Sunstruck Giant: The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95 presents a thorough military history of the conflict, detailing its campaigns, battles, and key figures. Drawing on previously untranslated Chinese sources, it is the first English-language work to provide a truly comprehensive view of both sides in this often-forgotten war.Marking the death rattle of one empire and the rise of another, the First Sino-Japanese War is frequently portrayed as the ultimate contrast between a "backward" China and a fully modernized Japan. This nationalistic lens has led many to overlook both the redeeming qualities of the Chinese military and the serious failures of the Japanese. Sunstruck Giant, by contrast, examines in detail the specific strategic, tactical, and individual actions and decisions of both combatants. The text is richly illustrated with rare photographs and artwork, many published here for the first time.
Volume 1 lays the essential foundation for understanding the conflict, analysing the organisation, leadership, doctrine, and equipment of the Qing and Imperial Japanese armed forces on the eve of war. It examines the structure, development, and performance of the principal Chinese and Japanese armies and navies, reconstructing their uniforms, ranks, and weapon systems in unprecedented detail. The volume includes extensive colour artwork of Chinese uniforms, flags, and equipment, many reconstructed from private and museum collections, together with detailed coverage of Imperial Japanese Army uniforms.
Volume 2 narrates the course of the war itself, from the Korean crisis and opening naval engagements to the major land battles in Korea, Manchuria, and the Liaodong Peninsula, culminating in Japan's victory and China's humiliating peace. It analyses the strategy, tactics, and logistics of both sides, assessing the human and political dimensions of the conflict and its long-term consequences for East Asian geopolitics.
Previous works on this period have been limited by their lack of access to Chinese- and Japanese language sources, but Sunstruck Giant bridges that gap.
********************************************************************************************************************************
Utilising hitherto untranslated sources, Sunstruck Giant Volume Two provides a complete campaign history of the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95, detailing not only battles but the underlying strategic motivations behind them. Eight full colour plates bring key battles of the war to life, both vividly and authentically.
Marking the death-rattle of one empire and the ascendancy of another, the First Sino-Japanese War is often portrayed as the ultimate contrast between a backwards China and a fully modernised Japan. This often nationalism-tinted lens has led many to completely gloss over the redeeming features of the Chinese military and the terrible shortcomings of the Japanese. Drawing on hitherto untranslated sources, Sunstruck Giant is the first English-language work to offer a truly comprehensive view of both sides in this forgotten war.
English language sources draw exclusively from Japanese sources, leaving out the incredibly valuable Chinese perspective, as well as facts less creditable to the Japanese side. Therefore, Sunstruck Giant examines "the other side of the hill," analysing the successes, failures, mistakes, and misfortunes of both sides. Indeed, the "backwards" Chinese had their share of heroic deeds, and contrariwise the "modernised" Japanese were not immune to horrendous blunders.
