The Longest Theatre Of World War II | China's Forgotten War | Timeline

the world is a battlefield Germany has invaded Poland Britain and France retaliate declaring war against the Nazis halfway around the globe another brutal conflict is also underway China is under attack from Japan's Imperial Army facing the onslaught alone since 1937 making them the first country to entered World War two a war of resistance that spanned eight long years and cost more than 14 million lives this was the longest theatre of the Second World War my name is Ron emitter oxford professor and a historian of modern china I've spent years researching and writing about China's world war two I'm travelling across the country to find the last remaining survivors - hold your hole you made me get there just eroded gathering first-hand accounts what love are there to reveal the true stories of China's struggle to survive why are honey man survived or a choice chainsaw die today she's entitling and how victory helped Forge modern China [Music] [Music] the sound of rebuilding here in the old square of Warsaw and it might be hard to believe but 90% of this picturesque scene has been painstakingly reconstructed since the end of the war that saw Germany invade Poland on the 1st of September 1939 most of this capital city was reduced to rubble and this of course was the place where world war ii broke out in Europe between 1939 and 1945 some five and a half million poles would lose their lives [Music] some 300 kilometres from Warsaw on the outskirts of Ashe Vinson is a stark reminder of the Holocaust oh Sh wits beer cooler concentration and extermination camp stretching over a hundred and seventy four hectares this is the largest murder site in a single location in the history of humanity [Music] there's something particularly poignant but seeing something as ordinary as a shoe in a place that says out of the ordinary the Sinister is this belongings of the dead these everyday objects bring to mind the scale of the killings that took place here in Auschwitz [Music] in order to restore relations with countries that have been plundered by the Nazis the West German government made a public mayor culpa billions were paid to survivors and to the families of victims in an effort to try and create some sort of restitution one of the worst incidents of Nazi barbarism took place here in Warsaw as volar district known as the volar massacre in August 1944 the occupiers committed mass murders rape robbery destruction and arson in order to crush the poles spirit to fight during the Warsaw Uprising if all our was burnt to the ground with an estimated 40,000 residents murdered go ahead little known to the world at the time a massacre similar to the one in voilà had already occurred on the other side of the world in Nanjing China on an even bigger scale on December the 13th 1937 the Japanese entered the city of Nanjing the old nationalist captain capturing the city would be a form of symbolic victory over the Chinese the Japanese over ran the city within hours and over the next six weeks committed some of the worst atrocities the world had ever seen mass executions extreme cruelty looting and rape nobody stood a chance although historians are still disputing the exact numbers some twenty to forty thousand women were raped official Chinese statistics go as high as 300 thousand killed soldiers and civilians and yet there are certain who say that this massacre never took place the testimonies of the survivors provide crucial information on what happened in those six long weeks [Music] 70 years on I'm hoping to find one of the few remaining survivors who's able to shed light on what happened eighty five-year-old Nanjing residents shuffle chief is a mother of two but she prefers to live alone she's agreed to share her story of the massacre with me could you tell us what happened to you on the 13th of December of 1937 Daniel WA dare you to sanction you sugar what's a posse well you Charlie another Street chocolate - Oh watching a whole ninja mama had to read to the teacher so Luciana 20 Jana Herrera ho ho - ribbit ready ready then they go suda2 DDD - your original machine dimension horizontal huge super she needed to be to my veto Ronco Yahoo Dorito sure you'd imagine Joshua did it oh she she - oh she would add is sugar-free hunter - all Yoho ho ly Mamie just a gesture auditor the total total design Betty Anne Boleyn shahe Mardan tre-dog washa party bouhanni solo sorry no Rocco ba na you're sweet [Music] there was a safety zone set up by Americans and Germans living in Nanjing at that time did that safety zone help you die Lucien she - no no which was easy apartments the madama yeah you don't thought I'd you go I ain't she yep are gonna tell you did my Papa go nuclear unless she recently too long either why you know the truth the guys on your took treatment only change a Ocean Grove and or kosher what did you want [Music] the safety zone was key to she and her sisters survival as the slaughter in Nanjing continued [Music] approximately the size of New York's Central Park it consisted of more than 20 refugee camps formed by an international committee in the heart of Nanjing it was headed by German businessman John Robie to protect the Chinese from the invading Japanese army although the house we have here is now a museum you still have this feel of a lot a luxurious but rather intimate place imagining some five or six hundred people jammed into the space as they were during the first days of the Japanese invasion those who managed to find salvation or escape from the city in time were considered the lucky ones but for those left behind in Nanjing the horrors of war were about to reach new heights nanjing one of the four great ancient capitals of China with an urban population of over seven million the city is the second largest commercial center in the East China region after Shanghai and today there's renewed interest in nanjing 's history occupying around 28,000 square meters the nanjing massacre Memorial Hall was constructed in 1985 to commemorate the fallen the site itself is built on a mass grave of some 10,000 corpses three different groups of Japanese soldiers led the assault on Nanjing once the onslaught had begun the Japanese conquered quickly and the Chinese defense was crushed but affected by battle weariness and enraged by Chinese resistance the occupiers made Nanjing pay the price in blood the city offered nowhere to run or hide even the remote decision Hills at the edge of the city were not safe it said that a notorious killing competition was held there by the Imperial Army supposedly to help desensitize the troops report stated that second lieutenants toshiaki Mukai and Takeshi Noda were competing to see who would be the first to kill 100 Chinese Mukai scored 106 nada 105 but unable to determine who passed the hundred mark first they extended the goal by 50 this was one of many brutal acts unleashed on Nanjing and this violent history became part of the city's identity but what was it that made Japan go on this rampage to control China in Europe before World War two Hitler and the Nazi regime claimed the need for expansion at the same time the Japanese increased their presence on the Chinese mainland demanding new markets and new resources at cope with the pressures of a growing population and a burgeoning economy with these new designs for expansion Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 but it wasn't enough and Japan's growing imperial ambitions led to a full-scale invasion I'm on route to Beijing where it all began - that one single incident that neither the Japanese law the Chinese were truly prepared for inside the old one ping fortress is Marco Polo Bridge built in 1189 it was the only gateway into Beijing at the time revered as a work of art by the great traveller Marco Polo the bridge represents something different for the Chinese misery this was the place where the war first broke out in July 1937 and there's someone who knows the real story Gordon Shingen former curator of the Marco Polo Bridge Museum recorded many testimonies from battle veterans and their surviving relatives including Jean work who was on site that fateful night around 2200 hours Japanese troops begin an unannounced training exercise when the exercise is over they perform a roll call one soldier private shimmer akiko zero is missing [Music] the Japanese demand entry into one ping to search for their missing soldier regiment chief TC one of the 29th army declines the request he wants his own troops to perform the search the Japanese issue an ultimatum with artillery already pointed at the Chinese ready for bloodshed this story remains forever in gore's memory nowadays he pays homage to China's world war 2 by making the official anniversary seals he too was a survivor say invention wise yet she's great I know what her pain founder you got the order no me in the face for the merchants of 21 News tongues return a.tostring he's on board so with him so what do you remember about the month of July 1937 the month that the Marco Polo Bridge incident broke out uh Jesus again in Shaba was it's also well so Arab an interim Louisiana the salary for andujar for me to kill me long to favor for the effigy woman Michelle Fiji not a tease the chat feature to the figgy pudding by defects she went to the chapel to orbit taiga do you switch a pure culture hi Donna - dude I dine with you who she would remember so either shower the onion room for you wanna connect you earlier so didn't leave initial gentle supporter to touch him Totti had tower Leticia new Hollywood Asia she father mother from the sushi Yama right from the illustration Shiva her mother to stop by to put Eve hi Liam Messam regime' poor poor a super junior computer via the endless bodies floating down the river were like a foreboding of the full-scale war that would begin here what was the motivation for this attack Japan's imperial ambitions were growing and China was the natural place for it to expand on the mainland after all they had occupied Manchuria in the Northeast since 1931 now Japan planned to conquer at the entire country within just three months their strategy was to cut off China from Beijing in the north through to the south in order to gain control of the more fertile and prosperous eastern parts of China Challenge in Japan would be a highly risky venture but it was inevitable this is the time for determination to fight this is the turning point for existence or obliteration nationalist leader Chiang kai-shek would make a fateful decision even if it meant putting the lives of his countrymen at risk the sake of China's survive but China's political scene at that time was largely divided according to documents in July of 1937 Chiang kai-shek sought unification of the regional leaders across China cuts together with the communist leader Mao Zedong both agreed that China had come to a crisis point and that war was the only chance of coming through it putting aside their revolutionary dreams for now the Chinese Communist Party pledged to make their own forces the Red Army part of the nationalist military known as the eighth route army the Communists or CCP's guerrilla forces south of the Yangtze River would also be recruited and renamed the new 4th army from their resistance base areas including Jin cha Chi the Communists mobilized a critical mass of locals to fight the Rilla warfare behind enemy lines the Japanese invasion forced the government to centralize Authority addressing one of the major problems of the era warlordism the fact that different military leaders control different parts of China the two major parties came together in an uneasy alliance there were real differences between the Communists and the Nationalists but they were united in the belief that China was locked into a struggle for its very existence the Japanese moved south Shanghai the financial capital of China was next but this time the Chinese were convinced they could fight for the city until the bitter end [Applause] 19:37 Japan's is on a rampage through China and Shanghai is next nationalist leader Chiang kai-shek and the Communist Red Army have joined forces as a last attempt to save China from total annihilation the plan was to prevent Japan from moving south and to bring the war into the international spotlight China desperately needed allies and Chang hoped this might encourage the British and the Americans to take part like the troops at the time I'm off to Shanghai I'm hoping to meet the last remaining survivors and learn from them the importance of the battle and why it was so very crucial July in 1937 Japan had managed to secure Manchuria the northeast of China along with Beijing detention the Japanese Imperial Army began marching along the major railways cutting through central China via Shanghai [Music] today the city of Shanghai serves as one of the most important commercial financial and industrial centers of China not to mention a hub for strong relations with the international community [Music] this is already clear in 1937 two years before the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939 which for the wider world is the beginning of the Second World War Shanghai China's most modern city came under attack a long Shanghai's iconic Bund stands the peace hotel which is made up of the former cafe hotel and the adjacent Palace Hotel these two buildings are divided by Nanjing Road one of the busiest shopping streets in Shanghai this spot right here was the scene of one of the first events of the battle for Shanghai and one of the most tragic some 1000 people who were present here that day perished but I was lucky enough to locate one of the few survivors [Music] Jonnie how was Hermida yachting at 94 years old one groans memory is crystal clear then just a teenager he volunteered as a soldier in 1937 after three months of training one was sent straight to the frontlines a Shanghai prepared for battle contract I thought was such a sweet was it if it did yeah so I found a number what the any paint a giant yard to go ninja woody - yeah old on August the 14th 1937 was a day that a terrible terrible incident happened do you remember the thing about that day why issues the hot naked jomkwan Ricci door bamboo jaw chichay another true inca high is a charming fact yeah that being happy sakuya honey Kisame de cocora for chickapedia thomna thomna did opt out to Filipina chungu cancer chomping - katana shave your feet each piggy physical quantity nobody cyaa honda Enya little pony you can take it out on a stretcher della Palma deep over again like that 15 EB so want you saw that teleporter happy told Ernie took a [ __ ] on Jim Hawk DK start a quintet taken I mean read it Fujitsu then contrast checker through J she goes you didn't know me yeah total jealous because you got to the pavilion now must one day is impossible a tragedy that drove home the point that amidst the chaos of war a single misstep can lead to a deadly outcome China simply wasn't equipped to fight to the same degree as the Japanese so how did the Chinese army managed to hold out for a three months period Jojo Suja Bobby it'll turn Hoopoe yeah gentle contact so eat Rita Chicka saga registers yeah one lives in Shanghai to this day he's still trying to find his peace with the past in Shanghai one final battle would be fought in full view of the Western community and it was to take place at a strategic location across from the International Settlement home to the British in the Americans who the Japanese wanted to keep out of the war a group of eight hundred men were tasked with defending song warehouse on the front lines through thousands of Japanese to allow the withdrawal of the remaining Chinese troops from Shanghai from behind the line of defense ketamine is the son of shared jigna the commander of the 800 strong regiment with renewed interest in China's history the warehouse is being restored and under renovation holiness hand corner soothing Hollywood the footing sorry Papa Johnson so to the salons honk oh do you really that not yet Hana pea coat UJ demamp I meant a Samia here encouraging go to me and Konami unipotent Chico rachelandted of honk una razón tiempo de lo chisel to Syria manually undetermined pay men Julia and apartment just he loses sugidama how about a super commando chambo camping Bambi ho to another Sabha for Chun Kuen very anxious by the dementia boot to each other to tearin' barman Kohala who Omaha into him Sabha vanity Yahoo now you would hum could that song call her back may he goes honk ooh - who signs to the intimate time the misogyny mean by the dysfunctional to do a quandary ba yung Sabha to do by the edema upon by a ghost uncle Julian the chance to young Hashim Khan sucia need to the trunk open a portal My dear until boomer team office in the building the Hornets are itching surgery control that the mature energy about energy moon bathroom known as the 800 strong regiment it was later revealed that they were actually only around 400 men command this year had lied in order to throw off the enemy hello fusion so so any [ __ ] SAPO yepez Aleppo yes uncle Joseph Warren sir by Tori enough ammo was shaking their GDP pouch anima Sergey pada pada why our honeymoon so bad order Tahitian so I say the to hood attendees are canceled Title II and Title II see as legacy lives on as his son continues with efforts to honor his memory but at that time after three months of war the Chinese had lost and were forced to retreat inland however they succeeded in cutting off Japan from advancing south but there would be another surprise the Soviet Union offered military assistance including pilots for China if Japan had occupied China it would have been a natural launch pad for the invasion of the Soviet Union so it was natural for Joseph Stalin to offer assistance but it wasn't enough the international assistance that Chiang craved never arrived and China would fight essentially alone neither the Japanese nor the international community expected China to take such a determined stand the Battle of Shanghai represented a moment where China would no longer take things lying down and allow Japan to swallow its territories piece by piece without a fight 1937 World War 2 begins unexpectedly for China skirmish at Marco Polo Bridge quickly escalates into a full-scale war against the Japanese Imperial Army the country's leaders vow to resist no matter how great the sacrifice by the end of 1937 the capital Nanjing had fallen and forced the Chinese central government to move westward to true team the Japanese Imperial Army were also on the moon they wanted to take over Xu Zhuo and continue their plans to occupy China to achieve this they first had to get through the tired one li Jing Shan volunteers his time as a tour guide in tirean's ancient town sharing the history of his town and his people say it's humbling at what time do you have the town suffered unimaginable destruction and this 82 year old witnessed most of it I can see the pirate wrong still bears the wounds of its war-torn past even Lee's house wasn't spared what was the atmosphere like in the days leading up to the Battle of Taiwan were people panicked were they prepared did they know what was gonna come thanks yeah they're lovely Sheila lasagna that was awesome mr. Catania Tommy oh yeah a good take this is a tiny little sir ha ha [Laughter] no figures so hurry up I got your Haruna oh yeah I prefer to put the phony other 3G a time to put it all Yala go figure Dara soon a second what happened to your family when they left tired one and had to flee hold on we got our Sonia three that puts adoption one not in a war what was that they take Aziza took a strike huh he wasn't sorry bruh hats wanna do it yeah but I don't see the new for the LA you try another plane leave well no no no see ya say huh pathology nah he'll wanna watch our dough don't know how you were poor boy who the kind I told you before nachos and entirely happy together and we knew no family did finally come back to Taiwan what did it look like what do you remember seeing that in darker colors in Somalia [Music] so your 30 versus successive Americana Chindia so hey Vince I agree yo Bob Hope's handler what that's una y por la vara suna you go Jarrod show us all today their target shot on Julia [Music] listening to Li Jing Shan stories reminded me that if you're a general if you're a politician war may seem very planned very strategic but for ordinary people it's chaos its violence its instability and the ripples from that can last for decades [Music] hyojong was a strategic location not only was it along the Grand Canal China's major north-south waterway but it also had a railway line that bypassed Xu Zhuo it became Japan's next target if the Japanese wanted to maintain their hold on Beijing and Nanjing and go on to Wuhan then they had to control the vital railway junction of Xu Zhuo starting with the nearby town of tired Wan the city structure gave the Chinese an unusual advantage instead of a sophisticated battle they turned to hand-to-hand combat in the narrow lanes but the Imperial Army underestimated the force of the Chinese and weren't able to sustain the fight when I was researching this battle I read reports of a crack military squadron that ran night raids against the Japanese they used really primitive weapons even tying bombs to their own bodies but what sort of men would put themselves forward for such a dangerous task a group of men known as The Expendables infiltrated various parts of China sure Funko was the commander of the 57 man Suicide Squad entire try but the efforts seem to have faded from the pages of history [Music] rent-free gun a retired teacher has been studying battle archives and interviewing veterans to map the course of the battle that took place here what was the significance of the Expendables during the Battle of Tyre John what was their role cancelled we said earlier that you you're so functionally nice it should make you hit even your late husband darling huh so he paid Orin Joshua [ __ ] [ __ ] they don't know which is a [ __ ] so was it xie na chul soo hyung you go see who the cancelled ring not interested or shank with the total kind she says if it's under 10 did you you didn't cheat her Jaguar paw routine part 3 the Expendables used grandi temple as their command headquarters for the Chinese Quan D is a symbol of loyalty she learned about an attorney try - oh yeah Hanabusa soils gonna be the English we poor we mean - so I thought - me hurts yah we Bowie boatful so to her doctor are sensing 30 men did survive from the Expendables irony of them still alive with us today what's your initiate can so do you and me Tommy holder delicious Genie by see better missionary Kaname order [Music] the sacrifice made by the Expendables is regarded with great respect by those who know what happened this battle was a rare victory for China but why was it so rare well a pirate one the tactics were better and the troops were successfully resupply from behind the lions something that happened or too seldom in other campaigns but with a bit of help from the Expendables pirate Wong was a real morale booster and it's signaled that even if the war was lengthy China would fight back by the end of the battle the town of Tyre Tron was nothing but ruins however the victory has been commemorated by the efforts made to restore the town to its former glory the defeat at pirate one wasn't enough to stop the Japanese from moving towards China's interior Japan had already invested too much to turn back now but the Chinese would be ready with the defense strategy that would blindside the aggressors and trigger one of the greatest tragedies of World War two today China as a country is a force to reckon with it's transformed itself at its role in world politics at an unprecedented rate [Music] but 70 years ago the Japanese army was threatening to end its freedom and murder anyone in their way [Music] China had been fighting a losing battle with Japan for years before war broke out in Europe in 1938 China enjoyed its first victory at pirate rock but it would be a short-lived triumph huge-o fellows soon after Mohan was next done how could the Japanese be stopped [Music] stretching across 5,000 464 kilometres the Yellow River is known as China's mother river they say that this basin was the cradle of the northern Chinese civilization and during this country's early history it was the most prosperous region of China but the people have a different name for this River China's sorrow Yohai Jung has been studying the course of the Yellow River throughout the history of China's war Uncle Tom Liotta to treat Michigan make a lotta fun so yeah there you go that's her that she should feel Wonka yeah do not talk about you she heard of dr. Eugene young yellow hat yellow she Yahoo you come to attend to Jeeva do to Italian Kylin through to know the whole two more times and ochi maja Japan hooked in the war once and for all in Wuhan where the nationalist military headquarters was based in a desperate attempt to store any further advance by the Japanese on June the 9th 1938 Chiang kai-shek ordered the dikes along the Yellow River to be breached a choir Enco if jeongjo further graduating Hussein sirry alright huh - Jenna top reservoir you should yeah yep reservoir to the in Toronto you eat your thumb and harder to go back what children : took it that she yeah PA Roger Hall create or III typing are to go Harvey thought we go cannot be achieved ah particles in the chingu Chiba lose yeah two children Toula is your son banyan good beautiful time to teach and feed our tickets tomorrow yet vertigo sure yeah and Congress had to go sankaranna party tomorrow so it what I didn't transfer power to Jackson last Saturday trivia the tactics succeeded installing the Japanese by strategically breaking the dikes of the Yellow River wide open a massive flood of water hurtled towards the area's threatened by Japanese troops conquer the tiny Chapel usual based energy barrier - world created oh hey Bujji shedding photonic although turning the river into a weapon took out the Japanese army it proved catastrophic for millions of innocent Chinese civilians one of the officers in charge of the breaking of those Yellow River dykes recorded in his diary that the flow of the water looked like 10,000 galloping horses he also wrote that the site made his heart ache this was the last line of defense for China's survival but it demanded the ultimate sacrifice China will never give up any part of its territories in the face of aggression self-defense is the only way it wasn't an action that was taken lightly but it led to one of the deadliest acts of environmental warfare in history [Music] figures issued by the nationalist government in 1948 suggested huge casualties some of them for the three affected provinces of Hernan and way and Johnson at least 800,000 Chinese died from drowning starvation or ensuing diseases with some 4.8 million becoming refugees [Music] Senora come on how the here party good oh [ __ ] yeah couldn't you see yeah yeah when you hold a little tape on my salad for me in 1937 off the Battle of Shanghai first numbers of Chinese families made the trek westward as a part of the mass refugee flight and this had a tremendous impact on the traditional Chinese family system dwarfing even the huge numbers of people displaced in Europe at the end of World War two some 100 million Chinese became refugees in their own country during those war time years and this forced the government into creating a system of relief and rehabilitation to cope with that increasing influx for despite the cost China was determined to survive [Music] China managed to survive this war of resistance alone for four years a far cry from the three months the Japanese had expected 30 after the Japanese invasion many fled West the temporary wartime capital a church in these internal displacements helped forge a new sense of national consciousness that would shape China for many decades to come but Chongqing itself was ill-suited to mass refugee flight resources were scarce and the Japanese stepped up the scale and the intensity of their terror tactics hoping to bring China to its knees [Music] but then in 1941 the attack on Pearl Harbor opened a new chapter of the China the West have finally realized the significance of that country's efforts during the emerging global war help was on the way [Music]

Channel: Timeline - World History Documentaries

Views: 417,109

Rating: 4.821527 out of 5

Keywords: History, Full Documentary, Documentaries, Full length Documentaries, Documentary, TV Shows - Topic, Documentary Movies - Topic, 2017 documentary, BBC documentary, Channel 4 documentary, history documentary, documentary history, north korea, wars of the roses, forgotten wars, history of the world, history channel, documentaries 2018, history channel documentary, documentaries national geographic, documentary 2018, documentaries crime, history maker, documentaries full length

Id: z54akiD10gA

Length: 46min 40sec (2800 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 30 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/xerotul]

Japan military leaders were over confident and arrogant. China fought off the nomadic Golden Hordes for millennia. There is no other country in history with crazy people that built miles of walls on top of mountains and under water. Even when the Mongols won, the Yuan dynasty got absorbed in the end.

China dragged down 85% of Japanese forces for 8 years. Japan should had left China alone. On the first years, Japan could had easily conquered southeast Asia and Australia, then on to conquer west Asia for the oil.

[u/yevrahmul]

Anglos want you to believe that the Axis powers were defeated mainly by the Five Eyes countries. They want you to believe that the Soviet Union and China played only minor roles during WWII. In fact, these two countries inflicted the most casualties to the enemies and suffered, by far, the most deaths of their people during the conflict.

[u/GoGetParked]

The pain and suffering that the Chinese people went through during those years and still, they had to fight the Americans later on in Korea.

And to those Americans that thought they were instrumental in helping the Chinese win, a big fuck you to you. The Americans and the Brits were in Shanghai and Nanjing and they literally stood by and watched Japan invade, raped and killed millions.

Its only because of Pearl Harbour that the US suddenly gave a shit about the war and agreed to SELL weapons to China for money.

🖕🇺🇲

[u/MasterChief22530]

This is why to celebrate my heritage and the sacrifices of Chinese people, I almost always play the zerg! STRENGTH IN NUMBERS!!! Numbers will stall the enemy.

Zagara Scourge Queen - YouTube