Podcasts about Zhengzhou

Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2025 39:21

Last time we spoke about the Xi'an Incident. In December 1936, tensions in China erupted as Nationalist General Chiang Kai-shek faced a revolt led by his commanders, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng. Disillusioned by Chiang's focus on battling communists instead of the Japanese invaders, the generals swiftly captured him in a coup. Confined in Xi'an, Chiang initially resisted their demands for a united front against Japan but eventually engaged in negotiation with Zhang and the Chinese Communist Party. As public sentiment shifted against him, Chiang's predicament led to urgent discussions, culminating in an unexpected alliance with the communists. This pact aimed to consolidate Chinese resistance against Japanese aggression, marking a critical turning point in the Second Sino-Japanese War. By December 26, Chiang was released, and this uneasy collaboration set the stage for a more unified front against a common enemy, though underlying tensions remained between the factions. #152 China Prepares for War Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. Before we jump into the Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937-1945, which I honestly have no idea how long will take us, I thought it would be a good idea to dedicate two episodes to how both China and Japan prepared themselves for war. Going all the way back to the 1910s, Chinese intellectuals began to view an outright conflict between Japan and China was inevitable. In the discussions about China's strategic options, Jiang Fangzhen pioneered a strategy of protracted warfare, a concept that would later shape China's approach during the Sino-Japanese War. Having studied in Japan during his youth, Jiang developed a keen understanding of the Japanese government and military. As early as 1917, he predicted that China and Japan would become embroiled in a long-term conflict, with the battleground likely to be west of the Peiping–Wuhan and Guangzhou–Wuhan railways. In his work titled "Guofang Lun" or “On National Defense”, Jiang reiterated the importance of protracted warfare as a means to thwart Japan's aspirations for a swift victory. He argued that China should leverage its vast population and extensive territory to extend the conflict, gradually wearing down Japanese strength and turning the situation to its advantage. Jiang recommended that China not focus on defending its coastal regions but instead confront the enemy west of the Peking–Wuhan Railway. Chiang Kai-shek would eventually come to share Jiang's belief that “the longer the war drags on, the more advantageous it will be for China.” Despite significant public criticism, both the Nationalist government and General Zhang Xueliang, decided against military resistance when Japan invaded Manchuria in September 1931 and attacked Shanghai in 1932. Chiang was particularly hesitant to engage Japan directly, as he was also dealing with a Communist insurgency in central China. He feared that Chinese forces would suffer quick defeat, predicting that Japan would capture key coastal areas and critical infrastructure within just three days, crippling China by dismantling its military and economic lifelines. Following the invasion of North China Chiang was forced to adopt a firmer stance. The Nationalist government proposed a dual strategy of pursuing peace and security while simultaneously preparing for war. If peace proved impossible, China would mobilize its resources for ultimate victory through prolonged conflict. This approach was formalized in the National Defense Plan, which China adopted by prioritizing protracted warfare as its core strategy. After the Sino-Japanese clash in Shanghai on January 28, 1932, the Military Affairs Commission devised a plan that divided China into four defense areas along with a preparation area. While some troops were assigned local security, commanders were directed to concentrate their remaining forces for potential confrontations with Japan. That year, the Military Affairs Commission issued General Defense Guidelines that outlined two strategic responses to a potential Japanese invasion. The first, conservative approach focused on maintaining key positions and utilizing protracted warfare to impede the enemy. The second strategy advocated for decisive battles in key regions to thwart Japan's ambitions and protect China's territorial integrity, prioritizing disengagement from Japanese forces along the Yangtze River and coastline. In August 1935, German military adviser General Alexander von Falkenhausen provided recommendations to Chiang Kai-shek based on his predictions of Japanese advance routes into China. He identified three main routes: one from northern Hebei to Zhengzhou, the second from Shandong toward Xuzhou, and the third crossing the Yangtze River to Nanjing and onwards to Wuhan. He suggested treating the Yangtze River as the primary combat zone and highlighted Sichuan as a possible retreat area. Taking all of this into consideration. in 1936, a draft of a new National Defense Plan divided the country into four zones: a war zone, a defense zone, an internal security zone, and a preparation area. The war zone encompassed ten provinces and established strategies for retreating to predetermined defensive positions when necessary, with Sichuan designated as the main base for the war. In January 1937, the Chinese General Staff Department introduced its annual War Plan, outlining three possible military conflict regions between China and Japan. It proposed two main strategies: Proposal A emphasized sustained combat and retreat to fortified positions if the situation became unfavorable, aiming to eventually go on the offensive against Japan. Proposal B focused on repelling Japanese invasions along the coast and from the north, prioritizing counter offensives against Japanese units stationed near key locations. To prepare, the NRA completed several critical projects outlined in its plans, establishing military supply depots in Nanjing, Bengbu, Xinyang, Huayin, Nanchang, and Wuchang to manage logistics for supplies across various strategic railways. These depots were equipped to sustain the military, with ample ammunition and provisions, including 60 million rounds of small-arms ammunition and food for hundreds of thousands. Despite these preparations, not all projects were completed by the time war broke out in July 1937. In contrast to the Japanese military's tactics, Chinese forces prioritized defensive strategies. For example, at the Mount Lushan Military Officer Training Camp in July 1934, Chiang Kai-shek outlined four possible approaches against Japan, favoring a defense-as-offense strategy. Other options included building fortifications, tenaciously defending key positions, and employing guerrilla warfare through irregular forces to constrain enemy advances. Chiang stressed the importance of national mobilization for the war effort. There was a significant disparity in equipment between the Japanese and Chinese armies. To give you an idea, each Japanese division included a mechanized group featuring thirty-nine light military vehicles and 21 light armored cars, supplemented by 6,000–7,000 horses, 200–300 automobiles, and specialized troops such as poison gas teams. In contrast, Nationalist divisions lacked any of these capabilities, a typical nationalist division theoretically had an armored regiment, but this unit was equipped with fewer than 72 armored vehicles. Another major weakness of the Nationalist forces was their insufficient artillery. In 1936, a division was officially assigned one artillery battalion, which was divided into three batteries totaling twelve guns. It also included a mechanized cannon company with four direct-fire weapons. By comparison, a Japanese division boasted four infantry regiments and one mountain artillery or field artillery regiment, with each artillery regiment comprising three field artillery battalions and one howitzer battalion. The infantry regiment itself included a mountain artillery section with four mountain guns, while the infantry battalion had one Type 70 mountain gun section with two guns. In total, a Japanese division possessed sixty-four artillery pieces of various calibers, four times the number of a Chinese division and of significantly higher quality. In reality, in 1936, twelve of the twenty elite Chinese “reformed divisions” still lacked artillery battalions. The ordnance available in the “reformed divisions” mostly consisted of the outdated Type 60 mountain gun. Nationwide, very few of the 200 divisions were equipped with any artillery, and those that did often used obsolete field artillery pieces or mountain artillery provided to local forces. Some units even relied on trench mortars as a makeshift solution. The artillery weapons came from various countries, but they frequently lacked necessary observation and signal components, and were often low on ammunition. The majority of mountain guns and field artillery were of the Type 75, which, while capable of providing fire support, had limited range and inflicted minimal damage. To give you an idea of the striking inadequacy of the Chinese artillery, during the Shanghai fighting in 1937, the mountain artillery of the Guangxi 21st Army Group could only reach targets within 1,200 yards, while Japanese field artillery had an effective range of 8,000 yards. Chinese-made mountain artillery suffered due to inferior steel-making technology; the gun shields were constructed from low-quality steel, and the barrels often overheated after firing just a few rounds, increasing the risk of explosions. Additionally, the equipment of local forces varied greatly in quality. In fact, some local units had superior equipment compared to Nationalist units. For example, before the Sino-Japanese War, troops from Yunnan were equipped with French antitank guns and heavy machine guns, which were better than the German water-cooled machine guns used by the Nationalist forces. However, the majority of local troops relied on inferior equipment; the 122nd Division under Wang Mingzhang from Sichuan, noted for its brave defense of Tengxian County during the Xuzhou Battle, was armed with locally produced light and heavy machine guns that frequently malfunctioned, and their Type 79 rifles, also made in Sichuan, were often outdated, with some dating back to the Qing Dynasty. These weapons had limited range and sometimes malfunctioned after fewer than one hundred rounds. Now before the war, both Nationalist and local forces acquired weaponry from diverse foreign and domestic sources. Even domestically produced weapons lacked standardization, with those made in Hanyang and Manchuria differing in design and specifications. Arms manufactured in Germany, France, Russia, Japan, and Italy were similarly inconsistent. Consequently, even within a single unit, the lack of uniformity created significant logistical challenges, undermining combat effectiveness, particularly in the early stages of the war. Despite Nationalist ordnance factories producing over three million rounds of small-arms ammunition daily, the incompatibility of ammunition and weapons diminished the usable quantity of ammunition. Chinese communications infrastructure was inadequate. In the Nationalist army, signal units were integrated into engineering units, leading to low-quality radio communications. In emergencies, telegrams could remain undelivered for days, and orders often had to be dispatched via postal services. By 1937, the entire country boasted only 3,000 military vehicles, necessitating heavy reliance on horses and mules for transport. To effectively equip twenty Nationalist divisions, 10,647 horses and 20,688 mules were needed, but by the end of 1935, only 6,206 horses and 4,351 mules were available. A statistic from 1936 indicated a 5 percent mortality rate among military horses, with some units experiencing a rate as high as 10 percent. The distribution of weaponry led to disputes during army reorganization efforts following the Northern Expedition. Although Chiang Kai-shek's forces were part of the regular army, the quality of their equipment varied significantly. Domestic production of weapons was limited, and imports could not close the gap. Priority was given to small arms; through army reorganization, Chiang aimed to diminish the influence of forces less loyal to him. Nationalist army staff officers observed that troops loyal to Chiang received the best weapons. Northwest and Northeast forces, having cultivated good relations with the KMT, were similarly better equipped, while Shanxi troops received inferior supplies. Troops associated with the Guangxi Clique were given even poorer quality weapons due to their leaders' stronger political ambitions. Troops regarded as “bandit forces,” such as those led by Shi Yousan, Li Hongchang, and Sun Dianying, were naturally assigned the least effective weaponry. This unequal distribution of arms increased some local forces' inclination to align with the KMT while alienating others, which inadvertently led to additional turmoil in the aftermath of the Northern Expedition. Logistical accounting within the Nationalist military was severely lacking. Military expenditures accounted for a significant portion of government spending, roughly 65.48 % in 1937, with personnel costs being the largest component. However, military units prioritized boosting their own resources over accurate accounting. Surpluses were not returned but rather utilized to reward military officers and soldiers for merits in battle, care for the wounded, or to create a reserve. Conversely, if deficits arose, troops would resort to “living off vacancies,” a practice in which they would fail to report desertions promptly and would falsely claim new soldiers had arrived. Military leaders typically appointed their most trusted subordinates to serve as accountants and logistic officers. As the war commenced, these issues became readily apparent. During the Battle of Shanghai in 1937, frontline soldiers sometimes went days without food and went months without pay. Wounded soldiers and civilians had to search tirelessly for medical treatment, and when main forces relocated, they often abandoned grain, ammunition, weapons, and petroleum along the way. General Chen Cheng, the commander in chief during the Battle of Shanghai, noted, “This phenomenon clearly revealed our inability to supply frontline troops, indicating that China remains a backward country with poor management.” Many logistical shortcomings severely impacted troop morale and combat effectiveness. In a 1933 speech, Chiang Kai-shek acknowledged that poor food, inadequate clothing, and ineffective logistics contributed to widespread desertion. Soldiers were further demoralized by reduced or embezzled salaries. A lack of professional medical staff and equipment hampered healthcare efforts, leading to high disease and mortality rates. According to official statistics from 1936, approximately 10 percent of soldiers fell ill annually, with a mortality rate as high as 5 percent. Japanese military authorities reported that one in three wounded Japanese soldiers died, while a Dutch military officer present during the early stages of the Sino-Japanese War observed that one in every two wounded Nationalist soldiers perished. Due to inadequate equipment and limited transport options, Nationalist forces were compelled to recruit farmers and rent vehicles, as they lacked essential facilities such as tents. This reliance on local resources inevitably led to frequent conflicts between military personnel and civilians. China is clearly a vast nation with an extensive coastline, requiring the construction of several significant fortresses during the modern era. These included Wusong, Jiangyin, Zhenjiang, Jiangning, and Wuhan along the Yangtze River, as well as Zhenhai, Humen, and Changzhou along the seacoast. Except for the Wuhan fortress, built in 1929-1930, all other fortifications were established during the late Qing Dynasty and featured uncovered cannon batteries. These fortresses suffered from inadequate maintenance, and many of their components had become outdated and irreplaceable, rendering them militarily negligible. Following the January 1932 Shanghai Incident, the Japanese military destroyed the Wusong forts, leaving the entrance to the Yangtze River completely unfortified. Consequently, there were no defenses along the coastline from Jiangsu to Shandong, allowing the Japanese to land freely. In December 1932, the Military Affairs Commission established a fortress group tasked with constructing fortresses and defensive installations, seeking assistance from German military advisers. After the North China Incident in 1935, the Nationalist government accelerated the construction of defensive structures in line with national war planning, focusing particularly on Nanjing. The Nationalists prioritized building fortifications along the seacoast and the Yellow River, followed by key regions north of the Yellow River. The government also ordered a significant quantity of heavy artillery from Germany. This included several dozen pieces of flat-fire antiaircraft and dual-purpose heavy artillery, which were installed at fortifications in Jiangyin, Zhenjiang, Nanjing, and Wuhan. By the summer of 1937, the construction of nine fortified positions was complete: Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Jiangyin, Ningbo, Humen, Mawei, Xiamen , Nantong, and Lianyungang. In total, China had established 41 forts and equipped them with 273 fortress cannons. Some defensive installations were poorly managed, with many units assigned to their perimeters lacking training and access to proper maps. The barbette positions in the fortresses were not well concealed and could hardly store sufficient ammunition. Troops stationed at these fortresses received little training. Despite these shortcomings, the fortresses and fortifications were not entirely ineffective. They bolstered Chinese positions along the defense line stretching from Cangxian County to Baoding and from Dexian County to Shijiazhuang, as well as in southern Shandong. Before the war, China's political and economic center was situated along the seacoast and the Yangtze River. As Japanese influence expanded, the Nationalist government was compelled to establish bases in China's inner regions, very similar to how the USSR pulled back its industry further west after Operation barbarossa.The Japanese attack on Shanghai in 1932 prompted the Nationalists to relocate their capital to Luoyang. On March 5, during the Second Plenary Session of the KMT's Fourth Congress, the Western Capital Preparation Committee was formed to plan for the potential relocation of all governmental bodies to Xi'an in the event of full-scale war. In February 1933, the Central Political Conference approved the Northwest Development Bill, and in February 1934, the National Economic Commission set up a northwestern branch to oversee development projects in the region. On October 18, 1934, Chiang Kai-shek traveled to Lanzhou, recording in his diary that “Northwest China has abundant resources. Japan and Russia are poised to bully us. Yet, if we strengthen ourselves and develop northwest China to the fullest extent, we can turn it into a base for China's revival.” Interestingly, it was Sichuan, rather than the northwest, that became China's rear base during the 2nd Sino-Japanese War. In October 1934, the Communist army evacuated its Soviet base in southern China, initiating the Long March that would ultimately end in the northwest. By this time, Chiang Kai-shek had decided to designate Sichuan as the last stronghold for China. In January 1935, the Nanchang Field Headquarters of the Military Affairs Commission, responsible for combatting the Communists and serving as the supreme military and political authority over most provinces along the Yangtze River and central China, dispatched a special advisory group to Chongqing. Following this, the Nationalist army advanced into Sichuan. On February 10, the Nationalists appointed a new provincial government in Sichuan, effectively ending the province's long-standing regionalism. On March 2, Chiang traveled to Chongqing, where he delivered a speech underscoring that “Sichuan should serve as the base for China's revival.” He stated that he was in Sichuan to oversee efforts against the Communist army and to unify the provincial administration. After the Xinhai revolution, the Republic of China was still suing the Qing Dynasty's conscription system. However, once in power, the Nationalist government sought to establish a national military service program. In 1933, it enacted a military service law, which began implementation in 1936. This law categorized military service into two branches: service in the Nationalist army and in territorial citizen army units. Men aged eighteen to forty-five were expected to serve in the territorial units if they did not enlist in the Nationalist army. The territorial service was structured into three phases: active service lasting two to three years, first reserves for six years, and second reserves until the age of forty-five. The Ministry of Military Affairs divided China into sixty divisional conscription headquarters, initially establishing these headquarters in the six provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, and Hubei. By December 1936, approximately 50,000 new soldiers had been drafted. The military service law disproportionately favored the middle and upper classes. Government personnel were exempt from enlistment, allowing privileged families to register their children with government agencies. Similarly, students in middle and higher education were excused from service, while youth from poorer backgrounds often felt compelled to enlist due to financial constraints that limited their educational opportunities. Village and town leaders were responsible for executing the recruitment process and frequently conspired with army recruiters. Recruitment principles often favored wealthier families, with guidelines stating that one son should be drafted for every three sons, two for five sons, but no drafts if there was only one son. Wealthy families could secure exemptions for all their male children, while poor families might see their only son conscripted if they were unable to provide the requisite bribe. Town and village heads wielded significant power in recruitment. This new recruitment system also created numerous money-making opportunities. Military personnel assigned to escort draftees to their units would often allow draftees to escape for a fee. Additionally, draftees could monetize their service by agreeing to serve as substitutes for others. For some, being drafted became an occupation. For example, in 1936, 600 individuals were drafted in the Wuhu area of Anhui province, and accounts from regional administrators indicated that every draftee had either been traded, replaced, or seized. Beginning in 1929, the Nationalist government also instituted military training for high school students and older individuals. Students were required to participate in one theoretical class and one practical class each week, totaling three hours. Starting in 1934, students had to complete a three-month military training program before graduating. Graduates of military academies were employed as military instructors. By the end of 1936, over 237,000 high school students had undergone military training. This student military training was overseen by the Society for the Implementation of the Three People's Principles of Sun Yat-sen, which also provided political education and sometimes gathered information on students' political beliefs. Although the Nationalists made significant efforts to improve the military training of both officers and troops, they inherited deep-seated challenges that they were unable to completely overcome. A lack of facilities, outdated training manuals, low regard for military instructors, and the ongoing influence of regionalism and warlordism hindered progress. The Japanese would also later exploit these shortcomings of the Nationalist army. The Central Military Academy, which evolved from the Whampoa Military Academy established in 1923 in Guangzhou to train officers for the Northern Expedition, became the primary training institution for junior military officers. The academy offered a basic course, lasting eighteen months, which included general education, specialized training in various subjects, and field practice. This was followed by a two-year cadet training program focused on developing the skills necessary for junior military officers. Seventeen classes were admitted before the outbreak of war. Admission to the academy was highly competitive, with military officers receiving attractive salaries. For instance, in 1935, the academy received 10,000 applications for the twelfth class, but only 7% were accepted. Upon graduation, cadets were typically assigned to divisions within the Nationalist army loyal to Chiang Kai-shek. Their training, influenced by German advisors, resulted in a high-quality cadre. In modern China, most sergeants were veterans. While some units provided training for sergeants, a lack of formal education led to their diminished status. Truly qualified sergeants were rare. During his tenure as Minister of Military Training, General Bai Chongxi proposed establishing a sergeant school and creating a professional noncommissioned officer system; however, the Ministry of Military Affairs opposed this on financial grounds. While commanding officers enjoyed rapid promotions, military instructors did not. Furthermore, there was no system for transferring instructors to field commands or assigning commanders to military academies for extended periods. Despite minor updates to cover modern warfare concepts such as tank warfare and machine guns, Qing Dynasty military manuals were still in use at the Central Military Academy at the start of the war. Yeah, 1937 they were still rocking the old Qing books. Following the establishment of the Ministry of Military Training, a bureau for military translation was set up to evaluate existing course materials and translate military manuals, but its contributions were limited. Another significant shortcoming of military instruction focused on theory at the expense of practical application. To enhance the quality of military officers, the Nationalist army instituted specialized schools for artillery, infantry, transport, engineering, and signals starting in 1931. These institutions were considered to have high-quality administrators and facilities. The Nationalists adopted German military training models, replacing the previously used Japanese models. They appointed German advisors to oversee instructor training at military academies and established three instructional divisions. By the onset of the Sino-Japanese War, 15,000 students had graduated from programs with a German military influence, resulting in the creation of about fifty combat divisions from these instructional units. However, the progress of other Nationalist army units was limited because their training was not aligned with contemporary battlefield realities. Before World War I, troops operated in close formations due to limited firepower. The widespread introduction of machine guns after World War I necessitated a shift to dispersed formations. Although a new drill manual issued by the Ministry of Military Training in 1935 introduced small-group tactics, few units adopted these methods. General Chen Cheng highlighted another underlying issue in 1938, commenting on the outmoded focus on parade ground drills and formal military manners. He noted, “We have paid too much attention to stereotypical formality and procedures of no practical use. Sometimes, even though soldiers could not get a haircut or take a bath for several months, their camps had to be in order. They underwent intensive training in close-order drill but learned little about gun handling, marksmanship, or maneuvering. This was inappropriate in peacetime, yet we continued this practice even after the Sino-Japanese War started, even using it on highly educated youth.” In contrast, the Communist army simplified training, emphasizing two essential skills: live-fire exercises and physical endurance, which significantly enhanced troop effectiveness in the challenging terrain characteristic of the Sino-Japanese War. Ultimately, the Nationalist army's training did not reach all soldiers. Only about half of all combat soldiers received adequate training, while the rest were neglected. According to statistics from the time, there were approximately five million military personnel during the Sino-Japanese War, with three million serving in logistics. Most of these logistics personnel had received little training, leading to disastrous consequences for overall combat effectiveness. As warfare has become more complex, the role of highly trained staff officers has become increasingly important. Napoleon developed operational plans close to the front and communicated orders via courier. During World War I, military commanders collected information at their headquarters and utilized telephones and automobiles to relay orders to the front lines. In World War II, with the battlefield expanding to include land, sea, and air, senior commanders often made decisions from headquarters far from the action, relying on a significant number of staff officers with specialized skills to keep them informed. In China, however, the staff officer system was underdeveloped. By 1937, only about 2,000 commanders and staff officers had received training. Prior to the Sino-Japanese War, most commanders managed staff work themselves, with staff officers serving primarily as military secretaries who drafted orders, reports, and maps. Many staff officers had no formal military training, and as a whole, the branch lacked respect, causing the most talented officers to avoid serving in it. The situation was even more dire for staff officer departments within local forces. For example, in March 1937, Liu Ziqing, a graduate of the Whampoa Military Academy, was appointed as the director of political instruction in the Forty-fourth Army, a unit under Sichuan warlord Liu Xiang. Liu Ziqing's account illustrates the dysfunction within the ranks: “The commander in chief was not supposed to manage the army and even did not know its whereabouts... But he could appoint relatives and former subordinates—who were officials and businessmen as well—to the army. Each month they would receive a small stipend. At headquarters, there was a long table and two rows of chairs. Around ten o'clock in the morning, senior officers signed in to indicate their presence. Those with other business would leave, while the remaining officers sat down to leisurely discuss star actresses, fortune-telling, business projects, mah-jongg, and opium. Occasionally they would touch on national affairs, chat about news articles, or share local gossip. In the afternoons, they primarily played mah-jongg, held banquets, and visited madams. Most mornings, the commander usually presided over these activities, and at first, I reported for duty as well. But I soon realized it was a waste of time and came very rarely. At headquarters, most staff members wore long gowns or Western-style suits, while military uniforms were a rare sight.” Most senior military personnel were trained at the Baoding Military Academy during the early republic. 2/3rds of commanders in chief, 37 %of army commanders, and 20 % of division commanders were Baoding graduates. Higher-ranking officers were more likely to have launched their careers there. In contrast, only 10 % of division commanders and a few army commanders were graduates of the Whampoa Military Academy. Additionally, commanders trained in local military schools and those with combat experience accounted for 1/3rd of all commanders. While the prevalence of civil war provided opportunities for rapid promotion, it also hindered officers' ability to update their training or gain experience in different military branches. German advisors expressed their concerns to Chiang Kai-shek, emphasizing that officers should first serve in junior roles before taking command. During one battle in 1938, Chiang noted, “Our commanders in chief are equivalent only to our enemy's regiment commanders, and our army and division commanders are only as competent as our enemy's battalion and company commanders.” Despite not viewing high-ranking Japanese officers as great strategists, Nationalist officers respected them as highly competent, diligent, and professional commanders who rarely made critical errors. The infantry was the primary component of the Nationalist army, with middle and junior infantry officers constituting over 80 %of all army officers. A 1936 registry of military officers listed 1,105 colonels and 2,159 lieutenant colonels within the infantry, demonstrating a significant outnumbering of Baoding graduates at ranks below lieutenant colonel. However, the quality of middle and junior infantry officers declined during the Sino-Japanese War; by 1944, only 27.3 % of these officers were from formal military academies, while those promoted from the ranks increased to 28.1 %. In 1937, 80 % of officers in an ordinary infantry battalion were military academy graduates, but this percentage dropped to 20 % during the war. Its hard to tell how educated soldiers were before the war, but it is generally believed that most were illiterate. In 1929, sociologist Tao Menghe surveyed 946 soldiers from a Shanxi garrison brigade and found that only 13 percent could compose a letter independently, while the rest had either never learned to read or were unable to write. In contrast, in August 1938, General Feng Yuxiang found that 80 percent of a regiment in Hunan were literate. Regardless, during the Sino-Japanese War, the quality of recruits steadily declined. More than 90 percent of soldiers were illiterate, and few possessed any basic scientific knowledge, which hindered their ability to master their weapons. On the battlefield, they heavily relied on middle and junior officers for guidance. In autumn 1933, General Hans von Seeckt, the architect of the post World War I German army, visited China at the personal invitation of Chiang Kai-shek. In his recommendations for military reform, he identified China's greatest problem as its excessively large forces drawn from diverse backgrounds. He stated, “At present, the most pressing goal is to... establish a small, well-equipped army with high morale and combat effectiveness to replace the numerous poorly armed and trained forces.” He suggested forming an army of sixty divisions and recommended the establishment of a training regiment for military officers to equip them with the skills needed for modern warfare. Chiang Kai-shek accepted von Seeckt's proposals, and on January 26, 1935, he convened a National Military Reorganization Conference in Nanjing. On March 1, the Army Reorganization Bureau was established in Wuchang, under the leadership of General Chen Cheng. In the same month, General Alexander von Falkenhausen took charge of the German Military Advisors Group. Before war broke out, around nineteen divisions, roughly 300,000 troops received training from German advisors and were equipped with German-style weapons. At the onset of the Sino-Japanese War, the forces stemming from the First Army of the National Revolutionary Army and the Whampoa cadets, who had fought in the Northern Expedition, held the highest reputation and were referred to as the “core central forces” by the Japanese. Other notable forces included the Guangxi Army, Northwestern Army, Northeastern Army, some Uyghur units, the Guangdong Army, and the Shanxi Army. In contrast, provincial forces such as the Yunnan Army and Sichuan Army were viewed less favorably. Nationalist forces were generally far inferior to those of the Japanese enemy. In 1937, General He Yingqin noted that Nationalist forces had failed to prevail in 1932 and 1933, even when outnumbering the Japanese by 4-1. In November 1937, during a national defense conference, Chiang Kai-shek stated, "In recent years we have worked hard, prepared actively, and achieved national unification. By the time of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, we were in a better domestic situation and had improved military preparedness compared to before. Since 1935, our strength has doubled. It increased by more than two to three times since January 1932 or September 1931 [when Japan attacked Shanghai and Mukden]. If peace had been achievable, we should have delayed the war for two or three years. Given an additional three years, our defensive capabilities would have been drastically different... Now, if we merely compare the military strength of China and Japan, we are certainly inferior." However, such assessments were overly optimistic, as Chiang failed to recognize that Japan's military capabilities would not have stagnated. 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. Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek certainly was dealt a difficult hand of cards for the upcoming poker match he was to play. Yet the Chinese were resilient and they had to be for the absolute horror that would be inflicted upon them from 1937-1945. Until this point, their enemies had been far more lenient, the Empire of Japan would show no mercy.

starting china france men battle japan fall french germany society russia chinese government italy german japanese kings western ministry army students world war ii empire military principles dutch soldiers minister village republic priority operation arms incident shanghai domestic northeast soviet recruitment northwest napoleon forty wealthy wuhan communists xi implementation seventeen prepares wounded nationwide troops nra ussr conversely zhang graduates admission chinese communist party generals commander in chief uyghur nationalists disillusioned guangzhou sichuan jiang chiang confined qing nanjing logistical yunnan three people long march hubei chongqing manchuria pacific war hunan henan china china shandong qing dynasty military training kmt zhengzhou military affairs yangtze river zhejiang chiang kai xiamen guangxi yellow river jiangsu ningbo sun yat hebei shanxi sino japanese second sino japanese war anhui sino japanese war jiangxi china podcast northwest china luoyang nanchang craig watson xinhai lanzhou wuchang mukden proposal b army group northern expedition general alexander seeckt

Programa 1267: "Assistindo as palestras do Mestre na cidade de Zhengzhou"

Rádio Minghui

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 2, 2025 5:59

Bem-vindo à Rádio Minghui. As transmissões incluem assuntos relativos à perseguição ao Falun Gong na China, entendimentos e experiências dos praticantes adquiridas no curso de seus cultivos, interesses e música composta e executada pelos praticantes do Dafa. Programa 1267: Experiência de cultivo da categoria Palestras do Mestre Li na China, intitulada: "Assistindo as palestras do Mestre na cidade de Zhengzhou", escrita por um praticante da província de Sichuan, China.

china bem mestre experi cidade sichuan falun gong palestras zhengzhou assistindo dafa minghui

3.144 Fall and Rise of China: First Battle of Shanghai 1932

Innovation with Mark Peter Davis

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2025 38:58

Last time we spoke about the January 28th Incident. In January of 1932, tensions escalated in Shanghai as anti-Japanese sentiments surged after Japan's invasion of Manchuria. Orchestrated by Yoshiko Kawashima, a Japanese spy, a provocation led to violence, sparking outrage among Japanese expatriates. Japan demanded apologies and compensation from China, threatening military action if their demands were unmet. As the Japanese military amassed forces in Shanghai, the Chinese 19th Route Army prepared to resist, igniting the conflict known as the January 28th Incident, marking the beginning of a fierce struggle for control. Amidst chaos, the Nanjing government struggled to respond to Japan's escalating aggression in Shanghai. Chiang Kai-Shek prioritized avoiding war, urging a diplomatic approach to protect Shanghai's economy. Despite pressure, the 19th Route Army was ordered to withdraw, but tensions flared when Japan attacked the Chinese garrison. The 19th Route Army fiercely resisted, leading to intense battles. As Japan sent reinforcements, Chiang faced mounting protests and criticism for his passive stance, questioning whether he could maintain his strategy against the encroaching enemy. #144 The First Battle of Shanghai 1932 Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. In the last episode we covered the January 28th Incident. At 11:30 pm on January 28, Japan ordered 2,300 Japanese Marines to advance westward along every branch road on the west side of North Sichuan Road, without waiting for a response. This road, which crosses into the northern area of the International Settlement and has frequently been designated as a Japanese defense zone, includes Target Road (now known as Wujin Road in Hongkou District, Shanghai), Qiujiang Road, and Yokohama Road. Their objective was to seize the Songhu Railway defense line at Tiantong'an Station. They faced strong resistance from the 19th Route Army, further escalating the conflict. In the early hours of the 29th, Japanese aircraft launched from the Notoro seaplane carrier, which was moored on the Huangpu River, attacked the Chinese district of Zhabei. Both the Commercial Press located at No. 584 Baoshan Road and the Oriental Library, the largest private library in China with over 300,000 books, were completely destroyed. That same day the 19th Route Army sent a telegram to the entire nation concerning the situation: Do forgive me it's a rough translation “Urgent. Dear Sir and Madam, the Japanese have occupied our three northeastern provinces, changing the color of our territory and making our nation perish. Recently, they have killed and set fire in Shanghai, and vagrants are everywhere, doing the most despicable and violent things in the world. Gunboats are coming one after another, and the Marines are all landed. At 12:00 a.m. on the 28th, they openly invaded our defense line in Zhabei, Shanghai, and challenged us. Guang Nai and others are soldiers, and they only know that it is their duty to defend themselves and defend their land. They cannot give up even an inch of land or an inch of grass. They resist to save the country and protect the race. Even if they sacrifice only one person and one bullet, they will never retreat and lose the personality of the soldiers of the Republic of China. This thing and this ambition are exposed to the sun and the sun and are known to the world. The spirits of our ancestors in heaven are truly relying on it”. On the morning of January 29, Chiang Kai-shek met with He Yingqin and Zhu Peide to discuss countermeasures. Simultaneously Zhu Peide convened a meeting with He Yingqin, Gu Zhutong, Li Jishen, Deng Shizeng, Lin Wei, and others to address issues such as defense deployment, the security of Nanjing and the Yangtze River, and resistance against Japan. Chiang Kai-Shek established the principles going forward for negotiations with Japan, emphasizing the need to prepare for talks while actively resisting. He stated that negotiations must have a clear final line of defense and a maximum limit that would not compromise administrative and territorial integrity, undermine the spirit of the Nine-Power Treaty, or jeopardize national sovereignty. If these limits were exceeded and unacceptable concessions were made, a decisive battle would be fought, even at the cost of defeat and death. The defense and military strategy for Beijing and Shanghai included the 19th Route Army defending Shanghai with full strength, while the front guard army consisting of the 87th and 88th divisions would protect Nanjing. He Yingqin would remain in Nanjing, overseeing all party, government, and military personnel left behind. Chiang, along with the Central Political Council of the Kuomintang, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the National Government, and Chen Mingshu, all expressed their commitment to resisting Japanese aggression. Chiang also sent a telegram to He Chengjun, director of the Hubei Province Pacification Office, and Xu Tingyao, commander of the Fourth Division, stating "Last night, the Japanese invaders attacked our 19th Route Defense Line in Zhabei, Shanghai, and the battle is ongoing. Our army is determined to fight to the death. Their naval forces in Han and Xun will likely engage in military operations. We urge you to remain vigilant and defend yourselves, never yielding to them. The Fourth Division should concentrate on strict defense in Wuhan and avoid dispersal. If military funds become scarce, local governments will need to raise them independently." The National Government Military Committee appointed Chiang Kai-shek, Feng Yuxiang, Yan Xishan, and Zhang Xueliang as members responsible for mobilizing the army and commanding the Shanghai War. Chiang Kai-Shek officially resumed power after resigning to prevent a surrender and committed to a prolonged resistance. On January 30, the Chinese Nationalist Government announced the relocation of the capital to Luoyang. Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram urging resistance against the Japanese and dispatched the elite Fifth Army to reinforce Shanghai. That night, Dai Ji, the commander of the Songhu Garrison, took charge of military operations in Shanghai, overseeing the 19th Route Army. The commander-in-chief was Jiang Guangnai, with Cai Tingkai as the army commander and division commanders Qu Shounian, Mao Weishou, and Shen Guanghan. Chiang Kai-Shek then issued a telegram to his troops across the nation and again I apologize for the rough translation. "Since the Northeast Incident began, the Central Government has been enduring humiliation and maintaining peace in order to avoid war and protect the lifeline of the country. It hopes to use justice and fairness to awaken the Japanese pirates. Unexpectedly, the more we tolerate, the more arrogant they become. When the Shanghai Incident occurred, we accepted their demands with great pain, but the Japanese pirates still brazenly pressed on, repeatedly attacking our Shanghai Defense Force, bombing civilian houses, throwing bombs on the streets, and our compatriots were ravaged. The country is about to perish. Anyone with blood in his veins would rather endure it. Since the 19th Route Army has risen up to defend itself bravely, our entire army In this time of national destruction and extinction, when the revolutionary soldiers are facing imminent danger, they should fight for the dignity of the country, strive for the survival of the nation, fulfill their responsibilities for the revolution, and be determined to die rather than live in disgrace, so as to deal with the brutal Japan that destroys peace and despises faith and integrity... Chiang Kai-shek and his comrades have shared hardships for a long time. Although I am now in the opposition, I am willing to swear to live and die with the soldiers and fulfill my bounden duty. I am here to inform you in advance with my blood and sincerity, and ask you to be determined and work hard, share the same hatred with the enemy, do not be arrogant, maintain the spirit of sacrifice, stay ready to fight, and save the country from danger." From that day on, the various ministries, commissions and committees of the National Government began to move to Luoyang, but the Military Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs remained in Nanjing . At the same time, the frontline troops were ordered to be jointly commanded by the Minister of Military Affairs He Yingqin and the Chief of the General Staff Zhu Peide. Typically Chinese sources breakdown what is known as the First Battle of Shanghai into three phases. In the previous episode we looked through the event up until the point of the first phase. After the initial fighting, both the 19th route army and Japanese agreed to a ceasefire so they could strengthen their positions and at least allow some form of diplomacy to occur. This went into effect on the 29th. As we mentioned, immediately afterwards the Japanese rapidly began reinforcing their position in Shanghai. They first sent the Sasebo 26th Squadron on the 30th, bearing 474 troops of the Sasebo 3rd Special Marine Corps alongside supplies. The next day the aircraft carriers Kaga and Hosho came over with 30 aircraft from the 1st air fleet. Then the cruisers Naka, Yura and Abukuma alongside 4 torpedo boats came bearing another 2000 marines. On February 1st the Terukoku Maru brought over the Yokosuka 1st Special Marine corps, roughly 525 men who landed at Huishan Wharf. With all that said and done, roughly 7000 Japanese troops had been brought over. On February 1st, the IJN warships began bombarding Nanjing from the Yangtze River, prompting Yu Jishi to frantically demand Chiang Kai-Shek transfer more troops to Shanghai. That night the Japanese light cruiser Tenryu, the protected cruisers Hirado and Taima, and the seven ships of the Navy's 23rd Destroyer Squadron fired upon Nanjing using four 140mm guns, 12 152mm single-mounted rapid-fire guns, 12 120mm single-mounted guns, and 20 76mm single-mounted rapid-fire guns. The rich and officials fled the city for refuge, but the Japanese army did not land any men to follow up the attack. Simultaneously 40,000 Shanghai workers from over 20 Japanese owned cotton mills began an anti-Japanese strike, being heavily backed by Communists. The workers began aiding the 19th route army to blockade the Japanese in the factories and streets and sabotage what they could. On February 2nd, the Japanese army attacked Wusong several times, but was repelled each time. On the 3rd the Japanese expanded their attacks against Zhabei, Baziqiao and other locations, but the Chinese defenders successfully repelled these assaults as well. On the 4th, the Japanese launched their first major offensive, which extended the conflict to Jiangwan and Wusong. Following a day of intense fighting, the Wusong fort was destroyed by enemy bombardment; however, the Japanese army was unable to land due to the determined resistance of the Chinese defenders. The anti-aircraft artillery company from the 88th Division, reassigned to the 4th Regiment of the 156th Brigade of the 19th Route Army, managed to shoot down a Japanese aircraft. After the failure of the general offensive, Yukiichi Shiozawa was dismissed and sent back to Japan. Vice Admiral Yoshisaburo Nomura, the newly appointed commander of the Third Fleet, succeeded Shiozawa. After Nomura assumed his role, the Japanese army began to bolster its forces. Japan had initially planned to deploy troops when tensions escalated in Shanghai, but the navy had opposed this move. However, as the situation deteriorated, the navy was compelled to seek assistance from the army. On February 2, the Japanese cabinet officially decided to send troops. In response to the urgent circumstances in Shanghai, they resolved to dispatch the Shanghai Dispatch Mixed Brigade, led by Brigade Commander Major General Shimomoto Kuma, along with the 9th Division, commanded by Lieutenant General Ueda Kenkichi. The Shanghai Dispatch Mixed Brigade and the Second Independent Tank Squadron were prioritized for transport. Concurrently, the Japanese Navy also sent the Yokosuka 2nd Special Marine Corps to Shanghai. The 24th Mixed Brigade landed in Wusong on the afternoon of February 7. By this time, the combined forces of the Japanese navy, army, and air force had exceeded 10,000 personnel. At dawn on February 8, the Japanese Army's 24th Mixed Brigade launched an attack on Zhanghuabang, Yunzaobang, and Wusong Town along three routes, but they were repelled by our forces. Meanwhile on February 4, the National Government Military Commission sent out a telegram that divided the country into four defense zones. The first zone, which includes the area north of the Yellow River, was assigned to Zhang Xueliang as the commander-in-chief. The second zone, covering the area south of the Yellow River, was placed under the command of Chiang Kai-shek. The third zone, encompassing the area south of the Yangtze River as well as Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, was led by He Yingqin. The fourth zone, which includes Guangdong and Guangxi, was commanded by Chen Jitang. The telegram also stated that, aside from maintaining troops for local stability, all commanders were to concentrate their forces within their respective defense zones to confront the aggressive Japanese. Additionally, a directive was issued for the provinces of Sichuan, Hunan, Guizhou, Hubei, Shaanxi, and Henan to send troops to serve as a general reserve. On February 5, upon learning that the Japanese army had been redeployed from mainland China to Shanghai, Chairman of the Military Commission Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram from Luoyang to He Yingqin. He instructed that if the Japanese forces landed, the Chinese Air Force would engage in combat. Additionally, Chiang sent a message of condolence to Jiang Guangnai, Cai Tingkai, and Dai Ji of the 19th Route Army, stating "Brothers, you have been fighting valiantly for a week. Each time I reflect on the tremendous sacrifices made by the soldiers and their dedication, I feel a deep sadness... If necessary, Zhong (Zheng) can come to lead in person. When the Air Force enters the fray, the Army must establish various signals in advance to communicate with it and ensure coordinated efforts..." On the same day, the 88th Division arrived in Suzhou. On February 6, Chiang ordered the 261st Brigade of the 87th Division to move from Nanjing to reinforce Kunshan. The troops reached Kunshan on February 7. On February 8, Chiang directed He Yingqin to transfer an artillery battalion to support the 19th Route Army. Then, on February 9, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized the First Division, led by Commander Hu Zongnan, and the Seventh Division, commanded by Wang Jun, to prepare for reinforcement of the 19th Route Army in Shanghai. February 8th marks the second phase of the battle. On the 10th, to ensure that the 88th Division of the Central Army complied with the orders from the 19th Route Army of the Guangdong Army, Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to Yu Jishi insisting that "your troops must strictly follow the commands of Commander-in-Chief Chiang and coordinate their movements with allied forces." The Japanese Marine Corps, under Yukio Shiozawa, initiated a three-pronged encirclement attack from Hongkou. The National Army mounted a determined defense and ultimately repelled the Japanese forces, pursuing and destroying them, which significantly lowered their morale. On February 11, Chen Cheng, commander of the Central Army's 18th Army, sent a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek from Ji'an, Jiangxi, reporting that the troops had not been paid for nearly two months and were lacking food. At that time, the National Government was planning to redeploy the National Army that had been engaged in suppressing the Communists in Jiangxi to Zhejiang and Shanghai and to relocate the capital to Luoyang. On February 12, following a battle at Caojiaqiao, the Japanese army's strategy to consolidate their forces was entirely disrupted. The next morning, February 13, the Japanese 24th Mixed Brigade crossed the Caojiaqiao Bridge in Zhuozaobang and engaged with the Nationalist army. Seizing the moment, the 19th Route Army Headquarters aimed to annihilate the Japanese forces. The Nationalist army surrounded the Japanese troops near the Yong'an Cotton Mill. Additionally, 60 members of a suicide squad launched a suicide attack, resulting in the complete destruction of 1,600 Japanese soldiers. The Japanese army faced significant losses, thwarting their attempt to swiftly capture Wusong. On February 14, Chiang ordered the 88th and 87th Divisions, which were already stationed in Nanxiang and Kunshan near Shanghai, to be reorganized into the Fifth Army. He appointed Zhang Zhizhong, a volunteer eager to fight against the Japanese, as the commander of the Fifth Army. This new army was placed under the unified command of the 19th Route Army and took over the defense line stretching from the northern end of Jiangwan through Miaoxing to the western end of Wusong. It served as the left-wing army, while the 19th Route Army acted as the right-wing, tasked with defending Jiangwan, the area south of Dachang, and the urban region of Shanghai. To replenish the 19th Route Army's losses, Chiang repeatedly ordered reinforcements from various locations. For instance, on February 15, Shangguan Yunxiang dispatched 500 active soldiers from Bengbu to the 19th Route Army; on February 17, Liang Guanying sent 500 unarmed soldiers from Qingjiangpu; and on February 19, Liu Zhi contributed 1,000 active unarmed soldiers from Henan. On February 16, Chiang Kai-shek communicated with Finance Minister Song Ziwen via telegram, stating, "Since the Japanese refuse to withdraw their troops from Shanghai, we must resist until the end. ... Food supplies in Jiangxi and Henan will dwindle, and assistance will be completely halted. Please arrange to deposit 10 million yuan in central banknotes in Nanchang and 20 million yuan in Zhengzhou. This will allow the government to continue functioning, the army to be sustained, and perhaps we can navigate this crisis and avert collapse. This is my final request. I hope you can find a way to assist." To prevent any friction between the Fifth Army and the Nineteenth Route Army over competing for military accolades, Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to Zhang Zhizhong and Yu Jishi on February 18. "The fight against Japan is a matter of national survival and is not a matter of honor for an individual or a certain unit. Our frontline officers and men should fully understand this. Therefore, the honor of the 19th Route Army is the honor of our entire National Revolutionary Army. There is absolutely no distinction between honor and disgrace. The Fifth Army's joining the front line is feared by the enemy and will also be slandered by the reactionaries (those who oppose the Nanjing Central Government). If we can continue to fight in the name of the 19th Route Army, it will be enough to demonstrate the strength of our National Revolutionary Army. We will share life and death, let alone honor and disgrace. I hope that this will be conveyed to the officers and men of the Fifth Army. They must unite and fight with our 19th Route Army and make no sacrifices to complete the revolutionary mission." Over on the other side, following reports of significant losses suffered by the Japanese army in Wusong, Tokyo received an imperial decree from Emperor Hirohito demanding the Shanghai incident get settled quick. In response, Chief of Staff Zairen urgently ordered the 9th Army Division, commanded by Ueda Kenkichi, to swiftly reinforce Shanghai. By the afternoon of February 13, the main contingent of the 9th Division had arrived at Shanghai Port, and by February 16, all personnel had disembarked in Wusong. Consequently, Lieutenant General Ueda took over command from Nomura. At this point, the Japanese invading forces comprised over 30,000 troops from naval, land, and air units, along with 60 to 70 field artillery pieces, more than 60 aircraft, and dozens of ships concentrated at the Wusong mouth. Ueda issued a statement late on the night of the 13th, asserting, "If anyone obstructs our division from fulfilling its mission, we will take decisive action without hesitation." On the 18th, he sent an ultimatum to Cai Tingkai, demanding, "Your army must immediately cease hostilities and withdraw from the following areas by 5:00 p.m. on February 20: on the west bank of the Huangpu River, retreat from areas connecting the western end of the concession, Caojiadu Town, Zhoujiaqiao Town, and Pushong Town to the north; on the east bank, withdraw from areas connecting Lannidu and Zhangjialou Town to the north, and retreat to a zone 20 kilometers away from the border of each concession Additionally, all military installations in the specified areas must be dismantled and no new ones established. If these demands are not met, the Japanese army will have no choice but to act freely against your forces, and your army will bear all resulting consequences." In response to Ueda's ultimatum, Tsai and Chiang ordered their front-line troops to fire heavily at Japanese positions as a warning. On the morning of February 20, Ueda commanded a full-scale attack across the front, employing tactics to break through the center while flanking from both sides. The 9th Division led the assault on the junction of Jiangwan and Miaohang, aiming to encircle Wusong from the north with the Kurume Brigade and Zhabei with the Marine Corps from the south. The Japanese began with artillery bombardments, followed by infantry and tank assaults on the Zhanghuabang and Yangshupu lines, both of which were successfully repelled by Chinese defenders. Over a thousand Japanese soldiers and several tanks in Zhabei were killed or wounded due to landmines. On February 21, Ueda personally directed thousands of infantry, supported by aircraft and artillery, to attack the Chinese defensive positions. Both sides incurred heavy casualties, and the battle continued until dawn on the 23rd. The Japanese forces attempted to encircle Jiangwan Town from Jiangwan Station, but the Chinese defenders fought valiantly, launching multiple charges and capturing Japanese Major Kong Sheng along with hundreds of soldiers. Ultimately, the Japanese army was unable to withstand the resistance and began to retreat. After the Japanese 9th Division arrived in Shanghai, it prepared to initiate a second major assault on the defenders of the city. The strategy involved a comprehensive attack stretching from Zhabei to Wusong to contain the Chinese army's strength, with primary forces concentrated on Jiangwan and Miaohang. The goal was to seize these two strategic points, achieve a breakthrough in the center, sever the link between the 5th Army and the 19th Route Army, and then defeat them individually. At dawn on February 20, the Japanese dispatched over ten aircraft for reconnaissance and bombing missions over the Miaohang area. Naval artillery and heavy army cannons heavily shelled the Miaohang positions. Simultaneously, Japanese artillery bombarded the Yunzaobang area in an effort to force a crossing and facilitate the Miaohang offensive. By 9 am, part of the Japanese forces advanced towards the Xiaochang Temple and the Maijiazhai position, immediately conducting a fire search on our troops' positions. At noon, 3,000 Japanese soldiers launched an attack against our forces. The officers and soldiers of the 527th Regiment, defending the Maijiazhai and Zhuyuandun positions, mounted a counterattack, marking the beginning of the Battle of Miaohang. After three hours of intense fighting, the Japanese suffered significant casualties and were unable to continue, retreating to their original positions. Following this, over 2,000 Japanese troops attacked the Xiaochang Temple and Jinjiatang positions. The officers and soldiers of the 523rd Regiment, taking cover in the trenches, launched counterattacks and successfully repelled the Japanese forces. As dusk fell, the Japanese infantry halted their assaults, but naval and land artillery continued to bombard our positions in an attempt to weaken our defenses and personnel for a renewed attack the following day. On February 21, Japanese artillery relentlessly shelled the positions of the 88th Division of the Fifth Army in Miaohang. Following this, thousands of Japanese infantry launched an assault on the Yanjiazhai and Miaohang Town front. As the Japanese forces advanced, the officers and soldiers of the 523rd and 524th Regiments bravely counterattacked and successfully repelled them. However, a significant number of enemy troops coordinated a comprehensive assault on the Maijiazhai, Zhuyuandun, Xiaochangmiao, and Yanjiazhai lines south of Miaohang. Our 523rd, 524th, and 527th Regiments engaged in intense combat with the enemy, particularly at the Zhuyuandun front near Maijiazhai and Xu Xu, where the fighting was especially fierce. After a day of conflict, the enemy was temporarily pushed back. On February 22, the Japanese 9th Division launched a full-scale attack on the Miaohang position held by the 88th Division of the Fifth Army. Throughout the day, aircraft bombed the Chinese defenders, and thousands of artillery shells were fired at them. However, under the direct command of Zhang Zhizhong, the enemy faced a devastating defeat due to the coordinated three-pronged assault by the Sun Yuanliang Brigade, the Song Xilian Brigade, and the 61st Division of the 19th Route Army. The Miaohang position was ultimately saved from peril, inflicting heavy casualties on the elite forces of the Japanese 9th Division and the Kurume Mixed Brigade. This victory became known as the "Miaohang Victory." In the days that followed, the enemy continued their bombardment and attacks but were consistently repelled by the defenders. The Japanese army suffered significant losses, shifting from an all-out offensive to a more focused approach before ultimately halting their attacks. By the 25th, Ueda's overall offensive strategy had also failed. On February 24, the Japanese army decided to escalate the conflict once more, transferring the 11th and 14th divisions from Japan to join the Shanghai Expeditionary Force, which included troops already engaged in the war. At that time, the flagship of the Japanese Navy's Third Fleet, the Izumo, sustained damage from a bombing raid carried out by the suicide squad of the 19th Route Army, which sent shockwaves through Japan. Additionally, the large troop presence made a quick resolution to the war impossible. Consequently, on the 23rd, the Japanese cabinet decided to promptly reinforce the army. The General Staff then established the Shanghai Expeditionary Army Command, appointing General Shirakawa Yoshinori, the former Minister of War in the Tanaka Cabinet, to replace Ueda. They dispatched the 11th Division (led by Lieutenant General Atsutarou Atsuto), the 14th Division (led by Lieutenant General Naoaki Matsuki), and over 100 aircraft to China to initiate a larger-scale offensive in Shanghai. After several reinforcements, the Japanese forces in Shanghai, under Shirakawa's command, grew to over 90,000 troops, supported by 80 warships and 300 aircraft, significantly enhancing their combat effectiveness. In contrast, the total strength of the Chinese defenders was less than 50,000, with inadequate equipment. After a month of intense fighting, the Chinese forces had suffered heavy losses, leaving their river defenses in the Taicang Liuhe area vulnerable. Learning from the failures of the previous three commanders' frontal assaults, Shirakawa opted to land at Liuhe and flank the Songhu defenders. He directed the 9th Division and other units to launch a direct attack on Songhu and Shanghai while using the 3rd Fleet to escort the 11th Division into the Yangtze River estuary. They executed surprise landings at Liuhekou, Yanglinkou, and Qiyakou, quickly outflanking the defenders. On March 1, the Japanese forces initiated attacks in Naobei, Jiangwan, and Miaohang, employing heavy artillery, field guns, and aircraft for continuous bombardment. The infantry capitalized on this to engage in close-quarters combat, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. Meanwhile, Shirakawa secretly instructed the 11th Division to exploit the weakness of the Chinese troops in Liuhe, forcibly landing at Qiyakou, Yanglinkou, and Liubinkou, ultimately capturing Liuhe. The fall of Liuhe posed a significant threat to the flank and rear of the Chinese army, compelling the entire force to retreat to the second line of defense (the Jiading-Huangdu line) by the evening of March 1. After 34 days of intense fighting, they were forced to retreat to their second line of defense. At this point, the war had entered its final phase, resulting in a stalemate between the two sides. On the 2nd, the Japanese army seized Shanghai, and by March 3, they occupied Zhenru and Nanxiang, subsequently announcing a ceasefire. Now while we have been focused on the Japanese and Chinese perspectives in this, the international community was also heavily involved in the background. After the outbreak of hostilities, the British and American consuls in Shanghai offered to mediate. However despite a ceasefire being implemented the hostilities continued. So on February 2nd, Britain, America, France, Italy and Germany sent a notice to China and Japan "proposing to stop the conflict; (1) both sides immediately stop all violent acts according to the following conditions; (2) there will be no mobilization or preparation for any hostile acts between the two countries; (3) the Chinese and Japanese combatants in Shanghai will withdraw from the contact points; (4) a neutral zone will be established to separate the combatants of both sides to protect the public concession. The area will be garrisoned by neutral military and police, and various methods will be formulated by the consular corps; (5) once the two countries accept the treaty, they will not make any demands or reservations in advance, but will quickly negotiate with the assistance of neutral observers or participants in accordance with the spirit of the Kellogg-War Pact and the December 9th League of Nations resolution to resolve all outstanding issues..." Nanjing generally accepted the terms, but Japan instead proposed non-military zones be established 20 miles around the major ports of Shanghai, Hankou, Tianjin, Qingdao and Guangzhou as a sort of counter proposal. Meanwhile at the League of Nations, Yan Huiqing was drawing attention to the Shanghai incident, obviously linking it to the Manchuria incident and advocated for Article 10 of the League of Nations Charter, which was in regards to respecting territorial integrity and political independence of league nations. The League of Nations agreed and organized a committee to investigate the Shanghai incident. On February 4th Chiang Kai-Shek would write in his diary "As long as we do not lose our national sovereignty and territory, and the Japanese invaders do not put forward unacceptable conditions, we can take advantage of the opportunity of British and American intervention to negotiate with them; we cannot take a tough stance when other countries intervene, which will lead to adverse effects." By late February US Secretary of State Henry Stimson warned Japan for the second time, that the Nine Power Treaty and other treaties had to be maintained. Then on the 23rd he sent a letter reiterating the nine-power treaty and Kellogg War Pact to the League of Nations in regards to the Shanghai situation. On the 29th, a four-point plan for mediating the Shanghai incident was adopted at the League of Nations. The objective was to swiftly establish a local ceasefire agreement with the assistance of civil and military officials from various countries present in Shanghai. Following this, a round-table meeting was to be convened with representatives from nations with vested interests in Shanghai to discuss security measures for the International Settlement, the French Concession, and the local residents, as well as to address other issues. Subsequently, representatives from Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and other nations unanimously supported the plan, with Chinese representative Yan Huiqing and Japanese representative Sato Naotake also indicating their general agreement in principle. However, on March 2, the situation escalated when the Japanese army compelled the Chinese forces to retreat to their second line of defense. The Japanese side adopted a more aggressive stance, presenting four stringent conditions and insisting that the Chinese army withdraw first before halting their attacks. The Japanese forces were only willing to withdraw to the Shanghai and Wusong areas and refused to do so under the supervision of neutral countries, which the Chinese government firmly rejected. On March 3, the Japanese army launched another offensive. On that same day, U.S. Secretary of State Stimson summoned Japanese Ambassador to the United States Idebuchi, condemning Japan for accepting the League of Nations resolution on February 29 while simultaneously escalating military operations. On March 3rd a ceasefire came into effect as a formal meeting was held at the British consulate. The Chinese delegation was led by Guo Taiqi, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, along with military representatives Dai Ji, Huang Qiang, and seven others. The Japanese delegation included Shigemitsu Mamoru, Minister to China, and military representatives Ueda, Tashiro, and nine others. Officials from Britain, the United States, France, and other nations also participated in the meeting. During the negotiations, numerous contentious issues arose, particularly regarding the timing and location of the Japanese army's withdrawal. It would take until May 5th for a armistice agreement to be signed. The agreement designated Shanghai as a demilitarized zone, prohibiting China from stationing troops in the areas around Shanghai, Suzhou, and Kunshan, while permitting a limited number of Japanese units to remain in the city. China was permitted to maintain only a small police force within Shanghai. According to Chinese war reports, a total of 10,254 Japanese soldiers were killed or wounded in the Battle of Shanghai on January 28. According to Japanese data, a total of 3,091 Japanese soldiers were killed or wounded in the invasion of Shanghai: 620 Japanese soldiers were killed and 1,622 were wounded in the army; 149 Japanese soldiers were killed and 700 were wounded in the navy. Another Chinese report, stated the 19th Route Army and the Fifth Army suffered a total of 14,104 casualties 4,274 killed and 9,830 wounded. Among them, the 19th Route Army suffered 8,792 casualties, while the Fifth Army suffered 5,312 casualties. Shanghai residents faced bombardments from Japanese aircraft and artillery, resulting in over 6,080 fatalities, more than 2,000 injuries, 10,400 missing persons, and property losses totaling 1.6 billion yuan. At the onset of the war, the Japanese military intentionally targeted cultural institutions in Shanghai, such as the Commercial Press and the Oriental Library, leading to the total destruction of the Commercial Press, the oldest and largest publishing house in China. The Oriental Library, which housed millions of volumes, including over 100,000 rare ancient texts from the Song and Yuan dynasties and the Sikuquanshu compiled during the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty, was first devastated by artillery fire and then looted by Japanese forces. Reports from that time indicated that the Japanese army used trucks to transport the remaining books for seven consecutive days. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Thus what became known as the first battle of Shanghai had come to a not so swift end. Was its resolvement a victory for the League of Nations? Or was it just another indicator that the League of Nations was nothing but promises and pieces of paper? One man took notice of the Manchuria and Shanghai incidents, and he would soon bring Europe into a global war.

united states america american learning europe china france battle japan fall british germany song war food brothers chinese italy japanese kings ministry army spain chief league tokyo britain navy nations minister air force secretary republic reports beijing incident shanghai marines marine corps wuhan communists urgent officials divisions fleet naval foreign affairs brigades subsequently seizing generals commander in chief yuan madam ji unexpectedly nationalists squadron tsai guangzhou regiment yong sichuan chiang concurrently nomura nanjing deputy minister orchestrated naka hubei guangdong tianjin manchuria first battle pacific war henan hunan suzhou first division qing dynasty zhengzhou ueda yangtze river fujian central government zhejiang qingdao chiang kai national governments guangxi kuomintang general staff yellow river yura yokosuka regiments kaga shaanxi guizhou chiang kai shek jiangxi emperor hirohito china podcast japanese navy dear sir ijn japanese army hankou tenryu sasebo luoyang qianlong izumo shirakawa nanchang china first craig watson japanese ambassador tashiro cotton mill taima xun hosho wang jun

China 2025: The Big Picture & On-the-Ground Insights

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2025 39:57

Chris Zhang, Partner and CIO of Ascend Interplay (Interplay's multi-family office), returns to the pod to provide an in-depth analysis of China's economic landscape in 2025, offering insights beyond mainstream media narratives. We discuss the current state of China's economy, examining key indicators such as GDP growth, industrial production, and trade activity. At the same time, Chris highlights major concerns, including deflation, a struggling housing market, and long-term demographic challenges, while also shedding light on the country's transition from a manufacturing-driven economy to a service-oriented one.We then dive into the geopolitical dynamics between the U.S. and China. In addition to discussing the tariffs, we compare today's economic competition to the Cold War era, and how shifting alliances - particularly in Europe and the Middle East - are reshaping global power structures.We also cover China's technological advancements, particularly in AI and EV manufacturing, where it continues to challenge U.S. dominance. Chris analyzes the impact of U.S. tariffs, supply chain shifts, and investment flows, emphasizing how China remains a key player in the global economy despite short-term volatility.We wrap up with Chris's firsthand insights from his recent trip to Beijing and Zhengzhou, where he observes China's strong consumer activity despite ongoing real estate struggles. The episode concludes with a deep dive into China's investment landscape, shifting geopolitical dynamics, and the nation's long-term trajectory—offering critical perspectives on how it will continue to shape global trade and economic power structures.Links:Book: The Fundraising RulesInterplay: Website, LinkedIn, TwitterMPD: LinkedIn, Twitter

europe ai china partner middle east ground cold war beijing ev gdp big picture cio zhengzhou

英语新闻丨新年招聘火热开启

china chinese government accountability office byd yao spring festival hubei guangdong henan zhengzhou jiangxi

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 10, 2025 3:39

China is experiencing a surge in job fairs following the Spring Festival holiday, aimed at helping urban and rural workers and college graduates secure employment.春节假期过后，中国各地密集组织招聘会，助力城乡劳动者和大学毕业生顺利就业。On Wednesday, a large-scale recruitment event was held in the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone in Henan province. BYD, a leading Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, announced plans to hire 20,000 workers in a single recruitment drive, drawing a massive crowd of applicants. BYD's Zhengzhou base is offering various positions with salaries ranging from 5,000 to 9,000 yuan ($686 to $1,234) per month.2月5日，河南省郑州航空港经济综合实验区举办了一场大型招聘会。中国电动汽车制造商领军企业比亚迪宣布计划在一次招聘活动中招聘2万名员工，吸引了大批应聘者。比亚迪郑州基地提供多种岗位，月薪范围在5000元-9000元（686美元-1234美元）之间。"Our company is part of the manufacturing sector, and those who join us will gain exposure to automotive manufacturing equipment, processes and skill standards. We also hope to contribute to Henan's development," said a manager at Zhengzhou BYD Auto Co who requested anonymity.“我们公司属于制造业，加入我们将有机会接触汽车制造设备、工艺、技能标准。我们也希望为河南的发展做出贡献。”郑州比亚迪汽车有限公司的一位经理匿名说道。Wei Wei, head of the talent service center at the personnel department of the Party working committee in the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone, said: "This job fair not only ensures the resumption of work and production for enterprises, but also provides more opportunities for job seekers. It plays a role in boosting the local economy."郑州航空港经济综合实验区党工委组织人事部人才服务中心主任魏伟表示：“本次招聘会不仅保障了企业复工复产，也为求职者提供了更多就业机会，对拉动地方经济具有积极作用。”On Thursday, in Jingzhou, Hubei province, 150 companies offered nearly 5,000 positions at the first job fair after Spring Festival. The available jobs spanned various fields, including services and commerce.2月6日，在湖北省荆州市春节后首场招聘会上，150家公司提供了近5000个岗位，涵盖服务、商贸等多个领域。"I'm not planning to look for work elsewhere this year; I want to see if there are suitable jobs available locally," said Yao, a job seeker who gave only his surname.“我今年不打算外出，想看看本地有没有合适的工作。”求职者姚先生说道。After reviewing the job requirements and benefits from a local biotechnology company, he learned that the salary could exceed 5,000 yuan per month, which he said was "very attractive".他查看了一家当地生物技术公司的岗位要求和福利待遇，得知月薪可超过5000元，表示这“非常有吸引力”。Jingzhou has organized over 200 job fairs, with an estimated 400 expected by March.荆州市已组织了200多场招聘会，预计到3月份将达到400场。Many migrant workers are considering returning to their hometowns for employment this year.今年，许多异地务工人员正考虑返乡就业。On Wednesday, at a job fair in Hanchuan, Hubei, job seeker Li Xiaolin said: "I had moved to Guangdong province and was looking for a job as an electrician. However, I visited several companies at the fair and found promising opportunities here. If I find a suitable position, I might stay and work in Hanchuan."2月5日，在湖北省汉川市的一场招聘会上，求职者李晓林表示：“我之前去了广东省，想找一份电工的工作。但我在招聘会上逛了几家公司，发现这里有很多前景不错的机会。如果找到合适的岗位，我可能会留在汉川工作。”On the first day of job fair activities in Hanchuan, approximately 8,600 people attended, with livestream viewers reaching 55,000.汉川市招聘会首日，约有8600人到场，线上直播观众达5.5万人。During Spring Festival, Jiangxi province also hosted numerous large-scale job fairs, both online and in person. One of them, held in Gao'an city, was a three-day fair aimed at assisting key groups such as college graduates and retired military personnel in finding employment or starting businesses.春节期间，江西省线上线下联动，举办了多场大型招聘会。其中，高安市举办了一场为期三天的招聘会，帮助高校毕业生、退役军人等重点群体就业创业。At the Gao'an fair, more than 100 companies offered over 6,000 job positions, and more than 1,200 people expressed interest in employment on-site. The Gao'an city employment and entrepreneurship service center said it will continue post-holiday employment support efforts, matching job seekers with companies and providing online and offline job services to guide local workers to opportunities and attract migrant workers to return to the city.在高安招聘会上，100多家企业提供6000多个岗位，现场达成1200多人次的就业意向。高安市就业创业服务中心表示，将继续开展节后用工保障工作，为求职者和企业牵线搭桥，提供线上线下就业服务，引导本地劳动者就近就业，吸引异地务工人员返乡就业。personneln.人事部门；人力资源部

英语新闻丨国际机票更便宜，出国游热度攀升

china iphone rescue bloomberg tens housing market what comes next zhengzhou

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 26, 2024 4:27

Andy Wang, a young office employee working in Shanghai, recently booked flights from Shanghai to South Korea's Jeju island for the upcoming Spring Festival holiday. The round-trip airfare cost him a little over 2,000 yuan ($274), half the price for round-trip flights from Shanghai to popular domestic destinations such as Harbin in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province.在上海工作的年轻人王安迪最近预订了春节期间从上海飞往韩国济州岛的往返机票，票价为2000多元人民币（约合274美元），这一价格仅为上海飞往国内热门城市如东北黑龙江省哈尔滨市等地往返机票价格的一半。Going on a trip to celebrate the holiday, which starts in late January, has become a new trend among Chinese consumers, and many like Wang have found that some overseas destinations offer better value for money compared with domestic ones. For example, it is cheaper to book flights to Bangkok, Thailand, than to Sanya, Hainan province, during the break.春节期间外出旅行已成为中国消费者的新潮流，许多像王先生这样的消费者发现，与国内旅游相比，一些海外旅游目的地更具性价比。例如，春节期间飞往泰国曼谷的机票比飞往中国海南省三亚市的机票更便宜。Spring Festival bookings for outbound flights and international hotels this year have already more than doubled compared with the same period last year, according to Qunar, a Beijing-based online travel agency.据总部位于北京的在线旅游机构去哪儿网的数据显示，今年春节期间出境航班和国际酒店的预订量较去年同期已翻了两倍以上。International airfares for the eight-day holiday have on average dropped 12 percent year-on-year, while airfares for some popular destinations such as Tokyo in Japan, Cairo in Egypt and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam have on average dropped 20 percent year-on-year, data from Qunar showed.去哪儿网数据还显示，在春节八天假期期间，国际机票价格同比平均下降了12%，而前往日本东京、埃及开罗和越南胡志明市等热门目的地的机票价格同比平均下降了20%。For some niche destinations in countries such as India, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Argentina, hotel rates for the Spring Festival holiday have on average plummeted by over 40 percent year-on-year, the online travel agency found.该在线旅游机构还发现，春节期间，印度、南非、沙特阿拉伯、墨西哥和阿根廷等小众旅游目的地的酒店价格同比平均下降了40%以上。"Spring Festival is the most important traditional festival in China, and Chinese people tend to go home for family reunions or take short trips within the country. Therefore, major domestic destinations, especially those popular for winter tourism, witness a surge in prices during the holiday," said Cai Muzi, a researcher for Qunar.去哪儿网研究员蔡木子表示：“春节是中国最重要的传统节日，中国人更倾向于选择回家团圆、国内短途游。因此，国内各大旅游城市、尤其是适合冬季旅游的城市，在春节假期会出现不同程度的涨价。”As most foreign countries neither have the tradition of celebrating Spring Festival, nor do they have public holiday during the time, the travel rush is relatively low, Cai said.蔡木子说，由于国外并没有过春节的传统，也不处于假期，因此旅游高峰期相对平缓。"With fewer number of tourists, the price fluctuations are not significant overseas, which makes outbound travel to some places cheaper than domestic tourism," she added.“由于国外游客数量减少，海外价格波动不大，会出现一些出境游比国内游更便宜的现象。”她补充道。According to Qunar, Chinese users of the online platform have booked flights to more than 1,300 cities in 96 countries for the Spring Festival break.据去哪儿网称，今年该平台的中国用户春节预订遍布96个国家的1300多个城市。Some overseas destinations that have recorded higher growth in terms of flight booking volume include Siem Reap in Cambodia, Nagoya and Sapporo in Japan, Budapest in Hungary and Hanoi in Vietnam. Flight bookings to these places have more than tripled year-on-year, Qunar said.去哪儿网表示，航班预订量增长较高的出境游城市包括柬埔寨暹粒、日本名古屋、匈牙利布达佩斯、越南河内、日本札幌等，增幅均在2倍以上。To cash in on this holiday travel trend, a number of domestic carriers have increased their capacities on multiple international routes.为了抓住这一假日旅行热潮，多家国内航空公司增加了多条国际航线的运力。In mid-December, China Southern Airlines increased the frequency of its flight between Guangzhou, Guangdong province, and Phuket, Thailand, raising the number from seven round-trips per week to 14. The carrier has also increased the frequency of its flights connecting Guangzhou to Chiang Mai in Thailand and Sabah in Malaysia.12月中旬，中国南方航空将广东省广州市与泰国普吉岛之间的往返航线从每周7个增加至14个。同时，该航空公司还增加了广州与泰国清迈、广州与马来西亚沙巴的航线。China Southern has announced that starting in January, it will resume its flights from Zhengzhou, Henan province, to Bangkok; from Shenyang, Liaoning province, to Bangkok; and from Changsha, Hunan province, to Singapore.中国南方航空还宣布，从1月起，将恢复郑州至曼谷、沈阳至曼谷和长沙至新加坡的航班。A recent trend report by Singapore-based budget carrier Scoot said that Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have become popular destinations for Chinese travelers, partly due to their visa-free entry policies and proximity to China, with many people buying tickets just one week in advance.新加坡廉航公司酷航最近的一份趋势报告显示，新加坡、马来西亚和泰国已成为中国游客的热门目的地，部分原因在于这些国家与中国相邻且对中国游客免签，许多中国游客会提前一周购买机票。plummetv.暴跌，急剧下降

China Had a Plan to Rescue Its Housing Market. It's Not Working.

Big Take Asia

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2024 14:34 Transcription Available

China’s property crisis has become a massive headache for the world’s second-largest economy. Tens of millions of newly built apartments lie vacant, home prices have tumbled and cash-strapped developers are struggling to finish construction. On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg’s Lulu Chen about what China is doing to try and solve its housing crisis. We go to Zhengzhou, home to the world’s biggest iPhone factory and the city where the housing market first imploded. It's now become a testing ground for government efforts to revive the ailing property sector. We look at whether they’re working, and what it will mean for China’s economy if the big push fails. Read more: China’s Housing Rescue Falls Short in City That Signaled the Crisis Further listening: What Comes Next in China’s Property CrisisSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China Had a Plan to Rescue Its Housing Market. It's Not Working.

The Big Take

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2024 14:34 Transcription Available

china iphone rescue bloomberg tens housing market what comes next zhengzhou

AT#923 - Travel to Central China

Amateur Traveler Travel Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2024 57:16

Hear about travel to Central China as the Amateur Traveler talks to Larry Fan, who was born in the city of Zhengzhou and recently returned to explore his birth country. Why should you go to Central China? Larry says, ” “I think it's particularly special because it's considered the cradle of Chinese civilization. Xi'an was the first imperial capital of China. Zhengzhou also happened to be one of the first capitals of the Shang dynasty. Kaifeng and Luoyang, which are two other cities I'll talk about, had also served as capitals of China during various times. It's a very influential area for Chinese civilization and often not as much talked about versus places like Beijing, Shanghai. Etc. ” Larry recommends a 7-10 day itinerary for visiting central China, covering historical and cultural highlights in Henan Province and Xi'an. Here's the detailed breakdown of his suggested itinerary: Days 1-2: Zhengzhou (Capital of Henan Province) Day 1: Zhengzhou City Tour Henan Museum Spend 2-3 hours learning about the region's history from the Shang to Tang dynasties. Guancheng Muslim District Visit the Beidajie Mosque (North Big Mosque), a Yuan dynasty mosque with Chinese architectural influences. Try local food like Xi'an torn bread with lamb soup (羊肉泡饃). Shang Dynasty Relic Park Explore ruins of the Shang Dynasty's capital, including city walls over 3,000 years old. People's Park Relax in the park and experience local activities like dancing and exercise. Erqi Memorial Tower (Feb 7th Square) Learn about the area's historical ties to railroad workers and admire the twin tower. Zhengdong New Area (CBD) Visit the modern Central Business District featuring the iconic Corncob Building. ... https://amateurtraveler.com/travel-to-central-china/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

china travel chinese beijing shanghai xi tang yuan shang zhengzhou central business district central china henan province amateur traveler luoyang kaifeng

Morning Shot: China's clampdown on quest for soup dumplings by 'Night Riding Army'

MONEY FM 89.3 - The Breakfast Huddle with Elliott Danker, Manisha Tank and Finance Presenter Ryan Huang

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2024 9:39

A night-time cycling trend that started with four Chinese students riding 50km for soup dumplings blew out to a reported 100,000 to 200,000 people recently, jamming major roads, overwhelming a small tourist city and drawing the attention of authorities. Following that, Chinese officials imposed restrictions on bike hire after the huge gathering blocked a highway between Zhengzhou and Kaifeng. On this episode of Morning Shot, Dr Lim Tai Wei, East Asian expert & Professor at Soka University shares his insights on the reasons behind concerns over this phenomenon. He also weighs in with a broader outlook on persistent youth unemployment in China and how Chinese youths should adjust their mindsets when it comes to job market expectations. Presented by: Audrey SiekProduced & Edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)Photo credits: Ma Jian / VCG via ReutersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

china professor chinese army quest riding soup edited east asian dumplings zhengzhou clampdown kaifeng soka university morning shot

英语新闻丨明年起法定节假日增加两天

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 15, 2024 3:48

Starting from January 2025, public holidays will be extended by two days as per revised measures on holiday arrangements unveiled by the State Council, or China's Cabinet, on Tuesday.11月12日，中国国务院发布关于修改《全国年节及纪念日放假办法》的决定，自2025年1月起，全体公民放假的假日增加2天。The Spring Festival holiday will be extended from the previous three days to four days, including the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year on Jan 28, while the May Day holiday will be increased from one day to two days, with May 2 newly added, according to the latest measures.根据最新安排，春节假期将从之前的3天延长至4天，包括1月28日农历除夕；而劳动节假期将从1天增至2天，新增5月2日放假。A new provision was added to the measures, stipulating that public holidays can be arranged to combine with adjacent weekends or paid annual leave to form longer holiday periods.《办法》中新增一项规定，即全体公民放假的假日可与相连周末或带薪年休假结合，实际形成较长假期。After the adjustment, the Spring Festival holiday next year will span eight days, starting from Lunar New Year's Eve, and the May Day holiday will be observed with a five-day holiday.调整后，明年春节自农历除夕起，放假调休8天；劳动节放假调休5天。The time off will include days off that people will get for working additional days before and after the holidays to compensate for the long breaks.新假日将包括人们在节假日前后额外工作的天数，以补偿长时间的休息。For example, for Spring Festival, Jan 26 and Feb 8 will be the make-up days. People will need to report to work on both of these days, which will allow them to enjoy a longer holiday period of eight days instead of just the four.例如，春节期间，1月26日和2月8日将是调休日。人们需要在这两天报到上班，这样他们就可以享受长达8天的假期，而不是只有4天。In addition to the New Year's Day holiday that falls on Jan 1, the Tomb-Sweeping Day and Duanwu Festival, or Dragon Boat Festival, will each have a three-day holiday. The Mid-Autumn Festival overlaps with the National Day holiday next year, so the period will be extended to eight days beginning on Oct 1.除1月1日的元旦假期外，清明节和端午节也将各放假3天。明年的中秋节与国庆节假期重合，因此双节合并自10月1日起放假8天。In response to public concerns about the additional working days to compensate for the long holiday breaks, the revised measures stipulated that the working days surrounding national holidays generally won't exceed six consecutive days, except in rare cases.为回应公众对为补偿长假而调休工作日的担忧，修改后的《办法》规定，除个别特殊情形外，法定节假日假期前后连续工作一般不超过6天。The new measures will come into effect on Jan 1, the State Council said.国务院表示，新规定自2025年1月1日起施行。Data from multiple travel platforms revealed a surge in ticket searches and bookings within half an hour of the announcement about the extended holidays.多个旅游平台的数据显示，在宣布假日增加的半小时内，机票搜索和预订量激增。The number of ticket searches for the 2025 Spring Festival holiday on online travel agency Qunar was 2.2 times higher than normal, with travelers from cities like Chengdu in Sichuan province, Zhengzhou in Henan province and Shanghai already booking flights for the evening before Lunar New Year's Eve.在去哪儿网上，2025年春节假期的机票搜索量是平时的2.2倍，来自四川成都、河南郑州和上海等城市的旅客已经预订了农历除夕前一晚的航班。Similarly, Tongcheng Travel, another agency, reported that searches for Spring Festival flights increased more than threefold compared with the previous day. Some travelers also began looking up international flights for the National Day holiday, it said.同样，同程旅行报告称，春节假期航班的搜索量比前一天增加了三倍多。该机构称，一些旅客也开始搜索国庆假期的国际航班。Wang Yalei, an analyst at Trip.com Research Institute, said the addition of two extra public holiday days in 2025 has been widely welcomed.携程研究院行业分析师王亚磊表示，2025年法定节假日增加两天受到广泛欢迎。Moreover, the adjustment eases the burden of "holiday shift adjustments", allowing travelers to enjoy longer, uninterrupted holidays. This flexibility supports staggered travel, reducing peak-time crowding, Wang said.王亚磊介绍，这一调整还减轻了节假日调班的负担，使旅客能够享受更长的连续假期。这种灵活性促进了错峰出行，减少了高峰时段的拥挤。Zhou Zitong, a 32-year-old who works in the banking industry in Beijing, said he supports the revised measures, but he is still worried that the additional work days on weekends surrounding public holidays would affect his work schedule.在北京银行业工作的32岁员工周子通表示，他支持修改后的规定，但仍担心法定节假日前后周末调休的工作日会影响他的工作安排。"According to the new holiday arrangement, we will still work for six consecutive days at least twice next year, which has probably led to negative reactions among the public," Zhou said.“根据新的放假安排，明年我们仍将至少两次连续工作6天，这可能会在公众中引起负面反应。”周子通说。stipulatev. (尤指在协议或建议中)规定, 约定paid annual leave带薪年休假staggered travel错峰出行compensatev. 补偿

PRC: 100,000 students on bicycles overnight. Charles Burton, senior fellow at Sinopsis, @GordonGChang, Gatestone, Newsweek, The Hill: https://www.asianews.it/news-en/University-students-on-bikes:-authorities-block-%27hidden-protest%27-in-Zhengzhou-61883

The John Batchelor Show

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 13, 2024 10:06

PRC: 100,000 students on bicycles overnight. Charles Burton, senior fellow at Sinopsis, @GordonGChang, Gatestone, Newsweek, The Hill: https://www.asianews.it/news-en/University-students-on-bikes:-authorities-block-%27hidden-protest%27-in-Zhengzhou-61883.html 1890 Shanghai

university protests shanghai newsweek senior fellow overnight bicycles bikes authorities university students prc sinopsis zhengzhou charles burton gordongchang

英语新闻丨Henan puts brakes on student night cycling trend

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 12, 2024 3:40

For university students, grabbing a shared bike to join a few friends for an intercity evening ride covering 50 kilometers in Henan province may be the ultimate expression of enthusiasm for young cyclists. But as the number of participants grew, so did the problems. 对于大学生来说，扫一辆共享单车，和几个朋友一起在河南跨城夜骑50公里，可能是年轻骑行者热情的极大体现。但随着参与者的增多，问题也随之而来。The collective cycling trend has been a hit with university students in Henan, where groups of students big or small set off on shared bikes late at night and pedal for over five hours to cover the 50-km stretch from Zhengzhou, the provincial capital, to the city of Kaifeng.集体骑行在河南的大学生中已成为风潮，大大小小的学生在深夜骑着共享单车出发，经过五个多小时的跋涉，跨越从省会郑州市到开封市的50公里路程。The trend was inspired by four young women from Zhengzhou who set off on an impulse journey to try Kaifeng's famous guantangbao, a type of soup dumpling, on June 18. Leaving at around 7 pm, they cycled on shared bikes before being rewarded with a plate of steaming dumplings at their destination.这股“夜骑开封”的热潮源于今年6月18日。郑州的四名年轻女性为了品尝开封著名的灌汤包，踏上了一次说走就走的旅程。晚上7点左右，她们骑着共享单车出发，在目的地吃到了热气腾腾的灌汤包。Their adventure quickly went viral on social media. In fact, it became such a sensation that a hashtag, "Youth has no price, night ride to Kaifeng has it," has become a popular topic. 她们的经历迅速在社交媒体上走红。事实上，这已经引起了轰动，“青春没有售价，夜骑开封拿下！”成为了热门话题。What began as a spontaneous trip for dumplings has turned into a symbol of youthful energy and has enabled others to bask in the joy of shared experiences. The bike ride has become so popular that, on some nights, long lines of cyclists can be seen stretching across the road.最初只是为了吃灌汤包而自发进行的骑行，如今已成为青春活力的象征，也让其他人沉浸在类似经历的喜悦中。自行车骑行变得大受欢迎，在某些夜晚，可以看到骑行者在马路上排起长队。However, what began as an exciting adventure also led to a series of problems.然而，激情洋溢的冒险也引发了一系列问题。With large numbers of students riding together, the influx of cyclists caused traffic disruptions, particularly as some groups blocked lanes or rode side by side.由于大量学生一起骑车，骑行者的涌入造成了交通混乱，特别是一些团体并排骑车或堵塞车道。In response to the problem, both Zhengzhou and Kaifeng's traffic police announced temporary measures on Saturday afternoon. From 4 pm on Saturday to noon on Sunday, bike lanes along Zhengkai Avenue connecting the two cities will be closed to cyclists, they said in an announcement.针对这一问题，11月9日下午，郑州和开封的交警部门都宣布了临时措施。公告表示，从11月9日16时至10日中午，连接两市的郑开大道非机动车道将实行禁行措施。Meanwhile, residents in Kaifeng reported issues such as bikes being improperly parked near city landmarks, making it difficult for people to walk in these areas. And in Zhengzhou, a shortage of bikes at metro stations left many commuters stranded.与此同时，开封的居民反映了一些问题，如城市地标附近自行车乱停乱放，影响人们出行。而在郑州，地铁站附近的自行车数量不足给诸多通勤者带来不便。On Saturday, the three major bike-sharing platforms — Hellobike, DiDi Bike and Mobike — issued a joint notice stating that bikes will be locked if ridden outside of designated zones in Zhengzhou. It also warned people about the health risks of riding shared bikes for long distances.11月9日，三大共享单车平台哈啰、美团、青桔联合发布公告，称在郑州指定用车区域外骑行的共享单车将被锁定。公告还提醒人们注意长途骑行共享单车的健康风险。Also on Saturday, the Kaifeng government called on students to avoid riding in large groups, reminding them that "youth needs passion but also safety." It urged the students to take responsibility for their actions and consider public safety.同样在9日，开封市政府呼吁学生不要大规模集体骑行，提醒他们“青春要passion，更要平安”。官方呼吁学生们为自己的行为负责，并为公共安全考虑。Although the late night rides have been paused, the experience has left many students with fond memories.虽然夜骑活动已经暂停，但这段经历给许多学生留下了美好的回忆。Liu Lulu, a student at Henan University, said on Sunday that her experience was unforgettable and meaningful.河南大学学生刘露露10日表示，她的经历既难忘又有意义。"People sang together and cheered for each other while climbing uphill together," she said. "I could feel the passion of the young people. And it was much more than a bike ride."“大家一起唱歌，一起在爬坡时为彼此加油打气，”她说，“我能感受到年轻人的热情，这远不止是一次骑行。”She said she and other students at the university learned about the traffic restrictions and stricter controls installed on intercity cycling over the weekend.刘露露说，她和大学里的其他同学在周末了解到对跨城骑行实施的交通限制和更严格的管制。"Causing problems for the public is the last thing we want to do. Of course, we will follow the new rules and suggestions. I am sure we can show our vibrant spirit in other ways."“给公众带来麻烦是我们最不想做的事情。当然，我们会遵守新的规定和建议，相信我们可以通过其他方式展现我们朝气蓬勃的精神面貌。”shared bike共享单车intercityadj．城市间的baskv. 使……愉快而舒适vibrantadj. 充满生气的，精力充沛的

leaving youth trend puts causing cycling brakes henan zhengzhou mobike kaifeng student night

Cities #683 - Zhengzhou [Deep House - Melodic House - Sweet beats]

SUIKA

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2024 60:02

TRACKLIST : Fiddler - Partial Mauro Masi - Hook that thing (Nodo remix) Upcycle & Beatox - Soup song (Soup Always remix) Brian Cid - Aladanza AtalaiA - Like Pinot noir Channan Hanif - Take u there Kokiyo - Lost in bloom Chris Sterio & Stan Seba - Wavelength George X - Atropos (S.o.U.L ViBRaTioN x Cancci remix) Fluxion - Footsteps (Fluxion remix) Seven Drops - Way to Mars Teho - Origins (Fejká remix)

cities deep house melodic house nodo upcycle zhengzhou sweet beats

3.123 Fall and Rise of China: Chiang-Gui War

Marketplace Morning Report

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2024 33:17

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

china guide japan fall japanese vice president kings army revolution minister republic beijing shanghai li northern northwest tensions chang wuhan communists corps ceremony crops procedures hq wei famine nra outline zhang ping secretly ccp chinese communist party colossal generals commander in chief camelot yan feng jing warlords bao sichuan chiang hangzhou nanjing hubei guangdong tianjin manchuria pacific war hunan henan shandong kmt zhengzhou central committee military affairs fujian nanking zhejiang dalian chiang kai guangxi kuomintang yellow river jiangsu red menace juny hebei shaanxi shanxi jinan chiang kai shek changsha anhui jiangxi china podcast north china central plains shandong province henan province tangshan luoyang kaifeng craig watson linying anhui province mukden taiyuan northern expedition executive yuan

China detains workers at iPhone maker

Marketplace All-in-One

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 11, 2024 6:54

From the BBC World Service: Chinese police have detained four workers of the Taiwanese iPhone maker Foxconn in circumstances Taipei has described as “strange.” The employees were arrested in Zhengzhou on “breach of trust” charges. We’ll unpack. Then, Portugal wants to bring in a new law to give a decade of tax breaks to people up to the age of 35. And “ghost” distilleries are being resurrected as demand for rare whiskey soars,

china iphone portugal workers maker taipei foxconn zhengzhou

China detains workers at iPhone maker

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 11, 2024 6:54

china iphone portugal workers maker taipei foxconn zhengzhou

考级英语听力材料（专四）2

高效磨耳朵 | 最好的英语听力资源

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2024 4:24

00:00 2005年英语专业四级短文101:27 2005年英语专业四级短文202:58 2005年英语专业四级短文32005年英语专业四级短文1Attention all passengers, platform change, this is a platform change.各位乘客注意，火车停靠站台改变，火车停靠站台改变。The train, now standing at platform 9, is the 10:48 train, calling at all stations to Nanjing.现在停在九号站台的这列火车，是10:48分出发的火车，它会在通往南京的所有站做停留。Please note, the train on platform 9 is not the 10:52 train to Jinan.请注意，停在九号站台的火车并不是10：52分开往济南的火车。It's the 10:48 train calling at all stations to Nanjing.这是10：48分出发，在通往南京所有站做停留的火车。The 10:52 to Jinan will now leave from platform 7.10：52开往济南的火车即将从七站台出发。Train announcement.列车到发通告。The 11:20 train to Zhengzhou from platform 8 will be subject to a 15-minute delay.11：20从八号站台开往郑州的列车晚点15分钟。I repeat, there will be a 15- minute delay for the Zhengzhou train on platform 8 .It will now leave at 11:35, not 11:20.再次重复，八号站台开往郑州的列车晚点15分钟。11：35列车开动，不是11：20。The 11:28 train to Hangzhou has been cancelled.11:28开往杭州的火车已经取消。We apologize to customers, but due to a signal problem, the 11:28 train to Hangzhou from platform 15 has been cancelled.我们向您道歉，由于信号问题，11：28从十五号站台开往杭州的列车已经取消。The 11:32 train to Tianjin is now standing at platform 13.11：32开往天津的火车现在停靠在十三号站台。Please note, there will be no restaurant car on this train. I repeat, there will be no restaurant car on the 11:32 to Tianjin now standing at platform 13.请注意，这列火车上没有餐车。再次重复，现在停靠在13号站台，11：32开往天津的火车上没有餐车。2005年英语专业四级短文2The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum was opened in Geneva in 1988国际红十字会和红新月博物馆于1988年在日内瓦开幕。It tells the story of men and women who, in the course of the major events of the last 150 years, have given assistance to victims of war and natural disasters.它讲述了在过去150年的重大事件中，为战争和自然灾害受害者提供援助的男男女女的故事。The organization was established in 1863 and was based on an idea by a Swiss businessman called Henri Durant.该组织成立于1863年，由瑞士商人亨利·杜南创建。He had witnessed the heavy casualties at the battle of Sulferino in Italy 4 years earlier, in which 40,000 people were killed, wounded or missing.四年前，他看到了意大利索尔费里诺战役的惨重伤亡，那场战役造成4万人死亡、受伤或失踪。He had seen the lack of medical services and the great suffering of many of the wounded who simply died from lack of care.他看到了医疗服务的缺乏以及因为缺乏医疗而死亡的大量伤员的巨大痛苦。The International Red Cross or Red Crescent exists to help the victims of conflicts and disasters regardless of their nationalities.国际红十字会或红新月博物馆的存在是为了帮助冲突和灾难的受害者，不论他们的国籍是什么。The symbol of the organization was originally just the red cross.该组织的象征最初只是红十字会。It has no religious significance.没有宗教意义。The founders of the movement adopted it as a tribute to Switzerland.该组织的创始人将它作为对瑞士的致敬。However,during the Russo-Turkish War, the Turks felt that the cross could be seen as offensive to Muslim soldiers.然而，在俄土战争期间，土耳其人认为十字架是对穆斯林士兵的冒犯。And a second symbol, the red crescent, was adopted for use by national organizations in the Islamic world. Both are now official symbols.第二个标志红新月，为伊斯兰世界的国家组织所采用。现在两者都是官方标志。2005年英语专业四级短文3At major college or high school sports events, cheerleaders, both male and female,jump and dance in front of the crowd, and shout the name of their team, running around and yelling "Go, team, Go"在主要的大学或高中体育赛事中，啦啦队队长，无论男女，都要在人群前蹦蹦跳跳，喊出自己球队的名字，到处跑，喊着“加油，球队，加油”。The first cheerleader ever was a man.第一个啦啦队队长是一个男人。In 1898, John Campbell jumped in front of the crowd at the University of Minnesota and shouted for his team.1898年，约翰·坎贝尔在明尼苏达大学的人群前跳下，为他的球队呐喊。He shouted "Hoorah, Minnesota". This was the first organized shout, oryell.他喊道“万岁，明尼苏达大学”。这是第一次有组织的喊叫或呐喊。For the next 32 years cheerleaders were men only.在接下来的32年里，啦啦队员只有男性。Cheerleading is not just about cheering. They practice special shouts, dances, and athletic shows.啦啦队不仅仅是为了欢呼。他们练习特殊的喊叫声、舞蹈和体育表演。The men throw the women high in the air and catch them.男人把女人抛向空中，然后抓住她们。The team members climb on each other's shoulders to make a human pyramid.队员们爬上彼此的肩膀，形成一个金字塔。They yell and dance, too. It is like human fireworks.他们喊啊，叫啊，舞啊，那激情如烟花般四射。Of course, they may often suffer serious knee and wrist injuries, and bloody noses.当然，他们可能经常遭受严重的膝盖和手腕受伤，流鼻血。Cheerleaders have their own contests every year at local, state and national levels.拉拉队长每年在地方、州和国家都有自己的比赛。And the crowd shouts for them.群众为他们呼喊。It is not fair to think cheerleading is just being cheerful and lively and having aloud voice.把啦啦队看作娱乐，维持现场气氛活跃，保持声音响亮的手段是不公平的。Cheerleading is a sport in itself.啦啦队本身就是一项运动。

Ukraine reels from Russia's missile onslaught

From Our Own Correspondent Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 7, 2024 28:45

Kate Adie presents stories from Ukraine, Germany, China, Tonga and IndiaUkraine suffered several devastating missile attacks this week on the cities of Poltava and Lviv. Despite the more buoyant mood in the country in recent weeks, following Ukraine's incursion into Kursk, it served as a reminder that the threat is ever-present. Nick Beake has been in PoltavaLast weekend, the far right AFD party - won the most votes in a state election in the east German state of Thuringia and came a close second in the state of Saxony. The AfD were especially popular among young voters. Jessica Parker has spoken to some of them in Thuringia.Several cities across China have been devastated by heavy rainfall this year and a super typhoon there this weekend is yet another warning for China's leaders that the country is vulnerable to extreme weather events because the infrastructure in cities cannot cope with such heavy storms. Laura Bicker has been in Zhengzhou where she heard about a possible solution: sponge cities.Last week, leaders from around the Pacific gathered in the small island nation of Tonga to discuss key issues they are facing. The Pacific Islands Forum is the region's biggest meeting of the year – and topping the list of concerns was climate change. But on the agenda, there were plenty of other topics – and controversies - as Katy Watson found out.And finally, the famine in Bengal in the 1940s led to one of the worst losses of civilian life on the allied side during the second world war. Many Indians see this as one of the enduring legacies of empire. Ant Adeane visited one of the survivors that period in his home in West Bengal.Series Producer: Serena Tarling Editor: Tom Bigwood Production Coordinators: Sophie Hill & Katie Morrison

china germany russia ukraine german pacific reels afd missile tonga bengal lviv kursk onslaught west bengal saxony zhengzhou poltava thuringia pacific islands forum jessica parker kate adie katy watson laura bicker nick beake

3.114 Fall and Rise of China: Northern Expedition #5: Collapse of the First United Front

china apple iphone facing federal reserve cpi high risk us economy foxconn zhengzhou henan province

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2024 29:17

Last time we spoke about the capture of Shanghai and Nanking. By early 1927, the NRA concentrated around Sungchiang, feigning a major assault on Shanghai while secretly preparing to attack Nanking. Capturing Nanking would isolate Sun Chuanfang's forces. By February, Sun's battered armies awaited reinforcements, while the KMT incited disorder in Shanghai. The city's large workforce, influenced by the CCP, opposed Sun's alliance with northerners and foreign powers. On February 19th, the CCP launched a general strike, which was violently suppressed by Sun's forces, leading to hundreds of deaths. Despite the failed uprising, the NRA advanced, exploiting defections within Sun's ranks. By March, NRA forces captured key positions, closing in on Nanking and Shanghai. Amidst this, Chiang Kai-Shek faced internal strife with the CCP and KMT leftists, leading to disunity in the First United Front. The Wuhan faction undermined Chiang's authority, further complicating the Northern Expedition. By late March, the NRA seized Shanghai, while ongoing conflicts hinted at a potential collapse of the First United Front. #114 The Northern Expedition Part 5: Collapse of the First United Front 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. Last we left off, Chiang Kai-Shek was basically at war with this new CCP run cabal in Wuhan. They were taking away his authority one notch at a time. To counter the communist Wuhan cabal, Chiang Kai-SHek appealed to the center and right wingers in the KMT. Before the capture of Shanghai a anti-communist group with members such as Wu Chihui, Niu Yungchen and Yang Quan who had headquarters within the city had been investigating how the CCP was subverting the KMT authority. On March 6th, they began questioning the CCP leader Chen Duxiu and his Shanghai based subordinate Lo Yinung what exactly the intentions of the CCP were. Chen Duxiu said they would turn China communist, but it would take more than 20 years and thus cooperation with the KMT was a necessity. After it was found out the CCP had fomented some worker attacks upon areas in Shanghai, this produced anti KMT demonstrations along the Nanking road. Chiang Kai-Shek was gaining more loyal followers to his side as the anti-communism grew amongst the KMT members. When Shanghai was taken, Chiang Kai-Shek sent letters to members of the Wuhan cabal that he considered not under the influence of the CCP that they should come to Shanghai. On March 24th, Chiang Kai-Shek addressed a letter sent to Tan Yenkai at Wuhan “Please forward this letter to the National Government. Shanghai and Nanking have been occupied and there is much work to be done here. I hope committee member T'an and Ministers Sun [Fo] and Soong and Ch'en [Eugene] will come to Shanghai to handle affairs here so I can devote my attention to military matters” Yet he neglected to mention the insubordination running through the NRA ranks and the ongoing Nanking incident that was occurring that very day. Most of the men who received letters at Wuhan had a lot of grievances against the CCP, particularly because they felt betrayed. This of course was because initially the CCP had colluded with the left wing KMT faction, led by Wang Jingwei. But he and the rest of the left wing had been left in the dust as the CCP simply took charge. By the end of March the civil war between Wuhan and Chiang Kai-Shek was becoming more and more visible. Both Wuhan and Shanghai began using the press to attack another. From Wuhan Borodin was accusing Shanghai of being reactionaries and Shanghai was calling into question how the communist influence emanating from Wuhan could be put to an end. The Wuhan cabal then began dismissing officers loyal to Chiang Kai-Shek and turning military authority to the new Wuhan military council. Shanghai had their own cabal in the form of committees who retaliated against Wuhan. This saw a sort of battle over Jiangxi as both cabals tried to dismiss each other's favored officers. Yet the CCP within Shanghai began organizing a provisional municipal government and appointing CCP members to key positions. Upon discovering this new attack, Chiang Kai-Shek labeled the CCP committees as the enemy of the KMT and not to be recognized by the political party nor the NRA. April brought violence to the situation. In Shanghai the CCP used its new found cabal there to undermine Chiang Kai-Shek's regime. Chiang Kai-Shek responded by placing a curfew over the city and declaring publicly he would suppress all irregular movements. Word spread Chiang Kai-Shek had invited a large group of KMT civil and military leaders from Guangzhou to Shanghai where they were forming plans to counter the CCP threat in the two cities. Then word came that the CCP were seizing merchants in Wuhan and ransoming them and taking their businesses. In Shanghai non-communist workers began complaining that they were being persecuted and even physically beaten by CCP unions. So the KMT unions began gathering non-communist workers and created a labor organization with the intent of completely replacing the communist labor union at Shanghai. Thus if we see this all as a war, one front of it because the labor front. From there general strikes broke out at Shanghai and Hangzhou, on the part of the CCP to try and oust Chiang Kai-Shek. The KMT unions retaliated by burning down the CCP union HQ's in Hangzhou and Ningpo. After this the Wuhan joint council declared recent elections in Guangzhou to be illegal on the basis they had already been ordered to disband and reorganize. In response Guangzhou's government arrested agents that had been sent by Wuhan and refused to comply with Wuhans orders. Chiang Kai-Shek now was deeply concerned about the stagnating northern expedition. Each day the NRA delayed, the NPA grew larger and more coordinated. Chiang Kai-Shek still hoped to convince key KMT leaders to turn away from the CCP. To this purpose, in March, Chiang Kai-Shek sent his close colleague Zhang Jingjiang to find Wang Jingwei and ask him to come back to China. Zhang Jingjiang wrote to Wang Jingwei, notifying him the CCP were trying to take over the entire movement and that they needed him to return from Europe. Wang Jingwei returned to Shanghai by April 1st as Chiang Kai-Shek notified his agents “Comrade Wang has returned and I have had a serious conference with him about the Party and the country. From now on he will be responsible for the Party as well as political affairs. I will devote my attention to military operations. The military and civil administration, finance and diplomacy will all be under Wang and be consolidated in the central government. My armies and I will obey unanimously. Military authority and operation orders, however, I will direct as before. Wang has indicated that he thinks there should be no intra-Party conflict until the military operation has been completed and that everyone should support the C-in-C until a discussion of the matters involved can be held”. Can you say what a 180? Wang Jingwei did not trust Chiang Kai-Shek at all, and I am sure the feeling was mutual. These two guys after all had been rivals fighting for leadership over the movement. One crucial problem for Wang Jingwei, was the fact he was the leader of the leftists in the movement and only really had power when combined with the CCP. Now when Wang Jingwei came back home, he took a route going through Moscow and Vladivostok. Borodin had telegraphed him from Wuhan, telling him the CCP did not want to displace the KMT nor sought to create a communist China. Wang Jingwei stated later on that he came back to China hoping to bring the Wuhan faction back into the fold. On April the 15th Wang Jingwei took up his new position. Chiang Kai-Shek pushed Wang Jingwei to call for an all KMT gathering at Nanking to purge the CCP from the ranks. However at that time, the northern expedition had units advancing against Honan and quite a few of them had CCP officers. Wang Jingwei stated if they purged now it would threaten said units. Thus the second week of April saw an increase in violence between the two groups. Riots broke out in Guangzhou, Zhejiang and Jiangsu between unions leaving hundreds dead and wounded. The military forces at Shanghai began quelling armed workers as Chiang Kai-Shek called upon the communist unions to disband the near 5000 armed worker militias or else “they would be regarded as a conspiratorial organization … not to be permitted to exist.” On April 6th, Chiang Kai-Shek ordered some troops to raid and close down the CCP's political department in Shanghai led by Kuo Mojo. On the same day, Zhang Zuolin raided the Soviet embassy at Beijing and the Shanghai and Tianjin international concession police raided their Soviet consulates. All of the evidence found was handed over to the KMT at Shanghai. Chiang Kai-Shek hoped to use the information to prove the CCP were subverting the KMT and bring about a purge. In early April the Shanghai Control Committee urged Chiang Kai-Shek to nip the bud of what looked like a CCP uprising. Many large meetings amongst the top KMT leaders followed and all came to the conclusion the CCP was trying to seize leadership over the movement and suppress the KMT. Now I should mention by this point, this is all heavily contested. Current day CCP historians would paint a picture that Chiang Kai-Shek was the aggressor, whereas Taiwanese historians would say the opposite. What is known and I think I have fairly portrayed it, is that a sort of civil war emerged in the First United Front. Both sides from the beginning had goals they wanted to achieve at the cost to the other side. Its really one of those “who pulled the trigger first moments”. For quite some time the Chinese and foreign press had covered the battle between the CCP and Chiang Kai-Shek. During the first two weeks of april multiple warnings had been sent by both sides openly that action would be taken. On April 11th 5000 armed workers led by the CCP were warned military response was imminent. The armed workers currently picketing were warned and their CCP leadership put out alerts in the major suburbs of Zhapei, Putung, Woosung and south shanghai. While the KMT prepared a purge against the CCP in Shanghai, the NPA launched a counteroffensive in northern Jiangsu. This would see the NRA face a succession of defeats through april. From April 3rd to the 11th the NRA fell back 100 miles through Jiangsu and Anhui, closing in towards the Yangtze. On April 5th Wang Jingwei had landed in Shanghai, invited by Chiang Kai-Shek, however he quickly met in secrecy with Chen Duxiu. After their meeting they both agreed to issue a joint declaration re-affirming the cooperation between the left KMT and CCP. Wang Jingwei departed for Wuhan on the 6th and it was at this point Chiang Kai-Shek met up with his old buddy Du Yuesheng, the leader of the Green Gang. They formed a rival union to face the CCP unions in Shanghai. On the 9th, Chiang Kai-Shek declared martial law in Shanghai as the Central Control Commission proclaimed “party protection and national salvation”, denouncing the Wuhan CCP backed government. On the 11th Chiang Kai-Shek secretly issued orders to all the provinces under NRA control to purge communists from the KMT. At dawn on the 12th Green Gang Members began to assault district offices controlled by the CCP unions in places like Zhabei, Pudong and Nanshi. Using the martial law decree, Chiang Kai-Shek unleashed the 26th army upon the city who quickly rounded up, disarmed and fought armed worker militias. 300 people were killed and wounded as the CCP unions tried to organize a resistance. On the 13th they denounced Chiang Kai-Shek's actions as thousands of workers demonstrated in front of the 26th army HQ. The soldiers there opened fire upon the demonstrators killing perhaps 100 or so people and wounding many more. Chiang Kai-Shek then dissolved the provincial government of Shanghai, the CCP backed labor unions and any organization with ties to the CCP. He then reorganized a network of new unions, allied to his faction of the KMT and had Du Yuesheng manage said operation. Some sources claim over 1000 CCP members and left wing supporters were arrested, 300 were executed and more than 5000 went missing. As you can imagine that figure out 5000 is also claimed by many to be 5000 dead communists. Others claim the number could have been as high as 10,000. The entire incident became known as the Shanghai Massacre. Now this event effectively ended the First United Front and ushered in the Chinese Civil War. However because of how I have been tackling the warlord Era, I'd prefer to put the civil war on the backburner. We most certainly will come back to it. After the break our their alliance, the Wuhan government still stood, but now Chiang Kai-Shek formed a separate government at Nanking. It came to no surprise when Wang Jingwei condemned Chiang Kai-Shek for the purges and became the leader of the rival Wuhan government. This formally split the KMT right-left wings and their associated NRA forces. To celebrate the dire situation of the revolutionaries, Zhang Zuolin began artillery bombarding Nanjing from across the Yangtze. Now saw a rather chaotic situation where two groups of NRA would both continue separate northern expeditions, completely uncoordinated against a far larger NPA foe. Now another aspect of all of this, perhaps less sexy to say, was the financial disparity between the CCP and KMT. Shanghai was a reliable fiscal base, a repository of Chinese capital whose tax revenues far surpassed that of Wuhan. Especially since Wuhan was seeing unbelievable worker strikes, pushed by the CCP, her economy was free falling. Wuhans total annual revenues from affiliated provinces had shrunk to a fourth of that of Shanghai. Over at Guangzhou the Central Bank continued to hold the majority of the KMT hard currency and her silver reserves. Wuhan had been printing money like crazy, devaluing it, something a Canadian like I, knows a lot about cough cough. The KMT finance minister T.V Soong had moved to Wuhan in the beginning, but was quickly frustrated with the situation and fled for Shanghai as soon as the city was captured. Chiang Kai-Shek managed to win over the bankers and leading businessmen, which was not hard given his opponent was communism. When violence broke out at Nanking against the foreign community, Chiang Kai-Shek was between a rock and a hard place. He needed to avoid any confrontation with the foreign powers, but his KMT base and the people of China wanted to break the chains of foreign imperialism. Thus he made some speeches stating “the objective of the national revolution is to seek international equality…. If a nation treats China fairly, China will return friendship.…as long as foreign troops and warships undertake to protest … we will not be responsible…. Incidents are unavoidable in a revolution.” Chiang Kai-Shek walked a tightrope with the foreign powers. On one hand he constantly was negotiating with them to return concessions, but he always made sure to thwart any rationales for them to militarily intervene. Whereas at Wuhan they found themselves suffering from large scale unemployment, a crumbling economy, political tensions, revenues disappearing and quite a lot of hostility from the foreign powers, Shanghai looked a hell of a lot more stable in all said categories. Borodin watched as the Wuhan regime was collapsing and began advising the CCP to ease up with labor and peasant movements to allow the economy to recover. The Wuhan government had been dealt many terrible blows, but was still standing. Come May of 1927, Wuhan began massing their troops in an attempt to showcase to the movement they could continue the northern expedition. They wanted their troops to be the first ones in North China, hopefully that would win over more support. The timing of Wuhans offensive into Honan just so happened to coincide with some of Wu Peifu's forces in Honan defecting. The commander in chief of the Wuhan forces, Tang Shengchih then performed their first offensive serving Wu Peifu a defeat near Chumatien. Tang Shengchih then advanced north, meeting defensive lines defended by Zhang Xueliang, the son of Zhang Zuolin. Within the center of this line was the town of Xiping, where the Beijing-Hankou railway crossed a formidable river. The Wuhan forces pushed Zhang Xueliang further back after 3 days of battle, until he withdrew north of Yencheng on May 15th. Zhang Xueliang again took up a defensive line along a river. He placed heavy artillery behind fortified positions and tried to hold out against the incoming NRA forces. The NRA advanced towards the river and went downstream from Yencheng, threatening to out flank Zhang Xueliang and his rearway station to his rear. Yet the Wuhan forces were not the only ones in the fight, for the Old Christian warlord, Feng Yuxiang unleashed his army from Shaanxi. Feng Yuxiang came out of the Wei River valley with his Guominjun and passed through the Tungkuan pass on May 6th. He first captured Kuanyintang, a mountain gateway leading to Luoyang. After taking Luoyang on May 28th, Feng Yuxiang was 70 miles from Chengzhou, which held the Beijing-Hankou railroad bridgehead along the Yellow River. Zhang Xueliang responded to the new threat to his rear by withdrawing further north. When Zheng Xueliang took up a position north of the Yellow River he now had a secure and shortened railway supply line, thus he could face a two front war against Wuhan and the Guominjun. Advancing quickly across northern Honan, Feng Yuxiang's cavalry vanguard beat Wuhan's NRA forces to Chengzhou and Kaifeng by late May. From there Feng Yuxiang's forces straddled the Lunghai Railway. Meanwhile on May 10th, Chiang Kai-Shek's 1st and 6th NRA armies crossed the Yangtze into Anhui. On the 16th, Li Zongren advanced into western Anhui to attack Hefei. By the 20th Li Zngren captured Bengbu, while Chiang Kai-Shek unleashed a 4-pronged offensive through Jiangsu to reach Shandong. He Yingqin led the 1st NRA army to capture Haizhou by late may. On the 28th Li Zongren took Xuzhou. With the Beijing-Hankou railway under NRA and Guminjun control, the line of communication extended to all 3 forces. Feng Yuxiang began receiving offers from both Wuhan and Nanking at this point. Feng Yuxiang first met with Wang Jingwei and Tang Shengzhi at Zhengzhou on June 10th, before traveling to Xuzhou on the 19th to meet Chiang Kai-Shek. Both needed his help if they hoped to take North China. Feng Yuxiang of course was entirely dependent on the Soviet Union, so it seemed clear Wuhan was more in line for him. However he really needed to pick a faction that could satisfy his interests. For example, which revolutionary movement would survive its little civil war? What if Chiang Kai-Shek won over more of the Wuhan leadership and defeated the CCP cabal there? Could the Wuhan government actually challenge Chiang Kai-Shek when he held all the resource rich territories? Feng Yuxiang looked upon Wuhan's numerous economic and political issues. He also saw how aggressive their CCP peasant unions were in Hunan, constantly confiscating land. He looked at Nanking, it had enormous resources, hell Nanking promised him 2.5 million dollars a month to maintain his Guominjun, plus military aid and a nice position as chairman over the new provisional government over Honan. Despite Feng Yuxiangs takeover of Honan's lucrative Kungxien Arsenal within the Lo Valley, he had a very poor industrial foundation. He did not really have much Shaanxi personnel equipped to make the arsenal shine so to say, so he would be dependent on external aid for sometime. His aid from the Soviets in the north was quite vulnerable. The aid had to be transported over an incredibly long distance overland from the north, any intelligent warlord could cut this. Feng Yuxiang started to calculate which one would be more profitable: stick with the Soviet aid, thus join Wuhan or break with the Soviets for Nanking. Now something else occurred that would have dire consequences for the Wuhan regime. On June 1st, Joseph Stalin sent a secret telegram to Borodin and his associate M.N Roy with orders for the Wuhan government. Without consulting Borodin, M.N Roy revealed the telegram to Wang Jingwei and it held the following instructions. Insistence that every effort be made for land to be occupied by the Communist Party. However, actions that are too aggressive should be avoided, and officials and soldiers' lands should be exempted. Make concessions to artisans, merchants and small landlords. Mobilize 20,000 communists and 50,000 revolutionary workers and farmers to raise an army. Recruit new leaders from the workers and farmers of the lower stratum to join KMT so as to alter the composition of the party. Expel all those of "old mindsets". Establish a revolutionary military court headed by well-known party officials and non-communists, to punish reactionary officials Wang Jingwei believed following these instructions would be the death of the Wuhan government, but continued to negotiate with the soviets, because hell he had little choice when they were providing so much needed assistance. Wang Jingwei demanded the Soviets provide 15 million roubles in aid, but the Soviets only agreed to 2 million. This prompted a angry Wang Jingwei to threaten to send Borodin back to Moscow. The event became known as the “may instructions” and it compelle Wang Jingwei to break off from the USSR. However even doing so, he certainly was not joining Chiang Kai-Shek. In a vain effort to counter the CCP and Chiang Kai-Shek, Wang Jingwei sought Feng Yuxiangs help. Without informing his CCP colleagues, Wang Jingwei dispatched Deng Yanda to meet with Feng Yuxiang at Zhengzhou, offering every possible concession he could think of. Wang Jingwei had no idea Feng Yuxiang was in talks with Chiang Kai-Shek. Now Wang Jingwei was not the only one unhappy with the Soviet instructions, even Chen Duxiu would go on the record to say he did not think they fit the reality in China and telegram moscow it would be nearly impossible to implement them. The Soviets were very displeased with the situation in China, particularly that the CCP-KMT union had more or less collapsed. By late June the Soviets were considering breaking ties with the Wuhan government. This prompted a panicked Chen Duxiu and Borodin to try and quell radicals within the Wuhan clique to try and retain the small united front between the Leftist KMT and CCP. They frantically told workers and peasant unions to stop activity for a while just so things could stabilize. However ironically the Soviets saw all of this as opportunism and recalled Borodin and by early July were pulling out of the KMT deal. Needless to say, Feng Yuxiang chose to ally himself to Chiang Kai-Shek. He did so by sending a joint telegram in late June to Wang Jingwei telling him and demanding the Wuhan government expel all its soviet advisors and purge itself of communists so they could all together continue the northern expedition. While this was going on, Tang Shengchih's forces were being mauled by heavy artillery in north china. Tang Shengchih was wounded badly, and believing Feng Yuxiang would not help them out, Wang Jingwei withdrew the forces back over to Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi. After taking some time to recover, Tang Shengchih advanced his forces out of Wuhan through Jiangxi to face Nankings forces near Anking in Anhui. Chiang Kai-Shek had his forces respond to the threat defensively. On July 13th Chiang Kai-Shek pulled his front line forces trying to enter Shandong back. Meanwhile the civilian population of Wuhan were no longer supporting the government. Tang Shengchih began to dig in around Anking threatening Nanking. When Chiang Kai-Shek moved his frontline units near Shandong south to defend against Tang Shengchih the NPA began to claim lost territory. In early July the NPA recaptured Tengxien, Lincheng, Tsaochuang and the Tianjin-Pukou railway. Despite losing Honan in June, the NPA now enjoyed a shorted logistical line and front, allowing them to deploy their heavy artillery in concentration while Nanking was fighting a two front war. The NRA forces were being battered by the NPA. In the face of mounting losses, both the Wuhan and Nanking governments began negotiations. Wang Jingwei had procrastinated as long as he possibly could, but Feng Yuxiang was not going to help him, Chiang Kai-Shek was certainly not and the CCP and their Soviet overlords were trying to take over. Thus on July 15th, Wang Jingwei held a KMT meeting and formally published the May Instructions letter while condemning the CCP. He unleashed a purge, though he did so less bloodily compared to what had happened at Shanghai. The Wuhan and Nanking governments met and passed the “policy of uniting the party”, while all communists were kicked out of the KMT and NRA. The Wuhan government sent all their Soviet advisors back to Moscow as Wang Jingwei proclaimed the CCP had ruined the revolution publically. KMT forces loyal to Chiang Kai-Shek took over Wuhan and by July 18th the Wuhan area was cleansed of communists. However Wang Jingwei had made one demand to reunite the KMT, he demanded Chiang Kai-SHek resign from his post as commander in chief and relinquish all other political titles. Chiang Kai-Shek did just that on August 12th, the Generalissimo was no more. 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 First United Front had come to an end, a new Civil War was born. Because of the war between Wuhan and Nanking, the NPA got the upper hand again, reclaiming vast amounts of territory. To reunify the KMT Wang Jingwei demanded Chiang Kai-Shek walk away, and walk he did, what would happen now to the northern expedition?

Can bringing back nature save our cities from floods?

The Climate Question

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 26, 2024 22:59

Engineers across the globe, from China to East Africa and the US, are turning to a new, nature-based solutions to fight floods, which are becoming more likely in many places because of climate change. They're taking a pickaxe to asphalt and concrete and instead are restoring wetlands, parks and riverbanks, turning our metropolises into so-called ‘sponge cities'. Plants, trees and lakes act just like a sponge, mopping up rainwater instead of letting it pool and eventually flood our homes. Professor Priti Parikh tells Jordan Dunbar how these spongey solutions have many benefits beyond flooding, encouraging biodiversity, helping our mental health and storing the planet warming gas, carbon dioxide. The BBC's China Correspondent, Laura Bicker, meets the man who came up with the concept, Professor Kongjian Yu, and visits Zhengzhou, a sponge city in the making. And Katya Reyna tells Jordan how her NGO is helping low-income communities in Portland in the US to ‘depave' disused car parks, turning them into plant-oases. Got a climate question you'd like answered? Email: TheClimateQuestion@BBC.com or WhatsApp: +44 8000 321 721 Contributors: Priti Parikh, Professor of Infrastructure Engineering and International Development, University College London and a Trustee at the Institution of Civil Engineers Laura Bicker, BBC China Correspondent Professor Kongjian Yu, Professor of Landscape Architecture at Peking University in Beijing Katya Reyna, Co-Director of Depave, in Portland, USAProducers: Graihagh Jackson, Ben Cooper and Joyce Liu Mixing: Tom Brignell and Andy Fell Editor: Simon Watts

Is the US economy facing high risk?

Biz Today

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 16, 2024 27:00

The US has released its latest CPI inflation number. How might the Federal Reserve react with its monetary policy? How big a concern is the US national debt level (00:40)?Foxconn is hiring more workers for the world's largest iPhone factory in Henan Province. Why is Apple coming back to China? Why is Apple planning to invest 1 billion yuan to build new business headquarters and a research and development centre in Zhengzhou (16:52)?

Mark Baker, "Pivot of China: Spatial Politics and Inequality in Modern Zhengzhou" (Harvard UP, 2024)

New Books Network

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2024 52:18

China's modern history has been marked by deep spatial inequalities between regions, between cities, and between rural and urban areas. Contemporary observers and historians alike have attributed these inequalities to distinct stages of China's political economy: the dualistic economy of semicolonialism, rural-urban divisions in the socialist period, and capital concentration in the reform era. In Pivot of China: Spatial Politics and Inequality in Modern Zhengzhou (Harvard UP, 2024), Mark Baker shows how different states across twentieth-century China shaped these inequalities in similar ways, concentrating resources in urban and core areas at the expense of rural and regional peripheries. Pivot of China examines this dynamic through the city of Zhengzhou, one of the most dramatic success stories of China's urbanization: a railroad boomtown of the early twentieth century, a key industrial center and provincial capital of Henan Province in the 1950s, and by the 2020s a “National Central City” of almost ten million people. However, due to the spatial politics of resource concentration, Zhengzhou's twentieth-century growth as a regional city did not kickstart a wider economic takeoff in its hinterland. Instead, unequal spatial politics generated layers of inequality that China is still grappling with in the twenty-first century. Huiying Chen is an Assistant Professor in History at Purdue University. She is interested in the circulation of people, goods, and ideas and how societies in history and today cope with the challenges wrought by increased travel in aspects of culture, politics, commerce, law, science, and technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

history china politics modern pivot assistant professor contemporary inequality purdue university spatial mark baker zhengzhou harvard up henan province huiying chen

Mark Baker, "Pivot of China: Spatial Politics and Inequality in Modern Zhengzhou" (Harvard UP, 2024)

New Books in History

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2024 52:18

history china politics modern pivot assistant professor contemporary inequality purdue university spatial mark baker zhengzhou harvard up henan province huiying chen

Mark Baker, "Pivot of China: Spatial Politics and Inequality in Modern Zhengzhou" (Harvard UP, 2024)

New Books in East Asian Studies

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2024 52:18

history china politics modern pivot assistant professor contemporary inequality purdue university spatial mark baker zhengzhou harvard up henan province huiying chen

Mark Baker, "Pivot of China: Spatial Politics and Inequality in Modern Zhengzhou" (Harvard UP, 2024)

New Books in Political Science

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2024 52:18

history china politics modern pivot assistant professor contemporary inequality purdue university spatial mark baker zhengzhou harvard up henan province huiying chen

Mark Baker, "Pivot of China: Spatial Politics and Inequality in Modern Zhengzhou" (Harvard UP, 2024)

New Books in Chinese Studies

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2024 52:18

history china politics modern pivot assistant professor contemporary inequality purdue university spatial mark baker zhengzhou harvard up henan province huiying chen

Mark Baker, "Pivot of China: Spatial Politics and Inequality in Modern Zhengzhou" (Harvard UP, 2024)

New Books in Geography

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2024 52:18

history china politics modern pivot assistant professor contemporary inequality purdue university spatial mark baker zhengzhou harvard up henan province huiying chen

Mark Baker, "Pivot of China: Spatial Politics and Inequality in Modern Zhengzhou" (Harvard UP, 2024)

New Books in Economic and Business History

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2024 52:18

history china politics modern pivot assistant professor contemporary inequality purdue university spatial mark baker zhengzhou harvard up henan province huiying chen

Mark Baker, "Pivot of China: Spatial Politics and Inequality in Modern Zhengzhou" (Harvard UP, 2024)

New Books in Urban Studies

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2024 52:18

history china politics modern pivot assistant professor contemporary inequality purdue university spatial mark baker zhengzhou harvard up henan province huiying chen

英语新闻丨我国144小时过境免签政策适用口岸新增3个

The Straits Times Audio Features

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2024 6:36

China has expanded the implementation of its 144-hour visa-free transit policy to three more entry ports, bringing the total number of such ports to 37, the National Immigration Administration announced on Monday.7月15日，国家移民管理局宣布，新增3个入境口岸实施144小时免签证过境政，目前我国已有37个口岸实施该政策。The entry process for foreign nationals has also been streamlined to facilitate their short-term activities related to tourism, business and family reunions within the country.外国公民的过境进程也得到了简化，以便利他们在国内从事旅游、商务、探亲等短期活动。The three new ports are Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport in Central China's Henan province, and the Lijiang Sanyi International Airport and Mohan railway port in Southwest China's Yunnan province, the administration said in a statement.新增的三个口岸为郑州新郑国际机场、丽江三义国际机场和磨憨铁路口岸。Starting on Monday, eligible foreign nationals can enter China visa-free through the Zhengzhou airport, with their visit and stay limited to Henan.自2024年7月15日起，在河南郑州航空口岸实施144小时过境免签政策，停留范围为河南省行政区域。Those entering China visa-free through Yunnan are allowed to visit nine cities or prefecture-level areas in the province including Kunming, Lijiang, Dali, Yuxi, Pu'er and Xishuangbanna, according to the administration. Previously, foreign nationals could only stay in Kunming.将云南省144小时过境免签政策停留范围由昆明市扩大至昆明、丽江、玉溪、普洱、楚雄、大理、西双版纳、红河、文山等9个市（州）行政区域。而过去，外国公民仅能停留昆明。Foreign nationals from 54 countries, including Austria, Belgium and the Czech Republic, who hold valid international travel documents and onward tickets with confirmed dates and seats are eligible for the 144-hour visa-free transit.来自奥地利、比利时和捷克共和国等54 个国家的外国公民，持有有效的证件和机票，有资格享受 144 小时免签证过境政策。Since its implementation in January 2013, the policy, which was first valid for 72-hour transit and then extended to 144 hours, has played an important role in strengthening China's high-level opening-up efforts, facilitating people-to-people exchanges and promoting international cooperation, the administration said.自2013年1月实施以来，该政策最初有效期为72小时，现已延长至144小时。144小时免签过境政策在加强中国对外开放，促进人文交流和国际合作方面发挥了重要作用。Adding more entry ports to the visa-free transit list will offer foreigners alternative travel options in China, the administration said, adding that it will continue to improve and optimize the policy to welcome foreigners with a more open attitude.移民管理局表示，将增加更多入境口岸以便外国公民在中国旅行，继续改进和优化政策，以更开放的态度欢迎外国公民。China's visa-free transit policy has been hailed across social media platforms, acknowledging its key role in facilitating international travel, dispelling misconceptions and promoting global connectivity.中国的免签证过境政策在不少社交媒体上好评连连，在促进国际旅行、消除对中国的误解和促进全球互联互通方面发挥的关键作用。Robert Willis, from the United Kingdom, said the policy will be very useful to him because he runs a business in China. Previously, Willis had to apply for a two-year multiple-entry visa to visit China. He said the new policy will make his future trips more convenient.来自英国的罗伯特·威利斯（Robert Willis，音译）表示，这项政策对他很有利。由于在中国开了一家公司，最新政策实施前他需要申请为期两年内多次入境签证才能访问中国，免签过境政策将使未来访问中国更加方便。Elena, from Russia, who has visited China twice, said she learned about the policy from her boyfriend, who works in Tianjin.来自俄罗斯的埃琳娜（Elena，音译）曾两次访问中国，她是从在天津工作的男朋友那里了解到这项政策的。The policy will have a positive impact on travelers from 54 countries, enabling them to visit China more often and more easily and to explore new cities and cultures, Elena said, adding that she hopes the duration of visa-free transit would be extended in the future.埃琳娜说，这项政策将使来自54个国家的外国游客更频繁、更轻松地访问中国，探索新的城市和文化，希望未来可以延长免签证过境的时间。In the first half of the year, immigration authorities nationwide recorded around 14.64 million foreign nationals entering China, up 152.7 percent year-on-year. Among these visitors, 8.54 million utilized the visa-free policy, marking a 190.1 percent year-on-year surge.2024年上半年，据出入境管理局记录的外国公民入境中国人数约1464万，同比增长152.7%。其中854万人次使用免签政策，同比增长190.1%。The National Immigration Administration said a surge in foreign visitors is expected in the second half of the year, given the growing enthusiasm for the visa-free transit policy and the swift implementation of various other initiatives.国家移民管理局表示，鉴于对免签证过境政策的热情日益高涨以及其他各种举措的迅速实施，预计今年下半年外国游客将大幅增长。Xu Xiaolei, chief brand officer of Beijing-based CYTS Tours Holding Co, praised the significant impact of the policy in driving inbound tourism, which he said has been particularly evident in recent months.中青旅的首席品牌官徐晓磊称赞该政策在推动入境旅游方面的积极影响，最近几个月尤为明显。The policy has streamlined the entry process, reduced visa costs, and provided greater certainty for foreign travelers wanting to explore China, he said.这项政策简化了入境流程，降低了签证成本，为想要探索中国的外国游客提供了稳定保障。Furthermore, the policy has catalyzed the growth of associated domestic industries, particularly the inbound tourism sector, which has faced tough challenges, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. To expedite the recovery of the sector, government bodies and tourism enterprises have collaborated on innovative solutions, he added.该政策还促进了相关国内产业的发展，特别是入境旅游业，此前该行业面临着严峻的挑战，尤其是在疫情期间。为了加快入境旅游业的复苏，政府机构和旅游企业正合作开发新的解决方案。Xu also emphasized the role of the policy in dispelling misconceptions about China, saying that many visitors who experienced the country firsthand realized how different such experiences are from preconceived notions propagated by the Western media. He underlined the potential of travelers sharing their experiences on social media to counter misinformation more effectively.徐晓磊还强调该政策在消除（外国）对中国的误解方面的作用。许多亲临中国的游客都意识到中国与西方媒体传播的先入为主的观念截然不同。许多外国游客在社交媒体上分享中国旅游的相关经历也帮助更多游客了解真实的中国。"The policy is expanding gradually. ... Yunnan and Henan have their distinct attractions, with Yunnan renowned for its natural beauty and Henan celebrated as a cradle of Chinese culture, blending tradition with modernity. This is enhancing the impact of the policy," he said.徐晓磊称：“免签过境政策持续扩大。云南和河南各有特色，云南以其自然美景而闻名，而河南则被誉为中国文化的摇篮，将传统与现代融为一体。”。Xu stressed the importance of developing tailored inbound tourism products that resonate with foreign visitors, while showcasing Chinese culture and progress. Tailored marketing strategies are deemed essential to bolster China's international tourism standing, he said.开发量身定制的入境旅游套餐既要引起外国游客的共鸣，又要展示中国文化，这点至关重要。针对外国游客量身定制的旅游攻略也能提升中国的国际地位。visa-free transit policyn.免签过境政策

If You Spot These Lights, Don't Wait to Hide

Bright Side

Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2024 12:28

If you see lights above your head, it's a sign to find shelter because there's a risk that drones could fall on you. It's not that you can't enjoy drone shows; just make sure you're not standing directly underneath them. Watching from a distance is safer and often gives you a better view anyway. For example, during a show above a mall in Zhengzhou, drones started falling mid-performance, hitting buildings and vehicles below. So, to stay safe, keep some distance when enjoying these high-tech displays! #brightside Credit: Steve: Elfiehall, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..., https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... NASA Animation is created by Bright Side. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/ Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD... Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook: / brightside Instagram: / brightside.official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.of... Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

music spotify tiktok watching spot lights stock hide bright side cc by sa zhengzhou

Episode #163 - Tu & Lei headed to Shenzhen in a G9, Elon visits Beijing (but not for the show)

China EVs & More

Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2024 72:37 Transcription Available

First, Tu and Lei recorded this episode while driving from Beijing to Shenzhen in an XPeng G9 Performance. XPeng kindly lent it to them for the three day trip where they stopped into Zhengzhou & Changsha before hitting their final stop - Shenzhen.For most of the trip (>90% of the miles which were a total of ~1.5K), they used XPeng's intelligent driving system called X-NGP. The purpose of the trip was to test the X-NGP system and get a feel for the charging infrastructure in China. They also recorded a video of their conversation and posted it to their newly launched YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnQkkMqjpoFs0yHmqmKitNQTu and Lei spend a few minutes talking about Elon's visit and rewind back to just arriving to China and what they've been up to since they arrived. The two also give some of their initial impressions and takes on the auto show. They then move to their trip so far, talk in more detail about the EV they're driving and their experience with charging. **Tu and Lei were NOT paid by XPeng to do the trip and XPeng had no editorial control over anything they posted or said.**The podcast ends with their thoughts on the connected vehicle world bifurcating with the possibility of EV companies needing a tech stack for China and a tech stack for the rest of the world.

china elon musk beijing headed visits ev 5k lei shenzhen zhengzhou changsha

S1E32: Chinese' salve for loneliness: Pay to drink at strangers' homes

Why It Matters

Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2024 14:09

The rise of home bars in cities across China shows how young Chinese are craving for companionship but without having to invest in relationships. Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times chats with ST's correspondents in the Asia-Pacific, the US and Europe, about life as it goes on, amid the screaming headlines and bubbling crises. #family-style bars is now a search term for listings of home bars, not just for first-tier cities Beijing and Shanghai, but also Zhengzhou in central China, Chengdu in the south-west and Hangzhou on the eastern coast. Instead of going to commercial nightspots, young Chinese are looking to spend their free time in the living rooms of strangers' homes, where they pay for drinks, conversations and games. In this episode, ST's foreign editor Li Xueying chats with China correspondent Aw Cheng Wei on why the trend is taking off, and what it says about the Chinese wanting to make connections in a safe and casual environment. Highlights (click/tap above): 3:48 How are home bars different from regular bars? 5:08 Home bars are not meant to make money for some owners 7:00 How home bars are part of China's “da zi” or companion culture 11:50 Chinese youths need for a deeper connection Read Cheng Wei's article here: https://str.sg/iAyf Produced by: Li Xueying (xueying@sph.com.sg) and Fa'izah Sani Edited by: Fa'izah Sani Follow Letter From The Bureau Podcast every first Friday of the month here: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/ Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Read Li Xueying's articles: https://str.sg/iqmR Follow Li Xueying on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/ip4x Read Aw Cheng Wei's articles: https://str.sg/wzce Read ST's Letters From The Bureau: https://str.sg/3xRd Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters --- Discover more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7 The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7 Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE #PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX --- ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa --- Special edition series: True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2 Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa --- Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX #STAsianInsiderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

S1E32: Chinese' salve for loneliness: Pay to drink at strangers' homes

Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2024 14:09

- 126 - Pacific War - Operation Ichi-Go Unleashed , April 16-23, 1944

The Pacific War - week by week

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2024 49:05

Last time we spoke about the defense of India. General Mutaguchi's megalomaniac dream of invading India was tossed into motion. Battles were raging over countless features and against formidable allied boxes such as the Lion Box. Yet Mutaguchi had relied far too heavily on seizing the allied supply depots while promising his subordinate commanders they would have ample supplies for their tasks. Those like General Sato became so angry with their superior they pretty much were acting insubordinate. The effort to take Kohima fully and thrust into India was falling apart battle by battle. Meanwhile within China, General Chennault's 14th air force was causing major problems for the Japanese, forcing them into action. Operation Ichi-Go was formed, a colossal offensive to neutralize airfields and perhaps end the China Problem once and for all. Meanwhile the Royal Navy received some breathing room in the mediterranean sea and were now moving into the Pacific Theater. This episode is Operation Ichi-Go Unleashed Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945. The Imperial Japanese Army, largely because of the losses incurred by the Imperial Japanese Navy and logistical constraints, was virtually powerless to stop the allied advance in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Imperial HQ predicted further losses in early 1944 and General Douglas MacArthur was expecting to sweep up the northern New Guinea coast so he could retake the Philippines. New Guinea was thus seen as a holding operation to delay the allied advance. With its shorter supply line, the Philippines was now being regarded as a good location to block MacArthur's advance towards the home islands. Everyone of course was still waiting for the decisive naval battle. But back on the mainland, the IJA were not dependent on the IJN, their logistical constraints were not the same at all. Hence suddenly in 1944, the IJA decided to unleash incredibly large and bold offensives in Burma, Northern India and of course in China. On New Years day of 1944, Chiang Kai-Shek cabled President FDR warning him that the strategy they and Stalin had agreed on at the Tehran Conference in November of 1943, fully emphasizing the European Front was leaving China open to a major attack. “Before long Japan will launch an all-out offensive against China.” Yet western intelligence disagreed with Chiang Kai-Shek's sentiment. While General Stilwell was completely focused on recapturing Burma, Chiang Kai-Sheks fears were about to be proven correct. In April of 1944, Operation Ichi-Go was launched. It was the largest military operation in Japanese history, it was also a last ditch effort to finally solve the so-called China Problem. It was obvious to the IJA, the IJN were losing the maritime war in the Pacific, thus they were determined to toss the dice in China. If they were successful, overland supply lines from Burma to Korea could be secured. In addition it would be a hell of a bargaining chip when negotiating with the Americans. If they could finally end Chiang Kai-Shek's Kuomintang government, America would be facing the extremely formidable task of having to invade and reconquer China. Of course the immediate war aims were to knock out General Chennault's air force some he would not be able to bomb Formosa or the home islands. Emperor Hirohito recalled in his Dokuhaku Roku, post-war testament “One shred of hope remained—to bash them at Yunnan in conjunction with operations in Burma. If we did that we could deal a telling blow to Britain and America …” By early April General Hata had amassed 62,000 men, 52,000 Japanese and 10,000 collaborationist units alongside 800 tanks, 1550 artillery pieces, 250 aircraft, 15550 motorized vehicles and 100000 horses. This would turn into 150,000 troops, and believe it or not that was the advance guard of a campaign that would eventually involve 500,000 troops. They would be supplied with enough ammunition for two years. The IJA air force amassed 200 bombers with enough fuel for 8 months to support them. Over the next 9 months, battles would be fought over 3 regions, Henan in central China to the east of Nanjing; Hunan and Guangxi in south China east of Hong Kong and Guangdong province and south of the Yangtze River. While Ichi-Go was unleashed, Chiang Kai-Sheks crack troops, the Y-Force based out of Yunan province, alongside Merrill's marauders were busy fighting alongside Stilwell in northern Burma. In spite of the efforts to keep Ichi-Go secret, during early 1944, the Chinese began fortifying their defenses and redeployed troops on a large scale to strengthen their frontlines. Chiang Kai-Shek knew something was coming, but his commanders believed a large-scale Japanese offensive in China was impossible by this point of the war. The Japanese began carrying out a heavy bombardment campaign, targeting Henyang, Guilin, Chongqing and against the heavy concentration of Chinese troops advancing in the Yangtze river area. The aerial attacks greatly hampered the KMT's logistical lines. The Chinese reacted by unleashing their frontline artillery, destroying the Bawangcheng bridge on March 25th. The Japanese hastily went to work repairing the bridge as Lt General Uchiyama Eitaro's 12th army would need to cross as pertaining to Operation Kogo. Kogo was the first phase of the battle aimed at opening the Pinghan Railway that ran from Beijing to northern Wuhan. South of Beijing is the Yellow River, that runs southwest to east. Uchiyama's plan was initially to cross the Yellow River and secure the Zhengzhou area before driving south towards the Luohe area, where the Japanese would ultimately prepare for a drive towards Luoyang. On the night of April 17th, the main part of the 37th division crossed the Yellow River and advanced towards Zhongmu. The Japanese rapidly penetrated the defenders positions, taking them by surprise. Three KM's in front of Zhongmu, they waited for the 7th independent Mixed Brigade to follow up behind them. The 7th Independent Mixed Brigade had crossed the Yellow River at the same time as the 37th Division, attacking the flank of the enemy facing the crossing point of the main body of the Brigade. Shortly after dawn the main body of the Brigade began crossing the river at a point near the left flank of the 37th Division. On the 19th, part of the 37th Division attacked Zhangzhou, completely routing the Chinese defenders while the bulk of the Division advanced towards Lihezhen. Meanwhile the 110th Division advanced upon Bawangcheng with the 62nd Division and 9th Independent Brigade following behind them. The 62nd Division was accompanied by the 3rd Armored Division and 4th Cavalry Brigade, setting out for Luohe with their tank support. The 110th División continued their advance towards Micunzhen, capturing the town by the 24th. On that same day the 9th Independent Brigade seized Sishuizhen, but would be unable to break through the 177th Division's defenses. After a breakthrough was made at Zhengzhou, the 3rd armored division and 4th cavalry Brigades tanks advanced past the infantry to puncture the Chinese formations, forcing a quick rout. Meanwhile the 62nd Division, 37th Division and 7th Brigade reached the east-west line of Lihezhen and prepared for an assault on Xuchang. The Chinese simply were unable to respond to this. Chiang Kai-Shek and his commanders assumed this was a punitive expedition and that the Japanese would sooner or later turn back as they had always done in the past. As such, only the 15th and 29th Armies were sent to reinforce Xuchang to contain the Japanese offensive. Yet on the other hand, Uchiyama had also decided to divert his tanks and cavalry northwest, preparing for the future attack on Luoyang. On the 30th, Uchiyama's forces began attacking Xuchang, shattering the Chinese defenses at extreme speed and fully occupying the city by May 1st. The 62nd Division encountered the 15th and 29th Armies at Yingqiaozhen, battering them so heavily, the Chinese were unable to reinforce the vital railway. Two infantry battalions and one field artillery battalion of the 37th Division and the 27th Division departed Xuchang to continue marching south in order to re-open the Beijing-Hankou railway. The North China Area Army estimated that Tang Enbo would assemble his main force near Yehhsien, planning to advance to Yencheng and then wheel to the northwest in order to capture this force. However, the main force of the 31st Army Group of General Tang Enbo turned its advance to the north. The Area Army, therefore, changed its plan and decided to turn toward Loyang directly after the capture of xuchang, rather than to wait until Yencheng was captured. Yet we will have to wait until next week to find out what happens to General Tang Enbo's forces as we are now traveling over to Burma. Don't worry Operation Ichi-Go is just starting. After the capture of Walawbum in early March, General Stilwell ordered Merrill's Marauders to perform a wide envelopment, to cut the Kamaing Road behind General Tanaka's 18th Division while the 22nd Division with tank support drove down the Kamaing Road from the north. Two Marauder battalions led by Lt Colonel Charles Hunter set out on March 12th, reaching Janpan 4 days later. Once there they received new orders from Stilwell to head south through the hills along the Warong trail, then make their way to Kamaian to block the road at Inkangahtawng. Meanwhile Merrills 1st battalion and their Chinese allies were facing strong enemy resistance. From bivouac areas in the hills northeast of Shaduzup, on the Kamaing Road, the 1st Battalion of the 5307th, followed by the 113th Regiment, moved out on the morning of 13 March to put the northern clamp across the Kamaing Road just south of the Jambu Bum, in the vicinity of Shaduzup. I & R Platoons followed some fresh footprints into an enemy bivouac and stirred up a hornet's nest of Japanese. There was brisk skirmishing, and though the Americans managed to cross the Numpyek Hka just beyond, the Japanese had been alerted and proceeded to delay them expertly. Lieutenant-Colonel William Osborne, commander of the 1st Battalion, decided to cut a fresh trail around the Japanese. This was painfully slow business, and waiting for an airdrop took another day. On 22 March, when Colonel Hunter to the south was one day's march from his goal, aggressive patrolling by Red Combat Team revealed that the Japanese had blocked every trail in the area through which Osborne had to pass, so again Osborne elected to make his own trail, this time over ground so rough that the mules had to be unloaded. The maneuver succeeded, and no Japanese were seen on 23 or 24 March. Osborne's march would have been greatly aided had he known Tilly's Kachin Rangers were in the same general area. By March 22nd they reached Hpouchye. Additionally the 22nd Division and Colonel Browns tanks had been halling it through the Jambu Bum, making slow progress against heavy enemy resistance because of a lack of tank-infantry coordination. It was difficult to coordinate infantry and tank action, because the tankers found it hard to distinguish their countrymen from the Japanese. A few such cases of mistaken identity and the 22nd's men were understandably reluctant to get too close to the tanks. I remember a circumstance in WW1, when the IJA were laying siege to the German concession of Tsingtao. There was a small British force sent to aid the Japanese and so much friendly firing occurred, the IJA forced the Brits to wear their greatcoats to distinguish them from the Germans. So you know, it happens. By March 20th, Stilwell's forces crossed the ridge, reaching Hkawnglaw Hka, but yet again the lack of tank-infantry coordination led them to pull back. Once over the Jambu Bum, the 22nd found the road down to be mined and blocked with fallen trees. Two days were lost in clearing the road, and then three battalions made a frontal attack, guiding on the road. Next day they tried a co-ordinated tank-infantry attack and the leading tank platoon reached the Hkawnglaw Hka about four miles south of Jambu Bum, destroying a few machine guns and taking four antitank pieces. But the infantry would not follow the tanks and dug in two miles short of the stream. The tanks patrolled till dark, then fell back to their own lines. Over in the east, Hunter's men departed Janpan and reached Inkangahtawng on March 23rd, setting up two road blocks. Hunter sent out patrols and quickly discovered Kamaing was wide open, yet the delay of Stilwell's others units would force General Merril to deny any attempts to attack south. Tanaka's reaction to the roads blocks were pretty intense. Beginning on he 24th, vigorous Japanese counterattack followed on another. The Morita Unit, about two companies strong were a hastily assembled force drawn from a battalion gun platoon, an engineer company, a medical company, and division headquarters; they were given two 75-mm. guns, placed under command of the 18th Division's senior adjutant, and rushed south to Inkangahtawng. Tanaka also ordered the 2nd battalion, 114th Regiment over at Kamaing to attack north along the Kumon Range. The attacks were so intense, Hunter's men were forced to pull back to the Manpin Area by March 24th. Meanwhile, Merrill's 1st Battalion advanced to Chengun Hka, placing them really close to Tanaka's headquarters at Shaduzup. To the north, the 64th and 66th Regiments managed to link up, but the relentless Chinese assaults continued to fail against the tenacious defenders costing the attackers many tanks and lives. It was the 2nd battalion, 66th's turn to lead on 21 March. Again the tanks got well ahead of the infantry. A combination of ambush and counterattack by the Japanese cost five tanks, and then the Japanese came on up the road, almost overrunning the battalion headquarters, which was saved by the courage of two engineer platoons that had been clearing the road. That night the 1st battalion, 64th, which had been making the enveloping move, came in from the east and cut the Kamaing Road, right in the segment held by the Japanese. A tank attack on the 23rd found Japanese antitank guns just south of a small stream north of the Hkawnglaw Hka that prevented the tanks from outflanking the position. The guns knocked out the three lead tanks in quick succession, blocking the road. After heavy fighting at the stream crossing, the tanks finally had to withdraw, leaving the derelicts. In the afternoon the two flanking battalions made their way up the road and joined the 66th. Unfortunately, the meeting of the 64th and 66th Regiments did not signal the end of Japanese resistance. Japanese and Chinese positions on the road were thoroughly intermingled, making movement in the immediate area extremely hazardous. An attempt to break the deadlock with the tanks failed when the device chosen to identify the Chinese infantry backfired. Both the Chinese and the Japanese waved white cloths at the tanks. The armor moved blithely on into a nest of Japanese antitank men, who destroyed five tanks with magnetic mines, effectively blocking the road. General Liao, the 22nd Division's commander, now cut a bypass road for the tanks around his west right flank. A tank platoon tried it, could not cross a ravine improperly prepared for tank crossing, came under artillery fire, and had to be withdrawn. General Liao then committed his 65th Regiment to the main attack, applying immense pressure, prompting Tanaka to order his frontline regiments to withdraw 10 kilometers. On March 28th, Merrill's 1st Battalion established themselves along the Nam Kawng Chaung on the Japanese rear, from where they would be able to attack Tanaka's headquarters. Surprised, the Japanese chose to bypass the roadblock and evacuated their position via a track to the west. This resulted in Japanese resistance softening up, allowing the 65th Regiment to secure Shaduzup by March 29. At the same time, Hunter's encircled Marauders were fiercely resisting the enemy attacks at Nhpum Ga, with his 3rd Battalion subsequently taking up positions at the Hsamshingyang airstrip to the north. The men were extremely fatigued, facing constant marches, dysentery, malaria and malnutrition. They fought on for 5 days under constant attack, successfully pushing back the relentless Japanese assaults. On its hilltop the garrison, though suffering no shortage of food or ammunition, aside from the monotony of diet which was itself a hardship, suffered from an acute shortage of water. There were no plaster casts for the wounded, and they took their sulfadiazine dry. The pack animals could not be protected from the Japanese fire. When dead, their carcasses could not be buried, and the stench and the carrion flies added more miseries to the battle. Sergeant Matsumoto, who had played an important part at Walawbum, was a pillar of strength to the garrison, constantly scouting between the lines, overhearing Japanese conversations, and informing Colonel McGee accordingly. On one occasion, when Matsumoto learned of plans to surprise a small salient at dawn, the Americans drew back their lines, booby-trapping the abandoned foxholes. Punctually the Japanese attacked, straight into the massed fire of the waiting Americans. Throwing themselves into the foxholes for cover, they set off the booby traps. Matsumoto completed the debacle by screaming "Charge!" in Japanese, causing a supporting platoon to throw itself on the American guns. An ailing General Merrill would be evacuated to Ledo, leaving Colonel Hunter to assume formal command of the Galahad Unit. He then sent his 3rd Battalion to counterattack, unsuccessfully attempting to clear the trail as the Japanese repelled all his assaults. Finally on April 4th, Hunter got a breakthrough. The Japanese were believed to be moving ever more troops up the Tanai and it was believed that the 1st Battalion, which had been ordered to aid, would not arrive for four more days at least. Hunter's reaction was to attack on the 4th with everyone but the sick and the mule skinners, with his large patrols called in and Kachins used to replace them. A fake fight, using carbines, which sounded like the Arisaka rifle, was staged to deceive the Japanese, and the air support made three passes at them. The first two were genuine, the last a feint which made the Japanese take cover, only to come out and find the American infantry on them. Hunter's force gained that day and came within 1,000 yards of the besieged. About this same time Capt. John B. George and a small party, sent north by Hunter to find the Chinese regiment which Hunter understood would support him in this area, met the 1st battalion, 112th regiment at Tanaiyang, about eight miles northeast. After an interval, presumably used to obtain permission to do so, its commander moved toward Hsamshingyang. His first element arrived at the airfield on 4 April and was used to guard a trail junction. Despite this increasing pressure the Japanese made a very heavy attack on the Nhpum Ga garrison, actually reaching the foxholes at one point, and being driven out by two soldiers using hand grenades. Over the next few days, the Marauders were reinforced by the 112th regiment and Merrill's 1st battalion, allowing Hunters men to crawl closer and closer to Nhpum Ga. By Easter Sunday, the Japanese vanished, leaving cooking fires and equipment. There was no pursuit, as Stilwell wanted no movement beyond Nhpum Ga as they were facing large supply issues at this time. The battalion of the 114th made its way to Myitkyina, where General Tanaka, anxious about the town, added it to the garrison. The 1st Battalion, 55th Regiment, however, withdrew towards the vicinity of Warong. The Marauders had suffered 59 deaths and 314 wounded during the Inkangahtawn roadblock engagement and the siege of Nhpum Ga. The Galahad Unit and 114th regiment suffered so heavily from exhaustion, the men would be very weakened for future engagements. Further to the south, Stilwell was concerned about the recently offensives aimed at Imphal and Kohima, but he was relieved somewhat, when at the Jorhat conference of April 3, attended by Slim, Lentaigne, Stilwell and Mountbatten, he was told the situation was under control and for him to continue his northern offensive. During the conference, Slim also notified the others he had decided to divert the Chindits 14th and 111th Brigades, further south to help out his 4th Corps. However Brigadiers Fergusson and Calvert argued strongly against it, not wanting to get tangled up in the battle for Imphal. Calvert instead wanted to preserve White City and Broadway whilst Fergusson wanted another attempt at Indaw. The Chindits were still formally under the command of Stilwell in May and he wanted them to hold firm at Indaw to prevent the flow of Japanese reinforcements going north. It was estimated the Chindists could endure roughly 90 days of this action and would need to pull out my mid-June. This estimation did not sit well with Stilwell. General Lentaigne wanted to abandon the strongholds around Indaw and move north closer to Stilwell's forces. Therefore, Calvert's brigade would be prepared to open the drive to the town of Mogaung by attacking Mohnyin. Before this could occur, General Hayashi would initiated a general attack against White City on the night of April 6. The attack began with a three hour artillery bombardment, then the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 4th Regiment; and 3rd battalion, 114th Regiment stormed Calvert's defenses. When the shelling died away, Hayashi's three infantry battalions attempting to punch a hole along the southeast perimeter of the stronghold, defended by the Lancashire Fusiliers, Gurkhas, and other West Africans of the 6th Nigerian Regiment. Secure behind a row of machine guns with a line of mortars behind them, the defenders opened fire. Bullets and projectiles whipped through the air, the bright flashes of tracers lending an ethereal air to the proceedings. Rounds poured into the attacking Japanese who began to suffer heavy casualties. Determined bands of Japanese brought up Bangalore torpedoes to destroy the wire, but all malfunctioned. The battle went on for most of the night. The Chindits fought like lions throughout the night and managed to toss back numerous enemy attacks. Then to their dismay 27 IJA medium bombers appeared, blowing holes in the wire. The Bofors engaged them, shot down six and claimed six probables. Desperate efforts were made to repair the defenses before the next attack came in. White City received over 100,000 yards of barbed wire and 600 50ft coils of Dannert wire. The wire was 20 yards thick in places and festooned with mines and booby-traps. Dakotas continued to pour reinforcements into White City. The transport planes were relegated to flights during dawn and dusk times, but they kept coming, concentrating reinforcements at White City. Fresh companies of troops materialized to take up station, until in the words of Lt. Norman Durant of the South Staffords, the place was a “complete babel, for it contained British troops, West Africans, Chinese, Burmans, a New Zealand RAF officer, Indians, and an American Neisei who acted as interpreter, or better said interrogator of prisoners. Large groups of West Africans from the 7th and 12th Nigerians landed, filling out the columns and battalions already at White City. As the planes continued to bring in reinforcements, Calvert managed to muster roughly seven battalions in and around “White City” against Hayashi. Over the next few nights, Calvert's defenders continued to repel Hayashi's attacks, until he was finally relieved by Brigadier Abdy Rickett's 3rd West African Brigade on April 10th. This allowed Calvert to lead a strike force against Hayashi's HQ at Mawlu from the south. While the Japanese continued their onslaught of White City, Calvert's strike force advanced to Thayaung, before effortlessly seizing Sepein on the 13th. Then the 7th Nigerians fell upon Mawlu, prompting the HQ staff to flee south in a rout. With Mawlu now in their hands, the Nigerians soon found themselves under heavy fire, pinned down for the next four hours under relentless Japanese firing and dive-bombing by Japanese aircraft that put in a surprise appearance. Soon, the Gurkhas at Sepein also reported that they were under fire from the main Japanese positions at the edge of the village, hidden under mounds of flowering lantana scrubs. The sight was inordinately beautiful and lethal, concealing hordes of Japanese infantry, whose gunfire twinkled through the red, yellow, purple and green of the scrub. Three Gurkha ground attacks failed to dislodge the defenders and the men were becoming dispirited. Calvert decided to withdraw. As dusk settled at Mawlu, Vaughn began to pull his troops out of Mawlu and under the cover of a mortar barrage, taking with him a large collection of vital documents and an even larger trove of Japanese ceremonial swords and military equipment, which would serve as presents for Air Commando and RAF aircrews at White City. While this was going on, Brigadier Brodies 14th Brigade were advancing to the Wuntho-Indaw railway where they managed to successfully attack the main bridge close to the Bonchaung Station, interdicting the 15th Division's lines of communication. To the northeast, Morris Force captured Myothit on April 9 and then continued to set up ambushes on the Bhamo-Lashio Road. Back at White City, Calvert decided to try and get behind the enemy from the flanks and hit them from the rear, pinning them against the stronghold's wire. On the night of April 16, the Nigerians prepared an ambush on the Mawlu-Henu road, subsequently killing 42 Japanese. Yet realizing his strike force had trapped 2000 Japanese, Calvert ordered his men to infiltrate forward while the West Africans at White City launched an attack. This was met by a vicious and chaotic Japanese response as Hayashi's men tried to break free. During these actions its estimated the Japanese suffered 700 casualties while Calvert suffered 70 men dead with 150 wounded. The last Japanese attack against White City occurred on April 17th. After this Calvert felt he could hold White City indefinitely, but Lentaigne was concerned with the looming monsoon season, so he ordered White City and Broadway to be abandoned on May 3rd in favor of a new stronghold codenamed Blackpool. The site chosen for Blackpool originally codenamed “Clydeside” was a stretch of hilly ground by the railway, near the village of Namkwin, some 32 km southwest of Mogaung. There was water and suitable places to build an airstrip and deploy the 25-pdr artillery guns when they got them. Beyond a large tract of paddy was a hill, which the troops christened “Blackpool Hill” which curved like the sharp-spined back of a wild boar, with the head down, fore-arms and legs extended sideways. The Blackpool position effectively blocked the railway and main road at Hopin, drawing closer to Stilwells forces. The 11th Brigade had already been dispatched to the north to establish Blackpool. The now rested 16th Brigade managed to capture the Indaw West airfield by April 27th, facing no opposition. Ferguson noted, “This second approach to Indaw was an anti-climax, and for two reasons. First, just before we went in we were told that even if we captured the airfield of Indaw West, no troops, no divisions would be available from India for flying in: all hands and the cook, it seemed, were tied up in the great battle for Manipur. We were to capture the field for two or three days and then to abandon it…. Secondly, it was early apparent that the birds had flown. The Queen's got right on to the airfield without a shot being fired.” Lentaigne also decided to abandon the Aberdeen stronghold, evacuating Ferguson's men along with other units. Meanwhile, by the end of April, the Joint Chiefs of Staff had also decided that capture of Myitkyina was of vital importance to increase the Hump tonnage. This of course was heavily influenced by the new opportunity for land-based bombers in Chinese airfields to bomb Formosa, the Ryukyu islands, the philippines and the eastern Chinese coast. Now to capture the Moguang-Myitkyina area, Stilwell would receive the Ramgarh-trained 30th Division,the 50th and 14th Divisions, all of which were airlifted over the Hump in April. Stilwell's plan was to drive down the Mogaung valley on Kamaing with such vigor as to persuade General Tanaka that this was the principal effort. The final directive on the 23rd, was for the 22nd Division to attack, rather than hold, and to swing the 64th and 65th Regiments around General Tanaka's left flank, while the 66th Regiment fought down the road. Once again the 112th was told to block off Kamaing from the south. The orders directed the "22nd and 38th to be in Pakhren and Lawa areas by April 27. As Stillwell would remark in his diary “Now I've shot my wad,". Meanwhile the Marauder-Chinese force, now codenamed End Run would sneak east over the Kumon Range to attack Myitkyina directly. Tanaka's mission at this point was to hold Kamaing with all his strength until the rainy season while the 53rd Division, led by Lieutenant-General Kono Etsujiro moved to reinforce him. Elements of the 53rd Division began to sprinkle into the Indaw Area, but the Japanese HQ for northern Burma, from the newly activated 33rd Army led by Lt General Honda Masaki could not decide to commit them towards either Kamaiang or Myitkyina. Thus Tanaka's hopes for a counterattack were lost. Tanaka received two understrength regiments, the 146th and 4th in April and May, both of whom had suffered terrible losses against the Chindits the previous month. By mid-April General Sun's 38th Division was assembling in front of Tingring with the 114th regiment locked down in a fight with Tanaka's 55th regiment. After a visit to the Sun's command post on April 11th, Stilwell wrote in his diary: "At least it looks like a start! The piled-up inertia is terrible. . . ." On the next day the 114th Regiment relieved the 113th on the line of three villages all named Tingring. This move placed the 114th and 112th in line, the 112th to the east forming with its lines a small salient about Nhpum Ga. The 114th Regiment was operating in rugged terrain which was almost as much an obstacle as the delaying positions directly about Kamaing defended so skillfully by the Japanese. On at least one occasion the 114th lost its way and had to be located by aerial reconnaissance. The battle raged so heavily, it forced the 55th regiment to pull back, while the 114th regiment fought a Japanese rearguard from Hill 1725. By April 20th, they finally secured Tingring and quickly began a march south. On April 23, Stilwell ordered Liao to commence the drive south from Warazup, with the 22nd Division trying to make their way along Tanaka's extreme left flank. The Chinese forces were advancing slowly however, very apprehensive because Chiang Kai-Shek had ordered Generals Sun and Liao to be as cautious as possible. And that is all for today on the Burma front as we now need to jump over to New Guinea. The last time we were talking about New Guinea, General Shoge's 239th regiment at Madang were getting ready to cover the continued Japanese retreat to Hansa and Wewak. On the other side, General Vasey's men were in hot pursuit. To the east, the 58th/59th battalion and Shoge's 3rd Battalion were patrolling extensively in the Bonggu-Melamu area, playing a sort of game of hide and seek. Several patrols just missed one another in the Wenga, Barum, Damun, Rereo and Redu areas. There were also several clashes. For instance, on March 26, reports from local natives and police boys indicated that the Japanese were again approaching Barum, which had become the main trouble area, from the direction of Damun just to the north. Both sides engaged one another with fire, particularly mortar bombs, but the brush was a cursory one with neither side gaining any advantage. Exchange of fire and a few sporadic attacks by the Japanese continued for about five hours from 5 p.m. While Corporal Tremellen, in the leading section, was moving among his weapon-pits, with a Bren gun in his left hand and two magazines in his right, he was attacked but, not being able to bring his Bren into action, he bashed the Japanese over the head with the Bren magazines. This Japanese thus had the distinction of probably being the only one to be killed by the Bren magazine rather than what was inside it. This would all last until April 11th, when the Japanese had finally withdrawn back to Madang. To the west, the 57/60th Battalion departed from Kwato on April 5 to rapidly secure Aiyau. From there they immediately sending patrols towards the Bogadjim Plantation. At this point, however, General Morshead had finally decided that it was time for Vasey's 7th Division to get some rest, so General Boase's 11th Division would assume responsibility for all units in the Ramu Valley and the Finisterres on April 8. Over at Atherton, General Herring had also retired in February, so General Savige had been appointed to command his 1st Corps. When recommending Savige's appointment Blarney had written to the Minister for the Army: “Two officers have been considered for this vacancy, Major-General S. G. Savige and Major-General G. A. Vasey. Both have been very successful in command in New Guinea operations, and I have some difficulty in determining the recommendations to be submitted, since each is capable and very worthy of advancement to higher responsibilities. Having regard to their respective careers, however, I recommend that Major-General S. G. Savige be appointed.” The significance of Blameys final sentence is a matter for speculation. It could hardly refer to past careers since Vasey's experience in command was wider than that of Berryman, a contemporary who had recently become a corps commander, and no less than Savige's. Alongside this Blamey also decided to do a changeover of corps HQ, seeing Savige take over 2nd Corps in the New Guinea front On April 10, the 57/60th then managed to break through the Japanese bridge positions to the high ground beyond at Bau-ak while patrols reconnoitered Bwai on the Gori River. The attack on the 10th on the enemy position at Bridge 6—two step heavily-timbered spurs running down from each side of the Ioworo River and making a defile was described by Hammer as "a textbook operation and in actual fact it developed perfectly " . One platoon advanced down the road to "fix" the enemy positions while the remainder of the company encircled the enemy position to come in from the high ground to the north . In the first encounter the leading platoon lost two men killed and two wounded. While it engaged the enemy with fire the rest of the company with Lieutenant Jackson's platoon in the lead clambered into position and , later in the day, clashed with the enemy in a garden area on one of the spurs. For a while the Japanese held on, but the pressure of the Australians and the accurate fire from Private Hillberg's Bren in an exposed position in the enemy's rear forced them to withdraw . Towards dusk an Australian patrol moved down a track towards the road where a small Japanese band was found to be still resisting with machine-gun fire . The Australians did not attack for they were sure that the enemy would disappear during the night. As expected there were no signs of the Japanese next morning at Bridge 6 only bloody bandages and bloodstains on the tracks to remind the Australians of yesterday's fight. McCall occupied the area and sent patrols forward to Bau-ak, the last high ground overlooking Bogadjim. Two days later, Brigadier Hammer sent strong patrols forward to Bogadjim and Erima, which found no enemy resistance in front and managed to secure both important hubs by April 15. At this point, while the 18th Brigade began to be evacuated back to Australia, Brigadier Hammer decided to withdraw the 58th/59th Battalion and the 2/2nd Commando Squadron, as the 57/60th would be the only one to continue the advance to Madang. On April 17, however, General MacArthur instructed Savige that a brigade from General Ramsay's 5th Division should relieve the 32nd Division at Saidor in preparation for the Hollandia-Aitape operation's, so the 8th Brigade and portions of the 30th Battalion would be flown to Saidor five days later. Thus the 300 odd troops were carried over to Bogadjim as Savige ordered the 15th BRigade to rest up and for the 30th battalion to take Madang. Hammer was anxious to get there first, so he had immediately dispatched patrols to Amele and Madang on April 20th. Shoge was able to fully evacuate Madang and join his comrades as they fled for Hansa. Amele was secured by the 24th, but the Australians would find it very difficult to cross the Gogol River afterwards. After this the 30th battalion and Hammer's patrols landed at Ort and resumed their advance. Both units cleared the Japanese from the Huon Peninsula, before entering an abandoned Madang. During the Australian advance an enemy mountain gun fired a dozen shells, and there was a sudden burst of machine-gun fire and a couple of grenade explosions from somewhere in the Wagol area. The machine-gun fire did not appear to be directed at the Australians and the shells from the gun landed out to sea. In all probability this was the final defiant gesture by the rearguard of the 18th Army as it left its great base of Madang which had been in Japanese hands since 1942. Madang had been heavily hit by Allied air attacks and possibly some demolitions had been carried out by the retreating Japanese. The airfield was cratered and temporarily unserviceable; the harbor was littered with wrecks, but although the two wharves were damaged they could be repaired and Liberty ships could enter the harbor. The Australian advance through the Markham, Ramu and Faria Valleys was a tremendous ordeal. The 7th division suffered between September 18, 1943 and April 8, 1944 204 killed and 464 wounded while it was estimated the Japanese suffered 800 killed, 400 wounded and 800 died from disease. The occupation of Madang ended the Huon Peninsula and Ramu Valley campaigns. Meanwhile, the remainder of the 5th Division assembled at the Madang-Bogadjim area, fanning out patrols to the west and sending small detachment of the 30th Battalion to land on small islands off the coast, preparing a future advance against Alexishafen. Shoge's detachment rejoined its parent division, the the 41st Division over at the Hansa area, allowing General Katagiri's 20th Division to continue their advance to Wewak. The 51st Division who had already arrived at Wewak got to watch the allied airshow as Hansa and Wewak we bombed without mercy, seeing countless barges destroyed. This would hamper Katagiri's efforts to cross the Ramu and Sepik Rivers. Meanwhile General Nakai came across an alternative route in late April known as the Wangan-Garun–Uru-Kluk-Bien-Marienburg-Kaup route. This allowed the 20th Division to resume their march to Wewak. On April the 29th a barge carrying Katagiri was intercepted by a PT boat. General Katagiri was killed in the engagement, leaving Nakai to assume formal command of the Division. After May 1, the 41st Division then began to follow Nakai's route across the river, with all Japanese units leaving Hansa by May 15th and finally arriving at Wewak at the end of May after a 20-day movement. Meanwhile General Adachi's plan for the coming weeks of April was for the 20th Division to immediately head towards Aitape, while the 51st Division would reinforce Hollandia once the 41st Division had reached Wewak. As such, a force was created around the 66th regiment led by Major-General Kawakubo. They were dispatched on April 19th, but would fail to arrive on time and would have to turn back to defend Wewak. Additionally, Adachi personally sent a part of his units under direct command to reinforce Hollandia. Now after the neutralization of Hollandia and the Palaus, General Teramoto's remaining air units would have to move over to Manado and Genjem on April 15th, leaving only 25 serviceable aircraft from Major-General Inada Masazumi's 6th Air Division at Hollandia. After April 3rd, although plagued by bad weather, the 5th Air Force virtually owned the air over Hollandia. There would be only one resurgence of air opposition, on April 11th. The Japanese 14th Air Brigade staged a small fighter force to Wewak which, despite the loss of a Tony to the 8th Fighter Squadron, shot down three P-47s of the 311th Fighter Squadron, a new organization that had lately arrived from the United States and had only begun operations at Saidor on April 7. The enemy force perhaps had withdrawn to Hollandia by the next day, because some twenty enemy fighters pounced on a straggling B-24 there and shot it down. Aerial gunners of the 403rd Bombardment Squadron claimed destruction of one of the interceptors, and the 80th Fighter Squadron claimed eight others destroyed. In this action, Captain Richard I. Bong scored his twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh aerial victories, thus topping the score of twenty-six victories established by Rickenbacker in World War I. Promoted the same day to major, Bong was taken out of combat and returned to the United States on temporary duty at the suggestion of General Arnold, who feared adverse reaction among younger pilots if Bong were to be lost in combat after establishing such a record. Three were also small night attacks, combining 5th Air Force Liberators with Navy PB4Y's and Catalinas, made against Wakde Island during the early morning hours of 6, 13, and 16 April. These attacks seem to have been more profitable than similar missions against the Sentani airfields, probably because Wakde was only a small island easily identified by radar and so jammed with military objectives that a hit anywhere would be damaging. A captured Japanese diary recorded that the 6 April raid killed eleven men, destroyed a barracks, cratered the runway in five places, and destroyed or severely damaged ten planes. A daylight attack against Wakde by seven squadrons of Liberators was scheduled for 6 April, but weather forced its cancellation. The 24th and 41st Divisions were also carrying out their last rehearsals for Operation Reckless. Allied ground and amphibious forces had been engaged in final preparations and training for the coming assault and, on 8, 9, and 10 April, had undertaken last rehearsals. The 24th Division's rehearsal at Taupota Bay, on the coast of New Guinea south of Goodenough Island, was incomplete. Little unloading was attempted, and the area selected did not permit the employment of naval gunfire support. The 41st Division had a more satisfactory rehearsal, with realistic unloading and naval fire, near Lae, New Guinea. The Final loading began on April 10th, with the LCIs leaving their loading points six days later in order to allow the troops aboard to disembark at the Admiralty Islands for a day of exercising, resting, and eating. Ships carrying the Persecution Task Force, meanwhile, moved out of the Finschhafen area on April 18 and on the same day rendezvoused with the vessels bearing the 41st Division towards the Admiralties. All convoys under Admiral Barbey then moved north around the eastern side of the Admiralties and, at 7:00 on April 20th, the various troops assembled at a rendezvous point northwest of Manus Island. Thus, all seemed ready for the beginning of another amphibious assault. 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 Imperial Japanese Army tossed a final hail mary attempt to improve the war situation with the grand Ichi-Go offensive. If they could manage to seize their objectives, this would perhaps give them a better hand at the negotiating table. Because the allies certainly would not be keen on having to liberate most of China, it was a very bold strategy.

united states america american australia china japan americans british chinese australian german japanese kings army south fresh broadway sun hong kong britain bridge charge large philippines korea minister secure air force pacific battles operation hammer elements beijing exchange ort desperate lt nigerians ferguson throwing determined indians surprised unleashed hunters wuhan joseph stalin slim corps ships hq rounds brits franklin delano roosevelt vaughn divisions capt bullets aberdeen brigades osborne allied bau west african bangalore burma promoted mccall generals aerial bong macarthur blackpool ww1 armies divisi hump royal navy battalion joint chiefs markham tanaka calvert solomon islands redu regiment marauders atherton new guinea kogo formosa dakotas white city liao nanjing hayashi yunnan ichi hansa northern india douglas macarthur manipur guangdong opium wars matsumoto chongqing ledo pacific war hunan henan berryman yangtze pacific theater kmt stilwell fergusson zhengzhou yangtze river yunan manus island blarney rickenbacker liberators guangxi kuomintang yellow river adachi lae fighter squadron mountbatten ramu regiments armored division battalions gurkhas general macarthur chiang kai shek imperial japanese navy imperial japanese army vasey manado nakai emperor hirohito tsingtao imphal end run ijn guilin ryukyu hollandia kohima lawa bofors luoyang lcis katagiri loyang craig watson tanai army group jorhat myitkyina

- 125 - Pacific War - Defense of India , April 9-16, 1944

The Pacific War - week by week

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2024 40:00

Last time we spoke about the battle for Kohima and the mop up of the Admiralty islands. The battle for Kohima led to battles raging over the Kohima Ridge. At one point only 2500 allied defenders were facing nearly 15,000 Japanese. Numerous features fell to the Japanese top Kohima ridge. The Japanese were taking heavy casualties while pushing the defenders close to Kohima. A decisive moment presented itself, the Japanese had an open shot against Dimapur. However, mostly because of animosity towards General Mutaguchi the chance to deliver a kill blow was lost. If Dimapur had been taken, it may have changed the entire Burma War. Over in the Admiralty Islands, Los Negros and Manus were finally all mopped up and now the allies had forward airfields to further smash the inner Japanese perimeter. General MacArthurs triumphant return to the Philippines was on its way. This episode is the Defense of India Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945. Last we spoke, General Mutaguchi had initiated a grand offensive against Kohima. General Slim, knew the seizure of Kohima would be attempted only in conjunction with the seizure of the much more important target, Dimapur. It was at Dimapur where an enormous allied supply dump lied over the Ledo-Imphal line, it was the hub for which all allied activity in the region revolved. If Dimapur fell, the province of Manipur would be impossible to defend and the Brahmaputra valley would be interdicted thus cutting off all overland supply to China. To everyone's shock the Japanese instead invested an entire division to attack Kohima. Slim thought this was a enormous blunder on the part of General Sato Kotoku, going as far as to ask the RAF not to bomb the Generals HQ as “it never struck him that he could inflict terrible damage on us without taking Kohima at all”. In truth it was not really Sato at fault, it was more so upon his superior General Kawabe Mazakazu who did not trust nor like Mutaguchi and rightly suspected the man's megalomaniac plan to invade India. Thus Mutaguchi's Operation U-Go, the intended invasion of India saw the 33rd and 15th divisions closing in on Imphal by the end of March as the 31st Division attacked Kohima. General Cowan's 17th Division was able to effectively retreat to Imphal by April 4th, with the 49th Brigade acting as rearguard. Meanwhile General Yanagida had just replenished ammunition and provisions after the battle at Tonzang and now ordered the 214th and 215th Regiments to resume their advance. Colonel Sasahara Masahiko's 215th regiment departed Singgel on March 27th and crossed the India-Burma border by April 3rd. They advanced to Churachandpur by the 7th as the 214th followed closely behind them. Meanwhile, the Right Assault Unit, the Yamamoto unit had been in hot pursuit of General Gracey's 20th division since the start of April, and the 3rd battalion, 213th regiment of the Mitsui Unit had just captured the town Chamol. Additionally the 1st battalion, 60th regiment attempted, but failed to break through Laiching Hill in late March. Afterwords the unit was ordered to turn back and attempt a development of Gravey's left flank by Moving through Lamlong and then Kampang in early April. To the north, General Yamauchi's Divisional Headquarters advanced to Kasom on March 28. Yamauchi ordered two companies of the 1st Battalion, 67th Infantry to attack and occupy Kameng, which presented an easy approach route to Imphal. The 123rd Indian Brigade, 5th Indian Division had closed the gap with barbed wire and set up defensive positions in the hills to the immediate north and south of the road. The attack was made on the night of April 3 against the positions held by the 1/17th Dogras of the 123rd Indian Brigade on a hill off the Ukhrul Road, south of the village of Kameng, but failed to achieve its objective. They were then furiously counter-attacked by the guns of the 28th Field Regiment and by the Dogras themselves. A troop of tanks each of the 3rd Carabiniers and 7th Cavalry were also positioned on either side of the hill and fired on what were easy targets. By the next morning, almost 100 Japanese bodies were found; the few survivors had withdrawn. It is believed that the ultimate objective of this attack had been the fair-weather Kangla Airfield farther south. It was now felt the 15th Division's strength was spreed too thinly, thus the Japanese believed their detachments holding along the Imphal-Ukhrul road were badly in need of reinforcement. As such, Yamauchi ordered the 60th and 51st regiments to get into closer contact and by the 4th of April they were moving into positions north of Imphal. On that same day, Colonel Matsumura started moving down the road to seize the supply depot known as the 221 Advance Ordnance Depot, the largest in the Imphal Area justnorth of Kanglatongbi. As Japanese pressure on the road increased, its men and some of the most valuable supplies, including ammunition and explosives, were moved into a defensive area at Kanglatongbi known as Lion Box. The 2nd battalion managed to take Hill 3813 by April 6th, the 3rd battalion was less fortunate facing the Lion Box. The Lion Box had very few fighting troops among the several thousand men within its perimeter. The box was defended against mounting Japanese assaults from 4 to 7 April, while the evacuation of the supplies to Imphal continued apace. Its defense was assisted by units of the 9th Indian Brigade and tanks of the 3rd Carabiniers, who would travel up from Sekmai in the south during the day. On the 5th while the 9th Indian BRigade and tanks of the 3rd Carabiniers were patrolling forward to help out the Lion Box, Cowan's 63rd Brigade arrived to Sekmai to reinforce the northern defenses, and this in turn allowed the 9th Brigade to take up a position to defend Nungshigum. On the 6th, Colonel Omoto's 3rd battalion attacked Nungshigum's northern Hill, known as Hill 3833, successfully overrunning the hastily developed Indian defenses there, while the 1st battalion marched upon Hill 4057. There was a heroic counter attack by a platoon led by 18 year old Jemadar Abdul Hafiz serving as Naib Subedar, Junior Commissioned Officer in the 9th Jat Regiment, British Indian Army. His platoon managed to recover Hill 3833 by the end of the day. Jemadar Abdul Hafiz was tasked with recovering it with two sections of his platoon. He fearlessly led the way and recovered the feature in the face of a hail of machine-gun fire and grenade attacks, killing several Japanese in the process. Injured by now, Hafiz continued the attack, fought to his death and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. The hill became known as Runaway Hill because of the way the Japanese had fled from Hafiz's brave actions. April the 7th saw a follow-up charge with Omoto's 3rd battalion re-seizing the hills around Nungshigum. In the four days that followed, Nungshigum exchanged hands a couple of times: the 3/9th Jats recovered it, only to lose it again to the Japanese of the 3/51st Battalion by 11 April who dug in well on the northern and southern bumps around Nungshigum. Meanwhile Matsumura was continuing to exert heavy pressure upon the Lion Box, finally forcing the battle weary defenders to evacuate the box as the position became impossible to defend. The valiant efforts of the Lion Box defenders had earned the British-Indian troops valuable time to evacuate a large amount of critical supplies back to Imphal, preventing their use to the Japanese. Do remember Mutaguchi literally planned the entire offensive on the basis their logistical supply line was simply seizing the allies supply depots. That is what we call a bold strategy. Matsumura's troops had suffered heavy casualties in their efforts against the Lion Box. Now he ordered the 60th regiment east to reassemble around the villages of Tingsat, Molvom and their surrounding heights by April 8th. They would be reinforced by the honda raiding units coming from the north. On the 9th, Omoto's 1st battalion assaulted Hill 4057 taking it from elements of the 123rd Indian Brigade, as the 3rd battalion secured Nungshigum. This breakthrough posed an unacceptable threat to the British, leaving the 4th Corps HQ, the Imphal Main and Kangla airfield vulnerable to further Japanese attacks. This prompted General Brigg's to get forces together to evict the Japanese from their recently gained heights. Brigg's was reinforced with the 254th Indian Tank Brigades armor for the job. An unrelenting artillery and aerial bombardment began against the 51st regiment, greatly reducing the strength of Omoto's companies. Suffering such horrific losses, Omoto was forced to retreat over to the eastern side of the Iril River. At around dusk on the 12th, Omoto's 3rd battalion withdrew from Nungshigum to take up better positions in the hills north of Hill 4057. From this position the 3rd battalion was able to cover the 1st battalion's withdrawal from Hill 4057 during the night. Simultaneously, Briggs launched his main counteroffensive, tossing two companies of the 1/17th Dogras and B Squadron of the 3rd Carabiniers. That morning, the infantry and tanks began climbing up via two spurs on the south-eastern side of Nungshigum. On each spur was a troop of M3 Lee-Grant tanks, together with a company of Dogras. The division's artillery, together with another troop of tanks, had been placed to the east and west of Nungshigum on the plain. As the infantry and armor climbed, the Vengeance dive-bombers and Hurricanes bombed and strafed the peaks. Soon thereafter, the 88 pieces of artillery and tanks on the plain plastered the same area. The two groups of infantry and tanks joined up at the peak named Pyramid and proceeded in a single file up a narrow ridge towards the Japanese on Southern Bump. As they approached the Japanese defenses, fierce fighting erupted. The tanks were sprayed with machine-gun and rifle fire, and grenades were thrown at them. But there was only so much the Japanese could do. The use of armor on Nungshigum, which rose over 1,000ft above the valley floor, was a masterstroke. The Japanese had never expected to encounter tanks and they had nothing to counter them effectively. The British had to pay a high price, too. All of the British tank officers were killed and the infantry officers wounded later that day. The former had been shot as they stuck their heads out of their tanks' turrets to guide them safely on the narrow and steep ridgeline. It was finally left to the VCO of the Dogras, Subadar Ranbir Singh, and Squadron Sergeant-Major Craddock of the 3rd Carabiniers to complete the battle. They rose to the occasion; the tanks finally destroyed the main bunkers and the infantry charged at and killed any survivors. There were casualties on both sides, but Japanese losses were especially heavy, leaving 250 bodies. This was the closest the Japanese would come to Imphal as a large, organized force in 1944. Yamauchi's 15th Division would never be able to pose such an urgent threat from the north again. On April 13th, the Honda unit and 2nd battalion, 60th infantry launched an unsuccessful attack against Sengmai. In another attack on the 18th, the 2nd battalion gained a foothold in the enemy positions on the eastern hill of Sengmai, but would be forced off it quickly losing 150 men. The failure to breach the defenders at Sengmai marked a turning point in the operation, forcing the Right Assault Unit onto the defensive. Meanwhile Omoto's withdrawal had opened a gap between his units and Matsumura's, leaving Matsumura isolated around the Imphal-Kohima road and the Mapao-Molvom range. This also left Matsumura's supply lines increasingly vulnerable to attacks by Brigg's 5th Division. General Scoones ordered the 23rd Indian Division to push back on the Ukhrul Road to regain control over the area, while Briggs cleared the Japanese out of the Imphal-Kohima and Mapao-Molvom Range. For this Major-General Ouvry Roberts dispatched the 37th Brigade up the Ukhrul Road while the 1st Brigade made a wide flanking maneuver to the right to swing north in an attempt to capture Yamauchi's HQ. A composite unite of the 51st regiment known as the Suzuta unit formed out of two companies and Suzuta's HQ managed to resist the Indian attacks at Yaingangpokpi. Their mission was to hold the pass near Hill 3524 and they were met by numerous enemy counterattacking groups. The Suzuta Unit was faced with a serious crisis when it was attacked by a strong enemy tank force on 18 April. Meanwhile back on the 15th, the sudden appearance of the 1st Brigade at Hill 5515.. With his headquarters threatened by this new enemy maneuver, Yamauchi decided to move 15th Division headquarters and the Suzuta Unit to the rear of the Right and Center Assault Units. This move was complicated in that it entailed the evacuation of large numbers of casualties, among whom was General Yamanouchi himself. Upon arriving in the vicinity of Nungga intense enemy activity was encountered. It was found impossible to move west, to the desired destination and the headquarters was forced to move toward Lungshong via Ukhrul. The Suzuta Unit troops reverted to their parent organizations. The command post of the Division was finally established at a point about three miles southwest of Lungshong on 29 April. By april 22nd, Robert's Brigades made contact over the Ukhrul Road near Litan and began hunting down Yamauchi's HQ. They searched for it around Shongphel to the north. They converged on the spot, only to find Yamauchi was not there. To the east the 9th Brigade attacked the Mapao-Molvom Range on the 23rd, making some initial gains at Mapao. Their field guns with Hurricane bombers smashed Mapao, allowing the Jats and Punjabis to fight their way up and capture it in two days. But farther north, the heights around Molvom were better defended and the Japanese defied attempts to infiltrate these positions. The brigade soon got bogged down. Further east the 123rd Brigade advanced up the Iril River Valley facing some of Omoto's retreating men and would reach Sengmai by mid-may. The Japanese at this point were also preparing to continue their offensive further south. General Yanagida received reports on the progress of the 15th Division and that Kohima had already fallen. So he decided to bypass the expected resistance in the Moirang vicinity and advance directly upon Imphal. This prompted Colonel Sasagara to send his 2nd battalions of the 215th and 213th regiment to attack the Torbung positions on the 9th. They managed to successfully outflank the 49th brigade and exerted so much pressure in the area, the 49th brigade were forced to withdraw over the next few days. With the Japanese in hot pursuit, Cowan dispatched the 32nd Indian Brigade to defend the Tiddim Road with Brigadier David MacKenzie shifting his main position further back to Bishenpur. The Bishenpur village was well located: it was where the hills touched the Tiddim Road to its west; to the east lay the upper reaches of the Loktak Lake. Bishenpur was considered the best place to position a defense of the southwestern approach to Imphal. It was also important because from here a track wriggled west over the mountains to Silchar in Assam. Besides the Imphal–Kohima Road, the Bishenpur–Silchar Track was the only other navigable route back out to the rest of India. Unsurprisingly then, it was also of interest to the Japanese. On April 12th the Japanese attacked Potsangbam, but the 2nd battalion, 213th regiment was held up by heavy artillery and aerial bombardment from Bishenpur. The Japanese forayed into the villages of Kwa Siphai and Khoijuman to the northeast, but they were rebuffed. To counter them, aerial bombardments were called in on Potsangbam and the next large village, Ningthoukhong. Strategic Air Force Liberators pattern-bombed the two villages with 1,000lb bombs. The British sent tanks, together with infantry units, across the paddy fields towards Potsangbam, but their advance was held up by fierce opposition. Unlike at Nungshigum, the Japanese here were armed with anti-tank guns. Evicting them would require that much more effort. The 4th Independent Engineer Regiment was brought up to reinforce the 2nd Battalion, 213th Infantry at Potsangbam about 20 April, but it would be unable to break through nonetheless. To the west Sasahara's men tried to break through Kokadan on the 14th. They made repeated attacks for over a month, but would be unable to penetrate Mackenzie's defenses. The 214th regiment tossed three attacks against Hill 5846 from their position on Ingourok by April 24th. Hand-to-hand fighting ensued as each side sought to gain possession of these hills. The British had brought up a troop of Lee-Grant tanks of the 150th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps from Bishenpur and these were pressed into battle, firing in close support of the infantry. By 26 April, Point 5846 and Wooded Ridge were under their firm control, while the Japanese had Wireless Hill. Meanwhile the 2nd battalion reinforced the 214th regiment to skirt around Hill 5846 from the west, going just due north of the track. This endeavor ultimately failed in the end, and the men would have to turn back by the end of the month. Due to his failures and disagreements, General Mutaguchi consequently lost faith in Yanagida, who was ignored from this point onwards while his chief-of-staff, Colonel Tanaka Tetsujiro, effectively commanded the 33rd Division. Meanwhile over on the hill of the Shenam Saddle, the battle for Nippon Hill had been raging since early April. Gracey's initial piecemeal attempts to retake the feature only saw his men fail. On the other side, the Yamamoto Detachment launched a general attack from Chamol on the 8th, trying to make a breakthrough to Nippon Hill, to relieve the outnumbered 11th company, 213th regiment. While the Japanese were held up by crossfire from Tengnoupal, the 80th Brigade sent three companies of the 1st Devon's to recapture Nippon Hill on the 11th. Following heavy artillery and aerial bombardment, the British troops stormed the hill with a fierce lobing of grenades and machine gun fire, seizing the feature by the end of the day. Nonetheless the Japanese, General Yamamoto kept committing troops to continuous attacks over the next few days. What was witnessed on Nippon Hill was to be repeated on many occasions around Imphal. Japanese defensive positions would be subjected to intense bombardments, which it was hard to imagine anyone surviving. And yet, time and again, the Japanese would emerge out of the targeted positions and counter-attack. In fact, Nippon Hill was one such place where, even days after it had been recaptured by the British, a lone Japanese soldier would emerge from the rubble and attack. This after being buried for hours, or even days, usually without recourse to food or water. This behavior was a measure of the extraordinary capabilities of the Japanese, as defenders in particular, and of their dedication to their cause in general. It was also a testament to the strength of their defenses. On features like Nippon Hill, the Japanese had shown themselves to be adept at digging an extensive, deep network of underground tunnels and holes within their positions. These allowed them to withstand bombardments, while the small openings allowed for a sustained fire to be kept up on anyone who approached. After a week of fighting, the 3rd Battalion, 213th Regiment finally recaptured Nippon Hill on April 16, and this time it was to stay with the Japanese until the end of July. The hill would allow the Japanese to observe allied movements over the Shenam Saddle and the road below, so accurate firing from well-sited guns on this hill and the adjacent ridge would cause many casualties among the defenders. Yamamoto ramped up his efforts trying to break through towards Imphal. With additional tank and artillery support the 3rd battalion, 213th regiment managed to overrun Crete East on the 22nd as the 80th Brigade evacuated to the isolated Cyprus. Pressing onwards, Yamamoto attacked Crete West, tossing multiple attacks at the feature over the next two weeks. Despite the ferocity of the invaders, the defenders would manage to hold on until the end of April. Meanwhile the 1st battalion, 60th regiment was unable to break through Hill 5240 near Kampang, so on the 20th they were redirected to hit the northern sector of Palel. The battalion had suffered 300 casualties, unable to pose much of a threat any longer to Gracey's men. To their left was the 1st INA Division's 2nd Gandhi Brigade, deployed on the left flank of Yamamoto Force and an initial group that had rushed through the hills towards Palel. They were targeting the airfield from the south in coordination with the Japanese closing in via Langgol from the east. They clashed with Indian and Gurkha defenders at Purum Chumban on May 2nd. There are differing accounts of what happened during the battle of Purum Chumbang. One has the INA group reaching very close to the airfield, while another has it reach some 8km short of it. What is common to both, however, is the reaction of the Fourteenth Army units (Indian and Gurkha) to the INA's effort. A parley between the two is supposed to have taken place at some point, where the latter tried to convince their brethren on the British side not to fight. This being rejected, the INA attacked and was repulsed. At least 50 INA men were killed in the retaliatory response. It has been argued that these attacks by their fellow Indians affected INA morale. They had not expected to be considered traitors by their former comrades of the Indian Army. Several hundred INA men deserted before the end of the battle, although the majority of the force remained in the hills around the Tamu–Palel Road, wracked by disease and hunger. In the meantime, the Kohima Garrison received relief on their ridge positions, now General Grover was formulating a plan to recapture lost territory in the Kohima area and to annhilate the 31st division. His plan was to hold Zubza and Periphema in the rear while Brigadier John Shapland's 6th Brigade would launch an attack against the Japanese center and gradually push them towards the southern and southwestern flanks of the Kohima Ridge. Brigadier Victor Hawkins 5th Brigade would would perform a flanking maneuver to the north while Brigadier William Goshcens 4th Brigade did the same in the south. On April 18, Hawkins thus dispatched his first units across the deep Zubza nullah to the Merema Ridge to cut the Kohima-Merema-Bokajan road, with the rest of the brigade following in an excruciating march and finally assembling at the Merema Ridge by April 27. Further to the north, in parallel with the 2nd Divisions advance, Brigadier Perowne's men have been performing an extremely difficult march into the Naga Hills. Their task was to prevent the Japanese from escaping the Brahmaputra Valley, taking a track leading from Merema to Bokajan. For weeks the Chindit Brigade had conducted an effective operation, ambushing Japanese supply routes, denying them territory, encouraging local Naga resistance efforts and causing general havoc. General Mutaguchi and ordered Sato to send his 124th Infantry Regiment to support the struggling 15th Division in the south. Sato decided to occupy Garrison Hill prior to complying with Mutaguchi's directive, immediately sending the 1st Battalion, 138th Regiment to support the attacks of the 58th Regiment. The assault failed on the 23rd and this further convinced Sato he would be unable to hold Kohima if he sent the reinforcements Mutaguchi requested. His decision was also heavily influenced by his increasing anger at his superior as Mutaguchi was completely failing to supply his men. He had been promised at least 250 tons of resupplies would arrive by April 8, Sato testily demanded food and ammunition. In fact, very few supplies ever reached the 31st Division from Burma, the men having to survive on what they had brought with them, what they could beg or steal from Naga villages, or what 'Churchill Rations' they could capture from British stockpiles. Sato's fury at the lack of promised supplies reaching Kohima was fuelled by his belief that the 31st Division was being let down by Mutaguchi's abject failure to break into Imphal. In response to Mutaguchi's demand that he send troops to assist in the Imphal battle, on April 20 Sato sent the first of a number of increasingly tetchy signals to the army commander: 'We captured Kohima in three weeks as promised. How about Imphal?' Mutaguchi replied: 'Probable date for capture of Imphal April 29', which was the Emperor's birthday. Sato plainly did not believe him. On April 30, Sato signaled again: '31st Division at the limit of its endurance. When are you going to destroy Imphal?' To this he received no reply. The relationship between Sato and Mutaguchi had never been good, but now it was really bad. Over the next two weeks, the battles on Kohima Ridge were not seeing results. Repeated attacks were made against Garrison Hill as Shapland's men tossed desperate attacks at the extreme northern edge of the ridge allowing for a troop of Lee/Grant tanks to lumber up the western end of Naga Hill in order to provide armored support for the 5th Brigade. The plan to get tanks onto the back of Naga Hill by driving through the Japanese positions overlooking the TCP finally succeeded on April 27, the Lee/Grants trundling along the track, wary of mines, but taking the Japanese entirely by surprise at this stroke of legerdemain. Peppered on all sides futilely by bullets, they joined 5th Brigade on Naga Hill, albeit at the cost of 28 Dorset dead, who had kept intense pressure on the TCP end of the Kohima Ridge to distract the Japanese during the operation. In the fighting for control of the tennis court no means of overcoming Japanese bunkers could be discovered using infantry alone, and attempts were made to bulldoze a path up to the remains of the Deputy Commissioner's bungalow to allow a Lee/Grant tank to move onto the tennis court and engage the bunkers directly with its 75mm gun. Unhappily the first effort failed when the Lee/Grant went into reverse, pulling the bulldozer to which it was attached back down the steep slope in a heap of crashing, twisted metal. Four days later a similar attempt with a Stuart Light tank of the 45th Indian Light Cavalry also failed, as the Japanese had brought up a 3.7in. anti-tank gun that put the tank out of action, fortunately with no loss to the crew.By the 27th, the tanks made a break through to the Naga Hill. The Japanese suffered terrible casualties causing them to suspend operations against Garrison Hill. The 31st división was not fully adopting a defensive stance. Meanwhile, Goschen's men had set out on a long march to cut the Imphal Road below the Aradura Spur on the night of April 25. They were advancing through some of the worst terrain of the entire region, it was deep, nearly vertical jungle-covered gullies falling between Mount Pulebadze and the face of Mount Japfu. The 4th Brigade would reach the valley between Pulebadze and Japfu in three days. One there, General Stopford ordered Goschen to climb over Pulebadze Ridge then come down into Kohima to hit the Japanese position on the GPT ridge, which were giving serious problems to Shaplands men. The brigade accordingly turned left, climbing up and over the Pulebadze Ridge and beginning the slow descent through the jungle down onto the Kohima side. A prominent pimple above the GPT Ridge known as Oaks Hill, sitting at 6,000ft, was occupied by the Norfolks and the 143rd Company on 1 May, the presence of British troops 1,500ft above the Japanese positions becoming known to them for the first time. But that is all for today for India, as there is something else cooking up in the CBI theater. Since early 1943, the United States had steadily increased its air force in China. By the beginning of 1944 there were more than 500 US planes in this area, whereas, in spite of the organization of the 5th Air Army,the Japanese Air Force had less than half this number of planes in China. Furthermore, with the war situation rapidly growing worse in the Pacific, the Japanese Air Force in China could not hope for any replenishment. Enemy planes not only interfered with Japanese ground operations, but also harassed the lines of communication and attacked the occupied areas. General Chennault's 14th Air Force had been causing such problems, the Japanese were forced to act. The catalyst for their future action was because of a raid against Formosa carried out by 14 B-25s, 8 P-38s and 8 P-51s on November 25, 1943, which caught the Japanese by surprise as the Chinese-American aircraft strafed and dropped bombs over Shinchiku airfield, successfully destroying its installations along with 42 planes on the ground at the cost of three fighters lost. This prompted the Japanese commanders to target strategic points along the Hunan-Guangxi, Guangzhou-Hankou and Southern Beijing-Hankou Railways. Thus the infamous Operation Ichi-Go was born. Ichi-Go's primary targets were Guilin and Liuzhou's airfields where the US was developing bases for B-29's to launch strikes against the Japanese home islands. If you are interested in a in-depth talk about this by the way, over on the Pacific War Channel on Youtube or Spotify, I did an interview with Dave from the Coldwar about the bombing of Japan and we talked about this very subject. Pretty neat episode I recommend it! Now in general the main objectives were to link railways in Beijing and Hankou in northern China to the southern Chinese coast at Guangzhou. This would spare shipping and avoid the pesky American submarine force who were now ruining havoc; it was also to take out airfields in Sichuan and Guangxi to thwart further US bombing of Formosa and the Japanese home islands. This also in turn would open a land route to Indochina and hopefully would destroy enough NRA units to collapse Chiang Kai-Sheks government, finally solving the China Problem. Ichi-Go would start in late April with an offensive by the 12th Army of Lt General Kita Seiichi, later replaced by Lt General Uchiyama Eitaro. This was codenamed Operation Kogo, tasked with capturing the areas along the South Beijing-Hankou railway, centered around Zhengzhou and Luoyang, and destroying the main strength of the 1st War Area. Then, early in June, the 11th Army of General Yokoyama would launch Operation Togo, with the objective of capturing Changsha and Hengyang and destroying the main force of the 6th and 9th War Areas. Following the conclusion of the first phase, late in July, the 11th Army would be assisted by the 23rd Army of Lt General Tanaka Hisaichi and the Indochina Garrison Army of Lt General Viscount Machiiji Kazumoto would capture Guilin and Liuzhou and the destruction of the 4th War Area. Finally, the third phase of Operation Togo would see the 23rd Army capture the strategic areas along the south Canton-Hankou railway, centered around Nanning, by destroying the 7th War Area in September while the 11th Army continued the advance south towards Suichwan Arfield to link with the Indochina forces. For the entire operation, the 5th Air Army of Lt General Shimoyama Takuma would support the offensives from the skies, tasked with annihilating the American-Chinese air force and attaining air supremacy over China. The logistics of Operation Ichi-Go constituted was one of the most notable examples of the IJA's offensive preparations. Between some of the measures taken was the emplacement of dozens of anti-air batteries throughout the Yangtze River to limit the Chinese-American air activity against troop concentrations at its southern channel; the transfer of dozens of thousands of troops by railway without interference from Chinese guerrillas because security at the railway lines was increased; the monthly river transport of 40000 tons of supplies; the secret storage of 600 pontoons; and the constructions of hideouts for a munitions arsenal that should last for two years and of hundreds of deposits that harbored 50 million liters of gasoline that should last for eight months: 40 million for land vehicles and 10 million for planes.By early April General Hata had amassed 62,000 men, 52,000 Japanese and 10,000 collaborationist units alongside 800 tanks, 1550 artillery pieces, 250 aircraft, 15550 motorized vehicles and 100000 horses. Meanwhile the British Eastern Fleet had been receiving more naval resources due to the successes in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe and could now carry out more aggressive actions in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Agreement had been reached, after objections from Admiral Ernest King, but new procedures would need to be learnt by naval crews and Fleet Air Arm aircrew. To this end, Operation Diplomat, a training exercise, took place in late March 1944. The objective was for the fleet to rendezvous with a group of tankers, escorted by the Dutch cruiser HNLMS Tromp and practice refueling at sea procedures. The ships then rendezvoused with USN Task Group 58.5 built around aircraft carrier USS Saratoga and three destroyers. To further support the coming Hollandia and Aitape landings, Admiral King requested that, during April, the Eastern Fleet should engage Japanese forces in their area and hold them there to reduce the opposition that could be encountered by the Americans at Western New Guinea. In response, Admiral Somerville launched Operation Cockpit on April 16, an air attack against Sabang off Sumatra. The fleet sailed from Trincomalee on 16 April, and two days later the Gambia and Ceylon were detached from Force 69 to strengthen the anti-aircraft defense of the carrier force. On the morning of April 19, 17 Barracudas and 13 Corsairs from the carrier Illustrious and 29 Dauntless and Avenger bombers and 24 Hellcats from Saratoga took off towards Sumatra and subsequently caught the Japanese completely by surprise, finding no opposition there. Thirty Japanese aircraft were destroyed on the airfield and a direct hit by a 1000-pound bomb set a large oil tank on fire. The power-station, barracks and wireless station were badly damaged. The submarine HMS Tactician reported large fires in the dockyard burning fiercely hours after the fleet had left the area. The raid was a clear success, with Somerville later saying that the Japanese "had been caught with their kimonos up". 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 invaders it seems bit off more than they could chew when they attacked India. General Mutaguchi was facing a determined enemy and very pissed off and somewhat insubordinate colleagues. Operation Ichi-Go was being prepared and the Royal Navy was sending forces into the Indian and Pacific Oceans adding to the IJN's misery.

united states american spotify china moving japan americans british chinese japanese kings suffering army indian defense force enemy hurricanes dutch philippines air force pacific cold war beijing vengeance mediterranean emperor indians agreement injured slim honda pressing hawkins hq pyramid gpt cyprus pacific ocean divisions nra numerous avenger brigades burma chinese americans generals cowan gambia royal navy somerville battalion dorset yamamoto saratoga infantry cavalry northern europe naga sumatra sato assam guangzhou regiment cbi manus sichuan deputy commissioner formosa hafiz dauntless tcp illustrious indian army ceylon peppered manipur opium wars pacific war indochina victoria cross infantry regiment british indian evicting gracey admiralty zhengzhou yangtze river gurkha hellcats afterwords guangxi lee grant corsairs yamauchi regiments unhappily american chinese barracudas changsha brahmaputra imphal ijn brigg guilin hollandia hankou kohima punjabis luoyang vco nanning jats british indian army fleet air arm craig watson omoto uss saratoga liuzhou

Travailleurs migrants en Chine: des vacances du Nouvel An lunaire plombées par la crise immobilière

Reportage International

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 7, 2024 2:51

Les vacances du Nouvel An lunaire commencent ce vendredi 9 février en Chine. Une période de grande migration, pendant laquelle des centaines de millions de Chinois vont rejoindre leur famille en province. Mais avec l'économie qui ralentit, certains, notamment chez les travailleurs migrants, sont contraints de chercher du travail. De notre correspondant à Pékin, avec Chi Xiangyuan du bureau de Pékin,À Majuqiao dans le sud-est de la capitale chinoise, les petites camionnettes qui emmènent les ouvriers à la journée sur leur lieu de travail se font plus rares en cette veille de vacances de la fête du printemps. C'est la saison morte pour les travailleurs migrants, ce qui n'empêche pas monsieur Wang, en grosse veste militaire matelassée, d'affronter le vent froid depuis plusieurs heures déjà, disponible pour n'importe quel boulot.« Je travaille sur les structures en acier. Cette année, c'est difficile de trouver du travail à Pékin et de nombreux frères sont déjà partis en vacances. Il n'y a plus de chantier de construction. Normalement, je gagne près de 40 euros la journée. Mais il n'y a pas tellement de travail en ce moment », constate-t-il.À lire aussiEn Chine, l'intelligence artificielle prépare désormais aux interrogatoires gênants des vacances du Nouvel An« Les temps sont durs »Surnommée la « rue du travail », la grande avenue située non loin de l'échangeur du 6ᵉ périphérique est devenue un marché de la main d'œuvre à temps très partiel. Certains, parmi les bras qui attendent du travail, ont inscrit leur numéro de téléphone sur le trottoir. Des grappes d'ouvrier portent leur casque de chantier, d'autres leurs outils à la main et pour ce menuisier, un bracelet à grosses boules en bois de sapin. « Je travaille sur les échafaudages comme menuisier et comme peintre. Si vous êtes spécialisés, il y a du travail, car les autres sont rentrés dans leur province. Pour le salaire, c'est entre 280 et 360 yuans par jour », explique un autre ouvrier.Entre 37 et 47 euros la journée, c'est un peu plus que ce que propose cette recruteuse dans l'une des nombreuses agences d'intérim qui bordent l'avenue. Les temps sont durs, dit-elle.« En ce moment, on recrute principalement des agents de sécurité, nous avons aussi des ouvriers spécialisés », indique madame Chen. « Mais c'est déjà le petit Nouvel An lunaire dans le nord et les vacances vont commencer. Il est donc difficile de trouver du monde. En même temps, le marché de l'immobilier, c'est du passé. Il n'y a plus de travail sur les chantiers ! Ce sont surtout les entreprises du e-commerce qui viennent nous voir. Ils cherchent des livreurs ! » À écouter aussiChine: à la veille des vacances du Nouvel An lunaire, la déprime des conducteurs de trainUne crise immobilière dévastatrice pour l'emploiLa crise immobilière a été dévastatrice pour l'emploi. Le reportage intitulé « travailler ainsi pendant 30 ans » a été censuré aussitôt après sa sortie sur la plateforme Netease le 9 janvier dernier. Le collectif de journalistes anonymes qui l'a réalisé interroge des travailleurs migrants de Zhengzhou, dans la province centrale du Henan. Tous racontent leur difficile survie après l'arrêt des chantiers. Selon le bureau national des statistiques, la Chine comptait près de 296 millions de travailleurs migrants en 2022, dont 17,7 % dans la construction. Ce qui signifie que 52 millions d'entre eux comptaient sur le secteur pour subvenir aux besoins de leur famille, note le China Digital Times.Certains ont dû se reconvertir, explique monsieur Guo. Le barbier taille poils et cheveux, pour moins deux euros, à même le trottoir depuis plus de 30 ans dans le quartier. « Les gens sont partis pour le Nouvel An, mais de toute façon, il y a moins de monde », dit-il. « Avant, je pouvais gagner quelques centaines de yuans dans la journée. Aujourd'hui, c'est difficile même de faire 100 yuans. Il y a eu la pandémie, les gens étaient bloqués ici. Puis, ça s'est arrêté. Alors, ils sont rentrés, mais ils ne sont pas revenus. Car il y a moins de travail et ceux des chantiers sont partis dans les usines. »Pas assez d'argent pour partir fêter le Nouvel An lunaireLa crise du secteur immobilier, qui a vu sa valeur ajoutée baisser de 1,3 % en 2023, a également, selon ces migrants, un impact direct sur d'autres secteurs, dont les meubles et le textile. Monsieur Fan travaille comme gardien de nuit dans une imprimerie. Il n'a pas gagné assez pour pouvoir partir en vacances cette année.« Je ne vais pas pouvoir rentrer chez moi cette fois. Je veux gagner un peu de sous pendant les vacances. Je n'ai pas assez d'argent. » Pas assez d'argent pour partir fêter l'entrée dans l'année du dragon, sachant que pour la plupart des migrants en Chine, les congés ne sont pas payés, mais rester dans les mégalopoles coûte très/trop cher.À lire aussiNouvel An lunaire en Chine: les voyageurs heureux de repartir en famille malgré l'épidémie

#45 Мөнгө үү?Эрүүл мэнд үү?

amazon spotify crime apple podcast google podcasts zhengzhou

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 3, 2024 55:14

Дэлхийн эмийн зах зээлийг атгасан том компаниудын далдуур үйлддэг мөнгөний төлөөх тэмцлийн талаар Минжин эмчтэй ярьлцлаа.https://instagram.com/ulaan_minj?igsh...У.Минжин эмч 2017 онд Хятадын Zhengzhou их сургуулийг Хүний их эмч мэргэжлээр төгссөн. Одоо Монголдоо хөхний хавдрын мэс заслын эмчээр ажилладаг.Манай подкастуудыг Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Amazon music дээр CRIME STATION PODCAST гэж хайлтан дээр бичээд сонсох боломжтой.Instagram: https://instagram.com/crime_station?i... Facebook page: Crime StationBusiness inquiries, please mail to crime.stationpodcast@gmail.comSupport the showwww.minimal-room.comАдминых нь Small business10% discount эдлэх coupon code: Crime station

January 26, 2024

Catholic News

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 26, 2024 6:02

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - Religiously unaffiliated people, often referred to as “nones,” now make up the largest religious category in the US, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center. Pew's new report, released January 24, shows that nones now account for 28% of the total U.S. population, outstripping the next largest group, Catholics, who make up 20%. The recent data is consistent with a long-term trend of Americans rejecting religious affiliation in growing numbers, with the percentage nearly doubling from 16% in 2007. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256646/nones-now-largest-religious-category-in-us-new-report-says The six Haitian religious sisters who were abducted on the morning of January 19 in Haiti's capital city of Port-au-Prince were released Thursday morning. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256636/abducted-haitian-nuns-released-amid-ongoing-gang-violence Father Simon-Peter Engurait has been chosen as diocesan administrator of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in Louisiana following the unexpected death last week of Bishop Mario Dorsonville. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256647/ugandan-priest-named-diocesan-administrator-of-louisiana-diocese-following-death-of-bishop Father Thaddeus Wang Yuesheng was consecrated bishop of Zhengzhou, China, on Thursday, bringing an end to a 70-year-long vacancy. The Holy See Press Office announced on Thursday morning that Wang was appointed by Pope Francis as the bishop of Zhengzhou on December 16, 2023. The report noted that the decision took place “in the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People's Republic of China.” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256641/pope-appoints-new-bishop-in-china-bringing-a-70-year-vacancy-to-an-end Pope Francis signed a decree on January 24 allowing for the canonization of Canadian sister Blessed Marie-Léonie Paradis, founder of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family. Born Virginie Alodie on May 12, 1840, in L'Acadie, Quebec, the future foundress was the only daughter in a family of six children. At the age of 14, she entered the Marianite convent in Saint-Laurent, Montreal, the female branch of the Congregation of Holy Cross. She spent several years teaching in and around Montreal. In 1862 she was sent to Saint Vincent de Paul's orphanage in New York for eight years. In 1870, Paradis moved to the community of the Holy Cross Sisters in Indiana. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256638/canadian-religious-sister-mother-marie-leonie-paradis-cleared-for-canonization Today, the Church celebrates Saints Timothy and Titus, close companions of the Apostle Paul and bishops of the Catholic Church in its earliest days. Both men received letters from Saint Paul, which are included in the New Testament. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/sts-timothy-and-titus-128

#42 Gloria Ramirez "Toxic эмэгтэй"-н нууцлаг үхэл

amazon spotify crime toxic medical apple podcast google podcasts zhengzhou gloria ramirez

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 13, 2024 49:26

Хүний санаанд оромгүй, тайлагдахгүй удсан Toxic lady гэж нэрлэгдсэн Gloria Ramirez гэх эмэгтэйд 1994 онд тохиолдсон явдал, эцэст нь лабораторын шинжээчдийн тусламжтайгаар чухамхүү юу болсныг олон нийт мэдэж чадсан Medical mystery хэргийг энэ удаад ярьхаар бэлдлээ.Подкастын зочин: У.Минжин https://instagram.com/ulaan_minj?igsh...У.Минжин эмч 2017 онд Хятадын Zhengzhou их сургуулийг Хүний их эмч мэргэжлээр төгссөн. Одоо Монголдоо хөхний хавдрын мэс заслын эмчээр ажилладаг.Манай подкастуудыг Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Amazon music дээр CRIME STATION PODCAST гэж хайлтан дээр бичээд сонсох боломжтой.Instagram: https://instagram.com/crime_station?i... Facebook page: Crime StationBusiness inquiries, please mail to crime.stationpodcast@gmail.comSupport the showwww.minimal-room.comАдминых нь Small business10% discount эдлэх coupon code: Crime station

Smooth Criminal

The Body Serve

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 24, 2023 61:24

Admittedly, this hasn't been our most productive October ever, but we're here! First, we're recapping two weeks of results, including a 12th title for Monfils, a first for Shelton, Mertens remaining the only ever winner of Monastir, and Zheng Qinwen triumphing shortly after coach Fissette dipped. Also: Holger Rune hires Boris Becker, recently released from prison and deported from the UK; the Cincinnati Masters will stay put; Craig Tiley promises something he can't promise; and Naomi sells her likeness to Mark Zuckerberg. And what's the deal with the lack of women on Tennis Channel and the WTA Board and Tournament Council? 0:30 Autumn fatigue, for players and podcasters alike 4:00 Monfils, Shelton, Fils, and Townsend make it a fantastic weekend for Black players 11:15 WTA results: Mertens, Siniakova, Korpatsch; Zheng wins Zhengzhou, Peggy wins one for mom 20:10 WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai gets underway with a stellar field 23:55 Holger Rune hires Boris Becker 26:55 Zumba instructor Garbiñe Muguruza isn't thinking about tennis 31:15 Cincinnati will stay in Cincinnati after getting Ohio to put up enough taxpayer money 35:25 Craig Tiley announces Rafa Nadal's appearance at the Aus Open and no one is more surprised than Rafa 44:10 Naomi Osaka and Candle Gender sell their likenesses to Meta 47:20 Diana Nyad changes her mind on trans inclusion (it relates to tennis, I swear) 55:35 Where are all the women on the WTA Board and the Tournament Council?

Hurkacz, Rublev rip it up in Shanghai; The best show in tennis is back

The Tennis Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2023 65:17

After 12 long days, Shanghai is finally over, and it was won by Hubert Hurkacz over Andrey Rublev in the final. Catherine, David and Matt chat about both players and get stuck into all the other major talking points from the week, including Grigor Dimitrov's victory over Carlos Alcaraz. On the women's side, there's chat about a special victory for Jessica Pegula in Seoul, a thrilling final in Hong Kong which was won by Leylah Fernandez, and Zheng Qinwen's impressive run of form continuing in Zhengzhou, where she won the title and then did some karaoke. Elsewhere, there's news of the cancellation of the ATP event in Tel Aviv, the decision to keep Cincinnati in Cincinnati, a potential Holger Rune-Boris Becker partnership, and an update from Rafael Nadal about his fitness. BJK CUP FINALS: Some of the world's best tennis players will meet in Seville at the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals from 7-12 November. Tickets for the showpiece finale of the women's World Cup of Tennis are on sale now – book your place in the stands today! https://www.billiejeankingcup.com/en/finals/ticketsSEE US LIVE IN SHREWSBURY!Join us for The Tennis Podcast Live on Wednesday 18th October, at the WTA100 tournament in Shrewsbury, England. Tickets include food, you can watch the tennis, and then see us afterwards. A discount code is available for friends who want tickets. Email us at friends@tennispodcast.netVISIT THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN IN STYLE: The Tennis Podcast during the US Open was brought to you in association with AO Travel, who can take care of your flights, premium accommodation, tournament tickets and behind-the-scenes experiences. They can now offer access to the all-new AO Travel Lounge, which overlooks Rod Laver Arena and Grand Slam Oval and is exclusively available for AO Travel Guests. Check out what AO Travel has to offer.If you're a Friend of The Tennis Podcast, we can provide you with a $500AUD discount code, so just write to us at friends@tennispodcast.net to receive it. OUR LINKS:Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to help us to produce the show year-round, and receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2023, including Tennis Re-Lived, listener questions pods, and Grand Slam review shows.Sign up to receive our Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt's Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on TwitterFollow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Check out our Shop Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tour Catch-Up: Polish power sweeps up Asia 1000s, Federer returns and WTA Final 8 is fire

The Passing Shot Tennis Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2023 59:58

In the latest episode of Tennis Weekly, Joel, Kim and Chris are back to round up all the action from the Asian Swing, which has seen a host of tournaments grace the headlines and screens in the past two weeks.With Hubert Hurkacz winning in Shanghai in a dramatic final against Andrey Rublev, Iga Swiatek taking home yet another 1000 Title in Beijing and Qinwen Zheng delighting home fans with a win in Zhengzhou along with some karaoke, there are plenty of results to sink their teeth into.The trio also discuss Roger Federer making an appearance in Shanghai, Leylah Fernandez picking up the Hong Kong title and switching to basketball shoes, Jessie Pegula taking home the trophy in Seoul, as well as looking ahead to the player fields for the WTA Finals in Cancun and the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai.__________________TENNIS WEEKLY MERCHTo browse and purchase from limited edition merchandise designed by Krippa Design go to https://www.etsy.com/shop/TennisWeeklyPodcast All proceeds go towards the podcast so we can keep doing what we do! __________________Tweet us @TennisWeeklyPod or email the show here: tennisweeklypod@gmail.comFollow us on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and make sure to check out our website as well to get your full Tennis Weekly fix.**Please take a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your pods. It really means a lot to us at HQ and helps make it easier for new listeners to discover us. Thanks!** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

spotify tiktok tour hong kong acast beijing polish shanghai seoul hq roger federer cancun sweeps iga swiatek zhengzhou leylah fernandez zhuhai qinwen zheng

#29 Netflix "Take care of Maya" киноны түүх

amazon spotify netflix crime apple podcast google podcasts take care zhengzhou

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 14, 2023 40:21

Энэ удаагийн дугаараар Netflix дээр "Take care of Maya" гэх шуугиан тарьсан баримтат киноны талаар Минжин эмчтэй ярьлцлаа. Энэхүү үйл явдал асар олон сэдвийг хөндсөн байсан болхоор та бүхэнд киног бас үзэхийг зөвлье.Подкастын зочин: У.Минжин https://instagram.com/ulaan_minj?igsh...У.Минжин эмч 2017 онд Хятадын Zhengzhou их сургуулийг Хүний их эмч мэргэжлээр төгссөн. Одоо Монголдоо хөхний хавдрын мэс заслын эмчээр ажилладаг.Манай подкастуудыг Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Amazon music дээр CRIME STATION PODCAST гэж хайлтан дээр бичээд сонсох боломжтой.Instagram: https://instagram.com/crime_station?i... Facebook page: Crime StationBusiness inquiries, please mail to crime.stationpodcast@gmail.comSupport the showwww.minimal-room.comАдминых нь Small business10% discount эдлэх coupon code: Crime station

What's the Best Draw?!

The Mini-Break

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 12, 2023 36:47

Cracked Racquets Editor-in-Chief Alex Gruskin recaps the last 24 hours in the pro tennis world. He offers his thoughts on Korda's three-set victory over Shelton, WTA QF lineups in Zhengzhou, Seoul, and Hong Kong, and so much more!! Don't forget to give a 5-star review on your favorite podcast app! In addition, add your Twitter/Instagram handle to the review for a chance to win some FREE CR gear!! Episode Bookmarks: ATP Shanghai - 5:30 WTA Zhengzhou - 23:10 WTA Seoul - 27:37 WTA Hong Kong - 30:06 This episode brought to you by: Tennis Point Discounted Tennis Apparel, Tennis Racquets, Tennis Shoes & Equipment from Nike, adidas, Babolat, Wilson & More! Visit their store today and use the code "CR15" at checkout to save 15% off Sale items. Some Exclusions (MAP Exceptions) apply and code will not work on those items. This code will add 1 FREE CAN of WILSON Balls to the cart at checkout. Tourna CR is excited to partner with Tourna Tennis once again to share their exciting new grip innovation - a longer lasting version of Tourna Grip, which Tourna has spent the last six years researching and developing: Tourna Tuff!! Email sales@uniquesports.com and mention Cracked Racquets to get a FREE sample! -same gold standard sweat absorption as Tourna Grip -same dry feel -same trademarked blue color -still gets tackier when you sweat PLUS new features: -If you didn't like the original Tourna Grip for its durability, try Tourna Tuff. -Stop blowing on your hands between every point and use a grip that absorbs your sweat! -Stop wiping your hand on your shirt, shorts, and towel constantly and get a grip that actually absorbs sweat! Plain and simple = Cracked Fans use Tourna Tuff. Email sales@uniquesports.com and mention Cracked Racquets to get a FREE sample! Tennis Channel Podcast Network Visit https://www.tennis.com/pro-game/podcasts/ to stay current on the latest tennis news and trends and enjoy in-depth analysis and dynamic debates. Find Cracked Racquets Website: https://www.crackedracquets.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/crackedracquets Twitter: https://twitter.com/crackedracquets Facebook: https://Facebook.com/crackedracquets YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC12ZE3jU0n52JkeWV1TB21A Email Newsletter: https://www.crackedracquets.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

hong kong sale draw equipment seoul plain shelton korda zhengzhou tennis racquets wilson balls cr15

#24 Alex Lewis-т тохиолдсон эмгэнэлтэй түүх