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Japan: Aritomo Yamagata (14 June 1838 – 1 February 1922), Prime Minister of Japan from 1909 to 1922.<br/><br/> Prince Yamagata Aritomo, also known as Yamagata Kyōsuke, was a Japanese field marshal, twice-elected Prime Minister of Japan, and one of the leaders of the Meiji oligarchy. As the Imperial Japanese Army’s inaugural Chief of Staff, he was the main architect of the military foundation of early modern Japan.
Prince Yamagata Aritomo (14 June 1838 – 1 February 1922), also known as Yamagata Kyōsuke, was a Japanese field marshal, twice-elected Prime Minister of Japan, and one of the leaders of the Meiji oligarchy. As the Imperial Japanese Army’s inaugural Chief of Staff, he was the main architect of the military foundation of early modern Japan.<br/><br/> Okada Saburosuke (12 January 1869 - 23 September, 1939) was a Japanese yōga (Western-style) painter. He was influenced by great yōga painters such as Kuroda Seiki and Kume Keiichiro, and became one of the founding members of Hakuba-kai (White Horse Society), an artists' association. He was awarded the Order of Culture in 1937, the highest honour in the Japanese cultural world.
Joachim-Napoléon Murat (Gioacchino Murat; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a Marshal of France and Admiral of France under the reign of Napoleon. He was also the 1st Prince Murat, Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808, and King of Naples from 1808 to 1815.<br/><br/> Murat received his titles in part by being Napoleon's brother-in-law through marriage to his younger sister, Caroline Bonaparte, as well as personal merit. He was noted as a daring, brave, and charismatic cavalry officer as well as a flamboyant dresser, for which he was known as 'the Dandy King'.
Aikido is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as 'the way of unifying (with) life energy' or as 'the way of harmonious spirit'. Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to defend themselves while also protecting their attacker from injury.<br/><br/> Aikido techniques consist of entering and turning movements that redirect the momentum of an opponent's attack, and a throw or joint lock that terminates the technique.
The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 1942 – 2 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in Southern Russia, near the eastern boundary of Europe.<br/><br/> Marked by constant close quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians by air raids, it is often regarded as one of the single largest (nearly 2.2 million personnel) and bloodiest (1.7–2 million wounded, killed or captured) battles in the history of warfare. The heavy losses inflicted on the German Wehrmacht make it arguably the most strategically decisive battle of the whole war. It was a turning point in the European theatre of World War II; German forces never regained the initiative in the East and withdrew a vast military force from the West to replace their losses.
Aikido is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as 'the way of unifying (with) life energy' or as 'the way of harmonious spirit'. Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to defend themselves while also protecting their attacker from injury.<br/><br/> Aikido techniques consist of entering and turning movements that redirect the momentum of an opponent's attack, and a throw or joint lock that terminates the technique.
He Long (Wade–Giles: Ho Lung; March 22, 1896 – June 8, 1969) was a Chinese military leader. He was from a poor rural family of a minority ethnic group in Hunan, and his family was not able to provide him with any formal education. He began his revolutionary career after avenging the death of his uncle, when he fled to become an outlaw and attracted a small personal army around him. Later his forces joined the Kuomintang, and he participated in the Northern Expedition.<br/><br/> He joined the Long March in 1935, over a year after forces associated with Mao Zedong and Zhu De were forced to do so. After settling and establishing a headquarters in Shaanxi, He led guerrilla forces in Northwest China in both the Chinese Civil War and the Second Sino-Japanese War, and was generally successful in expanding areas of Communist control. He commanded a force of 170,000 troops forces by the end of 1945, when his force was placed under the command of Peng Dehuai and He became Peng's second-in-command. He was placed in control of Southwest China in the late 1940s, and spent most of the 1950s in the Southwest administering the region in both civilian and military roles.<br/><br/> He held a number of civilian and military positions after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. In 1955 He's contributions to the victory of the Communist Party in China were recognized when he was named one of the Ten Marshals, and he served as China's vice premier. He did not support Mao Zedong's attempts to purge Peng Dehuai in 1959 and attempted to rehabilitate Peng. After the Cultural Revolution was declared in 1966, He was one of the first leaders of the PLA to be purged. He died in 1969 when a glucose injection provided by his jailers complicated his untreated diabetes.
Beria was the longest-lived and most influential of Stalin's secret police chiefs, wielding his most substantial influence during and after World War II. He simultaneously administered vast sections of the Soviet state and served as de facto Marshal of the Soviet Union in command of the NKVD field units responsible for anti-partisan operations on the Eastern Front during World War II.<br/><br/> Beria administered the vast expansion of the Gulag labor camps and was primarily responsible for overseeing the secret defense institutions known as <i>sharashkas</i>, critical to the war effort. He also played the decisive role in coordinating the Soviet partisans, developing an impressive intelligence and sabotage network behind German lines. He attended the Yalta Conference with Stalin, who introduced him to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt as 'our Himmler'.<br/><br/> Beria was promoted to First Deputy Premier, where he carried out a campaign of liberalization. He was briefly a part of the ruling 'troika' with Georgy Malenkov and Vyacheslav Molotov. Beria's overconfidence in his position after Stalin's death led him to misjudge other Politburo members. During the coup d'état led by Nikita Khrushchev and assisted by the military forces of Marshal Georgy Zhukov, Beria was arrested on charges of treason during a meeting in which the full Politburo condemned him. The compliance of the NKVD was ensured by Zhukov's troops, and after interrogation Beria was taken to the basement of the Lubyanka and shot.
The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 1942 – 2 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in Southern Russia, near the eastern boundary of Europe.<br/><br/> Marked by constant close quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians by air raids, it is often regarded as one of the single largest (nearly 2.2 million personnel) and bloodiest (1.7–2 million wounded, killed or captured) battles in the history of warfare. The heavy losses inflicted on the German Wehrmacht make it arguably the most strategically decisive battle of the whole war. It was a turning point in the European theatre of World War II; German forces never regained the initiative in the East and withdrew a vast military force from the West to replace their losses.
Beria was the longest-lived and most influential of Stalin's secret police chiefs, wielding his most substantial influence during and after World War II. He simultaneously administered vast sections of the Soviet state and served as de facto Marshal of the Soviet Union in command of the NKVD field units responsible for anti-partisan operations on the Eastern Front during World War II.<br/><br/> Beria administered the vast expansion of the Gulag labor camps and was primarily responsible for overseeing the secret defense institutions known as <i>sharashkas</i>, critical to the war effort. He also played the decisive role in coordinating the Soviet partisans, developing an impressive intelligence and sabotage network behind German lines. He attended the Yalta Conference with Stalin, who introduced him to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt as 'our Himmler'.<br/><br/> Beria was promoted to First Deputy Premier, where he carried out a campaign of liberalization. He was briefly a part of the ruling 'troika' with Georgy Malenkov and Vyacheslav Molotov. Beria's overconfidence in his position after Stalin's death led him to misjudge other Politburo members. During the coup d'état led by Nikita Khrushchev and assisted by the military forces of Marshal Georgy Zhukov, Beria was arrested on charges of treason during a meeting in which the full Politburo condemned him. The compliance of the NKVD was ensured by Zhukov's troops, and after interrogation Beria was taken to the basement of the Lubyanka and shot.
The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 1942 – 2 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in Southern Russia, near the eastern boundary of Europe.<br/><br/> Marked by constant close quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians by air raids, it is often regarded as one of the single largest (nearly 2.2 million personnel) and bloodiest (1.7–2 million wounded, killed or captured) battles in the history of warfare. The heavy losses inflicted on the German Wehrmacht make it arguably the most strategically decisive battle of the whole war. It was a turning point in the European theatre of World War II; German forces never regained the initiative in the East and withdrew a vast military force from the West to replace their losses.
During the Russo-Japanese War, Tōgō engaged the Russian navy at Port Arthur and the Yellow Sea in 1904, and destroyed the Russian Baltic Fleet at the Battle of Tsushima in 1905, a battle which shocked the world.<br/><br/> Tsushima had broken the Russian strength in East Asia, and is said to have triggered various uprisings in the Russian Navy (1905 uprisings in Vladivostok and the Battleship Potemkin uprising), contributing to the Russian Revolution of 1905.<br/><br/> Togo was termed by Western journalists 'The Nelson of the East', after the British admiral who defeated the French and Spanish at Trafalgar.
Field Marshal Sir Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, KG, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO & Bar (23 July 1883 – 17 June 1963), was a senior commander in the British Army. He was the Chief of the Imperial General Staff during the Second World War, and was promoted to field marshal in 1944.<br/><br/> As chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, Brooke was the foremost military advisor to Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and in the role of co-ordinator of the British military efforts was an extremely important but not always well-known contributor to the Allies' victory in 1945.<br/><br/> After retiring from the army, he served as Lord High Constable of England during the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. His war diaries attracted attention for their criticism of Churchill and for Brooke's forthright views on other leading figures of the war.
Isoroku Yamamoto (山本 五十六 Yamamoto Isoroku, April 4, 1884 – April 18, 1943) was a Japanese Marshal Admiral and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II, a graduate of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy.<br/><br/> Yamamoto held several important posts in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and undertook many of its changes and reorganizations, especially its development of naval aviation. He was the commander-in-chief during the decisive early years of the Pacific War and so was responsible for major battles such as Pearl Harbor and Midway.<br/><br/> He died when American codebreakers identified his flight plans and his plane was shot down. His death was a major blow to Japanese military morale during World War II.
Field Marshal William Joseph 'Bill' Slim, 1st Viscount Slim KG GCB GCMG GCVO GBE DSO MC KS (6 August 1891 – 14 December 1970) was a British military commander and the 13th Governor-General of Australia.<br/><br/> He fought in both the First and Second world wars and was wounded in action three times. During World War II he led the 14th Army, the so-called 'forgotten army' in the Burma campaign. From 1953 to 1959 he was Governor-General of Australia, regarded by many Australians as an authentic war hero who had fought with the Anzacs at Gallipoli.
Field Marshal William Joseph 'Bill' Slim, 1st Viscount Slim KG GCB GCMG GCVO GBE DSO MC KS (6 August 1891 – 14 December 1970) was a British military commander and the 13th Governor-General of Australia.<br/><br/> He fought in both the First and Second world wars and was wounded in action three times. During World War II he led the 14th Army, the so-called 'forgotten army' in the Burma campaign. From 1953 to 1959 he was Governor-General of Australia, regarded by many Australians as an authentic war hero who had fought with the Anzacs at Gallipoli.
Field Marshal William Joseph 'Bill' Slim, 1st Viscount Slim KG GCB GCMG GCVO GBE DSO MC KS (6 August 1891 – 14 December 1970) was a British military commander and the 13th Governor-General of Australia.<br/><br/> He fought in both the First and Second world wars and was wounded in action three times. During World War II he led the 14th Army, the so-called 'forgotten army' in the Burma campaign. From 1953 to 1959 he was Governor-General of Australia, regarded by many Australians as an authentic war hero who had fought with the Anzacs at Gallipoli.
Abdullah I bin al-Hussein, King of Jordan [‘Abd Allāh ibn al-Husayn, عبد الله الأول بن الحسين], February 1882 – 20 July 1951, born in Mecca, Second Saudi State, (in modern-day Saudi Arabia) was the second of three sons of Sherif Hussein bin Ali, Sharif and Emir of Mecca and his first wife Abdiyya bint Abdullah (d. 1886). <br/><br/> Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935), known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British Army officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916–18. The extraordinary breadth and variety of his activities and associations, and his ability to describe them vividly in writing, earned him international fame as 'Lawrence of Arabia'.
Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov (Russian: Гео́ргий Константи́нович Жу́ков; 1896 – 18 June 1974), was a Russian career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played a pivotal role in leading the Red Army through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the Axis Powers' occupation and conquer Germany's capital, Berlin. He is the most decorated general in the history of Russia and the Soviet Union.<br/><br/> In 1938 Zhukov was directed to command the First Soviet Mongolian Army Group, and saw action against Japan's Kwantung Army on the border between Mongolia and the Japanese controlled state of Manchukuo in an undeclared war that lasted from 1938 to 1939. What began as a routine border skirmish — the Japanese testing the resolve of the Soviets to defend their territory — rapidly escalated into a full-scale war, the Japanese pushing forward with 80,000 troops, 180 tanks and 450 aircraft.<br/><br/> This led to the decisive Battle of Khalkhin Gol. Zhukov requested major reinforcements, and on 20 August 1939 his 'Soviet Offensive' commenced. After an artillery barrage, nearly 500 BT-5 and BT-7 tanks advanced, supported by over 500 fighters and bombers; this was the Soviet Air Force's first fighter-bomber operation. The offensive first appeared to be a conventional frontal attack; however, two tank brigades were held back and ordered to advance around both flanks, supported by motorised artillery, infantry and tanks. This daring and successful manoeuvre encircled the Japanese 6th Army and captured the enemy's vulnerable supply areas. By 31 August 1939, the Japanese were cleared from the disputed border leaving the Soviets victorious.
Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov (Russian: Гео́ргий Константи́нович Жу́ков; 1896 – 18 June 1974), was a Russian career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played a pivotal role in leading the Red Army through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the Axis Powers' occupation and conquer Germany's capital, Berlin. He is the most decorated general in the history of Russia and the Soviet Union.<br/><br/> In 1938 Zhukov was directed to command the First Soviet Mongolian Army Group, and saw action against Japan's Kwantung Army on the border between Mongolia and the Japanese controlled state of Manchukuo in an undeclared war that lasted from 1938 to 1939. What began as a routine border skirmish — the Japanese testing the resolve of the Soviets to defend their territory — rapidly escalated into a full-scale war, the Japanese pushing forward with 80,000 troops, 180 tanks and 450 aircraft.<br/><br/> This led to the decisive Battle of Khalkhin Gol. Zhukov requested major reinforcements, and on 20 August 1939 his 'Soviet Offensive' commenced. After an artillery barrage, nearly 500 BT-5 and BT-7 tanks advanced, supported by over 500 fighters and bombers; this was the Soviet Air Force's first fighter-bomber operation. The offensive first appeared to be a conventional frontal attack; however, two tank brigades were held back and ordered to advance around both flanks, supported by motorised artillery, infantry and tanks. This daring and successful manoeuvre encircled the Japanese 6th Army and captured the enemy's vulnerable supply areas. By 31 August 1939, the Japanese were cleared from the disputed border leaving the Soviets victorious.
Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov (Russian: Гео́ргий Константи́нович Жу́ков; 1896 – 18 June 1974), was a Russian career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played a pivotal role in leading the Red Army through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the Axis Powers' occupation and conquer Germany's capital, Berlin. He is the most decorated general in the history of Russia and the Soviet Union.<br/><br/> In 1938 Zhukov was directed to command the First Soviet Mongolian Army Group, and saw action against Japan's Kwantung Army on the border between Mongolia and the Japanese controlled state of Manchukuo in an undeclared war that lasted from 1938 to 1939. What began as a routine border skirmish — the Japanese testing the resolve of the Soviets to defend their territory — rapidly escalated into a full-scale war, the Japanese pushing forward with 80,000 troops, 180 tanks and 450 aircraft.<br/><br/> This led to the decisive Battle of Khalkhin Gol. Zhukov requested major reinforcements, and on 20 August 1939 his 'Soviet Offensive' commenced. After an artillery barrage, nearly 500 BT-5 and BT-7 tanks advanced, supported by over 500 fighters and bombers; this was the Soviet Air Force's first fighter-bomber operation. The offensive first appeared to be a conventional frontal attack; however, two tank brigades were held back and ordered to advance around both flanks, supported by motorised artillery, infantry and tanks. This daring and successful manoeuvre encircled the Japanese 6th Army and captured the enemy's vulnerable supply areas. By 31 August 1939, the Japanese were cleared from the disputed border leaving the Soviets victorious.
Field Marshal William Joseph 'Bill' Slim, 1st Viscount Slim KG GCB GCMG GCVO GBE DSO MC KS (6 August 1891 – 14 December 1970) was a British military commander and the 13th Governor-General of Australia.<br/><br/> He fought in both the First and Second world wars and was wounded in action three times. During World War II he led the 14th Army, the so-called 'forgotten army' in the Burma campaign. From 1953 to 1959 he was Governor-General of Australia, regarded by many Australians as an authentic war hero who had fought with the Anzacs at Gallipoli.
The Yao nationality (its great majority branch is also known as Mien; Pinyin: Yáo zú; Vietnamese: người Dao) is a government classification for various minorities in China. They form one of the 55 ethnic minority groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, where they reside in the mountainous terrain of the southwest and south.<br/><br/> They also form one of the 54 ethnic groups officially recognized by Vietnam. In the last census, they numbered 2,637,421 in China, and roughly 470,000 in Vietnam. In Thailand they number 40,000 and in Laos 20,000.
Britannia, holding her trident, introduces Lord Kitchener to a demurely veiled India. Horatio Herbert Kitchener (1850-1916) served as Commander-in-Chief, India 1902-1909. Bernard Partridge cartoon from 'Punch', London, 16 June 1902.
Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn (August 11, 1911 - June 16, 2004) was a military dictator of Thailand. A staunch anti-Communist, Thanom oversaw a decade of military rule in Thailand from 1963 to 1973, until public protests which exploded into violence forced him to step down. His return from exile in 1976 sparked protests which led to a massacre of demonstrators, followed by a military coup.<br/><br/> In October 1976, Thanom returned to Thailand as a novice monk at Wat Bowonniwet. His return triggered student protests which took place on the campus of Thammasat University. The far right, aided by government security forces, stormed the campus and massacred protesters on 6 October 1976. That evening, the military again seized power from the elected civilian government.<br/><br/> Thanom soon left the monkhood but never took a role in politics again. Later in his life, he made an effort to rehabilitate his tarnished image and recover properties that had been seized when he was overthrown.<br/><br/> In March 1999, Thanom was nominated to become a member of the honorary Royal Guard by Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, which was a highly controversial act. Thanom turned down the appointment.<br/><br/> Thanom died at the age of 92 on 16 June 2004 in Bangkok General Hospital, after suffering a stroke and a heart attack in January 2004. His medical expenses were paid by King Bhumibol Adulyadej. His cremation was held on 25 February 2007 at Wat Debsirin. Queen Sirikit presided over the cremation ceremony, lighting the royal flame on behalf of King Bhumibol. Princess Chulabhorn also presided.
Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat (June 16, 1908 – December 8, 1963) was a Thai career soldier who staged a coup in 1957, thereafter serving as Thailand's Prime Minister until his death in 1963. He was born in Bangkok, but grew up in his mother's home town in Lao-speaking northeastern Thailand and considered himself a northeasterner. During his years as Prime Minister Sarit was a patron of the Lao strongman General Phoumi Nosavan against the communist Pathet Lao guerrillas in the neighboring Kingdom of Laos.<br/><br/> Sarit's regime was the most repressive and authoritarian in modern Thai history, abrogating the constitution, dissolving parliament, and vesting all power in his newly-formed Revolutionary Party. Sarit banned all other political parties, imposing very strict censorship of the press after the coup.<br/><br/> After Sarit's death, his reputation took a heavy blow when Sarit was discovered to have owned a trust company, a brewery, 51 cars, and some 30 plots of land, most of which he gave to the dozens of mistresses he was found to have had. Thai language newspapers published the names of 100 women who claimed to have shared his bed, shocking the public when it was learnt how corrupt he had actually been.
Pibulsongkram was one of the leaders of the military branch of the People's Party that staged a coup d'état and overthrew Thailand's absolute monarchy in 1932. In 1938, Pibulsonggram replaced Phraya Phahol as Prime Minister.<br/><br/> Pibulsonggram began to increase the pace of modernisation in Thailand. By manipulating the mass media, Pibulsonggram supported fascism and nationalism. In 1939, Pibulsonggram changed the country's name from Siam to Thailand. In 1941, in the midst of World War II, he decreed January 1 the official start of the new year instead of the traditional April 13.<br/><br/> When the Japanese invaded Thailand on December 8, 1941, Pibulsonggram was reluctantly forced to order a general ceasefire after just one day of resistance. On December 12, Pibulsongkram signed a military alliance with Japan. The following month, on January 25, 1942, Pibulsongkram declared war on the allied powers. At the war's end, Pibulsonggram was put on trial at Allied insistence. However, he was acquitted amidst intense public pressure. Public opinion was favourable to Pibulsonggram as he was thought to have done his best to protect Thai interests.<br/><br/> Phibun was involved in another coup in 1947, and resumed his pre-war position as effective military dictator until a 1957 coup, led by Sarit Dhanaraj, forced him into exile in Japan where he died in 1964.
Pibulsongkram was one of the leaders of the military branch of the People's Party that staged a coup d'état and overthrew Thailand's absolute monarchy in 1932. In 1938, Pibulsonggram replaced Phraya Phahol as Prime Minister.<br/><br/> Pibulsonggram began to increase the pace of modernisation in Thailand. By manipulating the mass media, Pibulsonggram supported fascism and nationalism. In 1939, Pibulsonggram changed the country's name from Siam to Thailand. In 1941, in the midst of World War II, he decreed January 1 the official start of the new year instead of the traditional April 13.<br/><br/> When the Japanese invaded Thailand on December 8, 1941, Pibulsonggram was reluctantly forced to order a general ceasefire after just one day of resistance. On December 12, Pibulsongkram signed a military alliance with Japan. The following month, on January 25, 1942, Pibulsongkram declared war on the allied powers. At the war's end, Pibulsonggram was put on trial at Allied insistence. However, he was acquitted amidst intense public pressure. Public opinion was favourable to Pibulsonggram as he was thought to have done his best to protect Thai interests.<br/><br/> Phibun was involved in another coup in 1947, and resumed his pre-war position as effective military dictator until a 1957 coup, led by Sarit Dhanaraj, forced him into exile in Japan where he died in 1964.
The Battle of Khalkhyn Gol was the decisive engagement of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese Border War fought between the Soviet Union, Mongolia and the Empire of Japan in 1939. The conflict was named after the river Khalkhyn Gol, which passes through the battlefield. In Japan, the decisive battle of the conflict is known as the Nomonhan Incident (Nomonhan Jiken) after a nearby village on the border between Mongolia and Manchuria.<br/><br/> The battles resulted in total defeat for the Japanese Sixth Army. Casualty estimates vary widely: Some sources say the Japanese suffered 45,000 or more soldiers killed with Soviet casualties of at least 17,000. The Japanese officially reported 8,440 killed and 8,766 wounded, while the Soviets initially claimed 9,284 total casualties.<br/><br/> Although this engagement is little known in the West, it had profound implications on the conduct of World War II. It may be said to be the first decisive battle of World War II, because it determined that the two principal Axis Powers, Germany and Japan, would never geographically link up their areas of control through Russia. The defeat convinced the Imperial General Staff in Tokyo that the policy of the North Strike Group, favoured by the Imperial Japanese Army, which wanted to seize Siberia as far as Lake Baikal for its resources, was untenable. Instead the South Strike Group, favored by the Imperial Japanese Navy, which wanted to seize the resources of Southeast Asia, especially the petroleum and mineral-rich Dutch East Indies, gained ascendancy, leading directly to the attack on Pearl Harbor two and a half years later in December 1941.
Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat (June 16, 1908 – December 8, 1963) was a Thai career soldier who staged a coup in 1957, thereafter serving as Thailand's Prime Minister until his death in 1963. He was born in Bangkok, but grew up in his mother's home town in Lao-speaking northeastern Thailand and considered himself a northeasterner. During his years as Prime Minister Sarit was a patron of the Lao strongman General Phoumi Nosavan against the communist Pathet Lao guerrillas in the neighboring Kingdom of Laos.<br/><br/> Sarit's regime was the most repressive and authoritarian in modern Thai history, abrogating the constitution, dissolving parliament, and vesting all power in his newly-formed Revolutionary Party. Sarit banned all other political parties, imposing very strict censorship of the press after the coup.<br/><br/> After Sarit's death, his reputation took a heavy blow when Sarit was discovered to have owned a trust company, a brewery, 51 cars, and some 30 plots of land, most of which he gave to the dozens of mistresses he was found to have had. Thai language newspapers published the names of 100 women who claimed to have shared his bed, shocking the public when it was learnt how corrupt he had actually been.
Peng Dehuai (Peng Te-huai; simplified Chinese: 彭德怀; traditional Chinese: 彭德懷; pinyin: Péng Déhuái; Wade–Giles: P'eng Te-huai) (October 24, 1898 – November 29, 1974) was a prominent Chinese Communist military leader, and served as China's Defense Minister from 1954 to 1959.<br/><br/>Peng was born into a poor peasant family, and received several years of primary education before his family's poverty forced him to suspend his education at the age of ten, and to work for several years as a manual laborer. When he was sixteen, Peng became a professional soldier. Peng participated in the Northern Expedition, and supported Wang Jingwei's attempt to form a left-leaning Kuomintang government based in Wuhan. After Wang was defeated, Peng briefly rejoined Chiang Kai-shek's forces before joining the Chinese Communist Party, allying himself with Mao Zedong and Zhu De.<br/><br/>Peng was one of the few senior military leaders who supported Mao's suggestions to involve China directly in the 1950–1953 Korean War, and he served as the direct commander of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army for the first half of the war. Peng's experiences in the Korean War (in which Chinese forces suffered over a million casualties, more than any other nation involved in the fighting) convinced him that the Chinese military had to become more professional, organized, and well-equipped in order to prepare itself for the conditions of modern technical warfare.<br/><br/>Peng resisted Mao's attempts to develop a personality cult throughout the 1950s; and, when Mao's economic policies associated with the Great Leap Forward caused a nationwide famine, Peng became critical of Mao's leadership. The rivalry between Peng and Mao culminated in an open confrontation between the two at the 1959 Lushan Conference. Mao won this confrontation, labeled Peng as a leader of an 'anti-Party clique', and purged Peng from all influential positions for the rest of his life.<br/><br/>From 1966–1970, radical factions within the Communist Party, led by Lin Biao and Mao's wife, Jiang Qing, singled out Peng for national persecution. In 1970 Peng was formally tried and sentenced to life imprisonment, and he died in prison in 1974. After Mao died in 1976, Peng was one of the first leaders to be posthumously rehabilitated, in 1978. In modern China, Peng is considered one of the most successful and highly respected generals in the history of the early Chinese Communist Party.
In the First Sino-Japanese War, Ōyama was appointed the commander-in-chief of the Japanese Second Army, which after landing on Liaotung Peninsula, carried Port Arthur by storm, and subsequently crossed to Shantung, where it captured the fortress of Weihaiwei. After the war, Ōyama was disparaged by American reporter Trumbull White for failing to restrain his troops during the Port Arthur Massacre<br/><br/> For his services Ōyama received the title of marquis under the kazoku peerage system, and, three years later, he became a field-marshal. In the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 he was appointed the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese armies in Manchuria. Ōyama had complete authority over all Japanese land operations during the war, and personally directed the tactics of Japanese forces in all major battles, winning the Battle of Liaoyang and repulsing Russian counter-attacks at the Battle of Shaho and the Battle of Sandepu. He was replaced by General Kodama Gentarō briefly during early 1905 due to illness, but recovered to direct Japanese forces in the final Battle of Mukden.<br/><br/> After Japan's victory, Emperor Meiji elevated him to the rank of prince (公爵 kōshaku), the highest rank of the Empire of Japan.
Edward Geary Lansdale (February 6, 1908–February 23, 1987) was a United States Air Force officer who served in the Office of Strategic Services and the Central Intelligence Agency. Lansdale was a member of General John W. O'Daniel's mission to Indo-China in 1953, acting as an advisor on special counter-guerrilla operations to French forces against the Viet Minh. From 1954 to 1957 he was stationed in Saigon as an advisor to the US supported government of South Vietnam. During this period he was active in the training of the Vietnamese National Army (VNA), organizing the Caodaist militias under Trinh Minh The in an attempt to bolster the VNA, a propaganda campaign encouraging Vietnam's Catholics to move to the south as part of Operation Passage to Freedom, and spreading claims that North Vietnamese agents were making attacks in South Vietnam.
Kitchener won fame in 1898 for winning the Battle of Omdurman and securing control of the Sudan, after which he was given the title 'Lord Kitchener of Khartoum; as Chief of Staff (1900-02) in the second Boer war he played a key role in Lord Roberts' conquest of the Boer Republics, then succeeded Roberts as commander-in-chief - by which time Boer forces had taken to guerrilla fighting and British forces imprisoned Boer civilians in concentration camps. His term as Commander-in-Chief (1902-09) of the Army in India saw him quarrel with Viceroy Lord Curzon, who eventually resigned. Kitchener then returned to Egypt as British Agent and Consul-General (de facto Viceroy).<br/><br/> In 1914, at the start of the First World War, Lord Kitchener became Secretary of State for War, a Cabinet Minister. One of the few men to foresee a long war, one in which Britain's victory was far from secure, he organised the largest volunteer army that Britain, and indeed the Empire, has seen and a significant expansion of materiels production to fight Germany on the Western Front. His commanding image, appearing on recruiting posters demanding 'Your Country Need You!', remains recognised and parodied in popular culture to this day. He died in 1916.
Peng Dehuai (Peng Te-huai; simplified Chinese: 彭德怀; traditional Chinese: 彭德懷; pinyin: Péng Déhuái; Wade–Giles: P'eng Te-huai) (October 24, 1898 – November 29, 1974) was a prominent Chinese Communist military leader, and served as China's Defense Minister from 1954 to 1959.<br/><br/>Peng was born into a poor peasant family, and received several years of primary education before his family's poverty forced him to suspend his education at the age of ten, and to work for several years as a manual laborer. When he was sixteen, Peng became a professional soldier. Peng participated in the Northern Expedition, and supported Wang Jingwei's attempt to form a left-leaning Kuomintang government based in Wuhan. After Wang was defeated, Peng briefly rejoined Chiang Kai-shek's forces before joining the Chinese Communist Party, allying himself with Mao Zedong and Zhu De.<br/><br/>Peng was one of the few senior military leaders who supported Mao's suggestions to involve China directly in the 1950–1953 Korean War, and he served as the direct commander of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army for the first half of the war. Peng's experiences in the Korean War (in which Chinese forces suffered over a million casualties, more than any other nation involved in the fighting) convinced him that the Chinese military had to become more professional, organized, and well-equipped in order to prepare itself for the conditions of modern technical warfare.<br/><br/>Peng resisted Mao's attempts to develop a personality cult throughout the 1950s; and, when Mao's economic policies associated with the Great Leap Forward caused a nationwide famine, Peng became critical of Mao's leadership. The rivalry between Peng and Mao culminated in an open confrontation between the two at the 1959 Lushan Conference. Mao won this confrontation, labeled Peng as a leader of an 'anti-Party clique', and purged Peng from all influential positions for the rest of his life.<br/><br/>From 1966–1970, radical factions within the Communist Party, led by Lin Biao and Mao's wife, Jiang Qing, singled out Peng for national persecution. In 1970 Peng was formally tried and sentenced to life imprisonment, and he died in prison in 1974. After Mao died in 1976, Peng was one of the first leaders to be posthumously rehabilitated, in 1978. In modern China, Peng is considered one of the most successful and highly respected generals in the history of the early Chinese Communist Party.
Kitchener won fame in 1898 for winning the Battle of Omdurman and securing control of the Sudan, after which he was given the title 'Lord Kitchener of Khartoum; as Chief of Staff (1900-02) in the second Boer war he played a key role in Lord Roberts' conquest of the Boer Republics, then succeeded Roberts as commander-in-chief - by which time Boer forces had taken to guerrilla fighting and British forces imprisoned Boer civilians in concentration camps. His term as Commander-in-Chief (1902-09) of the Army in India saw him quarrel with Viceroy Lord Curzon, who eventually resigned. Kitchener then returned to Egypt as British Agent and Consul-General (de facto Viceroy).<br/><br/> In 1914, at the start of the First World War, Lord Kitchener became Secretary of State for War, a Cabinet Minister. One of the few men to foresee a long war, one in which Britain's victory was far from secure, he organised the largest volunteer army that Britain, and indeed the Empire, has seen and a significant expansion of materiels production to fight Germany on the Western Front. His commanding image, appearing on recruiting posters demanding 'Your Country Need You!', remains recognised and parodied in popular culture to this day. He died in 1916.
Kitchener won fame in 1898 for winning the Battle of Omdurman and securing control of the Sudan, after which he was given the title 'Lord Kitchener of Khartoum; as Chief of Staff (1900-02) in the second Boer war he played a key role in Lord Roberts' conquest of the Boer Republics, then succeeded Roberts as commander-in-chief - by which time Boer forces had taken to guerrilla fighting and British forces imprisoned Boer civilians in concentration camps. His term as Commander-in-Chief (1902-09) of the Army in India saw him quarrel with Viceroy Lord Curzon, who eventually resigned. Kitchener then returned to Egypt as British Agent and Consul-General (de facto Viceroy).<br/><br/> In 1914, at the start of the First World War, Lord Kitchener became Secretary of State for War, a Cabinet Minister. One of the few men to foresee a long war, one in which Britain's victory was far from secure, he organised the largest volunteer army that Britain, and indeed the Empire, has seen and a significant expansion of materiels production to fight Germany on the Western Front. His commanding image, appearing on recruiting posters demanding 'Your Country Need You!', remains recognised and parodied in popular culture to this day. He died in 1916.
Peng Dehuai (Peng Te-huai; simplified Chinese: 彭德怀; traditional Chinese: 彭德懷; pinyin: Péng Déhuái; Wade–Giles: P'eng Te-huai) (October 24, 1898 – November 29, 1974) was a prominent Chinese Communist military leader, and served as China's Defense Minister from 1954 to 1959.<br/><br/>Peng was born into a poor peasant family, and received several years of primary education before his family's poverty forced him to suspend his education at the age of ten, and to work for several years as a manual laborer. When he was sixteen, Peng became a professional soldier. Peng participated in the Northern Expedition, and supported Wang Jingwei's attempt to form a left-leaning Kuomintang government based in Wuhan. After Wang was defeated, Peng briefly rejoined Chiang Kai-shek's forces before joining the Chinese Communist Party, allying himself with Mao Zedong and Zhu De.<br/><br/>Peng was one of the few senior military leaders who supported Mao's suggestions to involve China directly in the 1950–1953 Korean War, and he served as the direct commander of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army for the first half of the war. Peng's experiences in the Korean War (in which Chinese forces suffered over a million casualties, more than any other nation involved in the fighting) convinced him that the Chinese military had to become more professional, organized, and well-equipped in order to prepare itself for the conditions of modern technical warfare.<br/><br/>Peng resisted Mao's attempts to develop a personality cult throughout the 1950s; and, when Mao's economic policies associated with the Great Leap Forward caused a nationwide famine, Peng became critical of Mao's leadership. The rivalry between Peng and Mao culminated in an open confrontation between the two at the 1959 Lushan Conference. Mao won this confrontation, labeled Peng as a leader of an 'anti-Party clique', and purged Peng from all influential positions for the rest of his life.<br/><br/>From 1966–1970, radical factions within the Communist Party, led by Lin Biao and Mao's wife, Jiang Qing, singled out Peng for national persecution. In 1970 Peng was formally tried and sentenced to life imprisonment, and he died in prison in 1974. After Mao died in 1976, Peng was one of the first leaders to be posthumously rehabilitated, in 1978. In modern China, Peng is considered one of the most successful and highly respected generals in the history of the early Chinese Communist Party.
Kitchener won fame in 1898 for winning the Battle of Omdurman and securing control of the Sudan, after which he was given the title 'Lord Kitchener of Khartoum; as Chief of Staff (1900-02) in the second Boer war he played a key role in Lord Roberts' conquest of the Boer Republics, then succeeded Roberts as commander-in-chief - by which time Boer forces had taken to guerrilla fighting and British forces imprisoned Boer civilians in concentration camps. His term as Commander-in-Chief (1902-09) of the Army in India saw him quarrel with Viceroy Lord Curzon, who eventually resigned. Kitchener then returned to Egypt as British Agent and Consul-General (de facto Viceroy).<br/><br/> In 1914, at the start of the First World War, Lord Kitchener became Secretary of State for War, a Cabinet Minister. One of the few men to foresee a long war, one in which Britain's victory was far from secure, he organised the largest volunteer army that Britain, and indeed the Empire, has seen and a significant expansion of materiels production to fight Germany on the Western Front. His commanding image, appearing on recruiting posters demanding 'Your Country Need You!', remains recognised and parodied in popular culture to this day. He died in 1916.
Kitchener won fame in 1898 for winning the Battle of Omdurman and securing control of the Sudan, after which he was given the title 'Lord Kitchener of Khartoum; as Chief of Staff (1900-02) in the second Boer war he played a key role in Lord Roberts' conquest of the Boer Republics, then succeeded Roberts as commander-in-chief - by which time Boer forces had taken to guerrilla fighting and British forces imprisoned Boer civilians in concentration camps. His term as Commander-in-Chief (1902-09) of the Army in India saw him quarrel with Viceroy Lord Curzon, who eventually resigned. Kitchener then returned to Egypt as British Agent and Consul-General (de facto Viceroy).<br/><br/> In 1914, at the start of the First World War, Lord Kitchener became Secretary of State for War, a Cabinet Minister. One of the few men to foresee a long war, one in which Britain's victory was far from secure, he organised the largest volunteer army that Britain, and indeed the Empire, has seen and a significant expansion of materiels production to fight Germany on the Western Front. His commanding image, appearing on recruiting posters demanding 'Your Country Need You!', remains recognised and parodied in popular culture to this day. He died in 1916.
Kitchener won fame in 1898 for winning the Battle of Omdurman and securing control of the Sudan, after which he was given the title 'Lord Kitchener of Khartoum; as Chief of Staff (1900-02) in the second Boer war he played a key role in Lord Roberts' conquest of the Boer Republics, then succeeded Roberts as commander-in-chief - by which time Boer forces had taken to guerrilla fighting and British forces imprisoned Boer civilians in concentration camps. His term as Commander-in-Chief (1902-09) of the Army in India saw him quarrel with Viceroy Lord Curzon, who eventually resigned. Kitchener then returned to Egypt as British Agent and Consul-General (de facto Viceroy).<br/><br/> In 1914, at the start of the First World War, Lord Kitchener became Secretary of State for War, a Cabinet Minister. One of the few men to foresee a long war, one in which Britain's victory was far from secure, he organised the largest volunteer army that Britain, and indeed the Empire, has seen and a significant expansion of materiels production to fight Germany on the Western Front. His commanding image, appearing on recruiting posters demanding 'Your Country Need You!', remains recognised and parodied in popular culture to this day. He died in 1916.
Kitchener won fame in 1898 for winning the Battle of Omdurman and securing control of the Sudan, after which he was given the title 'Lord Kitchener of Khartoum; as Chief of Staff (1900-02) in the second Boer war he played a key role in Lord Roberts' conquest of the Boer Republics, then succeeded Roberts as commander-in-chief - by which time Boer forces had taken to guerrilla fighting and British forces imprisoned Boer civilians in concentration camps. His term as Commander-in-Chief (1902-09) of the Army in India saw him quarrel with Viceroy Lord Curzon, who eventually resigned. Kitchener then returned to Egypt as British Agent and Consul-General (de facto Viceroy).<br/><br/> In 1914, at the start of the First World War, Lord Kitchener became Secretary of State for War, a Cabinet Minister. One of the few men to foresee a long war, one in which Britain's victory was far from secure, he organised the largest volunteer army that Britain, and indeed the Empire, has seen and a significant expansion of materiels production to fight Germany on the Western Front. His commanding image, appearing on recruiting posters demanding 'Your Country Need You!', remains recognised and parodied in popular culture to this day. He died in 1916.
Lin Yurong, better known by the nom de guerre Lin Biao ( December 5, 1907– September 13, 1971) was a Chinese Communist military leader who was instrumental in the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, especially in Northeastern China, and was the General who led the People's Liberation Army into Beijing in 1949. He abstained from becoming a major player in politics until he rose to prominence during the Cultural Revolution, climbing as high as second-in-charge and Mao Zedong's designated and constitutional successor and comrade-in-arms. He died in a plane crash in September 1971 in Mongolia after what appeared to be a failed coup to oust Mao. After his death, he was officially condemned as a traitor, and is still recognized as one of the two 'major Counter-revolutionary parties' during the Cultural Revolution, the other being Jiang Qing (Madame Mao).
Pibulsongkram was one of the leaders of the military branch of the People's Party that staged a coup d'état and overthrew Thailand's absolute monarchy in 1932. In 1938, Pibulsonggram replaced Phraya Phahol as Prime Minister.<br/><br/> Pibulsonggram began to increase the pace of modernisation in Thailand. By manipulating the mass media, Pibulsonggram supported fascism and nationalism. In 1939, Pibulsonggram changed the country's name from Siam to Thailand. In 1941, in the midst of World War II, he decreed January 1 the official start of the new year instead of the traditional April 13.<br/><br/> When the Japanese invaded Thailand on December 8, 1941, Pibulsonggram was reluctantly forced to order a general ceasefire after just one day of resistance. On December 12, Pibulsongkram signed a military alliance with Japan. The following month, on January 25, 1942, Pibulsongkram declared war on the allied powers. At the war's end, Pibulsonggram was put on trial at Allied insistence. However, he was acquitted amidst intense public pressure. Public opinion was favourable to Pibulsonggram as he was thought to have done his best to protect Thai interests.<br/><br/> Phibun was involved in another coup in 1947, and resumed his pre-war position as effective military dictator until a 1957 coup, led by Sarit Dhanaraj, forced him into exile in Japan where he died in 1964.
Pibulsongkram was one of the leaders of the military branch of the People's Party that staged a coup d'état and overthrew Thailand's absolute monarchy in 1932. In 1938, Pibulsonggram replaced Phraya Phahol as Prime Minister.<br/><br/> Pibulsonggram began to increase the pace of modernisation in Thailand. By manipulating the mass media, Pibulsonggram supported fascism and nationalism. In 1939, Pibulsonggram changed the country's name from Siam to Thailand. In 1941, in the midst of World War II, he decreed January 1 the official start of the new year instead of the traditional April 13.<br/><br/> When the Japanese invaded Thailand on December 8, 1941, Pibulsonggram was reluctantly forced to order a general ceasefire after just one day of resistance. On December 12, Pibulsongkram signed a military alliance with Japan. The following month, on January 25, 1942, Pibulsongkram declared war on the allied powers. At the war's end, Pibulsonggram was put on trial at Allied insistence. However, he was acquitted amidst intense public pressure. Public opinion was favourable to Pibulsonggram as he was thought to have done his best to protect Thai interests.<br/><br/> Phibun was involved in another coup in 1947, and resumed his pre-war position as effective military dictator until a 1957 coup, led by Sarit Dhanaraj, forced him into exile in Japan where he died in 1964.