Russians in the Service of the Japanese Emperor

Caucasians in Japanese-looking uniforms like the group in the photo to the left do not belong to the average type of World War Two imagery. In fact, the men in the picture … Continue Reading →

A Date to Remember – Or Forget

September 18 is a date many Chinese want to remember, and some Japanese want to forget. On that date, in 1931, Japanese officers blew up a piece of railroad at … Continue Reading →

Reenactors in Taiwan

Reenactment seems to be growing worldwide. Along with war gaming it is one of the ways that history enthusiasts can get a physical feel for the periods that they study in … Continue Reading →

Shanghai: Wicked Old ‘Paris of the Orient’

“Keenly observant”, “riveting”, ” marvellous, microscopically descriptive” — the reviewers have rained down the superlatives on Canadian non-fiction writer Taras Grescoe’s new book Shanghai Grand: Forbidden Love and International Intrigue in a Doomed … Continue Reading →

Chinese or Japanese? Telling Friend From Foe

In early 1945, it was obvious that the Japanese had lost the war, but it was still unclear how much longer they would hold out or where the final stages … Continue Reading →

Strangers at the Gate

Scenes of despair unfolded as the Japanese army moved in on Shanghai in late 1937, spreading terror among the city’s three million civilians. Tens of thousands were thronging at the … Continue Reading →

‘Halfway Out of National Danger’: Chiang, Stalin and the Chinese Reaction to Barbarossa

China’s reaction after Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941 may surprise many. This article is based on a presentation made by Peter Harmsen at the King’s College ‘Second World … Continue Reading →

World War II Weekend!

From the World War Two Weekend at the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, PA. The photos have kindly been provided by Ryan Daniels, a true expert on China’s long war … Continue Reading →

Childhood in Shadow of War

Margaret Blair was born in Shanghai in 1936 and spent the years from 1942 to 1945 in a Japanese internment camp. In her memoir Gudao, Lone Islet she paints a vivid … Continue Reading →

War On Display

The Armed Forces Museum in Taipei is one of the best places in the world to view objects from the Second Sino-Japanese War. Ryan Daniels recently paid the museum a … Continue Reading →