About the Show
As World War II ravaged Europe, China had been facing the onslaught of an invading Japanese Imperial Army alone since 1937. China's war was the longest and one of the bloodiest, but few know about the country's epic struggle. Through the last remaining survivors, Oxford Professor Rana Mitter embarks on a journey across the country to uncover the forgotten stories of China's modern war history, and its impact on the formation of the nation. With 14 million deaths, massive refugee flight, destruction of its embryonic modernisation in a war of resistance spanning eight years, China held back large numbers of Japanese troops on the mainland from 1937 to 1945. The country was a vital part of the overall Allied strategy, proving that in the end it was four, not three, great Allies that won World War II. Part 1 of 2.