Age of Conquest: A Kings and Generals Podcast

Last time we spoke about Manchu Restoration of Zhang Xun. After the death of Yuan Shikai, Duan Qirui maneuvered to maintain control amidst the political chaos. After being outed from Premiership for trying to drag China into WW1, General Zhang Xun suddenly marched upon Beijing seizing the capital. Zhang Xun then proclaimed the Qing Dynasty restored with Emperor Puyi back on the throne, shocking the entire nation. Li Yuanhong freaked out, ran for his life and begged Duan Qirui to come back and save the republic. Ironically Duan was already in the process of marching upon the capital, so with a smile he went along with everything making it look like he was a hero. After taking back power, Duan resumed his premiership, but made sure to get rid of any threat to his authority. However, Duan's authoritarian rule and neglect of certain officers led to opposition from figures like Feng Guozhang, who formed the Zhili Clique. #98 The Invasion of Outer Mongolia & First Anhui/Zhili War Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. During the Xinhai Revolution many provinces and regions declared independence, one of them was Outer Mongolia. In 1910, the Qing Dynasty had appointed the Mongol, Sando to be viceroy over Mongolia, with his base being in the capital city of Urga. Just a month after his arrival conflicts emerged, prompting Sando to ask Jebstundamba Khutuktu, the spiritual leader of the Mongolians to help out but he refused and this led to a campaign to have Sando removed. More conflicts followed and by spring of 1911, prominent Mongolian nobles, such as Prince Tögs-Ochiryn Namnansüren persuaded Jebstundamba Khutukhtu to form a meeting of the nobility to discuss declaring independence. The meeting resulted in a deadlock. 18 nobles wishing to declare independence took matters into their own hands pressuring Jebstundamba Khutukhtu to send a secret delegation to Russia for help. Of course at this time Russia sought Outer Mongolia as a buffer state. The Mongols knew this and offered economic concessions if the Russians helped arm them and brought troops over. Russia did not want to add Outer Mongolia to the empire however, so she offered diplomatic support rather than military support. The Russian minister to Beijing informed the Qing the Mongols had sent a delegation and this prompted the Qing to order Sando to investigate. Yet while all of this was going on, the Wuchang Uprising had sprung up and soon rebellion would hit the entire nation. When the Mongols received news of what was happening to China, they simply joined in and declared independence. By December 1st a provisional government of Khalkha was set up under the theocratic rule of Jebtsundamba Khutuktu who became the Bodg Khaan over the new Bogd Khanate. Fast forward to 1915, the new Republic of China and the Bogd Khanate reached an agreement that Outer Mongolia could be autonomous under Chinese suzerainty, a protectorate basically. Then came the Russian Revolution and with it, the Russian Civil War. This resulted in a rather bizarre movement springing up along the Siberian/Mongolian border. Grigory Semyonov a White movement member in Transbaikal with Japanese backing, took quite an interest in Mongolia. Semyonov spoke Mongolian and Buryat fluently, he...

Last time we spoke about the Southern Warlords. Yuan Shikai's abuse of power prompted declarations of independence from several southern regions, leading to the Second Revolution of 1913. Despite initial successes, Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army ultimately crushed the uprisings. Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, after various setbacks and political maneuvers, founded the Chinese Revolutionary Party and later resurrected the Kuomintang. Chiang Kai-Shek emerged as a significant figure within the KMT, navigating through alliances and conflicts. Meanwhile the formation of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) paralleled these events, driven by figures like Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao, and later, Mao Zedong. Concurrently, various regional warlord cliques, including the Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Sichuan, and Hunan cliques, vied for power, often aligning with or against larger political entities like the KMT or the CCP. We have met the warlords now its time to tell their story. #97 The Manchu Restoration of the Pigtail General Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. Now where to begin, you sort of have to speak about someone we already have spoken to death about, the father of the warlords, Yuan Shikai. He “helped” with quotation marks usher in the republic of china and had a very heavy hand creating the New Army. He was a man of the 19th century, he had served in the First-Sino Japanese War of 1894-1895, then during the Boxer Rebellion. If you remember, back during the Boxer Rebellion, when Empress Dowager Cixi began frantically calling for an alliance with the Boxers to fight off the foreigners, Yuan Shikai like most governors at the time, put his head down. As the foreigners marched from Tientsin to Beijing, Yuan Shikai spent his time strengthening his position as Viceroy of Shandong. During this time he also received the Viceroy of Zhili and Commissioner for North China Trade. He had very lucrative posts and he used the money to set up military colleges. He hired foreign instructors, procured modern armaments and managed to create a professionally trained military. When the Xinhai revolution broke out, Yuan Shikai was made commander-in-chief and he brought his Beiyang Army to quell the rebels at Wuchang. Yet Yuan Shikai was not a moron and could see where the tides were turning, so he began a plot to take control of the new emerging republic. During his tenure, better said dictatorship, he strengthened his personal rule and suppressed any who could threaten him. Now we have already covered most of his story, during the last year of his life, Yuan Shikai increasingly began relying on the support of his military commanders in the capital and in various provinces. Many of these commanders betrayed him, the first one was General Cai E, the emerging warlord of Yunnan. On January 1st of 1916, Cai E declared independence for Yunnan and indeed Sichuan province thus threatening Yuan Shikai’s rule over central China. After this Guangxi and Guangdong declared independence. As Yuan Shikai’s subordinates began to betray him one by one, the most significant man amongst them would turn out to be Duan Qirui. Duan Qirui was a very talented young officer in command of the artillery corps of Yuan Shikai’s Beiyang army. He distinguished himself...

Last time we spoke about Feng Yuxiang and Zhang Zongchang. Both men were born into poverty, rose through the ranks of the military, earning popularity. Feng became known for his integrity and generosity. He played a pivotal role during the Xinhai Revolution and the subsequent warlord era, often switching allegiances opportunistically. Feng embraced Christianity and enforced discipline among his troops, earning the nickname "the Christian General." On the other side of the shoulder, Zhang Zongchang became infamous for his brutality and excesses as the "Dogmeat General." His rule over Shandong was marked by tyranny, corruption, and lavish indulgence. While Feng focused on discipline, education, and infrastructure, Zhang oppressed his subjects, enriching himself and his inner circle. Feng was often portrayed favorably, while Zhang reveled in his notorious reputation. Ultimately, they were emblematic figures of the tumultuous warlord era, shaping the course of Chinese history. #96 Meet the Southern Warlords Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. So two episodes back I introduced you all to the Northern Warlords. The father of warlords, Yuan Shikai basically created them all. When Yuan Shikai built his Beiyang Army, many of his best officers became the Northern Warlords after his death. Thus the Northern Faction as its sometimes referred to, really was an elite club of Beiyang Generals who simply were vying for power. They were all scrambling to fund their private armies and whoever at any given time had the strongest force was able to exert control over the Beiyang government located in Beijing. Within this dynamic there was a quasi balance of power going on. For the most part it was dominated by the three largest cliques in the north, the Anhui Clique, Zhili Clique and Fengtian Clique. Yet this really only applied to Northern China. Going back in time somewhat you will remember, when Yuan Shikai stole the presidency, this led to multiple rebellions, notably sprouting in the southern provinces. Dr Sun Yat-Sen stepped down from the provisional presidency, but he had not given up on his dream of a real republic for China. After the assassination of Song Jiaoren in March 1913, many believed Yuan Shikai had ordered the hit. Yuan Shikai proceeded to abuse his power and this led to southern provinces declaring independence. First was Jiangxi, followed by Jiangsu, Anhui, Shanghai, Guangdong, Fujian and so forth. This all culminated with the Second Revolution of 1913. Unfortunately for the rebels, Yuan Shikai’s Beiyang Army yet again proved their might, achieving a complete victory over their revolutionary uprisings. KMT loyalist politicians still refused to submit to Yuan Shikai, so he simply dissolved parliament and began reorganizing China using loyal military governors in the provinces. The KMT may have been dissolved, but they were not down for the count. After Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor, Dr. Sun Yat Sun established the Chinese Revolutionary Party on July 8th of 1914, but this time his old friends and colleagues refused to join him such as Huang Xing, Hu Hanmin, Chen Jiongming and Wang Jingwei. They had seen it all before. Everytime they created a movement against Yuan Shikai, he simply crushed...

Last time we spoke about the Northern Warlords and their respective factions. We covered the three big names, Duan Qirui and his Anhui clique; Wu Peifu and his Zhili cliques and Zhang Zuolin and his Fengtian clique. We also went into the smaller ones like Yan Xishan’s Shanxi clique, Feng Yuxiang’s Guominjun clique, the Ma clique of the three Ma’s, Ma Bufang, Ma Hongkui and Ma Hongbin known as the Xibei San Ma “thee Ma of the northwest”; the Xinjiang clique of Yang Zengxin and we barely scratched the surface of the Manchu Resotrationist clique of Zhang Xun. There was over 100 warlords, its really difficult to pick and choose who to delve into the most. However, there were two warlords who were bitter rivals, in a comedic fashion might I add. One was hailed as the good Christian warlord, the other a devilish monster. Today we are going to tell the tales of these two figures. #95 Feng Yuxiang, Zhang Zongchang: the Angel and Devil Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. Feng Yuxiang was born in Zhili province, today Hebei in 1882. His parents were poor, his father joined the Qing army to make ends meet. At the age of only 10 he joined the Huai Army alongside his father. He earned a uniform and food but no salary as his rank was “Fu Bing”, deputy soldier. By the age of 16 he proved himself capable and became a regular. Unlike his colleagues who gambled their money away, Feng saved his money and even used portions of it to help out soldiers in need, particularly Fu Bing’s. Because of this he became quite popular amongst his comrades. He did not gamble nor drink alcohol. In 1902 he joined Yuan Shikai’s guard units and rose through the ranks becoming a company commander. From there he was transferred to the 3rd division, a crack one of Yuan Shikai’s soon to be Beiyang Army. During the Xinhai Revolution Feng Yuxiang joined the Luanzhou uprising against the Qing, supporting the revolutionaries in the South. The uprising was suppressed by the Beiyang army and Feng was imprisoned by Yuan Shikai. Once Yuan Shikai stole the presidency of the Republic, Feng was released and he took back his military position while supporting Yuan Shikai’s regime. By 1914 he became a brigade commander and helped supress uprisings in Henan and Shaanxi. It was also during this year Feng Yuxiang developed a curiosity about Christianity. He converted to Christianity, being baptiszed into the Methodist Episcopal Church. When Yuan Shikai declared himself emperor, this ushered in the Anti-Yuan resistance. Feng Yuxiang helped supress anti-yuan forces of General Cai E in Sichuan, but in the process, began secrely negotiating with Cai E. He formed an agreement to “put on a show” rather than actually fight. After Yuan Shikai’s death, Feng Yuxiang was deprived command of the 16th Mixed Brigade, something he had come to see as his personal property. He managed to stay in touch with its officers who remained loyal to him personally. Now it gives away further episodes to dvevle deep into the following years, but what I will say, Feng Yuxiang played important roles in critical moments of the wars during China’s warlord Era. To be blunt, Feng Yuxiang was a real game of thrones little finger kind of guy if you get the reference. He always looked where...

Last time we spoke about the May fourth movement of 1919 . The Xinhai Revolution of 1911 sparked the May Fourth Movement marked by nationalism, anti-imperialism, and a quest for modernization. Disillusioned with traditional values and foreign encroachments, Chinese intellectuals, students, and workers embraced Western ideals, particularly Marxism, to reform Chinese society. The movement led to the emergence of the Chinese Communist Party and a broader alliance against warlordism and Japanese imperialism. Tensions arose between reformist liberalism and revolutionary Marxism, reflecting debates over China's path to progress. Despite setbacks, the May Fourth Movement's legacy persisted, shaping China's political landscape and laying the groundwork for future revolutionary action. Its an understatement to say it was a watershed moment in modern Chinese history. But underneath it lurked a new Era, one that was to be fought and ruled by warlords. #94 Meet the Northern Warlords Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. How to even begin. I am staring at roughly 10 tabs of books alongside numerous scripts I had written nearly a year ago about China’s Warlord Era. I have already written an extensive series, that I also molded into a long form documentary about the Warlord Era, you can find it at the Pacific War Channel on Youtube or in audio form on all podcast platforms. However, I realize now, I really did not dig deep enough, specifically on….who exactly were the warlords? Its true, I covered their numerous battles, made jokes about them, but I did not really go deep into their backgrounds.To be honest their backgrounds are quite fascinating, they were all kooky characters. Thus I thought what better than to start off the Warlord Era by introducing some of the warlords and their cliques. But because there is literally so many warlords, I literally halfway through writing this one had to change it to just the Northern Warlords, next episode we cover the southern ones. After the death of Yuan Shikai China underwent a major shift from being a state-dominated civil bureaucracy overseen by a central authority to military dominated regions. These regions were dominated by the Warlords whom in the words of American political scientist Lucian Pye “were instinctively suspicious, quick to suspect that their interests might be threatened, hard-headed, devoted to the short run and impervious to idealistic abstractions". Most of the Warlords, came from military backgrounds, having gone through the new-style military colleges of the late 19th and early 20th century with foreign instructors. Most of the warlords were extremely brutal to not just their enemies, but civilians and their own troops. They killed without a second thought their own men if they suspected insubordination. They used horrible torture tactics like suspending a victim by the neck in bamboo or wooden cages, breaking knees, slicing limbs, branding and so forth. If railway workers tried to go on strike, a Warlord would often execute a few of them to get them back to work. A British diplomat in Sichuan province witnessed two mutineers being publicly hacked to death with their hearts and livers cut out; another two were burned to death; and others had slits...

Last time we spoke about the New Culture Movement. China had seen humiliation after humiliation and her population was fed up. The leaking of secret dealings by foreign powers, Japan and members of the Chinese government alongside a weak stance at the Paris Peace Conference broke the camels back. The New Culture Movement that was brewing under these circumstances saw the Chinese public begin to question their traditions, confucianism and this feeling of always looking into the past, rather than the future. Things simply could not keep going on the way that they were. Numerous intellectuals began demanding major reforms to really modernize China. From vernacular writing systems, to the emancipation of women and egalitarian rights, the Chinese people were angry and they were soon going to demonstrate their anger towards their government. It would all start with youthful students who would change China forever. #93 The May Fourth Movement of 1919 Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. The Xinhai Revolution of 1911 had given rise to the spirit of Chinese nationalism, demanding resistance to foreign encroachment and the elimination of domestic autocracy. While the Manchu’s were overthrown, Yuan Shikai was quick to seize the movement hostage. He silenced opposition when the Beiyang Republic was formed. Then WW1 came crashing in like a wrecking ball upon China. The Empire of Japan defeated the Germans and now occupied the Shandong Peninsula. Yuan Shikai protested this of course, but from the publics point of view not too strongly. Taking full advantage of the international situation the Japanese then imposed the twenty-one demands upon China. This was leaked to the world, enraging the Chinese populace. Though Yuan Shikai did negotiate them down into the Thirteen Demands, it was yet again another humiliation and a sign of how weak the Chinese government was. When this occurred Chinese intellectuals, students and workers were beginning to form groups and argue about what should be done. There was a sense of national survival at stake. In response to the Twenty-One Demands situation a boycott of Japanese goods was organized in Shanghai, and this rapidly began to spread to other cities. Yuan Shikai ordered the boycotts to seize as they spread to Yangtze port cities. Regardless the people of China still had high hopes by joining the Entente during the war, this would see China reverse her misfortunes and regain things like the Shandong Peninsula. When WW1 ended on November 11 of 1918, there was such widespread hope the national disgrace would come to an end. Chinese intellectual leaders, and leading businessmen believed the defeat of Germany had finally brought an end to the disgusting practice of secret diplomacy, foreign encroachment on their nation, militarism and the dictatorship that was pretending to be a republic. It was assumed the Shandong Peninsula lease that originally was given to the Germans, currently held by the Japanese illegally, would simply be handed back over to China. China had done a lot for the Entente war effort, she had provided hundreds of thousands of laborers at critical moments of the war, many believed, and I would say rightfully so, China earned certain demands. Well those hopes...

Last time we spoke about the end of WW1 and China’s bitter experience at the Paris Peace conference. Yes it WW1 brought a lot of drama to China. Yuan Shikai and later prominent figures like Duan Qirui took the poor habit of making secret deals with the Japanese that would very much bite them in the ass later in Paris. The Chinese delegation came to Paris hoping to secure major demands, most notably to solve the ongoing Shandong Problem. Instead they quite literally found out there were secret deals between China and Japan that completely hindered their war aims. To add insult to injury the western powers, notably Britain had also made secret double dealings with Japan. In the end Japan got her way, China did not, it was so embarrassing the Chinese delegation did not bother signing the Treaty of Versailles. Things could not possible get any worse eh? #92 The New Culture Movement Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. To say this is a big event in Modern Chinese history is certainly an understatement. I have to acknowledge over on my personal channel the Pacific War channel I made an episode on this topic. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I am very glad I tackled it. It was the first time a large portion of Chinese audience members came forward and thanked me for covering the subject. I was honestly a bit baffled, the episode picked up steam, I thought, hmmm why is this getting views, its a rather boring, non battle more political episode. Well case and point, this story is really the birth of modern China. If you go searching for books on this subject you will find so many of its impact on just about every facet of China today and even on other nations. Now there is two major subjects at play here, the May fourth movement and the New Cultural movement. I am going to do my best to try and cohesively tell this, but its a rather difficult one to be honest. For the sake of cohesion and to be blunt while writing this I just don’t think I will manage to fit both subjects into one episode, I first am going to tackle what exactly the “New Cultural Movement” was and I am guessing I will have to leave the May Fourth Movement for next episode. The New Cultural Movement is intertwined with the May Fourth Movement, or you could call it the progenitor. In essence it was a progressivist movement that sprang up in the 1910’s and would continue through the 1920’s criticizing traditional Chinese ideology and promoting a new culture. This new culture was influenced by new age science and modern ideals. It’s during this period you find many of China’s big scholars start speaking out and making names for themselves. Now we have been talking in length about numerous issues that hit China during the 1910’s such as WW1, Yuan Shikai’s craziness, secret deals getting leaked to the public, the Shandong Problem, the Treaty of Versailles and all of these summed up were just more and more humiliation for China. The people of China were fed up. The people of China wanted change. Now its hard to encompass all that was sought out, but there are 6 large themes of this New Cultural movement that I shall list. The first change the public wanted was because of their outdated writing system, they wanted a more vernacular...

Last time we spoke about the Twenty-One Demands and the rise of the Walrus Emperor, Yuan Shikai. Japan certainly had their work cut out for them during WW1. Seizing upon every possible opportunity Japan occupied Shandong province after the siege of Tsingtao and forced China to accept the unbelievable twenty-one demands. Yuan Shikai tried to stall and negotiate, eventually reaching thirteen demands, but yet again China was served a terrible humiliation that even became a national day henceforth. Then Yuan Shikai completely, organically, not fault of his own because the Hongxian emperor over a new dynasty. The new monarchy of China lasted a solid 83 days, before Yuan Shikai was forced to abdicate lest every single province declare their independence. All of this was occurring during the vacuum of WW1, which was still raging on. Yuan Shikai was back to being president, over a fractured nation. #91 China & the Treaty of Versailles Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. Yuan Shikai’s short-lived monarchy did not end China’s national crisis. When he abdicated, you would assume this would have eased tensions a bit, but then the people of China found out Yuan Shikai was going to stay on as president. The people were livid. As you can imagine, the calls for his abdication were followed up by calls for him to step down as president. In early April of 1916 Cai E, speaking on behalf of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi put forward 6 demands to solve the crisis. 1) Yuan Shikai had to step down and go into exile 2) his stooges, 13 principal monarchist supports were to be executed 3) Yuan Shikai’s vast property was to be confiscated 4) Yuan Shikai’s descendants were to be stripped of citizenship. Apparently Yuan Shikai ignored these demands off the bat, prompting Cai E to add 5) Yuan Shikai would be charged with treason and punished by law passed by Congress. In April and May of 1916, more provinces declared independence, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Hunan. Their provincial leaders, many of whom were Yuan Shikai loyalists like Chen Yi of Sichuan or Tang Xiangming of Hunan labeled him an illegal leader, condemned him as a villain and severed their ties to him. Talk about choosing your friends wisely eh? Thus by May of 1916 most of southern china was independent, waiting for Yuan Shikai to step down, and most likely it would be Li Yuanhong who would take the presidency. Dr Sun Yat-Sen did not play a significant role in this anti-Yuan Shikai movement. He did make grand speeches, in April of 1916 for example he said “only after the principal culprit Yuan is exterminated could the constitution be restored and the republic be revived. If Yuan continues to rule, the country cannot be preserved. All Chinese must annihilate the evil thoroughly and never be tolerant towards Yuan, for only after the national thief is wiped out could the republic attain peace.” A barrage of telegrams, letters and personal envoys showed up to Yuan Shikai’s offices asking him to step down. Yuan Shikai’s initial reaction was simply to try and suppress his challengers. On April 1st he proposed conditions to Cai E for solving the “crisis”, these were, repealing provincial independence, returning administrative order, disbanding new military...

Last time we spoke about Chinese laborers during the Great War. Although China took upa stance of neutrality at the offset of WW1, there was still this enormous desire to join the Entente side. The new Republic of China wanted to get a seat at the peace table to hopefully undue some of the terrible unequal treaties. To procure that seat, China approached France, Britain, Russia and by the end of the war America to send their workers to help the war effort. On the western and eastern fronts, chinese laborers made a colossal contribution that tipped the scale of the war towards an Entente victory. On the Eastern front some Chinese fought in irregular units and under emergency circumstances even on the western front some saw combat. When the laborers came back home they brought with them new ideas that would dramatically change China. The people of China demanded change, but how would China fare by the end of the Great War? #90 Twenty-One Demands & the Walrus Emperor Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. Taking a look back at China at the outbreak of WW1. Yuan Shikai certainly had a lot on his plate. When European nations began declaring war in late July, it brought military conflict to China. Yuan Shikai and his advisors thought over all the options laid bare before them and decided to proclaim neutrality on August 6th of 1914. As we have seen the other great powers, particularly Japan did not care. Japan besieged Tsingtao, despite China tossing protests. Yuan Shikai had little choice but to permit the Japanese military actions against Qingdao. The fighting that broke out in the Kiautschou area would constitute the only acts of war on Chinese soil during the first world war. Unfortunately the Japanese were not going to settle with just defeating the Germans. Japan had already gained a enormous sphere of influence in Manchuria after her victories in the 1st Sino-Japanese war and Russo-Japanese War. When China underwent its Xinhai revolution it became fragile, quite vulnerable and thus opened a floodgate. With WW1 raging on in Europe, the global powers were all too preoccupied to contest any actions in Asia, giving Japan an enormous opportunity. Japan sought to expand her commercial interests in Manchuria, but also elsewhere. After seizing Qingdao, Prime Minister Okuma Shigenobu and Foreign Minister Kato Takaai drafted the infamous Twenty-One Demands. From the Japanese perspective, Yuan Shikai’s government looked rogue, untrustworthy, they had no idea how long the thing would stand up, it might crumble at a moments notice. Their leases in south Manchuria were going to run out soon, thus they needed to extend them. Then there was the situation of Shandong province. Its always Shandong as they say. Japan was technically occupying it, having taken it from the Germans who previously held a concession over it. Being a concession, it was known Shandong would be returned to China, but now then when was an unknown variable. Japan also had some economic trade with China that made her somewhat dependent upon her. For example Yawata, Japan’s first iron and steel complex that had been financed with Chinese indemnity payments ironically, was also dependent on Chinese raw materials that had been streaming into Japan...

Last time we spoke about the rise of Yuan Shikai, the outbreak of WW1 and the siege of Tsingtao. Yuan Shikai used every dirty little trick to seize and maintain his authority in the new republic. He forced the KMT’s hand, prompting Dr. Sun Yat-sen to usher in a second revolution, but it ultimately failed as Yuan Shikai controlled the best army in China. Simultaneously world war one broke out and this placed China in an awkward position. Multiple nations held special territorial concessions in China and now they might bring the war to her borders. China protested as much as she could, but the Empire of Japan simply did not care when they came over to lay a siege against the Germans at Tsingtao. The siege of Tsingtao saw many historical firsts and was quite brutal. After all was said and done, China was served yet another humiliation, with many more to come. #89 China’s forgotten role during the Great War Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. Now this episode is actually going to be a bit of a side step from the chronological narrative so to say. China underwent an enormous amount of events during the course of WW1, most having to do with political relations towards the Empire of Japan. However, quite some time ago, on my personal channel, the pacific war channel, I tackled asia during WW1. I wrote a few episode looking at China, Japan, southeast asian nations, and something I found quite interesting is how China aided the Entente powers. People completely overlook this aspect of the Great War, but China and some of her southeast neighbors provided an incredible amount of manpower to both the western and eastern fronts. Stating that, I want to simply dabble into the specific subject of “what exactly did China do for the war effort?”. In the next episode we will jump into things like the twenty-one demands and the Treaty of Versailles. The declarations of war in Europe in late July and early August brought military conflicts immediately upon Chinese territory. On August 6th, 1914 China proclaimed her neutrality and prohibited the belligerents of WW1 from undertaking military operations upon Chinese soil. Now at the beginning it was sort of believed if not perceived the Great War was essentially a conflict between imperial powers, over their colonial possessions in a big game of world supremacy, thus China expected to remain neutral as a partially colonized country. Japan certainly did not care and began a siege against Tsingtao. China initially protested against the Japanese warfare upon her soil, but there was little Yuan Shikai could do about it. We wont get into here, but Japan certainly followed up her disrespect against China immediately after the siege of Tsingtao. Needless to say, China remained neutral for most of the war and this placed her in an interesting position. Now Yuan Shikai secretly offered British Minister John Jorden, 50,000 Chinese troops to help retake Tsingtao, but the British refused. The reason they refused was because of Japan. Japan refused to allow Chinese soldiers to fight in the war, because she was hoping to secure her authority as a powerhouse in the east. While Chinese citizens were not allowed by the Chinese government to participate in the fighting, this did not stop...

Last time we spoke about the Wuchang Uprising and the Xinhai revolution. The revolutionary armies formed a massive assault, managing to seize Wuchang, Hanyang and Hankou. However, the Qing Dynasty had a card up their sleeve in the form of Yuan Shikai and his Beiyang Army. Yuan Shikai defeated the rebel armies with ease, but when the time came to eradicate them for good, he held back. Instead he plotted with the revolutionaries, to coerce the emperor to abdicate in order for himself to be made president over the new Republic. In a masterstroke Yuan Shikai seized the presidency and immediately went to work consolidating his power. Through the use of policial abuses, bribery, threats and assassination, Yuan Shikai was securing his control over the new republic. However all of his actions were met with outraged from the public and particularly the KMT. Now Dr Sun Yat-Sen would unleash a second revolution to save the republic. #88 A Great War and the Siege of Tsingtao Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. When Yuan Shikai became provisional president he was hailed by the senate “of all the presidential elections in world history, only [George] Washington enjoyed unanimous approval. Now, you [Yuan], sir, have repeated Washington’s record. To the world, you are the second Washington in this regard. To our Republican China, you are the first.” A few days later, Manchu elite troops, the Eight Banners, delivered Yuan a letter, which read that the “people in North China regard you as China’s first Washington; the people from South China see you as the world’s second Washington. There is no doubt how much the entire country adores you”. Now the original abdication edict given to Yuan Shikai read like this “Yuan Shikai holds the absolute authority along with the civilian army [ minjun – the south] to organize the provisional republican government and discuss the approach for achieving the unification of the country.” But Yuan Shikai revised the edict “Yuan Shikai holds the absolute authority to organize the provisional republican government and discuss the approach for unifying the country along with the civilian army.” In early 1912, Dt Sun Yat-Sen had set 3 conditions for Yuan Shikai’s assumption of the provisional presidency: Nanjing would be the national capital, he would assume his presidency in Nanjing, and he would have to respect the Provisional Constitution. As mentioned in he previous episode, Yuan Shikai performed some false flag-like operations to make sure Beijing became the capital, where he and his Beiyang Army had the strongest position. It is estimated in 1912 China had roughly a million soldiers. This was a enormous financial burden on the government and quite a threat to the regime as many of these soldiers began to join cliques that were loyal to local warlords. When soldiers pay is delayed they tend to mutiny, thus Yuan Shikai demobilized them in late april of 1912. He sought to reduce the military to half a million in 50 divisions. He disbanded 16 divisions in Jiangsu, Anhui, Hunan and Sichuan. Within Nanjing he made sure 100,000 troops under the command of Huang Xing were ordered to step down. By june of 1912 Nanjing's force would be a third its original size. Now while the number of...

Last time we spoke about the Railway Protection Movement and the Wuchang Uprising. Emperor Guangxi and Empress Dowager Cixi were dead leaving regent Zaifeng in charge of the ailing dynasty. Alongside their deaths, the Guangzhou-Hankou and Sichuan-Hankow railway lines would become the trigger to end the Qing dynasty. The people were already angry, but would become furious when news came that the railway lines were going to be nationalized using foreign loans. Some in Sichuan attempted financing their railway line to thwart the foreigners, but in the end they simply were unable. Zaifeng unleashed the brutish General Zhao Erfeng to quell the protesters, but this massively backfired. Revolutionaries within the Hubei army unleashed an uprising in Wuchang. The mutineers formed a military government representing Hubei with Li Yuanhong as their leader. The year is 1911, Wuchang is but the spark that will light the flame of revolution. #87 The Xinhai Revolution of 1911 Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. The insurrection that broke out in Wuchang on October 10th of 1911, was not a sheer accident. It was part of a larger event occurring all over China. Revolutionary leaders like Dr. Sun Yat-sen had inspired multiple groups of revolutionaries, many of whom recruited men within the New Armies forming in the provinces. These groups also had links to secret societies. If you pop open wikipedia and look up the Xinhai Revolution or 1911 revolution one of the first things you will notice is the page consists of a long list of uprisings. Uprisings sprang out all over China. Some of these groups were connected, many were not at all. A famous revolutionary leader, Song Jiaron founded the Revolutionary Alliance in 1911. Song Jiaoren and Huang Xing helped Sun Yat-sen start a second uprising in Guangzhou that failed, and this basically ended the Revolutionary Alliance’s role as the dominant revolutionary group. When the Wuchang uprising began, all these leaders were taken by surprise. The Hubei revolutionaries had very loose connections to the revolutionary alliance. It was Song Jiaorens intent to use the Revolutionary alliance as a sort of authority over the multiple revolutionary groups. Song Jiaoren advised the Wuchang uprisers to take it slower, but they simply were impatient for action. As a result of the Wuchang uprising, the Qing court ordered the Minister of War, General Yinchang and General Feng Guozhang to lead the Beiyang Army to quell the rebellion in Hubei. In the last episode I mentioned Admiral Sa Zhenbing was also asked to take the Qing navy to quell the rebellion, but they simply sailed off to Shanghai and got caught up in their own sort of mutiny. Now while this was going on, back in 1909 Yuan Shikai, the man who created the Beiyang Army, had been relieved of all his posts by Zaifeng. Yuan Shikai kept networking with influential figures during his exile. Something particularly important he did was manage his contacts that could help him remain in control of his precious Beiyang army. He married his niece to his adopted son Duan Qirui. Duan Qirui was reported to him regularly the ongoings of the beiyang Army. Now the Qing court knew the only force capable of quelling the rebellion was the Beiyang army,...

Last time we spoke about the New Policies of the ailing Qing Dynasty and the rise of revolutionaries, such as Dr. Sun Yat-Sen. Empress Dowager Cixi begrudgingly had to endorse major reforms to try and keep her ailing dynasty alive. It was a step in the right direction, however it came far too late. The Qing dynasty was simultaneously trying to please the foreign powers and her populace. Yet her populace were being strangled with taxes, their faith in their government had never sunk so low and in general many simply felt it was time for real change. Once intellectuals who went abroad came back with new ideologies, it was like death coming to the door. Revolutionaries began protests, strikes, assassinations and uprisings. Dr Sun Yat-sen became one of the most prolific backers of the major uprisings, traveling around the globe trying to received funding support from Overseas Chinese and allies. It was only a matter of time. #86 The Wuchang Uprising Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. There was a little something I glossed over in the last podcast and I did so on purpose, I just felt this episode needed to start with this event. 1900-1908 saw an incredible amount of change for China. As much as I am foreshadowing the downfall of the Qing dynasty, it has to be said the efforts to modernize during this time period were colossal. In their own little way, the Chinese had a sort of Meiji restoration. But while it was going on, at full speed, the year 1908 would change a lot. Despite all of these changes there was a looming, a rather glaring problem. The Manchu minority still dominated the Han majority. Cixi resisted tooth and nail to make sure the inner circle was Manchu. Even Li Hongzhang, whom held a very special relationship with Cixi and was arguably one of the most important people of the empire, was never made a member of the Grand Council. Cixi clinged to the notion the Dragon throne must be occupied by a Manchu and she would undermine the chance of a parliamentary monarchy for a Republic. One of the most fervent advocates of military action to overthrow the Manchu dynasty, is the man we have come to talk about in the last podcast, Dr Sun Yat-Sen. He had been attempting uprising since 1895 and not only would he not give up, he just kept gaining more traction. The empress dowager did not take the uprisings lightly, in her words 'these flames that could spark off a prairie fire', and cable after cable urged them to 'extinguish them; do not let them spread'. The Empress Dowager had a lot on her plate, the western powers were ever encroaching, the Boxer protocol had China paying incredible sums to them. Reforms were likewise expensive, the populace were being fleeced dry and certainly not happy about it. Revolutionaries were trying to kill her and overthrow the Manchu run dynasty. Hell I have not really gone into it, but Japan was spending an incredible amount of money and getting as close as possible to any high ranking official within the dynasty to try and dominate it. The Japanese figured the Empress Dowager was going to die sooner or later so they tossed their efforts at trying to make Guangxu a puppet, then something happened. In 1908 Emperor Guangxu became gravely ill, doctors from multiple...

Last time we spoke about the invasion of Sakhalin and the Portsmouth Treaty. The Japanese had defeated their enemy upon the land and sea, yet the reality was, both empires were ailing. They were both verging bankruptcy, but Russia held the edge in more troops and deeper allied pockets for loans. The Japanese sought the aid of President Theodore Roosevelt to usher a peace, but more importantly one that favored Japan’s war aims. With his advice, Japan seized Sakhalin to improve their poker hand. At the Portsmouth negotiations, the Japanese would be rather shocked to find their American hero somewhat championed the Russian side when it came to war indemnities. In the end Japan signed the Portsmouth Treaty and would face an outraged population back home. The Hibiya riots erupted, and now the Japanese felt betrayed by America. Yet what of China, how was this going to affect her? #85 Old Ways Meet New Policies Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. The turn of the 20th century saw the Qing government face an unprecedented national crisis. The Boxer Rebellion did not go well. The Empress Dowager Cixi and the Beijing government literally fled the capital, not a good look. On January 29th of 1901, Empress Dowager Cixi, from her refuge in Xi’an issued an imperial edict in the name of Emperor Guangxu “After we moved out of the capital city, the empress has been constantly busy with state affairs. As emperor, I deeply regret my mistakes. In the past decades, problems have accumulated and been papered over as we mindlessly followed the old ways, leading to the calamity we face today. Now that peace negotiations are underway, we should reform all political affairs so that the country can become strong and prosperous”. To the Qing government she issued this “submit suggestions regarding reform measures within two months. The suggestions should be based on the current situation with reference to both Chinese and Western experience. Reform proposals should cover law, administration, people’s livelihood, education, the examination system, military affairs, and public finance. What should be continued and what changed? What should be eliminated and what combined? What should be done to strengthen China, develop human talent, reach fiscal balance, and build a strong army?’. Thus the Qing officials busied themselves looking into the matters and expressed their opinions in countless memorials. The most influential of these opinions would come from three memorials jointly submitted by the Governor General of Jiangnang, Liu Kunyi and the governor general of Hubei-Hunan, Zhang Zhidong. The first memorial proposed 4 methods for improving education. It advised setting up schools of liberal arts and military academies. To reform the civil examination system, abolish the military examination system and encourage studies abroad. The second memorial proposed 11 measures to reform the administration. They should promote frugality, abandon outdated rules, cease the sale of office, reform official salaries, eliminate clerks and runners, bring more leniency to criminal punishments, change the policies for official selection, find new ways to support the livelihood of Manchu serving in the eight banners, eliminate garrisons, eliminate...

Last time we spoke about the legendary battle of Tsushima. Admiral Rozhdestvenski traveled across the globe to bring the Baltic fleet to the Pacific to give a climactic fight to Admiral Togo’s combined fleet. Yet during the journey, Port Arthur fell leaving the only destination to be Vladivostok and they would have to take a perilous journey through the Tsushima strait to get to her. Rozhdestvenski’s grand journey meant his ships were ill maintained and the crews had no time for training. The Japanese meanwhile had trained vigorously and brought new technological advantages into the mix that would significantly tip the scale. The Russian baltic fleet was absolutely annihilated at a minimal lose for the IJN. The battle of Tsushima became one of the most famous naval battles in history and its decisive nature would become indoctrinated in the IJN until the end of WW2. #84 The Russo-Japanese War part 11: The Portsmouth Treaty Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. I have to start this podcast by repeating a funny little bit from this week. One of my bosses over at Kings and Generals suddenly messages me on discord and says “hey what’s going on with the China Podcast, are we doing a series on the Russo-Japanese War now?” And to this I laughed, because he had a good point, I am sure there are a lot of you who were wondering….well why are we spending so much time on this, if the Fall and Rise of China podcast is ..well about China. The Russo-Japanese War would have a profound effect on China and global history. Something many forget, this entire war occurred within China, a nation not officially taking part in the conflict! Having a war break out between two other empires within your borders was an absolutely humiliating situation. China had just lost a war against the Russians in Manchuria. When the war broke out, China declared neutrality and asked both sides to not violate her territory, which both did without a care in the world. The Chinese did help the Japanese, especially the Honghuzi. Now the 1st Sino-Japanese War had left quite a foul taste in the mouth of the Chinese, but during the Russo-Japanese War some Pan-Asianim did develop. The Chinese public gradually began supporting the Japanese, there were quite a lot of youth in China demanding the Qing government allow them to enlist and help fight off the Russians. Countless Chinese helped with labor, working in a vast spy network and sold both sides provisions. When the Russians lost the battle of Tsushima and Mukden, there were many influential and future influential figures that celebrated this. Notably Mahatma Gandhi, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sun Yat-Sen were deeply influenced by the Japanese victory. Why were they so influenced, because it was the first time a non-white nation had defeated a white one, and not just that, one of the great powers. The Russian Empire was in the public's mind, defeated handily by a small asiatic nation, it was a david and goliath story come true. Ironically, the Yellow Peril which Kaiser Wilhelm had utilized to usher in the war was turned up to 100 when the Japanese won.Now all that is fine and dandy, but there was another dramatic effect this war would hold over Japan and China. We technically...

Last time we spoke about the end of the land campaign for the Russo-Japanese War, the battle of Mukden. Kuropatkin had been served defeat after defeat after defeat and found himself against the wall at Mukden. Meanwhile Oyama received reinforcements in the form of General Nogi’s 3rd IJA and created a 5th IJA under Kawamura. Pretending the 5th IJA was a full strength army, Oyama unleashed a devilish deception against Kuropatkin’s eastern flank. Kuropatkin took a defensive stance, handing the initiative completely to Oyama who performed a full crescent pincer attack against his army. Using Nogi’s 3rd IJA as the surprise left pincer, Oyama attempted defeating the Russians once and for all, but yet again Kuropatkin’s army was able to flee intact. Despite taking the majority of his army further north into Manchuria, the Russians were in no position to launch a counter offensive and now all hope for their cause lay upon the arrival of the baltic fleet. #83 The Russo-Japanese War part 10: The battle of Tsushima Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. As Kuropatkin was withdrawing to a new line of defense at Siping, the Tsar would write in his diary “it is painful and distressing”, but the pain and distress had only just begun. All the way back in October of 1904, Rear Admiral Zinovi Petrovich Rozhdestvenski, the commander in chief of the Baltic Fleet was given command of the new second Pacific Squadron. His new fleet departed Kronstadt on October 15th and would be facing an incredible and very difficult journey. The logistics of the fleets deployment were colossal. It was estimated the fleet would require 3000 tons of coal a day at economic speed, 10,000 tons at full speed. Most great powers with large navy’s had coaling stations within their spheres of influence, Russia did not. Of the great powers she had no significant oversea colonies. Under international law, neutral ports were forbidden from providing support to warships. Britain held numerous coaling stations, but was allied to Japan, thus Russia sought aid from France and Germany. France agreed to allow their coaling stations to be used, and Germany supplied a fleet of 60 colliers to perform coal ups. Rozhdestvenski took the battleship Kniaz Suvarov for his flagship, along with her was Orel, Alexander III and Borodino comprising the first battleship division. The second battleship division led by Rear Admiral Felkerzam had older battleships Osylabya the flag, Sissoy, Veliky and Navarin. The first cruiser division was led by Rear admiral Enquist had Dmitri Donskoi the flag, Svetlana, Oleg, Izumrud, Zhemchug, Aurora and Admiral Nakhimov. The movement of the 2nd Pacific Squadron through the Baltic was very painful, there were endless delays because of ships requiring repairs, to coal up and mine clearing operations. Rozhestvensky ordered "no vessel of any sort must be allowed to get in among the fleet" fueled by rumors the IJN sought to ambush them using torpedo boats. When the fleet reached Dogger Bank on the night of October 21st, jittery Russian crewmates aboard the repair ship Kamchatka, last in the Russian line, saw something. The Kamchatka had lost touch with the fleet and saw a Swedish merchantman of the Gamecock fishing fleet operating out of...

Last time we spoke about the bitter stalemate the emerged during the battles of Shaho and Sandepu. General Kuropatkin had finally rid himself of the nuisance that was Admiral Alexeiev. However his quasi replacement would turn out to perhaps be much worse. The battle of Shaho resulted in nothing, but disaster for the Russians. The battle of Sandepu would go even worse. The megalomaniac General Grippenberg was overly zealous in the offensive maneuvers and made numerous mistakes while refusing to comply with orders from his superior. As a result countless Russians found themselves attacking the wrong village, then becoming attacked by better coordinated Japanese forces. The fighting around Sandepu because of catastrophe seeing Stakelberg relieved of command and Grippenberg asking to be relieved likewise. Yet again the Russians were in a situation of retreat and now all that lay in front of the Japanese was the prize of Mukden. #82 The Russo-Japanese War part 9: The fall of Mukden Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. The opening land battle of the war at the Yalu river was nothing but a curtain raiser to what has been described as the first of the “modern wars”. The battle of Liaoyang and the battle of Mukden would be considered the first real modern battles of the 20th century. The battle for Mukden was characterized by deceptive planning and tactical maneuver. It has often been described as a game of chess between Kuropatkin and Oyama. Never before in the history of warfare had so many pawns been brought upon a board of war to be played. If Mukden fell, Vladivsotok would most certainly be next. Yet not all was lost for the Russians. The trusty trans siberian railway continued to bring troops and now Kuropaktin had under this thumb 275,000 riflemen, 16,000 cavalry and over 1219 guns. To their south amasing around Liaoyang Oyama had assembled 200,000 riflemen, 7300 cavalry and 992 guns. The only thing the Japanese held superiority in was machine guns, 200 vs 56. General Nogi’s 3rd IJA arrived to Liaoyang and thus virtually all of Japan’s entire fighting strength was now together, but cracks within the Japanese military machine were beginning to become visible. Every major land battle against the Russians saw them fleeing intact, tremendous casualties had been dished out upon the Japanese. Both the Russian empire and Japanese were being financially drained by the war. Tokyo’s bankers felt they would soon see refusals from Europe and America for further funds, the war needed to come to an end swiftly. Russia came into the war with a gold reserve of 106.3 million pounds and was being funded primarily by France who handed a series of loans totaling 800 million francs. The Tsar also managed to get a loan from Germany for another 500 million marks. Japan came into the war with a gold reserve of 11.7 million paling in comparison. To compensate Japan took loans from the UK, the US and Canada. Japan’s total expenditure for the war would be a colossal 2150 million yen of which 820 million came from overseas funding. Both nations by this point of the war were literally becoming bankrupt and needed it to end quickly. Alongside the casualties and financial troubles, the Baltic fleet of Admiral Rozhdestvenski was...

Last time we spoke about the bloody siege of Port Arthur. General Maresuke Nogi lost a lot during the Russo-Japanese War, at Port Arthur it would cost him thousands of young men, his last son and in many ways his soul. The 3rd IJA fought tooth and nail to take each feature one by one, inching closer to the port city. Nogi’s initial strategy to target the east was a terrible failure, costing countless men and nearly his command. When prodded by Baron Kodama to target 203 meter Hill, Nogi’s men had finally found the crux to Port Arthur’s defenses. It was a terrible and bloody ordeal, but once 203 meter hill fell, the 3rd IJA were finally able to deploy their artillery in a position to smash the trapped Russian fleet. Now Port Arthur was back in Japanese hands and all that remained was Mukden. #81 The Russo-Japanese War part 8: A stalemate at Shaho and Sandepu Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. Port Arthur had finally fallen and the forces of Kuropatkin were once again on the retreat. Kuropatkin sought to establish defenses at Tiehling as the area was more suitable to make a stand rather than the plains surrounding Mukden. Yet as had become customary, Alexeiev intervened stressing ‘the continued retreat to Tiehling will not prove favorable to the morale of the army’. The Russian forces were completely demoralized and the Hong Huzi became emboldened. The Chinese bandits struck at the fleeing Russian forces, particularly the Cossacks. Japanese officers were directing their efforts, trying to hit train carts full of supplies. Russian soldiers and officers were suffering from dysentery and venereal diseases, many also fell to the bottle. Kuropatkins numerical advantage would see be lost, as General Nogi’s 3rd IJA would soon come join the rest. Tsar Nicholas II decided to form a second Manchurian Army, under the command of General Oscar Casmirovitch Grippenberg. The man was more politician than soldier, he had not seen active service since the Crimean War, and even then only commanded a battalion. At the ripe age of 66, deaf and quite the hypochondriac, he came to Manchuria, and brought with him news of the motherland. St Petersburg was seeing more dissonance, the people were in rapid disorder, the overall feeling was that of revolution. For the Japanese side, they were also licking their wounds. They had lost many men, and to remedy the loss of manpower they created a new ordinance on September 29th raising an additional 46,548 men to replace over 1/6th of their army that had fallen. Marshal Oyama looked to his logistics, preparing for the next engagement and probably did not expect what Kuropatkin did. Kuropatkin suddenly went on the offensive. Kuropatkin sent out these orders ‘I order the Manchurian Army entrusted to my command to attack the enemy in whatever position he may be occupying having as the main object to gain possession of the right bank of the Taitzu river.’ He scheduled an attack to be made on October 5th, shaking the Russian army out of their depression, to see if they could exact vengeance. Grippenberg and his command and not yet arrived to the theater of war when Kuropatkin began his offensive plans. Grippenberg’s army consisted of the 6th and 8th Siberian corps, the 61st infantry...

Last time we spoke about the battle of Liaoyang. Kuropatkin yet again was forced to fight a battle he did not want to fight. The Russians had just suffered a string of defeats, gradually being pushed further and further north in Manchuria. While Kuropatkin would have liked to pull back and await more reinforcements, Alexeiev sought action. Despite the circumstances, the 3 layered defenses of Liaoyang were formidable, and better yet, the Russians outnumbered the Japanese. Yet Kuropatkin’s intelligence was flawed and under the belief he was outnumbered he acted in such a way that would cause his defeat at the hands of Oyama. Three Japanese divisions worked together to seize key features allowing for the collapse of each Russian defensive layer. Once the Japanese artillery began battering Liaoyang and her railway station it was all but over. Now Kuropatkin’s forces are withdrawing to Mukden and the prize of Port Arthur was for the taking. #80 The Russo-Japanese War part 7: Nogi’s Siege of Port Arthur Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. We just left off with Oyama and his 3 divisions defeating Kuropatkin at Liaoyang, sending the Russians fleeing towards Mukden. Yet while that story was occurring, an entire other battle, a crucial one at that, was occurring at Port Arthur. The last time we spoke about the Liaodong Peninsula, General Maresuke Nogi received the appointment of commander for the 3rd IJA. Nogi’s appointment was a bit of a shock for the other commanders, he had been brought out of three years of retirement for the job. He had played a part in the capture of Port Arthur back in the war of 1894, a battle that cost only 16 of his soldiers. The fight for Port Arthur in 1904 would cost much more than that. Port Arthur had three lines of defense. The old part of the town was surrounded on the landward side by a great ditch. 4000 yards from the town was the old Chinese Wall, strengthened by new forts on multiple parts of it. Northwest and northeast of Port Arthur were a series of fortified hills, such as 203 Meter Hill which overlooked the town and harbor. If this hill was captured, the Japanese could place artillery upon it and destroy the Russian fleet at anchor. This fact was not lost on the Russians, especially not Viceroy admiral Alexeiv who sent a message to Admiral Witgeft on August 7th of 1904 ‘I again reiterate my inflexible determination that you are to take the Squadron out of Port Arthur.’ And so again Witgeft would again try to flee Port Arthur to hook up with the Vladivostok squadron. The fleet departed on August 10th, with the Peresvyet and Retvizan still damaged from shellfire, Retvizan was carrying 400 tons of water through a hole below her waterline. A subordinate pointing out to Witgeft the damaged ships would slow the fleet down, but he replied ‘My orders, are to go to Vladivostok with the whole Squadron, and that I shall do.’ Patrolling Round Island was Admiral Togo’s main battle fleet, with 3 Japanese divisions of 11 cruisers, 17 destroyers and 29 torpedoboats to the east and west of Port Arthur. The Russian fleet were crawling at a snail's pace and Togo was quick to pounce on such a wounded animal. Just before 12:30pm the Japanese began opening fire at 8000 yards. Togo...

Last time we spoke about theJapanese advance to Liaoyang. After the loss at Telissu, the Russians began to scramble to defend multiple locations in Manchuria. With multiple Japanese armies advancing simultaneously, Kuropatkin could not be sure where they would hit next and found himself making matters worse when he ordered troops to hold too many places. The Russian losses at Tashihciao, the passes a Fenshuiling and Motien, Chiaotou, Hsimucheng, Tawan, and Yangtzuling. The Russians were in disarray, trying to delay so more troops could gather at Liaoyang and Mukden, but their efforts were being trampled upon. Even out at sea, Admiral Witgeft made and attempt to break out and join up with the Vladivostok Squadron, but was likewise forced to pull back. Now multiple Japanese armies would converge to smash Liaoyang, Manchuria was being slowly conquered city by city. #79 The Russo-Japanese War part 6: The Battle of Liaoyang Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. The Russians had just been severed multiple defeats. Not a single one of Kuropatkins formations had been spared the humiliation. A times correspondent had this to say ‘There is such a thing as the tradition of defeat, and unenviable is the army that creates it.” The commander of the European 17th corps, General Baron Bildering was appointed commander of the Eastern Front. In addition to his 17th corps, he received the 3rd Siberian army corps and the 10th corps. The two opposing armies spent three weeks skirmishing with another over the course of 6 mountainous miles. On the 3rd of August, Haicheng that had so much attention and effort dedicated to it, was entered with little opposition. The Russians had spent so much time at Haicheng, building up its fortifications and expected a battle that never took place. To make matters worse, so much supplies had been brought over to Haicheng, the Russians did not have enough time to destroy or move it all, so the Japanese took it all as a prize. The 1st, 2nd and 4th IJA met at Haicheng as Kuropatkins front was reduced from 140 to 45 miles. The Russian main body was now deployed along the railway at Anshanchan, 22 miles northeast of Haicheng and around 20 miles west of Liaoyang. The war took its toll on Kuropatkin by this point. If you ever heard the memes about what US presidents look like before and after presidency, its kind of a similar situation. Kuropatkin was said to be unrecognizable by August of 1904, he had that 1000 mile stare. Kuropatkin sat huddled in a carriage riding through Liaoyang, not even acknowledging or looking at men who saluted him. Kuropatkin was a experienced military man, he had worked in numerous political positions, a very distinguished figure, and he was quite broken. The Japanese were consolidating and advancing upon Liaoyang. His overcaution, lack of determination, a gradual erosion of his confidence in the face of a growing admiration for the enemy were losing him the war. Kuropatkin cabled the Tsar that he had withdrawn from Haicheng to Liaoyang because “The Japanese superiority in numbers. They were accustomed to hills and hot weather; they were younger, carried lighter loads, and had numerous mountain artillery and pack transport. Their energetic and intelligent leadership....