Description

Sunstruck Giant: The First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95 presents a thorough military history of the First Sino-Japanese War, detailing its campaigns, battles, and key figures. Drawing on hitherto untranslated Chinese sources, it is the first English-language work to offer a truly comprehensive view of both sides in this forgotten war.

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 failures of the Japanese. Ergo, Sunstruck Giant examines in great detail the specific strategic, tactical and individual actions and decisions of both combatants. The text is generously complemented with rare photographs and illustrations, many being published here for the first time.

Sunstruck Giant is also an excellent resource for modelers and reenactors, featuring a collection of full colour reconstructions depicting Chinese military uniforms and flags actually used in the war, taken from private collections, archives and museums of all nationalities, as well as a full table of Imperial Japanese Army uniform colours and types. Previous works on uniforms of this period are limited by their inability to use Chinese and Japanese language resources, and Sunstruck Giant bridges the gap.