1937年真实拍摄的抗日战争纪录片，看完心都碎了（合集作品）

For over two thousand years The Chinese relied on the Great Wall to defend against foreign invasions But after the 20th century The mighty and solid Great Wall could no longer stop The Japanese invaders' planes, tanks, and artillery Today I'll be presenting The Anti-Japanese War documentary "Why We Fight" This film compiles footage from various war correspondents Shot between 1937 and 1944 Some scenes come from captured Japanese film reels

Due to the diverse sources of material The brightness and contrast are not uniform Sometimes appearing dark, sometimes bright So I took the more than 1000 scenes from the film Cut them all out And adjusted each one individually Finally using AI software For 4K restoration and colorization Additionally, to give everyone a comprehensive Understanding of the real Anti-Japanese War This episode will combine narration with the 1940 Color documentary "Hard Work"

So why would a tiny island nation in the Pacific Dare to invade China?

This story begins in 1927 When the Japanese cabinet submitted to the Emperor An instruction manual for world conquest This was the infamous "Tanaka Memorial" This memorial divided world conquest into the following steps First, conquer the mineral-rich Manchuria region Then use it as a springboard to conquer China Next, using China's vast population and resources Build a rear base for war Then occupy the rubber and oil-rich Southeast Asian region

Then dominate Asia Finally concentrate all forces to defeat America By then Western powers would naturally surrender To achieve this crazy plan Japan, citing resource scarcity Purchased industrial materials globally Meanwhile, relying on Western military technology Learned during the Meiji Restoration Secretly built modern army, navy, and air forces Creating a powerful war machine At this time, China under Dr. Sun Yat-sen's leadership

Had just overthrown the ancient feudal dynasty Science, industry, and military were still in learning stages And warlords occupied territories, fighting openly and secretly Everyone wanted to be China's leader But none would submit to others So at that time China, a scattered and backward agricultural nation Could not compete with Japan A united industrial power In 1931, the Japanese Kwantung Army initiated the September 18th Incident Occupying the Northeast

And established the puppet state of Manchukuo using Puyi This way they could legitimately Plunder the Northeast's mineral resources To manufacture tanks, planes and other weapons Six years later (July 7, 1937) An increasingly powerful Japan saw the time was ripe And orchestrated the July 7th Incident Launching a full-scale invasion of China As the war spread The Japanese army took only one month To capture Beiping and Tianjin Even boasting they would destroy China in three months

At this moment of national survival The Chinese who had fought internally for decades Finally united to face the external threat At that time, Chiang Kai-shek committed all resources Deploying his elite forces to Shanghai Other regional warlords also sent troops to help Total forces reached over 1 million While Japanese forces increased to over 300,000 Landing at Wusong Fort, Liuhe, Luodian and other locations As the battle began The Shanghai battlefield became like a meat grinder and bottomless pit

Consuming the lives of Chinese soldiers As soon as a gap opened in the defensive line Men would immediately sacrifice themselves to fill it Sealing the breach once again Both sides kept "adding fuel to the fire" Neither daring to give up an inch It was like a tug of war If either side used slightly less force The rope could be pulled to the other side Like Chiang's elite division that went in for one day

Only one regiment remained And of the 60,000 Guangxi troops Over 40,000 were casualties Two-meter deep trenches were filled level with bodies After three months Chinese military casualties reached over 300,000 Losing one division every three days Almost paving the road with blood and corpses However, the Japanese army also paid a heavy price From then on they no longer dared to dream Of occupying China in a short time

Later, to avoid the fierce naval artillery fire Chinese troops had to retreat several kilometers away The Japanese army then sent two more divisions Secretly landing south of Shanghai Then quickly advancing north Surrounding the city's flanks At this point, the Chinese army, attacked from both sides Had the will but not the strength to fight back Could only follow orders to retreat to Nanjing and Hangzhou The Japanese army, to revenge Chinese resistance

Sent planes to bomb innocent civilians in Shanghai The city's skyscrapers and civilian buildings Were all reduced to ruins Panic-stricken Chinese flooded into the streets like a tide Since Japan still feared offending Western powers Many people fled to foreign concessions But the concessions were only so large For every person who safely escaped inside A thousand were left stranded outside Under the Japanese army's frenzied bombing

With nowhere to go, they could only stand bewildered Or flee aimlessly in all directions Hoping to escape the Japanese massacre But many still perished in the bombings Or were buried alive by collapsing buildings The ruthless Japanese army didn't stop there Instead divided into three routes advancing toward Nanjing Though Chinese troops fought to the death After months of continuous fighting They were exhausted Plus the hasty retreat of Commander-in-Chief Tang Shengzhi

Caused chaos Finally leading to Nanjing's fall in just 13 days After capturing Nanjing The Japanese army began frenzied killing, looting, and slaughter of innocents And carried out the internationally shocking Nanjing Massacre Those horrifically tragic scenes Lasted an entire month At least 300,000 Chinese were killed And these inhumane acts Were all planned by the Japanese Supreme Command Just to completely break the Chinese spirit

And force China to surrender But the Chinese did not submit Instead, with unprecedented unity and determination in thousands of years Vowed to fight the Japanese invaders to the death Of course, determination alone was not enough Military power needed to be developed So Chiang Kai-shek proposed trading space for time Gradually giving up territory to preserve forces Using vast land to delay and disperse Japanese forces Meanwhile manufacturing guns and artillery

To destroy the invaders once military strength was built up To leave nothing for the enemy Chinese forces destroyed all roads and factories And burned crops with gasoline And millions of civilians carrying their belongings and families Migrated over 2000 kilometers to the southwest In the footage, a mother carries children with a shoulder pole This young brother carries his sister and leads his younger brother Carefully following the crowd across the railway tracks

And this old woman Fell because her bundle was too heavy But quickly got up by herself Whose heroic soldier's mother or wife was she?

We'll never know During people's long journey They occasionally encountered trains Once loaded with people The rails and sleepers would be removed and taken along Leaving nothing useful for the enemy Including schools, hospitals, libraries And machinery from thousands of factories Were all dismantled Transported by trucks, ox carts, and ships Gradually moved to Chongqing Meanwhile, rural villagers formed One guerrilla unit after another

Dressed in blue cloth garments Armed with outdated guns and homemade weapons Ready to join the fight to protect their homeland One moment they might be simple farmers The next, deadly resistance fighters Though Japanese forces controlled major routes The guerrillas used hit-and-run tactics To continuously attack Japanese forces Because guerrillas were scattered and hidden The Japanese couldn't launch concentrated attacks

Besides people Japan had to deal with China's complex terrain Treacherous swamps and wetlands Overwhelming floods and rivers Winding mountain paths All these invisibly hindered Japanese advancement There were also medical teams of women and children Besides treating the wounded They also had patrol duties Always vigilant for suspicious strangers While the National Army held firm on the anti-Japanese front line Carrying out the most important combat missions

Using weapons far inferior to the enemy's Eating only two meals a day, just rice As foreign journalists said Given necessary supplies and equipment Chinese soldiers are among the world's bravest warriors Remember when Japan claimed they'd destroy China in three months Western nations believed industrialized Japan Could quickly defeat our agricultural nation But years passed, and China still stood strong The world was amazed and wondered

What created this miracle?

Now foreign journalists in China found the answer They truly understood What it means when an entire nation becomes soldiers Regardless of region, age, or youth The ambitious Japanese completely underestimated Chinese capability And their determination to resist Now every Chinese person knows why they fight They understand fighting for national dignity And for the survival of their people With this resolve, I will go forward even against millions

As financial institutions, factories, schools And military facilities moved to the southwest Chongqing became the wartime capital and heart The Japanese army could no longer attack by land But to completely destroy China's fighting strength They used bombers to repeatedly attack Chongqing Even threatening to wipe Chongqing off the map The once-glorious Chinese air force was nearly destroyed

But they still flew their few remaining fighters to meet the enemy Though chances of repelling Japanese forces were only one in a thousand The pilots still took off with determination to die Without hesitation This is what national character means, this is national character Whenever Japanese forces attacked Red lanterns would slowly rise with air raid sirens Warning people to take shelter quickly The Chinese in the footage showed no panic

Instead forming orderly queues outside air raid shelters Others took ferries To the south bank Taking shelter in more open areas From 1938 to 1943 The Japanese conducted Five and a half years of indiscriminate bombing of Chongqing Dropping over 4,000 tons of explosives Countless Chinese died in the bombardment, their remains lost Their homes reduced to ruins

Despite this, the Chinese people remained standing Like those in the footage working day and night To build more, safer air raid shelters While underground munitions factories operated around the clock Meanwhile, across the country Modern armies were being trained intensively Even women warriors Joined the military directly to fight the enemy Japan wanted to conquer more than just Chinese territory They wanted to destroy the Chinese spirit Destroy Chinese culture

Starting in 1937 Japanese forces bombed eighty percent of China's universities Were bombed Students and teachers carried books and teaching materials Braving dangers across thousands of kilometers To relocate to the southwest At West China Union University in Chengdu Young students who had endured war and suffering Studied modern scientific knowledge diligently Perhaps today you study for a house or car But back then

They truly studied for China's rise Japan had planned after occupying China To use its vast population and resources to conquer the world But they never expected The Chinese to be so strong and unyielding Seeing their plans stalled Japan began occupying All major transportation routes and coastal ports Trying to cut off all external aid to China Without oil, artillery, and aircraft China would surely be doomed

The only possibility was through the Indian Ocean coast Transporting supplies from Burma to Kunming, Yunnan But this was separated by thousands of miles of mountains and valleys Since ancient times only horse caravans could pass American engineers calculated that Even with modern heavy machinery The road would take at least 5 years to build Chiang estimated if Yunnan people built it It would take at least 8 years But Yunnan's Long Yun confidently declared

It would be done in three months Was it done in three months?

No, it wasn't scientifically possible When Long Yun returned to Kunming He organized over 200,000 Yunnan people And fellow soldiers and civilians from all regions Using only the most primitive tools and manpower to build the road Besides men, the road builders included Many elderly, weak, women and children They used their bare hands to carve through rock and mountain Finally taking a total of 9 months To complete the 1,180-kilometer Burma Road Due to mountainous terrain

And continuous Japanese bombing Tens of thousands of Chinese lost Their precious lives during construction So this road in the history of anti-Japanese war Is a miracle built with blood and tears After the Burma Road was completed Drivers and mechanics were urgently needed A Fujian man named Tan Kah Kee Advertised in overseas newspapers Recruiting over 3,000 volunteers This became the famous Nanyang Overseas Chinese Mechanic Team With their help China could finally transport tires, gasoline, bandages

Steel and various war supplies into the country Of course, besides trucks, Chinese transport also included Mules, horses, and shoulder poles And shipping, China's ancient transportation method Also carried important tasks On the endless Yangtze River We could see busy cargo ships everywhere When facing upstream Trackers would pull the boats forward Perhaps these transport methods seem too ancient But it was these bit-by-bit efforts

That maintained China's wartime supplies Soviet aid supplies Entered through Lanzhou in Gansu So this route was called The Northwest's "Burma Road" Due to complex terrain, trucks couldn't pass So locals organized over 20,000 camels And thousands of donkey carts to transport supplies Each journey required traveling thousands of kilometers Full of countless dangers But there was no other choice

After supplies reached the Northwest People used inflated sheepskin rafts To transport them via Yellow River to the front lines Normally A large sheepskin raft Could carry 50 tons of cargo Going downstream was easy But returning hundreds of kilometers required human carriers Due to Chinese people's strong resistance Japan's plan to occupy China had failed But they didn't stop there Instead preparing to implement their third plan

World conquest During World War II Soviet Union and Britain were being beaten by Nazi Germany Japan saw how powerful their ally was And felt they had nothing to fear So they planned to take advantage Attacking America and Southeast Asia To strike America's naval power Japan without any warning Directly attacked Pearl Harbor Destroying over forty American warships

The heavily damaged U.S. immediately declared war The Pacific War thus began In 1941, Japan sent 400,000 troops on multiple routes Advancing unstoppably, sweeping across Southeast Asia Thailand, Philippines, Hong Kong and others fell MacArthur's Allied forces couldn't resist Could only retreat This led to the Burma Road being completely cut off To continue transporting war supplies

China and U.S. opened an air route from Assam River To Kunming, Yunnan This became the well-known "The Hump" air route Over three years 650,000 tons of military supplies Were transported to China via The Hump During these three years Over 1,500 aircraft crashed in the mountains Over 3,000 Chinese and American pilots perished Eventually pilots didn't need navigation

They followed the glinting aluminum of crashed planes Meanwhile, from 1942 to 1945, China Deployed over 300,000 troops twice for overseas combat This became the famous Chinese Expeditionary Force This force whose weapons and equipment Were far inferior to their foreign allies Yet eliminated 50,000 Japanese troops Reclaiming 80,000 square kilometers of lost territory in Western Yunnan

The Japanese 18th Division that participated in the Nanjing Massacre Was completely destroyed by Chinese forces led by Sun Li-jen Many Chinese soldiers knelt and wept, saying Comrades and compatriots of Nanjing We have avenged you If eight characters could describe Sun Li-jen They would be: National Hero, Eternal Glory In these precious historical war footage I believe you can feel the Chinese national spirit

No longer just an "empty word" in textbooks But rather the unyielding spirit and determination they showed As Mr. Lin Yutang said Centuries ago The Chinese built the mighty Great Wall Along a ten-thousand-li border To resist foreign invasion Today, though invaders' iron hooves crossed the Wall They still face a new Great Wall That is the Chinese people's

Unyielding heroic spirit against foreign enemies In 1932, after Japan occupied the Northeast They faced international condemnation and isolation To divert international attention and "digest Manchuria" Japanese forces planned the January 28 Incident in Shanghai Triggering the First Shanghai Battle After extensive searching I finally found three precious documentaries from 1932 The Japanese-made "Shanghai Incident"

European journalists' "Shanghai Siege" and Chinese director Lai Man-wai's "19th Route Army Anti-Japanese War History" This is China's only surviving battlefield documentary Three completely different perspectives Truthfully and comprehensively restored that heroic wartime history On January 18 After Japanese forces provoked conflict through the "Japanese Monk Incident" Under the pretext of protecting their citizens They continuously deployed troops and warships to Shanghai Guns, ammunition, gasoline vehicles and military supplies Arrived successively in Shanghai

30 brand new Type 92 fighters Were having wings installed Undergoing final flight testing 9 Type 89 medium tanks were also fully prepared In contrast Industrially weak China had no planes or tanks Soldiers were mostly equipped with Guangdong-made Type 79 rifles And a few Hanyang-made light machine guns To put it bluntly, just "scrap metal" Thus the Japanese army arrogantly boasted They could take Shanghai in four days

But in the following month-plus, Japan changed commanders four times Increased forces to over 70,000, yet couldn't advance an inch This hard bone they couldn't crack Was the famous Guangdong Iron Army: The 19th Route Army The title "Iron Army" wasn't given by any leader But earned through battle after battle Earlier during the Northern Expedition, these 20,000-plus Guangdong soldiers Followed Sun Yat-sen fighting north and south Becoming undefeated across the land

Later the Guangdong Army was upgraded from local forces to "Imperial Guards" Stationed in Beijing and Shanghai Commander Cai Tingkai was fierce in character Though Chiang Kai-shek repeatedly ordered him to retreat with humility Cai Tingkai said I don't want to be the second Zhang Xueliang Then he ordered all soldiers to dig trenches Preparing to fight to the death As war approached Japanese civilians evacuated by ship Those who remained Helped Japanese forces transport sandbags and build trenches

Chinese civilians, sensing danger Quickly fled with valuables and families Those with connections and money Escaped to French or British concessions Or if lucky, crowded onto British merchant ships But more were Poor civilians standing helplessly at the docks Like the old father pulling A cart of children with nowhere to go Western powers in the concessions were fully armed Blocking major streets with barbed wire French forces patrolled with tanks around the clock

Italian troops waited vigilantly behind sandbag trenches But Western powers' military deterrence Did not deter Japanese attacks Late on January 28 2,300 Japanese troops launched a surprise attack Though few in number Each squad had a tank leading the way Like this British-imported Vickers wheeled tank With a circular turret on top And two heavy machine guns that could rotate and spray fire The 19th Route Army had only fought local forces before

They had never seen tanks Let alone knew how to defend against them Some soldiers even vividly called them "iron oxen" Under tank cover Japanese forces advanced unstoppably Quickly breaking through Chinese defenses But after two rounds of combat Cai Tingkai discovered the "iron ox's" weakness No matter how fierce it came Just bundle grenades together Blast the wheels or tracks, and it would instantly paralyze Without tank protection Japanese troops scattered like birds and beasts

Japanese forces failed in two more attacks With no choice They had to call for air force support Cai Tingkai realized before the battle Japanese forces had absolute firepower advantage But the city was full of Western powers' concessions No matter how powerful their planes and artillery They dared not bomb freely So Cai Tingkai played to his strengths Drawing Japanese forces into urban warfare In Lai Man-wai's footage A Japanese plane circling, unsure where to strike

Was shot down by the 19th Route Army's anti-aircraft gun Unable to find appropriate military targets Japanese planes bombed civilian areas Causing massive civilian casualties China's largest publisher at the time: The Commercial Press Was reduced to ashes under Japanese fire It housed over 500,000 rare ancient books And some early Chinese documentaries Including opera master Mei Lanfang's "Chunxiang at School" and "Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers"

After two days of fierce fighting, Japanese casualties exceeded 800 They had to request Tokyo's help From January 31 Japan increased forces to over 70,000 Even deploying their elite 9th Division But Shanghai couldn't be taken The 19th Route Army at Zhabei Qingyun Road Even pushed back three times Breaking through Japanese lines Commander Cai Tingkai frequently observed enemy positions Directing operations At closest, he was only 40-50 meters from Japanese forces

Bullets flew past him several times Narrowly escaping death Besides the fierce 19th Route Army In the January 28 Shanghai Battle Another army was also active After war broke out Chiang quickly sent the Central 5th Army to reinforce Shanghai Their elite divisions were well-equipped Over 20,000 strong Nominally under 19th Route Army command Actually led by Zhang Zhizhong This seemingly puzzling arrangement Was because weak, poor China

Couldn't yet fight Japan full-scale If central army forces representing the nation joined War would surely escalate So Chiang sent reinforcements under 19th Route Army's banner Making it just a local Guangdong force conflict with Japan February 20 Japanese forces launched a full offensive At the start Japanese forces bombarded Chinese positions for half an hour Then tanks advanced searching

Infantry advanced under mountain and howitzer artillery cover Toward Miaohang China used the 5th Army as bait, letting enemy advance Then surrounding from three sides In this critical battle Some soldiers fell to bullets Dying silently The smiling Battalion Commander Chen Just had his head wound bandaged Ignoring soldiers' pleas, rushed back to the front When the camera caught up, he had fallen in battle No dramatic moves like in TV shows

No time for heroic last words These bamboo-hatted Guangdong soldiers Just fought silently to their last moment In history books, he or he Is just an unremarkable "statistic" But in trench life footage days earlier You'll find They loved records and flutes like us Loved life the same Just born in times of national crisis No choice Facing tomorrow, all they could do Was sing and dance, laugh at life and death

Ancient poems speak of loyal bones buried in mountains No need for horse-hide wrapping Not grand heroism, but deep tragedy February 23, under Chinese forces' three-sided attack Japanese lost over 3,000, fell into chaos Had to abandon Miaohang, hastily retreat February 24, Japan sent more reinforcements to Shanghai Chinese forces, attacked from front and rear, to avoid annihilation Retreated to second defense line Both sides reached stalemate

As Cai Tingkai reorganized troops to fight again China and Japan reached ceasefire under Western powers' mediation Since the Opium War Chinese forces lost almost every foreign war In September 18 Incident, collapsed immediately But in January 28 Shanghai Battle Poorly equipped Chinese forces of just 40,000 Fought evenly with 70,000 Japanese elite troops Japanese commanders changed from Major General to Lieutenant General

Then to General, from navy to army officers All left questioning their lives Cai Tingkai became legendary in one battle Britain's Encyclopedia Praised him for winning with fewer against many, weak against strong Resisting superior Japanese forces for months A world-class general In 1933, Cai Tingkai, unwilling to fight civil war Led the Fujian Rebellion, defeated by Chiang Kai-shek Exiled overseas Sadly his patriotic passion found no outlet

The 19th Route Army was disbanded and reorganized This undefeated Guangdong Iron Army Became just a legend In the entire Anti-Japanese War The Shanghai Battle was the largest Most brutal battle In just three months China committed over 700,000 troops to Shanghai Division after division thrown into battle like numbers Some lost half in less than 3 hours

Some lost two-thirds in just 5 hours The battlefield was like a meat grinder and bottomless pit Consuming Chinese soldiers' lives After three months Chinese military casualties reached over 300,000 Losing one division every three days Truly every inch of land paid for in blood "Keyboard warriors" at the time shouted China has so many people

One spit each would drown the Japanese But after this battle people understood Japan as an industrialized nation Against China, a scattered, backward agricultural nation Was a complete dimensional reduction strike Not just spit Even sacrificing lives one by one Could hardly buy one victory Scholar Qian Mu even wrote "Outline of National History"

Preparing it as textbook for national revival after defeat That was the sorrow of a crumbling nation And an indescribable despair But the Chinese did not submit Instead united with unprecedented determination in thousands of years Vowing to destroy the Japanese invaders Authentic footage of August 13 Shanghai Battle Only scattered fragments circulate online now

Actually during the invasion of China Japan invited Toho Company director Kamei Fumio To film several documentaries Besides "Fighting Soldiers" shown earlier There were also "Shanghai" and "Naval Battle Records" These two films recorded Japanese forces from deployment To capturing Shanghai in authentic footage The most complete Most precious historical footage of Shanghai Battle

These two films were kept in archives Never publicly shown in China So after much effort We had someone from Japan Purchase HD restored versions Then we spent considerable time Color-grading hundreds of scenes individually Then did 4K restoration and AI colorization Additionally, to give everyone a more comprehensive Understanding of this brutal battle

This episode will combine Shanghai TV's Documentary "Life and Death Ground" in narration Time returns to July 7, 1937 Long-plotting Japan Launched July 7 Incident outside Beiping Beginning full-scale invasion of China As Beijing and Tianjin fell Japanese forces advanced rapidly along Great Wall Attacking deep into China

Shanghai then was like gathering storm Major battle inevitable In "January 28 Shanghai Incident" five years earlier Chiang Kai-shek relied on British-American mediation Signing "ceasefire agreement" with Japan So this time he still had high hopes for Western powers August 9 Two Japanese officers provoked by entering Shanghai Hongqiao Airport

Were killed by Chinese security forces stationed there Afterward, Japan turned victim into culprit Demanding China apologize and punish "criminals" Also demanding China disband security forces Dismantle all nearby defenses Such unreasonable people couldn't be found anywhere else Actually demanding we on our own territory Dismantle our own defense works These unreasonable demands

Were firmly rejected by China Then Japanese forces quickly reinforced with over 2,000 troops And fortified military positions around Hongkou Their fortress line started from Huishan Wharf Along Wusong Road to headquarters Forming a long snake While Chiang Kai-shek committed all resources Sending 87th and 88th Divisions to reinforce Shanghai overnight

These two units were trained by German military advisors Among China's best army units then They were well-trained and neatly dressed Equipped head-to-toe with German equipment Truly elite among elites August 13 Japanese forces sent a squad to attack Baoshan Road And shelled the Jiangwan area

Thus began the Battle of Shanghai Then Chinese air force bombed Japanese fortified positions heavily And successfully destroyed the famous Japanese Heavy cruiser Izumo After a morning of air bombardment Chinese forces launched a general offensive The 87th Division attacked the Public Cotton Mill

The 88th Division aimed at Japanese headquarters This was a reinforced concrete building With walls 0.8 meters thick Very solid Multiple artillery pieces on the roof Commanding surrounding streets from high ground Creating crossfire, easy to defend but hard to attack It was also Hongkou's tallest building

The observation tower Like having "God's eye view" Could monitor Chinese troops' every move The 88th Division used "progressive advance" Like squeezing toothpaste Along Japanese outer positions Attacking one by one inward To capture the small Bazi Bridge Brigade Commander Huang Meixing launched four charges

But couldn't break enemy lines In just one day The 264th Brigade lost over 1,000 men Including seven company commanders Before death they didn't shout heroic words But asked comrades to give them one more shot After 4 days of bloody battle Chinese forces hadn't achieved expected results As Japanese reinforcements approached Shanghai

Song Xilian led the 36th Division Rushing day and night from Xi'an All equipped with German weapons They also had a secret weapon China's newly formed armored brigade Equipped with latest imported tanks With considerable breakthrough capability Evening of August 21 The 36th Division launched surprise attack on

Weakly defended Huishan Wharf Japanese had established strong points at each intersection With many machine guns on surrounding roofs Creating interlocking fields of fire Initially Chinese tanks attacked along Gongping Road Quickly breaking Japanese lines But infantry couldn't keep up Couldn't hold positions

Finally tanks became Japanese targets In this famous historical photo A Chinese armored vehicle Along narrow streets Charging lonely toward Japanese positions Its tragic heroism brings tears to eyes Later keyboard military experts often said Street fighting shouldn't be done this way Should be like Stalingrad Battle Advancing house by house under artillery cover

But real battlefield isn't a game No time to wait for your next turn Facing approaching Japanese reinforcements 36th Division had no time for house-to-house fighting Could only charge with flesh and blood Finally at huge casualty cost The desperate fighter Hu Jiaqi first captured Huishan Wharf As army celebrated Two Japanese main divisions

Arrived in Shanghai that day To block landing enemy 36th Division had to withdraw with bitter grief Now local street fighting Evolved into main force battle Late August 1937 With more divisions reinforcing Chinese forces formed diamond-shaped defense zone south of Yangtze Engaging in positional warfare

September 5 Japanese forces attacked strategic Baoshan From sea, land and air They sent over 30 warships And over 10 planes to bomb heavily While tanks blocked city gates Finally in just one day Captured Baoshan Chinese forces defended to the last man

Over 500 officers and men, none surrendered All died heroically September 11 Japanese forces at Wusong combined Launching general attack on Luodian If successful, they could attack Dachang southward Directly threatening Shanghai Westward they could attack Jiading, cutting Shanghai-Nanjing railway More importantly, if Japanese forces took Luodian

They would encircle Chinese forces' left flank So this was a strategic point both sides had to fight for A life-and-death ground determining victory or defeat Thus Both sides fought decisive battle in small Luodian town Just one Japanese infantry battalion Had 18 grenade launchers, 10 heavy machine guns

Plus 4 infantry guns and 2 mountain guns While even China's best elite forces Only had light and heavy machine guns and grenades Never even heard of submachine guns or carbines As for artillery, nationwide only had 26 pieces Each shot meant one less bullet While Japan gained more with each shot Because they had complete industrial system

Could produce continuously Besides equipment gap Individual quality also vastly different Like ordinary Japanese soldier Could draw detailed fortification maps But most Chinese soldiers were illiterate Some couldn't even write their names Also in training Japanese recruits had daily live-fire practice Using hundreds of rounds monthly

But industrially weak China had neither money Nor ability to produce Couldn't "waste" bullets like Japan These bit-by-bit differences Finally made Chinese forces and Japanese army Form huge gap In actual combat Luodian was like flesh-grinding mill Constantly consuming Chinese soldiers' lives Once position line opened slightly

Immediately soldiers sacrificed to fill gap Sealing breach again Both sides kept "adding fuel" Neither daring to retreat an inch It was like tug-of-war If either side used slightly less force The rope could be pulled over After month-plus bloody battle Luodian was sea of corpses

Chinese forces committed to Shanghai battlefield Now 25 divisions, 190,000 men Many reinforcement recruits from nationwide Names still unknown All died in battle Though weapons far inferior to Japanese They relied on flesh and blood To resist invaders' iron hooves Early October Japan sent three more divisions to Shanghai

Plus previous two divisions Numbers reached 100,000 Unable to take Luodian Japanese forces along Liuhang Crossed Wenzaobang, attacking Dachang fiercely If successful They would join city Japanese forces Fundamentally reversing battlefield situation Chinese elite divisions after two months bloody battle

Mostly destroyed Only hope was Provincial local forces These warlords once fought each other But facing national crisis They set aside past grudges All rushed to help overnight October 15 Liao Lei led army thousands of miles From Guangxi reached Shanghai This was Bai Chongxi's strongest unit

Known for daring and fierce fighting Called "Steel Army" But in Dachang battle Lacking effective cover Plus Japanese firepower too strong Guangxi's 6 divisions just engaged one day Were completely defeated In Shanghai Battle Guangxi sent one million troops total One-tenth of total population Meanwhile

Sichuan, Guangxi, Northwest, Northeast armies And other regional forces Also came thousands of miles to help At this national crisis All factions north and south faced death fearlessly Wearing straw sandals, carrying sabers One after another sacrificing Using flesh to resist invaders' artillery Then Chief of Staff Guo Rugui

Wrote letter to Division Commander Huo Kuizhang Saying if I die in battle When Japan surrenders You must come by boat to Wusong Port Then if waves hit the boat's bow That will be me coming to see you After 11 days of bloody battle Japanese forces finally took Dachang Gaining complete battlefield initiative While Chinese forces lost momentum Facing danger of encirclement

Later senior general Chen Cheng reflected Said Chiang defended everywhere, thus weak everywhere Finally lost everywhere Now Shanghai city had no natural defenses But Chiang, to gain international sympathy Planned on Suzhou River's north bank A battle for the world to see This became the famous "800 Heroes" From October 25

This isolated force led by Xie Jinyuan Defended Sihang Warehouse for 4 days 5 nights Repelled 9 fierce Japanese attacks Killing over 200 enemies One wounded Chinese soldier Even jumped with grenades to die with enemies Their bravery and defiance Like last light in darkness Inspired Chinese resistance determination Early November

After Japanese forces joined Surrounding Chinese forces Hundreds of thousands of lives in danger While Chiang still dreamed Western powers Would force Japan to cease fire So he hesitated between advance and retreat Earlier in decisive battles with Japan He repeatedly stopped attacks Making Chinese forces miss opportunities Summarized in one sentence

Politics constrained strategy Strategy affected tactics Tactics finally affected combat Later at multiple generals' suggestion Chiang finally ordered retreat November 8 But by then Japanese forces were right behind Chinese forces facing sudden retreat order Had no time to coordinate, could only retreat hastily

Under Japanese bombing Retreat became rout Like dam break, unstoppable In this campaign Japan committed 250,000 troops Over 90,000 casualties While China committed over 700,000 Over 300,000 casualties Almost three lives for one Though China paid heavy price

Disrupted Japan's original attack plan Forcing them to change from north-south attack To east-west attack Because China's terrain rises west In towering mountains and valleys Japanese mechanized forces became useless Plus Yangtze River barrier Chinese forces could defend natural positions Continue fighting Japanese

So from short-term tactics Shanghai Battle was defeat But from long-term strategy Shanghai Battle was very important That's all for this episode Next episode I'll continue explaining Japan's 1937 authentic documentary "Nanjing" Please stay tuned After Japan occupied Shanghai 1937 Held so-called entry ceremony

Arrogantly paraded singing along Huayuan Road Japanese residents waved rising sun flags both sides Additionally Some Chinese forced to watch In minutes-long footage Not one smiling face found In their humiliated expressions You might understand national anthem's "slaves" line What blood and tears wrote it Then Japan to promote policy, beautify invasion Sent battlefield director Kamei Fumio

To Shanghai shooting 76-minute documentary Named "Shanghai Incident Rear Records" As camera slowly advances Shanghai Bund filled with Japanese warships One stranded half-sunken Chinese gunboat Was Yongjian ordered from Japan late Qing In Shanghai Battle Japanese navy deployed over 30 warships China claimed over 50 Most like Yongjian were inherited antiques

No real combat capability Before Japanese crossed river We sank 10 gunboats and cruisers ourselves Trying to block waterway, prevent Japanese landing After Japanese bombardment This prosperous Far East's first city was in ruins Many areas completely leveled Around Japanese initial landing in Hangzhou Bay Every tree had hole dug at base Each tree became machine gun trench

Nearby tombs also converted to defenses Buildings Chinese forces defended Almost shot to sieves Streets full of sandbag defense points Even coffins used as cover Now you understand "Every inch of land paid in blood" Not just a slogan The Sihang Warehouse where 800 Heroes fought Riddled with Japanese fire

Still had Chinese troops' leftover bread and milk Japanese attacked 4 days 4 nights But couldn't advance Finally blasted wall corner hole Crawled in like dogs To break 800 Heroes' defense Though Japanese took Shanghai British still controlled most factories and commerce So Shanghai's surface was Japanese But inside British Japanese claiming concession protection

Built strong positions with artillery and sandbags Set checkpoint at Garden Bridge Carefully checking passing vehicles and people Except Japanese All needed passes to cross This surrounded International Settlement Became temporary refuge for many Chinese Small area became country within country On street walls Still had anti-Japanese patriotic slogans and posters

Traitors caught spying or sabotaging paraded publicly Over hundred executed some days In Japanese-occupied core area Had special rest areas Theaters, barbershops But other streets empty Silent like ghost town Corner school had 3,000 Japanese students Daily besides basic knowledge Following military instructors Learning weapons structure and use

This militaristic education Aimed to make every child war tool At Hongkou headquarters Japanese troops cleaning tanks Training bayonet combat Some soldiers preparing Planning further inland invasion Before leaving They wrote last words on walls Those high officers Those murderous bandit leaders Transformed into musicians, artists

Piano from ruins was Japanese celebration And Chinese grief In Shanghai Hundreds of thousands homeless from Japanese fire Could only cook on streets Some children losing parents and relatives Survived only by scavenging French priest named Jacquinot Established international safety zone through connections Specifically sheltering homeless Chinese

He also worked hard Raising 1.7 million in aid Providing free charity porridge for refugees Lost hand in youth from fireworks Refugees called him "One-armed Priest" "Rao Bodhisattva" Chinese say "lend a helping arm" But his one arm Saved 60,000 homeless Chinese From Japanese massacre Jacquinot did this Perhaps because during WWII His homeland also lost independence

In contrast Japanese were cruel and hypocritical To create false Sino-Japanese friendship They brought truckload of grain Distributing to Chinese refugees Also gave candy to homeless Chinese children Taking them horseback riding Actually in Shanghai Battle, just in Jinshan Japanese killed over 1,300 innocent civilians These "peaceful coexistence" highlights Just Japanese using hungry ignorant Chinese As military propaganda material

In detention centers Chinese POWs superficially well-fed Seemingly well-treated all aspects Interviewed prisoners said life was good Actually scene completely "exposed" These so-called prisoners included sixty-year-olds To eight-nine-year-old children Obviously refugees grabbed from streets In film, Japan shamelessly claimed By combining their technology with Chinese resources Could resist Western powers' colonial expansion

But China strongly resisted So Japan to save Eastern hemisphere's future Had no choice but launch invasion Looking at history you'll find Japanese for everything they did Had grand-sounding excuses Sounding so noble Actually worse than beasts This documentary's most artistic aspect Its subtle Spring and Autumn writing style Has deep interpretative space On surface

It's military propaganda beautifying invasion Praising achievements But ruins everywhere Chinese army's bloody resistance traces Eerily empty city areas Japanese soldiers' lonely graves Homeless refugees Jacquinot's safety zone All reveal anti-war sentiment American film historian Erick rated this documentary "Fascinatingly ambiguous" Wavering between duty and conscience Pain of being "disloyal to country, unfaithful to enemy"

By 1938 when Japanese invaded Wuhan Kamei Fumio finally in filming Showed very clear anti-war thinking "Fighting Soldiers" He turned into "Tired Soldiers" Finally film was banned He was arrested by military Interested viewers can check my previous commentary Going forward I'll continue searching These historical documentaries buried in dust Hope everyone stays tuned 1937 after Japanese captured ancient capital Nanjing

Made a documentary Entire filming process Under Japanese Special Service Department "guidance" Cameraman Shirai Shigeru later in memoirs said While filming, he witnessed countless Chinese Mass murdered by Japanese army on Yangtze banks Shocked by horror Had nightmares for several nights But under military's strict supervision These scenes of massacring Chinese Either banned from filming or cut Remaining scenes mostly "favorable" to Japanese army

So this Nanjing Front Line Documentary Actually was "praise film" Covering up massacre whitewashing propaganda Cameraman possibly moved by compassion Still captured ruined streets Homeless refugees And famous International Safety Zone Original narration Makes us notice truth behind ruins After historians' verification Found these scenes match Nanjing Massacre photos' backgrounds Completely So in some sense

It's evidence of Nanjing Massacre After brief military screening then Original film mysteriously disappeared Until 1995 Found 55-minute surviving copy in Beijing Compared to original, missing about 10 minutes Previously narrating "Nanjing Massacre" documentary Used some scenes from this film This episode will analyze in detail For visuals Did 4K 60fps color restoration

Clearer than before Over years Most puzzling about Nanjing Defense Why 150,000 well-armed Chinese troops All collapsed in just 4 days In Japanese footage Shows Chinese forces well-prepared before battle City walls as first defense line Built many trenches Reinforced weak gates with angle iron, sandbags Under walls used reinforced concrete Built many air raid shelters

Some connected to city houses through tunnels So troops could quickly move covertly Also Chinese forces set second defense line in city Planning street fighting after wall breach In streets Built row after row of trench positions Key positions All solid concrete machine gun pillboxes Even if all these fell The Chinese army had one last trump card: The Ming Xiaoling Tomb of Zhu Yuanzhang 500 years ago, ancient craftsmen hollowed out Purple Mountain

And "embedded" the entire tomb inside Making it as solid as iron Thus Chiang Kai-shek specifically deployed the most combat-effective Training Division In this location Relying on this huge "natural fortress" And a series of defensive works The Chinese army could attack and defend at will They could hold out against the Japanese army for a month or so However, what determines victory or defeat Is rarely solid fortresses and walls Nor food in warehouses, but morale

Of the 150,000 Chinese troops At least 30,000 were new recruits who had never handled a gun The remaining veterans Were mostly remnants who had just retreated from the Battle of Shanghai Exhausted and sick They had almost lost their combat capability Worse still, when Chiang Kai-shek withdrew He took most of the advanced communication equipment Different units couldn't effectively communicate with each other And the soldiers came from all over the country One speaking Northeastern dialect

Another speaking Cantonese, making communication difficult Low morale, plus multiple communication barriers Led the 150,000 troops to become powerless scattered sand And laid the groundwork for the later chaotic retreat On December 10, 1937 The Japanese army launched a general attack on Nanjing To recreate the battle scene at that time A Japanese squad demonstrated how they attacked the city Under the cover of machine gun fire A suicide squad hidden in the grass

Rushed to a small boat by the shore Crossed the Qinhuai River Then using a 15-meter tall ladder Slowly climbed up the city wall After an hour of fierce fighting This suicide squad on the right wall of Zhongshan Gate Blasted two holes The Japanese army's successful sneak attack Was key to gaining air superiority Since the Battle of Shanghai The Chinese air force had lost almost everything The day before Nanjing fell

Only two brave pilots remained to fight in the air So the Chinese defenders Couldn't get any aerial reconnaissance intelligence Had no idea how the Japanese forces were moving Meanwhile Those expensive long-range field guns on the mountain Failed to play their proper role In contrast, the Japanese with their god's eye view Could spot Chinese defenders' weak points from the air And launch surprise attacks According to the original plan

If Chinese defenders retreated into the city at this time Fighting street battles like at Tai'erzhuang Nanjing could have held out for at least a month The Japanese couldn't take Nanjing without losing tens of thousands But as Chinese soldiers were fighting fiercely with Japanese forces Chiang Kai-shek ordered twice Demanding commander-in-chief Tang Shengzhi to evacuate immediately After he fled The officers below also ran away The spirit of defeat spread like a plague throughout the army

Everyone abandoned the city and fled At that time under Japanese encirclement Yijiang Gate leading to the dock Became the only lifeline for Nanjing's military and civilians But when people swarmed there They found the gate completely blocked by previously built sandbags Only a shooting hole remained at the top Barely enough for one person to crawl through To fight for this slim chance of survival People surged forward like a tide Over 5,000 were crushed or trampled to death

Some soldiers who broke free from the chaos Desperately ran to the city wall Tied cloth strips, belts and puttees together Trying to climb over the wall After escaping, they took off uniforms, discarded equipment Disguised themselves as civilians This avoided capture by Japanese forces And lightened their load for crossing the river On December 13, the Japanese 16th Division main force Rushed in through the breach at Zhongshan Gate First to storm into Nanjing city Its subordinate 38th Regiment

Under Sukawa Seiji's command Occupied Heping Gate by the Yangtze River Completely cutting off Chinese troops' retreat route Along the way They machine-gunned many Chinese soldiers trying to cross the river The scene was unbearable to watch By December 14, major fighting had ended The entire Nanjing city was filled with smoke and in ruins Japanese troops were carrying their wounded Continuously entering the city The surviving soldiers were smiling Wearing their comrades' ash urns around their necks

The Nationalist Government building, Military Department, Foreign Affairs Ministry Military schools and other places were all occupied by Japanese forces A sentence on Chiang Kai-shek's residence wall was particularly eye-catching Presumably his parting sigh (When will I return from this departure) While in the POW camps Japanese soldiers offered cigarettes to Chinese prisoners Appearing very "friendly" But in fact since entering the city Japanese forces ordered all prisoners to be executed About 90,000 Chinese soldiers were trapped in Nanjing

Even just disarming them was no easy task So Japanese forces used various methods To trick them into surrendering Then took them to the outskirts in groups for slaughter As shown in the documentary, Japanese forces posted notices everywhere Promising Chinese people that if they just registered They would receive a "Good Citizen Certificate" And return home to "live and work in peace" But strangely, Japanese forces completely separated men and women

After registration, they divided the men into two groups Taking them to different places Actually during this process Japanese forces would check for calluses on hands and shoulders To determine if they had carried guns or been soldiers Anyone showing such signs Even laborers who pulled carts, would not be spared The few survivors later learned That day one road led to life The other to death Next Japanese forces systematically went door to door arresting civilians

Then carried out mass killings Furthermore Tens of thousands of women and children suffered Japanese military abuse and torture Afterwards Japanese forces used various brutal methods To kill them all According to Far East Military Tribunal and historians' statistics The death toll in the Nanjing Massacre was at least 300,000 On December 17 Japanese forces held a so-called "Entry Ceremony" in Nanjing Japanese domestic media widely publicized it Calling it a "historically memorable ceremony"

At 1 PM, the highest Japanese military commanders Entered on horseback in succession, led by Prince Asaka Yasuhiko Emperor Hirohito's uncle Following him Was Matsui Iwane, Supreme Commander of Central China Area Army For years People have regarded Matsui Iwane As the primary culprit of the Nanjing Massacre But according to Iris Chang's investigation When Japanese forces attacked Nanjing Matsui Iwane had already transferred command to Prince Asaka Yasuhiko It was he who issued a series of killing orders

So Prince Asaka Yasuhiko was the primary culprit of the Nanjing Massacre Matsui Iwane was just one of the criminals At 2 PM Matsui Iwane led his commanders in a "flag-raising ceremony" After the ceremony, everyone faced toward Tokyo Shouting "Long live the Emperor" In the evening, officers "gathered together" Raising glasses, drinking the "imperial sake" granted by the Emperor Although Japanese military tried to create an atmosphere of "Victory without harm to civilians" in the film

What's terrifying upon reflection Is that the entire street was empty Not even an animal could be seen Only in the International Safety Zone Could one see traces of human life The Japanese photographer seemed to want to use this stark contrast To hint at the truth behind the ruins When Nanjing fell The refugees in the city plus Chinese soldiers Totaled over 600,000 people Of which at least 300,000 were massacred by Japanese forces

The remaining half were almost all saved by one person His name was John Rabe Even before the Japanese attack He united with 22 foreign friends To establish an International Safety Zone To shelter Chinese refugees Despite repeated Japanese pressure Rabe used his German Nazi Party membership To protect 250,000 Chinese civilians from slaughter Some call him China's "Schindler" But like the Nanjing survivors I sincerely want to call him a "Living Buddha"

In 1996, after Iris Chang's efforts The "Rabe Diary," sealed for nearly 60 years Finally saw the light of day This is one of the most complete and detailed historical records of the Nanjing Massacre And the strongest evidence of Japanese military atrocities Today the smoke of war has long cleared But we must never forget this national humiliation Remember history Since the Meiji Restoration This was Japan's most devastating defeat Since the start of the Anti-Japanese War

It was the first time Chinese forces achieved a large-scale victory in a direct battle This battle was the world-famous Battle of Tai'erzhuang In 1938 Famous Dutch director Ivens Braved artillery fire to reach the front line Capturing extensive firsthand footage of the Battle of Tai'erzhuang And edited it into the documentary "400 Million" But because the film included many Scenes of the Eighth Route Army fighting against Japan in the rear Chiang Kai-shek once ordered it banned

In 1937, after Japan took the capital Nanjing They decided to use Nanjing and Jinan as bases To attack Xuzhou from both ends along the railway Why did Japan want to take Xuzhou?

We all know Transportation lines are crucial in war So logistics support can keep up In China at that time, there were mainly two railways One was the Longhai Railway, the other was the Jin-Pu Railway And Xuzhou was exactly at the crossroads of these two railways Making it China's most important strategic hub Therefore once the Japanese forces took this place They would cut off the Chinese army's supply lines

Then Japanese forces north and south would connect and strike straight for Wuhan Half of China would fall into their clutches Thus this battle had very important strategic significance for both sides But Xuzhou was open plains with no natural defenses At this point history began to point to the nearby thousand-year-old small town of Tai'erzhuang This area was full of rolling hills and valleys Able to effectively block Japanese mechanized units

So Chinese Supreme Commander Li Zongren used Tai'erzhuang as the center With Tengxian and Linyi on the flanks Forming a V-shaped defense line against the southward Japanese forces Another army went to the south bank of the Huai River To block the northward Japanese forces At that time the three Japanese forces totaled over 200,000 All elite troops While Chinese forces claimed 600,000 troops But they were (mostly) miscellaneous units from various regions Including Sichuan, Yunnan, and Northwest armies

They had never received unified training One side shouting one way The other side shouting another, they couldn't even understand each other Back when Chiang Kai-shek's elite troops had a million men in Shanghai They still couldn't protect Shanghai Now how could this "motley crew" stop such a force?

In March 1938 The "battle-hardened" Japanese 10th Division began attacking Tengxian This fierce force had over 5,000 men Equipped with many advanced weapons and equipment While the defending Sichuan army only had about 3,000 men They wore straw sandals and thin clothes Most rifles were Chengdu-made The better ones were Hanyang-made Actually Chiang Kai-shek had no hope That this group of "beggars" could defeat the Japanese His real intention was to use the Sichuan army as bait

Then let Tang Enbo lead his own elite forces to close the net Li Zongren said these Sichuan troops were better than Zhuge Liang's straw men Right They were all cannon fodder anyway, why be picky?

If someone plays the hook, someone must play the bait Not that they were foolish enough to be bait But for this fractured country For this endangered nation They were willing to play this bait Long Wenzhang said the answer shouldn't be death But all they could do Was take grenades and die together with Japanese soldiers 90-year-old Sichuan veteran Ye Guangwen said They never did losing business Usually traded one for three

All they could do was make their deaths more worthwhile Thus, the Sichuan army with their life-for-life bravery Held out for a full 4 days Division Commander Wang Mingzhang took seven bullets Dying for his country But they also eliminated over 2,000 Japanese troops Winning more deployment time for Li Zongren The scene of Japanese Regiment Commander Akashiba Yaekura being shot Was like something from a drama One Sichuan army bullet went through three people

First was an ordinary Japanese soldier (died instantly) Second was a machine gun squad leader (died instantly) Third was Akashiba Yaekura (severely wounded in the back) And facing the Japanese forces' strong offensive Where was the promised Tang Enbo?

It turned out his elite forces had just got off the train When they encountered fierce Japanese resistance This left the Sichuan army completely isolated without support Meanwhile The notorious Itagaki Seishiro Led the Japanese 5th Division from Qingdao Wanting to form a pincer attack with the 10th Division Then twist into one rope, taking Tai'erzhuang in one strike At this moment, the Battle of Linyi Became the key point of success or failure

Pang Bingxun, who was responsible for defending this area, was a typical military veteran Fighting was just to earn a living National righteousness, patriotic sentiments Were all nonsense to him Since he had no fixed territory He would follow this one today And that one tomorrow When a patron failed He would look for the next one Even turning his guns around to point at former allies He was like the Lü Bu of the Anti-Japanese War

Yet in this battle, Pang Bingxun fought with all his might Fighting bloody battles with 20,000 Japanese elite troops In just 3 days The brotherhood he had carefully built over his lifetime Was mostly lost At this time Li Zongren planned to send Zhang Zizhong as reinforcement They had once been good brothers from the same school But Pang Bingxun had been bought by Chiang Kai-shek And once put Zhang Zizhong in mortal danger So Li Zongren's reinforcement order

Was asking Zhang Zizhong to save his enemy But at this critical moment Zhang Zizhong put aside personal grudges Rushing to Linyi as quickly as possible to provide support Finally these former enemies fought together Successfully repelling the Japanese 5th Division This then left the Japanese 10th Division isolated as it advanced toward Tai'erzhuang Laying the foundation for the Chinese army's later victory Meanwhile Commander-in-Chief Zhu De led the Eighth Route Army in harassment attacks behind Japanese lines

Destroying enemy roads and telephone lines Cutting off their supplies At that time Ivens broke through layers of KMT obstacles Recording Eighth Route Army commanders studying battle plans in Wuhan And many precious historical images of fighting against Japanese invaders While on the front lines Chi Fengcheng, responsible for defending Tai'erzhuang, had only 8,000 men This Northwestern Army though lacking strong firepower Had two characteristics: one was skill at defending cities

The other was the broadsword teams that terrified Japanese forces On March 24 Japanese forces with aircraft, artillery, and tank support Launched a fierce attack on Tai'erzhuang In just 11 days They took most of Tai'erzhuang The city was about to fall Actually on Chiang Kai-shek's map These Northwestern Army troops like the Sichuan Army Were just numbers, cannon fodder Their role was to lure Japanese forces into an ambush

Then let Tang Enbo lead his elite forces in for the kill Initially superiors told Chi Fengcheng to hold for just 3 days But one 3-day period passed after another The promised elite forces still hadn't come Fighting until they ran out of even hand grenades Chi Fengcheng could only lead his brothers Carrying broadswords to engage in close combat with Japanese forces Yet Commander-in-Chief Sun Lianzhong still ordered them to hold Saying after the brothers fall, you fill in

After you fall, I'll come fill in On April 4, Tang Enbo with heavy weapons Finally attacked Tai'erzhuang from the flank Actually Tang Enbo had arrived nearby in late March But was blocked by Japanese reinforcements Li Zongren believed Tang Enbo was just wandering around Using Japanese forces to wear down various local warlords' strength On April 7, under Chinese forces' attacks from both sides Japanese forces began a full retreat

In this 15-day Battle of Tai'erzhuang Chinese forces at the cost of 50,000 casualties Eliminated over 10,000 Japanese elite troops Captured 9 tanks But Chi Fengcheng felt no joy in victory After the battle He took a tarpaulin Silently walked into the smoke Picking up his brothers' severed limbs piece by piece and wrapping them Commander-in-Chief Sun Lianzhong received many medals for the Tai'erzhuang victory But he never mentioned them to outsiders

Because this so-called glory Was bought with the lives of brothers who had lived together day and night Since 1931, Japanese forces had been unstoppable Taking Manchuria, attacking Shanghai, massacring Nanjing At this time of national crisis The Tai'erzhuang victory was like a ray of dawn in the resistance Inspiring the whole nation's military and civilians People from all walks of life organized Donating money and grain for the resistance Even giving their lives for the country

The elderly man in the footage is Sun Dianxiu A surviving veteran of the Battle of Tai'erzhuang Though nearly a hundred years old (97) When speaking of the broadsword teams, he was still spirited And skillfully demonstrated the broadsword techniques from those years With his fierce killing spirit You wouldn't doubt If there were invading enemies He would still fight to the last moment!

A defiant, frustrated American general Found his place in China A group seen as rabble in American eyes Yet in China's war against Japan Achieved extraordinary combat results This film "Sky Crisis" shot in 1941 Truly recorded the Flying Tigers And many precious images of Chinese military and civilians fighting Since the film involved some military locations and air force training methods It was kept as a top secret document Sealed in U.S. military archives

Only gradually released after WWII In 1940, Japan was unstoppable Having taken most of China The Nationalist government could only hold Chongqing Guarding the last bits of remaining territory All military aid to China had to come through the Burma Road To enter China To cut off this lifeline of China's resistance Starting in October Japanese forces began large-scale bombing of the Burma Road The Chinese air force after 3 years of bloody battles Had already lost everything

Could only watch helplessly as enemy planes ravaged China's skies At this moment of national crisis The Nationalist government placed their last hope on Chennault This American air force advisor was a typical hothead Ready to fight at the slightest disagreement From leaders to colleagues, all faced his verbal attacks So after 19 years in the U.S. Air Force

He was still just a captain In 1937 When China urgently needed an instructor to build an air force America "solemnly recommended" this tough character However, no one expected This "reject" abandoned by his country Would turn out to be an air force genius At that time whether America or Japan Generally held fighter planes in low regard Believing bombers were the main force of air power But Chennault overturned mainstream air force theory Firmly believing that in future battlefields

Fighter planes would be kings of the sky After arriving in China His "unorthodox" methods were finally proven in actual combat In battles like Shanghai The Chinese air force he trained Flying fighter planes Thoroughly defeated Japanese bomber formations From then on when Japanese forces conducted air raids They had to deploy large numbers of fighters as escorts However, ultimately war Still burns through money and technology

No matter how well Chinese air force fought, they lost planes one by one But Japanese air force could rely on solid strong industry To continuously send more air power to the battlefield By 1940, Chinese air force was nearly extinct Although they charged into the skies time after time sacrificing themselves They still couldn't protect the capital Nanjing Nor guard the wartime capital Chongqing Now even the only supply line to China Was about to fall to enemy fire

At this moment of national crisis Chennault used his connections to contact retired pilots Hiring them to work in China for high pay Base salary $600 Plus $500 "bonus" for each enemy plane shot down You should know At that time many pilots in America monthly Only made $60 working extremely hard So no one could resist the temptation of earning over a thousand per month Of course, they weren't all just in it for money

After all, life is priceless But to say they were saving the world Would be an exaggeration Objectively speaking They were a group of justice-minded, adventure-loving fighters They were people who took money And did their job very professionally At that time America didn't want to openly confront Japan So these pilots entered China as volunteers Meaning they came voluntarily Had nothing to do with the U.S. government

Compared to regular air forces These free-spirited American cowboys Had no sense of organization or discipline Usually either fighting or playing cards They painted their planes in a "messy" way With snarling cartoon sharks And cute pandas But play aside These veteran pilots' skills were truly remarkable In December 1941 When 10 Japanese planes attacked Kunming, Yunnan The volunteers in their first battle shot down 9 enemy planes

Becoming famous overnight The locals in mountain-surrounded Kunming had never seen the sea And didn't know what sharks were Thought the planes were painted with tigers As word spread People began calling them the Flying Tigers Since they arrived Japanese forces no longer dared to rashly bomb Kunming and the Burma Road Later Japanese forces simply shifted their target to The air bases in Kunming and Dali Xiangyun Trying to remove the Flying Tigers in one stroke

But were successfully repelled each time by the Flying Tigers and ground anti-aircraft guns Before this These air defense personnel had already used drones as targets For extensive practice These drones were about 1/3 the size of fighter planes After launching from a catapult Staff could use remote controls To control their direction and speed When hit by ground troops They would automatically deploy parachutes and return to ground After simple repairs They could be used for training again

After the Pacific War broke out in 1941 Chennault requested President Roosevelt to strengthen air forces in China Trying to further regain air superiority over the entire Chinese battlefield According to the plan, the Flying Tigers would start from Kunming Going to Hengyang, Hunan and Guilin, Guangxi Then use these as springboards to attack Japanese forces along the coast Finally they could directly attack the Japanese mainland Of course to realize this plan the prerequisite

Was having enough airports for operations In just three months Hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians built a series of Airports and air bases A miracle in the history of the resistance war Unlike today China then couldn't afford excavators, road rollers These large mechanical equipment All construction work was done using the most primitive methods For this civilians drained their generations-old rice paddies One by one to level the ground

Then farmers used small carts to bring rocks Cart by cart from far away Women broke them into gravel Then laid them on the surface to prepare the foundation Then children and elderly poured mixed mortar into the foundation Hundreds of laborers pulled half-ton rollers To compact the runway And their daily wage Was just a bowl of rice Today many of us only know of the Flying Tigers' bravery

But don't know Chinese people built these stages with blood and sweat Giving them the opportunity to show their abilities After the Flying Tigers established footholds in Hunan and Guangxi They conducted large-scale bombings and interceptions of Japanese logistics warehouses and Pacific supply lines Along the coastal areas Like these Japanese prisoners in Hengyang shown in the footage Had been cut off from supplies for a month Were dying from hunger

During this period, the Eighth Route Army in the rear Continuously telegraphed Japanese garrison situations and raid forces To the Flying Tigers Usually before the Japanese were ready The Flying Tigers had already received the information And some pilots who penetrated deep into enemy territory After being shot down and parachuting Were often rescued by the Eighth Route Army Besides fighting Japan The Flying Tigers also assigned some forces to protect the Hump airlift

In May 1942, after Japanese forces defeated the Chinese Expeditionary Force Completely cutting off the Burma Road So China and America urgently opened an air route From Assam, India to Kunming, Yunnan To continue supporting the resistance This air corridor had to cross The 8000-meter-high Himalayan range Planes had to fly close to mountain peaks Any mistake would mean crashing into glacial valleys Thus this route was called the Hump airlift

Meanwhile, they also faced Japanese surprise attacks So this route for pilots Was nearly suicidal Eventually, they didn't need navigation Just followed the reflection of aluminum from crashed planes Until the end of the Anti-Japanese War The Hump airlift transported 700,000 tons of military supplies to China And 1,500 Chinese and foreign pilots paid with their lives In December 1944 Japanese forces took Guangxi The eight-month Yu-Xiang-Gui Campaign

Ended in Chinese forces' defeat To prevent airports falling to the enemy Before leaving the Flying Tigers Destroyed all runways and bases And civilians in Huguang area Also burned their homes and fields To conduct scorched earth resistance Determined not to leave anything for Japanese forces These displaced refugees in the footage Were walking along the long painful railway to Yunnan You might ask, why didn't they take the train Simple reason, no money

Even with money trains wouldn't take them Because gasoline, ammunition, food and other supplies More urgently needed transport to the rear At that moment Even a railway sleeper Was more important than people Of course some lucky women and children Got rides on charcoal trucks These vehicles operated on gas produced From burning charcoal Breaking down often, needing constant repairs along the way Most people carried their pots and pans With belongings and family Walking painfully along the main roads

And Guilin as a necessary route to Yunnan Almost became a refugee distribution center All roads and train stations Were completely blocked This caused armies to take much longer to pass through Fortunately, during this long journey With Flying Tigers' protection Japanese forces didn't dare to penetrate deeply Before this, unarmed refugees Had been their best "entertainment targets" In 1943 This "wild volunteer force" once seen as rabble

Was officially incorporated into the U.S. military as the 14th Air Force The defiant Chennault was promoted to Major General Commander A well-deserved recognition During over 7 months in China The Flying Tigers shot down over 300 Japanese planes Lost 26 pilots Indeed, some say they were paid mercenaries fighting Japan But have you considered Who would be willing for a few thousand dollars To give their lives in a foreign land They were human too

Had wives and children, needed to support their families Even if this was purely business China paid the Flying Tigers $8 million in total But they destroyed many Japanese logistics warehouses, tanks and ships Protected the last lifeline of the resistance Regained China's air superiority Saved countless Chinese lives As Finance Minister Song Ziwen said The volunteer force was China's most effective investment

Actually regardless of these American pilots' motives One thing is undeniable That is their important contribution to China's resistance against Japan In August 1945, after Japan's unconditional surrender They sought to conduct their own trials Attempting to absolve war criminals of their crimes But this approach Was as absurd as robbers trying themselves So in just over 10 days

U.S. Commander MacArthur ordered the arrest of hundreds of Japanese war criminals

U.S. Commander MacArthur ordered the arrest of hundreds of Japanese war criminals Among them former Prime Minister Tojo Hideki was undoubtedly the most culpable And the chief culprit of the invasion of China When learning he was wanted Tojo attempted suicide by shooting himself But heaven didn't let him easily escape legal punishment

As the bullet happened to miss his heart And with U.S. forces' full effort to save him Giving him blood transfusions six times Finally allowing Tojo to temporarily return to life To face legal judgment In May 1946 The International Military Tribunal for the Far East formed by 11 countries including China, Britain and America Officially opened in Tokyo Led by Judge Mei Ruao

17 people represented China in this trial When the court read the indictment Class A war criminal Okawa Shumei alternately cried and laughed Even slapped Tojo who sat in front of him After acting insane He successfully escaped punishment due to "mental illness" Since the Tokyo Trials used the Anglo-American legal system Following "presumption of innocence"

Even war criminals were presumed innocent first Then through a series of testimonies and evidence To prove their crimes After Japan's surrender They had already anticipated war responsibility So ordered destruction of all related evidence and materials Even soldiers' personal diaries Were burned completely This made the prosecution's evidence collection extremely difficult

And facing the charges, 28 Class A war criminals Shamelessly claimed they were innocent Mei Ruao once told a friend before departing In plays there's the imperial sword That can execute first and report later, but now is an era of law Must try first then execute Otherwise I really want to execute a few first To ease my hatred

Since China suffered Japan's invasion the longest Had the most casualties Therefore in the Tokyo Trials The prosecution focused most on proving the Nanjing Massacre On December 13, 1937, after Japanese forces took Nanjing Against innocent Chinese civilians They conducted large-scale abuse, torture and slaughter

Those horrifically tragic scenes lasted for two full months At least 300,000 Chinese were killed At that time American Reverend John Magee risked his life Using a 16mm old camera Recorded many real images of the Nanjing Massacre The brutality of Japanese forces shown Had completely exceeded human understanding's limits

And Matsui Iwane as the highest Japanese commander then Was undoubtedly one of the main culprits of the Nanjing Massacre In this trial John Magee traveled far to Tokyo To testify about the Nanjing Massacre But facing overwhelming evidence Matsui Iwane still evaded with various excuses and sophistry Saying he was sick at the time

And unaware of Japanese forces' atrocities This conscienceless person Even claimed Japan's war with China Was "a family internal matter" Japan invaded China purely out of "disappointment in its potential" It was "a brother's love for his younger brother" In August 1946 The International Military Tribunal for the Far East Questioned the war criminals of the Kwantung Army In the series of events of occupying Northeast China and creating Manchukuo

Doihara Kenji and Itagaki Seishiro were the primary culprits They had planned the Huanggutun Incident Killing Zhang Zuolin Aiming to create chaos To provide excuse for Kwantung Army to occupy Northeast China Then they orchestrated the September 18 Incident Promoting Japan's full invasion of China

While also coercing Puyi to establish puppet Manchukuo During two years of trial The cunning Doihara Kenji remained silent throughout Answering everything with three words - "I don't know" Itagaki Seishiro found 15 old subordinates to "testify" for him Trying to absolve himself Unexpectedly Former partner Tanaka Ryukichi testified in court

Identifying both men's crimes They still sophistically argued Claiming Tanaka had a history of mental illness Even slandering that he was bribed by prosecutors to testify At this time An even more unexpected witness appeared This man carried an air of end-times decadence In the most timid tone stated China's most impressive title In the next 8 days

Puyi detailed How Doihara Kenji, Itagaki Seishiro and the Kwantung Army Lured him to Lushun Used both soft and hard tactics to coerce him Finally manufacturing puppet Manchukuo Then he accused Japanese forces of restricting his personal freedom Not even allowing him to visit ancestral graves Additionally, former Beiping mayor Qin Dechun

Submitted extensive evidence about the Marco Polo Bridge Incident Exposing Japan's numerous crimes in invading China In December 1947 The tribunal began questioning former Prime Minister Tojo Hideki At this historic moment There were even scalpers selling audience tickets outside the court As the number one war criminal Tojo had planned the September 18 Incident

And after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident Led elite troops to invade China Later he ordered the establishment of the notorious Unit 731 in Northeast China Conducting inhumane human experiments on Chinese civilians In 1941 He gained the Emperor's favor with countless Chinese lives Becoming Japan's Prime Minister That year he ordered the Pearl Harbor attack

Starting the Pacific War In the tribunal's indictment of Class A war criminals Hundreds of thousands of words long There were 55 counts in total Of which Tojo Hideki accounted for 54 Truly evil beyond measure! Crimes beyond counting!

During the trial Tojo's testimony exceeded 200 pages Just reading it took 3 days Shamelessly he claimed the Pacific War was purely self-defense As for invading China It was because Japan had little land, many people, and scarce resources So they had to expand outward His logic was the same as all robbers and thugs

I'm poor, I couldn't eat enough since childhood So I should rob, murder and commit arson In April 1948 The two-and-a-half-year trial finally ended Next the judges from 11 countries Would discuss sentencing the war criminals Due to different positions Different interests and legal systems The judges had serious disagreements

First France had abolished death penalty So didn't support death sentences Chief Justice Webb proposed exiling all defendants To a deserted island American judges agreed to death penalty But only for those who started the Pacific War And abused American POWs Among them, the Indian judge was most absurd He completely treated the court as a Buddhist temple

Believing all Japanese war criminals were innocent Saying people should be compassionate And reform them through Buddhism But Chinese judge Mei Ruao argued firmly Insisting on death penalty for war criminals involved in invading China Finally after day and night negotiations The tribunal with a slim majority of 6 to 5 votes Agreed to sentence 7 Class A war criminals to hanging

Including Tojo Hideki Itagaki Seishiro, Doihara Kenji, Matsui Iwane and others Another 16 were sentenced to life imprisonment In the Tokyo Trials There were three most fiercely debated issues First, Japanese defense argued Allies had no right to try Japan Because victors judging the defeated, strong judging the weak

Could not ensure fairness and justice So trials should be conducted by neutral countries uninvolved in the war Chief Prosecutor Keenan countered The 11 countries here today Represent 2/3 of global population All suffered heavy losses and damage From Japan's invasion and massacres Do these 11 countries have no right

To punish war criminals through this trial?

Should we just stand helpless before these criminals Let them escape justice?

Furthermore Japanese defense claimed war was a collective state action Individual responsibility shouldn't be pursued And in war Killing for national interests was not criminal Meaning war was legal killing If Tojo ordering Pearl Harbor bombing was criminal Then President Truman ordering Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Was also criminal This was completely changing the concept First, a nation is an abstract concept Its main policies and direction Are decided by officials with power So they must bear responsibility for crimes committed Also Japan expanded war purely for its own interests Bringing deep disaster to various peoples

While America dropped atomic bombs to stop the war Using harsh means but showing merciful heart Additionally, Japanese defense argued Crimes against humanity and peace couldn't be charged Because these crimes were "invented" By Allies for this trial Before this Such laws didn't exist By principle of non-retroactive law

Laws made after the fact Couldn't punish past actions Otherwise the supposedly fair legal system Would fundamentally collapse This sounded reasonable at first Actually Japanese defense was playing word games Exploiting legal loopholes After World War I Victors proposed punishing German war criminals But Germany requested self-trial

Finally 6 of 12 defendants were acquitted This made those warmongers More reckless in later years Bringing huge disasters to people worldwide So after WWII To prevent Japanese and German criminals escaping punishment Allies added some charges Closing related legal loopholes As Chief Prosecutor Keenan said

This trial aimed to save civilization If due to legal disputes War criminals escaped justice Humanity would lose legal rights to survive And law would lose its meaning of maintaining justice and fairness During WWII America collected real footage from various places Making the documentary "Why We Fight"

Seven parts were publicly shown While the eighth part "Know Your Enemy: Japan" After completion in 1945 Was banned by MacArthur's order Only shown in limited screenings in 1977 According to official explanation Just as the film was completed America dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki With Japan's surrender

No need to use films to encourage war participation But I personally think This was just an excuse There must be many unknown considerations For today The film is undoubtedly precious historical footage Also letting us thoroughly understand The growth of Japanese militarism And the whole story and root causes of invasion of China

The film's footage sources were complex Brightness and contrast were inconsistent Looking alternately dark and light So we spent a lot of time Cutting out all 600+ shots from the original Adjusting each one individually Finally using AI software for HD color restoration Compared to old narration This version has greatly improved visual quality

The script was also modified and enhanced Now let's look at typical Japanese soldiers through the footage Their average weight was only 53 kg Height around 1.6 meters But carried over 27 kg of ammunition and supplies Over half their body weight Compared to Western armies then Japanese equipment was old and outdated

Training methods weren't professional enough But their endurance was extraordinary Could cross mountains and ridges like machines Wade through rivers More terrifying Japanese forces charged forward like madmen in battle Not fearing death Often launching suicide attacks Because they were obsessed with loyalty to the Emperor Believing dying in battle was supreme glory

Even wives and children wouldn't cry for this Instead viewing their ashes with pride Perhaps today This seems very absurd But if you understand Japanese history You'll understand why Japanese people Had such fanatical worship and faith in the Emperor First according to Japanese mythology

First Emperor Jimmu unified the Japanese islands in ancient times Governing it as a prosperous kingdom He claimed to be descendant of Sun Goddess Amaterasu Blood-related to all common people Meaning, all Japanese people were one All descendants of gods They had nobler blood than other races

Japan had little land, many people, frequent earthquakes Extremely scarce resources, since ancient times Had desires and ambitions for territorial expansion Emperor Jimmu once said Unite the six directions to establish the capital Cover the eight corners to make one universe Abbreviated as "Hakko Ichiu" Meaning with Japan as center

Unite the world under one roof This laid the ideological foundation for Japan's world conquest Although Emperor Jimmu was just mythology Japanese people all believed it was true Developing Shinto religion from it Further concretizing these concepts They also elevated the Emperor's position Believing he was a living god

With supreme rights and status Later as Shinto Gradually became Japan's main religion "Emperor supremacy" became Japanese people's Deeply rooted ideology However early Emperors had little real power Japan was actually ruled by different feudal lords To maintain power and fight for territory

They hired private armies of samurai Compared to common people These samurai had higher social status And privilege to carry weapons They could even randomly cut off civilians' ears, arms and heads Of course, this wasn't due to deep hatred Just for entertainment or sword practice Over time

Samurai invented their own set of rules Called it Bushido This so-called Bushido Preached absolute loyalty to lords Charging forward fearlessly in battle, viewing death as returning home But in actual practice Samurai took advantage of weakness Like fully armed attacking unarmed people

Or ganging up on isolated individuals Like later in Sino-Japanese Naval War, Russo-Japanese War September 18 Incident, Pearl Harbor Japan without exception Won through surprise attacks So Bushido was an art of betrayal and deception An art of scoundrels and thugs Also Japanese people's true rule of survival In 1591

Toyotomi Hideyoshi ended feudal division Unified Japan in Emperor's name As for Emperor Became symbolic puppet in background At life's peak, Toyotomi Hideyoshi Believed he had enough power To realize ancestors' "Hakko Ichiu" dream So he planned to first occupy Korean Peninsula

Then occupy China, then India 非常抱歉，我在回答中漏掉了三行内容。请让我补全这部分翻译，并确保将所有行都翻译完整。以下是补充和更正后的完整翻译： ```

Thus establishing a vast Asian empire However, during this invasion of Korea Toyotomi Hideyoshi suddenly died This grand plan subsequently fell apart Of course, the Japanese army still seized a large amount of gold and silver treasures from Korea At the same time, they cut off the ears and noses of more than thirty thousand Ming soldiers Then they salted them and preserved them in jars to bring back to Japan

And buried them in the ear mound in Kyoto as war trophies For the next two hundred years The Tokugawa shogunate practiced isolationism in Japan It's like unplugging from the internet and playing a single-player game This kept Japan stagnant in the agricultural age With almost no development Meanwhile, during this period Western countries underwent earth-shaking changes Inventions like the steam engine, internal combustion engine, and generator

Completely transformed human life at that time By the mid-to-late 19th century Western powers had begun the second industrial revolution Entering the electrical age In 1853 Four American warships powered by steam engines arrived at Yokohama Forcing Japan to open its doors for trade These warships carried thirty-six huge cannons

Capable of leveling any city within range Meanwhile, their armored hulls Could withstand attacks from any Japanese artillery This was like seeing a UFO to Japan at that time They were completely stunned From then on, Japan awoke from over two hundred years of self-isolation They realized that with these advanced weapons They could achieve their ancestors' dream of “Eight Corners Under One Roof”

Thus, the petty lords and warlords ended their civil wars And began to formulate policies The whole of Japan reformed its economy, industry, and military Completely based on advanced Western countries This is the famous Meiji Restoration in history During this period The emperor, who had once been a symbol, stepped into the limelight And became the actual ruler of Japan

Of course, Japan's modernization reforms Were not aimed at improving the people's living standards But to create a powerful war machine In order to conquer the world To this end, they hired Military experts from Britain, France, and Germany To build Japan's navy, army, and air force However, relying solely on the original samurai Was not enough to establish a strong national army

So, to motivate the peasants The Japanese warlords came up with a clever plan They allowed farmers to have the privilege To carry weapons like nobles Meaning that if you were willing to go to war and die You could rise from a lowly commoner to a noble Additionally, Japan used Shintoism To vigorously promote the supreme status of the emperor Inducing fervent worship among the people

At that time, to show loyalty to the emperor Japanese women worked hard in farming and childbirth Becoming machines for producing food and soldiers Men in factories worked over 72 hours a week Many of them died by their 40s from exhaustion Despite their meager wages They bore heavy taxes And their workload was the heaviest in the world Yet they had no complaints Because they all believed they bore a sacred mission

While the latest fighter jets flew above them And the newest diesel trains passed by them But all these modern machines were prepared for war Not for improving the lives of ordinary people After more than 20 years of development Japan entered the industrial age The national power grew stronger Later, from 1894 to 1905

Japan occupied South Manchuria (Liaodong Peninsula) Through the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War And demanded 230 million taels of silver in war reparations from the Qing Dynasty Japan, having become wealthy overnight, rapidly rose To become a world power This laid an important foundation for the later invasion of China This period of history has always been seen by the Japanese As their history of struggle

By 1927 The Japanese cabinet submitted to the emperor A manual for conquering the world This was the notorious "Tanaka Memorial" This memorial outlined the steps for world conquest First, conquer the mineral-rich Manchuria Using it as a springboard to conquer China Then leverage China's vast population and resources

To create a rear base for war Next, occupy the resource-rich Southeast Asia And then dominate Asia Finally, concentrate all forces to eliminate the United States At that time, the Western powers would naturally submit 以下是您提供的中文字幕的逐行英文翻译，保留了原格式时间戳： ``` The dream of our ancestors "Eight Corners Under One Roof" can be realized Of course, to build such a powerful war machine

Requires a lot of money To raise funds Many Japanese companies relied on cheap labor Dumping products at extremely low prices abroad For instance, an American-made toothbrush sells for 40 cents Whereas a Japanese one sells for only 10 cents Meanwhile Japan ignored patent protections Producing a large number of counterfeit products For example, matches produced in Kobe were labeled as Swedish-made

And whiskey from Osaka bore British trademarks Additionally They flooded the silk market in Italy, the silk capital And dumped fabrics in England, the textile hometown They even dumped the American flag in the United States By exporting cheap counterfeit goods abroad Japan amassed a vast amount of wealth But they did not use this money

To buy foreign cars or refrigerators Nor did they use it to build better homes for their people To improve living conditions Instead, they imported large quantities of oil, scrap metal Rubber, aluminum, and other war resources To build a powerful war machine And Japan's best product was its soldiers Every child received militaristic education from an early age

Learning how to shoot, fire artillery, and charge into battle What’s even more frightening is Under the long-term indoctrination of militarism They believed they were descendants of the gods Flowing with blood nobler than that of other nations The only mission of being human Is to dedicate their lives to the emperor To contribute to Japan's “Eight Corners Under One Roof” Great dream of conquering the world In 1931

After years of preparation and planning Japan launched an invasion of China Regarding this painful history I have discussed it before Those interested Can click on my profile to find and watch I won't elaborate further here By the end of World War II The retreating Japanese army still refused to surrender Shouting for a “million deaths Which means the entire nation would rather die in battle Than perish alongside America

Thus, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki And then there was no turning back After Japan's surrender in 1945 MacArthur believed that one of the roots of Japanese militarism was Shintoism Because the existence of Shintoism for over 2000 years Had deeply ingrained the concept of emperor supremacy in people's hearts Therefore, MacArthur ordered the demolition of

All Shinto buildings and monuments in Japan And canceled related festivals He also had Emperor Hirohito issue the “Humanity Declaration” To inform the entire nation That the so-called emperor is just a man Who eats, drinks, and relieves himself, and is not a god The following February Emperor Hirohito changed his previously high and mighty mysterious demeanor And began to tour various places

At this time, people finally realized that this thin, short And somewhat disheveled man Was nothing like the transcendent king they had imagined Some even described him as looking like a town mayor Thus, the atomic bomb only annihilated the physical Japanese army But MacArthur aimed to dismantle Japanese militarism from a spiritual and ideological standpoint Today, Japanese militarism still lingers

With a resurgence of its dead ashes Therefore, we must not forget history and remember national humiliation And we must also know our enemies and ourselves Because if that day comes We will achieve victory in every battle