Japan Runs Wild, 1942-1943

Peter Harmsen’s Japan Runs Wild, 1942-1943 (Casemate) follows on from his Storm Clouds Over Asia trilogy as Japan appears unbeatable…

In early 1942, the Japanese Army and Navy were advancing on all fronts, humiliating their US, British and Dutch foes throughout the Asia Pacific. In a matter of just months, the soldiers and sailors of the Rising Sun conquered an area even bigger than Hitler’s empire at its largest extent. They seemed invincible. Hawaiians and Australians were fearing a future under Hirohito. For half of mankind, fate was hanging in the balance.

Fast forward to the end of 1943, and the tables had been turned entirely. A reinvigorated American-led military machine had kicked into gear, and the Japanese were fighting a defensive battle along a frontline that crossed thousands of miles of land and ocean. Japan Runs Wild, 1942-1943 by acclaimed author Peter Harmsen details the astonishing transformation that took place in that period, setting the Allies on a path to final victory against Japan.

The middle installment in the trilogy, Japan Runs Wild, 1942–1943 picks up the story where its predecessor volume Storm Clouds over the Pacific, 1931-1941 left off. The common theme of the series is a comprehensive view of World War Two in the Asia Pacific, giving due emphasis to the central Japanese-American struggle, but also encompassing the other nations that were engulfed in the vast showdown: British, Australians, Soviets, Filipinos, Indians and Koreans. Above all, the central importance of China is highlighted in a way that no previous general history of the war against Japan has achieved.

BBC World Service – The Documentary: Erasing Hong Kong

My new documentary for the BBC World Service is online now. “Erasing Hong Kong”, exploring how Hong Kong’s history is being rapidly revised and erased as the National Security Law bites hard & the memory wars intensify….click here to listen

The Ruins of the Shanghai National Labor University, 1932

An interesting and rare album of photographs of the ruin of the Shanghai National Labor University (Laodong daxue), dated February 1932. The univesity, established in 1927 in the Kiangwan district of Shanghai, was heavily damaged by Japanese artillery in the 1932 Shanghai War – the university never reopened.

A Walter Nichols Rug From Tientsin

A lovely carpet from the Tientsin (Tianjin) factory of Walter Nichols that was in business from the 1920s to WW2 and sold to discerning shoppers in both China and America….

Harry A Franck’s All About Going Abroad

Recently in my China Revisited series (Blacksmith Books) I published an excerpt from Harry A Franck’s Roving Through Southern China from the 1920s. Slightly lately, in 1927, he wrote this small book for those facing their first trips overseas which has a few references to China….

A New South China Morning Post Long Read – Deep Impact – Anti-Piracy Subs in 1920s Hong Kong

Submarines proved their worth in World War I. Afterwards Britain’s Royal Navy deployed its newest ones to Hong Kong to eradicate piracy from beneath the waves. But when a Hong Kong-based submarine hunting pirates fired on a ferry carrying 200 and it sank there was hell to pay… click here to read…

The Tientsin Races, Spring 1921

Some pictures that recently surfaced in an old album put up for auction of the Spring 1921 Tientsin (Tianjin) races at the Tientsin Race Course. The Tientsin Race Course was slightly less grand than Shanghai but definitely better laid out and with attendant stands and club than the Paomachang course in Peking – see Austin Coates’s great study, China Races, for more on all these courses.

The Living China..a Pictorial Record 1930

A delightful book from 1930 edited by Wu Luen Tak and published by the Liang You Printing & Publishing Co…