The History of WWII Podcast XX
[0] Welcome to True Spies, the podcast that takes you deep inside the greatest secret missions of all time.
[1] Suddenly out of the dark, it's a bit in love.
[2] You'll meet the people who live life undercover.
[3] What do they know?
[4] What are their skills?
[5] And what would you do in their position?
[6] Vengeance felt good seeing these.
[7] People paid for what they'd done, felt righteous.
[8] True Spies, from Spyscape Studios, wherever you get your podcasts.
[9] Hello, and thank you for listening to a History of World War II podcast, Episode 7, Gigo Cujo, Part 2.
[10] Last time.
[11] We left off with Prime Minister Okada surviving an attempt on his life and the life of his government in February 1936.
[12] Colonel Koda and his rebels came close, but in the end, a nearly unprecedented action was taken by Emperor Hirohito and the rebel soldiers were unnerved.
[13] Things quickly started calming down because, frankly, everyone wanted to forget those few but bloody days.
[14] Also, this time the rebels found that the people were not behind them, as they had been on previous episodes of Kiko Kujo.
[15] The people thought that the rebels would get rid of corruption, but believed the soldiers were themselves corrupted by power.
[16] Everyone wanted to desperately go back to some sort of orderly society, even if they couldn't remember exactly when that time was.
[17] Unexpectedly, the control group that wanted to conquer all of China was getting support and watching their popularity rise.
[18] It seems the frustrated masses were confused by their name, and assumed the group was all about the orderly ways sought by the people.
[19] The civilian leaders wanted peace and order as well, so they began by demoting or sacking members of the Imperial Way.
[20] Why they chose this group first, as opposed to the control group, is not known.
[21] Perhaps they were confused by the name like the civilians, or that the Imperial Way was suddenly less popular.
[22] Of course, what the government officials did not realize was that they were paving the way for the control group to advance their members in the government and military as the way's influence was weakened.
[23] Soon the control group would gain power at the expense of the very civilian government who were unwittingly helping them.
[24] Civilians thought they were finally making progress when the foreign minister, Hirota, was asked to form a new cabinet, and he appointed the openly pro -American Yoshida as his foreign minister.
[25] But the army immediately protested, and the new foreign minister was out.
[26] The army did not like the direction the governmental cabinets were going, and started to exert their considerable influence through demands and manipulation.
[27] The army had the right to approve of any new war minister appointed, so they can make a cabinet fall by not appointing a war minister or by removing one.
[28] Even so, for now, the army did not want to control for its own sake, but to fix the problems as they saw them that caused the young men in the army and their officers to rebel.
[29] The army leader saw the rigid control was working in Manchuria, so why not at home?
[30] but private business had had enough of decisions being made without them.
[31] They were the ones that backed politicians and got them elected, so they were owed loyalty, if not outright respect for their wishes.
[32] They started exerting more control and threatening the officials they got elected.
[33] So the army was on one side and big business was on the other, with the government in the middle and suffering an occasional rebellion that saw some of their colleagues die horribly.
[34] But to make their job even harder, public officials by now had lost the respect of the people.
[35] The populace didn't see or care to see the two forces pulling on the officials.
[36] They just saw more corruption and no progress being made in controlling the army or the big businessmen or improving the economy.
[37] Of course, the army had to move subtly.
[38] They felt they could only push through their desires passively, for now.
[39] The bright spot for the Army, whether Control Group or Imperial Way, was martial law had been declared during the 226 incident, despite the Cabinet's wishes, and it was never canceled due to the confusion during and after the incident.
[40] The Army and government together used martial law to control the press, and news of other dissidents were kept quiet.
[41] Next, Kota and his rebels, who had surrendered, were tried swiftly, behind closed doors, sentenced to death, and shot by firing squad on July 12, 1936.
[42] Due to the persecutions, the Imperial Way had been weakened, but still had a few influential members.
[43] The new leader of the way was Colonel Ishihara, one of the men who had led the takeover of Manchuria.
[44] He had a vision for Manchuria, but it had not manifested.
[45] Instead, he saw that Manchuria was being used by the army as a base to take over North China, which again, to his group's view, would lead to an endless war.
[46] So after the executions that left a vacuum of the rebel spirit, Ishihara met with other Imperial Way members in the war ministry and the army general staff.
[47] The obvious question was, what to do now?
[48] Ishihara made the point that why fight or invade any part of China when Russia was the real enemy?
[49] He proposed to develop the remainder of the recently acquired parts of Anchuria to the level already developed along the railroads.
[50] Then Japan would have an industry strong enough to support a war with Russia.
[51] But for now, put up with Russian and Chinese arrogance, and by 1952, everything should be ready for a war on an equal footing.
[52] It was the only way to win.
[53] He stressed the importance of taking control of the government back because they all knew the control group wanted all of China and then to expand into Southeast Asia, which would bring an eventual war with Great Britain and or the U .S. Again, that would leave the only winner to be Russia, and that is pretty much what happened.
[54] Somehow, with a straight face, Ishihara told them that he thought the problem was not in Tokyo, but the men in Manchuria.
[55] There had already been some unauthorized raids into North China.
[56] He must have momentarily forgotten his own unauthorized forays years earlier that started with the capture of Manchuria's capital, Mukden, and eventually brought all of Manchuria under their control in the first place.
[57] Next, they discussed the leader of the control group in Manchuria, a General Doehara.
[58] Doehara was brilliant and flamboyant, creating a loyalty among his men most commanders only dream of.
[59] He was called the Lawrence of Manchuria by Western newsmen.
[60] The previous year, Dorihara went to the northernmost providence of China and talked the local leaders into breaking away from China and setting up an autonomous area under the Japanese army.
[61] Incredibly, this was done.
[62] An autonomous government of sorts was set up by the leaders under the protection of Japan.
[63] Again, Dorihara, like the others before him, was told to stop by the Prime Minister, but was ignored.
[64] Next, the Japanese merchants flooded into the area.
[65] Now that it was safe for them to do so, as Dorihara knew they would, and predictably, the Chinese merchants were enraged.
[66] This only added to the strong anti -Japanese feelings in China.
[67] For Dorihara, everything was going according to plan, and he then sent in 5 ,000 troops into the area to protect the Japanese merchants from bandits.
[68] He told Tokyo this area was only as a buffer to protect Manchuria.
[69] But Ishihara and the other saw right through this ploy and wanted to stop the creation of the buffer.
[70] He especially wanted to keep Japanese troops from the Chinese Nationalists under Chiang Kai -shek.
[71] This would lead to a Pacific -wide war without anything being planned, which is always a recipe for disaster.
[72] Of course, this is what the Russian and Chinese Communists wanted.
[73] A war between Japan and the Chinese Nationalists would wear them both down and make it possible for the Communists to move in that much more easily.
[74] The first step for Ishihara and his fellows to make sure there was not an increase in hostilities was to get his fellow members to convince their superiors to remove Japanese troops from troubled spots in China.
[75] One place they focused on was near the ancient Marco Polo Bridge, 15 miles southwest of Peking.
[76] Around the bridge were several international forces that had been there since 1900, when the Boxer Rebellion had been put down.
[77] Of course, there was a contingent of Chinese forces in the area as well.
[78] I think a little explanation of the Boxer Rebellion is needed here.
[79] In the late 1890s, China was drowning in lawlessness and humiliated by the loss of Korea to Japan in a recent conflict.
[80] The young emperor supported reformers who wished to modernize Japan, but in 1898, the Dowager Empress staged a coup, suppressed the reformers, and re -established herself as regent.
[81] The resentment caused by increasing foreign influence directly caused the growth of a clandestine society called the Fist of Righteous Harmony, known to Europeans as boxers, from its Chinese name and practice of ritual shadowboxing.
[82] At first, the boxers wanted to destroy the Qing dynasty, which had ruled China for 250 years, as well as all foreign influence.
[83] But when the Empress Dowager backed the boxers, they turned solely to reading China of foreigners.
[84] In 1899, bands of boxers were massacring Christian missionaries and Chinese Christians.
[85] By May 1900, the Boxer Rebellion had come out of the countryside and was being waged in the capital of Peking, now Beijing.
[86] To help their fellow countrymen and to protect their interests in China, an international force of American, British, Russian, French, Italian, and Japanese soldiers were sent to subdue the quote -unquote rebellion.
[87] It was their country after all.
[88] In June 1900, boxer fighters, lightly armed or unarmed, gathered in Beijing to besiege the foreign embassies.
[89] Diplomats, foreign civilians, soldiers, and some Chinese Christians retreated to the legation quarter where they stayed for 55 days until the Eight Nation Alliance brought 20 ,000 armed troops to defeat the boxers.
[90] On August 14, 1900, the international force took Peking and subdued the rebellion.
[91] But it had already weakened the Qing dynasty's power and hastened the Republican Revolution of 1911 that overthrew the boy emperor and made China a republic.
[92] From 1911 until 1936, tension remained high in China, so international troops stayed there to keep communications open in case there was another surprise attack on international interests.
[93] Of course, these troops were unwelcome by most Chinese.
[94] Welcome to True Spies.
[95] The podcast that takes you deep inside the greatest secret missions of all time.
[96] Suddenly out of the dark it's appeared in love.
[97] You'll meet the people who live life undercover.
[98] What do they know?
[99] What are their skills?
[100] And what would you do in their position?
[101] Vengeance felt good.
[102] Seeing these people pay for what they'd done felt righteous.
[103] True Spies from Spyscape Studios.
[104] Wherever you get your podcasts.
[105] By 1911, the infighting in China was between the warlords, who wanted to retain control of their areas, and Dr. Sun Yetsin, the leader of China's first Nationalist Party and his new Republic forces.
[106] Dr. Sun's National People's Party was gaining support throughout the country, but the fighting was going slow, and after 12 years, Dr. Sun, out of frustration, called on the Soviet Union for assistance.
[107] Sun Canton in the south was filled with communist officers, giving advice on everything from propaganda to military tactics.
[108] Of course, the only reason the Soviet Union agreed to help was to infiltrate the entity that would one day unite China.
[109] But just to be sure, Russia would end up running the nationalist and communist organizations in China at first.
[110] Very soon, the Republic was stronger, mostly due to the assistance from the Soviet Union, and the armies under a young general named Chiang Kai -shek were beating the warlords back.
[111] By the time Chiang was capturing major cities to the north, he realized the strength of the communist influence over Dr. Sun's National People's Party.
[112] The spring of 1927 was a pivotal time in Asian history.
[113] Cheng had succeeded Dr. Sun as the leader of the Nationalist Party and made it public that the Communists had planned to hijack the party all along and he therefore outlawed Communists in China.
[114] So now there came about a three -front war in China.
[115] Cheng's Nationalists versus the Warlords versus the Red Armies that were now forced to show themselves and attack Cheng or be attacked.
[116] What makes the situation even more confusing is that two of the combatants would align against the third only to change their allegiance shortly after and attack the previous ally, only to start the process all over again.
[117] The Red Armies were coming under the control of a peasant named Mao Zedong, who was hardly a good example of a communist.
[118] He put himself above all others within the party, lied to his controllers in Shanghai, but ingratiated himself to the real leaders in Moscow.
[119] While fighting Cheng, Mao had tens of thousands of his own men tortured and killed while he climbed to the top of the political ladder.
[120] As Stalin was known to say about Mao, he was insubordinate, but a winner.
[121] What Russia needed now was someone who was ruthless and wanted it all.
[122] Someone who could take on Chiang.
[123] They got that in Mao.
[124] To the leaders of the imperial way, all this was proof that what was needed was to consolidate Manchuria and build a wall against communism within the territory they already controlled.
[125] But despite these events, the control group still wanted northern China.
[126] However, for both groups, their biggest concern was that the communists of Russia and China would join hands and attack Chiang and then push the Japanese out of mainland Asia altogether.
[127] But the unexpected happened.
[128] Mao, under orders from Moscow, called on Chiang to join him against the Japanese troops in China.
[129] But Chiang knew the communists were thinking ten steps ahead and did not want any part of an alliance with Mao.
[130] But Mao was not about to give up.
[131] and started working on Chang's field commander, known as the Young Marshal.
[132] His father was the Marshal Chang that had controlled Manchuria previously.
[133] Young Marshal's job was to wipe out the Reds in northern China, but was convinced by Mao's man that although communists, the Reds were still Chinese patriots.
[134] Young Marshal agreed.
[135] In the fall of 1936, Mao's negotiator and Young Marshal worked out an agreement.
[136] 1.
[137] Chiang Kai -shek would be the military leader of a combined force against the Japanese.
[138] 2.
[139] Red troops would get equal treatment with nationalists.
[140] 3.
[141] Communists held in nationalist jails would be released to help fight.
[142] And 4.
[143] The communists would be allowed to operate legally after the Chinese were defeated.
[144] The young marshal now had to get Chiang to agree.
[145] The negotiator knew this was practically impossible, so he somehow convinced the naive young marshal to kidnap Chang to show him how dangerous things were.
[146] Of course, all this was only a part of the communists' plans, but Chang saw through it all.
[147] Chang Brau beat his young field commander and was released.
[148] But a meeting was set up between Chang and the negotiator, which was the true goal all along.
[149] The nationalists and communists stopped fighting in early 1937 while the negotiations went on.
[150] Finally, the two parties united on July 5, 1937, with the goal of driving the Japanese out of Peking and the rest of northern China.
[151] Putting Chiang Kai -shek in charge of the United Forces was not a loss for Mao.
[152] He was no military leader and knew it.
[153] Chiang had Mao all but defeated back in 1931.
[154] I think the story is worth noting.
[155] Seven years earlier, in December 1930, Chiang put together an annihilation expedition against the communists.
[156] There would end up being numerous expeditions sent after Mao and his men.
[157] The first one saw 9 ,000 Nationalists converging on Red Territory.
[158] But Mao's policy of leaving nothing in the path of the Nationalists, not even people who could give intel and supplies, combined with Moscow having spies in the highest levels of the Nationalist bureaucracy, allowed Mao to ambush the Nationalist forces.
[159] The second attempt by the Nationalists was in April of 1931.
[160] This time, Mao could directly intercept nationalist communications due to having a two -way radio, manned by Soviets.
[161] The nationalists were lured deep into Red Territory, harassed, and then left before all their supplies ran out.
[162] The third attempt, in early July 1931, would be with 300 ,000 men, and Chang would lead it himself.
[163] But this time he told no one of his plans, so there was no radio signals to intercept.
[164] Chang pushed the Red Forces back and occupied the land with the extra men that he had brought.
[165] Within two months, the Red Base was reduced to only several dozen square kilometers, and Mao's men were on the verge of collapse.
[166] Mao needed a miracle, and he got it.
[167] The Japanese Army.
[168] In September 1931, veteran Japanese troops invaded Manchuria and took Mukden and other cities.
[169] Reacting to this major offensive by Japan, Chang took the bulk of his forces to see what could be done.
[170] but the long journey was for nothing.
[171] Cheng Yu and his forces were no match for the Japanese in their current condition.
[172] His idea, like the Japanese in relation to Russia, was to build up his country and army, keep the communists penned in, let the Japanese exhaust themselves in the jungles of northern China, and then push out the invaders and strangle the communists once and for all.
[173] And as for Mao, he quickly retook all his former territory and continued on with his operations.
[174] Word of the negotiations between Mao and Cheng was getting back to Japan, and the tension within the military and cabinet was building.
[175] Their worst fears were coming true, and something had to be done.
[176] With a united enemy in front of them, the prudent move for Japan would be to unite their forces for now and face their common enemy.
[177] However, this is not what happened.
[178] In early 1937, the military was more openly controlling the government.
[179] through political means, and the members of the Diet retaliated by harassing the war minister to the point that he resigned.
[180] So the end result was the Hirota cabinet falling in February of 1937.
[181] Of course, with the combined Chinese forces focused on Japan, there could be no hesitation, and Prince Siongi advised the emperor to name another general to form a cabinet.
[182] General Yugaki was selected.
[183] But the army was not happy with this choice, as General Yugaki had reduced the size of the army in a past position.
[184] The top officials of the military told the emperor they could find no one to serve with Yugaki as war minister.
[185] Yugaki, in return, complained to the emperor and the press that the control group really ran the government and was dangerously close to fascism.
[186] The result was the cabinet falling apart.
[187] The control group, thinking its time had come, had wanted their own made prime minister.
[188] Tired of being shoved around by the military, fought constantly with the new prime minister, and the cabinet ended after only four months.
[189] Obviously, it was time for a new tack to be taken.
[190] Prince Siongi had a disciple of his, Prince Kanoye, appointed prime minister.
[191] Kanoye had stayed out of politics for years, mostly due to his health, but the situation was grave, so he said yes to the post.
[192] The people were happy overall with Prince Kanoye.
[193] They were tired of military leaders and politicians.
[194] They also didn't mind his relative youth.
[195] He was 46 and good -looking, which never hurt.
[196] But mostly, they felt safe with his lack of ambition.
[197] The military trusted Kenoye because he had always been above politics and did not come with an agenda.
[198] The Zabatsu, or big business, was happy because they thought he would bring stability to the nation, which would improve profits.
[199] And the intellectuals were hoping he would stop the apparent swing towards fascism.
[200] It seems that the different groups in Japanese society were projecting their hopes and fears onto this frail man, which is common in times of a looming crisis.
[201] He called on the young men of Japan to carry their country forward.
[202] They answered his call, but it wasn't what he expected.
[203] Next time, patriotic fever will spread over Japan as city after city in China falls to the victorious Japanese troops, who no longer even pretend to ask for permission from Tokyo.
[204] Prime Minister Kanoye gives in to the military, who tell him that hostilities will be over in a few months.
[205] Tension starts to build between the U .S. and Japan, and Napoleon's maxim is thrown out the window as the once -feared land war in China consumes the Japanese military.
[206] Welcome to True Spies.
[207] The podcast that takes you deep inside the greatest secret missions of all time.
[208] Suddenly out of the dark, it's a bit in love.
[209] You'll meet the people who live life undercover.
[210] What do they know?
[211] What are their skills?
[212] And what would you do in their position?
[213] Vengeance felt good.
[214] Seeing these people pay for what they'd done felt righteous.
[215] True Spies from Spyscape Studios, wherever you get your podcasts.