Hans van de Ven

In 1944, at the same time that the Germans faced defeat after defeat, the Japanese launched their largest land operation of the entire war. Involving 500,000 soldiers and fighting over a 1,500 km front, the Japanese cut through Chinese defences. The consequences were fatal for Chiang Kaishek’s Nationalists and they laid the basis for the rise to power of Mao Zedong’s Communists. Using battle reports, memoirs, and the writings of popular intellectuals at the time, the Professor of Modern Chinese History analyses the campaigns, and their consequences for China and for international relations.