Why We Don't Talk About China - WW2 Special Documentary

We often see comments asking why we don't cover the war in China. Chiang Kai-shek is one of the major Allied leaders - so why don't you hear about him as much as Stalin, Roosevelt, or Churchill? Let us explain.

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Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Marek Kamiński
Community Management: Ian Sowden
Research: William Tkacs II
Edited by: Piotr Tomaszkiewicz
Artwork and color grading by: Mikołaj Uchman

Image sources:
Source - Image Name/Number

Soundtracks from Epidemic Sound:
Title - Artist

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

[TheGothPrince]

It's interesting how little there is in general about the front, particularly in Western media and academics. Trying to research something as simple as just the orders of battle in more than casual depth is quite complicated, so kudos to the team for trying to cover as much as you can.

[nathanstruble]

Appreciate y'all sharing this info with us, I'm not on Twitter or any other social media, and I suspect I'm not alone in that.

[andreaz]

Years ago I struggled to find sources in English about the second sino Japanese war for university research. It's really hard to believe but a recent war of gigantic proportions involving two of the most prominent countries of the world is more obscure than a long forgotten ancient civilization.

[lovablesnowman]

"In the comments we sometimes see comments"
-Indiana Neidell

[thanos_.]

Really glad that you are making an episode about this. Because I always wonderd why we barely hear what is happening at the second bloodiest front in the war.
You guys absolutly *never* disapoint.

[mcmaha]

I wrote once on Patreon that Rana Mitter's book "China's War with Japan" is an excellent source, particularly on the fascinating if difficult relationship between Stilwell and Chiang, a topic definitely worth looking into. Additionally, and here I think you might risk missing it, the book comments on the fact that China taking a back seat in Allied planning in fact gave the Japanese a strategic opportunity to finish off China in 1944, resulting in a resurgence of fighting. Keep up the great work!

[kevindasupa]

Will there be any War Against Humanity episodes based on the Chinese Front? It would be quite the intriguing topic given the massive scale on which the Japanese committed atrocities during the war.

[JN-ekdf]

It's ironic that the Japanese army's Pacific strategy was to lock the Allies into a series of brutal island attrition battles to crush allied resolve while their China/Asia strategy was to avoid attrition and go for all-out hail Mary knockout blows. Unfortunately, the navy was pursing thier own, completely different strategy.

[theblackbear]

My 6th grade teacher was the daughter of missionaries and grew up in China during the war... only leaving China in 1948 with the Communist victory on the mainland.
She had some interesting stories.

[jakubb]

Short and to the point. Best documentary on YouTube!

[peterbertanzetti]

I’ve been subscribing for years and wondering about this. Thanks. Your channel is second to none … no one even close.

[alehaim]

In the battle of Change based on the Wikipedia summary, basically the NRA had only the 8 thousand man strong 57th division defending the city against a 60 thousand strong Japanese attacking force. The city of Changsha, which as of 1944 had resisted three Japanese attacks, was basically the fortress which stopped the Japanese from controlling all of the railway running from Beijing in the north to Guangzhou in the south. North west of it along the northern tributary of the Yangtze (Changsha sits on the southern tributary) is Change, the control of which would allow the Japanese basically to attack the most important city of Changsha from the western direction, in addition to being a city between the north-south railway and the path to Chongqing through the valley its west and the city of Zhangjiajie within it.
Starting on November 2nd 1943, the Japanese force of 6 division around 60 thousand troops attacked the city, and for almost two weeks the Chinese force of 8 thosuand troops under Yu Chengwan held off the massive Japanese force. By the time Chinese reinforcements arrived, the 57th division was down to just 100 men who were evacuated as the Chinese forces abandoned the city proper by December 6th in order to pin the Japanese force withinin it. With the Japanese forces pinned, the NRA conducted its good old tactic of going around the attacking force and cutting off its supplies. The following 18 days of Chinese counter offensive saw the Chinese reinforcements push back the Japanese first out of Deshan (which I guess based on my looking around would've been the settlement across the river from the city), before breaking the main Japanese lines of defense and engaging the Japanese within the city itself in brutal urban fighting, before the Japanese retreated from the strategic city, allowing the Chinese to be able to defend Changsha from just the north and east until the Ichi-Go offensive starting today actually funnily enough would cause the city to fall.

[greybeardbass]

My great-uncle died in a B-25 in China in September, 1944 as part of the 14th Army Air Force. The battle for the Salween Valley, in my opinion, is consequential in that it tied up the Japanese at a critical period. I'd eventually like to see that battle covered at some point but likely not much is known about it.

[jacosiegmann]

While I agree with this broadly, I do think some parts of the Chinese campaign that did include troop and frontline movements have been neglected. For example, the Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign in 1942 was mentioned only briefly in a single War against Humanity episode, despite occurring over several months. Another example would be the Battle of Changede, in which the Japanese made extensive use of Chemical Weapons, happened around the same time the air raid on Bari happened. Over-all I do have high hopes for the future of news in China seeing as Ichi-Go, the largest offensive in China yet is set to be covered, I just think it's unfortunate we didn't get much news on the things mentioned above.

[TacticusPrime]

I like how they released this one directly before Operation Ichi-Go takes off next episode.

[Raptor]

I honestly didn't know that, and it helps to clarify a lot. A stalemate actually makes sense in this light--Chinese forces don't have the strength to push Japanese forces out of their positions, but Japanese forces don't have the strength, reach, numbers, or logistics to fully push Chinese forces into strategic irrelevance or nonexistence. And since Japan started a war against all of the Pacific, it doesn't have the resources to spare unless it ceases to support its efforts in the Pacific.

[saintleger]

Allways very interesting, well done Indy ! Bonjour de France!

[danielnavarro]

Fascinating in the regards of China. Even though China was a major Allied Power, such little is known about Chinese involvement during the Second World War. Although, the Chinese and Japanese are in stalemate, the Japanese will either make or break in China. 1944-45, China will increase in more detail as the war will continue. But even though the Chinese will be weakened, they will hold their ground. They have been fighting since 1931 and 1937, they will fight hard. The plains of China will see some of the ferocious fighting anywhere during the war. Godspeed to those who perished in China. May they rest in peace in the great plains of China. 🇨🇳 🇹🇼 🇯🇵

[gunman]

Thank you team for this video as always. Great to see an explanation of things here.

[antonisauren]

Even if fronts are stale, it's strange to talk about brigade level actions by US and Australians in the same time. Even couple seconds of "nothing changed on chineese front" every week would do the trick.