Peace In Their Time

Episode 159 - A Plan and a Party

New miniseries! Today I begin covering the First Five Year Plan, the mother of all five year plans. You might have heard about them in places other than the USSR, you might even have one of your own. But there isn't anything like this one. I break down why the Plan was so central to Soviet history, as well as take time to introduce the supporting players on Stalin's team that were integral to actually executing the plan. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Fitzpatrick, Shelia On Stalin's Team: The Years of Living Dangerously in Soviet Politics Princeton University Press 2015
2. Kotkin, Stephen Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 1929-1941 Penguin Press 2017
3. Montefiore, Simon Sebag Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar Vintage Books 2005
4. Allen, Robert C. Farm to Factory: A Reinterpretation of the Soviet Industrial Revolution Princeton University Press 2003

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 158 - The Long March, Part II

Today's episode is a double-conclusion as both the Long March and this miniseries come to a close. The northern course of the March was more notable for adverse climates and geography, which was probably worse than what the Nationalists could throw at them. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Short, Philip Mao, A Life Henry Holdt and Company LLC 1999
2. Wilson, Dick The Long March 1935: The Epic of Chinese Communism's Survival The Viking Press 1971
3. Chung-gi, Kwei The Kuomintang-Communist Struggle in China 1922-1949 Martinus Nihoff 1970
4. Yang, Benjamin From Revolution to Politics: Chinese Communists on the Long March Routledge 2021
5. Po-cheng, Liu Recalling the Long March Foreign Language Press Peking 1978
6. Salisbury, Harrison E. The Long March: The Untold Story Macmillan 1985
7. Lai, Benjamin The Long March 1934-35: The Rise of Mao and the Beginning of Modern China Osprey 2019

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 157 - The Long March, Part I

By autumn 1934 it was clear that the Communists could not stay in southeast China. The solution was to step out for a walk, a long one. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Short, Philip Mao, A Life Henry Holdt and Company LLC 1999
2. Wilson, Dick The Long March 1935: The Epic of Chinese Communism's Survival The Viking Press 1971
3. Chung-gi, Kwei The Kuomintang-Communist Struggle in China 1922-1949 Martinus Nihoff 1970
4. Yang, Benjamin From Revolution to Politics: Chinese Communists on the Long March Routledge 2021
5. Po-cheng, Liu Recalling the Long March Foreign Language Press Peking 1978
6. Salisbury, Harrison E. The Long March: The Untold Story Macmillan 1985
7. Lai, Benjamin The Long March 1934-35: The Rise of Mao and the Beginning of Modern China Osprey 2019

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 156 - Marching to the Long March

Switching gears in China, today I switch to covering Mao and the CPC's misadventures in southern China. The stretch of time between the end of the 20s and the start of the Long March were filled with false starts and missed opportunities as competing interests among the Communists squandered the victories over Chiang Kai-shek's encirclement campaigns. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Short, Philip Mao, A Life Henry Holdt and Company LLC 1999
2. Fairbannk, John K & Albert Feuerwerker The Cambridge History of China, Volume 13: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 2 Cambridge University Press 1983
3. Wilson, Dick The Long March 1935: The Epic of Chinese Communism's Survival The Viking Press 1971
4. Chung-gi, Kwei The Kuomintang-Communist Struggle in China 1922-1949 Martinus Nihoff 1970

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 155 - Chiang Gets Kidnapped

OK, so there's a lot more to this episode than the Xi'an Incident, but it's the most dramatic. Other than that, we've got secret societies, half-baked ideologies, and the false impression that things could get better in KMT China. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983
2. Fairbannk, John K & Albert Feuerwerker The Cambridge History of China, Volume 13: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 2 Cambridge University Press 1983
3. Sheridan, James E. China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History 1912-1949 Macmillian Publishing Co, Inc 1975
4. Taylor, Jay The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China Harvard University Press 2011
5. Wakeman Jr, Frederick Spymaster: Dai Li and the Chinese Secret Service University of California Press 2003

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 154 - Best Laid Plans

With the Japanese outright occupying Chinese territory, Chiang Kai-shek had to move fast. A war was guaranteed, but preparations still needed to be made and domestic enemies still needed to be taken care of. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983
2. Fairbannk, John K & Albert Feuerwerker The Cambridge History of China, Volume 13: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 2 Cambridge University Press 1983
3. Sheridan, James E. China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History 1912-1949 Macmillian Publishing Co, Inc 1975
4. Taylor, Jay The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China Harvard University Press 2011
5. Van de Ven, Hans J. War and Nationalism in China, 1925-1945 Routledge 2003
6. Qidong, Zheng A Brief History of Inflation in China Paths International Ltd 2013

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 153 - Manchurian Goodbye

Today the focus shifts back to the misadventures of Chiang Kai-shek and the Nanjing government. The Central Plains War had been won, and it looked for the briefest of moments that things were going to be fine for them. Then the new campaigns against the Communists fell into disarray, and in September 1931 the Japanese invaded Manchuria. For Chiang, there would be no breaks. Ever. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983
2. Fairbannk, John K & Albert Feuerwerker The Cambridge History of China, Volume 13: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 2 Cambridge University Press 1983
3. Sheridan, James E. China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History 1912-1949 Macmillian Publishing Co, Inc 1975
4. Taylor, Jay The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China Harvard University Press 2011
5. Van de Ven, Hans J. War and Nationalism in China, 1925-1945 Routledge 2003

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 152 - Let Sleeping Bears Lie

A fun and not very well-known little border war was the Sino-Soviet conflict of 1929. Basically the Soviets controlled the railways of northern Manchuria, and the Chinese wanted them out. Simple idea, difficult to execute in practice, and the way it was handled opened the door for the Red Army to humiliate the warlord forces of Manchuria. Which would in turn get other parties thinking about how easy it would be to go on an adventure of their own in the region.

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Walker, Michael M. The 1929 Sino-Soviet War: The War Nobody Knew University Press of Kansas 2017
2. Kotkin, Stephen Stalin: Waiting for Hitler 1929-1941 Penguin Press 2017

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 151 - The Central Plains War

We get the real-deal history underway with some very familiar material: a warlord showdown. Except this would be bigger than ever, and would decide if Chiang Kai-shek's centralizing policies even had a prayer. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983
2. Fairbannk, John K & Albert Feuerwerker The Cambridge History of China, Volume 13: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 2 Cambridge University Press 1983
3. Sheridan, James E. China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History 1912-1949 Macmillian Publishing Co, Inc 1975
4. Taylor, Jay The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China Harvard University Press 2011
5. Van de Ven, Hans J. War and Nationalism in China, 1925-1945 Routledge 2003

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 150 - Enter the Nanjing Decade

Last season I left off my China coverage with the successful conclusion of the Northern Expedition. But just because that long campaign was successful didn't mean that Chiang Kai-shek and the KMT had everything go their way. To kick off this new mini-series I'll be spending some time re-introducing some older friends, as well as newer groups and factions that were going to play a larger role in the years to come. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983
2. Fairbannk, John K & Albert Feuerwerker The Cambridge History of China, Volume 13: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 2 Cambridge University Press 1983
3. Sheridan, James E. China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History 1912-1949 Macmillian Publishing Co, Inc 1975
4. Taylor, Jay The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China Harvard University Press 2011
5. Van de Ven, Hans J. War and Nationalism in China, 1925-1945 Routledge 2003

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com