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 8, The Wheel of Causality.
[10] I wanted to let you know that this episode will end our story in Asia for a while.
[11] Next time, we'll get back to Europe and watch Hitler's bluffing expand the Third Reich's borders until England calls his bluff over Poland.
[12] But there will be a small delay in getting Episode 9 out.
[13] I'm heading to the beach for a week for my birthday, but I'll try to fit in some research and writing.
[14] But it won't be able to record.
[15] The wife has hidden the microphone.
[16] But I should be ready to record when I get back.
[17] Thank you.
[18] Last time, the Chinese Communist and Chinese Nationalists agreed to an unlikely and shaky alliance to expel the Japanese out of China.
[19] The Japanese military continued fighting within its own ranks as well with the equally unstable civilian government.
[20] As mentioned previously, the Imperial Way was desperately trying to keep Japanese troops away from Chang's nationalist or Mao's communist soldiers.
[21] For the moment, Tokyo was thinking defensively until they could be sure of their next move.
[22] But control of events was about to be taken out of their hands.
[23] At the ancient bridge named after Marco Polo, just south of Peking, a Japanese company was stationed there in early July 1937.
[24] They learned that a Chinese unit was nearby.
[25] but they did not know their purpose or whether it was composed of nationalists or communists.
[26] All anyone knew was that restraint was being shown on both sides and the Japanese had no orders to attack.
[27] Suddenly, the Japanese troops were taking fire.
[28] As they looked towards the Chinese, the Japanese officers saw that they were also under fire.
[29] The Japanese commander made sure none of his men were firing at the Chinese.
[30] Some were retaliating, but by the line of fire, not directly at the Chinese.
[31] The Japanese officer in charge made his men quit firing and search for those who were shooting at them.
[32] The mysterious shooting started and stopped a few more times, and the officer reported this back to his commander in Peking.
[33] A second company was sent to the bridge and came under fire as well.
[34] Fortunately, the men in charge of the Japanese and Chinese forces were friends and agreed to withdraw from the area.
[35] As the Japanese were leaving, they came under fire again and started firing back in earnest.
[36] It should have been obvious by now that someone was trying to start a conflict between the two, but the troops continued fighting anyway.
[37] Each side blamed the other, and another round of negotiations failed.
[38] The Japanese commander reported the situation back to Tokyo.
[39] In Tokyo, the Army Chief of Staff responded that they wanted this situation taken care of locally.
[40] The foreign minister and the representatives of the navy concurred, as well as Prince Kinomi and his cabinet.
[41] However, the expansionists said that more troops should be sent in to teach Cheng a lesson, but more importantly, to protect Manchuria and Korea.
[42] If these areas were lost, it could threaten Japan's long -term goals and leave them at the mercy of Russia.
[43] They then promised the prime minister to make the military action brief and agreed to talk to Cheng as soon as he asked for terms.
[44] They would then withdraw all Japanese troops to North China and focus only on defense.
[45] General Ishihara argued against this for hours, but in the end relented, only because if the Chinese started killing Japanese settlers and traders, the public would want an all -out war against China.
[46] This was the only hope of keeping the situation local.
[47] Ishihara, as head of operations, told the cabinet that additional troops would come from the Kwantung Army, Korea, and from the homeland.
[48] On July 11th, Prime Minister Kanoye hesitantly agreed to this action, but in reality was told it was merely troop movements to stop local fighting.
[49] On the ground, the two commanders were still trying to work out a solution.
[50] The Japanese commander knew what was coming as far as reinforcements and was trying to forestall a complete war.
[51] The Chinese commander knew that Chang would probably ignore his efforts, but tried to resolve the situation anyway.
[52] The two officers finally managed to stop the fighting between their men.
[53] To complicate matters, Tokyo did not have the latest information due to bad communications and demanded that China stop sending more troops into the area, but there were no Chinese reinforcements.
[54] Then Japan added insult to injury when Prime Minister Kanoye officially recognized the public government set up by Doehara and northern China previously.
[55] Chang was obviously outraged by this and sent out a proclamation that said nationalists would not allow another inch of territory to be taken.
[56] If war comes, there will be no looking back.
[57] Then the Japanese public reacted to Chang's statement by screaming for the military to cross the Rubicon.
[58] The local Japanese commander finally got through to Tokyo and updated them on the improving situation.
[59] The reinforcement orders were canceled, and even the expansionists were relieved that the crisis was averted.
[60] They assumed that Chang would agree to the terms set forth by the two local leaders.
[61] The situation slowly calmed down near the bridge and stayed relatively quiet for about three weeks.
[62] But the tension between the edgy troops was growing, because each side was sure the other would break the truce, and neither one wanted to be caught off guard.
[63] Also, the Japanese did not hear from Cheng about agreeing to the truce.
[64] The troops' distrust of each other meant that they were not pulled back far enough, and although the details are not known, someone began firing, and each side started defending their position on July 25th.
[65] The Japanese troops intensified their fighting, and a Chinese barracks was bombed, and then the city of Lengfeng, 50 miles south of Peking, was occupied.
[66] Unfortunately, the friendly Japanese commander had been killed and was replaced by a Lieutenant General Kazuki.
[67] He was a strict military man and believed he was sent to punish the Chinese.
[68] He lied to Tokyo that he had tried everything in his power to restore the peace and then asked for permission to use whatever force necessary to protect Japanese lives.
[69] In essence, he was asking for a blank check to wage war against China.
[70] The army leaders approved this request and sent in two more divisions.
[71] Prime Minister Kanoya agreed to this and was told again the Chinese would sue for peace within three months.
[72] He also feared his cabinet would fall if he stood up to the military.
[73] On July 27th, the Prime Minister announced to the Diet that the government would create a new order in East Asia.
[74] This was, in reality, a declaration of total war against China without any strategic planning or considering the wider political environment.
[75] It's generally believed that there were no masterminds behind this, but just Japanese pride and aspirations combined with Chinese policies regarding their territory.
[76] Soon Lieutenant General Kasuki dropped the protestations about protecting lives in late July and bombed three nearby cities and attacked the area around Peking without assaulting the city itself.
[77] The military watched with pride as patriotic fever swept through Japan as city after city in China fell.
[78] Gone was the earlier but realistic fear of a united China pushing Japan out of mainland Asia.
[79] The people did not ask questions, they just knew that the Chinese were being taught a lesson, and finally something was happening to replace the tension of anticipation.
[80] The fact that everything was going their way only made it sweeter.
[81] Of course, China, desperate for some assistance or to buy time, appealed to the League of Nations, and an investigation was started.
[82] While waiting for the report, China got support from an unexpected place, President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
[83] He made a strong speech in Chicago on October 5, 1937, condemning Japan and comparing them to Germany and Italy.
[84] He also compared Japan to a disease and urged the world to quarantine the aggressor.
[85] The report from the League came back, censoring Japan's actions, and the U .S., although not a member of the League, swiftly agreed.
[86] The U .S. diplomatic action was largely of the President's doing.
[87] His ambassadors and diplomats thought the language was too strong.
[88] To them, there was no U .S. interest in China worth a war with Japan.
[89] Accordingly, Japan reacted to this unflattering view of their actions from basically one man, even if that one man was the President of the U .S. Japanese diplomat Matsuoka, the owner of a sharp tongue and ready wit, replied, Of course China is complaining.
[90] Japan is expanding.
[91] Ask the American Indians or the Mexicans how they felt when a young U .S. expanded into their territory.
[92] He then added that Japan was saving Asia from the white man's domination, as in Africa, and they were also stopping communism.
[93] Then -Japanese Foreign Minister Hirota on November 16th joined in the fray by complaining about the Roosevelt speech.
[94] He said that if the U .S. wanted to help, then tell China to surrender and the fighting and dying would be over.
[95] At this point, Japan no longer trusted the U .S. as a neutral country as they did in 1905 when Theodore Roosevelt negotiated the peace terms in the Russo -Japanese War.
[96] On November 19th, the Japanese took Tsung Chao, which left Nanking and Shanghai vulnerable, the latter being the next most important city behind Peking.
[97] By December 12th, Nanking was about to fall, when the gunboat Panay, which was flying an American flag, was fired on and sunk.
[98] A few days earlier, the British gunboat Lady Bird was captured.
[99] Roosevelt used this as an opportunity to bring up again to the British about a quarantine of Japan.
[100] But Britain, for its own reasons, would not go along.
[101] Prime Minister Kanoye was deeply troubled by the attack on the American gunboat as the leader of Japan, but also in a military sense.
[102] It was the last thing that Japan needed right now, politically and militarily.
[103] He promised full restitution to Ambassador Gru of the U .S., and the apology was accepted on Christmas Day, 1937.
[104] By now, Nanking was occupied and the Japanese leader, General Matsui, left to lead the fight over Shanghai.
[105] The citizens of Nanking were subjected to mass murder, rape, and torture.
[106] Even German officials in the area reported the events as bestial.
[107] Matsui returned, found out what had happened, and demanded that the breaches of discipline be stopped.
[108] He then left again for Shanghai, and the mayhem continued.
[109] Between 200 ,000 and 300 ,000 people were killed, and one -third of the city was burned down.
[110] Clearly, the army was out of hand.
[111] But the idea, just like at home, was that China needed to be taught a lesson about trying to fight a war with Japan.
[112] In his defense, the Prime Minister knew much less than the generals about the atrocities, but he was focused on the fact that, although numerous cities had fallen, although Chinese casualties were mounting, and huge tracts of land were now in Japanese hands, the military was no closer to victory.
[113] Prime Minister Kanoye told his cabinet that he wanted a negotiated peace.
[114] The military had had its time.
[115] He wanted England to negotiate, but the army persuaded him to use Germany.
[116] Hitler had sent arms to Chiang Kai -shek, but was tied to Japan by the anti -Comturn pact.
[117] That made them neutral to the army.
[118] The pro -China German ambassador, Troutman, made a proposal to both sides that seemed reasonable, and Chang seemed about to agree.
[119] But then news came of another spectacular victory, due to another case of Gigo Kujo, and then a Japanese commander of a North China garrison, against the orders of the Prime Minister, set up a puppet regime in Peking.
[120] This riled Chang enough to demand more concessions and complain that the Japanese terms were too broad.
[121] To the Japanese, this was only evasion to buy time.
[122] Then Prime Minister Kanoye made a mistake.
[123] He announced on January 16, 1938, that from now on, Japan would negotiate with those Chinese that shared Japan's desire for peace.
[124] He was trying to do an end run around Chiang, but Chiang's hold on the nationalists was total.
[125] Ishihara told the Prime Minister that his new position could force China into an all -or -nothing war policy, the exact opposite of what Kenoye wanted.
[126] The Prime Minister seriously considered resigning, but was talked out of it because it would be seen as a weakness by China.
[127] As he decided to stay in office and plan his next move, it dawned on the Prime Minister that the military did not have a fixed plan or policy for China.
[128] They were simply drifting along with the tide of events.
[129] In shock, he received the daily reports and could only watch as Japan became more enmeshed into the as -yet undeclared war with China.
[130] The podcast that takes you deep inside the greatest secret missions of all time.
[131] Suddenly out of the dark it's appeared in love.
[132] You'll meet the people who live life undercover.
[133] What do they know?
[134] What are their skills?
[135] And what would you do in their position?
[136] Vengeance felt good.
[137] Seeing these people pay for what they'd done felt righteous.
[138] True Spies from Spyscape Studios.
[139] Wherever you get your podcasts.
[140] As the Prime Minister stared at a map of Asia and saw that Japan was surrounded by enemies, news came to him that the army proposed a national mobilization law that would direct every aspect of national life towards a war economy.
[141] But resource poor Japan, who only had people as their main asset, though that was nothing compared to China's numbers, knew it was their only hope.
[142] The main part of the legislation was the Diet losing what little control it had over war measures, as well as the balance of its own power.
[143] the law passed in march nineteen thirty eight to mentally prepare the people two concepts were put out by the government one was kokutai or national essence and the other was kodo and once used by the imperial way, but now twisted to mean world order.
[144] Together they projected the idea of peace through Japan controlling Asia.
[145] Then they connected this to the emperor as a father figure who was leading a holy war to free Asia from colonialism of the white man and communism from the Chinese and Russians.
[146] So as Japanese troops took more cities and more territory, the Chinese people moved west, away from the advancing Japanese troops.
[147] Early 1939 showed an impressive map on the Japanese General's Wall, but the end of the war was not any closer.
[148] Also, by now the Japanese had suffered from their successes.
[149] They had lost tens of thousands of men, millions of yen, and stirred up the Western world, especially the U .S. The reaction of the Japanese home front to this was super patriots from the public, military, and government sectors were swept up in an anti -American and anti -British wave.
[150] Some plotted to kill pro -Western leaders and blow up the American and British embassies.
[151] Mass meetings were held and speeches were given that verbally attacked the two Western powers.
[152] Some called for Japan to accept the invitation to join the tripartite pact of Germany and Italy.
[153] Those voices only got louder.
[154] Here's where the cultural differences of the East and West began to show more vividly.
[155] The West was logical and things happened for a reason.
[156] In most cases, a goal was desired, planned, and appropriate steps taken.
[157] To the East, however, everything was a contradiction and was accepted as such.
[158] The U .S. was not good and Germany bad to the Japanese.
[159] Things were what they were.
[160] Germany was expanding its empire, and up until now, by forceful diplomatic gestures, America was defending its interests, and China was trying to decide its political future.
[161] Just like them, Japan was trying to survive and claim its place in the world by playing the grand game.
[162] There was no judgment to them.
[163] It was simply Sirenara.
[164] So be it.
[165] Or as Americans have come to say, it is what it is.
[166] But to the US, all of Japan's actions had been planned, like Germany's.
[167] To the US, the Japanese plan was total domination.
[168] They didn't see a government stumbling along a path they did not choose.
[169] But now that Japan was considering the entire Asian theater as a potential war zone, they saw enemies everywhere.
[170] In the summer of 1938, A clash between Japanese forces and Russians patrolling the border between Manchuria and the USSR led to such a beating for the Japanese that within two weeks, Japan agreed to a settlement.
[171] Another unplanned clash between the two occurred near the Manchurian -Outer Mongolian border, close to Peking.
[172] Again, the Russians crushed the Japanese forces, who suffered 50 ,000 casualties.
[173] This combat saw the first large -scale tank battles, but with the Japanese losing so decisively, it caused a revolution in Japanese weaponry and military tactics.
[174] But as importantly, it drove Japan closer to Germany and Italy.
[175] Clearly, Russia had to be watched, and Japan had massive improvements to make before tangling with the USSR again.
[176] For now, what they had was good enough against the Chinese, despite the heavy Japanese losses in China so far.
[177] But then Stalin threw everyone in the international community for a loop when he signed the non -aggression pact with Hitler on August 23, 1939.
[178] A few days later, Poland disappeared, divided between Germany and the USSR.
[179] And yes, we will get to that soon, in great detail, I promise you.
[180] In January 1940, the Japanese military had to admit, at least to itself, that victory was still not any closer.
[181] So it was decided that Japan would carry on for one more year, and if nothing changed, they would then begin to withdraw men and leave a force in Manchuria to watch the Communists.
[182] But six weeks later, on May 10th, Germany launched an attack in the West, capturing the Dutch homeland and then France.
[183] Defying England seemed next to fall.
[184] The new Prime Minister of Japan was Harunuma.
[185] who had replaced Kanoye in January a few months before.
[186] But Hironuma would not last long.
[187] He had over 70 meetings with his cabinet concerning whether Japan should join the tripartite pact or not.
[188] Embarrassed by their inability to decide, the Prime Minister and his entire cabinet resigned.
[189] The Nazi victories intoxicated the Japanese military, renewing their spirit to conquer.
[190] Posters around Tokyo read, Don't miss the bus.
[191] referring to the land grabbing of Germany and Italy.
[192] Also, the army staff could clearly see that the European powers who had land in Asia had their hands full, taking care of their own borders.
[193] Now was the time for resource -poor Japan to take the oil and other materials they needed for war, or just for defense.
[194] Defeat in China might be a reality, but the situation in the other Southeast Asian countries was different, as far as the military was concerned.
[195] On June 22, 1940, the army general staff met, quickly talked of the situation in China, and then switched to the topic of a surprise attack on Singapore.
[196] The action was barely voted down, but the excitement of victory was in the air, even if that victory had been someone else's.
[197] By the end of July, Prince Kenoye was talked into forming a second cabinet, but the two key posts would be filled with men who were on the rise.
[198] The foreign minister would be Matsuoka.
[199] He was venturesome, flamboyant, talkative, and a word charming.
[200] He was called Mr. 50 ,000 Words.
[201] At age 13, he was dumped, literally, on the shores of the U .S. and told to survive.
[202] He did.
[203] The second person who would serve as war minister was Lieutenant General Hideki Tojo, a man of very few words.
[204] He was called the Razor for his simple, straightforward, soldierly ways.
[205] He was incorruptible and a rigid disciplinarian.
[206] The new cabinet was only four days old when it unanimously approved a new national policy to deal with the, quote, great ordeal without precedence, unquote.
[207] Now was a time for decisions and action.
[208] The goal was a new order in the greater East Asia.
[209] Japan would be united with Manchuria in every way.
[210] China would be under Japan's control for its own good.
[211] Indochina, now North Vietnam, with its rubber, tin, coal, and rice, would be taken to support Japan.
[212] Every Japanese citizen would devote himself or herself to the state.
[213] There would be a planned economy, and the Diet reformed.
[214] It was decided the Tripartite Pact would be signed.
[215] After all, Japan only respected strength.
[216] And a non -aggression pact would be sought with Russia.
[217] As for the U .S., attempts would be made to placate her, but if that did not work, then at least Japan would be given time to build up its resources needed to face her then.
[218] The civilians in the cabinet were told this was Japan's only hope of surviving the current situation.
[219] Not that it mattered.
[220] By now, military domination had become a tradition.
[221] Within months, Japan forced the impotent Vichy government to allow them to set up bases in northern Indochina, which was used as a jumping -off point to attack China.
[222] The pieces were being set in place.
[223] On September 27, 1940, the Tripartite Pact was signed in Berlin.
[224] Next time, we'll leave Asia for a while and return to Europe and Hitler's Germany.
[225] He was now the Chancellor, but it was only the beginning of the Nazi Revolution.
[226] Footnote.
[227] Since we're about to leave the Asian story for a while, I wanted to include something that I'd cut out earlier.
[228] I did it in the interest of time, but it's a really good story, and I just wanted to put it back in here before we get back to Europe.
[229] The civil war between the nationalists under Chiang Kai -shek and the communists that eventually would be under Mao was a colossal fight.
[230] It went on for years.
[231] Obviously, millions died.
[232] I don't want to give too much away yet.
[233] When Chang sent down the annihilation expeditions, there were numerous expeditions.
[234] They all failed for different reasons, mostly because Mao had the Soviet spy system and Chang's military and his government.
[235] They had sleepers, sleeper cells that would be not activated for 20 years.
[236] I mean, just a truly amazing organization.
[237] within Chang's government.
[238] Also, Mao's policy of getting rid of anything, including people in Mao's path, in Chang's path, excuse me, that could help him.
[239] Also, what's not known by most people is that Stalin had Chang's son hostage in Russia.
[240] He had him there for about 12 years.
[241] And Chang really wanted his son back.
[242] So by the fifth expedition, Chang had had enough.
[243] He gathered...
[244] half a million men, and was just cutting a huge path of the jungle with his troops and heading towards the communist base.
[245] And every few kilometers, he'd set up a military camp or base, and he was getting closer and closer and closer.
[246] And the Reds knew there was no way they could find him.
[247] They were going to have to run through the jungle.
[248] Now, when I say jungle, I truly mean something that's almost impenetrable.
[249] Just to give you an idea, when the Reds start their escape, they have about 80 ,000 men.
[250] And by the time it's all over with, they're down to 10 ,000.
[251] I mean, we're just talking that kind of rugged terrain that they have to go through.
[252] But here's where Chang got a little too clever.
[253] He was a brilliant man thinking 10 steps ahead.
[254] But here's where he kind of outsmarted himself.
[255] He knew he was about to wipe out the communists and all the leaders, the headquarters.
[256] And he said, how can I use them before I wipe them out?
[257] So what he decided to do was drive them west.
[258] Now in the west part of China, there were numerous providences that weren't under anyone's control, not his, not the communists.
[259] They were still controlled by the warlords.
[260] And Cheng could not fight the Reds, the Japanese, and the warlords all at the same time.
[261] That was just too much even for him.
[262] So what he decided to do was drive the communists into the warlords' providences.
[263] And they...
[264] would beg Cheng to come in with his military to take care of them.
[265] And that actually worked in three different providences.
[266] He was able to have their permission to come in because there were mountain passes.
[267] They could easily have kept him out for years.
[268] So they invited him in.
[269] He pushed out the communists, but of course he left troops there.
[270] And so he gained more territory, more people.
[271] But he really wanted his son back.
[272] And so he kind of sent, he kept...
[273] And communications opened with Moscow.
[274] He said, OK, I pretty much whittled this communist force down, but I won't destroy them if you give me back my son.
[275] Stalin said no. OK.
[276] So he kept pushing them north, kept pushing the north towards the Russian border.
[277] And he said, tell you what, I'll give them some territory.
[278] And Stalin said no. I'll give them a base, some providences.
[279] They'll have millions of people they can control.
[280] I'll make the Soviet – the communists legitimate.
[281] Give me back my son.
[282] Stalin said no. He goes, I will unify with them to attack the Japanese, which Chang knew Russia wanted all along anyway.
[283] Finally, Stalin said yes.
[284] After all that, Chang got his son back.
[285] But by that time, the Reds were stable.
[286] They had a lot of support.
[287] They were legitimate now, and they had a lot of providences and people, and they could tax.
[288] and take from the people so they were going to get stronger.
[289] And Chang knew this, but he did it all to get his son back.
[290] Whereas Mao had numerous children, numerous wives.
[291] Most of them died.
[292] He didn't care.
[293] He had two sons who were being held hostage in Russia.
[294] Stalin really liked holding hostages.
[295] Mao couldn't care less.
[296] I don't know if Stalin knew that or not, but two of his sons were sent to Russia to be hostages, and they were schooled there, and they were raised there.
[297] And if Stalin needed to kill them or whatever, I don't think it really would have.
[298] mattered to Mao.
[299] But that is how the Soviets, the communists in China were able to survive is because Chang was trying to do all these different things to get his son back.
[300] And I just think it's an amazing story.
[301] And of course, the battle between these two is going to go on for years and tens of thousands of more people will die.
[302] But we'll get to that in the future.
[303] I just wanted to add that part.
[304] Thank you very much.
[305] Welcome to True Spies.
[306] The podcast that takes you deep inside the greatest secret missions of all time.
[307] Suddenly out of the dark it's appeared in love.
[308] You'll meet the people who live life undercover.
[309] What do they know?
[310] What are their skills?
[311] And what would you do in their position?
[312] Vengeance felt good.
[313] Seeing these people pay for what they'd done felt righteous.
[314] True Spies from Spyscape Studios.
[315] Wherever you get your podcasts.