Forgotten Ally: China’s World War II, 1937-1945

Forgotten Ally: China’s World War II, 1937-1945 by Rana Mitter

One of the reasons I loved this book so much is that I felt that I learned an awful lot.  Although I’ve always considered myself fairly astute when it comes to the history of the second world war, reading this book reminds me that my knowledge of the subject has always been somewhat skewed to one side.  I could tell you a lot about the European events, but not much about the Asiatic affairs; especially the conflict between Japan and China.  I’m sure there are many in the same boat as I am. This is probably why the author, Rana Mitter, accurately uses the word “forgotten” in his title for this book.

This book is a very linear, easy to understand account of the events that led up to Japan’s invasion of neighbor China in 1937 which, one could argue, was when and where World War II actually started.  We read of all of the major military and political events of the war in China up until the war's conclusion in 1945. We read this narrative from the eyes of the Chinese and, as good as the book is, it can be awfully sickening and depressing.  Well….it is war. 

There are a lot of Chinese names and places within these pages, and it can be quite easy to get lost while trying to assimilate all of the Sino monikers.  Whether or not the author made a conscious effort or not, he somehow manages to keep his readers connected and never overwhelmed.  Example: I’ve always heard Chiang Kai-Shek’s prominent wife referred to as Madame Chiang, yet the author always refers to her by her Asian name – Song Meiling.  Now, this could be incredibly confusing, yet whenever she’s back in the narrative after a long absence, the author reminds us who she is by simply interjecting “…Chang Kai-Shek’s wife…” after we’re reintroduced to her.  I found these instances a huge relief and it prevented me from getting lost and overwhelmed.  I’d be lying if I told you I could pass a quiz that covers all of the names and places mentioned in this book, but when compared to other books of a similar nature, this one excels in this area.  The author also includes a “cast of characters” at the beginning of the book, but since I read on the Kindle, it wasn’t necessarily easy for me to flip back and forth. Still, give the author kudos for realizing that most of his readers can benefit from such an inclusion.

Speaking of Chiang Kai-Shek, there’s a lot of politics in this book as well. Although probably not completely necessary, it’s definitely warranted and does add needed color to the overall picture. Not only do we have Chiang’s Nationalist party, but we also read of the internal conflicts with Communist leader Mao Zedong.  There’s even a third influence (again, new to me), Wang Jingwei, who starts off siding with Chiang, but later splits to attempt to collaborate with the invading Japanese.  It’s not that Wang is a traitor necessarily, but he feels it’s probably best for all for China to become subjects of the more powerful Japan.  Think of the French Vichy government during World War II as a comparison. All of these rival factions want the same thing for China, and we see many uneasy alliances at different times during the conflict with Japan.  In fact, we even see the other Western leaders flirt with Zedong’s communist ilk at times.  If it can aid in a better, quicker outcome for the war, it’s definitely worth considering.

Sadly, we also learn that the “superpower” allies (The U.S., England, and Russia) almost see the Chinese as inferior in terms of intelligence and the ability to lead.  Looking back at history, this seems horribly racist, but had the Chinese been a race of white people instead of yellow people, you get the impression that Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin would have probably involved Chiang-Kai-Shek in a lot more discussions involving strategy and the future of the allies.  Winston Churchill, in particular, comes across as a racist dinosaur who still yearns for the time of English Imperialism.  

Yet through all of this, China survives. Things get somewhat easier when Japan devotes its energy to the United States midway through their war with China, yet things never seem to go as well as any of the Chinese leaders would like.  They also feel almost as isolated from their allies as they do from their enemies during many of their brutal struggles.

The book, as its title suggests, ends when World War II ends, but everyone knows there’s so much more story to tell with China, and where the next few years would take them. The author gives us a quick postscript of what “happened next”, but I wanted much more.  Of course, that’s always a sign of a good book; when the story is over, but you wish the author would keep going.  That would warrant an entirely new book, though, and my personal quest is to find one that continues this magnificent (yet horrific) story.

Note: If you have Amazon Prime, there’s a video documentary you can watch that is narrated by the author of this book about these events. It serves as a good companion piece.  The video places more emphasis on the battles and the survivors then it does the politics, but it’s a great tool to reinforce what you read about here.