Manchuria 1931-1938

[sjashford]

Red Star versus Rising Sun
Volume 1: The Conquest of Manchuria 1931 – 1938

Adrien Fontanellaz

Helion & Company Ltd
ISBN 978-1-914377-80-8

Notwithstanding the title of this work, it starts in the nineteenth century!
There are sections covering the history of Japan, China and Russia. The three skeins are then drawn together by the military and economic occupation of Manchuria in the 1930s, leading to the increasing friction between Russia (now the USSR) and Japan, with a brief digression into Mongolia. The military occupation of Manchuria, and its conversion to the puppet kingdom of Manchuoko is covered.
Then you are led to the Changkufeng Incident (Lake Kahasan) of 1938. Its causes and the subsequent action are clearly and concisely laid out. It is concluded by an assessment of the final inconclusive outcome with a nice mention of the Nomonhan (Khalkin Gol) 1939, which I hope will prove to be Volume 2, and soon to be published.
Throughout there are informative illustrations and photos, plus, centrally some coloured illustrations. There is only one map which covers the Changkufeng Incident, clearly printed on an entire page, but I did have some minor difficulty relating the text to it.
I found this work easy to read and interesting. It covers an area of study barely covered in English. I commend it to military historians interested in the Far East.