Chinese Stalingrad: Battle of Shanghai | Animated History

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Sources:
Lai, Benjamin (2017). Shanghai and Nanjing 1937: Massacre on the Yangtze. Osprey
Publishing
Harmsen, Peter (2013). Shanghai 1937: Stalingrad on the Yangtze. Casemate
World War 2 Database, Battle of Shanghai: ww2db.com/batt... (Last Retrieved 31/07/2020)
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[@TheArmchairHistorian]

Use my link bit.ly/WTheArmchairHistorian and claim your Warpath gift using Code: Warpath000 *Now available on Android devices, pre-register on iOS devices

[@drexhorigan9920]

Got it!

[@spitfiremkiv339]

Ok

[@rosingpui5799]

Noice.

[@allanserrano8366]

Epic

[@Ramish5368]

I like the Avatar reference

[@HistoricalWeapons]

Yes finally! Very few western channels talk about Chinese involvement in Ww2. Millions have died fighting. Thank you so much for this video!

[@dsasd778]

Agreed

[@joemamaobama6863]

I was like wtf when I got to know how many Chinese dudes died

[@KyleF841]

@@joemamaobama6863 more soviets died

[@KHANSTER1029]

@@KyleF841 It ain't a competition buddy

[@bigmoniesponge]

@@KHANSTER1029 Agreed.

[@starwarsstudio100]

Ah yes, glad that you coverd this battle, the Chinese theatre is pretty much underrated in the majority of western history books, often just being a footnote.

[@mestupkid211986]

In some, but not all.

[@owo5869]

@@mestupkid211986 In most

[@jackl2257]

@@msmit3669less important to the west yes

[@jackl2257]

@@msmit3669 if China fall, the Japanese and the Germans could launch a offense together on the Soviets. And did u just say to me China had a low casualty?

[@jackl2257]

@@msmit3669 ...I suppose

[@dinokong0128]

My grandma was in Shanghai during the war, as a skinny little girl who barely survived the Japanese occupation.

[@dinokong0128]

@Zerevv not sure, might've been too traumatizing to mention. She did mention though how cruel those Japanese soldiers were and how she managed to steal the ration in order to survive.

[@frankfletcher_1]

Mine was also in Shanghai

[@crodsbye]

@@frankfletcher_1 mine was in Hong Kong. she's still a little disdainful of the Japanese today. I don't blame her though

[@SanderDoesThings]

@@crodsbye Mine is also from Hong Kong. I never had the guts to ask her about the war, still don't

[@therealspeedwagon1451]

China’s involvement in WWII is very underrated by the west. They always gloss over it and talk about the battle of France or the Blitz when in reality, the Chinese front alone would be by far the deadliest war ever. Poland’s involvement too is often looked over, there were tons of inventions some even used today that were made by Polish people in exile that changed the course of the war, 19% of all planes shot down in the Battle of Britain were shot down by Polish pilots. China and Poland are extremely underrated and I want more people to talk about them.

[@solus2074]

Very well said Mr. Speedwagon

[@johnnytsui7521]

@@solus2074 Can't agree more with you. For most of the westerners, WWII consisted of German invasion of Poland, sweeping the Europe and attacked Russia and then Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. The Soviets beat the Nazis in Stalingrad. The Midway and the Pacific War. Allied forces landing Normandy and then Germany surrendered. The Japanese Kamikaze and the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Japan surrendered. That's it and China (the ROC not the communist PRC) only played a minor role the historic memory of the westerners about the war.

[@lyhthegreat]

@Paul Thomas they probably knew, but most would know that china was getting invaded by japan.

[@thunderbird1921]

Though he had his flaws, Chiang Kai-Shek was an incredibly courageous leader. There's actually an old British newsreel from the 30s showing him doing a grand review of the Chinese forces just before the war with Japan broke out. At the time the Chinese air force was mostly biplanes. Despite all the disadvantages, the Chinese somehow fought on. A remarkable story of bravery, will and determination.

[@jeffreylee252]

My great grandpa served in the Air Force during the war, and I’ d like to tell you why few people talks China’s involvement . most of the battles fought at that time were done by the former government of China (roc) instead of the current one , so even Chinese themselves avoid the discussions of the frontal battlefield in WWII.

[@ahhuman9445]

Huge respects to the Chinese soldiers who stood at the front line fighting against the Japanese with poor equipments. They suffered a lot, just to save their country, their home.

[@Jake-dh9qk]

If it helps make them seem even more heroic, these soldiers lived in a time where there were no computer or data to track you if you abandoned your duties and ran away. They couldn't track you to a town miles away and find you via your ip address or purchasing histories. These men stood their grounds and fought to the end. Though, some probably did try to run away.

[@internetexplorer7143]

The Chinese don’t get enough credit for their heroic actions during WW2, they’re always overshadowed by the Americans and British.

[@Jake-dh9qk]

@@internetexplorer7143 Alot of it has to do with the modern political situation involving China and the US. There are active intentions to typecast china as the insignificant country in ww2 so the public opinion of them stays low.
This is also how france got the reputation of being useless during ww2 and ww1 when they tried to leave NATO during the 1960s because they didn't agree with America's aggressive policies against Russia/Soviets so America had a campaign that smeered the french reputation because they thought France would defect and form their own power block within Europe. Turns out france never left NATO but the reputation of them being useless and insignificant remains to this day.

[@fuyuan822]

My home province Sichuan sent 3 millions troops to frontlines, mostly poor armed, and suffered more 640 thousands military casualties. They carried a flag with the word "DEATH" on it, not expecting to survive at all.

[@internetexplorer7143]

@@fuyuan822 My province was absolutely fucked over by the Japanese

[@pfcparts7728]

I mean they’re literally wearing GERMAN uniforms trapped in a city, it is literally Stalingrad on the Yangtze.

[@Dadouf112]

@Guy Incognito Well the Germans were forced to choose an eastern ally based on logistics, sure, the Germans had invested quite a lot into the Chinese KMT army, equipping over 20k KMT elite shock troopers with modern equipment and assisted China in their industrial and modernization plans, however, it was clear that Japan was much more powerful, already having a large armed forces with a much larger industrial capacity. The Germans had even promised the Chinese that they would be chosen as their eastern ally since the Chinese were even in the anti-Comintern Pact, however, Germany had already abandoned the Chinese in favor of Japan, and not long after, the Japanese had begun another war with China.
Chinese socio-economic relations with the Soviet Union, Germany and Japan are pretty confusing at times, with the KMT openly assisting these countries while at the same time being against them.

[@timonsolus]

No, they aren’t wearing German uniforms, just German helmets. China bought military equipment from many countries in the 1920’s and 1930’s, Germany was a major supplier.
Just as after WW2, many countries bought surplus American helmets, doesn’t mean they were wearing American uniforms, just American helmets.

[@earthfederationspaceforce9844]

@Guy Incognito not allies, just trade partners
if i'm right China exports APCR's core(Tungsten
) to exchange AT gun, AA gun, panzer 1(come in late and rusted, unusable).

[@Dadouf112]

@@earthfederationspaceforce9844 Yup, Germany couldn't really provide a lot other than by word due to obvious reasons, Germany and Japan would likely become enemies due to their lack similarities other than ambitions, which is another force to drive them against each other

[@asianlifter]

@@timonsolus Some of their units can be classified as "German", such as the 88th. *coughs* german trained and equipped with german helmets

[@antiadolph]

My grandfather was a “poorly trained conscript”. Things were not pretty and they were extremely disadvantaged. He left his home to fight the IJA when he was only 17, WTF was I doing when I was 17?
Edit: Private Chiang survived the Sino-Japanese war and the subsequent civil war, and eventually made his way to Taiwan as Lt. Colonel Chiang, where he lived to a ripe old age of 96.
My respect to all the veterans who resisted the great evil.

[@richardbradley2335]

makes you think...im now thinking what i was doing at 17...oh yeas crying over a girl who went out with someone else...much respect to your grandfather

[@ptolomaios4118]

Same for me, my grandfather left to join the KMT at the age of 15. He never truly forgave the Japanese even after the war haha

[@GreatGhastly_]

You were enjoying the fruits of his sacrifice and the sacrifice of all who resisted the aggressors, same as the rest of us.

[@ptolomaios4118]

@@GreatGhastly_ Yes and for that I am extremely grateful that he survived and raised a family in Taiwan so that today I can live in America

[@yuyuyu25]

Grandfather joined the communist army at some absurd age like 11. He had 2 years of elementary school, so they made him a company commander at 18. I guess it worked out though, he ended up retiring in the 80s as a Major General.

[@seansorgeloos6349]

3:30 this dude just did an avatar reference, and i love it

[@1Invinc]

To be fair, Avatar likely referenced the Japanese invasion of China using the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom as proxies.

[@holdthedoor3782]

the avatar reference was referencing THIS war.

[@derth9230]

@@1Invinc how the hell have i not noticed that and i am an avatar fan AND a history buff

[@michaellynes3540]

@@1Invincthe Fire Nation is the Japanese Empire.

[@dingleberry4234]

@@1Invinclate as hell but yes I always loved that reference. The Earth Kingdom being strong but divided and uncoordinated was also a comparison I appreciated

[@alexeecs]

"I can conquer China in three months" -- Someone who could not conquer China in three months

[@mestupkid211986]

"I can knock out the US navy in one surprise attack, and then we can attack their colony" - the same guy

[@elisalbrecht8560]

"I can conquer the USSR via Manchuria while grabbing a chunk of Mongolia and china so I can get their valuable resources"
-The same guy

[@bogdangabrielonete3467]

"I can make a war out of th-" *no don't*

[@earthfederationspaceforce9844]

Well I see some article said they were not saying 'conquer' but 'set the deal', which means they were attempting to make another 'treaty' with the KMT government.
But no matter what they tried to do in three months at the moment, THEY FAILED.

[@dogeren0096]

Well, is actually "solve the China incident in three months", they are not dumb enough to say "conquered China". But you're right anyway, they didn't done anything in three months except the fact that start total war against China became pushed fact to make Japan go for a risky move: Pacific war

[@cristianvillanueva8782]

"Then everything changed when the Japanese nation attacked" hehe, I see what you did there

[@muffinguy25]

Good'ol ATLA reference

[@silentkid2924]

Hmm what "anime" that he mention? 😈😈😈

[@ajp5556]

I thought I was the only one that noticed

[@architech02]

Water: usa and uk
Earth: germany and ussr
Fire: GERMANY AND JAPAN
Air: japan, germany, usa, uk
In the end of the war usa became the avatar

[@architech02]

@Ryan Dennis lumpiang shanghai

[@warfare11gaming]

Thanks for covering that battle! I've considered creating a scenario of Shanghai.

[@lotrlmao1648]

There are a lot of good models on workshop for a while

[@CKC_Productions]

Warfare Gaming it's really you!

[@diligentone-six2688]

Will you make a video about the battle of Shanghai?

[@brndonlu9635]

@WarfareGaming, can you do the Vietnam War era Marines invading the Pacific West State please.

[@madhie-kun8614]

Oh yes please

[@leiyuan-sk6co]

My grandfather's mother died a few years ago. She was 103. Even though she forgot a lot of things, she still remembers her husband as a Chinese soldier who fought against the Japanese and died in the war. Often before she had trouble remembering, and as a child, I told stories of the time, including how brutal Japan was to Chinese civilians. The story that impressed me the most was that my grandfather's unit would pay wages, but all the men were willing to fight and refused to accept wages, use the money to make weapons against the Japanese invaders. They are all heroes

[@carlsonliaunady7907]

Thank your ancestor for helping our people

[@InspectHistory]

A Chinese movie name The Eight Hundred talk about this 😎

[@laurynasjonika6133]

Hey

[@hyltoniali257]

"800" is a false claim, it was in fact only 430

[@avgft3419]

Hyltonial I that makes it even more impressive

[@laurynasjonika6133]

69likes lol

[@laurynasjonika6133]

@@hyltoniali257 no its 420

[@pussinjordans8800]

Japan: lol the chinese are charging their troops at us
Also japan: *BANZAAAAAAI*

[@earthfederationspaceforce9844]

who have more machine guns and cannons can wait
China can't even guarantee all man join fight can have a standard rifle at the time
central army will use Chiang Kai Shek rifle/Type 24 rifle
many others uses type 88 rifle/Hanyang 88
commie partisan will have little to NO supply, they MUST grab some IJA rifle from the dead to use like type 38, type 99
civilian partisan? IDK, maybe some hunting rifle from Qing dynasty along side with spears and blades?

[@mirzahamzabaig5667]

@@earthfederationspaceforce9844
There were German supplies as well.. Chinese were using German weaponry too.

[@earthfederationspaceforce9844]

@@mirzahamzabaig5667 supplies?
i don't remember any, what are you talking about?
ah those things, those were bought by the central government , and some of them are in bad condition
like we ordered some panzer I. they not only coming VERY late, and they were rusted, unusable
even these little of "supplies" cut very soon as japan tell nazi to do so.

[@earthfederationspaceforce9844]

@@dauzlee2827 stahlhelm (central army only), few 37mm AT gun (few divisions of central army only), few AA maybe (few divisions of central army only), panzer 1 which is broken
you call THAT a supply? those run out VERY quick, and nazi never give more.

[@earthfederationspaceforce9844]

@@dauzlee2827 by that meaning those...stuff count as supply, but i don't think THIS (looks at the rusted panzer1) count.

[@frederickoftheartic2209]

Fun fact: Japanese-Americans fought the germans on the western front while the chinese 88th division used German Weaponry and equipment. Just imagine both Japan and Germany arguing that the one betrayed the other.
Italy: *Pathetic*

[@richyhu2042]

My favorite part about the Japanese American division is that there is a recorded incident where they legit charged a German position shouting "banzai"

[@se-ku3op]

@@richyhu2042 video?

[@blocktart4453]

@@se-ku3op Likely none.

[@Waftey]

@@blocktart4453 theres one, in "The Front" youtube channel

[@Waftey]

@@se-ku3op theres a video in The Front channel on youtube

[@wang8137]

my great grand father was a chinese soldier and lost his life in the battle while saving a civilian.

[@wang8137]

he was only 25, my grandpa was only 1

[@yannicklan3044]

my greatgrand father killed by IJA in Indonesia because his chinese race and resistance.

[@Young_Baller7]

Wow your great grandpa was and is still a hero!!! Thank him for his bravery, sacrifice, and his service. My great grandfather was an officer of the kuomingtang fighting Japan and communist China throughout his life but was killed by the Communist

[@byhyew]

Salute to your grandpa. Mine was also from near Shanghai. He joined the Communist, survived the war, and fought against the Americans in Korea.

[@fridayrobot3923]

@@yannicklan3044 where was ur Grandfather killed? Specifically,in what City in Indonesia?

[@historyfan]

Japan: You can’t lose a battle and expect your troops to gain higher morale!
NRA: Observe

[@Zen-sx5io]

Lol.

[@maximilianbeyer5642]

Isn't that what 300 was about?

[@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714]

Its normal to have troop morale high even on retreat if the war is serious.

[@MaxYoung-Maxinfet]

I read your comment before I got to the part of the video saying what NRA meant in this context. I was like what is the national rifle association have to do with this lol.

[@elephanteriot1767]

th-cam.com/video/v8LjeKQ25Dk/w-d-xo.html

[@MVs1940]

I just realised Luodian is like the Mamayev Kurgan Hill in Stalingrad, where, Wehrmacht and Red Army Forces viciously fought against each other and also exchanging 7 or 8 times in-order to gain control the view of the entire city.

[@Minboelf]

This Battle is one of the factors that lead to the Nanking Masscare

[@AzureZodiac]

I think battle of Nanking was the last draw. On top of 3 months in Shanghai, It took Japanese 12 days to capture Nanking from NRA troops that mostly just retreated from Shanghai with heavy casualties.

[@rayray6490]

The Japanese high command was actually debating if they should just stop at Shanghai since they were like “wtf just happened to us these last 3 months, the Chinamen were suppose to cave.” But the Japanese officers on the ground just decided to march to Nanjing despite no formal order to do so. The Chinese really did put everything into Shanghai, even their Wufu and Xicheng lines were breached earlier than expected. Their morale and ranks were depleted by the time the Japanese were at the gates of Nanjing

[@denialdaniela4876]

Nanking massacre happen because of the japanese imperial wanted a revenge cuz its took too long and too much soul to capture some city of china etc shanghai

[@dddddh1]

The Japanese have always been afraid of being liquidated by China. Japan recruited a lot of foreign students in China for free. A famous Chinese professor named Zheng Qiang described his experience when studying in Japan: When Japanese students asked about Unit 731 and the Nanjing Massacre, Japanese professors always scolded Japanese students and kept silent. But they were very respectful to Chinese students, although they didn't ask, and they didn't need to ask. 

 Later, a Japanese professor said to the Chinese students, "One day, when China liquidates Japan, you should put in a good word for us. After telling the audience about his experience in Japan, Zheng qiang said to the students, "Why do you think Japan recruits so many foreign students in China for free? Of course it is for cultural brainwashing to influence the next generation and future of China."
When you think about it, our ancestors died in a Japanese killing contest. The prisoners were starved for five days and then machinegunned down. The Japanese trampled the baby to death in front of the Chinese mother. Cut off a woman's breasts for her husband to eat. Unit 731 dehydrates a man to death to determine the percentage of water lost to death. Put a living person in a pressurized room and get data on how much pressure a person will die at. Put a person who has been injected with the virus in a room with a group of normal people to test the spread of the virus... It's too much to say. Only people think, without them can not do. This is not a simple war of aggression, this is taking your life while you are sick.
Just like when Abe was assassinated, the suspect could not be forgiven even after bowing and apologizing. Some things can not be done with a bow and apology, we are not qualified to forgive the Japanese for their ancestors. What? It was done by yesterday's Japanese and has nothing to do with today's Japanese? Ok, but today Japan is not obedient and does not respect history, so China should also be the bad guy today. Tomorrow's problems will be dealt with tomorrow, let's call it "father pays son". As a normal Chinese, when this reckoning will happen, I don't know, but I hope to see. Maybe when The US and China go to war? Probably not, there will be no war between The US and China, and Japan will be of no use to the US other than adding buffs to the Chinese military. But one might expect it to take the form of a Conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

[@雷-t3j]

@@dddddh1 I'm following until you mention Russia and Ukraine. Like seriously, wtf does a war between two former soviet countries in Eastern Europe have to do with China and Japan? I guess there's parrallels, with a more powerful country underestimating the resolve of it's opponents, and fascists in positions of power doing bad things, but that has nothing to do with it being caused by previous history.

[@Jjcc-pm2ht]

My grandpa was born in Changsha, Hunan. He was conscripted at a young age into the nationalist army. He never talks too much about his war days, he does show us the wound in his shoulder where a Japanese bullet still resides, and the scars on his leg where mortar shrapnel had hit him. After the Japanese surrendered he still had to fight the communists. He never mentioned anything about fighting the communists. Maybe because he felt like compared to the Japanese they weren’t really enemies. One day while retreating with his regiment he passed graves marked with the names of his parents. That’s when he realized they had passed away. He eventually made it to Taiwan and is still alive at 96! I hope the world will not forget these men and the Republic of China 🇹🇼 they fought for.

[@papabear90]

@@jiaxinlee3087 probably you should move to Taiwan then, must be stressful living a life in a place created by the commies 😂

[@aykye9538]

致敬你的爷爷，无论是共产党还是国民党，当初抗日的都是人民的英雄。我在中国大陆生活，我对我的生活满意，所以我并不反感共产党；但是我不认为因此我就是国民党的敌人。生活就是生活，没必要搞那么多政治仇恨。请替我向老人家说声谢谢，年轻人永远不会忘记先辈的付出和牺牲，祝他老人家一切安好，身体健康！

[@theodorezheng9870]

向国军将士及其后代致敬

[@闕闕大老兄]

真偉大

[@傅傅-z2r]

Your grandpa is really respectable

[@nelsin-nagantkimber-g4760]

Japan: Shanghai in 3 days! China in 3 months!
Reality: Shanghai in 3 months. China never fell.

[@user-wswmr233]

Yes,China never fell

[@scottessery100]

Seeing 6:38 and the German stelhelm and then realising they are the good guys was confusing

[@ihateanimeisback8854]

@@user-wswmr233 ,.,.s,.,.,.u,.,.b,. ,.h,.u,.,.m,.a,.,.n,. ,.w,.,.e,.,.e,.,.,,.,.b,.,. ,.,.t,.,.r,.,.,.a,.,.,.,.s,.,.h,.,.,.

[@creamychoclatelobsterwarri979]

It fell. They were useless after nanking

[@derps8690]

@@creamychoclatelobsterwarri979
...is what someone who doesn't know a thing about the second sino japanese war would say, because they ended up completely halting the japanese, forcing them to enter into a war with the allies... all of this occurring after nanjing, btw

[@CJ_1406]

Chinese Soldier: No Japanese allowed.
The Japanese Lieutenant: How about I just go around.
*So this is basically the Asian version of the Maginot Line.*

[@Xenophlanes]

Imagine a video just dedicated to that.

[@architech02]

More like the schlieffen plan cuz it ended very badly

[@einsteinonblitz2345]

underrated

[@einsteinonblitz2345]

@Shane L
That's true words man. The chinese even had way worse equitment than France

[@architech02]

@@einsteinonblitz2345 fun fact: france has the most powerful army in the beginning of the war

[@nircentv3104]

Dude whoever made that opening sequence needs a pay raise, it felt like watching a movie!
Can't wait to watch the rest of the video now
Edit: Just finished. 10/10 quality, I feel guilty for watching these videos for free

[@armorsmith43]

Yes, except for the map that ignores the fact that Manchukuo exists.

[@moneymane8246]

This dude pauses the video just to make a comment

[@alanc3845]

@@moneymane8246 Underated comment

[@nircentv3104]

@@moneymane8246 lol imagine, I liked it so much I had to pause

[@TheArmchairHistorian]

@@armorsmith43 3:40

[@martinsu3441]

Great overview of the battle of Shanghai, my hometown. I been to the actual Sihang warehouse, and I tear up visiting where now is a museum but used to be where my countryman fought the invaders. There is a recent film called “The Eight Hundred”, that tells the story of sihang, excellent film and tragic story.

[@awsumguy-bh9pz]

nobody:
that one Japanese lieutenant: *ROAD SAFETY LAWS PREPARE TO BE IGNORED*

[@elephanteriot1767]

th-cam.com/video/v8LjeKQ25Dk/w-d-xo.html

[@USSCYT]

70th like

[@roskcity]

Wtf was he doing alone driving a truck lol

[@SpaceshipOperations]

_KANSEI DORIFTO?_

[@shinsenshogun900]

He sure made China go postal

[@LeachingJack]

"The second Sino-Japanese war lasted for eight years." Initially, when asked by the US, the Chinese government predicts they can hold on for a maximum of 3 months.
Salute to the Nationalist army, who fought the vast majority of the battles. Salute to all other factions too, including the Communist army and the Flying Tigers squadron -- the only squadron of warplanes that fought for China, flown by American pilots. The nickname of the SWAT team in Hong Kong is named after the Flying Tigers.

[@Hellingame]

I could be mistaken, but the question asked by the US was how long the Chinese government predicted they could hold a conventional front-to-back war. And it was true, the Chinese Nationalist government lacked the infrastructure and command structure to wage a full scale war for longer than a few months, which is why most of the fighting after 1938/39 devolved into guerilla styled warfare (until the tides began turning).
Regardless, all factions within the Chinese side fought bravely, and sacrificed more than anyone could ask for.

[@woisy6]

btw most of the commies was wating for the suprise attack for the NRA lol

[@Salty-Doggy]

Japanese invasion actually may have saved the Communists in China

[@LeachingJack]

@@Salty-Doggy I would say it actually did save the Communist part and in return, the Communist winning the civil war saved Japan because the US needed someone to contain China. Japan was the perfect ally and thus received much aid that was needed to rebuild Japan.

[@Jackuves]

Eh chairman Mao would eventually bring the apocalypse back

[@hooderik8699]

Being very honest: this is pretty good for a western theater-based channel, keep up

[@williamyoung9401]

"For a western theater-based channel?" What does that even mean? What do you have? o_O

[@noelwym123]

@@williamyoung9401 He just means that given The Armchair Historian often covers European or American history rather than Asian, he did a pretty good job explaining the battle of Shanghai.

[@Salty_Bear]

"But everything changed, when the Japanese Nation attacked" Thanks for Aang`s reference

[@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

It's a shame the Chinese and Burma fronts are mostly forgotten because that's actually where 80% of the Japanese army were stationed, they had millions of troops in those theatres compared to the handful of divisions they deployed to the Pacific Islands.

[@spartanbob6341]

Japan who lost 20% of their army but won: this is a bitter day for the empire....
China who lost the battle, their capital, and half of their army: hip hip hurray!

[@curtiswong7280]

The entire war in a nutshell

[@Lightscribe225]

Then Nanjing happened...

[@unholydanger]

@@Lightscribe225 lol

[@anandsuryansh2971]

look at china and japan now
china can destroy japan in a second

[@def3ndr887]

@@anandsuryansh2971 not if the U.S has anything to say about it

[@kingjoolien2495]

It’s incredible and also quite depressing how in many western countries, we hardly recognise China and Burma as fronts in WW2, even though they suffered many casualties through brutal fighting. Another Amazing informative video too, you gained a sub! 👍

[@ThatGuy-fd5px]

My Great Uncle fought in Burma. I believe he was in the Royal Marines and fought at night. I'll ask again but I know my uncle rarely spoke about it or refused to.

[@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

@@ThatGuy-fd5px Cant blame him mate that was one of the worst theatres as far as combat conditions and terrain went

[@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

@CKS1949 Also most of the Japanese army was stationed in China and Burma too.

[@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

@Guy Incognito Japan would have 300,000 odd troops there.
20,000 on Iwo Jima.
77,000 on Okinawa.
939,000 facing the Russians.
400,000 in the Philippines.
So it was a pretty important theatre for the IJA.

[@ThatGuy-fd5px]

To say it wasn't important is pretty ignorant.

[@hwdprtn7670]

5:09 Lieutenant Isao Ōyama (大山勇夫) was actually a Japanese Navy (IJN) officer, so it would be more accurate that he wore naval uniforms instead of army ones.

[@lyhthegreat]

i thought the IJN had some inter-service rivalry with the IJA? The IJN officers were actually against the the IAJ's idea to attack china due to budgeting issues and instead they wanted to direct their attention southwards into southeast asia. Wouldn't staring a war in china had helped the IJA instead?

[@austin9988]

​@@lyhthegreat the video got that detail wrong too. Oyama didn't start a shootout with anyone, he was unarmed at the time. Some historians believe Oyama and his driver were ambushed but the whole thing is suspicious. Oyama was probably engaging in espionage.

[@lordkent8143]

I've always said this: we still need a game on the Chinese Theater of War.

[@MaxYoung-Maxinfet]

I agree with you but handling Nanjing and other cities in a tactful manner in a video game is a steep challenge and probably why it's not covered very often in any type of entertainment. It's amazing how little this theater of world war II is covered considering how influential it is on the region.

[@Joshua-fq9tm]

exactly!!

[@lordkent8143]

@@MaxYoung-Maxinfet yes, but in terms of a game, it can be done. I think it's more so the lack of support to make the game. Game companies want to make sure it sells and yet want to avoid any bad publicity since it could be political.

[@mydlear4238]

@@lordkent8143 well a big consumer of video game is China. So don’t expect Chinese people buying a game criticising their country or even worse, a game saying good about the nationalists, especially with the actual Chinese policy.
And well it goes very political after that

[@lordkent8143]

@salty sailor I'm talking about a COD style game where you fight as a NRA soldier or communist soldier

[@jiemingou2010]

I'm so glad someone covered this! People always seemed to forget the war in China was always apart of WW2. Quality channel, keep it up!

[@mohamadashkar3201]

3:32 cleanest avatar last air bender reference I’ve ever seen

[@דסאלייןאגיגו]

I was watching it and was like:did he just did what I think he did.

[@liamselle1990]

Right

[@shinmalpure7872]

@@דסאלייןאגיגו i be damned, he did

[@takashi.mizuiro]

true

[@oliberrr]

@Arrow Boy Democracy is not in US constitution nor in the declaration of independence. Founding fathers put electoral college to prevent negative effects of democracy.

[@ladasodaexplains3355]

I am from Dachang, Shanghai. I’m honestly ashamed that I am not really aware of this part of history that happened in my home town almost a century ago. The only remanence of the battle today is a small, concrete bunker that still remains in a community center which has a swimming pool, next to a major road through the town. There is still an active airbase in the town, which I’m assuming is where the fight between the Japanese officer and Chinese soldiers in the beginning of the video happened.
I’m really grateful that someone in the US put their time and effort to make a long video about what happened in the place I lived for a decade. Thank you.

[@_j_i_jordan5691]

Japanese in 1937: Look at these people charging at machine guns
Japanese in 1945: BANZAAAI

[@artym2000]

Lol

[@CHRF-55457]

Lol

[@danewoodruff5697]

Lol

[@jblazerndrowzy]

Desperation does that to you

[@justineallandevelos6491]

US Marine officer: hey someone call those flamethrower tanks we need them again!
US Marine private: another banzai charge sir?
US Marine officer: what does it look like private?
US Marine private: *sighs* fine i'll get on the line

[@jackjin1183]

As a Chinese, thank you for explaining the battle happening in Shanghai. I really like your videos.
I would also like to explain to people living in Europe and Americas that China did participate through the WW2. It has joined the allied forces on December 8, 1941 after the attack of Pearl Harbor.
Even before that, we had provided important stuff for Europe that it could be prepared to face the Japanese invasion in their Asian colonies.

[@gurufabbes1]

Most people that have studied the period are aware that China was fighting Japan since the 1930s, before everyone else.

[@xxcxpl]

Going even deeper in history what's often overlooked is Chinese involvement in Europe during WW1.
Greetings from Poland (another country torn apart by its imperial neighbours time&time again)
✌️

[@billyfox6368]

@@gurufabbes1 Yes, but even people who haven't studied the period would know about the British and American involvement et cetera; however, they probably wouldn't know about the Chinese.

[@pirateofthemist3764]

Corona Land

[@orthosarthak]

I'm curious, we have been told China doesn't allow it's people to interact with the rest of the world through any social media platform. So they have their own version of Facebook and WhatsApp. Does it allow you to access and interact over TH-cam? Or are you staying outside China?

[@arandomguy3696]

Japan:"We're taking China within two months!"
China:"Everything changed when your nation failed to"

[@albertromas357]

@julian zhou oh god imagine almost conquering all of the Chinese mainland just to see that a guy lead a communist revolution

[@freelanceart1019]

@@albertromas357 a guy funded and backed by Zioniits

[@iamhorny4542]

@julian zhou fun fact: mao even admitted that he wouldnt have won without the japanese invasion of china

[@nordicpoet1833]

Not because of China. China lost battle after battle. They would have lost without the US. Pathetic.

[@plaguedoc7727]

@@nordicpoet1833 Looks like somebody here doesn't get the concept of satires.

[@ropersf]

There is a real good book on the Chinese Nationalists called "The Soong Dynasty" by Sterling Seagrave. The Soongs were a wealthy and powerful family with connections to the Nationalists. One daughter married Sun Yat-Sen another married Chiang Kai Shek, and another was the banker and finance minister for the Nationalist. It's a fun read with tons of drama, intrigue and criminal gangs.

[@dennisfischer4838]

Everything changed when the Japanese nation attacked
Was that a Avatar the last air bender reference,

[@YAH2121]

Yes, a fitting one too. The fire nation are pretty much Imperial Japan

[@dennisfischer4838]

Would that make China earth kingdom or water tribes?

[@curtiswong7280]

@@dennisfischer4838 China is the Earth Kingdom. A large and populous nation, with an inferior technological edge, heroically fighting every inch of the way against an enemy that by all rights should've destroyed it by then.

[@dennisfischer4838]

Bosingsae is a Chinese name I think so that would make sense

[@usernotfound-jw7xs]

yes.

[@nmevaz9250]

It’s rare you hear the Chinese theater of the Second World War. This was a great topic and I hope you guys talk more about the Asian Theater of the War soon!

[@RealRotkohl]

Would be awesome

[@TanzaniaCountryball]

So true! I would like people to actually hear about the Tanzanian sacrifices in Burma.

[@Martoto94]

Can I just say that this channel is absolutely terrific and just marvelously well made. The animations are sublime, the references (avatar: the last air bender) are great, and the way such important events are distilled to such short time frames without sacrificing historical accuracy is masterful. Please, keep doing what you’re doing.

[@dargon1084]

I have no words to express how beautifully done this video was, the visuals, writing and the editing was just superb

[@Jacob-hx6lv]

You should do more on the sino-japanese wars. This is really interesting

[@laurynasjonika6133]

Yea m8

[@joemamaobama6863]

Yea m8

[@iamhorny4542]

Its a shame that this is so overlooked. China had the 2nd highest casualties in ww2, and is the equivalent of the soviet union for the Japanese if we compare the Japanese to Germans.

[@dddddh1]

The Japanese have always been afraid of being liquidated by China. Japan recruited a lot of foreign students in China for free. A famous Chinese professor named Zheng Qiang described his experience when studying in Japan: When Japanese students asked about Unit 731 and the Nanjing Massacre, Japanese professors always scolded Japanese students and kept silent. But they were very respectful to Chinese students, although they didn't ask, and they didn't need to ask. 

 Later, a Japanese professor said to the Chinese students, "One day, when China liquidates Japan, you should put in a good word for us. After telling the audience about his experience in Japan, Zheng qiang said to the students, "Why do you think Japan recruits so many foreign students in China for free? Of course it is for cultural brainwashing to influence the next generation and future of China."
When you think about it, our ancestors died in a Japanese killing contest. The prisoners were starved for five days and then machinegunned down. The Japanese trampled the baby to death in front of the Chinese mother. Cut off a woman's breasts for her husband to eat. Unit 731 dehydrates a man to death to determine the percentage of water lost to death. Put a living person in a pressurized room and get data on how much pressure a person will die at. Put a person who has been injected with the virus in a room with a group of normal people to test the spread of the virus... It's too much to say. Only people think, without them can not do. This is not a simple war of aggression, this is taking your life while you are sick.
Just like when Abe was assassinated, the suspect could not be forgiven even after bowing and apologizing. Some things can not be done with a bow and apology, we are not qualified to forgive the Japanese for their ancestors. What? It was done by yesterday's Japanese and has nothing to do with today's Japanese? Ok, but today Japan is not obedient and does not respect history, so China should also be the bad guy today. Tomorrow's problems will be dealt with tomorrow, let's call it "father pays son". As a normal Chinese, when this reckoning will happen, I don't know, but I hope to see. Maybe when The US and China go to war? Probably not, there will be no war between The US and China, and Japan will be of no use to the US other than adding buffs to the Chinese military. But one might expect it to take the form of a Conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

[@ChaosMongrel]

I love how far this channel has come. The information was always interesting and well researched. But the animations have noticeably improved over time. I'm a big fan of the style.

[@frostwang6557]

As a Chinese, it's really good to see a video like this... Thanks a lot

[@anthonyendack3138]

same, I'm chinese

[@rickzabroski6347]

My great grandparents lived there during the war. When I was a kid, we had this traditional Chinese-looking wardrobe that had a huge scar on it. It’s through one of the front side door of the wardrobe. I asked my grandma what caused the scar, she said it was Japanese soldier’s bayonet when they entered the resident of my great parents’ and checking for people hiding in the wardrobe. Glad they survived that time.

[@Ras_al_Gore]

“Flesh Mill”
So... you think “meat grinder” might be a more appropriate translation?

[@hiimryan2388]

Nah mate its more like a meat factory

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

Probably lost in translation. The west calls it a meat grinder. Probably a better transition for Flesh Mill is Slaughterhouse.

[@harshbansal7982]

Flesh mill sounds better tbh .

[@notafrog2040]

Meat grinder is not as cool

[@thysmillan2067]

The original Chinese phrase is 血肉磨坊 "a grinding-mill of flesh and blood", for which "meat grinder" seems a lackluster substitute

[@williamsanders2348]

2 minutes in, and it's true, I have vast knowledge of the western world's events of World War II, but I know virtually nothing about the Chinese experience in the same war, this instance in particular. Thank you for this.

[@GeneralLiuofBoston1911]

I'll help you play catchup on this:
3:18 map
Fengtian Clique led by Zhang Zuolin until 1928 when the Japanese Kwangtung Army assassinated him (succeeded by his son, Zhang Xueliang, known as the Young Marshal)
New Guan Clique (full name: New Guangxi Clique): Led by Bai Chongxi and Li Zongren after the overthrow of the Old Guangxi Clique under Li Rongting in the mid 1920s.
Yunan Clique (typo in video: Supposed to say Yunnan): Led by Long Yun after the overthrow of Cai E.
Guomin (I believe short for Guominjun - Guomin is Chinese for National; Jun is army - Therefore, National Army): Led under various warlords, notable leader was Feng Yuxiang.
Ma Clique: (technically three) Also known as Xibei San Ma (if you play HOI4) for the 3 Ma Families, each ruling one of the three provinces: Ningxia, Qinghai, and Gansu like Ma Bufang or the notorious Ma Hongkui (diabetic, ice cream addict, and said to have executed at least one person a day).
Sichuan Clique - Technically a series of warlords fighting for power over Sichuan, which made the province weak and vulnerable to famine due to internal strife. Yang Sen and Liu Wenhui are just 2 of many.
Last is Xinjiang, which was under the Han warlord, Jin Shuren, then overthrown by USSR sympathizer, Sheng Shicai.
Edit: Shanxi Clique, led by Yan Xishan, the model governor, and one of the longest reigning warlords of the period from 1912 to the late 1940s.
But despite the unification, many of these warlords still ruled their respective areas of control even after the Northern Expedition (1926-1928). Consolidation efforts did occur, but much was halted and slowed down due to Communist uprising by the Chinese Communist Party under members like Liu Bocheng, Zhu De, Mao Zedong, Peng Dehuai, and many more.
Even after the agreements in 1936 after the Xi'an Incident, there was tension between the Kuomintang/KMT under Chiang Kai-shek and the Chinese Communist Party under Mao Zedong.

[@GeneralLiuofBoston1911]

Notable people:
Bo Gu
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Ching-kuo
Chiang Wei-kuo
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Fo
Soong Mei-ling
Soong Ching-ling
Soong Ai-ling
Soong Tzu-wen
Charlie Soong
Wellington Koo
H.H. Kung (descendant of Confucius)
Mao Zedong
Liu Wenhui
Yang Sen (claims to have met the oldest man in history: 256 years old)
13th Dalai Lama
Yang Zengxin (may have spelt his name wrong)
Jin Shuren
Sheng Shicai
Peng Dehuai
Zhu De
Liu Bocheng
Xie Jinyuan
Pang Bingxun
Zhang ZiZhong
Zhang ZhiZhong (these are different people)
Gao Zhihang (top Chinese ace; KIA 1937)
Joseph Stilwell (I hate this man's guts)
Claire Lee Chennault
Sun Li-ren
Bai Chongxi (duo with Li Zongren)
Li Zongren (duo with Bai Chongxi)
Zhang Zuolin
Zhang Xueliang
Ma Bufang
Ma Hongkui (diabetic ice cream lover)
Ma Hongbin
Yan Xishan (Model Governor)
Cai E
Long Yun
Chen Jiongming
Lin Sen
Dai Li (referenced in Avatar)
Zhang Zongchang (dogmeat general. His poems are awesome)
Zhang Xun
Emperor Puyi (quisling emperor)
Hu Hanmin
Hu Lien
Gu Zhutong
I think this is a nice start

[@jpyxlmapping5821]

Most Westerners don t think much of china in ww2 even in history books but china lost so many men the Japanese did so many brutal atrocities to the chinses civilians and soldiers lots of Westerners don’t really talk about which really is not fair If you dig deeper to the topic you will Find out that Japan was incredibly brutal to chinese civilians and soldiers

[@porksterbob]

Read tower of skulls by Richard Frank which goes over the Asia Pacific war and how all of it related to the rest of ww2.

[@thefutureisnowoldman7653]

@@GeneralLiuofBoston1911 Thanks

[@godlesspenguin8701]

The bulk of the Japanese Army was tied down in China during the ensuing Pacific War, unavailable to fight against the Western Allies.
I think the 3rd Battle of Changsha would have been a better comparison to Stalingrad. I hope there will be an Animated History episode on this battle one day.

[@caominhnhat1455]

The pacific war was pretty much win when US win Midway. No matter how much Troop Japan had to bulk their defense. No way they could transfer those big troop to prevent Us island hopping as the good amount of them crippled during midway and Us spam destroyer like ants.

[@FTW3152]

@@caominhnhat1455 Plus a huge portion of the Japanese troops in the Pacific never saw combat, the US just used their navy to stop supplies from reaching any island they didn't capture with ground troops. As a result a huge amount of Japanese ended up starving to death or died of disease without seeing an enemy combatant.

[@YuuSHiiiN]

@@caominhnhat1455 Even without Midway, the US would eventually overwhelm the Japanese with their industrial output + fresh manpower. Isoroku Yamamoto said it himself that war with the US was unwinnable from the start.

[@JackY-pu5nh]

I agree

[@porksterbob]

Third Changsha is smaller than the battle of Shanghai

[@echo8481]

"But then, everything changed when the Japanese nation attacked."
Reference 💀

[@WanderlustZero]

Japan and China: *There is only one nation allowed to have a sun as a flag. We fight to the death.*
Argentina: *slides back into the hedge*

[@Teddybaerchen2012]

Where is Macedonia

[@elim.4204]

is that why japan invaded philippines :0

[@zyanego3170]

@@Teddybaerchen2012 Under Bulgarian Control

[@chepiepanela2637]

Philippines: invisibility: on

[@jundonjose]

Uruguay?

[@vincentqu3267]

As a Chinese, I really hope this 100-year history of shame to be remembered, and no war forever

[@glisztliszt2854]

Revenge

[@Jeremy_Y]

R e v e n g e

[@mitonaarea5856]

The way the CCP and USA are acting, there will be another world a war for sure

[@mitonaarea5856]

@@kanding3369 Both of them are being agressive. The US to China and China to it´s neighbours.

[@mitonaarea5856]

@@kanding3369 Mate hear me out. Where did you read on my comment that the CCP was agressive to the US??? I am saying that the 2 world superpowers are dangersly being more agressive. This doesn´t mean that CCP is being agressive to the US, but they are being agressive to it´s neighbours who are also american allies.

[@Mike-bt3ki]

That generation of Chinese were tough. My grandfather was 14 when he fought in WW2, he then fought in the Chinese civil war after WW2, and then in the Korean War in 1950's. 3 wars in less than 2 decades. He has spent many years of his life fighting in wars. The Chinese had some of the most battle hardened soldiers on the planet, it is no wonder why the USA and UN forces were pushed back in Korea against all odds.

[@craiglarge5925]

My father went up to bat against the Chinese Communist army in Korea, October 1952.

[@nordicpoet1833]

"Against all odds" what odds are those? The Chinese outnumbered US forces by a big margin, and MacArthur couldn't drop nukes on China/NK because he couldn't get permission so we had to fight the best we could. I know we killed hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops and China was able to push us because of your indifference towards your own lives and the threat of war with the Soviet Union.

[@nordicpoet1833]

@@hskcjhwkj1615 That doesn't make any sense. The Chinese had supplies, and even extra from the Soviets. Stop trying to shill for China you're bad at it.

[@casecao8412]

@@nordicpoet1833 The Chinese were clearly disadvantaged during the Korean war. The ONLY advantage the PLA had over the UN was its numbers. The US forces had better equipment, better supplies, air and naval support (both of which the Chinese did not have). We're talking about a recovering third world country fighting the most powerful country with the backing of the UN.

[@nordicpoet1833]

@@casecao8412 Why is that? Is it because one nation was more prosperous and innovative? That's what you're arguing.

[@ranabanik1354]

The narration, the animations, the background music...everything is so perfect in this video!
wish I could work in such projects!

[@我是一个人-e4p]

Yep! Hello, Chinese here. Thank you so much for mentioning this! As Inspect History said, the movie Eight Hundred (八百) is about a battle in Shanghai, and it talks about the KMT, and is actually watchable in the mainland. There is a documentary called China’s Forgotten War, and it interviews the veterans, would recommend it.

[@clarencel8150]

看到中国人了哈哈哈 看到有外国人科普日本侵华战争还蛮..感动？看评论区感觉西方都没怎么了解过这方面的

[@holyromanempireball465]

Seeing the armchair historian make an Avatar reference with the Japanese being like the fire nation is just cool

[@江明-d7x]

As a Chinese, thank you very much for making this video.Let more people in the world know about this war and the soldiers who died in this war for their country.The incompetence of the government and the ignorance of some senior commanders was the cause of this disastrous war, but these Chinese soldiers came from all over China. Due to poor transportation, many of them walked thousands of kilometers to the battlefield and died quickly.They are real heroes worthy of praise.

[@ruben_zermeno]

In my case, I'm not chinese, but I want it to give you my sincere condolences for what the Imperial Japanese soldiers did to their people during WW2, specially if you have members of your family that they were actually victims from the imperial japanese army.
However, I don't hate the civilian japanese people that came after the generation of the Rising Sun of Japan. They don't have anything to do of what their predecessors did in that horrible event, and it's not okey to blame them for the sins of their ancestors to them. I actually hate their goverment for still denying their atrocities during that event, for not give a direct apology to all of their victims, and for hiding their dark past to their own people, making them look so naive for not realizing why many chinese, koreans and other Asian countries still look at them with so much hatred and distrust, when it's not their fault for not know very well their own history during WW2.

[@江明-d7x]

@@ruben_zermeno Agree with most of your points. I have been to Japan and the people there are very friendly and calm and helpful. The time I spent in Japan was very relaxing and calming. However, the damage caused by the Japanese army to the Chinese people during WWII was too painful and there are still a lot of survivors telling their tragic experiences and stories. For Chinese people who did not experience WWII nowadays, their fathers or grandfathers had the experience of being hurt by the Japanese army, and I am one of them. As such a Chinese, what I hope is that the Japanese government will face up to history and give its own people the right history education, so that such a human tragedy as World War II can be prevented from happening again as much as possible, and may there be peace in the world.

[@jamesgorden9869]

This channel is extremely underrated and i'm so lucky I found it

[@ΧρηστοςΚαλαιτζιδης-ι2λ]

3:37 love the last airbender reference

[@caseblue2232]

As a Chinese, I deeply appreciated the effort you put into this video. The fact that you talked about it in detail makes me surprised... Because of current political climate and TH-cam, I know you can't actually talk about Nanjing, instead you implied that near the end of the video. I understand and appreciate it...
My other favorite history channels, such as Simple History, Potential History and Eastory, didn't talk about this battle, but you did. Once again, thank you so much.

[@FlyingTigersKMT]

Did TH-cam ban all the Massacre of Nanking videos by Iris Chang and the Nanking Memorial Foundation and all the other documentaries about John Rabe, the International Safety Zone, and Father McGee and all the other angels who showed humanity in a time of inhuman cruelty? I just watched "Flowers of War" with Christian Bale again. What a beautiful movie... Fictional, but heavily based on factual happenings.

[@polecat7377]

There are certainly some things that Japan should probably own up to if it ever wants to get on with better relations with its neighbors. The US and Japan both made regrettable decisions when they fought each other.

[@FlyingTigersKMT]

@@polecat7377- Japan hasn't owned up to anything and actually doubled down on its gaslight to say they were defending themselves against western aggression, comfort women were all willing prostitutes, and the conquered countries were better off under their rule. Then they denied all the other atrocities like Unit 731.
Germany and allied powers certainly owned up to their misdeeds and Germany took very solid and continuous steps to address their crimes.

[@caseblue2232]

@@FlyingTigersKMT @Wilhelm 88 To my knowledge, they don't even teach Nanjing massacre in Japan high school.
There was a video in TH-cam talked about average Japanese teenagers their knowledge about WW2. They knew Pearl Habor, US fire bomb campaign on Tokyo and the Atomic bomb. But not Nanjing massacre.
Later on in the video, one teenager even said he think Japan apologized enough. That angered me, I agree that it is time to put down our hate. Yet... Not without a formal apology and change of education system in Japan.
At this point, I believe Japan government won't apologize because of their fragile self-esteem.

[@FlyingTigersKMT]

Case Blue - They can't apologize. The whole country has undergone generations of conditioning through indoctrination and education and to completely overhaul their own account of history would tear the next generation apart. Even the kids nowadays there think like the people back in the 40s as far as what happened in WW2 goes. To change everything would e a total 180 from what they all think as a society.
The Ultra-Nationalists will also never allow even a modicum of repentance. They actually threaten and even tried to assassinate people who acknowledge and want to apologize to the world for what Japan did. I don't think Japan will ever change and if it does, it will take another 50 years minimum to even start the pendulum swinging toward the right direction.
It is very telling when watching the various documentaries on Nanking and the interviews with the old soldiers who were there. When they talked about the killings and the rapes, they were stone cold and some justified their actions as their right and some even smiled with the fond memories of what they did.
Then you got the shrine to the WW2 war criminals that they worship at every year, along with the throngs of crowds that dress up as IJA soldiers and fly the Rising Sun war flag and shout "Banzai!" They are proud of it and that I really don't see that tradition changing. It would tear apart their culture too much.

[@chaosXP3RT]

Dan Carlin has an amazing series on the Japanese during WWII. He talks about the Sino-Japanese war which is so refreshing to learn about!

[@老实人-o1c]

向过去为了保卫祖国而牺牲的先辈致敬！

[@johnbennett951]

plz pay tribute 🙏

[@jacobtravelx8106]

Soo how's your social credits score?

[@ppx2934]

@@jacobtravelx8106 社会信用分，对于大部分中国人民是无关紧要的东西，仅限于在中国的资本家不给工人工资，就会纳入失去信用名单

[@aykye9538]

@@jacobtravelx8106 In fact, it's just an internet joke, and in reality it's mostly used in court to try people who owe money to others for a long time in China, such as bosses who owe wages.
I've always been very surprised that a lot of people take this joke seriously, but in fact Chinese life is not very different from that of people in Western countries.

[@ジージーたろう]

今の中国が命を賭けてまで守りたかったものなのか…？

[@ludovisuis]

everyone talking about the "when the Japan nation attacked", but did nobody saw "China is free real estate"? 4:04

[@tabletopa4548]

yeah because in the 1800s I think the french, Japanese, german and britan were taking advantage when china was super weak

[@AndasMus]

Chinese: (use frontal bayonet charges)
Japan: (starts losing to the Americans)
Japanese generals: so what did the Chinese do?

[@rickshao1276]

not surrendering

[@AndasMus]

@@rickshao1276 Exactly!

[@Hideyoshi1991]

so many lives lost for no reason. A war that should never have happened

[@theishaanandankitashow]

@@Hideyoshi1991 Agreed.

[@WillYouPanMe]

national party held against the japanese for so long even after losing many key cities and states. Their ability to defend was already weaken due to the previous civil war against the communist party, which you see today. Japan took advantaged of a weaken china and attacked.

[@applepie4287]

Warpath: Sponsors a video about the Chinese in WW2
Also Warpath: Releases a WW2 game ad without China

[@davidx9575]

上海人不会忘记这场战争，吾辈当自强

[@holdthedoor3782]

nuke tokyo

[@jiayangnie3904]

@@holdthedoor3782 agreed

[@haiangvuthai3615]

@@holdthedoor3782 China lost battle after battle. They would have lost without the US. Pathetic.

[@haiangvuthai3615]

@@jiayangnie3904 how about nuke Beijing

[@haiangvuthai3615]

@@jiayangnie3904 no one like modern nazi

[@敬康汪]

Yeah I'm a Chinese.Thanks for introduce this battle.Maybe we are not such important as America or Soviet Union during WWII,but our nation had lost a lot to fight with Japanese.Thank you to introduce the battle on TH-cam so that more people over the world could know what we did.

[@seancuevasmusician]

Meanwhile In my hoi4 game, China defeats Japan in 1939

[@fiendish9474]

HOI4 is wild lmao I remember one of my games germany teamed up with monarchist england to beat up italy and france

[@aguyplayinggames1193]

its a 50/50,japan sometimes gets pushed back when the war start

[@FarisMoringstar]

In fact, Chinese people like to play games like Hoi 4，EU4，CK3

[@FarisMoringstar]

@DANIEL BIN OMAR - t's just that the game itself is banned, dlc is not banned, we can buy CDKEY, our country turns a blind eye to this, Our video website can place videos related to HOI4.. Everyone is playing.

[@FarisMoringstar]

@DANIEL BIN OMAR - For me, I really like strategy history games. My friends also like to play this type of game. Recently I am addicted to the game of Steel Division 2.

[@keiththomas1180]

Maybe this is what you should be focusing on, lesser known battles and wars which would make your channel stand out more Griff 😁😁😁

[@UnfairEnforcer]

Well known stuff still draws in the most attention, so it will continue to be a mix of lesser known and traditional content

[@ethanyee17]

Literally in the middle of a civil war and with poor weapons they managed to hold the Japanese respect+++

[@Nietabs]

They made a truce between the NRA and the CCP to fight the Japanese. As soon as Japanese left, CCP backstabbed NRA in the back

[@doujinflip]

The CPC didn't do much fighting either, mostly hiding in the mountains and indoctrinating themselves on Communist philosophy. They were less inept and less corrupt than the KMT though, so the few engagements they did have were more successful which allowed them to elevate themselves as the superior alternative until they gained the whole Mainland.

[@blooddemonart3860]

@@Nietabs u mean the NRA stabbed the ccp in the back not the ccp learn proper chinese history even taiwanese themselve said they attacked

[@Jake-dh9qk]

The use of the Chinese walls in these city battles were also notedly extraordinary. Century old walls designed from 15th century China was able to hold off Japanese artillery fires.

[@M0rshu64]

The annimation here is stunning! Especially at 7:20 with that camera work!

[@jakobhawkins77]

Are we not gonna actknowledge the Avatar: The Last Airbender connection at the start?

[@JustAnotherAccount8]

everything changed when the japanese nation attacked

[@architech02]

It wouldve been better if there is a japanese soldier shooting a flamethrower in the center

[@bomba7197]

It's basically fire nation vs earth kingdom.. the air nomads are Tibet and Water tribes are Siberia... And Taiwan will be the United Republic

[@felipedaiber2991]

Avatar was also partially inspired by this war as well

[@ethanmcfarland8240]

@@felipedaiber2991
Avatar is a giant metaphor for this war guys

[@tgp-thegenericsplayroom]

That reminds me of the movie called the 800.
Aside from Shanghai, there's a city that is considered as Stalingrad in China called CHANGDE (fighting between the Chinese Kuomintang and Japanese in the city)

[@zhz2545]

you're right,and in fact the changde city was the only one that was destroyed completely by IJA.Before that this city had over 1000 years' history😢

[@spitfiremkiv339]

I love it how Griffin's styles of Video making changes in each video.

[@krk_uts3]

It's surprising to see a video about the Chinese anti-fascist battlefields on a English history channel, which moved me very much. Thank you for making the contribution of the Chinese people to the international struggle against fascism known.
and there's a little correction of map: ROC didn't control the North Shaanxi Province where the location of Soviet Republic of China is until Anti-Japanese National United Front founded.

[@tubesocks1019]

when u said everything changed when the Japanese nation attacked 3:26 i thought of avatar the last Airbender

[@mgway4661]

It’s too depressing

[@ethanmcfarland8240]

He was making an Avatar joke

[@tubesocks1019]

@@ethanmcfarland8240 ye lol

[@theedgyhighschoolkid1328]

3:32 nice reference, you brought back a year of nostalgia in around 5 seconds.

[@luigidisanpietro3720]

*What I love in this video:*
1.) Griffin's emphasis not on mere "tactical and objective infos," but also "human misery."
2.) The lackness of Eastern Theater documentaries makes this one very unique.
3.) Implications to how we see the world today.

[@shlomoshlomo963]

Eastern theaters is misleading, i know it's about specifically China's war. But the eastern front is the most talked about part of the war and the us war against japan which occurred in the east as well is also one of the most talked about aspects (after the eastern front and maybe after the western front)

[@kursk_kuku141]

The Sihang Warehouse... I remember visiting there. It was gruesome yet inspiring.

[@hometownboy6537]

So, when can we talk about Japans brutality of the Chinese people? Or has TH-cam in their infinite wisdom decided that history should be ignored? Anyway great video guys, thanks for showing this.

[@blenterbl]

Yea, the image of “Shanghai baby” haunts me every night.

[@Akislav1990]

There is an infinite amount of material on that topic. Including a well known movie on unit 731, called "men behind the sun".

[@hometownboy6537]

@@blenterbl no, please no

[@nicolasheung441]

There's a youtube channel named World War 2, covering these topics in a series called War against Humanity. I would highly recommend you to check it out. There good work needs to be known

[@alinazang6651]

Japan's war on China was no mere land grab. It was an ethnic genocide. The Japanese had every intention of murdering millions and enslaving the rest.

[@winfieldzhai7905]

Good job on this one, so far the best video I've watched that covered China well. Honestly there's was a lot interest political issue during the battle, while chinese force was way larger than the Japanese, but only a small amount of them were Jiang's own force, others were from the warlords who were not really willing to help, while jiang's Army was fighting the Japanese, their large force just there watching, which is why NanJing can fell so fast later.

[@XCal]

Fun facts about the Sihang Warehouse Defense:
-Initially it was going to be a much larger force of elite soldiers, but Chiang Kai-Shek kept reducing the force, pulling away the elite portions and good equipment so that at the end something under 800 of the freshest recruits were left to fight General Matsui's veteran 3rd Army. This wasn't unusual, as the Nationalists were notoriously corrupt and backstabbing among themselves.
-Of the 800, only something over 400 men made it to the warehouse, but the commander, Xie Jinyuan refused to report his force as anything smaller than 800 and just made up names to fill the remaining roster, an action that made their tale known as the '800 heroes', the defense of the warehouse can be likened to Thermopylae - except it would be more like Persian regulars holding back a Spartan horde in terms of combat experience, achieved by just making up the rest with defiant courage.
-The warehouse itself however, was tactically one of the best positions the Chinese could have envisioned. Being at a river, near a foreign consulate to prevent bombardments and willing to detonate surrounding buildings to ensure all approaches were nothing but giant kill zones.
-Xie Jinyuan's defense was itself notoriously brutal and hardy. When Japanese artillery started to rip holes into the warehouse walls, he is reported to have exclaimed something like 'Excellent, more vantages for us to shoot them from! Our advantage grows!'. In several instances, Japanese stormtrooper squads made it into the warehouse and had to be defeated in melee combat by Xie's recruits and even Xie himself.
-The Sihang warehouse defenders were scheduled to hold for a time that they largely exceeded. They then just refused to surrender and all of Shanghai came to hear of this defense, starting to sneak in supplies and Kuomintang flags.
-They surrendered less because of the Japanese and more because the foreign consulates were pressured by the Japanese to demand it from them. They were detained by the British and held as POWs to appease the Japanese throughout the war.
-Those too injured to evacuate the warehouse were left on machineguns to spite the Japanese one last time as they died defending the warehouse.
-After being detained by the foreign consulate, the men were held captive throughout the war and Nationalist inner political backstabbing labeled them as failures rather than heroes. Xie was even assassinated by a plot by a collaborationist party that formed under Wang Jingwei (a name any Chinese person speaks with the same breath as 'Benedict Arnold', except that's not fair towards Benedict Arnold). The men were then finally captured by the Japanese after their war with Western powers started with Pearl Harbor and put to work in Japanese labor camps. It took the following communist regime to ultimately rehabilitate them as national heroes of China (albeit after the initial hiccup of heaping them with the rest of the Nationalists as 'the enemy'), which is the status they rightfully hold today
Edit: Accuracy.

[@YugoslavianWarCriminal]

Damn that’s at the same time really interesting and sad

[@gsmiro]

A lot of what you said here were lies or propaganda against the Nationalist Government. Xie was assassinated by the Japanese not by his own government. The 800 hero were hold up as hero to rally the entire Chinese people from the earliest time. They wrote a song about them in the 30s, unless you think the Communist wrote that song you are clearly mistaken! The Communist don't even care about them until now! So don't lie to the world about the Communists caring about those hero!

[@techoman8569]

@@gsmiro I noticed that something sounded too much anti-nationalist and pro-comunist in his story.

[@XCal]

​@@gsmiro I do not mean to glorify the Communist regime by any means beyond what is or is not true. The information is easily researchable that you and everyone is free to look up. Wang Jingwei's collaborationist KMT wing was pro-Japan, but shouldn't be confused with Japan itself and very much a product of the KMT's politics - Xie was killed by men of his own unit. Obviously, an outcome desirable for, but not something that can be construed as the action of the Imperial Japanese. Xie's unit was German trained from the time Nazi Germany was still friends with the KMT. The song being written in the 30s is because obviously they were hailed as heroes initially, this does not detract from the fact that their reputation fell out of political favor within the KMT regime, and the initial PRC regime. You may find history eludes your need for clear villains in the people you hate and clear heroes in the people that suit your contemporary palate. The Communist government is by no means a clear force of good, but it was very much the Nationalist government's failures of the time that enabled its rise, rather than a clear force of evil magically banishing a clear force of good.
If my narrative is partisan to anyone, I encourage them to look up the facts this person is disputing yourselves.
Edit: Some grammar

[@gsmiro]

@@XCal Wang decided to work with the Japanese out of his own ideas of how to save China and yes, due to his rivalry with Chiang. However, Wang's KMT and his Reorganized Nationalist Government was not representative of the KMT. It was not Chiang that ordered Xie to be assassinated, it was Wang's collaborationist government that made the move. However, one cannot deny that Wang's collaborationist government also helped as a buffer between the Japanese occupiers and the rest of China. And many were spies and patriots that worked for the Nationalist government of Chiang while working in Wang's government.
Regarding the Communists, they had no respect for any Nationalist whatsoever. They had only be willing to "recognize" the "contributions" of the Nationalist Army in the War of Resistance recently and always coming from their own angle that glorifies Mao and the Communists while degrading towards Chiang and KMT. If you have been to the 800 Hero Museum in Shanghai you would have seen that the entire history is "framed" by the Communists to further propagate the myth of their own contributions against the Japanese during the War of Resistance. Plainly speaking, the Communist had absolutely nothing to do with the Battle of Shanghai and yet they try to take credit for it. That is very disrespectful to the actual Chinese hero who died in the battle and very disrespectful to historical truth. And don't forget how they treated the former Nationalist army generals after the 1949 and during the following years of revolutions. They had no respect for them then when they were alive. The CCP's "respect" for the NRA now is only a political show to galvanize support of the Party and to rouse nationalist sentiments among the Chinese people.

[@heimskurhungog3346]

3:30, I see what you did there, Avatar: Last Airbender.

[@ethanmcfarland8240]

Avatar is an allegory for WW2 btw

[@ricodee3188]

I’ve been waiting for a video on Shanghai, like this for years! *“The Second Sino-Japanese “* is underreported and disturbingly cast aside for some strange reason.

[@loonardtheloonard]

"But everything changed, when..."
I wasn't even looking, yet i precisely knew how the animation looked at that moment. Kudos to the animator(s) for naking my evening

[@laurenk.6880]

This episode has crazy timing because I was just listening to Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History episode that covered this battle :O
(for anyone curious, the episode is Supernova in the East Part I, and a bit of the Part II episode as well)

[@alendreklorenzo9791]

Chinese soldier: Japanese arent allowed to pa-
Japanese lieutenant: *no*

[@vaclavcervinka65]

*gets shot immediately*

[@Flw-uv2md]

@@captdeadpool7813 just imagine getting nuked in return lol

[@qimengzhang2836]

@@Flw-uv2md just another troll that wants attention just ignore him

[@jeegupopli1871]

@@captdeadpool7813 and later go on to call it harassment typical woman behavior and chinese propoganda

[@jeegupopli1871]

@@qimengzhang2836 he speaks the truth chinese woman are like that no wonder china the most populous nation on the earth 🤣🤣 half of them in major cities like shanghai and nanking might even have a very recent japanese ancestry 🤣🤣

[@brucebelvin2058]

Japane: "Hey, you wear German helmets, and bayonet charge like Japanese. That's cultural appropriation!"

[@XCal]

China is like Brood War Protoss player who takes time to mind control an SCV and a Drone to build an army of everything.

[@newbie1958]

China: "You're using our characters! Who's the cultural appropriator now?!

[@mxn1948]

@@nathanb.8114 well yea. japan had near total air and naval dominance, and their division had like 5x the fire power of a typical chinese division of the time. it was literally an industrial nations fighting a agricultural nation.

[@fredricknoe3114]

They just have the Chinese knock off.

[@elephanteriot1767]

th-cam.com/video/v8LjeKQ25Dk/w-d-xo.html

[@wikihowfrog9034]

Empire oft The Sun is a fantastic film set during the Second Sino-Japanese War/Pacific War. Probably one of my favourite films out there and it's definitely worth a watch

[@annoyedbrox4851]

THANKU I WILL WATCH :)

[@yoboistalin4910]

Wow thanks so much for doing something like this. The Second-Sino Japanese War is a highly underrated theater compared to the rest of WW2 and overshadowed by the Pacific War. It's pretty insane that the Chinese theater doesn't get much attention despite the fact nearly 15-20 million people died fighting the Japanese.

[@alexcapy-gamingchannel6438]

1 woman in china pops out 2 child per minute

[@heynice7761]

3:33
Tell me. How many times did you laugh saying that?

[@pablosahuquillobarba660]

3:32 8 years later: "It's a giant mushroom! Maybe it's friendly!"

[@yollgeth5096]

as a Chinese living in Nanking.thank u a lot to explain this history

[@tokyojuul9987]

1:54 didn’t think I would hear about that place again

[@thatonepriest69]

Can you do something about the Mexican revolution in the 1910s it seems interesting but really confusing

[@generalbluelazer0158]

The Cristero War would be another great conflict too!

[@clutsetathecommenter2625]

@@generalbluelazer0158 The cristero war could use more attention.

[@ArtoriusBravo]

As a Mexican I can tell you: It was a goddamned mess. But thanks for the interest!

[@generalbluelazer0158]

@@clutsetathecommenter2625 agreed, I could barely find any sources of the tactics used in the conflict which is a shame. Maybe I haven't searched hard enough though. I always wanted to learn more about the conflict, especially due to the fact that my family was affected by it during the war.

[@johnroche7541]

Check out the movie "Starring Pancho Villa as Himself" which is based on a true story. Antonio Banderas is in the lead role.

[@sophiareuter2221]

About the Baoshan town:
A Chinese battalion had to face overwhelming Japanese invaders on their own. Outnumbered, outgunned, knowing their fate at the very beginning, they fought street by street and made the Japanese suffer even heavier casualities. The gunfire only subsided after seven days when the last defender fell, including all the officers. The battalion commander Major Yao Ziqing was later promoted to Major General posthumously.
There is a movie with this story as the theme.