Japan may well have the record for World’s Speediest Industrialization, but how did they accomplish so much so fast without falling victim to Europe’s favorite 19th century pastime of “Colonization”? And how did Japan build up a Pan-Asian empire so darn quickly? All that and more in this deep-dive into the Meiji Restoration!
SOURCES & Further Reading: Modern Japan: A Very Short Introduction by Goto-Jones. The Japanese Empire: Grand Strategy from the Meiji Restoration to the Pacific War by Paine. Bushido: The Soul of Japan by Nitobe.
How were relations between Japan and the United States at the beginning of the war? What were both sides doing to try and make Portugal enter the war? And to what extent did the Kriegsmarine match the Royal Navy? Find out as we answer these questions in this Out of the Foxholes episode!
Links to the Between 2 Wars videos mentioned in the episode:
Japan, the Bureaucratic War Machine | BETWEEN 2 WARS I 1931 Part 2 of 3: https://youtu.be/vVgCy6iwrHQ
The World Takes Advantage of American Isolationism | BETWEEN 2 WARS | 1933 part 3 of 3: https://youtu.be/-iuQcxXAdfw
Did WW2 Start in 1937? – The Rape of China | BETWEEN 2 WARS I 1937 Part 1 of 2: https://youtu.be/_3vPGpamtDI
In Indonesia, following the end of the Second World War catalyses the end of brutal Japanese rule. Their exit prompts the Dutch to begin restoring their prewar colonial status over the archipelago. But nationalist spirits are brewing, their opportunity to proclaim Indonesian independence is transpiring.
Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Written by: Isabel Wilson and Joram Appel
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Isabel Wilson and Joram Appel
Edited by: Karolina Dołęga
Sound design: Marek Kaminski
Sources:
Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.
Tropenmuseum, part of the National Museum of World Cultures
Imperial War Museum Arts: Ronald Searle, SE5895 , SE-5865, SE5663, SE5724
Rijksmuseum
Music:
“Deviation In Time” – Johannes Bornlof
“Last Point of Safe Return” – Fabien Tell
“Deflection” – Reynard Seidel
“Disciples of Sun Tzu” – Christian Andersen
“Split Decision” – Rannar Sillard
“Other Sides of Glory” – Fabien Tell
“Last Man Standing 3” – Johannes Bornlöf
“Magnificent March 3” – Johannes Bornlöf
“Deviation In Time” – Johannes Bornlof
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
From the comments:
TimeGhost History
1 day ago (edited)
For the last decades, writing colonial histories on events such as the Indonesian War of Independence has been a difficult task. Due to the incriminating nature of the events, records were either never made or have been regularly “lost” since. Political interest in the events was minimal in both The Netherlands and Indonesia, but times are changing. In recent years, a lot more research power has been allocated to this topic by Dutch and Indonesian Universities and Research collectives. Finding colonial truths is a huge focus of academia right now and their work has allowed us to get real with colonialism in this series. We’re sure that even more sources and stories will surface in the coming years, allowing for more books and documentary such as ours to be made. We’re interested to hear what you think about this episode! Make sure to let us know in the comments!
Cheers,
Izzy
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It’s odd that all the increased collisions seem to involve Chinese vessels:
Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force ship JS Shimakaze (DDG-172), the second ship of the Hatakaze class, commissioned in 1988. She was slightly damaged in a collision with a Chinese fishing boat in the East China Sea on 30 March 2020. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Sci-fi genius Robert Heinlein warned readers never to attribute to villainy behavior that was adequately explained by stupidity. In other words, he believed malice should be the explanation of last resort for puzzling conduct on the part of people or groups of people; it shouldn’t be the default. Better to hunt for more benign explanations first. With apologies to Heinlein, I would amend his “razor,” or heuristic, slightly. It’s too narrow. There are other candidates than stupidity or purposeful villainy to account for misconduct. Factors like incompetence, bureaucratic inertia, and sheer accident form — and sometimes deform — human thought and action. They belong on the stupidity side of Heinlein’s ledger.
How about this: Never attribute to villainy behavior that can be adequately explained by human failings. That preserves the essence of Heinlein’s razor while widening its scope to fit reality.
Let’s use his revised heuristic to evaluate the Sino-Japanese collision. It’s certainly possible the mishap came about by accident. It took place at night, in crowded waters. If the U.S. Navy collisions of 2017 taught us nothing else, it’s that the crews of even frontline warships can suffer from a host of maladies, from overwork to shoddy personnel practices to doctrinal or training shortfalls. No amount of high technology — whether it’s Aegis radar or satellite navigation — can altogether forestall human error. It may be that the Japanese crew, the Chinese crew, or both blundered around in the dark and came to grief. By Heinlein’s lights that’s the generous and proper assumption until the facts become known. If they do.
Nevertheless, a silent corollary has to be appended to Heinlein’s razor: But don’t rule out villainy, either.
Especially when it comes to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). For decades Beijing has made militiamen embedded in the Chinese fishing fleet an arm of maritime strategy. The maritime militia is an irregular adjunct to regular naval forces, including the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA Navy) and especially the musclebound China Coast Guard fielded over the past decade. Beijing touted the militia’s combat prowess as long ago as 1974, when Chinese naval forces wrested a tottering South Vietnam’s holdings in the Paracel Islands from it in a brief but bloody sea battle. Militia craft backed by the coast guard have been a fixture in the South China Sea ever since 2009, when Beijing declared “indisputable sovereignty” over the vast majority of that body of water — including seas allocated to its neighbors by treaty. The irregular force went into overdrive in 2012 during the standoff with the Philippine Navy and Coast Guard at Scarborough Shoal, deep within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. Fishing craft flood the zone in CCP-claimed waters and dare local coast guards or navies to repulse them. If the locals resist, the China Coast Guard backs up the militia. PLA regular forces provide a backstop should things go awry.
In this final episode of Season 1 of Between Two Wars we examine what caused the world to stand on the brink of total war in just two decades after the War to End All Wars. Events that end with three words through a phone line: “Grandmother is dead,” words that launch World War II.
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
From the comments:
TimeGhost History
1 day ago
Dear friends, this is the 58th and final episode of the first season of Between 2 Wars. Almost exactly two years ago, when the first episode went live, on April 14, 2018 we were three people. We had not started the WW2 channel yet. The TimeGhost Army had less than 100 members, and we had no idea where we would end up. As it turned out, it has been a magnificent journey through twenty years of history.
We are now a team of around sixteen individuals working on three channels and publishing more than five historical videos per week. And this is thanks to all of you who have graced us by watching, liking, commenting, and joining the TimeGhost Army. And it is especially thanks to the now over 4,000 members of the TimeGhost Army and their faithful contributions that we are able to do this at all. Thanks to you all, we can add a little bit of knowledge, a little bit of perspective, and hopefully a little bit of sanity (and also a measure healthy insanity) to the world.
It’s especially in times like these that we feel blessed by your support, so that we can continue our mission of remembrance and education. So it is with humble gratitude and some pride that we deliver this season finale. With your participation we will keep marching on, and try to do even more, even better, and exciting historical content.
Thank you all!
Let’s make history!
Spartacus
Definition note: when we use the term Socialist we always use the academic and dictionary definition: an ideology that aims to abolish private ownership of capital, goods, and enterprise to transfer it to the collective for use rather than profit. The means to achieve that being a violent revolution. We do not use the popular US redefinition of the word that makes it mean something vaguely like “anything the government does.”
Comments Off on The True Story of How WW2 Began | BETWEEN 2 WARS I 1939 Part 3 of 3 I SEASON FINALE
Yugoslavia joins the Axis powers, which then triggers a pro-Allied coup, angering Hitler. Meanwhile, the Italians fail to outsmart the British as the Japanese hope to capitalise on their superior army.
Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)
Sources:
– Bundesarchiv
– Wellcome Images
– Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
– Војни архив
– Istorijski arhiv u Pančevu
– IWM: H 10922, A 10274
– Littorio class Battleship drawing by David Orlović from Wikimedia
– Italian heavy cruiser Pola drawing by K.E.Sergeev
– Prison icon by FORMGUT. from the Noun Project
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
From the comments:
World War Two
2 days ago (edited)
NOTE BY INDY: I researched and wrote this episode in January. Since then I have done deep research on the fighting for Greece and Crete, as well as the Barbarossa planning. I can now say unequivocally that I do NOT believe the actions in Yugoslavia had anything to do with Hitler changing the start of Barbarossa.
I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe in these tumultuous times. Indy was meant to fly back to Stockholm after a very full week of shooting, but his flight was changed to an earlier time (which they didn’t tell him), so now he’s “stuck” in the studio in Bavaria. He hopes to be able to fly back soon, but until then we’re writing and shooting a few more episodes for you. We hope we’re able to bring you all some distraction, relief or perspective. Stay safe!
Cheers, Joram
Comments Off on Yugoslavia Joins the Axis Powers. and then they don’t – WW2 – 083 – March 28, 1941
The Boxer Rebellion was one of China’s biggest uprisings against the unwanted European, US-American and Japanese imperialism. Distrust and tensions marked all contacts with foreigners. Secret societies were formed to propagate against the enemy. The Yihequan, also known as Boxers, quickly rose to one of the biggest organisations in Northern China. Masters of close combat, they mainly targeted converted Chinese Christians and attacks increased wildly in the 1880s. From 1900 Empress Dowager Cixi was less and less opposed to the Rebellion, as she hoped to fight back foreign influence. Shortly after, even the Chinese Army started helping the rebels and foreigners were fought, killed or driven out. Consequently, an alliance of the imperial powers sent in 50,000 soldiers to end the massacre. Tough reprisals and treaties followed. Learn all about the Boxer Rebellion on IT’S HISTORY.
» ABOUT US
IT’S HISTORY is a ride through history – Join us discovering the world’s most important eras in IN TIME, BIOGRAPHIES of the GREATEST MINDS and the most important INVENTIONS.
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» CREDITS
Presented by: Indy Neidell
Script by: Dan Hungerford
Directed by: Daniel Czepelczauer
Director of Photography: Markus Kretzschmar
Music: Markus Kretzschmar
Sound Design: Bojan Novic
Editing: Markus Kretzschmar
A Mediakraft Networks original channel
Based on a concept by Florian Wittig and Daniel Czepelczauer
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard-Olsson, Spartacus Olsson
Head of Production: Michael Wendt
Producer: Daniel Czepelczauer
Social Media Manager: Laura Pagan
While two more Kriegsmarine U-boat aces go down, the moving parts of the war are getting more complex leaving the intelligence services scrambling to separate fact from fiction — they don’t always get it right.
Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
From the comments:
World War Two
2 days ago
Indy is at the studio in Bavaria at the moment, shooting new episodes up to May 2020. We don’t know what impact the virus has on our production beyond that, but for now we seem to be fine. That is, thanks to your support! Most of our other (personal) sources of income has fallen away now – we are not able to pay everyone a fair wage just yet. In fact, most of the budget goes into licensing, equipment, editors, researchers and travel. If you can, please consider to support us on www.patreon.com/timeghosthistory or https://timeghost.tv so we can continue to make these series! Thank you all for your support and appreciation! Take care and be safe!
Cheers, Joram
Comments Off on Culling the Nazi Wolfpacks – Submarines, Spies, China, and Africa – WW2 – 082 – March 21 1941
Hosted by: Anna Deinhard
Written by: Spartacus Olsson
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Spartacus Olsson
Edited by: Mikołaj Cackowski
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)
Sources:
IWM A 1699, A 7812, A 19891, D 6773, A 11856, A 11857, D 10565, D 9366, D 15530, D 10465, D 20087, D 20079, D 7958, D 2373, D 14667, D 7966
Taking blood pressure (SC 191775), National Museum of Health and Medicine https://www.flickr.com/photos/medical…
Picture of Elsie Widdowson and Robert McCance with their staff, courtesy of British Nutrition Foundation
Pie Chart by Ates Evren Aydinel from the Noun Project
Pie Diagram Half by Trevor Dsouza from the Noun Project
Farm by Symbolon from the Noun Project
Meat by chiccabubble from the Noun Project
Fish by Vectors Market from the Noun Project
butter by Nick Bluth from the Noun Project
potatoes by Vectors Point from the Noun Project
Vegetable by Eucalyp from the Noun Project
Poop by Jordan Díaz Andrés from the Noun Project
shelf by Zach Bogart from the Noun Project
Tea box by Tomas Knopp from the Noun Project
Jam by Vichanon Chaimsuk from the Noun Project
Biscuits by John Burraco from the Noun Project
Cheese by Erin Agnoli from the Noun Project
eggs by Oleksandr Panasovskyi from the Noun Project
butter by Imogen Oh from the Noun Project
can by Anniken & Andreas from the Noun Project
Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
Gavin Luke – “Seasons of Change”
Johan Hynynen – “Dark Beginning”
Anthony Earls – “The Songs We Sing”
Fabien Tell – “Last Point of Safe Return”
Reynard Seidel – “Deflection”
Farell Wooten – “Blunt Object”
Johannes Bornlof – “The Inspector 4”
Howard Harper-Barnes – “Prescient”
Howard Harper-Barnes – “London”
Philip Ayers – “Under the Dome”
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
From the comments:
World War Two
57 minutes ago (edited)
This is the first episode of On the Homefront. For those of you who haven’t watched our trailer or have seen the Between Two Wars episode on the Home Revolution, let me introduce you to Anna. She will be telling us all about the homefronts and the people on them in these monthly sub-series. Now, we know that this episode might seem to be playing on the Corona related hoarding that is going on, but this was already produced before any of that made the news. In any case, as many of you are sitting in your own homefronts, I hope this episode offers some relief and perspective. If you like it, do make sure to Join the TimeGhost Army to keep us running! You can do so at https://timeghost.tv or patreon.com/timeghosthistory
Cheers, Joram
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In this episode of Out of the Foxholes, we answer some community questions on what August von Mackensen did in World War Two, if there was a shortage on French wines and what the Axis’ perception of the Monroe Doctrine was.
Sources:
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
IWM F 3551
Library of Congress
Wine Bottles by Ivan from the Noun Project
Spider by Sneha from the Noun Project
Spider Web by Valerie Lamm from the Noun Project
Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
Trabant 33 – “When in Bavaria”
Philip Ayers – “Trapped in Maze”
Johannes Bornlof – “The Inspector”
The war in China already started in 1931 when Japan invaded Manchuria. Early resistance was small and was met by heavy Japanese retaliations. But throughout the 30’s, the movement started to grow.
Hosted by: Spartacus Olsson
Written by: Francis van Berkel
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Francis van Berkel
Edited by: Mikołaj Cackowski
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)
Sources:
Library of Congress
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
Chinese anti-Japanese posters, courtesy of pictoright
SHANGHAI, CHINA-1921
Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
Johan Hynynen – “Dark Beginning”
Yi Nantiro – “Watchmen”
Yi Nantiro – “A Single Grain of Rice”
Reynard Seidel – “Deflection”
Fabien Tell – “Last Point of Safe Return”
Andreas Jamsheree – “Guilty Shadows 4”
Rannar Sillard – “Split Decision”
The Type 89 grenade discharger, commonly known as the “knee mortar” was a Japanese light infantry weapon introduced in 1929 which blurs the lines between grenade launcher and mortar. Like a mortar, it fires propelled explosive bombs in a high-angle indirect fire role, but it has a rifled barrel and uses a range adjustment mechanism very different from most mortars.
The knee mortar proved to be a very capable and effective weapon in WWII against US forces. It was accurate, effective, and perhaps most importantly, light and very fast to put into action. The closest comparable US weapon was the 60mm light mortar, which had a more effective projectile but was significantly slower to use.
Of course, the “knee mortar” nickname was based on the theoretical belief that one was supposed to rest the curved baseplate of the weapon on a leg while firing, which would actually have resulted in a broken leg. The baseplate was curved to allow it to dig into soft soil and be used against objects like logs and roots.
This video has been sponsored and approved by Oasis Games
Sources: The Pacific War Companion: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima, Daniel Marston (editor) Iwo Jima: World War II Veterans Remember the Greatest Battle of the Pacific, Larry Smith Hell is Upon Us: D-Day in the Pacific, Victor Brooks Eyewitness Pacific Theater, Firsthand Accounts of the War in the Pacific from Pearl Harbor to the Atomic Bombs, John T. Kuehn and D.M. Giangreco Lost in the Pacific: Epic Firsthand Accounts of WWII Survival Against Impossible Odds, L. Douglas Keeney (Editor)
This rather short-changes the Australian contribution to MacArthur’s campaigns in the southwest Pacific theatre, but it is a survey and can only cover so much of such a massive conflict.
Comments Off on The Pacific War | Animated History
1937 marks the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War. And whether or not this is the “actual” starting point of World War Two, it definitely was a devastating conflict which led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands and the displacement of millions.
Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Written by: Francis van Berkel
Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Francis van Berkel
Edited by: Daniel Weiss
Sound design: Marek Kaminski
Research and Writing Assistance: Rune Vaever Hartvig
Sources:
Photo of Shanghai 1932. from 2013 Adrienne Livesey, Elaine Ryder and Irene Brien
Colorizations by Daniel Weiss
Soundtracks from Epidemic Sound:
– “The Beast” – Dream Cave
– “Split Decision” – Rannar Sillard
– “March Of The Brave 10” – Rannar Sillard – Test
– “Disciples of Sun Tzu” – Christian Andersen
– “The Inspector 4” – Johannes Bornlöf
– “Death And Glory 1” – Johannes Bornlöf
– “Magnificent March 3” – Johannes Bornlöf
– “Trapped in a Maze” – Philip Ayers
– “Last Man Standing 3” – Johannes Bornlöf
– “Not Safe Yet” – Gunnar Johnsen
– “Under the Dome” – Philip Ayers
– “First Responders” – Skrya
– “The Charleston 3” – Håkan Eriksson
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
From the comments:
TimeGhost History
1 day ago (edited)
Okay, so we’re not actually telling you unequivocally that World War Two started in 1937. Technically things only got global when the European powers became involved with the backing of their colonies (and in Britain’s case, the Commonwealth). What we are trying to tell you here is that how you periodize or define a historical event depends on whose perspective you are writing from. The people of Eastern Asia experienced World War Two as the progressive escalation from 1937 (or even 1931), to 1941, to 1945. In the same way the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 marks for many in Europe the outbreak of war, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in July 1937 marks for many in Eastern Asia the start of the very same event. Let us know what you think of this in the comments. Does it make you think differently about the war?
Cheers, Francis.
Comments Off on Did WW2 Start in 1937? – The Rape of China | BETWEEN 2 WARS I 1937 Part 1 of 2
1941 begins with action in North-Africa and China, but Indy also takes a moment to assess the current stakes and stakeholders in the East-Asian theatre. What is sure, is that 1941 will be an eventful year!
Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)
Sources:
– IWM: MH 2718, C 1850, E2294, E 18542, E 378, E 443, E 3721E, E 1573
– Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-783-0104-09 / Moosmüller / CC-BY-SA 3.0
– Prison by FORMGUT. from the Noun Project
– Artillery by Creative Mania from the Noun Project
Soundtracks from Epidemic Sound:
– “Easy Target” – Rannar Sillard
– “The Inspector 4” – Johannes Bornlöf
– “Magnificent March 3” – Johannes Bornlöf
– “March Of The Brave 10” – Rannar Sillard
– “March Of The Brave 9” – Rannar Sillard
– “Deviation In Time” – Johannes Bornlof
– “Disciples of Sun Tzu” – Christian Andersen
– “Last Point of Safe Return” – Fabien Tell
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
From the comments:
World War Two
2 days ago (edited)
Happy New Year to you all!! We hope you all had a great turn of the decade. We certainly have! Here’s a casual, spoiler-free statement: 1941 will be an interesting year. We are all very grateful for those who found us at the very start with the Invasion of Poland, during the Phoney War, the early fighting Northern and Western Europe and the more recent conflicts in Greece and North-Africa. Those of you who joined the TimeGhost Army and support us financially on patreon.com/timeghosthistory or Timeghost.tv deserve extra praise – as we would not have made 1941 without you! And we have BIG plans for the coming year, so please consider supporting us as well! Make history with us and join the TimeGhost Army!!
Here’s to a great 2020 and ‘interesting’ 1941.
Cheers, Joram
Comments Off on It’s 1941 – A World at War – WW2 – 071 – January 4 1941
