The turbulent history of China has seen many dynastic struggles over the centuries, ever since the semi-nomadic tribes of ancient China were unified under the first emperor, Cheng. From the Great Wall to the terracotta army at Xian, monuments to China's many wars, and the men who fought them, litter the landscape. This book tells the incredible story of China's armies form the first documented civilization over 3,000 years ago to the outbreak of the first Opium War with Britain in the middle of the 19th century. Written by an acknowledged expert on Chinese armies, this volume offers details of their colourful uniforms and fascinating weaponry with colour and black and white photographs, artwork, maps and diagrams.

“The adventure and danger levels crackle” (Booklist) in the second book of the Dragonback saga by the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Star Wars: Thrawn. Even though he’s been on the run from the law for a while, young Jack Morgan never wanted a bodyguard. But that’s what he got when a desperate alien named Draycos bonded with him for survival. When all is well, Draycos looks like nothing more than a tattoo on Jack’s back. But when Jack’s threatened, the K’da warrior appears in his true, dragonlike form. Now, Jack’s indebted to his new symbiotic friend for saving his life, and feels obligated to help Draycos fulfill his vow to discover who’s behind the plot to eradicate his kind. All they know for sure is that whoever annihilated the fleet of K’da refugee ships used mercenaries to do their dirty work. To investigate, Jack signs up with a merc outfit known for using teenagers to fill their ranks. But life in the military is far more unpleasant than Jack bargained for—and it turns out he’s not the only new recruit who isn’t what they appear to be . . .

Western historians have long speculated about Chinese military intervention in the Vietnam War. It was not until recently, however, that newly available international archival materials, as well as documents from China, have indicated the true extent and level of Chinese participation in the conflict of Vietnam. For the first time in the English language, this book offers an overview of the operations and combat experience of more than 430,000 Chinese troops in Indochina from 1968-73. The Chinese Communist story from the "other side of the hill" explores one of the missing pieces to the historiography of the Vietnam War. The book covers the chronological development and Chinese decision-making by examining Beijing's intentions, security concerns, and major reasons for entering Vietnam to fight against the U.S. armed forces. It explains why China launched a nationwide movement, in Mao Zedong's words, to "assist Vietnam and resist America" in 1965-72. It details PLA foreign war preparation, training, battle planning and execution, tactical decisions, combat problem solving, political indoctrination, and performance evaluations through the Vietnam War. International Communist forces, technology, and logistics proved to be the decisive edge that enabled North Vietnam to survive the U.S. Rolling Thunder bombing campaign and helped the Viet Cong defeat South Vietnam. Chinese and Russian support prolonged the war, making it impossible for the United States to win. With Russian technology and massive Chinese intervention, the NVA and NLF could function on both conventional and unconventional levels, which the American military was not fully prepared to face. Nevertheless, the Vietnam War seriously tested the limits of the communist alliance. Rather than improving Sino-Soviet relations, aid to North Vietnam created a new competition as each communist power attempted to control Southeast Asian communist movement. China shifted its defense and national security concerns from the U.S. to the Soviet Union.

One June 25, 1950, a massive surprise North Korean invasion sent Allied forces reeling back to a last-ditch defensive perimeter around the far-southern port city Pusan.

It was no time to fear animals when the possibility of the enemy counteroffensive was increasing. It didn't suit a soldier to lose nerve in the presence of a mere crocodile At the end of World War II, a garrison of the Twenty-eighth Japanese Army is deployed to Ramree Island, off the coast of Burma, to fight the Allies' severe counteroffensive. While on the island, Superior Private Minoru Kasuga questions a local villager about the terrible smell coming from the saltwater creek. To his horror, the old man tells him it is the stench of death from the breath of man-eating crocodiles that inhabit Myinkhon Creek. Fierce fighting drives the battalion to the island's east coast, and they must evacuate to Burma by crossing the creek. Just before they embark, Kasuga smells the same putrid odor that he'd questioned the villager about and warns his commanding officer of the underwater danger. His sergeant ignores him, thinking Kasuga is obsessed with wild stories from the villagers, and he tells the soldiers to cross the creek. Ordered to save the penned-in garrison, Second Lieutenant Yoshihisa Sumi arrives on Ramree Island. But what awaits him at Myinkhon Creek is a sight too horrible to contemplate

Touched by the Dragon is a collection of gripping narratives of Vietnam veterans from Newport County, Rhode Island. We learn of the experiences of men and women, the enlisted and officers, those in combat and those behind the lines, in a way that resonates far beyond Rhode Island. What makes this book truly unique is its absence of literary pretensions. These oral accounts speak in a no-nonsense, matter-of-fact way. Personalities emerge as the veterans discuss their prewar days, their training and preparation for Vietnam, their in-country experiences - some heroic, some frightening, some amusing, some nearly unbelievable - and their return to a country that didn't value their sacrifice.