Tracking the evolution of the Red Army through the war against Japan and the Chinese civil war, Wortzel's book provides a comprehensive basic reference focusing on the major events, people, and issues that have produced the historical legacy of the People's Liberation Army. Placing contemporary Chinese military history in the context of China's 19th century clashes with the West and Japan, Wortzel illustrates how the imposition of unequal treaties by foreign powers conditioned China's 20th century defense forces and actions and explains how the Communist military forces developed. It also shows how fractionalization in the Communist military leadership led to the Cultural Revolution and Mao Zedong's purges. Drawing on a substantial number of sources available only in Chinese as well as on English-language secondary sources, the book provides a basic reference aimed at orienting the nonspecialist to the significant events and people in China's recent military history. The book will also provide a quick reference for the specialist in Chinese history.
This second edition of the Historical Dictionary of the Chinese Civil War studies the longer, broader war and its chronology carefully tracks the major events. The introduction then provides a broad overview, describing the contending forces, and showing how the Communists come out on top. The details, and these are crucial, are laid out in over 200 cross-referenced dictionary entries dealing with the opposing forces and parties, the major campaigns and battles, the Long March, and of course the leadership on both sides. This book, one of few such in English, provides a very solid basis for study, but that can be accomplished more effectively by consulting the titles listed in an extensive bibliography.
Historical Dictionary of Chinese Intelligence, Second Edition covers the history of Chinese Intelligence from 400 B.C. to modern times. The dictionary section has over 400 cross-referenced entries on the agencies and agents, the operations and equipment, the tradecraft and jargon, and many of the countries involved.
Since the establishment of the Red Army in 1927, China's military has responded to profound changes in Chinese society, particularly its domestic politics, shifting economy, and evolving threat perceptions. Recently tensions between China and Taiwan and other east Asian nations have aroused great interest in the extraordinary transformation and new capabilities of the Chinese army. In A History of the Modern Chinese Army, Xiaobing Li, a former member of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), provides a comprehensive examination of the PLA from the Cold War to the beginning of the twenty-first century that highlights the military's central function in modern Chinese society. In the 1940s, the Chinese army was in its infancy, and many soldiers were rural conscripts and volunteers who had received little formal schooling. The Chinese military rapidly increased its mobility and weapon strength, and the Korean War and Cold War offered intense combat experience that not only allowed soldiers to hone their fighting techniques but also helped China to develop military tactics tailored to the surrounding countries whose armies posed the most immediate threats. Yet even in the 1970s, the completion of a middle school education (nine years) was considered above-average, and only 4 percent of the 224 top Chinese generals had any college credit hours. However, in 1995 the high command began to institute massive reforms to transform the PLA from a labor-intensive force into a technology-intensive army. Continually seeking more urban conscripts and emphasizing higher education, the PLA Reserve Officer Training and Selection program recruited students from across the nation. These reservists would become commissioned officers upon graduation, and they majored in atomic physics, computer science, and electrical engineering. Grounding the text in previously unreleased official Chinese government and military records as well as the personal testimonies of more than two hundred PLA soldiers, Li charts the development of China's armed forces against the backdrop of Chinese society, cultural traditions, political history, and recent technological advancements. A History of the Modern Chinese Army links China's military modernization to the country's growing international and economic power and provides a unique perspective on China's esttablishment and maintenance of one of the world's most advanced military forces.
In this companion volume to his 1995 bibliography of the same title, Daniel Blewett continues his foray into the vast literature of military studies. As did its predecessor, it covers land, air, and naval forces, primarily but not exclusively from a U.S. perspective, with the welcome emergence of small wars from publishing obscurity. In addition to identifying relevant organizations and associations, Blewett has gathered together the very best in chronologies, bibliographies, biographical dictionaries, indexes, journals abstracts, glossaries, and encyclopedias, each accompanied by a brief descriptive annotation. This work remains a pertinent addition to the general reference collections of public and academic libraries as well as special libraries, government documents collections, military and intelligence agency libraries, and historical societies and museums.
Warfare has shaped the modern history of China more than any other single factor. This book brings together the best recent English language scholarship on warfare in China over the last four centuries and situates warfare within the broader sweep of China's modern historical development.
Gaining an understanding of China's long and sometimes bloody history can help to shed light on China's ascent to global power. Many of China's imperial dynasties were established as the result of battle, from the chariot warfare of ancient times to the battles of the Guomindang (KMT) and Communist regimes of the twentieth century. China's ability to sustain complex warfare on a very large scale was not emulated in other parts of the world until the Industrial Age, despite the fact that the country is only now rising to economic dominance. In A Military History of China, Updated Edition, David A. Graff and Robin Higham bring together leading scholars to offer a basic introduction to the military history of China from the first millennium B.C.E. to the present. Focusing on recurring patterns of conflict rather than traditional campaign narratives, this volume reaches farther back into China's military history than similar studies. It also offers insightful comparisons between Chinese and Western approaches to war. This edition brings the volume up to date, including discussions of the Chinese military's latest developments and the country's most recent foreign conflicts.
China has evolved from a nation with local and regional security interests to a major economic and political power with global interests, investments, and political commitments. It now requires a military that can project itself around the globe, albeit on a limited scale, to secure its interests. Therefore, as Larry M. Wortzel explains, the Chinese Communist Party leadership has charged the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) with new and challenging missions that require global capabilities. Advances in technology and the development of indigenous weapons platforms in China, combined with reactions to modern conflicts, have produced a military force very different from that which China has fielded in the past. Wortzel presents a clear and sobering picture of the PLA’s modernization effort as it expands into space and cyberspace, and as it integrates operations in the traditional domains of war. This book will appeal to the specialist in security and foreign policy issues in Asia as well as to the person interested in arms control, future warfare, and global military strategies. The book puts China’s military growth into historical context for readers of recent military and diplomatic history.
