logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2018
9m 56s

China and Japan at War

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Japanese troops reached the Chinese city of Nanjing in December 1937. The violence that followed marked one of the darkest moments in a struggle that continued throughout WW2. Rebecca Kesby has been speaking to former General Huang Shih Chung, who survived the slaughter in Nanjing as a boy and then fought in China's war of resistance against the Japanese.

Photo: Huang Shih-Chung as a young soldier.

Up next
Sep 2025
The Chindits
During World War Two, an unconventional special force was formed. Known as the Chindits, they fought behind enemy lines in Burma, now Myanmar during 1943 and 1944 in the war against Japan.Their leader was the charismatic Orde Wingate, a British Army officer. This programme is mad ... Show More
10m 19s
Aug 2025
Nagasaki bomb
On 9 August 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, killing at least 74,000 people. It led to the end of World War Two in Asia, with Japan surrendering to the Allies six days later. The Nagasaki bomb, alongside the Hiroshima bomb on 6 August, remain the ... Show More
10m 29s
Jun 2025
World War Two’s Rome escape line
Between September 1943 and June 1944 in World War Two, the Italian capital Rome was occupied by German soldiers.Italy had surrendered and thousands of Allied prisoners of war had escaped from internment camps in the country. An Irish priest, Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, who was wor ... Show More
10m 31s
Recommended Episodes
May 2014
The Sino-Japanese War
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-45. After several years of rising tension, and the Japanese occupation of Manchuria, full-scale war between Japan and China broke out in the summer of 1937. The Japanese captured many major Chinese ports and cities ... Show More
46m 41s
Jun 2021
Show 67 - Supernova in the East VI
When do spirit, tenacity, resilience and bravery cross into madness? When cities are incinerated? When suicide attacks become the norm? When atomic weapons are used? Japan's leaders test the limits of national endurance in the war's last year. 
5h 45m
Nov 2020
Show 66 - Supernova in the East V
Can suicidal bravery and fanatical determination make up for material, industrial and numerical insufficiency? As the Asia-Pacific conflict turns against the Japanese these questions are put to the test. The results are nightmarish. 
3h 32m
Sep 2022
236. China and World War II (Part 2)
Tom and Dominic welcome back special guest Rana Mitter to discuss China's position during World War Two. This episode covers the Rape of Nanjing by Japanese forces, the military tactic of flooding the Yellow River, the deal between Chinese Nationalist Wang Jin Wei and Japan, and ... Show More
1h 5m
Apr 2021
50: Second Sino-Japanese War Pt. 1 - Background
During the 1930s China would experience a devastating invasion. This invasion was launched by the Japanese who were trying to obtain greater access to the natural resources available in Manchuria and northern China. The result would be the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War, a ... Show More
24m 43s
May 2021
52: Second Sino-Japanese War Pt. 3 - Shanghai
While the Japanese invasion of northern China continued, further south the first major battle of the war was about to begin in the streets of Shanghai. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 
44m 7s
Sep 2022
235. China and World War II (Part 1)
Friend of the show Rana Mitter joins Tom and Dominic this week to discuss the role of China in the Second World War. In the first of two episodes, Rana, Tom and Dominic cover the fall of the last Emperor and the establishment of a Chinese Republic in 1912, the Opium Wars, warlor ... Show More
59m 33s
Jan 2019
Show 63 - Supernova in the East II
Deep themes run through this show, with allegations of Japanese war crimes and atrocities in China at the start leading to eerily familiar, almost modern questions over how the world should respond. And then Dec 7, 1941 arrives... 
4h 1m
Apr 2020
Okinawa: the battle and the bomb
On the 75th anniversary of the battle of Okinawa, historian Saul David revisits one of the bloodiest clashes of the Pacific War and explains how it played a crucial part in the United States’ decision to use atomic weapons against Japan. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. ... Show More
38m 31s
Aug 2020
The Second World War in Japan
<p>It’s 75 years this week since the dropping of atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which led to Japan’s surrender to Allied forces and the end of the Second World War. We hear first-hand accounts of military turning points in the Pacific including the attack on Pearl Harbou ... Show More
50 m