Defeated in the Sino-Japanese War 1894–95 and the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, Imperial China collapsed into revolution and a republic was proclaimed in 1912. From the death of the first president in 1916 to the rise of the Nationalist Kuomintang government in 1926, the differing regions of this vast country were ruled by endlessly forming, breaking and re-forming alliances of regional generals who ruled as 'warlords'. These warlords acted essentially as local kings and much like Sengoku-period Japan, fewer, larger power-blocks emerged, fielding armies hundreds of thousands strong. In the midto late 1920s some of these regional warlords. This book will reveal each great warlord as well as the organization of their forces which acquired much and very varied weaponry from the west including the latest French air force bombers. They were also joined by Japanese, White Russian and some Western soldiers of fortune which adds even more colour to a fascinating and oft-forgotten period.

Diana Lary examines how the common soldier in Warlord China became an instrument of oppression and terror.

Discover the men behind one of the most exotic military environments of the 20th century. Humiliatingly defeated in the Sino-Japanese War 1894-95 and the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, Imperial China collapsed into revolution in the early 20th century and a republic was proclaimed in 1912. From the death of the first president in 1916 to the rise of the Nationalist Kuomintang government in 1926, the differing regions of this vast country were ruled by endlessly forming, breaking and re-forming alliances of regional generals who ruled as 'warlords'. These warlords acted essentially as local kings and, much like Sengoku-period Japan, a few larger power-blocks emerged, fielding armies hundreds of thousands strong. This book, the first detailed, illustrated guide to do so, studies each great warlord in turn, as well as the organization of their forces which acquired much and very varied weaponry from the west, including the latest French air force bombers. They were also joined by Japanese, White Russian and some Western soldiers of fortune which adds even more color to a fascinating and oft-forgotten period. The fascinating text is illustrated with many rare photographs and detailed uniform plates by Stephen Walsh.

China in the 1910s and 1920s was dominated by a succession of military strongmen who fought with each other for the control of the country. Weak central government meant that provincial governors or Warlords and their personal armies were left to fight over the country. The wars that resulted cost millions of civilian deaths and the death of hundreds of thousands of ordinary soldiers. In total a staggering 500 wars were fought over a seventeen year period from 1911 to 1928 starting with the fall of the Qing Dynasty and ending with the victory of the Nationalists in 1928. Some of these conflicts involved a few hundred men on each side, while the larger wars involved up to one million men with tanks, armored trains, and aircraft. This book will, for the first time, show in detail the history of the Armies of Warlord China featuring over 600 rare photographs and illustrations. The book also includes color sections on the uniforms, aircraft and awards and medals of the Chinese Warlord Armies.

The fall of the Manchu Empire in 1911 ended thousands of years of Imperial rule and ushered in almost 40 years of conflict in China. From the abdication of Pu-Yi, the last emperor, the invasion of Manchuria by the Japanese, and the 'long march', to the birth of the People's Republic of China in 1949, this book looks in detail at the fighting men, and women, who fought for the communists, imperialists, republicans, nationalists, warlords and the puppet armies. The result is a comprehensive and illuminating work covering a large and complex series of combatants and conflicts.

This volume reveals the little-known story of the 90-year presence of American forces in China until the fall of Peking in 1941. Included is coverage of the first operations on the Pearl River in 1856 as well as US involvement in the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. As China entered a chaotic period in her history, known as the years of the “Warlords”, American marines also participated in numerous small-scale amphibious landings. Finally, during the later Sino-Japanese War and early into World War II, US volunteers of the “Flying Tigers” became renowned for their combat missions in support of Chinese Nationalist forces, and their aerial duels are also recounted by the author John P. Langellier, who has spent several years researching the subject in the US and China. Discover the history of these various actions and the different services involved, recreated in color artwork and illustrated with rare, previously unpublished photographs.

The Chinese Nationalist Army was at war almost continuously from 1931 until 1949 fighting first against the invading Japanese Imperial Army until 1945. This was followed by a four year civil war in which the Nationalist Army fought the Chinese Communists until its final defeat in 1949. Millions of Chinese soldiers fought and died during this eighteen years of conflict and their sacrifice has been largely overshadowed by the events of the Second World War. This new book presents in a large number of period images the history of the Chinese Nationalist Army and its campaigns.