šīs ir vienas no savdabīgākajām iespējamajām pazīmēm slimībai, ar ko sirgst miljoniem cilvēku pasaulē. Viena no neirodeģeneratīvām saslimšanām, kas skar vairāk nekā 10 miljonus pasaulē, ir Parkinsona slimība. un šobrīd tā tiek uzskatīta par vienu no straujāk augošajām nervu sistēmas slimībām. Pazīstama ar izteiktu muskuļu trīci, kas laika gaitā apgrūtina gan runas, gan ikdienas darba spējas. Kā to diagnosticē, ārstē un pēta? Raidījumā Zināmais nezināmajā skaidro P. Stradiņa klīniskās universitātes slimnīcas neiroloģes Ramona Valante un Krista Lazdovska. "Ja runājam par neiroģeneratīvajām slimībām, pie kurām pieder arī Parkinsona slimība, pasaulē tiek lēsts pēc epidemioloģiskiem datiem, ka šī ir viena no slimību grupām, kur sagaidāma epidēmija. Mēs parasti runājam par epidēmiju, par vīrusu slimībām, kas ātri izplatās. Kopumā, ņemot vērā, ka sabiedrībai ir tendence novecot, ilgāk dzīvot, mazāk nomirt no infekciju slimībām, no kardiovaskulārām slimībām, tad neirodeģeneratīvās slimības paliek aizvien biežākas un un izplatītākas visā pasaulē un arī Latvijā," norāda Ramona Valante. "Galvenais riska faktors joprojām ir vecums. Jo vecāki mēs kļūstam, jo lielāks risks ir šai slimībai," atzīst Krista Lazdovska. "60 gadu vecumā tas varētu būt viens līdz 5 procenti, 80 gadu vecumā jau vismaz 5% varētu slimot ar Parkinsona slimību. Bet skaidri pierādīta ir pesticīdu iedarbība. Francijā cilvēki, kas strādā lauksaimniecībā, var Parkinsona slimību kārtot kā arodsaslimšanu. Kopumā zinām, ka viss, kas ietekmē smadzeņu veselību, ietekmēs arī arī neirodeģenerāciju un iespējamu slimības attīstību. Gan sirds asinsvadu veselības aspekts, gan arī dažādas toksiskas vielas var būt iesaistītas, gan arī sporta trūkums, protams, arī ģenētiskie faktori." Ārstes norāda, ka ar Parkinsona slimību saslimst arī gados jauni cilvēki. "Tas ir mīts, kad Parkinsona slimība ir tikai vecāka gadagājuma cilvēkiem. Parkinsona slimība var parādīties jebkurā vecumā," atzīst Ramona Valante. "Kopumā Parkinsona slimību uzskata par multifaktoriālu, kas nozīmē, ka vairāki faktori iedarbojas, mēs nevaram pateikt, kurš ir tas viens un galvenais, kas ir palaidis to slimību. Un man šobrīd īsti nav skaidrs, kādiem tiem faktoriem ir jāsakrīt, lai beigās būtu Parkinsona slimība. Diemžēl viņa var arī parādīties 30-40 gados bez ģenētiskā fona." "Parkinsona slimību mēs varētu skatīt kā tādu daļēji lietussargu, zem kura apakšā var būt katram sava slimība, savi simptomi," skaidro Krista Lazdovska. "Bet pirmais, pēc kura spriedīsim, ka tā ir tieši Parkinsona slimība, šie pacienti kļūst lēnāki. Tas ir tāds pamatsimptoms. Mēs skatāmies, vai šis kustību temps ir zudis." Pacienti to izjūt dažādi. Kāds to izjūtu gaitā, ka kļūst lēnāks, soļu garums samazinās. Kāds izjūt, piemēram, kad kaut ko gatavo. No rīta grib uztaisīt omleti un kuļ olu, un roka pēc pāris tiem apgriezieniem kļūst arvien lēnāka. Lēnīgums ir pamatsimptoms. Tai pievienojas miera trīce. Ārste mudina nesatraukties tos, kam satraukumā nedaudz trīc rokas. Miera trīce ir "sarkanais karogs" Parkinsona slimībai. Cilvēks sēž mierīgi, neko nedara, rokas klēpī un skatās televizoru, un vienai rokai īkšķis vai plaukstas daļa patrīc. Tam pievienojas muskuļu stīvums. "Ja mēs runājam par klasisku Parkinsona slimību, šie simptomi sākumā ir vienpusēji, vienā ķermeņa pusē," bilst Krista Lazdovska.  "Ja pēkšņi vienu reizi neveikli sanācis notīrīt kartupeli, tas nenozīmē, ka ir slimība, jo Pārkinsona slimība viņa ir lēna un progresējoša. Izmainītās kustības paliek konstantas," papildina Ramona Valante.  Sākumā cilvēki nejūt tieši lēnīgumu, bet to, ka kustas citādi. Ja tās ir pāris reizes, par to nebūt jāsatraucas. Ja tas sāk traucēt ikdienā, tas ir brīdis, kad jāvēršas pie ārsta, jo Parkinsona slimība nepāriet.  "Ja cilvēks atnāk pie ārsta un pasaka: man šis sākas pirms mēneša, ārsts nedrīkst pat teikt, ka šī ir Parkinsona slimība. Mēs izvērtēsim pacientu, mēs paturam prātā, bet patiesībā, lai noteiktu, ka šī ir Parkinsona slimība, simptomiem ir jābūt vismaz trīs gadus," norāda Krista Lazdovska.  "Jautājums, vai tas nav novēloti? Diemžēl patiesība ir tāda, ka neviena neirodeģeneratīva slimību, tai skaitā Parkinsona slimība, nav izārstējama. Līdz ar to nevar nokavēt to, ko nevar izārstēt. Mēs varam ar medikamentiem un darbībām varam tikai uzturēt dzīves kvalitāti, bet ne izārstēt," atzīst Ramona Valante. Nacionālā Dabas muzejā turpmāk būs vērojama skeletiem veltīta ekspozīcija Mirkli pirms Latvijas Nacionālā dabas muzeja jaunās, pastāvīgās ekspozīcijas “Skeletārijs” atklāšanas esam satikušies ekspozīcijas zālē ar muzeja Zooloģijas nodaļas vadītāju, ornitologu Dmitrijs Boiko. Ekspozīcijā mūs ieskauj lieli un mazi visdažādāko dzīvnieku sugu skeleti un to daļas. No 11. decembra ikvienam to visu ir iespēja aplūkot jebkurā mirklī muzeja 5. stāvā. Dmitrijs Boiko kā ekspozīcijas darba grupas vadītājs norāda, ka “Skeletārija” ceļš iets vairākus gadus. Laika gaitā paši muzeja pārstāvji savu kolekciju papildinājuši ar jauniem galvaskausiem, bet, lai iegūtu pilnus dzīvnieku skeletus, atrasti lieliski sadarbības partneri - Latvijas Biozinātņu un tehnoloģiju universitātes Veterinārmedicīnas fakultāte Jelgavā. Tad uzsāktas sarunas, vai muzejs varētu deponēt fakultātes osteoloģiskās kolekcijas priekšmetus, un šim ierosinājumam gūta atsaucība. Tā tapis “Skeletārijs”. Savukārt muzeja vecākā ekoloģe Lauma Goldblate ekspozīcijā bijusi atbildīga par saturu un vislabāk zina stāstīt, pēc kāda principa “Skeletārijs” veidots. Atklājot ekspozīciju, Latvijas Nacionālā dabas muzeja direktore Skaidrīte Ruskule savā uzrunā norāda, ka līdz ar “Skeletārija” atklāšanu tiek pāršķirta vēstures lappuse. Ar “Skeletāriju” muzejs savā ziņā atvadās no kādreizējā ekspozīciju izteiktā vēsturiskā pieskāriena. Vienlaikus direktore uzsver, ka līdz šim nav pieredzēta neviena ekspozīcija, kurā būtu ieguldīts tik liels darbs eksponātu sagatavošanāS Skanot prieka čalām pēc “Skeletārija” atvēršanas, par savu darbu vēl pastāsta ekspozīcijas materiāla sagatavotāja un arī atsevišķu eksponātu restauratore Janta Meža. Lai eksponāti saglabātos ilgtermiņā, Janta tos mazgājusi ar ļoti smalkām smiltīm, dzeramo sodu, ūdeni, bet nolūzušās detaļas fiksējusi ar speciālu līmi. “Skeletārijs” Latvijas Nacionālajam dabas muzejam ir jauna latiņa, ne katram dabas muzejam ir šāda skeletu ekspozīcija, un, kā atklāšanā norādījis ekspozīcijas mākslinieciskā risinājuma autors Didzis Jaunzems, “Skeletārijs” pat atgādina dārglietu ateljē. 

Anksčiau augintiniai atlikdavo apsaugos ir medžioklės funkcijas, tačiau šiandien jų vaidmuo smarkiai pasikeitęs. Kintant visuomenės nuostatoms, dalis žmonių augintinius ima laikyti šeimos nariais, švenčia jų gimtadienius, kuria emocinį ryšį ar net vadina vaiku. Tai patvirtina Vilniaus universiteto Šiaulių akademijos mokslininkų atliktas tyrimas, atskleidžiantis, kad toks požiūris būdingas daugumai apklaustų naminių gyvūnų augintojų Lietuvoje, nepriklausomai nuo jų išsilavinimo, finansinės padėties ar gyvenamosios vietos. Tyrimą aptarė Vilniaus universiteto Šiaulių akademijos docentė Evandželina Petukienė ir Vilniaus universiteto Šiaulių akademijos mokslo darbuotojas Sigitas Balčiūnas.

Jogu var praktizēt ikviens no mums. Tai nav vecuma, dzimuma vai fiziskās sagatavotības ierobežojumu. Tā nav tikai vingrošana, bet gan ļoti vērienīga sistēma, no kuras katrs var paņemt to, kas viņam nepieciešams. Par jogu runājam raidījumā Kā labāk dzīvot. Stāsta Jivamukti jogas pasniedzēja un pirmā Jivamukti centra Baltijā dibinātāja Vineta Klotiņa, jogas pasniedzēja Kristīne Somere un jogas eksperte Liene Bogdanova.

Europos Sąjunga neribotam laikui įšaldys 210 mlrd. eurų vertės Rusijos turto.Archeologai teigia nustatę, kad žmonės galėjo įvaldyti ugnį dar prieš 400 tūkst. metų. Tai – daug anksčiau, nei manyta iki šiol.Ne tik namai, bet ir balkonai, artėjant didžiosioms metų šventėms, yra puošiami įvairiomis dekoracijomis. Rubrika „Auga ir balkone“.Žurnalistai ir kultūrininkai atnaujina protestus prieš valdančiųjų bandymus užvaldyti visuomeninį transliuotoją. Organizatoriai žada trijų dienų protestą prie Seimo ir keturių dienų protestą prie Prezidentūros. Pokalbis su protesto organizatoriais ir politikais.Italų virtuvė įtraukta į UNESCO nematerialaus paveldo sąrašą. Tai pirmas kartas, kai pasaulio paveldo statusą pelnė ne pavienė tradicija ar receptas, o visa nacionalinė virtuvė.Kaip nuo audrų padarinių ir išplaunamo smėlio gelbėjamas šalies pajūris?Ved. Edvardas Kubilius

Policijos duomenimis, vakar Vilniaus Nepriklausomybės aikštėje vykusiame žurnalistų bendruomenės ir Kultūros asamblėjos organizuotame proteste „Šalin rankas nuo laisvo žodžio“ dalyvavo apie dešimt tūkstančių žmonių. Mobiliojo ryšio operatoriai sako, kad žmonių galėjo būti gerokai daugiau. Tuo metu peticiją prie LRT politinį užvaldymą šiuo metu yra pasirašę beveik šimtas keturiasdešimt tūkstančių žmonių. Koks jos tolimesnis likimas ir ką rodo augantis žmonių skaičius protestuose?Švietimo, mokslo ir sporto ministerija siūlo svarstyti naują brandos atestato gavimo modelį – jį atsieti nuo valstybinių brandos egzaminų, kurie reikalingi stojant į aukštąsias mokyklas. Pasak švietimo mokslo ir sporto viceministro, šiuo metu daugiau nei penktadalis vaikų negauna brandos atestato, nors jie mokėsi mokykloje. Ar reikia atsisakyti egzaminų, ar dalies jų suteikiant brandos atestatą?Žemės mokesčio dar nėra sumokėję apie dešimtadalį žemės savininkų gyventojų. Vieni – pamiršo, kitiems priskaičiavo per daug.Šimtams vilkikų stringant Baltarusijos pasienyje, vėžėjai šiandien prie Seimo rengia protestą. Gedimino prospekte išsirikiuos iki šimto vilkikų. Šiuo metu Baltarusijoje priverstinai laikoma apie 4000 transporto priemonių, iš kurių 1250 – vilkikai.Nuo šiandien Australijoje socialiniais tinklais gali naudotis tik paaugliai sulaukę 16-os metų. Tai pirmoji valstybė pasaulyje, įvedusi tokį griežtą apribojimą. Tuo metu Danija svarsto riboti prieigą prie socialinių tinklų paaugliams iki 15-os metų.Ved. Rūta Kupetytė

KTU magistrantas Martynas Anikanovas, jau daugiau nei ketverius metus dirbantis kibernetinio saugumo srityje, specializuojasi etiško įsilaužimo sferoje. Jo darbas – aptikti sistemų spragas anksčiau, nei tai gali padaryti kibernetiniai sukčiai ar duomenis išvilioti norintys įsilaužėliai.Rašytoja Jurgita Lieponė parašė knygą apie šviesaus atminimo aktorę Gražiną Balandytę. Knygoje „Mūsų brangioji Gražina autorė pasakoja apie teatro ir kino aktorę remdamasi jos artimųjų ir kolegų prisiminimais, didžiuliu Gražinos vyro Andriaus Čygo sukauptu archyvu – straipsnių iškarpomis, laiškais, dienoraščiais.Nuo kitų metų visi elektrinių mikrojudumo priemonių vairuotojai važiuodami privalės dėvėti šalmą. Jeigu priemonė yra nuomojama, šalmą privalės suteikti jos nuomotojas. Nuo kokių traumų apsaugo šalmai?Kaune, „Meno parko" galerijoje, kūrėja iš Lietuvos Laisvydė Šalčiūtė ir menininkas iš Estijos Marko Mäetamm seka „Siaubo pasakas". Tai pirma jų bendra paroda. Savo tapybos darbais autoriai atkreipia dėmesį į šio meto neramumus. Makabriškai juokauja, žvelgia į žiūrovą gyvūnų ir augalų akimis.Ved. Ignas Andriukevičius

Program notes:0:35 Update on RSV, flu and COVID-19 vaccines1:35 500 studies included2:35 Rare myocarditis3:35 Flu vaccine in older adults4:30 Tai chi or CBT-I for chronic insomnia5:30 Trained in one or the other6:30 Inexpensive and accessible7:30 $150 billion cost of chronic insomnia7:45 GLP-1s and WHO guidance8:50 Multimodal approach required9:45 Prevention is important9:55 Corticosteroids in pregnancy10:50 1.3 million pregnancies11:50 Used for multiple indications12:46 End

Welcome to the Hot Topics podcast from NB Medical with Dr Neal Tucker.In this episode we have three new and interesting research papers to look at. First, new data on the effects of social media use and cognitive development in younger adolescents. Is it really a problem? Second, can a simple urine sample be as accurate as a smear test for identifying cervical HPV, and what do women feel about this? Finally, if you're struggling to sleep could Tai chi be better than CBT for insomnia? ReferencesJAMA SM & cognitive developmentJAMA EditorialBJGP Urine vs smear for cervical HPVBMJ Tai chi vs CBTi for insomniawww.nbmedical.com/podcast

Sporto entuziastė Raimonda Petrošienė drauge su sūnumi, karo akademijos studentu Gustu, ruošiasi žygiui į aukščiausią Afrikos kalną Kilimandžarą. Tai ne tik asmeninis iššūkis, bet ir siekis atkreipti dėmesį į gyvūnų gerovę, žiauraus elgesio su gyvūnais problemas Lietuvoje.Ištrauka iš tinklalaidės „Prieš atsisveikinant“. Giedrė Čiužaitė ir Živilė Kropaitė šį kartą domisi, kaip požiūris į mirtį, laidojimo tradicijos gali keistis ateityje.Vis daugiau žmonių svarsto apie vaikų globą ar įvaikinimą. Apklausa rodo, kad apie tai svarstė 4 iš 10 gyventojų, kai prieš dvejus metus šis skaičius buvo dvigubai mažesnis. Trys ketvirtadaliai globą vertina teigiamai. Ar tai gali reikšti, kad daugiau vaikų gyvens namuose, o ne globos įstaigose?Siekiant apsaugoti miesto želdinius nuo žiemos poveikio, Vilniuje įrengti daugiau kaip 33 km apsauginių tvorelių. Tokiu būdu siekiama sudaryti palankesnes sąlygas medžiams ir krūmams sėkmingai peržiemoti sudėtingomis klimato sąlygomis bei išsaugoti miesto žaliąją infrastruktūrą.10–12. Ved. Ignas Andriukevičius

Daugėja žmonių, kurie kam nors yra skolingi, didėja pinigų sumos. Tai rodo antrą kartą pristatomas skolų žemėlapis.Vilniaus oro uostas įspėja, kad kai kurie skrydžiai gali vėluoti. Taip gali nutikti, nes oro uosto darbas dėl kontrabandinių balionų buvo ribojamas triskart.Žurnalistų bendruomenei tęsiant protestą prieš valdančiųjų bandymus lengvinti LRT generalinio direktoriaus atleidimą bei keisti LRT valdyseną, visuomeninis transliuotojas aiškina žmonėms, kaip politikai užvaldo žiniasklaidą ir kas nutinka valstybėms, kur žiniasklaidos laisvė ribojama. Viena tokių šalių – Vengrija, kuri žiniasklaidos laisvės indekse yra paskutinėje vietoje ES.Rašytoja Kristina Sabaliauskaitė sako, kad dabar yra kritinis momentas – turime apginti valstybę. Sabaliauskaitės teigimu, dabartiniai socialdemokratų veiksmai yra pražūtingi, vedantys Lietuvą į rusišką valdymo modelį.Vytauto Didžiojo universitete švietimo specialistai, ekspertai, politikai diskutuos, ką daryti, kad netrūktų mokytojų. Švietimo, mokslo ir sporto ministerijos duomenimis, mokslo metų pradžioje mokyklos ieškojo daugiau kaip 450 mokytojų.Rusijos ambasada Vilniuje Rusijos piliečiams siūlo advokatų sąrašą, kuriame ir lietuviškos pavardės. Šie gina Rusijos piliečius bylose prieš Lietuvos verslo įmones, kontrabandos bylose, tačiau sako susiduriantys ir su moraline dilema.Ved. Edvardas Kubilius

Sporto entuziastė Raimonda Petrošienė drauge su sūnumi, karo akademijos studentu Gustu ruošiasi žygiui į aukščiausią Afrikos kalną Kilimandžarą. Tai ne tik asmeninis iššūkis, bet ir siekis atkreipti dėmesį į gyvūnų gerovę, žiauraus elgesio su gyvūnais problemas Lietuvoje.Ved. Ignas Andriukevičius.

This week, we are joined by a fabulous guest, Tai of Foodie in Lagos, who's an equally hilarious babe. We talk about the rite of passage of pranking your siblings, how dealing with grief never gets easier, and how kids are never taught traditions and the reasons behind them, but are expected to obey them completely. We also get into how Tai started a successful food blog through her BlackBerry Messenger status, which has now grown into a community of 60,000+ people! There's also some really juicy dilemmas about teenage pregnancy, transitioning from friends to lovers and how to handle leeches in the form of friends who keep taking advantage of you. Our friends at Coca-Cola also have the juiciest offers to win N250 million in prizes! Visit https://www.coca-cola.com/ng/en/offerings/share-a-coke to see how you can win too!The Big Bounce Bash (December 21st) tickets are still up for sale at https://tix.africa/bounce-bash-25 And you absolutely should go to the Foodie In Lagos Festival on the 17th of December! Don't forget to use #ISWIS or #ISWISPodcast to share your thoughts while listening to the podcast on X! Rate the show 5 stars on whatever app you listen to and leave a review, share with everyone you know and if you also watch on YouTube, subscribe, like and leave a comment!Choose Bolden products for all your skincare needs like we do! They're available at Medplus Pharmacy locations, Nectar Beauty, Beauty Hut & Teeka4! For US, UK & Canada, shop at www.boldenusa.comMake sure to follow us onTwitter: @ISWISPodcastInstagram: @isaidwhatisaidpodYoutube: @isaidwhatisaidpodHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's headlines include: More than 800 people have died in tropical storms across Asia in recent days. Misinformation, anti-science sentiment and vaccine hesitancy is being blamed for a drop in Australia's immunisation rates. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought a pardon from the country’s President Isaac Herzog in his long-running corruption trial. And today’s good news: Tai chi could have positive outcomes for sleep. Reporting with AAP. Hosts: Zara Seidler and Lucy TassellProducer: Rosa Bowden Want to support The Daily Aus? That's so kind! The best way to do that is to click ‘follow’ on Spotify or Apple and to leave us a five-star review. We would be so grateful. The Daily Aus is a media company focused on delivering accessible and digestible news to young people. We are completely independent. Want more from TDA?Subscribe to The Daily Aus newsletterSubscribe to The Daily Aus’ YouTube Channel Have feedback for us?We’re always looking for new ways to improve what we do. If you’ve got feedback, we’re all ears. Tell us here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nauji įrašai. Pristatome Gustavo Flobero romaną „Ponia Bovari“. Vertė Sofija Čiurlionienė ir Juozas Urbšys. Išleido leidykla „Vaga“.Tai gydytojo žmonos Emos Bovari, turinčios užgintų nesantuokinių ryšių ir gyvenančios ne pagal išgales, kad išvengtų provincijos gyvenimo banalybės ir tuštumos, istorija. Joks kitas rašytojas šitaip nepažino ir neatskleidė moters pasaulio. Todėl „Ponia Bovari“ yra ne tik neginčijamas realistinio stiliaus etalonas, bet ir vienas įtakingiausių kada nors parašytų romanų. Knygos ištraukas skaito aktorė Neringa Bulotaitė.

- Phát biểu tại Diễn đàn Logistics Việt Nam 2025 diễn ra sáng nay tại Đà Nẵng, Thủ tướng Phạm Minh Chính nhấn mạnh yêu cầu xây dựng hệ sinh thái Logistic quốc gia thông minh, hiện đại, xanh, số, cạnh tranh, hiệu quả, phấn đấu đưa Việt Nam trở thành trung tâm dịch vụ logistic hàng đầu châu Á.- Dự Đại hội Thi đua yêu nước lần thứ nhất, giai đoạn 2025 - 2030 của Ủy ban Thường vụ Quốc hội, Chủ tịch Quốc hội Trần Thanh Mẫn đề nghị phát huy vai trò, trách nhiệm của đại biểu, sẵn sàng cống hiến, dám nghĩ, dám làm, dám đổi mới sáng tạo, dám chịu trách nhiệm.- Tiếp tục loạt bài: “Đại sắp xếp các trường đại học công lập: Gọn để lớn, ít để tinh”. Chương trình hôm nay phát sóng bài cuối với nhan đề: Sáp nhập đại học: Từ tinh gọn đến tinh hoa, từ chính sách tới hiện thực”.- Ngành hàng không thế giới đối mặt với biến động lớn khi hơn 6 nghìn máy Airbus A320 bị triệu hồi do sự cố liên quan đến hệ thống điều khiển bay.- Chính quyền đặc khu hành chính Hồng Kông, Trung Quốc để tang 3 ngày, tưởng niệm các nạn nhân thiệt mạng trong vụ cháy xảy ra tại tổ hợp chung cư ở quận Tai-po khiến ít nhất 128 người thiệt mạng.

In this highly anticipated episode of Ike Live, Mike Iaconelli is joined by pro angler Tai Au, who is speaking out about the controversy that rocked the recent Bassmaster EQ at Lake Okeechobee. Tai shares the full story behind his failed polygraph test, why he chose to withdraw from the tournament, and how the decision cost him a potential spot on the Bassmaster Elite Series. We dig into: - What really happened before Day 1 - The emotional and professional impact of missing the event - Transparency in polygraph testing at the EQ level - How Tai plans to move forward

In this episode, Sharona and Boz dive into a concept new to many educators — Teacher Assessment Identity — and explore how teachers' beliefs, experiences, and professional contexts shape the way they design, interpret, and use assessments.Sharona introduces the idea after hearing about new research connecting assessment practices to teacher identity, and then leads Boz through a live, on-air reflective interview designed to help him uncover his own “assessment identity.” Together, they model how teachers can ask deep reflective questions about the why behind their assessment choices — revealing that grading and assessment reform are inseparable parts of the same professional journey.What follows is part self-assessment, part coaching session, and part exploration of how personal, disciplinary, and institutional identities influence assessment ethics, feedback, and student learning.LinksPlease note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!How does assessment shape student identities? An integrative reviewAssess That Podcast - Episode 20Evidence of teacher assessment work and its relationship to their assessment identityChallenging Assumptions: AI and Teacher Assessment Identity FormationBeyond the gradebook: embracing the potentials of teacher assessment identity (TAI) in (re)shaping English language professors' professional development and success in higher educationTeacher assessment literacy in practice: A reconceptualizationReconceptualising the role of teachers as assessors: teacher assessment identityResourcesThe Center for Grading Reform - seeking to advance education in the United States by supporting effective grading reform at all levels through conferences, educational workshops, professional development, research and scholarship, influencing public policy, and community building.The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:The Grading for Growth BlogThe Grading ConferenceThe Intentional Academia BlogRecommended Books on Alternative Grading:

Spalio mėnesį NARA žurnalistai aplankė penkis Lietuvos miestus ir ten rengė įsiklausymo susitikimus. Tai diskusijos, kurių temas kėlė patys gyventojai, sėdintys atvirame rate. Šiandien dalinamės pirmuoju susitikimo įrašu – iš Šakių. Diskusijos įrašo autorius Laurynas Kamarauskas. Redaktoriai Sigita Vegytė ir Karolis Vyšniauskas. Pamatykite epizodo fotografijas ir pilną aprašymą: https://nara.lt/lt/articles-lt/nara-isiklausymai-sakiai Palaikykite NARA darbą: https://nara.lt/lt/articles-lt/nara-isiklausymai-sakiai 

Tai buvo pirmasis gyvas BasketNews komandos pasirodymas ne Vilniuje ir ne Kaune. Veiksmo vieta – Šiauliai. Pašnekovas – Darius Songaila. Temos – nuo Marijampolės prūdo iki kaip Shaquillas O'Nealas per Darių grūdo. Laidos partneriai: – PRO BRO. SĖDI ŠILTAI – VAŽIUOJI ŠVARIAI. Su nuolaidos kodu BASKETNEWS3: 3 mėnesių abonementas su 30 % nuolaida. Pasiūlymas galioja nuo lapkričio 8 d. iki lapkričio 23 d. https://probroexpress.com/lt/akcijos/basketnews3 – Šiauliai – sparčiausiai augantis ir finansiškai prieinamas 15 minučių miestas Lietuvoje, siūlantis puikias gyvenimo, karjeros ir švietimo galimybes. Daugiau: https://karjerasiauliuose.lt/ – Nealkoholinis alus „Gubernija”, daugiau informacijos – https://gubernija.lt/

Noras visada sutarti tampa būdu išvengti įtampos ir užduotimi išsaugoti santykį bet kokia kaina. Tik vėliau paaiškėja, kad ta kaina esi tu pats. Kviečiame išgirsti trečiąjį NARA tinklalaidės epizodą, rengtą psichoterapijos specialisčių Lauros Riaubaitė-Pinzar ir Jonės Piekuraitės-Dudėnės. Atrodytų, sutarti visada gerai. Tai ramybė, darnūs santykiai, gebėjimas prisitaikyti. Tačiau kartais už šios ramybės slepiasi nebylus nuovargis. Šiame epizode Laura ir Jonė kalba apie sutarumą kaip apie vieną gražiausių ir kartu klastingiausių žmogaus bruožų. Kada noras sutarti kuria artumą, o kada pamažu virsta savęs išdavyste? Kodėl kai kurie žmonės taip trokšta būti mėgstami, kad praranda kontūrus? Ir kodėl kiti atrodo visada pasiruošę ginčytis, nors iš tiesų tiesiog ieško, kas juos išgirstų? Palaikykite NARA tinklalaidę: https://nara.lt/lt/support

Yep, it's true. I lost $1.5m investing with Tai Lopez and his partners at REV, which is now under investigation by the SEC. This is the story of how I lost my biggest investment. *Note* Do not use this comment section to trash Tai. If you want to talk about your personal experience that's fine, but the purpose of this podcast is to explain what happened, not dogpile. If you're interested in what I do outside of investing in *potential* ponzi schemes, you can start your road to $1m and download my free playbook at https://capitalism.com/playbook-yt

On this PST SPECIAL podcast show, we're diving into the 2025 Philadelphia Union playoffs. As the MLS postseason is here, there are high exceptions for this Union team as they had not only the best MLS regular season record, but they've generated an incredibly cohesive unit under the leadership of head coach Bradley Carnell. Our friend Josh Shuster from PhiladelphiaSoccerNow.com joined us for a great discussion!Topics Josh and Jeff dove into:- Reflections on the regular season that was something of a major surprise for fans.- The biggest strengths and weaknesses of the Union as they're looking to run through the playoffs.- How has this team handled in-game pressure, and how might that reflect in a playoff run?- What Bradley Carnell's coaching presence has meant to the players on the field.All of this and much more on this PST SPECIAL podcast show!SUBSCRIBE on YouTube: youtube.com/@thephiladelphiasportstableHead over to our website for all of our podcasts and more: philadelphiasportstable.comFollow us on BlueSky:Jeff: @jeffwarren.bsky.socialErik: @brickpollitt.bsky.socialFollow us on Threads:Jeff: @mrjeffwarrenErik: @slen1023The Show: @philadelphiasportstableFollow us on Twitter/X:Jeff: @Jeffrey_WarrenErik: @BrickPollittThe Show: @PhiladelphiaPSTFollow us on Instagram:Jeff: @mrjeffwarrenErik: @slen1023The Show: @philadelphiasportstable.Follow Jeff on TikTok: @mrjeffwarrenFollow us on Facebook: facebook.com/PhiladelphiaSportsTable

Last time we spoke about the Nanjing Massacre. Japanese forces breached Nanjing as Chinese defenders retreated under heavy bombardment, and the city fell on December 13. In the following weeks, civilians and disarmed soldiers endured systematic slaughter, mass executions, rapes, looting, and arson, with casualties mounting rapidly. Among the most brutal episodes were hundreds of executions near the Safety Zone, mass shootings along the Yangtze River, and killings at improvised sites and “killing fields.” The massacre involved tens of thousands of prisoners, with estimates up to 300,000 victims. Women and children were subjected to widespread rape, mutilation, and terror intended to crush morale and resistance. Although the Safety Zone saved many lives, it could not shield all refugees from harm, and looting and arson devastated large parts of the city. Foreign witnesses, missionaries, and diary entries documented the extensive brutality and the apparent premeditated nature of many acts, noting the collapse of discipline among troops and orders that shaped the violence.    #169 Nanjing has Fallen, the War is not Over 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. Directly after the fall of Nanjing, rumors circulated among the city's foreigners that Tang Shengzhi had been executed for his inability to hold the city against the Japanese onslaught. In fact, unlike many of his subordinates who fought in the defense, he survived. On December 12, he slipped through Yijiang Gate, where bullets from the 36th Division had claimed numerous victims, and sailed across the Yangtze to safety. Chiang Kai-shek protected him from bearing direct consequences for Nanjing's collapse. Tang was not unscathed, however. After the conquest of Nanjing, a dejected Tang met General Li Zongren at Xuzhou Railway Station. In a brief 20-minute conversation, Tang lamented, “Sir, Nanjing's fall has been unexpectedly rapid. How can I face the world?” Li, who had previously taunted Tang for over-eagerness, offered sympathy. “Don't be discouraged. Victory or defeat comes every day for the soldier. Our war of resistance is a long-term proposition. The loss of one city is not decisive.” By December 1937, the outlook for Chiang Kai-shek's regime remained bleak. Despite his public pledges, he had failed to defend the capital. Its sturdy walls, which had withstood earlier sieges, were breached in less than 100 hours. Foreign observers remained pessimistic about the prospects of continuing the fight against Japan. The New York Times wrote “The capture of Nanking was the most overwhelming defeat suffered by the Chinese and one of the most tragic military debacles in modern warfare. In defending Nanking, the Chinese allowed themselves to be surrounded and then slaughtered… The graveyard of tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers may also be the graveyard of all Chinese hopes of resisting conquest by Japan.” Foreign diplomats doubted Chiang's ability to sustain the war, shrinking the question to whether he would stubbornly continue a losing fight or seek peace. US Ambassador Nelson Johnson wrote in a letter to Admiral Yarnell, then commander of the US Asicatic Fleet “There is little left now for the Chinese to do except to carry on a desultory warfare in the country, or to negotiate for the best terms they can get”.  The Japanese, too, acted as if Chiang Kai-shek had already lost the war. They assumed the generalissimo was a spent force in Chinese politics as well, and that a gentle push would suffice to topple his regime like a house of cards. On December 14, Prime Minister Konoe announced that Chiang's losses of Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and now Nanjing, had created a new situation. “The National Government has become but a shadow of its former self. If a new Chinese regime emerged to replace Chiang's government, Japan would deal with it, provided it is a regime headed in the right direction.” Konoe spoke the same day as a Liaison Conference in Tokyo, where civilian and military leaders debated how to treat China now that it had been thoroughly beaten on the battlefield. Japanese demands had grown significantly: beyond recognizing Manchukuo, Japan pressed for the creation of pro-Japanese regimes in Inner Mongolia and the north China area. The same day, a puppet government was established in Japanese-occupied Beijing. While these demands aimed to end China as a unitary state, Japanese policy was moving toward the same goal. The transmissions of these demands via German diplomatic channels caused shock and consternation in Chinese government circles, and the Chinese engaged in what many regarded as stalling tactics. Even at this late stage, there was division among Japan's top decision makers. Tada, deputy chief of the Army General Staff, feared a protracted war in China and urged keeping negotiations alive. He faced strong opposition from the cabinet, including the foreign minister and the ministers of the army and navy, and ultimately he relented. Tada stated “In this state of emergency, it is necessary to avoid any political upheaval that might arise from a struggle between the Cabinet and the Army General Staff.” Although he disagreed, he no longer challenged the uncompromising stance toward China. On January 16, 1938, Japan publicly stated that it would “cease henceforth to deal with” Chiang Kai-shek. This was a line that could not be uncrossed. War was the only option. Germany, the mediator between China and Japan, also considered Chiang a losing bet. In late January 1938, von Dirksen, the German ambassador in Tokyo, urged a fundamental shift in German diplomacy and advocated abandoning China in favor of Japan. He warned that this was a matter of urgency, since Japan harbored grudges against Germany for its half-hearted peace efforts. In a report, von Dirksen wrote that Japan, “in her deep ill humor, will confront us with unpleasant decisions at an inopportune moment.” Von Dirksen's view carried the day in Berlin. Nazi Germany and Hirohito's Japan were on a trajectory that, within three years, would forge the Axis and place Berlin and Tokyo in the same camp in a conflict that would eventually span the globe. Rabe, who returned to Germany in 1938, found that his account of Japanese atrocities in Nanjing largely fell on deaf ears. He was even visited by the Gestapo, which apparently pressed him to keep quiet about what he had seen. Ambassador von Dirksen also argued in his January 1938 report that China should be abandoned because of its increasingly friendly ties with the Soviet Union. There was some merit to this claim. Soviet aid to China was substantial: by the end of 1937, 450 Soviet aviators were serving in China. Without them, Japan likely would have enjoyed air superiority. Chiang Kai-shek, it seemed, did not fully understand the Russians' motives. They were supplying aircraft and pilots to keep China in the war while keeping themselves out. After Nanjing's fall, Chiang nevertheless reached out to Joseph Stalin, inviting direct Soviet participation in the war. Stalin politely declined, noting that if the Soviet Union joined the conflict, “the world would say the Soviet Union was an aggressor, and sympathy for Japan around the world would immediately increase.” In a rare moment of candor a few months later, the Soviet deputy commissar for foreign affairs spoke with the French ambassador, describing the situation in China as “splendid.” He expected China to continue fighting for several more years, after which Japan would be too weakened to undertake major operations against the Soviet Union. It was clear that China was being used. Whatever the motive, China was receiving vital help from Stalin's Russia while the rest of the world stood on the sidelines, reluctant to upset Japan. Until Operation Barbarossa, when the Soviet Union was forced to the brink by the German Army and could no longer sustain extensive overseas aid, it supplied China with 904 planes, 1,516 trucks, 1,140 artillery pieces, 9,720 machine guns, 50,000 rifles, 31,600 bombs, and more. Despite all of this, all in all, China's position proved less disastrous than many observers had feared. Chinese officials later argued that the battle of Nanjing was not the unmitigated fiasco it appeared to be. Tang Shengzhi had this to say in his memoirs“I think the main purpose of defending Nanjing was to buy time, to allow troops that had just been pulled out of battle to rest and regroup. It wasn't simply because it was the capital or the site of Sun Yat-sen's mausoleum.” Tan Daoping, an officer in Nanjing, described the battle “as a moderate success because it drew the Japanese in land”. This of course was a strategy anticipated by interwar military thinker Jiang Baili. It also allowed dozens of Chinese divisions to escape Shanghai, since the Japanese forces that could have pursued them were tied down with the task of taking Nanjing. Tan Daoping wrote after the war “They erred in believing they could wage a quick war and decide victory immediately. Instead, their dream was shattered; parts of their forces were worn out, and they were hindered from achieving a swift end”. Even so, it was a steep price was paid in Chinese lives. As in Shanghai, the commanders in Nanjing thought they could fight on the basis of sheer willpower. Chinese officer Qin Guo Qi wrote in his memoirs “In modern war, you can't just rely on the spirit of the troops. You can't merely rely on physical courage and stamina. The battle of Nanjing explains that better than anything”. As for the Brigade commander of the 87th division, Chen Yiding, who emerged from Nanjing with only a few hundred survivors, was enraged. “During the five days of the battle for Nanjing, my superiors didn't see me even once. They didn't do their duty. They also did not explain the overall deployments in the Nanjing area. What's worse, they didn't give us any order to retreat. And afterwards I didn't hear of any commander being disciplined for failing to do his job.” Now back in November of 1937, Chiang Kai-shek had moved his command to the great trinity of Wuhan. For the Nationalists, Wuhan was a symbolically potent stronghold: three municipalities in one, Hankou, Wuchang, and Hanyang. They had all grown prosperous as gateways between coastal China and the interior. But the autumn disasters of 1937 thrust Wuhan into new prominence, and, a decade after it had ceased to be the temporary capital, it again became the seat of military command and resistance. Leading Nationalist politicians had been seen in the city in the months before the war, fueling suspicions that Wuhan would play a major role in any imminent conflict. By the end of the year, the generals and their staffs, along with most of the foreign embassies, had moved upriver. Yet as 1937 slipped into 1938, the Japanese advance seemed practically unstoppable. From the destruction of Shanghai, to the massacre in Nanjing, to the growing vulnerability of Wuhan, the NRA government appeared powerless against the onslaught.  Now the Japanese government faced several options: expanding the scope of the war to force China into submission, which would risk further depletion of Japan's military and economic resources; establishing an alternative regime in China as a bridge for reconciliation, thereby bypassing the Nationalist government for negotiations; and engaging in indirect or direct peace negotiations with the Nationalist Government, despite the failure of previous attempts, while still seeking new opportunities for negotiation. However, the Nanjing massacre did not compel the Chinese government and its people to submit. On January 2, Chiang Kai-shek wrote in his diary, “The conditions proposed by Japan are equivalent to the conquest and extinction of our country. Rather than submitting and perishing, it is better to perish in defeat,” choosing to refuse negotiations and continue resistance.  In January 1938 there was a new escalation of hostilities. Up to that point, Japan had not officially declared war, even during the Shanghai campaign and the Nanjing massacre. However on January 11, an Imperial Conference was held in Tokyo in the presence of Emperor Hirohito. Prime Minister Konoe outlined a “Fundamental Policy to deal with the China Incident.”The Imperial Conference was attended by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe, Army Chief of Staff Prince Kan'in, Navy Minister Admiral Fushimi, and others to reassess its policy toward China. Citing the Nationalist Government's delay and lack of sincerity, the Japanese leadership decided to terminate Trautmann's mediation. At the conference, Japan articulated a dual strategy: if the Nationalist Government did not seek peace, Japan would no longer regard it as a viable negotiating partner, instead supporting emerging regimes, seeking to resolve issues through incidents, and aiming either to eliminate or incorporate the existing central government; if the Nationalist Government sought reconciliation, it would be required to cease resistance, cooperate with Japan against communism, and pursue economic cooperation, including officially recognizing Manchukuo and allowing Japanese troops in Inner Mongolia, North China, Central China, and co-governance of Shanghai. The Konoe cabinet relayed this proposal to the German ambassador in Japan on December 22, 1937: It called for: diplomatic recognition of Manchukuo; autonomy for Inner Mongolia; cessation of all anti-Japanese and anti-Manchukuo policies; cooperation between Japan, Manchukuo, and China against communism; war reparations; demilitarized zones in North China and Inner Mongolia; and a trade agreement among Japan, Manchukuo, and China.  Its terms were too severe, including reparations payable to Japan and new political arrangements that would formalize the separation of north China under Japanese control. Chiang's government would have seventy-two hours to accept; if they refused, Tokyo would no longer recognize the Nationalist government and would seek to destroy it.  On January 13, 1938, the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Chonghui informed Germany that China needed a fuller understanding of the additional conditions for peace talks to make a decision. The January 15 deadline for accepting Japan's terms elapsed without Chinese acceptance. Six days after the deadline for a Chinese government reply, an Imperial Conference “Gozen Kaigi” was convened in Tokyo to consider how to handle Trautmann's mediation. The navy, seeing the war as essentially an army matter, offered no strong position; the army pressed for ending the war through diplomatic means, arguing that they faced a far more formidable Far Eastern Soviet threat at the northern Manchukuo border and wished to avoid protracted attrition warfare. Foreign Minister Kōki Hirota, however, strongly disagreed with the army, insisting there was no viable path to Trautmann's mediation given the vast gap between Chinese and Japanese positions. A second conference followed on January 15, 1938, attended by the empire's principal cabinet members and military leaders, but without the emperor's presence. The debate grew heated over whether to continue Trautmann's mediation. Hayao Tada, Deputy Chief of Army General Staff, argued for continuation, while Konoe, Hirota, Navy Minister Mitsumasa Yonai, and War Minister Hajime Sugiyama opposed him. Ultimately, Tada acceded to the position of Konoe and Hirota. On the same day, Konoe conveyed the cabinet's conclusion, termination of Trautmann's mediation, to the emperor. The Japanese government then issued a statement on January 16 declaring that it would no longer treat the Nationalist Government as a bargaining partner, signaling the establishment of a new Chinese regime that would cooperate with Japan and a realignment of bilateral relations. This became known as the first Konoe statement, through which Tokyo formally ended Trautmann's mediation attempt. The Chinese government was still weighing its response when, at noon on January 16, Konoe publicly declared, “Hereafter, the Imperial Government will not deal with the National Government.” In Japanese, this became the infamous aite ni sezu (“absolutely no dealing”). Over the following days, the Japanese government made it clear that this was a formal breach of relations, “stronger even than a declaration of war,” in the words of Foreign Minister Hirota Kōki. The Chinese ambassador to Japan, who had been in Tokyo for six months since hostilities began, was finally recalled. At the end of January, Chiang summoned a military conference and declared that the top strategic priority would be to defend the east-central Chinese city of Xuzhou, about 500 kilometers north of Wuhan. This decision, like the mobilization near Lugouqiao, was heavily influenced by the railway: Xuzhou sat at the midpoint of the Tianjin–Pukou Jinpu line, and its seizure would grant the Japanese mastery over north–south travel in central China. The Jinpu line also crossed the Longhai line, China's main cross-country artery from Lanzhou to the port of Lianyungang, north of Shanghai. The Japanese military command marked the Jinpu line as a target in spring 1938. Control over Xuzhou and the rail lines threading through it were thus seen as vital to the defense of Wuhan, which lay to the city's south. Chiang's defense strategy fit into a larger plan evolving since the 1920s, when the military thinker Jiang Baili had first proposed a long war against Japan; Jiang's foresight earned him a position as an adviser to Chiang in 1938. Jiang had previously run the Baoding military academy, a predecessor of the Whampoa academy, which had trained many of China's finest young officers in the early republic 1912–1922. Now, many of the generals who had trained under Jiang gathered in Wuhan and would play crucial roles in defending the city: Chen Cheng, Bai Chongxi, Tang Shengzhi, and Xue Yue. They remained loyal to Chiang but sought to avoid his tendency to micromanage every aspect of strategy.  Nobody could say with certainty whether Wuhan would endure the Japanese onslaught, and outsiders' predictions were gloomy. As Wuhan's inhabitants tasted their unexpected new freedoms, the Japanese pressed on with their conquest of central China. After taking Nanjing, the IJA 13th Division crossed the Yangtze River to the north and advanced to the Outang and Mingguang lines on the east bank of the Chihe River in Anhui Province, while the 2nd Army of the North China Front crossed the Yellow River to the south between Qingcheng and Jiyang in Shandong, occupied Jinan, and pressed toward Jining, Mengyin, and Qingdao. To open the Jinpu Railway and connect the northern and southern battlefields, the Japanese headquarters mobilized eight divisions, three brigades, and two detachments , totaling about 240,000 men. They were commanded by General Hata Shunroku, commander of the Central China Expeditionary Army, and Terauchi Hisaichi, commander of the North China Front Army. Their plan was a north–south advance: first seize Xuzhou, a strategic city in east China; then take Zhengzhou in the west along the Longhai Railway connecting Lanzhou and Lianyungang; and finally push toward Wuhan in the south along the Pinghan Railway connecting Beijing and Hankou. At the beginning of 1938, Japan's domestic mobilization and military reorganization had not yet been completed, and there was a shortage of troops to expand the front. At the Emperor's Imperial Conference on February 16, 1938, the General Staff Headquarters argued against launching operations before the summer of 1938, preferring to consolidate the front in 1938 and undertake a large-scale battle in 1939. Although the Northern China Expeditionary Force and the Central China Expeditionary Force proposed a plan to open the Jinpu Line to connect the northern and southern battlefields, the proposal was not approved by the domestic General Staff Headquarters. The Chinese army, commanded by Li Zongren, commander-in-chief of the Fifth War Zone, mobilized about 64 divisions and three brigades, totaling roughly 600,000 men. The main force was positioned north of Xuzhou to resist the southern Japanese advance, with a portion deployed along the southern Jinpu Railway to block the southern push and secure Xuzhou. Early in the campaign, Chiang Kai-shek redeployed the heavy artillery brigade originally promised to Han Fuju to Tang Enbo's forces. To preserve his strength, Shandong Provincial Governor Han Fuju abandoned the longstanding Yellow River defenses in Shandong, allowing the Japanese to capture the Shandong capital of Jinan in early March 1938. This defection opened the Jinpu Railway to attack. The Japanese 10th Division, under Rensuke Isogai, seized Tai'an, Jining, and Dawenkou, ultimately placing northern Shandong under Japanese control. The aim was to crush the Chinese between the two halves of a pincer movement. At Yixian and Huaiyuan, north of Xuzhou, both sides fought to the death: the Chinese could not drive back the Japanese, but the Japanese could not scatter the defenders either. At Linyi, about 50 kilometers northeast of Xuzhou, Zhang Zizhong, who had previously disgraced himself by abandoning an earlier battlefield—became a national hero for his determined efforts to stop the Japanese troops led by Itagaki Seishirō, the conqueror of Manchuria. The Japanese hoped that they could pour in as many as 400,000 troops to destroy the Chinese forces holding eastern and central China. Chiang Kai-shek was determined that this should not happen, recognizing that the fall of Xuzhou would place Wuhan in extreme danger. On April 1, 1938, he addressed Nationalist Party delegates, linking the defense of Wuhan to the fate of the party itself. He noted that although the Japanese had invaded seven provinces, they had only captured provincial capitals and main transport routes, while villages and towns off those routes remained unconquered. The Japanese, he argued, might muster more than half a million soldiers, but after eight or nine months of hard fighting they had become bogged down. Chiang asserted that as long as Guangzhou (Canton) remained in Chinese hands, it would be of little significance if the Japanese invaded Wuhan, since Guangzhou would keep China's sea links open and Guangdong, Sun Yat-sen's homeland, would serve as a revolutionary base area. If the “woren” Japanese “dwarfs” attacked Wuhan and Guangzhou, it would cost them dearly and threaten their control over the occupied zones. He reiterated his plan: “the base area for our war will not be in the zones east of the Beiping–Wuhan or Wuhan–Guangdong railway lines, but to their west.” For this reason he authorized withdrawing Chinese troops behind the railway lines. Chiang's speech mixed defiance with an explanation of why regrouping was necessary; it was a bold public posture in the face of a developing military disaster, yet it reflected the impossible balance he faced between signaling resolve and avoiding overcommitment of a city that might still fall. Holding Xuzhou as the first priority required Chiang Kai-shek to place a great deal of trust in one of his rivals: the southwestern general Li Zongren. The relationship between Chiang and Li would become one of the most ambivalent in wartime China. Li hailed from Guangxi, a province in southwestern China long regarded by the eastern heartland as half civilized. Its people had rarely felt fully part of the empire ruled from Beijing or even Nanjing, and early in the republic there was a strong push for regional autonomy. Li was part of a cohort of young officers trained in regional academies who sought to bring Guangxi under national control; he joined the Nationalist Party in 1923, the year Sun Yat-sen announced his alliance with the Soviets. Li was not a Baoding Academy graduate but had trained at Yunnan's equivalent institution, which shared similar views on military professionalism. He enthusiastically took part in the Northern Expedition (1926–1928) and played a crucial role in the National Revolutionary Army's ascent to control over much of north China. Yet after the Nanjing government took power, Li grew wary of Chiang's bid to centralize authority in his own person. In 1930 Li's so‑called “Guangxi clique” participated in the Central Plains War, the failed effort by militarist leaders to topple Chiang; although the plot failed, Li retreated to his southwest base, ready to challenge Chiang again. The occupation of Manchuria in 1931 reinforced Li's belief that a Japanese threat posed a greater danger than Chiang's centralization. The tension between the two men was evident from the outset of the war. On October 10, 1937, Chiang appointed Li commander of the Fifth War Zone; Li agreed on the condition that Chiang refrain from issuing shouling—personal commands—to Li's subordinates. Chiang complied, a sign of the value he placed on Li's leadership and the caution with which he treated Li and his Guangxi ally Bai Chongxi. As Chiang sought any possible victory amid retreat and destruction, he needed Li to deliver results. As part of the public-relations front, journalists were given access to commanders on the Xuzhou front. Li and his circle sought to shape their image as capable leaders to visiting reporters, with Du Zhongyuan among the most active observers. Du praised the “formidable southwestern general, Li Zongren,” calling him “elegant and refined” and “vastly magnanimous.” In language echoing the era's soldiers' public presentation, Du suggested that Li's forces operated under strict, even disciplined, orders “The most important point in the people's war is that . . . troops do not harass the people of the country. If the people are the water, the soldiers are the fish, and if you have fish with no water, inevitably they're going to choke; worse still is to use our water to nurture the enemy's fish — that really is incomparably stupid”.  Within the southern front, on January 26, 1938, the Japanese 13th Division attacked Fengyang and Bengbu in Anhui Province, while Li Pinxian, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the 5th War Zone, directed operations south of Xuzhou. The defending 31st Corps of the 11th Group Army, after resisting on the west bank of the Chi River, retreated to the west of Dingyuan and Fengyang. By February 3, the Japanese had captured Linhuai Pass and Bengbu. From the 9th to the 10th, the main force of the 13th Division forced a crossing of the Huai River at Bengbu and Linhuai Pass respectively, and began an offensive against the north bank. The 51st Corps, reorganized from the Central Plains Northeast Army and led by Commander Yu Xuezhong, engaged in fierce combat with the Japanese. Positions on both sides of the Huai shifted repeatedly, producing a riverine bloodbath through intense hand-to-hand fighting. After ten days of engagement, the Fifth War Zone, under Zhang Zizhong, commander of the 59th Army, rushed to the Guzhen area to reinforce the 51st Army, and the two forces stubbornly resisted the Japanese on the north bank of the Huai River. Meanwhile, on the south bank, the 48th Army of the 21st Group Army held the Luqiao area, while the 7th Army, in coordination with the 31st Army, executed a flanking attack on the flanks and rear of the Japanese forces in Dingyuan, compelling the main body of the 13th Division to redeploy to the north bank for support. Seizing the initiative, the 59th and 51st Armies launched a counteroffensive, reclaiming all positions north of the Huai River by early March. The 31st Army then moved from the south bank to the north, and the two sides faced across the river. Subsequently, the 51st and 59th Armies were ordered to reinforce the northern front, while the 31st Army continued to hold the Huai River to ensure that all Chinese forces covering the Battle of Xuzhou were safely withdrawn. Within the northern front, in late February, the Japanese Second Army began its southward push along multiple routes. The eastern axis saw the 5th Division moving south from Weixian present-day Weifang, in Shandong, capturing Yishui, Juxian, and Rizhao before pressing directly toward Linyi, as units of the Nationalist Third Corps' 40th Army and others mounted strenuous resistance. The 59th Army was ordered to reinforce and arrived on March 12 at the west bank of the Yi River in the northern suburbs of Linyi, joining the 40th Army in a counterattack that, after five days and nights of ferocious fighting, inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese and forced them to retreat toward Juxian. On the western route, the Seya Detachment (roughly a brigade) of the Japanese 10th Division crossed the Grand Canal from Jining and attacked Jiaxiang, meeting stiff resistance from the Third Army and being thwarted, while continuing to advance south along the Jinpu Railway. The Isogai Division, advancing on the northern route without awaiting help from the southeast and east, moved southward from Liangxiadian, south of Zouxian, on March 14, with the plan to strike Tengxian, present-day Tengzhou on March 15 and push south toward Xuzhou. The defending 22nd Army and the 41st Corps fought bravely and suffered heavy casualties in a hard battle that lasted until March 17, during which Wang Mingzhang, commander of the 122nd Division defending Teng County, was killed in action. Meanwhile, a separate Japanese thrust under Itagaki Seishirō landed on the Jiaodong Peninsula and occupied Qingdao, advancing along the Jiaoji Line to strike Linyi, a key military town in southern Shandong. Pang Bingxun's 40th Army engaged the invaders in fierce combat, and later, elements of Zhang Zizhong's 333rd Brigade of the 111th Division, reinforced by the 57th Army, joined Pang Bingxun's forces to launch a double-sided pincer that temporarily repelled the Japanese attack on Linyi. By late March 1938 a frightening reality loomed: the Japanese were close to prevailing on the Xuzhou front. The North China Area Army, commanded by Itagaki Seishirō, Nishio Toshizō, and Isogai Rensuke, was poised to link up with the Central China Expeditionary Force under Hata Shunroku in a united drive toward central China. Li Zongren, together with his senior lieutenants Bai Chongxi and Tang Enbo, decided to confront the invaders at Taierzhuang, the traditional stone-walled city that would become a focal point of their defense. 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. Nanjing falls after one of humanities worst atrocities. Chiang Kai-Shek's war command has been pushed to Wuhan, but the Japanese are not stopping their advance. Trautmann's mediation is over and now Japan has its sights on Xuzhou and its critical railway junctions. Japan does not realize it yet, but she is now entering a long war of attrition.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Last time we spoke about the continuation of the war after Nanjing's fall. The fall of Nanjing in December 1937 marked a pivotal juncture in the Second Sino-Japanese War, ushering in a brutal phase of attrition that shaped both strategy and diplomacy in early 1938. As Japanese forces sought to restructure China's political order, their strategy extended beyond battlefield victories to the establishment of puppet arrangements and coercive diplomacy. Soviet aid provided critical support, while German and broader Axis diplomacy wavered, shaping a nuanced backdrop for China's options. In response, Chinese command decisions focused on defending crucial rail corridors and urban strongholds, with Wuhan emerging as a strategic hub and the Jinpu and Longhai railways becoming lifelines of resistance. The defense around Xuzhou and the Huai River system illustrated Chinese determination to prolong resistance despite daunting odds. By early 1938, the war appeared as a drawn-out struggle, with China conserving core bases even as Japan pressed toward central China.   #170 The Battle of Taierzhuang 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. Following their victory at Nanjing, the Japanese North China Area Army sought to push southward and link up with the Japanese Eleventh Army between Beijing and Nanjing. The two formations were intended to advance along the northern and southern ends of the JinPu railway, meet at Xuzhou, and then coordinate a pincer movement into Chinese strongholds in the Central Yangtze region, capturing Jiujiang first and then Wuhan. Recognizing Xuzhou's strategic importance, Chinese leadership made its defense a top priority. Xuzhou stood at the midpoint of the JinPu line and at the intersection with the Longhai Line, China's main east–west corridor from Lanzhou to Lianyungang. If seized, Japanese control of these routes would grant mobility for north–south movement across central China. At the end of January, Chiang Kai-shek convened a military conference in Wuchang and declared the defense of Xuzhou the highest strategic objective. Chinese preparations expanded from an initial core of 80,000 troops to about 300,000, deployed along the JinPu and Longhai lines to draw in and overstretch Japanese offensives. A frightening reality loomed by late March 1938: the Japanese were nearing victory on the Xuzhou front. The North China Area Army, led by Generals Itagaki Seishirô, Nishio Toshizô, and Isogai Rensuke, aimed to link up with the Central China Expeditionary Force under General Hata Shunroku for a coordinated drive into central China. Li Zongren and his senior colleagues, including Generals Bai Chongxi and Tang Enbo, resolved to meet the Japanese at the traditional stone-walled city of Taierzhuang. Taierzhuang was not large, but it held strategic significance. It sat along the Grand Canal, China's major north–south waterway, and on a rail line that connected the Jinpu and Longhai lines, thus bypassing Xuzhou. Chiang Kai-shek himself visited Xuzhou on March 24. While Xuzhou remained in Chinese hands, the Japanese forces to the north and south were still separated. Losing Xuzhou would close the pincer. By late March, Chinese troops seemed to be gaining ground at Taierzhuang, but the Japanese began reinforcing, pulling soldiers from General Isogai Rensuke's column. The defending commanders grew uncertain about their ability to hold the position, yet Chiang Kai-shek made his stance clear in an April 1, 1938 telegram: “the enemy at Taierzhuang must be destroyed.” Chiang Kai-shek dispatched his Vice Chief of Staff, Bai Chongxi, to Xuzhou in January 1938. Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi were old comrades from the New Guangxi Clique, and their collaboration dated back to the Northern Expedition, including the Battle of Longtan. Li also received the 21st Group Army from the 3rd War Area. This Guangxi unit, commanded by Liao Lei, comprised the 7th and 47th Armies. Around the same time, Sun Zhen's 22nd Group Army, another Sichuan clique unit, arrived in the Shanxi-Henan region, but was rebuffed by both Yan Xishan, then commander of the 2nd War Area and Shanxi's chairman and Cheng Qian, commander of the 1st War Area and Henan's chairman. Yan and Cheng harbored strong reservations about Sichuan units due to discipline issues, notably their rampant opium consumption. Under Sun Zhen's leadership, the 22nd Group Army deployed four of its six divisions to aid the Northern China effort. Organized under the 41st and 45th Armies, the contingent began a foot march toward Taiyuan on September 1, covering more than 50 days and approximately 1,400 kilometers. Upon reaching Shanxi, they faced a harsh, icy winter and had no winter uniforms or even a single map of the province. They nevertheless engaged the Japanese for ten days at Yangquan, suffering heavy casualties. Strapped for supplies, they broke into a Shanxi clique supply depot, which enraged Yan Xishan and led to their expulsion from the province. The 22nd withdrew westward into the 1st War Area, only to have its request for resupply rejected by Cheng Qian. Meanwhile to the south Colonel Rippei Ogisu led Japanese 13th Division to push westward from Nanjing in two columns during early February: the northern column targeted Mingguang, while the southern column aimed for Chuxian. Both routes were checked by Wei Yunsong's 31st Army, which had been assigned to defend the southern stretch of the Jinpu railway under Li Zongren. Despite facing a clearly inferior force, the Japanese could not gain ground after more than a month of sustained attacks. In response, Japan deployed armored and artillery reinforcements from Nanjing. The Chinese withdrew to the southwestern outskirts of Dingyuan to avoid a direct clash with their reinforced adversaries. By this point, Yu Xuezhong's 51st Army had taken up a defensive position on the northern banks of the Huai River, establishing a line between Bengbu and Huaiyuan. The Japanese then captured Mingguang, Dingyuan, and Bengbu in succession and pressed toward Huaiyuan. However, their supply lines were intercepted by the Chinese 31st Corps, which conducted flanking attacks from the southwest. The situation worsened when the Chinese 7th Army, commanded by Liao Lei, arrived at Hefei to reinforce the 31st Army. Facing three Chinese corps simultaneously, the Japanese were effectively boxed south of the Huai River and, despite air superiority and a superior overall firepower, could not advance further. As a result, the Chinese thwarted the Japanese plan to move the 13th Division north along the Jinpu railway and link up with the Isogai 10th Division to execute a pincer against Xuzhou. Meanwhile in the north, after amphibious landings at Qingdao, the Japanese 5th Division, commanded by Seishiro Itagaki, advanced southwest along the Taiwei Highway, spearheaded by its 21st Infantry Brigade. They faced Pang Bingxun's 3rd Group Army. Although labeled a Group Army, Pang's force actually comprised only the 40th Army, which itself consisted of the 39th Division from the Northwestern Army, commanded by Ma-Fawu. The 39th Division's five regiments delayed the Japanese advance toward Linyi for over a month. The Japanese captured Ju County on 22 February and moved toward Linyi by 2 March. The 59th Army, commanded by Zhang Zizhong, led its troops on a forced march day and night toward Linyi. Seizing the opportunity, the 59th Army did not rest after reaching Yishui. In the early morning of the 14th, Zhang Zizhong ordered the entire army to covertly cross the Yishui River and attack the right flank of the Japanese “Iron Army” 5th Division. They broke through enemy defenses at Tingzitou, Dataiping, Shenjia Taiping, Xujia Taiping, and Shalingzi. Initially caught off guard, the enemy sustained heavy losses, and over a night more than a thousand Japanese soldiers were annihilated. The 59th Army fought fiercely, engaging in brutal hand-to-hand combat. By 4:00 a.m. on the 17th, the 59th Army had secured all of the Japanese main positions. That same day, Pang Bingxun seized the moment to lead his troops in a fierce flank attack, effectively supporting the 59th Army's frontal assault. On the 18th, Zhang and Pang's forces attacked the Japanese from the east, south, and west. After three days and nights of bloody fighting, they finally defeated the 3rd Battalion of the 11th Regiment, which had crossed the river, and annihilated most of it. The 59th Army completed its counterattack but suffered over 6,000 casualties, with more than 2,000 Japanese killed or wounded. News of the Linyi victory prompted commendations from Chiang Kai-shek and Li Zongren. General Li Zongren, commander of the 5th War Zone, judged that the Japanese were temporarily unable to mount a large-scale offensive and that Linyi could be held for the time being. On March 20, he ordered the 59th Army westward to block the Japanese Seya Detachment. On March 21, the Japanese Sakamoto Detachment, after a brief reorganization and learning of the Linyi detachment, launched another offensive. The 3rd Corps, understrength and without reinforcements, was compelled to retreat steadily before the Japanese. General Pang Bingxun, commander of the 3rd Corps, urgently telegraphed Chiang Kai-shek, requesting reinforcements. Chiang Kai-shek received the telegram and, at approximately 9:00 AM on the 23rd, ordered the 59th Army to return to Linyi to join with the 3rd Corps in repelling the Sakamoto Detachment. Fierce fighting ensued with heavy Chinese losses, and the situation in Linyi again grew precarious. At a critical moment, the 333rd Brigade of the 111th Division and the Cavalry Regiment of the 13th Army were rushed to reinforce Linyi. Facing attacks from two directions, the Japanese withdrew, losing almost two battalions in the process. This engagement shattered the myth of Japanese invincibility and embarrassed commander Seishirō Itagaki, even startling IJA headquarters. Although the 5th Division later regrouped and attempted another push, it had lost the element of surprise. The defeat at Linyi at the hands of comparatively poorly equipped Chinese regional units set the stage for the eventual battle at Tai'erzhuang. Of the three Japanese divisions advancing into the Chinese 5th War Area, the 10th Division, commanded by Rensuke Isogai, achieved the greatest initial success. Departing from Hebei, it crossed the Yellow River and moved south along the Jinpu railway. With KMT General Han Fuju ordering his forces to desert their posts, the Japanese captured Zhoucun and reached Jinan with little resistance. They then pushed south along two columns from Tai'an. The eastern column captured Mengyin before driving west to seize Sishui; the western column moved southwest along the Jinpu railway, capturing Yanzhou, Zouxian, and Jining, before turning northwest to take Wenshang. Chiang Kai-shek subsequently ordered Li Zongren to employ “offensive defense”, seizing the initiative to strike rather than merely defend. Li deployed Sun Zhen's 22nd Group Army to attack Zouxian from the south, while Pang Bingxun's 40th Division advanced north along the 22nd's left flank to strike Mengyin and Sishui. Sun Tongxuan's 3rd Group Army also advanced from the south, delivering a two-pronged assault on the Japanese at Jining. Fierce fighting from 12 to 25 February, particularly by the 12th Corps, helped mitigate the reputational damage previously inflicted on Shandong units by Han Fuju. In response to Chinese counterattacks, the Japanese revised their strategy: they canceled their original plan to push directly westward from Nanjing toward Wuhan, freeing more troops for the push toward Xuzhou. On March 15, the Japanese 10th Division struck the Chinese 122nd Division, focusing the action around Tengxian and Lincheng. Chinese reinforcements from the 85th Corps arrived the following day but were driven back on March 17. With air support, tanks, and heavy artillery, the Japanese breached the Chinese lines on March 18. The remaining Chinese forces, bolstered by the 52nd Corps, withdrew to the town of Yixian. The Japanese attacked Yixian and overran an entire Chinese regiment in a brutal 24-hour engagement. By March 19, the Japanese began advancing on the walled town of Taierzhuang. To counter the Japanese advance, the Chinese 2nd Army Group under General Sun Lianzhong was deployed to Taierzhuang. The 31st Division, commanded by General Chi Fengcheng, reached Taierzhuang on March 22 and was ordered to delay the Japanese advance until the remainder of the Army Group could arrive. On March 23, the 31st Division sallied from Taierzhuang toward Yixian, where they were engaged by two Japanese battalions reinforced with three tanks and four armored cars. The Chinese troops occupied a series of hills and managed to defend against a Japanese regiment (~3,000 men) for the rest of the day. On March 24, a Japanese force of about 5,000 attacked the 31st Division. Another Japanese unit pressed the Chinese from Yixian, forcing them to withdraw back into Taierzhuang itself. The Japanese then assaulted the town, with a 300-strong contingent breaching the northeast gate at 20:00. They were subsequently driven back toward the Chenghuang temple, which the Chinese set on fire, annihilating the Japanese force. The next day, the Japanese renewed the assault through the breached gate and secured the eastern portion of the district, while also breaking through the northwest corner from the outside and capturing the Wenchang Pavilion. On March 25, a morning Japanese onslaught was repelled. The Japanese then shelled Chinese positions with artillery and air strikes. In the afternoon, the Chinese deployed an armored train toward Yixian, which ambushed a column of Japanese soldiers near a hamlet, killing or wounding several dozen before retreating back to Taierzhuang. By nightfall, three thousand Chinese troops launched a night assault, pushing the Japanese lines northeast to dawn. The following three days subjected the Chinese defenders to sustained aerial and artillery bombardment. The Chinese managed to repulse several successive Japanese assaults but sustained thousands of casualties in the process. On March 28, Chinese artillery support arrived, including two 155 mm and ten 75 mm pieces. On the night of March 29, the Japanese finally breached the wall. Setting out from the district's southern outskirts, a Chinese assault squad stormed the Wenchang Pavilion from the south and east, killing nearly the entire Japanese garrison aside from four taken as prisoners of war. The Chinese then retook the northwest corner of the district. Even by the brutal standards already established in the war, the fighting at Taierzhuang was fierce, with combatants facing one another at close quarters. Sheng Cheng's notes preserve the battlefield memories of Chi Fengcheng, one of the campaign's standout officers “We had a battle for the little lanes [of the town], and unprecedentedly, not just streets and lanes, but even courtyards and houses. Neither side was willing to budge. Sometimes we'd capture a house, and dig a hole in the wall to approach the enemy. Sometimes the enemy would be digging a hole in the same wall at the same time. Sometimes we faced each other with hand grenades — or we might even bite each other. Or when we could hear that the enemy was in the house, then we'd climb the roof and drop bombs inside — and kill them all.” The battle raged for a week. On April 1, General Chi requested volunteers for a near-suicide mission to seize a building: among fifty-seven selected, only ten survived. A single soldier claimed to have fired on a Japanese bomber and succeeded in bringing it down; he and his comrades then set the aircraft ablaze before another plane could arrive to rescue the pilot. One participant described the brutal conditions of the battle “"The battle continued day and night. The flames lit up the sky. Often all that separated our forces was a single wall. The soldiers would beat holes in the masonry to snipe at each other. We would be fighting for days over a single building, causing dozens of fatalities." The conditions were so brutal that Chinese officers imposed severe measures to maintain discipline. Junior officers were repeatedly forbidden to retreat and were often ordered to personally replace casualties within their ranks. Li Zongren even warned Tang Enbo that failure to fulfill his duties would lead him to be “treated as Han Fuju had been.” In Taierzhuang's cramped streets, Japan's artillery and air superiority offered little advantage; whenever either service was employed amid the dense melee, casualties were roughly even on both sides. The fighting devolved into close-quarters combat carried out primarily by infantry, with rifles, pistols, hand grenades, bayonets, and knives forming the core of each side's arsenal. The battle unfolded largely hand-to-hand, frequently in darkness. The stone buildings of Taierzhuang provided substantial cover from fire and shrapnel. It was precisely under these close-quarters conditions that Chinese soldiers could stand as equals, if not superior, to their Japanese opponents, mirroring, in some respects, the experiences seen in Luodian, Shanghai, the year before. On March 31, General Sun Lianzhong arrived to assume command of the 2nd Army Group. A Japanese assault later that day was repulsed, but a Chinese counterattack also stalled. At 04:00 on April 1, the Japanese attacked the Chinese lines with support from 11 tanks. The Chinese defenders, armed with German-made 37mm Pak-36 antitank guns, destroyed eight of the armored vehicles at point-blank range. Similar incidents recurred throughout the battle, with numerous Japanese tanks knocked out by Chinese artillery and by suicide squads. In one engagement, Chinese suicide bombers annihilated four Japanese tanks with bundles of grenades. On April 2 and 3, Chi urged the Chinese defenders around Taierzhuang's north station to assess the evolving situation. The troops reported distress, crying and sneezing, caused by tear gas deployed by the Japanese against Chinese positions at Taierzhuang's north station, but the defenders remained unmoved. They then launched a massive armored assault outside the city walls, with 30 tanks and 60 armored cars, yet managed only to drive the Chinese 27th Division back to the Grand Canal. The fighting continued to rage on April 4 and 5. By then, the Japanese had captured roughly two-thirds of Taierzhuang, though the Chinese still held the South Gate. It was through this entry point that the Chinese command managed to keep their troops supplied. The Chinese also thwarted Japanese efforts to replenish their dwindling stocks of arms and ammunition. In consequence, the Japanese attackers were worn down progressively. Although the Japanese possessed superior firepower, including cannon and heavy artillery, the cramped conditions within Taierzhuang nullified this advantage for the moment. The Chinese command succeeded in keeping their own supplies flowing, a recurring weakness in other engagements and also prevented the Japanese from replenishing their dwindling stock of arms and bullets. Gradually, the Japanese maneuvered into a state of attrition. The deadlock of the battle was broken by events unfolding outside Taierzhuang, where fresh Chinese divisions had encircled the Japanese forces in Taierzhuang from the flanks and rear. After consulting their German advisors earlier, the commanders of the 5th War Area prepared a double envelopment of the exposed Japanese forces in Taierzhuang. Between March and April 1938, the Nationalist Air Force deployed squadrons from the 3rd and 4th Pursuit Groups, fighter-attack aircraft, in long-distance air interdiction and close-air support of the Taierzhuang operations. Approximately 30 aircraft, mostly Soviet-made, were deployed in bombing raids against Japanese positions. On 26 March, Tang Enbo's 20th Army, equipped with artillery units, attacked Japanese forces at Yixian, inflicting heavy casualties and routing the survivors. Tang then swung south to strike the Japanese flank northeast of Taierzhuang. Simultaneously, the Chinese 55th Corps, comprised of two divisions, executed a surprise crossing of the Grand Canal and cut the railway line near Lincheng. As a result, Tang isolated the Japanese attackers from their rear and severed their supply lines. On 1 April, the Japanese 5th Division sent a brigade to relieve the encircled 10th Division. Tang countered by blocking the brigade's advance and then attacking from the rear, driving them south into the encirclement. On 3 April, the Chinese 2nd Group Army launched a counter-offensive, with the 30th and 110th Divisions pushing northward into Beiluo and Nigou, respectively. By 6 April, the Chinese 85th and 52nd Armies linked up at Taodun, just west of Lanling. The combined force then advanced north-westward, capturing Ganlugou. Two more Chinese divisions arrived a few days later. By April 5, Taierzhuang's Japanese units were fully surrounded, with seven Chinese divisions to the north and four to the south closing in. The Japanese divisions inside Taierzhuang had exhausted their supplies, running critically low on ammunition, fuel, and food, while many troops endured fatigue and dehydration after more than a week of brutal fighting. Sensing imminent victory, the Chinese forces surged with renewed fury and attacked the encircled Japanese, executing wounded soldiers where they lay with rifle and pistol shots. Chinese troops also deployed Soviet tanks against the defenders. Japanese artillery could not reply effectively due to a shortage of shells, and their tanks were immobilized by a lack of fuel. Attempts to drop supplies by air failed, with most packages falling into Chinese hands. Over time, Japanese infantry were progressively reduced to firing only their machine guns and mortars, then their rifles and machine guns, and ultimately resorted to bayonet charges. With the success of the Chinese counter-attacks, the Japanese line finally collapsed on April 7. The 10th and 5th Divisions, drained of personnel and ammunition, were forced to retreat. By this point, around 2,000 Japanese soldiers managed to break out of Taierzhuang, leaving thousands of their comrades dead behind. Some of the escapees reportedly committed hara-kiri. Chinese casualties were roughly comparable, marking a significant improvement over the heavier losses suffered in Shanghai and Nanjing. The Japanese had lost the battle for numerous reasons. Japanese efforts were hampered by the "offensive-defensive" operations carried out by various Chinese regional units, effectively preventing the three Japanese divisions from ever linking up with each other. Despite repeated use of heavy artillery, air strikes, and gas, the Japanese could not expel the Chinese 2nd Group Army from Taierzhuang and its surrounding areas, even as the defenders risked total annihilation. The Japanese also failed to block the Chinese 20th Group Army's maneuver around their rear positions, which severed retreat routes and enabled a Chinese counter-encirclement. After Han Fuju's insubordination and subsequent execution, the Chinese high command tightened discipline at the top, transmitting a stringent order flow down to the ranks. This atmosphere of strict discipline inspired even junior soldiers to risk their lives in executing orders. A “dare-to-die corps” was effectively employed against Japanese units. They used swords and wore suicide vests fashioned from grenades. Due to a lack of anti-armor weaponry, suicide bombing was also employed against the Japanese. Chinese troops, as part of the “dare-to-die” corps, strapped explosives such as grenade packs or dynamite to their bodies and charged at Japanese tanks to blow them up.  The Chinese later asserted that about 20,000 Japanese had perished, though the actual toll was likely closer to 8,000. The Japanese also sustained heavy material losses. Because of fuel shortages and their rapid retreat, many tanks, trucks, and artillery pieces were abandoned on the battlefield and subsequently captured by Chinese forces. Frank Dorn recorded losses of 40 tanks, over 70 armored cars, and 100 trucks of various sizes. In addition to vehicles, the Japanese lost dozens of artillery pieces and thousands of machine guns and rifles. Many of these weapons were collected by the Chinese for future use. The Chinese side also endured severe casualties, possibly up to 30,000, with Taierzhuang itself nearly razed. Yet for once, the Chinese achieved a decisive victory, sparking an outburst of joy across unoccupied China. Du Zhongyuan wrote of “the glorious killing of the enemy,” and even Katharine Hand, though isolated in Japanese-controlled Shandong, heard the news. The victory delivered a much-needed morale boost to both the army and the broader population. Sheng Cheng recorded evening conversations with soldiers from General Chi Fengcheng's division, who shared light-hearted banter with their senior officer. At one moment, the men recalled Chi as having given them “the secret of war. when you get food, eat it; when you can sleep, take it.” Such familiar, brisk maxims carried extra resonance now that the Nationalist forces had demonstrated their willingness and ability to stand their ground rather than retreat. The victors may have celebrated a glorious victory, but they did not forget that their enemies were human. Chi recalled a scene he encountered: he had picked up a Japanese officer's helmet, its left side scorched by gunpowder, with a trace of blood, the mark of a fatal wound taken from behind. Elsewhere in Taierzhuang, relics of the fallen were found: images of the Buddha, wooden fish, and flags bearing slogans. A makeshift crematorium in the north station had been interrupted mid-process: “Not all the bones had been completely burned.” After the battle, Li Zongren asked Sheng if he had found souvenirs on the battlefield. Sheng replied that he had discovered love letters on the corpses of Japanese soldiers, as well as a photograph of a girl, perhaps a hometown sweetheart labeled “19 years old, February 1938.” These details stood in stark contrast to news coverage that depicted the Japanese solely as demons, devils, and “dwarf bandits.” The foreign community noted the new, optimistic turn of events and the way it seemed to revive the resistance effort. US ambassador Nelson Johnson wrote to Secretary of State Cordell Hull from Wuhan just days after Taierzhuang, passing on reports from American military observers: one had spent time in Shanxi and been impressed by Communist success in mobilizing guerrilla fighters against the Japanese; another had spent three days observing the fighting at Taierzhuang and confirmed that “Chinese troops in the field there won a well-deserved victory over Japanese troops, administering the first defeat that Japanese troops have suffered in the field in modern times.” This reinforced Johnson's view that Japan would need to apply far more force than it had anticipated to pacify China. He noted that the mood in unoccupied China had likewise shifted. “Conditions here at Hankow have changed from an atmosphere of pessimism to one of dogged optimism. The Government is more united under Chiang and there is a feeling that the future is not entirely hopeless due to the recent failure of Japanese arms at Hsuchow [Xuzhou] . . . I find no evidence for a desire for a peace by compromise among  Chinese, and doubt whether the Government could persuade its army or its people to accept such a peace. The spirit of resistance is slowly spreading among the people who are awakening to a feeling that this is their war. Japanese air raids in the interior and atrocities by Japanese soldiers upon civilian populations are responsible for this stiffening of the people.”. The British had long been wary of Chiang Kai-shek, but Sir Archibald Clark Kerr, the British ambassador in China, wrote to the new British foreign secretary, Lord Halifax, on April 29, 1938, shortly after the Taierzhuang victory, and offered grudging credit to China's leader “[Chiang] has now become the symbol of Chinese unity, which he himself has so far failed to achieve, but which the Japanese are well on the way to achieving for him . . . The days when Chinese people did not care who governed them seem to have gone . . . my visit to Central China from out of the gloom and depression of Shanghai has left me stimulated and more than disposed to believe that provided the financial end can be kept up Chinese resistance may be so prolonged and effective that in the end the Japanese effort may be frustrated . . . Chiang Kai-shek is obstinate and difficult to deal with . . . Nonetheless [the Nationalists] are making in their muddlIn the exhilaration of a rare victory”. Chiang pressured Tang and Li to build on their success, increasing the area's troop strength to about 450,000. Yet the Chinese Army remained plagued by deeper structural issues. The parochialism that had repeatedly hampered Chiang's forces over the past six months resurfaced. Although the various generals had agreed to unite in a broader war of resistance, each prioritized the safety of his own troops, wary of any move by Chiang to centralize power. For example, Li Zongren refrained from utilizing his top Guangxi forces at Taierzhuang, attempting to shift the bulk of the fighting onto Tang Enbo's units. The generals were aware of the fates of two colleagues: Han Fuju of Shandong was executed for his refusal to fight, while Zhang Xueliang of Manchuria had allowed Chiang to reduce the size of his northeastern army and ended up under house arrest. They were justified in distrusting Chiang. He truly believed, after all, that provincial armies should come under a national military command led by himself. From a national-unity standpoint, Chiang's aim was not unreasonable. But it bred suspicion among other military leaders that participation in the anti-Japanese war would erode their own power. The fragmented command structure also hindered logistics, making ammunition and food supplies to the front unreliable and easy to cut off a good job of things in extremely difficult circumstances. 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 Chinese victory at the battle of Tairzhuang was a much needed morale boost after the long string of defeats to Japan. As incredible as it was however, it would amount to merely a bloody nose for the Imperial Japanese Army. Now Japan would unleash even more devastation to secure Xuzhou and ultimately march upon Wuhan.

Roy Lee, founder of Cluely, went from being kicked out of Columbia to building a company valued at over $100 million in just three months. In this episode of The Tai Lopez Show, Tai and Roy dive into the rise of AI, the future of work, and how tools like Cluely are changing everything—from job interviews to billion-dollar business models. They debate whether AI will make humans the “pets” of machines, how AI might replace teachers and therapists, and if brain-chip integration is the inevitable next step. They also cover the marketing strategies behind Cluely’s explosive growth, where short-form content and growth hacking meet AI scale.

On this episode of The Tai Lopez Show, Tai sits down with Johnny Mau, the entrepreneur behind a $1M/month sales floor and training company. Together, they dive into: How to escape competition by building monopolies and personal brands • Why sales floors are the most overlooked way to scale high-ticket offers The resilience, conviction, and congruency it takes to succeed in sales AI’s impact on advertising, lead generation, and the future of closing deals Whether you’re starting from zero or scaling past 7–8 figures, this conversation reveals practical frameworks you can use to survive the next decade of business.

How to Turn a Messy Past into a High-Performance FutureCaron Butler went from a rough childhood and juvenile incarceration to NBA All-Star and now a coach/mentor shaping elite performers. In this live episode, Tai and Caron get brutally practical about turning chaos into discipline, managing A-players, the real “why,” and what actually works for health and performance (spoiler: cold plunges, bands, meditation).Subscribe for more conversations on wealth, health, and uncommon sense.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why I Own 5 Homes But Never Travel (Multi-Home Living Strategy Explained) Most wealthy people get lifestyle design completely wrong. They think more travel = better life. But here's what millionaires and billionaires actually do... In this video, Tai Lopez breaks down his 4-home rotation system that eliminates travel stress while maximizing happiness, health, and wealth-building potential.