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  The Ili Rebellion broke out in Xinjiang when the Kuomintang Chinese Muslim Officer Liu Bin-Di was killed while fighting Turkic Uyghur Rebels in November 1944. The Soviet Union supported the Turkic rebels against the Kuomintang, and Kuomintang forces were fighting back.[48] Sony VAIO VGN-CR21Z Battery [edit]Use of chemical and bacteriological weapons       Japanese soldiers wearing gas masks and rubber gloves during a chemical attack in the Battle of Shanghai. Despite Article 23 of the Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907), article V of the Treaty in Relation to the Use of Submarines and Noxious Gases in Warfare,[49] article 171 of the Treaty of Versailles and a resolution adopted by the League of Nations on May 14, 1938, condemning the use of poison gas by the Empire of Japan, the Imperial Japanese Army frequently used chemical weapons during the war. Sony VAIO VGN-CR31E Battery     Japanese troops stage a poison gas attack in China. According to historians Yoshiaki Yoshimi and Seiya Matsuno, the chemical weapons were authorized by specific orders given by Japanese Emperor Hirohito himself, transmitted by the Imperial General Headquarters. For example, Sony VAIO VGN-CR31S Battery Sony VAIO VGN-CR31SR Battery     the Emperor authorized the use of toxic gas on 375 separate occasions during the Battle of Wuhan from August to October 1938.[50] They were also used during the invasion of Changde. Those orders were transmitted either by Prince Kan'in Kotohito or General Hajime Sugiyama.[51] Bacteriological weapons provided by Shir Ishii's units were also profusely used. For example, in 1940, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force bombed Ningbo with fleas carrying the bubonic plague.[52] Sony VAIO VGN-CR31Z Battery During the Khabarovsk War Crime Trials the accused, such as Major General Kiyashi Kawashima, testified that, in 1941, some 40 members of Unit 731 air-dropped plague-contaminated fleas on Changde. These attacks caused epidemic plague outbreaks.[53] Sony VAIO VGN-CR31ZR Battery Sony VAIO VGN-CR41S Battery     Soviet troops in Harbin The United States and the Soviet Union put an end to the Sino-Japanese War (and World War II) by attacking the Japanese with a new weapon (on America's part) and an incursion into Manchuria (on the Soviet Union's part). Sony VAIO VGN-CR41SR Battery On August 6, an American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, dropped the first atomic bomb used in combat on Hiroshima. On August 9, the Soviet Union renounced its non-aggression pact with Japan and attacked the Japanese in Manchuria, fulfilling its Yalta Conference pledge to attack the Japanese within three months after the end of the war in Europe. The attack was made by three Soviet army groups. Sony VAIO VGN-CR41Z Battery   In less than two weeks the Kwantung Army, which was the primary Japanese fighting force,[54][55] consisting of over a million men but lacking in adequate armor, artillery, or air support had been destroyed by the Soviets. On August 9, a second atomic bomb was dropped by the United States on Nagasaki. Sony VAIO VGN-CR41ZR Battery Japanese Emperor Hirohito officially capitulated to the Allies on August 15, 1945, and the official surrender was signed aboard the battleship USS Missouri on September 2.     Japanese troops surrendering to the Chinese. After the Allied victory in the Pacific, General Douglas MacArthur ordered all Japanese forces within China (excluding Manchuria), Formosa and French Indochina north of 16 north latitude to surrender to Chiang Kai-shek, and the Japanese troops in China formally surrendered on September 9, 1945. Sony VAIO VGN-CR42S Battery   The war is often regarded as a Pyrrhic victory for the main combatant, the Republic of China and its political party the KMT. This is mainly due to the fact that the ROC lost its main fighting strength against the IJA and therefore when the civil war resumed, the KMT lost the initiative and resources to fight the Communist Party of China, therefore the war is considered "Pyrrhic".Sony VAIO VGN-CR42Z Battery   [edit]Post-war struggle and resumption of civil war Main article: Chinese Civil War     Commander-in-chief of the China Expeditionary Army Yasuji Okamura presenting the Japanese Instrument of Surrender to general He Yingqin at Nanjing on 9 September 1945 In 1945 China emerged from the war nominally a great military power but economically weak and on the verge of all-out civil war. The economy was sapped by the military demands of a long costly war and internal strife, by spiraling inflation, and by corruption in the Nationalist government that included profiteering, speculation and hoarding. Sony VGN-CR42S Battery   Furthermore, as part of the Yalta Conference, allowing a Soviet sphere of influence in Manchuria, the Soviets dismantled and removed more than half of the industrial equipment left there by the Japanese before handing over Manchuria to China. Large swathes of the prime farming areas had been ravaged by the fighting and there was starvation in the wake of the war. Many towns and cities were destroyed, Sony VGN-CR42Z Battery and millions were rendered homeless by floods. The problems of rehabilitation and reconstruction from the ravages of a protracted war were staggering, and the war left the Nationalists severely weakened, and their policies left them unpopular. Meanwhile, the war strengthened the Communists both in popularity and as a viable fighting force. Sony VGP-BPS9 Battery At Yan'an and elsewhere in the communist controlled areas, Mao Zedong was able to adapt Marxism-Leninism to Chinese conditions. He taught party cadres to lead the masses by living and working with them, eating their food, and thinking their thoughts. Sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery   The Chinese Red Army fostered an image of conducting guerrilla warfare in defense of the people. Communist troops adapted to changing wartime conditions and became a seasoned fighting force. With skillful organizational and propaganda, the Communists increased party membership from 100,000 in 1937 to 1.2 million by 1945. Sony VGP-BPS9/S Battery       The Chinese return to Liuzhou in July 1945 Mao also began to execute his plan to establish a new China by rapidly moving his forces from Yan'an and elsewhere to Manchuria. This opportunity was available to the Communists because although Nationalist representatives were not invited to Yalta, they had been consulted and had agreed to the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in the belief that the Soviet Union would deal only with the Nationalist government after the war. Sony VGP-BPS9A/B Battery Sony VGP-BPS9A Battery However, the Soviet occupation of Manchuria was long enough to allow the Communist forces to move in en masse and arm themselves with the military hardware surrendered by the Japanese army, quickly establish control in the countryside and move into position to encircle the Nationalist government army in major cities of northeast China. Sony VAIO VGN-FW11 Battery Sony VAIO VGN-FW11M Battery The Chinese Civil War broke out between the Nationalists and Communists following that, which concluded with the Communist victory in mainland China and the retreat of the Nationalists to Taiwan in 1949. [edit]Peace treaty and Taiwan     The Taiwan Strait and the island of Taiwan. Main article: Legal status of Taiwan Taiwan and the Penghu islands were put under the administrative control of the Republic of China (ROC) government in 1945 by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.[56] Sony VAIO VGN-FW11S Battery The ROC proclaimed Taiwan Retrocession Day on October 25, 1945. However, due to the unresolved Chinese Civil War, neither the newly established People's Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China nor the Nationalist ROC that retreated to Taiwan was invited to sign the Treaty of San Francisco, as neither had shown full and complete legal capacity to enter into an international legally binding agreement.[57] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21E Battery Since China was not present, the Japanese only formally renounced the territorial sovereignty of Taiwan and Penghu islands without specifying to which country Japan relinquished the sovereignty, and the treaty was signed in 1951 and came into force in 1952. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21I Battery   In 1952, the Treaty of Taipei was signed separately between the ROC and Japan that basically followed the same guideline of the Treaty of San Francisco, not specifying which country has sovereignty over Taiwan. However, Article 10 of the treaty states that the Taiwanese people and the juridicial person should be the people and the juridicial person of the ROC.[56] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21L Battery Both the PRC and ROC governments base their claims to Taiwan on the Japanese Instrument of Surrender which specifically accepted the Potsdam Declaration which refers to the Cairo Declaration. Disputes over the precise de jure sovereign of Taiwan persist to the present. On a de facto basis, Sony VAIO VGN-FW21Z Battery sovereignty over Taiwan has been and continues to be exercised by the ROC. Japan's position has been to avoid commenting on Taiwan's status, maintaining that Japan renounced all claims to sovereignty over its former colonial possessions after World War II, including Taiwan.[58] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21M Battery   [edit]Aftermath     China War of Resistance Against Japan Memorial Museum on the site where Marco Polo Bridge Incident took place. The question as to which political group directed the Chinese war effort and exerted most of the effort to resist the Japanese remains a controversial issue. In the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japan Memorial near the Marco Polo Bridge and in mainland Chinese textbooks, the People's Republic of China (PRC) claims that the Nationalists mostly avoided fighting the Japanese to preserve their strength for a final showdown with the Communist Party of China (CCP or CPC), Sony VAIO VGN-FW31M Battery while the Communists were the main military force in the Chinese resistance efforts.[59] Recently, however, with a change in the political climate, the CCP has admitted that certain Nationalist generals made important contributions in resisting the Japanese. The official history in mainland China now states that the KMT fought a bloody, Sony VGN-FW31ZJ battery yet indecisive, frontal war against Japan, while the CCP engaged the Japanese forces in far greater numbers behind enemy lines. For the sake of Chinese reunification and appeasing the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan, the PRC has begun to "acknowledge" the Nationalists and the Communists as "equal" contributors, because the victory over Japan belonged to the Chinese people, rather than to any political party.[60] Sony VGN-FW32J battery   Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong in 1946. Other scholars document quite a different view. Such studies find evidence that the Communists actually played a minuscule role in the war against the Japanese compared to the Nationalists, and preserved their strength for a final showdown with the Kuomintang (KMT).[61] Sony VGP-BPS13 Battery This view point gives the KMT credit for the brunt of the fighting, which is confirmed by Communists leader Zhou Enlai's secret report to Joseph Stalin in January 1940. This report stated that out of more than one million Chinese soldiers killed or wounded since the war began in 1937, only 40,000 were from the Communists Eighth Route Army and New Fourth Army. In other words, by the CCP's own account, the Communists had suffered a mere three percent of total casualties half way into the war.[62] Sony VGP-BPS13A/B Battery   This is because the Communists were not the main participants in any of the 22 major battles between China and Japan (involving more than 100,000 troops on both sides) and usually avoided open warfare (the Hundred Regiments Offensive and the Battle of Pingxingguan are notable exceptions), preferring to fight in small squads to harass the Japanese supply lines. Sony VGP-BPS13B/B Battery In comparison, right from the beginning of the war the Nationalists committed their best troops (including the 36th, 87th, 88th divisions, the crack divisions of Chiang's Central Army) to defend Shanghai from the Japanese, and continue to deploy most of their forces to fight the Japanese even as the Communists changed their strategy to engage mainly in a political offensive against the Japanese and declared that the CCP should "save and preserve our strength and wait for favorable timing" by the end of 1941.[63] Sony VGP-BPS13/S Battery     The Japanese considered the KMT rather than the Communists as their main enemy[64] and bombed the Nationalist wartime capital of Chongqing to the point that it was the most heavily bombed city in the world to date.[65] [edit]Chinese/Japanese relations To this day the war is a major point of contention between China and Japan. The war remains a major roadblock for Sino-Japanese relations, and many people, particularly in China, harbour grudges over the war and related issues. Sony VGP-BPS13A/S Battery Sony VGP-BPS13/Q Battery   Sony VGP-BPS21/S Battery Issues regarding the current historical outlook on the war exist. For example, the Japanese government has been accused of historical revisionism by allowing the approval of school textbooks omitting or glossing over Japan's militant past, although the most recent controversial book, the New History Textbook was used by only 0.039% of junior high schools in Japan and [66]   Sony VGP-BPS21A/B Batteryand despite the efforts of the Japanese nationalist textbook reformers, by the late 1990s the most common Japanese schoolbooks contained references to, for instance, the Nanking Massacre, Unit 731, and the comfort women of World War II,[67] all historical issues which have faced challenges from ultranationalists in the past.[68] Sony VGP-BPS13A/Q Battery In response to criticism of Japanese textbook revisionism, the PRC government has been accused of using the war to stir up already growing anti-Japanese sentiments in order to spur nationalistic feelings. Sony VGP-BPS13B/Q Battery   [edit]Chinese Communist Party declarations In 1972, when the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Japan established formal diplomatic relationship, Mao Zedong met the then Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka. When Tanaka personally apologized to Mao for invading China, Mao responded: (You) don't have to say sorry, your country had made a great contribution to China. Sony VGP-BPS13B/G Battery   Sony VGP-BPS21B Battery Why? Because if Imperial Japan did not start the war, how could we communists become mighty and powerful? How could we overthrow KMT? How could we defeat Chiang Kai-shek? No, we are grateful and do not want your war reparations!.[69] Sony VGP-BPS13B/S Battery   [edit]Aftermath in Taiwan While the People's Republic of China (PRC) government has been accused of greatly exaggerating the Communist Party of China (CCP or CPC)'s role in fighting the Japanese in mainland China, the aftermath of the war is more complicated in Taiwan. Sony VGP-BPS21 Battery Sony VGP-BPS21A Battery Traditionally, the Republic of China government has held celebrations marking the Victory Day on September 9 (now known as Armed Forces Day) and Taiwan's Retrocession Day on October 25. However, with the power transfer from Kuomintang (KMT) to the pro-Taiwan independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2000 and the rise of desinicization, Sony VGN-FW41E/H battery

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• events commemorating the war have become less commonplace. Many supporters of Taiwanese independence see no relevance in preserving the memory of the war of resistance that happened primarily on mainland China. Some 120,000 Taiwanese even volunteered for or were drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army.[citation needed] Sony VAIO VGN-FW11 Battery

 

• On the other hand, many KMT supporters, particularly veterans who retreated with the government in 1949, still have an emotional interest in the war. For example, in celebrating the 60th anniversary of the end of war in 2005, the cultural bureau of KMT stronghold Taipei held a series of talks in the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall regarding the war and post-war developments, while the KMT held its own exhibit in the KMT headquarters. Whereas the KMT won the presidential election in 2008, the ROC government resumed commemorating the war. Sony VAIO VGN-FW11ER Battery

  [edit]Casualties assessment   See also: Japanese war crimes, 1938 Yellow River flood, and 1938 Changsha Fire The conflict lasted for eight years, a month and three days (measured from 1937 to 1945). [edit]Chinese casualties

• Chinese sources list the total number of military and non-military casualties, both dead and wounded, at 35 million.[70] Most Western historians believed that the total number of casualties was at least 20 million.[71] Sony VAIO VGN-FW11SR Battery

 

• The official PRC statistics for China's civilian and military casualties in the Second Sino-Japanese War from 1937 to 1945 are 20 million dead and 15 million wounded. The figures for total military casualties, killed and wounded are: Nationalist 3.2 million; Communist 500,000. Sony VAIO VGN-FW11ZU Battery

 

• The official account of the war published in Taiwan reported the Nationalist Chinese Army lost 3,238,000 men ( 1,797,000 WIA; 1,320,000 KIA and 120,000 MIA.) and 5,787,352 civilians casualties. The Nationalists fought in 22 major engagements, most of which involved more than 100,000 troops on both sides, 1,171 minor engagements most of which involved more than 50,000 troops on both sides, and 38,931 skirmishes.[72] Sony VAIO VGN-FW41E/H Battery

 

• An academic study published in the United States estimates military casualties: 1.5 million killed in battle, 750,000 missing in action, 1.5 million deaths due to disease and 3 million wounded; civilian casualties: due to military activity, killed 1,073,496 and 237,319 wounded; 335,934 killed and 426,249 wounded in Japanese air attacks [73] Sony VAIO VGN-FW41M Battery

 

• According to historian Mitsuyoshi Himeta, at least 2.7 million civilians died during the "kill all, loot all, burn all" operation (Three Alls Policy, or sanko sakusen) implemented in May 1942 in north China by general Yasuji Okamura and authorized on 3 December 1941 by Imperial Headquarter Order number 575.[74] Sony VAIO VGN-FW48M/H Battery

 

• The property loss suffered by the Chinese was valued at 383 billion US dollars according to the currency exchange rate in July 1937, roughly 50 times the gross domestic product of Japan at that time (US$7.7 billion).[75] Sony VAIO VGN-FW41ZJ/H Battery

  In addition, the war created 95 million refugees. [edit]Japanese casualties

• The Japanese recorded around 1.1 to 1.9 million military casualties during all of World War II (which include killed, wounded and missing). The official death-toll of Japanese KIA in China, according to the Japan Defense Ministry, is 480,000 men. The combined Chinese forces claimed to have killed at most 1.77 million Japanese soldiers during the eight-year war. Sony VAIO VGN-FW46M Battery

 

• Another source from Hilary Conroy claim that a total of 447,000 Japanese soldiers died in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Of the 1,130,000 Imperial Japanese Army soldiers who died during World War II, 39 percent died in China.[76] Sony VAIO VGN-FW51ZF/H Battery

 

• Then in "War Without Mercy", John Dower claim that a total of 396,000 Japanese soldiers died in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Of this number, the Imperial Japanese Army lost 388,605 soldiers and the Imperial Japanese Navy lost 8,000 soldiers. Another 54,000 soldiers also died after the war had ended, mostly from illness and starvation.[76] Of the 1,740,955 Japanese soldiers who died during World War II, 22 percent died in China.[77]

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• Current Japanese statistics, however, lack complete estimates for the wounded. From 1937 to 1941, 185,647 Japanese soldiers were killed in China and 520,000 were wounded. Disease also incurred critical losses on Japanese forces. From 1937 to 1941, 393,000 were killed in China and 430,000 Japanese soldiers were recorded as being sick. In North China alone, 18,000 soldiers were evacuated back to Japan for illnesses in 1938, 23,000 in 1939, Sony VAIO VGN-FW51MF/H Battery

and 15,000 in 1940. Chinese forces also report that by May 1945, 22,293 Japanese soldiers were captured as prisoners. Many more Japanese soldiers surrendered when the war ended.[76][78]

• Both Nationalist and Communist Chinese sources report that their respective forces were responsible for the deaths of over 1.7 million Japanese soldiers.[6] Sony VAIO VGN-FW56M Battery

The Communist claim, which almost equate total Japanese deaths in all of World War II, was ridiculed by Nationalist authorities as propaganda since the Communist People's Liberation Army was outnumbered by the Japanese Army by approximately 3 to 1. Nationalist War Minister He Yingqin himself contested the claim, finding it impossible for a force of "untrained, undisciplined, poorly equipped" guerrillas to have killed so many enemy soldiers.[79] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21J Battery The National Chinese authorities ridiculed Japanese estimates of Chinese casualties. In 1940, the National Herald stated that the Japanese exaggerated Chinese casualties, while deliberately concealing the true amount of Japanese casualties, releasing false figures that made them appear lower. The article reports on the casualty situation of the war up to 1940. Sony VAIO VGN-AW11M/H Battery However, many divisions were formed from two or more other divisions, and many were not active at the same time. The number of active divisions, at the start of the war in 1937, was about 170 NRA divisions. The average NRA division had 4,000-5,000 troops. A Chinese army was roughly the equivalent to a Japanese division in terms of manpower but the Chinese forces largely lacked artillery, heavy weapons, and motorized transport. Sony VAIO VGN-AW11S/B Battery Sony VAIO VGN-AW11XU/Q Battery   The shortage of military hardware meant that three to four Chinese armies had the firepower of only one Japanese division. Because of these material constraints, available artillery and heavy weapons were usually assigned to specialist brigades rather than to the general division, which caused more problems as the Chinese command structure lacked precise coordination. Sony VAIO VGN-AW21S/B Battery The relative fighting strength of a Chinese division was even weaker when relative capacity in aspects of warfare, such as intelligence, logistics, communications, and medical services, are taken into account. Sony VAIO VGN-AW21S/B Battery   Flag of the Imperial Japanese Army. The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) had approximately 3,200,000 regulars. More Japanese troops were quartered in China than deployed elsewhere in the Pacific Theater during the war. Japanese divisions ranged from 20,000 men in its divisions numbered less than 100, to 10,000 men in divisions numbered greater than 100. Sony VAIO VGN-AW21XY/Q Battery   At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the IJA had 51 divisions, of which 35 were in China, and 39 independent brigades, of which all but one were in China. This represented roughly 80% of the IJA's manpower. Sony VAIO VGN-AW21Z/B Battery   [edit]Collaborationist Chinese Army Main article: Collaborationist Chinese Army The Chinese armies allied to Japan had only 78,000 people in 1938, but had grown to around 649,640 men by 1943,[84] and reached a maximum strength of 900,000 troops before the end of the war. Almost all of them belonged to Manchukuo, Sony VAIO VGN-AW31S/B Battery Provisional Government of the Republic of China (Beijing), Reformed Government of the Republic of China (Nanjing) and the later Nanjing Nationalist Government (Wang Jingwei regime). These collaborator troops were mainly assigned to garrison and logistics duties in their own territories, Sony VAIO VGN-AW31ZJ/B Battery and were rarely fielded in combat because of low morale and Japanese distrust. They fared very poorly in skirmishes against both Chinese NRA and Communist forces. [edit]Military equipment   [edit]National Revolutionary Army See also: Development of Chinese armoured forces (1927-1945), List of aircraft used in China before 1937, Development of Chinese Nationalist air force (1937-1945), and List of World War II firearms of China Sony VAIO VGN-AW31XY/Q Battery The Central Army possessed 80 Army infantry divisions with approximately 8,000 men each, nine independent brigades, nine cavalry divisions, two artillery brigades, 16 artillery regiments and three armored battalions. The Chinese Navy displaced only 59,000 tonnes and the Chinese Air Force comprised only about 700 obsolete aircraft. Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VN Battery   Chinese weapons were mainly produced in the Hanyang and Guangdong arsenals. However, for most of the German-trained divisions, the standard firearms were German-made 7.92 mm Gewehr 98 and Karabiner 98k. A local variant of the 98k style rifles were often called the "Chiang Kai-shek rifle" a Chinese copy from the Mauser Standard Modell. Another rifle they used was Hanyang 88. Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN Battery The standard light machine gun was a local copy of the Czech 7.92 mm Brno ZB26. There were also Belgian and French LMGs. Surprisingly, the NRA did not purchase any of the famous Maschinengewehr 34s from Germany, but did produce their own copies of them. On average in these divisions, Sony VAIO VGN-SR21RM/H Battery there was one machine gun set for each platoon. Heavy machine guns were mainly locally made Type 1924 water-cooled Maxim guns, from German blueprints. On average every battalion would get one HMG. The standard sidearm was the 7.63 mm Mauser M1932 semi-automatic pistol Sony VAIO VGN-SR29VN Battery   Some divisions were equipped with 37 mm PaK 35/36 anti-tank guns, and/or mortars from Oerlikon, Madsen and Solothurn. Each infantry division had 6 French Brandt 81 mm mortars and 6 Solothurn 20 mm autocannons. Some independent brigades and artillery regiments were equipped with Bofors 72 mm L/14, or Krupp 72 mm L/29 mountain guns. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/P Battery They were 24 Rheinmetall 150 mm L/32 sFH 18 howitzers (bought in 1934) and 24 Krupp 150 mm L/30 sFH 18 howitzers (bought in 1936). Infantry uniforms were basically redesigned Zhongshan suits. Leg wrappings are standard for soldiers and officers alike since the primary mode of movement for NRA troops was by foot. The helmets were the most distinguishing characteristic of these divisions. From the moment German M35 Stahlhelm helmets (standard issue for the Wehrmacht until late in the European theatre) rolled off the production lines in 1935, and until 1936, Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/W Battery the NRA imported 315,000 of these helmets, each with the 12-ray sun emblem of the ROC on the sides. Other equipment included cloth shoes for soldiers, leather shoes for officers and leather boots for high-ranking officers. Every soldier was issued ammunition, ammunition pouch/harness, a water flask, combat knives, food bag and a gas mask. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MR Battery   On the other hand, warlord forces varied greatly in terms of equipment and training. Some warlord troops were notoriously under-equipped, such as Shanxi's Dadao ( , a one-edged sword type close combat weapon) Team and the Yunnan clique. Some, however, were highly professional forces with their own air force and navies. Sony VAIO VGN-SR11M Battery The quality of the New Guangxi clique was almost on par with the Central Army, as the Guangzhou region was wealthy and the local army could afford foreign instructors and arms. The Muslim Ma clique to the northwest was famed for its well-trained cavalry divisions. Sony VAIO VGN-SR11MR Battery   [edit]Imperial Japanese Army See also: List of Japanese infantry weapons used in the Second-Sino Japanese War, List of armour used by the Imperial Japanese Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War, and List of Japanese aircraft in use during the Second Sino-Japanese War Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S Battery   Although Japan possessed significant mobile operational capacity, it did not possess capability for maintaining a long sustained war. At the beginning of the war, the Imperial Japanese Army comprised 17 divisions, each composed of approximately 22,000 men, 5,800 horses, 9,500 rifles and submachine guns, 600 heavy machine guns of assorted types, Sony VAIO VGN-SR31M/S Battery   Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/W Battery108 artillery pieces, and 600 plus of light armor two-men tanks. Special forces were also available. The Imperial Japanese Navy displaced a total of 1,900,000 tonnes, ranking third in the world, and possessed 2,700 aircraft at the time. Each Japanese division was the equivalent in fighting strength of four Chinese regular divisions (at the beginning of the Battle of Shanghai). Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/P Battery Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/S Battery   --  

Sony Vaio VGN-NR31E/S Battery On July 25, 1941, all Japanese assets in the US were frozen. Because Japan's military might, especially the Navy, was dependent on their dwindling oil reserves, this action had the contrary effect of increasing Japan's dependence on and hunger for new acquisitions. Sony VGN-CR31E Battery Sony VGN-CR42S Battery Many civil leaders of Japan, including Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro, believed a war with America would end in defeat, but felt the concessions demanded by the U.S. would almost certainly relegate Japan from the ranks of the World Powers, leaving it prey to Western collusion. Civil leaders offered political compromises in the form of the "Amau Doctrine," Sony VGN-CR31S Battery   dubbed the "Japanese Monroe Doctrine" that would have given the Japanese free rein with regards to war with China. These offers were flatly rejected by the U.S.; the military leaders instead vied for quick military action.[77] Most military leaders such as Osami Nagano, Kotohito Kan'in, Hajime Sugiyama and Hideki T j believed that war with the Occident was inevitable. They finally convinced the Emperor to sanction on November 1941 an attack plan against U.S., Sony VGN-CR31SR Battery   Sony VGN-CR41ZR BatteryGreat Britain and the Netherlands. However, there were dissenters in the ranks about the wisdom of that option, most notably Admiral Yamamoto and Prince Takamatsu. They pointedly warned that at the beginning of hostilities with the US, the Empire would have the advantage for six months, after which Japan's defeat in a prolonged war with an enemy with a much larger economy would be almost certain. Sony VGN-CR31Z Battery       Planes from the Japanese aircraft carrier Shokaku preparing the attack on Pearl Harbor The Americans were expecting an attack in the Philippines and sent bombers to deter Japan. On Yamamoto's advice, Japan made the decision to attack the main American fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. American strategists believed that Japan would never be so bold as to attack so close to its home base, and the US was taken completely by surprise.[78] Sony VGN-CR31ZR Battery   The attack on Pearl Harbor, initially appeared to be a major success that knocked out the American battle fleet but it missed the aircraft carriers that were at sea and ignored vital shore facilities whose destruction could have crippled US Pacific operations. Ultimately, Sony VGN-CR41S Battery the attack proved a long-term strategic disaster that actually inflicted relatively little significant long-term damage while provoking the United States to seek revenge. At the same time as the Pearl Harbor attack, the Japanese army attacked British Hong Kong and occupied it for nearly four years.[79] Sony VGN-CR41SR Battery Sony VGN-CR41Z Battery While Nazi Germany was in the middle of its Blitzkrieg through Europe, Japan was following suit in Asia. The Japanese Army invaded and captured most of the coastal Chinese cities such as Shanghai. Japan took over French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia), British Malaya (Brunei, Sony Vaio VGN-SR49VN/H Battery Malaysia, Singapore) as well as the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) while Thailand entered into an alliance with Japan. Japanese forces overwhelmed the British in Burma (thus cutting off supplies to China) and reached the borders of India and Australia. Its air raids devastated Darwin, Australia. Japan had soon established an empire stretching over much of the Pacific. Sony Vaio VGN-FW56Z Battery       Atomic cloud over Hiroshima, 1945 However as Admiral Yamamoto warned, Japan's six-month window of military advantage following Pearl Harbor ended with the Japanese Navy's offensive ability being crippled at the hands of the American Navy in the Battle of Midway, which established a significant American military advantage. Sony Vaio VGN-SR57S Battery The war became one of mass production and logistics, the U.S. funding a far stronger navy with more numerous warplanes, and a superior communications and logistics system. The Japanese had stretched too far and were unable to supply its forward bases many soldiers died of starvation. American submarines destroyed the Japanese tankers, causing a severe shortage of fuel oil for ships and aviation gasoline. Sony Vaio VGN-SR57V Battery Japan built warplanes in large quantity but the quality plunged, and the performance of poorly trained pilots spiraled downward.[80] The Navy lost a series of major battles, from Midway (1942) to the Philippine Sea (1944) and Leyte Gulf (1945), which put American long-range B-29 bombers in range. Sony Vaio VGN-SR57X Battery A series of massive raids burned out much of Tokyo and other major industrial cities beginning in March 1945 while Operation Starvation seriously disrupted the nation's vital internal shipping lanes. Regardless of how the war was becoming hopeless, the circle around the Emperor held fast and refused to open negotiations. Finally in August, Sony Vaio VGN-SR59TH/H Battery two atomic bombs and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria demonstrated the cause was futile, and Hirohito authorized a surrender whereby he kept his throne.[81] Total Japanese military fatalities between 1937 and 1945 were 2.1 million; most came in the last year of the war. Starvation or malnutrition-re lated illness accounted for roughly 80 percent of Japanese military deaths in the Philippines, and 50 percent of military fatalities in China. Sony Vaio VGN-SR59VG/H Battery The aerial bombing of a total of 65 Japanese cities appears to have taken a minimum of 400,000 and possibly closer to 600,000 civilian lives (over 100,000 in Tokyo alone, over 200,000 in Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined, and 80,000-150,000 civilian deaths in the battle of Okina wa). Civilian death among settlers who died attempting to re turn to Japan from Manchuria in the winter of 1945 were probably around 100,000.[82] Sony Vaio VGN-SR59XG/H Battery   Modernizing society   Childhood transformed Childhood as a distinct phase of life was apparent in the early modern period, when social and economic changes brought increased attention to children, the growth of schooling and child-centered rituals. A modern concept of childhood emerged in Japan after 1850 as part of its engagement with the West. Sony Vaio VGN-FW56ZR Battery Meiji era leaders decided the nation-state had the primary role in mobilizing individuals - and children - in service of the state. The Western-style school was introduced as the agent to reach that goal. By the 1890s, Sony Vaio VGN-FW56SR Battery Sony Vaio VGN-SR49VT/H Batteryschools were generating new sensibilities regarding childhood.[83] After 1890 Japan had numerous reformers, child experts, magazine editors, and well-educated mothers who bought into the new sensibility. They taught the upper middle class a model of childhood that included children having their own space where they read children's books, Sony VAIO VGN-FW21E Battery played with educational toys and, especially, devoted enormous time to school homework. These ideas rapidly disseminated through all social classes [84][85] Postwar Japan (1945-present)   Main article: Postwar Japan After the collapse of the Empire of Japan, Japan was transformed into a democratic state with a revised democratic Constitution of Japan. During the postwar period, Japan became an economic power state. This period is characterized by the US-Japan Alliance such as the United States Forces Japan. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21I Battery Occupation of Japan     General MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito Main article: Occupation of Japan   This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. (Consider using more specific cleanup instructions.) Please help improve this section if you can. The talk page may contain suggestions. (July 2010) Sony VAIO VGN-FW21L Battery   As a result of its defeat of World War II, the Empire of Japan was dissolved, Japan lost all of its overseas possessions and retained only the home islands. Manchukuo was dissolved, and Inner Manchuria and Taiwan were returned to the Republic of China; Korea was taken under the control of the UN; southern Sakhalin and the Kuriles were occupied by the U.S.S.R.; Sony VAIO VGN-FW21Z Battery   and the United States became the sole administering authority of the Ryukyu, Bonin, and Volcano Islands. The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo Trial), an international war crimes tribunal, was held, in which seven politicians were executed. Emperor Hirohito was not convicted, but instead was enthroned as the emperor of the new state. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21M Battery The 1972 reversion of Okinawa completed the United States' return of control of these islands to Japan. Japan continues to protest for the corresponding return of the Kuril Islands from Russia. Defeat came for a number of reasons. The most important is probably Japan's underestimation of the military capabilities of the U.S. Sony VAIO VGN-FW31M Battery   The U.S. recovered from its initial setback at Pearl Harbor much quicker than the Japanese expected, and their sudden counterattack came as a blow to Japanese morale. U.S. output of military products was also much higher than Japanese counterparts over the course of the war. Another reason was factional in-fighting between the Army and Navy, which led to poor intelligence and cooperation. Sony VAIO VGN-FW31J Battery This was compounded as the Japanese forces found they had overextended themselves, leaving Japan itself vulnerable to attack. Another important factor is Japan's underestimation of resistance in China, which Japan[who?] claimed would be conquered in three months. The prolonged war was both militarily and economically disastrous for Japan. Sony VAIO VGN-FW11ZRU Battery   After the war, Japan was placed under international control of the American-led Allied powers in the Asia-Pacific region through General Douglas MacArthur as Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers. This was the first time since the unification of Japan that the island nation was successfully occupied by a foreign power. Sony VAIO VGN-FW11ZU Battery Some high officers of the Sh wa regime were prosecuted and convicted by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. However, Emperor Sh wa, all members of the imperial family implicated in the war such as prince Asaka, prince Chichibu, Sony VAIO VGN-FW21ER Battery prince Takeda, prince Higashikuni, prince Fushimi, as well as Shir Ishii and all members of unit 731 were exonerated from criminal prosecutions by MacArthur.[86][87] Entering the Cold War with the Korean War, Japan came to be seen as an important ally of the US government. Political, economic, and social reforms were introduced, such as an elected Japanese Diet (legislature) and expanded suffrage. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21J Battery The country's constitution took effect on May 3, 1947. The United States and 45 other Allied nations signed the Treaty of Peace with Japan in September 1951. The U.S. Senate ratified the treaty on March 20, 1952, and under the terms of the treaty, Japan regained full sovereignty on April 28, 1952. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21ZR   Under the terms of the peace treaty and later agreements, the United States maintains naval bases at Sasebo, Okinawa and at Yokosuka. A portion of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, including one aircraft carrier (currently USS George Washington (CVN-73)), is based at Yokosuka. This arrangement is partially intended to provide for the defense of Japan, Sony VAIO VGN-FW3ZJ Battery as the treaty and the new Japanese constitution imposed during the occupation severely restrict the size and purposes of Japanese Self-Defense Forces in the modern period. Cold War Main article: Post-occupation Japan After a series of realignment of political parties, the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the leftist Social Democratic Party (SDP) were formed in 1955. The political map in Japan had been largely unaltered until early 1990s and LDP had been the largest political party in the national politics.[88] Sony VAIO VGN-FW46M Battery LDP politicians and government bureaucrats focused on economic policy. From the 1950s to the 1980s, Japan experienced its rapid development into a major economic power, through a process often referred to as the Japanese post-war economic miracle. Sony VAIO VGN-FW4ZTJ/H   Japan's biggest postwar political crisis took place in 1960 over the revision of the Japan-United States Mutual Security Assistance Pact. As the new Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security was concluded, which renewed the United States role as military protector of Japan, massive street protests and political upheaval occurred, Sony VAIO VGN-FW51 Battery and the cabinet resigned a month after the Diet's ratification of the treaty. Thereafter, political turmoil subsided. Japanese views of the United States, after years of mass protests over nuclear armaments and the mutual defense pact, improved by 1972 with the reversion of United States-occupied Okinawa to Japanese sovereignty and the winding down of the Vietnam War. Sony VAIO VGN-FW54M Battery Japan had reestablished relations with the Republic of China after World War II, and cordial relations were maintained with the nationalist government when it was relocated to Taiwan, a policy that won Japan the enmity of the People's Republic of China, which was established in 1949. After the general warming of relations between China and Western countries, especially the United States, which shocked Japan with its sudden rapprochement with Beijing in 1971, Tokyo established relations with Beijing in 1972. Sony VAIO VGN-FW51MF/H Battery Close cooperation in the economic sphere followed. Japan's relations with the Soviet Union continued to be problematic after the war, but a Joint Declaration between Japan and the USSR ending the state of war and reestablishing diplomatic relations was signed October 19, 1956.[89] Sony VAIO VGN-FW51ZF/H Battery The main object of dispute was the Soviet occupation of what Japan calls its Northern Territories, the two most southerly islands in the Kurils (Etorofu and Kunashiri) and Shikotan and the Habomai Islands, which were seized by the Soviet Union in the closing days of World War II. SONY VGN-FW41E/H BATTERY   Economic growth Throughout the postwar period, Japan's economy continued to boom, with results far outstripping expectations.[90] Given a massive boost by the Korean War, in which it acted as a major supplier to the UN force, Japan's economy embarked on a prolonged period of extremely rapid growth, led by the manufacturing sectors. SONY VGN-FW41J/H BATTERY Japan emerged as a significant power in many economic spheres, including steel working, car manufacturing and the manufacturing of electronic goods. Japan rapidly caught up with the West in foreign trade, GNP, and general quality of life. These achievements were underscored by the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games and the Osaka International Exposition in 1970. SONY VGN-FW41M/H BATTERY The high economic growth and political tranquility of the mid to late 1960s were tempered by the quadrupling of oil prices by the OPEC in 1973. Almost completely dependent on imports for petroleum, Japan experienced its first recession since World War II. Another serious problem was Japan's growing trade surplus, which reached record heights during Nakasone's first term. SONY VGN-FW41ZJ/H BATTERY The United States pressured Japan to remedy the imbalance, demanding that Tokyo raise the value of the yen and open its markets further to facilitate more imports from the United States.[91] After the Cold War Main article: Heisei period Japan after the Cold War is also called as the Heisei period, which starts from the year of the Revolutions of Eastern Europe. 1989 marked one of the most rapid economic growth spurts in Japanese history. With a strong yen and a favorable exchange rate with the dollar, the Bank of Japan kept interest rates low, sparking an investment boom that drove Tokyo property values up sixty percent within the year. Sony VAIO VGN-NW31JF/S Battery Shortly before New Year's Day, the Nikkei 225 reached its record high of 39,000. By 1991, it had fallen to 15,000, signifying the end of Japan's famed bubble economy.[92] Unemployment ran reasonably high, but not at crisis levels. Rather than suffer large-scale unemployment and lay-offs, Japan's labor market suffered in more subtle, Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF/T Battery yet no less profound effects that were nonetheless difficult to gauge statistically. During the prosperous times, jobs were seen as long term even to the point of being life long. In contrast, Japan during the lost decade saw a marked increase in temporary and part time work which only promised employment for short periods and marginal benefits. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF/S Battery This also created a generational gap, as those who had entered the labor market prior to the lost decade usually retained their employment and benefits, and were effectively insulated from the economic slowdown, whereas younger workers who entered the market a few years later suffered the brunt of its effects. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF/W Battery   In a series of financial scandals of the LDP, a coalition led by Morihiro Hosokawa took power in 1993. Hosokawa succeeded to legislate a new plurality voting election law instead of the stalemated multi-member constituency election system.[93] However, the coalition collapsed the next year as parties had gathered to simply overthrow LDP and lacked a unified position on almost every social issue. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF/P Battery The LDP returned to the government in 1996, when it helped to elect Social Democrat Tomiichi Murayama as prime minister. The Great Hanshin earthquake hit Kobe on January 17, 1995. 6,000 people were killed and 44,000 were injured. 250,000 houses were destroyed or burned in a fire. The amount of damage totaled more than ten trillion yen.[94] Sony VAIO VGN-NW21JF/S Battery In March of the same year the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo attacked on the Tokyo subway system with sarin gas, killing 12 and injuring hundreds more. An investigation later revealed that the cult was responsible for dozens of murders that occurred prior to the gas attacks.[95] Junichiro Koizumi was president of the LDP and Prime Minister of Japan from April 2001 to September 2006. Koizumi enjoyed high approval ratings. He was known as an economic reformer and he privatized the national postal system. Sony VAIO VGN-NW20EF/S Battery Koizumi also had an active involvement in the War on Terrorism, sending 1,000 soldiers of the Japan Self-Defense Forces to help in Iraq's reconstruction after the Iraq War, the biggest overseas troop deployment since World War II. The ruling coalition is formed by the liberal Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the leftist Social Democratic Party and the conservative People's New Party. The opposition is formed by the liberal conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Sony VAIO VGN-NW31EF Battery Sony VAIO VGN-NW31ZF/S Battery Other parties are the New Komeito Party, a S ka Gakkai party and the Japanese Communist Party. On 2 June 2010 Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama officially resigned from his position as leader of the DPJ, citing the failure to fulfill his campaign promise of removing a U.S. base from the island of Okinawa as his main reason for stepping down. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21JF/S Battery   On March 11, 2011, Japan suffered the strongest earthquake in its recorded history, affecting the north-east area of Honsh . The magnitude 9.0[96] quake was aggravated by a tsunami and also caused numerous fires and damaged several nuclear reactors. Damage to Fukushima Nuclear Plant led to meltdown of three reactors and release of radioactive material, in the largest nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Sony Vaio VGN-AW41ZF/B Battery   The Second Sino-Japanese War (July 7, 1937 - September 9, 1945) was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany (see Sino-German cooperation), the Soviet Union (1937-1940) and the United States (see American Volunteer Group). Sony Vaio VGN-AW41XH/Q Battery  

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (1941), the war merged into the greater conflict of World War II as a major front of what is broadly known as the Pacific War. The Second Sino-Japanese War was the largest Asian war in the 20th century.[7] It also made up more than 50% of the casualties in the Pacific War if the 1937-1941 period is taken into account. Sony Vaio VGN-AW41MF/H Battery   Although the two countries had fought intermittently since 1931, total war started in earnest in 1937 and ended only with the surrender of Japan in 1945. The war was the result of a decades-long Japanese imperialist policy aiming to dominate China politically and militarily and to secure its vast raw material reserves and other economic resources, particularly food and labour. Before 1937, China and Japan fought in small, Sony Vaio VGN-AW41JF/H Battery localized engagements, so-called "incidents". In 1931, the Japanese invasion of Manchuria by Japan's Kwantung Army followed the Mukden Incident. The last of these incidents was the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of 1937, marking the beginning of total war between the two countries. Sony Vaio VGN-AW31ZJ/B Battery   Initially the Japanese scored major victories in Shanghai and by the end of 1937 captured the Chinese capital of Nanking. After failing to stop the Japanese in Wuhan, the Chinese central government moved to Chungking in the Chinese interior. By 1939 the war had reached stalemate after Chinese victories in Changsha and Guangxi. Sony Vaio VGN-AW31S/B Battery The Japanese were also unable to defeat the Chinese communists forces in Shaanxi, which performed harassment and sabotage operations against the Japanese. On the 7th of December 1941 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the following day (December 8) the United States declared war on Japan. Japan surrendered in 1945. Sony Vaio VGN-AW31M/H Battery   The word "incident" ( jihen?) was used by Japan, as neither country had made a formal declaration of war. Japan wanted to avoid intervention by other countries, particularly the United Kingdom and the United States, which were her primary source of petroleum; the United States was also her biggest supplier of steel. Sony Vaio VGN-AW31XY/Q Battery US President Franklin D. Roosevelt would have been legally obliged to impose an embargo on Japan in observance of the US Neutrality Acts had the fighting been formally escalated to "general war". [edit] War The origin of the Second Sino-Japanese War can be traced to the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95, in which China, then under the Qing Dynasty, was defeated by Japan and was forced to cede Taiwan to it, and to recognize the independence of Korea in the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Sony Vaio VGN-AW21Z/B Battery The Qing Dynasty was on the brink of collapse from internal revolts and foreign imperialism, while Japan had emerged as a great power through its effective measures of modernization.[8] [edit]The Republic of China The Republic of China was founded in 1912, following the Xinhai Revolution which overthrew the Qing Dynasty. However, central authority disintegrated and the Republic's authority succumbed to that of regional warlords. Unifying the nation and repelling imperialism seemed a very remote possibility.[9] Sony Vaio VGN-AW21XY/Q Battery Some warlords even aligned themselves with various foreign powers in an effort to wipe each other out. For example, the warlord Zhang Zuolin of Manchuria openly cooperated with the Japanese for military and economic assistance.[10] [edit]Twenty-One Demands In 1915, Japan issued the Twenty-One Demands to extort further political and commercial privilege from China.[11] Following World War I, Japan acquired the German Empire's sphere of influence in Shandong[12] (Shantung), Sony Vaio VGN-AW21S Battery leading to nationwide anti-Japanese protests and mass demonstrations in China, but China under the Beiyang government remained fragmented and unable to resist foreign incursions.[13] To unite China and eradicate regional warlords, the Kuomintang (KMT, or Chinese Nationalist Party) in Guangzhou launched the Northern Expedition of 1926-28.[14] Sony Vaio VGN-AW21M Battery   [edit]Jinan Incident The Kuomintang's National Revolutionary Army (NRA) swept through China until it was checked in Shandong, where Beiyang warlord Zhang Zongchang, backed by the Japanese, attempted to stop the NRA's advance. This battle culminated in the Jinan Incident of 1928 in which the National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army were engaged in a short conflict that resulted in Kuomintang's withdrawal from Jinan.[15] Sony Vaio VGN-AW11RXU/Q Battery   [edit]Zhang Zuolin and Chiang Kai Shek In the same year, Zhang Zuolin was assassinated when he became less willing to cooperate with Japan.[16] Afterwards Zhang's son Zhang Xueliang quickly took over control of Manchuria, and despite strong Japanese lobbying efforts to continue the resistance against the KMT, he shortly declared his allegiance to the Kuomintang government under Chiang Kai-shek, Sony Vaio VGN-AW11ZR/B Battery which resulted in the nominal unification of China at the end of 1928.[17] [edit]Communist Party of China However in 1930, a large-scale civil war broke out between warlords who fought in alliance with Kuomintang during the Northern Expedition and central government under Chiang. In addition, the Chinese Communists (CCP, Sony Vaio VGN-AW11Z/B Battery or Communist Party of China) revolted against the central government following a purge of its members by the KMT in 1927. Therefore the Chinese central government diverted much attention into fighting these civil wars and followed a policy of "first internal pacification before external resistance"((Chinese): Sony Vaio VGN-AW11XU/Q Battery [edit]Course of the war   [edit]Invasion of Manchuria, interventions in China     Kwantung Army entering Shenyang during the Mukden Incident.     Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek announced the Kuomintang policy of resistance against Japan at Lushan on July 10, 1937, three days after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. The situation in China provided an easy opportunity for Japan to further its goals. Japan saw Manchuria as a limitless supply of raw materials, a market for her manufactured goods (now excluded from many Western countries by Depression era tariffs), and as a protective buffer state against the Soviet Union in Siberia. Japan invaded Manchuria outright after the Mukden Incident ( ) in September 1931. Sony Vaio VGN-AW11SR/B Battery After five months of fighting, the puppet state of Manchukuo was established in 1932, with the last emperor of China, Puyi, installed as a puppet ruler. Militarily too weak to directly challenge Japan, China appealed to the League of Nations for help. The League's investigation was published as the Lytton Report, condemning Japan for its incursion into Manchuria, and causing Japan to withdraw from the League of Nations entirely. Sony Vaio VGN-AW11S/B Battery Sony Vaio VGN-AW11M/H Battery Appeasement being the predominant policy of the day, no country was willing to take action against Japan beyond tepid censure. Incessant fighting followed the Mukden Incident. In 1932, Chinese and Japanese troops fought a short war in the January 28 Incident. This battle resulted in the demilitarisation of Shanghai, which forbade the Chinese from deploying troops in their own city. Sony VAIO VGN-NS31M/W Battery In Manchukuo there was an ongoing campaign to defeat the anti-Japanese volunteer armies that arose from widespread outrage over the policy of non-resistance to Japan. In 1933, the Japanese attacked the Great Wall region, the Tanggu Truce taking place in its aftermath, giving Japan control of Rehe province as well as a demilitarized zone between the Great Wall and Beiping-Tianjin region. Sony VAIO VGN-NS31S/S Battery Here the Japanese aim was to create another buffer region, this time between Manchukuo and the Chinese Nationalist government in Nanjing. Japan increasingly used internal conflict in China to reduce the strength of her fractious opponents. This was precipitated by the fact that even years after the Northern Expedition, the political power of the Nationalist government was limited to just the area of the Yangtze River Delta. Other sections of China were essentially in the hands of local Chinese warlords. Sony VAIO VGN-NS38M/P Battery     Casualties of a mass panic during a June 1941 Japanese bombing of Chongqing. More than 5000 civilians died during the first two days of air raids in 1939[18] Most historians place the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War on July 7, 1937 at the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, when a crucial access point to Beijing was assaulted by the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). Because the Chinese defenders were the poorly equipped infantry divisions of the former Northwest Army, the Japanese easily captured Beiping and Tianjin. Sony VAIO VGN-NS38M/W Battery   The Imperial General Headquarters (GHQ) in Tokyo were initially reluctant to escalate the conflict into full scale war, being content with the victories achieved in northern China following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. However, the KMT central government determined that the "breaking point" of Japanese aggression had been reached and Chiang Kai-shek quickly mobilized the central government army and air force under his direct command to attack the Japanese Marines in Shanghai on August 13, 1937, Sony VAIO VGN-SR11M Battery which led to the Battle of Shanghai. The IJA had to mobilize over 200,000 troops, coupled with numerous naval vessels and aircraft to capture Shanghai after more than three months of intense fighting, with casualties far exceeding initial expectations.[19] Sony VAIO VGN-SR11MR Battery   Building on the hard won victory in Shanghai, the IJA captured the KMT capital city of Nanjing (Nanking) and Northern Shanxi by the end of 1937, in campaigns involving approximately 350,000 Japanese soldiers, and considerably more Chinese. Historians estimate up to 300,000 Chinese were mass murdered in the Nanking Massacre (also known as the "Rape of Nanking"), after the fall of Nanking on December 13, 1937, while some Japanese deny the existence of a massacre. Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VN Battery At the start of 1938, the Headquarters in Tokyo still hoped to limit the scope of the conflict to occupying areas around Shanghai, Nanjing and most of northern China. They thought this would preserve strength for an anticipated showdown with the Soviet Union, but by now the Japanese government and GHQ had effectively lost control of the Japanese army in China. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MR Battery With many victories achieved, Japanese field generals escalated the war and finally met with defeat at Taierzhuang. Afterwards the IJA had to change its strategy and deploy almost all of its armies in the attack on the city of Wuhan, which by now was the political, economic and military center of China, in hopes of destroying the fighting strength of the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) and forcing the KMT government to negotiate for peace.[20] Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN Battery But after the Japanese capture of the city of Wuhan on October 27, 1938, the KMT was forced to retreat to Chongqing (Chungking) to set up a provisional capital, with Chiang Kai-shek still refusing to negotiate unless Japan agreed to withdraw to her pre-1937 borders. Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S Battery   With Japanese casualties and costs mounting, the Imperial General Headquarters decided to retaliate by ordering the air force of the navy and the army to launch the war's first massive air raids on civilian targets in the provisional capital of Chongqing and nearly every major city in unoccupied China, leaving millions dead, injured and homeless. Sony VAIO VGN-SR21RM/H Battery   From the beginning of 1939 the war entered a new phase with the unprecedented defeat of the Japanese at Changsha and Guangxi. These outcomes encouraged the Chinese to launch its first large-scale counter-offensive against the IJA in early 1940. However, due to its low military-industrial capacity and limited experience in modern warfare, Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S Battery the NRA was defeated in this offensive. Afterwards Chiang could not risk any more all-out offensive campaigns given the poorly trained, under-equipped, and disorganized state of his armies and opposition to his leadership both within the Kuomintang and in China in general. Sony VAIO VGN-SR21RM/H Battery He had lost a substantial portion of his best trained and equipped men in the Battle of Shanghai and was at times at the mercy of his generals, who maintained a high degree of autonomy from the central KMT government. Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S Battery Sony VAIO VGN-NW20SF Battery From 1940 on the Japanese encountered tremendous difficulties in administering and garrisoning the seized territories, and tried to solve its occupation problems by implementing a strategy of creating friendly puppet governments favourable to Japanese interests in the territories conquered, the most prominent being the Nanjing Nationalist Government headed by former KMT premier Wang Jingwei. However, Sony VAIO VGN-SR29VN Battery the atrocities committed by the Japanese army, as well as Japanese refusal to delegate any real power, left them very unpopular and largely ineffective. The only success the Japanese had was the ability to recruit a large Collaborationist Chinese Army to maintain public security in the occupied areas. Sony VAIO VGN-SR31M Battery   By 1941 Japan held most of the eastern coastal areas of China and Vietnam, but guerilla fighting continued in these occupied areas. Japan had suffered tremendous casualties from unexpectedly stubborn Chinese resistance, and neither side could make any swift progress in a manner resembling the fall of France and Western Europe to Nazi Germany. Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/P Battery Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/S Battery Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/P Battery [edit]Chinese resistance strategy     Muslim General Ma Fushou in a show of solidarity with Chiang Kai-Shek.     Chinese soldiers in house-to-house fighting in Battle of Taierzhuang. The basis of Chinese strategy before the entrance of Western Allies can be divided into two periods: First Period: 7 July 1937 (Battle of Lugou Bridge) - 25 October 1938 (Fall of Wuhan). Unlike Japan, China was unprepared for total war and had little military-industrial strength, no mechanized divisions, and few armoured forces.[21] Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/W Battery   Up until the mid-1930s China had hoped that the League of Nations would provide countermeasures to Japan's aggression. In addition, the Kuomintang (KMT) government was mired in a civil war against the Communist Party of China (CCP), as Chiang Kai-shek was quoted: "the Japanese are a disease of the skin, Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MR Battery the Communists are a disease of the heart". The Second United Front between the KMT and CCP was never truly unified, as each side was preparing for a showdown with the other once the Japanese were driven out. Sony VGP-BPS13/B Battery   Even under these extremely unfavorable circumstances, Chiang realized that to win support from the United States and other foreign nations, China had to prove it was capable of fighting. A fast retreat would discourage foreign aid so Chiang decided to make a stand in the Battle of Shanghai. Chiang sent the best of his German-trained divisions to defend China's largest and most industrialized city from the Japanese. Sony VGP-BPS13B/B Battery The battle lasted over three months, saw heavy casualties on both sides and ended with a Chinese retreat towards Nanjing. While this was a military defeat for the Chinese, it proved that China would not be defeated easily and showed China's determination to the world, which became an enormous morale booster for the Chinese people as it decisively refuted the Japanese boast that Japan could conquer Shanghai in three days and China in three months. Sony VAIO VGN-NW20ZF Battery Afterwards the Chinese began to adopt the strategy of "trading space for time" ((Chinese): ). The Chinese army would put up fights to delay Japanese advance to northern and eastern cities, to allow the home front, along with its professionals and key industries, to retreat west into Chongqing. As a result of Chinese troops' scorched earth strategies, where dams and levees were intentionally sabotaged to create massive flooding, the consecutive Japanese advancements and conquests began to stall in late 1938. Sony VGP-BPS13A/B Battery   Second Period: 25 October 1938 (Fall of Wuhan) - December 1941 (before the Allies' declaration of war on Japan).     National Revolutionary Army soldiers march to the front in 1939. During this period, the Chinese main objective was to prolong the war as long as possible, exhausting the Japanese resources and building up the Chinese military capacity. American general Joseph Stilwell called this strategy "winning by outlasting". Therefore, the National Revolutionary Army adopted the concept of "magnetic warfare" to attract advancing Japanese troops to definite points where they were subjected to ambush, flanking attacks, Sony VGP-BPS13/S Battery and encirclements in major engagements. The most prominent example of this tactic is the successful defense of Changsha in 1939 and again in 1941 while inflicting heavy casualties on the IJA. Local Chinese resistance forces, organised separately by both the Chinese communists and KMT continued their resistance in occupied areas to pester the enemy and make their administration over the vast lands of China difficult. In 1940 the Chinese Red Army launched a major offensive in north China, Sony VGP-BPS13 Batterty destroyed railways and blew up a major coal mine. These constant harassment and sabotage operations deeply frustrated the Japanese army and led them to employ the "Three Alls Policy" (kill all, loot all, burn all) ( , Hanyu Pinyin: S ngu ng Zh ngc , Japanese On: Sank Seisaku). It was during this time period that the bulk of Japanese war crimes were committed. Sony VGP-BPS13/Q Battery   By 1941, Japan had occupied much of north and coastal China, but the KMT central government and military had successfully retreated to the western interior to continue their resistance, while the Chinese communists remained in control of base areas in Shaanxi. Furthermore, in the occupied areas Japanese control was limited to just railroads and major cities ("points and lines"), Sony VAIO VGN-NW26M Batterybut they did not have a major military or administrative presence in the vast Chinese countryside, which was a hotbed of Chinese partisan activities. This stalemate situation made a decisive victory seem impossible to the Japanese. [edit]Relationship between the Nationalists and Communists Sony VGP-BPS13A/Q Battery   After the Mukden Incident in 1931, Chinese public opinion strongly criticized the leader of Manchuria, the "young marshal" Zhang Xueliang, for his nonresistance to the Japanese invasion, even though the Kuomintang central government was indirectly responsible for this policy. Afterwards Chiang Kai-shek assigned Zhang and his Northeast Army the duty of suppressing the Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Shaanxi after their Long March. This resulted in great casualties for his Northeast Army, and Chiang Kai-shek did not give him any support in manpower and weaponry. Sony VGP-BPS13B/Q Battery   Eighth Route Army Commander Zhu De with KMT Blue Sky White Sun Emblem cap. On 12 December 1936 a deeply disgruntled Zhang Xueliang decided to conspire with the CCP and kidnapped Chiang Kai-shek in Xi'an to force an end to the conflict between KMT and CCP. To secure the release of Chiang, the KMT was forced to agree to a temporary end to the Chinese Civil War and the forming of a United Front between the CCP and KMT against Japan on 24 December 1936. Sony VGP-BPS21 Battery     The cooperation took place with salutary effects for the beleaguered CCP, and they agreed to form the New Fourth Army and the 8th Route Army which were nominally under the command of the National Revolutionary Army. The Red Army of CCP fought in alliance with the KMT forces during the Battle of Taiyuan, Sony VGP-BPS21A Battery and the high point of their cooperation came in 1938 during the Battle of Wuhan. However, despite Japan's steady territorial gains in northern China, the coastal regions, and the rich Yangtze River Valley in central China, the distrust between the two antagonists was scarcely veiled. Sony VGP-BPS21B Battery The uneasy alliance began to break down by late 1938 as a result of the Communists efforts to aggressively expand their military strength through absorbing Chinese guerrilla forces behind enemy lines. For Chinese militia who refuse to switch their allegiance, the CCP would call them "collaborators" and then attack to eliminate their forces. For example, the Red Army led by He Long attacked and wiped out a brigade of Chinese militia led by Zhang Yin-wu in Hebei in June, 1939.[22] Sony VGP-BPS21A/B Battery Starting in 1940, open conflicts between the Nationalists and Communists became more frequent in the occupied areas outside of Japanese control, culminating in the New Fourth Army Incident in January 1941. Sony VGP-BPS21/S Battery   Afterwards, the Second United Front completely broke down and Chinese Communists leader Mao Zedong outlined the preliminary plan for the CCP's eventual seizure of power from Chiang Kai-shek. Mao began his final push for consolidation of CCP power under his authority, and his teachings became the central tenets of the CCP doctrine that came to be formalized as "Mao Zedong Thought". Sony VAIO VGN-NW20EF Battery The communists also began to focus most of their energy on building up their sphere of influence wherever opportunities were presented, mainly through rural mass organizations, administrative, land and tax reform measures favoring poor peasants; while the Nationalists attempted to neutralize the spread of Communist influence by military blockade of areas controlled by CCP and fighting the Japanese at the same time[23] Sony VAIO VGN-NW24S Battery [edit]Foreign support for China See also: Motives of the Second Sino-Japanese War

• At the outbreak of full scale war, many global powers were reluctant to provide support to China; because in their opinion the Chinese would eventually lose the war, and they did not wish to antagonize the Japanese who might, in turn, eye their colonial possessions in the region. They expected any support given to the Chinese might worsen their own relationship with the Japanese, Sony VAIO PCG-5G2L Battery
• who taunted the Chinese with the prospect of conquest within three months. However, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union did provide support to the Chinese before the war escalated to the Asian theatre of World War II, with the United States and Allies lending support to China afterwards. Sony VAIO PCG-5G3L Battery

  [edit]German support Main article: Sino-German cooperation (1911-1941)

• Prior to the outbreak of the war, Germany and China had close economic and military cooperation, with Germany helping China modernize its industry and military in exchange for raw materials. Sony VAIO PCG-5J1L Battery
• Sony VAIO PCG-5J2L Battery
• More than half of the German arms exports during its rearmament period were to China. Nevertheless the proposed 30 new divisions equipped and trained with German assistance did not materialize when Germany withdrew its support in 1938, because Adolf Hitler wanted to form an alliance with Japan against the Soviet Union.

Sony VAIO PCG-71511MA Battery [edit]Soviet support     I-16 with Chinese insignia. I-16 was the main fighter plane used by the Chinese Air Force and Soviet volunteers.

• With the signing of the Anti-Comintern Pact between Germany and Japan, the Soviet Union wished to keep China in the war to hinder the Japanese from invading Siberia, thus saving itself from the threat of a two-front war. Sony VAIO PCG-5K2L Battery
• In September 1937, the Soviet leadership signed the Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, began aiding China, and approved Operation Zet, a Soviet volunteer air force. As part of the secret operation, Soviet technicians upgraded and handled some of the Chinese war-supply transport. Bombers, fighters, military supplies and advisors arrived, Sony VAIO PCG-5K1L Battery
• including Soviet general Vasily Chuikov, later to become victor at the Battle of Stalingrad. Prior to the entrance of Western allies, the Soviet Union provided the largest amount of foreign aid to China, totalling some $250 million of credits in munitions and supplies. In 1941, Soviet aid ended as a result of the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact and the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Sony VAIO PCG-6S1L Battery

This pact enabled the Soviet Union to avoid fighting against Germany and Japan at the same time. 3,665 Soviet advisors and pilots fought for the Chinese side[24] In total, 227 Soviets died fighting in China.[citation needed] [edit]Allied support     Flying Tigers Commander Claire Lee Chennault     A "blood chit" issued to AVG pilots requesting all Chinese to offer rescue and protection.

• From December 1937 events such as the Japanese attack on the USS Panay and the Nanking Massacre swung public opinion in the West sharply against Japan and increased their fear of Japanese expansion, which prompted the United States, Sony VAIO PCG-6S2L Battery
• the United Kingdom, and France to provide loan assistance for war supply contracts to the Republic of China. Furthermore, Australia prevented a Japanese government-owned company from taking over an iron mine in Australia, and banned iron ore exports in 1938.[25] Sony VAIO PCG-6W1L Battery
• Japan retaliated by invading and occupying French Indochina (present-day Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) in 1940, and successfully blockaded China from the import of arms, fuel and 10,000 tons/month of materials supplied by the Allies through the Haiphong-Yunnan Fou railway line. Sony VAIO PCG-6W2L Battery

US Air Forces video:Flying Tigers Bite Back

• In mid-1941, the United States government financed the creation of the American Volunteer Group (AVG), or Flying Tigers, to replace the withdrawal of Soviet volunteers and aircraft. Led by Claire Lee Chennault Sony VAIO PCG-6W3L Battery

   

• their early combat success of 300 kills against a loss of 12 of their shark painted P-40 fighters earned them wide recognition at the time when Allies were suffering heavy losses, and soon afterwards their dogfighting tactics would be adopted by the United States Army Air Forces. Furthermore, Sony VAIO PCG-7111L Battery

   

• to pressure the Japanese to end all hostilities in China, the United States, Britain, and the Dutch East Indies began oil and/or steel embargos against Japan. The loss of oil imports made it impossible for Japan to continue operations in China. This set the stage for Japan to launch a series of military attacks against the Allies when the Imperial Japanese Navy raided Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Sony VAIO PCG-7112L Battery
• Within a few days of the attack on Pearl Harbor, China formally declared war against Japan, Germany and Italy,[26] and almost immediately the Chinese troops achieved another decisive victory in the Battle of Changsha, which earned the Chinese government much prestige from the Allies. President Franklin D. Sony VAIO PCG-7113L Battery
• Roosevelt referred to the United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union and China as the world's "Four Policemen", elevating the international status of China to an unprecedented height after a century of humiliation at the hands of various imperialist powers. Sony VAIO PCG-7131L Battery

 

• Chiang Kai-shek continued to receive supplies from the United States as the Chinese conflict was merged into the Asian theatre of World War II. However, in contrast to the Arctic supply route to the Soviet Union that stayed open most of the war, Sony VAIO PCG-7133L Battery
• Sony VAIO PCG-71511MA/B Batterysea routes to China and the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway had been closed since 1940. Therefore between the closing of the Burma Road in 1942 and its re-opening as the Ledo Road in 1945, foreign aid was largely limited to what could be flown in over "The Hump".Sony VAIO PCG-7132L Battery

 

• Most of China's own industry had already been captured or destroyed by Japan, and the Soviet Union refused to allow the United States to supply China through Kazakhstan into Xinjiang because the Xinjiang warlord Sheng Shicai turned anti-Soviet in 1942 with Chiang's approval. For these reasons, the Chinese government never had the supplies and equipment needed to mount major counter-offensives. Despite the severe shortage of materiel, in 1943, the Chinese were successful in repelling major Japanese offensives in Hubei and Changde. Sony VAIO PCG-7z1L Battery

 

• Chiang was appointed Allied commander-in-chief in the China theater in 1942, while American general Joseph Stilwell served for a time as Chiang's chief of staff, and at the same time commanding American forces in the China Burma India Theater. However, relations between Stilwell and Chiang soon broke down for many reasons. Sony VAIO PCG-7z1L Battery
• Many historians (such as Barbara W. Tuchman) suggested it was largely due to the corruption and inefficiency of the Kuomintang (KMT) government. However, other historians (such as Ray Huang) and Hans van de Ven found that it was a more complicated situation. Stilwell had a strong desire to assume total control of Chinese troops and pursue an aggressive strategy, Sony VAIO PCG-8Y1L Battery
• while Chiang preferred a patient and less expensive strategy of outwaiting the Japanese. Chiang continued to maintain a defensive posture despite pleas from the other Allies to actively break the Japanese blockade, because China had already suffered tens of millions of war casualties and believed that Japan would eventually capitulate to America's overwhelming industrial output. Sony VAIO PCG-8Y2L Battery
• Sony VAIO PCG-71511M/B BatteryDue to these reasons the other Allies gradually began to lose confidence in the Chinese ability to conduct offensive operations from the Asian mainland, and instead concentrated their efforts against the Japanese in the Pacific Ocean Areas and South West Pacific Area, employing an island hopping strategy.[27] Sony VAIO PCG-8Z1L Battery

 

• Longstanding differences in national interest and political stance among China, the United States, and the United Kingdom did not disappear. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was reluctant to devote British troops, the majority of whom had been routed by the Japanese in earlier campaigns, to reopen the Burma Road. Sony VAIO PCG-8Z2L Battery
• On the other hand, Stilwell believed that the reopening of the Burma Road was vital to China as all the ports on mainland China were under Japanese control. The Allies' "Europe First" policy obviously did not sit well with Chiang, while the later British insistence that China send in more and more troops into Indochina in the Burma Campaign was suspected by Chiang as an attempt by Britain to use Chinese manpower to defend British colonial holdings and prevent the gate to India from falling to Japan. Sony VAIO PCG-71511M/S Battery

Chiang also believed that China should divert their crack army divisions from Burma to eastern China to defend the airbases of the American bombers and defeat Japan through bombing, a strategy that American general Claire Lee Chennault supported but Stilwell strongly opposed. Sony VAIO PCG-71511M Battery In addition, Chiang voiced his support of Indian independence in a meeting with Mahatma Gandhi in 1942, which further soured the relationship between China and the United Kingdom.[28]

• American and Canadian-born Chinese were recruited to act as covert operatives in Japanese-occupied China (Canadian-born Chinese having not yet been granted citizenship were trained by the British army). Employing their racial background as a disguise,
• Sony VAIO VGN-NR21S/T Battery

their mandate was to blend in with local citizens and wage a campaign of sabotage. Activities focused on destruction of Japanese transportation of supplies (signaling bomber destruction of railroads, bridges).[29]

• The United States saw the Chinese theater as a means to tie up a large number of Japanese troops, as well as being a location for American airbases from which to strike the Japanese home islands. In 1944, Sony Vaio VGN-NR31E/S Battery
• as the Japanese position in the Pacific was deteriorating fast, the IJA mobilized over 400,000 men and launched their Operation Ichi-Go, their largest offensive in World War II to attack the American airbases in China and link up the railway between Manchuria and Vietnam. This brought major cities in Hunan, Sony Vaio VGN-NR31ER/S Battery
• Henan and Guangxi under Japanese occupation. The failure of the Chinese forces to defend these areas encouraged Stilwell to attempt to gain command of the entire Chinese army, and his subsequent showdown with Chiang led to his replacement by Major General Albert Coady Wedemeyer. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31J/S Battery
• However, by the end of 1944 Chinese troops under the command of Sun Li-jen attacking from India and those under the command of Wei Lihuang attacking from Yunnan joined forces in Mong-Yu, which succeeded in driving out the Japanese in North Burma and securing the Ledo Road, a vital supply route to China.[30] Sony Vaio VGN-NR31MR/S Battery
• In Spring 1945 the Chinese launched offensives and retook Hunan and Guangxi. With the Chinese army progressing well in training and equipment, Wedemeyer planned to launch Operation Carbonado in summer 1945 to retake Guangdong, Sony Vaio VGN-NR31S/S Battery
• thus obtaining a coastal port, and from there drive northwards toward Shanghai. However, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Soviet invasion of Manchuria hastened Japanese surrender and these plans were not put into action. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31SR/S Battery

[edit]Intrusion into French Indochina   See also: Invasion of French Indochina and Second French Indochina Campaign The Chinese Kuomintang also supported the Vietnamese Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang in its battle against French and Japanese imperialism.

• In Guangxi Chinese military leaders were organizing Vietnamese nationalists against the Japanese. The VNQDD had been active in Guangxi and some of their members had joined the KMT army.[31] Under the umbrella of KMT activities, Sony Vaio VGN-NR31Z/S Battery

 

• a broad alliance of nationalists emerged. With Ho at the forefront, the Viet Nam Doc Lap Dong Minh Hoi (Vietnamese Independence League, usually known as the Viet Minh) was formed and based in the town of Chinghsi.[31] The pro-VNQDD nationalist Ho Ngoc Lam, a KMT army officer and former disciple of Phan Boi Chau,[32] Sony Vaio VGN-NR31Z/T Battery
• was named as the deputy of Ph m V n ng, later to be Ho's Prime Minister. The front was later broadened and renamed the Viet Nam Giai Phong Dong Minh (Vietnam Liberation League).[31] Sony Vaio VGN-NR31ZR/S Battery

   

• The Viet Nam Revolutionary League was a union of various Vietnamese nationalist groups, run by the pro Chinese VNQDD. Chinese KMT General Zhang Fakui created the league to further Chinese influence in Indochina, against the French and Japanese. Its stated goal was for unity with China under the Three Principles of the People, created by KMT founder Dr. Sun and opposition to Vietnamese and French Imperialists.[33][34] Sony Vaio VGN-NR38E/S Battery
• The Revolutionary League was controlled by Nguyen Hai Than, who was born in china and could not speak Vietnamese. General Zhang shrewdly blocked the Communists of Vietnam, and Ho Chi Minh from entering the league, as Zhang's main goal was Chinese influence in Indo China.[35] Sony Vaio VGN-NR38M/S Battery
• The KMT utilized these Vietnamese nationalists during World War II against Japanese forces.[31] Franklin D. Roosevelt, through General Stilwell, privately made it clear that they preferred that the French not reacquire French Indochina (modern day Vietnam, Sony Vaio VGN-NR38S/S Battery

Cambodia, and Laos) after the war was over. Roosevelt offered Chiang Kai-shek control of all of Indochina. It was said that Chiang Kai-shek replied: "Under no circumstances!".[36]

• After the war, 200,000 Chinese troops under General Lu Han were sent by Chiang Kai-shek to northern Indochina (north of the 16th parallel) to accept the surrender of Japanese occupying forces there, and remained in Indochina until 1946, when the French returned.[37] Sony VAIO VGN-NR21S/S BatteryThe Chinese used the VNQDD, the Vietnamese branch of the Chinese Kuomintang, to increase their influence in Indochina and to put pressure on their opponents.[38] Chiang Kai-shek threatened the French with war in response to manoeuvering by the French and Ho Chi Minh's forces against each other, forcing them to come to a peace agreement. In February, Sony Vaio VGN-NR38Z/S Battery
• 1946 he also forced the French to surrender all of their concessions in China and to renounce their extraterritorial privileges in exchange for the Chinese withdrawing from northern Indochina and allowing French troops to reoccupy the region. Following France's agreement to these demands, the withdrawal of Chinese troops began in March 1946. Sony Vaio VGN-NR38Z/T Battery

 

[edit]Contemporaneous wars being fought by China   The Chinese were not entirely devoting all their resources to the Japanese, because they were fighting several other wars at the same time. The Soviet Union attacked the Republic of China in 1937 during the Xinjiang War (1937). The Muslim General Ma Hushan of the Kuomintang 36th Division (National Revolutionary Army) resisted the Soviet invasion, Sony VAIO VGN-NR11M/S Battery which was being led by Russian troops commanded by Muslim General Ma Zhanshan, previously one of Chiang Kaishek's suboordinates. General Ma Hushan was expecting some sort of help from Nanjing, as he exchanged messages with Chiang regarding Soviet attack. Both the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Xinjiang War erupting simultaneously rendered Chiang and Ma Hushan on their own to confront the Japanese and Soviet forces. Sony VAIO VGN-NR11S/S Battery   The Republic of China government was fully aware of the Soviet invasion of Xinjiang province, and Soviet troops moving around Xinjiang and Gansu, but was forced to mask these manoeuvers to the public as "Japanese propaganda" to avoid an international incident and for continued military supplies from the Soviets.[43] Sony VAIO VGN-NR11Z/S Battery   Because the pro-Soviet governor Sheng Shicai controlled Xinjiang, which was garrisoned with Soviet troops in Turfan, which bordered Gansu, the Chinese government had to keep troops stationed there as well. Sony VAIO VGN-NR11Z/T Battery  

• The Muslim General Ma Buqing was in virtual control of the Gansu corridor at this time.[44] Ma Buqing had earlier fought against the Japanese, but because the Soviet threat was great, Chiang made some arrangements regarding Ma's position. In July 1942 Chiang Kai-shek instructed Ma Buqing to move 30,000 of his troops to the Tsaidam marsh in the Qaidam Basin of Qinghai.[45][46] Chiang named Ma Reclamation Commissioner, to threaten Sheng Shicai's southern flank in Xinjiang, which bordered Tsaidam. Sony VAIO VGN-NR21E/S Battery

Sony VAIO VGN-NR21J/S Battery After Ma evacuated his positions in Gansu, Kuomintang troops from central China flooded the area, and inflitrated Soviet occupied Xinjiang, gradually reclaiming it and forcing Sheng Shicai to break with the Soviets. The Kuomintang ordered Ma Bufang several times to march his troops into Xinjiang to intimidate the pro-Soviet Governor Sheng Shicai. This helped provide protection for Chinese settling in Xinjiang.[47] Sony VAIO VGN-CR21SR Battery

The history of Japan encompasses the history of the islands of Japan and the Japanese people, spanning the ancient history of the region to the modern history of Japan as a nation state. Following the last ice age, around 12,000 BC, the rich ecosystem of the Japanese Archipelago fostered human development. The earliest-known pottery belongs to the J mon period. Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21E Battery The first known written reference to Japan is in the brief information given in Twenty-Four Histories in the 1st century AD. The main cultural and religious influences came from China. The first permanent capital was founded at Nara in 710 AD, which became a center of Buddhist art, religion and culture. Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21J Battery The current imperial family emerged about 700 AD, but until 1868 (with few exceptions) had high prestige but little power. By 1550 or so political power was subdivided into several hundred local units, or "domains" controlled by local "daimy " (lords), each with his own force of samurai warriors. Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21M Battery Tokugawa Ieyasu came to power in 1600, gave land to his supporters, set up his "bakufu" (military government) at Edo (modern Tokyo). The "Tokugawa period" was prosperous and peaceful, but Japan deliberately terminated the Christian missions and cut off almost all contact with the outside world. Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21S Battery   Sony Vaio VGN-NR31E/S BatteryIn the 1860s the Meiji Period began, and the new national leadership systematically ended feudalism and transformed an isolated, underdeveloped island country into a world power that closely followed Western models. Democracy was problematic, because Japan's powerful military was semi-independent and overruled or assassinated civilians in the 1920s and 1930s. Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21Z Battery The military moved into China starting in 1931 but was defeated in the Pacific War by the United States and Britain. Occupied by the U.S. after the war and stripped of its conquests, Japan was transformed into a peaceful and democratic nation. After 1950 it enjoyed very high economic growth rates, and became a world economic powerhouse, Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31E Battery especially in automobiles and electronics. Since the 1990s economic stagnation has been a major issue, with an earthquake and tsunami in 2011 causing massive economic dislocations. The Japanese Paleolithic age covers a lengthy period starting as early as 50,000 BC and ending sometime around 12,000 BC, Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31J Battery Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31M Battery at the end of the last ice age. Artifacts claimed to be older than ca. 38,000 BC are not generally accepted, and most historians therefore believe that the Japanese Paleolithic started after 38,000 BC.[1] The Japanese archipelago would become disconnected from the mainland continent after the last ice age, around 11,000 BC. After a hoax by an amateur researcher, Shinichi Fujimura, had been exposed,[2] Sony Vaio VGN-FZ19VN Battery the Lower and Middle Paleolithic evidence reported by Fujimura and his associates has been rejected after thorough reinvestigation. As a result of the fallout over the hoax, now only some Upper Paleolithic evidence (not associated with Fujimura) can possibly be considered as having been well established. Ancient Japan Sony Vaio VGN-FZ39VN Battery   The J mon period lasted from about 14,000 until 300 BC. The first signs of civilization and stable living patterns appeared around 14,000 BC with the J mon culture, characterized by a Mesolithic to Neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer lifestyle of wood stilt house and pit dwellings and a rudimentary form of agriculture. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ39VN Battery   Weaving was still unknown at the time and clothes were often made of furs. The J mon people started to make clay vessels, decorated with patterns made by impressing the wet clay with braided or unbraided cord and sticks. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31ZR Battery Based on radio-carbon dating, some of the oldest surviving examples of pottery in the world can be found in Japan along with daggers, jade, combs made of shells, and various other household items dated to the 11th millennium BC.[3] Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31SR Battery   Alternatively, the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Timeline of Art History notes "Carbon-14 testing of the earliest known shards has yielded a production date of about 10,500 BC, but because this date falls outside the known chronology of pottery development elsewhere in the world, such an early date is not generally accepted.[4] Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31ER Battery   Calibrated radiocarbon measures of carbonized material from pottery artifacts: Fukui Cave 12500 350 BP and 12500 500 BP (Kamaki & Serizawa 1967), Kamikuroiwa rock shelter 12, 165 350 years BP in Shikoku.[5] although the specific dating is disputed. Clay figures known as dog were also excavated. The household items suggest trade routes existed with places as far away as Okinawa. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31E/S Battery [citation needed] DNA analysis suggests that the Ainu, an indigenous people that live in Hokkaid and the northern part of Honsh , are descended from the J mon and thus represent descendants of the first inhabitants of Japan.[citation needed] Yayoi period Sony Vaio VGN-NR31ER/S Battery   Main article: Yayoi period     A Yayoi period D taku, 3rd century AD The Yayoi period lasted from about 400 or 300 BC until 250 AD. This period followed the J mon period and completely supplanted it. This period is named after Yayoi town, the subsection of Bunky , Tokyo, where archaeological investigations uncovered its first recognized traces. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31J/S Battery   The start of the Yayoi period marked the influx of new practices such as weaving, rice farming, shamanism,[citation needed] and iron and bronze making. Bronze and iron appear to have been simultaneously introduced into Yayoi Japan. Iron was mainly used for agricultural and other tools, whereas, bronze was used for ritual and ceremonial artifacts. Some casting of bronze and iron began in Japan by about 100 BC, but the raw materials for both metals were introduced from the Asian continent. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31MR/S Battery   Japan first appeared in written records in 57 AD with the following mention in China's Book of the Later Han:[6] "Across the ocean from Lelang are the people of Wa. Formed from more than one hundred tribes, they come and pay tribute frequently." The book also recorded that Suish , the king of Wa, Sony Vaio VGN-NR31S/S Battery presented slaves to the Emperor An of Han in 107. The Sanguo Zhi, written in the 3rd century, noted that the country was the unification of some 30 small tribes or states and ruled by a shaman queen named Himiko of Yamataikoku. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31SR/S Battery   During the Han and Wei dynasties, Chinese travelers to Ky sh recorded its inhabitants and claimed that they were the descendants of the Grand Count (T ib ) of the Wu. The inhabitants also show traits of the pre-sinicized Wu people with tattooing, teeth-pulling, and baby-carrying. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31Z/S Battery The Sanguo Zhi records the physical descriptions which are similar to ones on haniwa statues, such as men wearing braided hair and tattoos and women wearing large, single-pieced clothing. The Yoshinogari site in Ky sh is the most famous archaeological site of the Yayoi period and reveals a large settlement continuously inhabited for several hundred years. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31Z/T Battery Archaeological excavation has shown the most ancient parts to be from around 400 BC. It appears that the inhabitants had frequent communication and trade relations with the mainland. Today, some reconstructed buildings stand in the park on the archaeological site.[citation needed] Sony Vaio VGN-NR31ZR/S Battery   Kofun period     Daisenry Kofun, Osaka, 5th century. Main article: Kofun period The Kofun period began around 250 AD, is named after the large tumulus burial mounds (kofun) that started appearing around that time. Sony Vaio VGN-NR38E/S Battery   The Kofun period (the "Kofun-Jidai") saw the establishment of strong military states, each of them concentrated around powerful clans (or zoku). The establishment of the dominant Yamato polity was centered in the provinces of Yamato and Kawachi from the 3rd century AD till the 7th century, establishing the origin of the Japanese imperial lineage. And so the polity, by suppressing the clans and acquiring agricultural lands, Sony Vaio VGN-NR38M/S Battery maintained a strong influence in the western part of Japan. Japan started to send tributes to Imperial China in the 5th century. In the Chinese history records, the polity was called Wa, and its five kings were recorded. Based upon the Chinese model, they developed a central administration and an imperial court system, Sony Vaio VGN-NR38S/S Battery with its society being organized into various occupation groups. Close relationships between the Three Kingdoms of Korea and Japan began during the middle of this period, around the end of the 4th century. Sony Vaio VGN-NR38Z/S Battery Classical Japan   Asuka period     Mural painting on the wall of the Takamatsuzuka Tomb, Asuka, Nara, 8th century Main article: Asuka period During the Asuka period (538 to 710), the proto-Japanese Yamato polity gradually became a clearly centralized state, defining and applying a code of governing laws, such as the Taika Reforms and Taih Code.[7] Sony Vaio VGN-NR38Z/T Battery Also during the same period, the Japanese developed strong economic ties with the Paikche or Baekje people, who lived on the southwestern coast of the Korean Peninsula. Good relations with the Baekje had begun in 391 when a Japanese expedition saved the King of Baekje and the Baekje people from their traditional enemies the Koguryo people who lived in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula.[8] Sony VAIO VGN-AR61E Battery Sony VAIO VGN-NR21E/S Battery   Indeed, Buddhism was introduced to Japan in 538 by Baekje people, to whom Japan continued to provide military support.[9] In Japan, however, Buddhism was promoted largely by the ruling class for their own purposes. Accordingly, in the early stages, Buddhism was not a popular religion with the common people of Japan.[10] Sony VAIO VGN-NR21J/S Battery Sony VAIO VGN-NR21S/S Battery However, the introduction of Buddhism led to a discontinuing of the practice of burying deceased people in large kofuns. Prince Sh toku came to power in Japan as Regent to Empress Suiko in 594. Empress Suiko had come to the throne as the niece of the previous Emperor Sujun (588-593)--who had been assassinated in 593. Empress Suiko had also been married to a prior Emperor Bidatsu (572-585), Sony VAIO VGN-NR11M/S Battery but she was the first female ruler of Japan since the legendary matriarchal times.[11] As Regent to Empress Suiko, Prince Shotoku devoted his efforts to the spread of Buddhism and Chinese culture in Japan.[11] He is also credited with bringing relative peace to Japan through the proclamation of the Seventeen-article constitution, Sony VAIO VGN-NR21S/T Battery a Confucian style document that focused on the kinds of morals and virtues that were to be expected of government officials and the emperor's subjects. Buddhism would become a permanent part of Japanese culture.   Sony VAIO VGN-NR11S/S Battery   A letter brought to the Emperor of China by an emissary from Japan in 607 stated that the "Emperor of the Land where the Sun rises (Japan) sends a letter to the Emperor of the land where Sun sets (China)",[12] thereby implying an equal footing with China which angered the Chinese emperor.[13] Sony VAIO VGN-NR11Z/T Battery Nara period     The Great Buddha at Nara, 752 AD. Main article: Nara period The Nara period of the 8th century marked the emergence of a strong Japanese state and is often portrayed as a golden age. In 710, the capital city of Japan was moved from Asuka to Nara.[14] Hall (1966) concludes that "Japan had been transformed from a loose federation of uji in the fifth century to an empire on the order of Imperial China in the eighth century. A new theory of state and a new structure of government supported the Japanese sovereign in the style and with the powers of an absolute monarch."[15] Sony VAIO VGN-NR11Z/S Battery Traditional, political, and economic practices were now organized through a rationally structured government apparatus that legally defined functions and precedents. Lands were surveyed and registered with the state. A powerful new aristocracy emerged. This aristocracy controlled the state and was supported by taxes that were efficiently collected. The government built great public works, including government offices, Sony Vaio VGN-CR31E/L Battery emples, roads, and irrigation systems. A new system of land tenure and taxation, which was designed to widely spread land ownership throughout the rural population, was introduced. Such allotments tended to be about one acre. However, they could be as small as one-tenth of an acre. However, Sony Vaio VGN-CR31Z/R Battery t lots for slaves were about two-thirds the size of the allotments to free men. Allotments were reviewed every five years when the census was conducted.[16] There was a cultural flowering during this period.[14] Soon, dramatic new cultural manifestations characterized the Nara period, which lasted four centuries.[17] Sony VGP-BPS9 Battery Following an imperial rescript by Empress Gemmei, the capital was moved to Heij -ky , present-day Nara, in 710. The city was modeled on Chang'an (now Xi'an), the capital of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. Sony VGP-BPS9A Battery   During the Nara Period, political development was marked by a struggle between the imperial family and the Buddhist clergy,[16] as well as between the imperial family and the regents the Fujiwara clan. Japan did enjoy peaceful relations with their traditional foes the Silla Sony VGP-BPS9B Battery people who occupied the southeast coast of the Korean Peninsula. Japan also established formal relationships with the Tang dynasty of China.[18] In 784, the capital was again moved to Nagaoka-ky to escape the Buddhist priests; in 794, it was moved to Heian-ky , present-day Ky to. The capital was to remain in Kyoto until 1868.[19] Sony VAIO VGN-SR11M Battery In the religious town of Kyoto, Buddhism and Shinto began to form a syncretic system.[20] Historical writing in Japan culminated in the early 8th century with the massive chronicles, the Kojiki (The Record of Ancient Matters, Sony VAIO VGN-SR11MR Battery 712) and the Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan, 720). These chronicles give a legendary account of Japan's beginnings, today known as the Japanese mythology. According to the myths contained in these chronicles, Japan was founded in 660 BC by the ancestral Emperor Jimmu, a direct descendant of the Shint deity, Amaterasu (Sun Goddess). The myths recorded that Jimmu started a line of emperors that remains to this day. Historians assume that the myths partly describe historical facts, Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VN Battery but the first emperor who actually existed was Emperor jin, though the date of his reign is uncertain. Since the Nara period, actual political power has not been in the hands of the emperor but has, instead, been exercised at different times by the court nobility, warlords, the military, and, more recently, the Prime Minister of Japan. Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN Battery   Heian period Main article: Heian period     Miniature model of Heian-ky The Heian period, lasting from 794 to 1185, is the final period of classical Japanese history. It is considered the peak of the Japanese imperial court and noted for its art, especially its poetry and literature. In the early 11th century, Lady Shikibu Murasaki wrote Japan's (and one of the world's) oldest surviving novels, The Tale of Genji.[21] Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S Battery Sony VAIO VGN-SR21RM/H Battery The Man'y sh [22] and Kokin Wakash ,[23] the oldest existing collections of Japanese poetry, were compiled during this period. Strong differences from mainland Asian cultures emerged (such as an indigenous writing system, the kana). Due to the decline of the Tang Dynasty,[24] Chinese influence had reached its peak, Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/W Batteryand then effectively ended, with the last imperially sanctioned mission to Tang China in 838, although trade expeditions and Buddhist pilgrimages to China continued.[25]     A handscroll painting dated circa 1130, illustrating a scene from the "Bamboo River" chapter of the Tale of Genji Sony VAIO VGN-SR29VN Battery   Political power in the imperial court was in the hands of powerful aristocratic families (kuge), especially the Fujiwara clan, who ruled under the titles Sessh and Kampaku (imperial regents). The Fujiwara clan obtained almost complete control over the imperial family. Sony VAIO VGN-SR31M Battery However, the Fugiwara Regents who advised the Imperial Court were content to derive their authority from imperial line. This meant that the Fujiwara authority could always be challenged by a vigorous emperor. Fujiwara domination of the Court during the time from 858 until about 1160 led to this period being called "the Fujiwara Period."[26] Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/P Battery The Fujiwara clan gained this ascendancy because of their matrimonial links with the imperial family.[27] Indeed, because of the number of emperors that were born to Fujiwara mothers, the Fujiwara Regents became so closely identified with the imperial family, that people saw no difference between the "direct rule" by the imperial family and the rule of the Fujiwara Regents.[28] Accordingly, when dissatisfaction with the government arose resulting in the Hogen Rebellion (1156-1158), Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/S Battery the Heiji Rebellion (1160) and the Gempei War (1180-1185), the target of the dissatisfaction was the Fujiwara Regents, as well as the Imperial family. The Gempei War ended in 1185 with the naval battle of Dan-no-ura in which the Minamoto clan defeated the Taira clan. Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/W Battery (The battle of Den-no-ura and the Gempei War is mentioned in a story told by the late Carl Sagan in the second episode of the 1980 TV miniseries Cosmos.) In 1192, the Court appointed Yoritomo of the Minamoto clan to a number of high positions in government. These positions were consolidated and Yoritomo became the first person to be designated the Seii-tai-shogun or "Shogun."[29] Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/P Battery Yoritomo then defeated the Fujiwara clan in a military campaign in the north of Japan. This spelled the end of the Fujiwara Period and the end of Fujiwara influence over the government. The end of the period saw the rise of various military clans. The four most powerful clans were the Minamoto clan, the Taira clan, the Fujiwara clan, and the Tachibana clan. Towards the end of the 12th century, conflicts between these clans turned into civil war, such as the H gen (1156-1158). Sony Vaio VGN-AW21M/H Battery The Hogen Rebellion was of cardinal importance to Japan, since it was the turning point that led to the first stages of the development of feudalism in Japan.[30] The Heiji Rebellion of 1160 also occurred during this period[31] Sony Vaio VGN-AW21S/B Battery and the uprising was followed by the Genpei War, from which emerged a society led by samurai clans under the political rule of the sh gun--the beginnings of feudalism in Japan.     By d -in (1053) is a temple of Pure Land Buddhism. It was registered to the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Buddhism began to spread during the Heian Period. However, Buddhism was split between two sects the Tendai sect which had been brought to Japan from China by Saich (767-822) and the Shingon sect which had been introduced from China by K kai (774-835). Sony Vaio VGN-AW21Z/B Battery Whereas, the Tendai sect tended to be a monastic form of Buddhism which established isolated monasteries or temples on the tops of mountains,[32] the Shingon variation of Buddhism was a less philosophical and more practical and more popular version of the religion.[33] Pure Land Buddhism was a form of Buddhism which was much simpler than either the Tendai or Shingon versions of Buddhism. Sony Vaio VGN-AW31ZS/B Battery Pure Land Buddhism became very popular in Japan during a time of degeneration and trouble in the latter half of the 11th century.[34] Feudal Japan (1185-1868)   The "feudal" period of Japanese history, dominated by the powerful regional families (daimy ) and the military rule of warlords (sh gun), Sony Vaio VGN-AW31ZJ/B Battery stretched from 1185 to 1868. The emperor remained but was mostly kept to a de jure figurehead ruling position, and the power of merchants was weak. This time is usually divided into periods following the reigning family of the sh gun. Sony Vaio VGN-CS31S/W Battery Sony Vaio VGN-NW31EF Battery Kamakura period Main article: Kamakura period The Kamakura period, 1185 to 1333, is a period that marks the governance of the Kamakura shogunate and the transition to the Japanese "medieval" era, a nearly 700-year period in which the emperor, the court, and the traditional central government were left intact but largely relegated to ceremonial functions. Sony Vaio VGN-CS31S/T Battery Civil, military, and judicial matters were controlled by the bushi (samurai) class, the most powerful of whom was the de facto national ruler, the sh gun. This period in Japan differed from the old sh en system in its pervasive military emphasis. In 1185, Minamoto no Yoritomo and his younger brother, Yoshitsune defeated the rival Taira clan at the naval battle of Dan-no-ura.[35] Sony Vaio VGN-CS31S/P Battery The outcome of the Battle of Dan-no-ura meant the rise of the warrior or samurai class. Under the feudal structure that was arising in Japan, the samurai owed military service and loyalty to the emperor. The Samurai, in turn required loyalty and work from the peasants who rented land from them and served them. On occasion the samurai would conduct warfare against each other, which caused disruption to the society. In 1192, Yoritomo was appointed Seii Tai-Sh gun by the emperor.[29] Sony Vaio VGN-CS31S/V Battery The shogun was expected to run the day-to-day affairs of the government on behalf of the emperor and to keep the samurai in line. During this time the Imperial Court remained in their capital of Kyoto. Society at Kyoto was regarded as more refined and cultured than the rest of the country.[36] Sony Vaio VGN-CS31Z/Q Battery However, Yoritomo established his base of power called the Bakufu in the seaside town of Kamakura.[29] Yoritomo became the first in a line of sh guns who ruled from Kamakura. Thus, the period of time from 1185 until 1334 became known as the period of the Kamakura Shogunate. Sony Vaio VGN-CS21S/W Battery Society in the military or samurai capital of Kamakura was regarded as rough and ignorant by comparison with the refined society at Kyoto.[36] However, Yoritomo wished to free his government from the pernicious influence of the bureaucracy in Kyoto and, thus remained in Kamakura. Sony Vaio VGN-CS21S/T Battery The Kamakura Shogunate based itself on the interests of this rising class rather than on the bureaucracy at Kyoto. Accordingly, the preference of Kamakura as the capital of the shogunate fit this new warrior class. Sony Vaio VGN-NW21MF Battery   Yoritomo was married to H j Masako of the H j clan, herself a Sensei (master) in kyud (the art of the bow) and kend (the art of the sword), and she contributed much to his ascent and organizing the Bafuku. However, after Yoritomo's death, another warrior clan, the H j , came to rule as shikken (regents) for the sh gun. Sony Vaio VGN-NW21EF Battery       Japanese samurai boarding Mongol ships in 1281 A traumatic event of the period was the Mongol invasions of Japan in 1274 and in 1281. Massive Mongol forces with superior naval technology and weaponry attempted a full-scale invasion of the Japanese islands in both 1274 and in 1281. However, a famous typhoon referred to as kamikaze (translating as divine wind in Japanese) is credited with devastating both Mongol invasion forces and saving Japan.[37] Sony Vaio VGN-NW21JF Battery Although the Japanese were successful in stopping the Mongols, the invasion attempt had devastating domestic repercussions, leading to the extinction of the Kamakura shogunate. For two decades after the second failed Mongol invasion of Japan, the Japanese remained fearful of a third Mongol attempt. (Indeed, Sony Vaio VGN-NW21ZF Battery Japan could not rest assured of peace until the death of Kublai Khan in 1294.) Consequently, the shogun required the various samurai spend money lavishly on armed forces in order to remain in a high state of readiness for the expected third attack by the Mongols. This vast expenditure of money had a ruinous effect on the economy of Japan. The Kamakura Shogunate could perhaps have survived the strain of the continual military readiness and the resultant bad economy if that had been the only problem. Sony Vaio VGN-BZ11EN Battery However, upon the death of Emperor Go-Saga in 1272, there arose a bitter dispute over succession to the throne within the imperial family. Kemmu Restoration Main article: Kemmu Restoration In 1333, the Kamakura shogunate was overthrown in a coup d' tat known as the Kemmu Restoration, led by Emperor Go-Daigo and his followers (Ashikaga Takauji, Nitta Yoshisada, and Kusunoki Masashige). Emperor Go-Daigo had come to the throne in 1318. Sony Vaio VGN-BZ11XN Battery From the beginning, Go-Daigo had made it clear that he was going not going to abdicate and become a "cloistered emperor" and he was intending to rule Japan from his palace in Kyoto independent from the Kamakura Shogunate.[38] War was conducted against the Kamakura Shogunate by Go-Daigo and his supporters. Sony Vaio VGN-BZ12EN Battery Sony Vaio VGN-BZ31XT Battery The Imperial House was restored to political influence. The government was now a civilian government rather than the military-run government of the Kamakura Shogunate. However, this did not last. The warrior class throughout Japan was in tumult.[39] Furthermore, Go-Daigo was not a natural leader. Indeed, his personality tended to alienate people.[39] Sony Vaio VGN-BZ12XN Battery One of those that was alienated by Go-Daigo, was his former supporter, Ashikaga Takauji. Ashikaga Takauji found that he had support from other regional warlords in Japan. In early 1335, Ashikaga left Kyoto and moved to Kamakura.[40Sony Vaio VGN-BZ12XN Battery ] Ashikaga, then began assuming powers that had not been given him by the Emperor. This brought Ashikaga Takauji in direct conflict with the governmental officials in Kyoto, including his old allies, Nitta Yoshisada and Kusunoki Masashige. However, by assuming shogun-like powers, Ashikaga appeared to be standing up for the warrior class against the civilian authority that seemed intent on destroying the power of the warriors. Sony Vaio VGN-BZ21VN Battery Accordingly, Ashikaga Takauji was joined in Kamakura by a number of other regional warlords. On November 17, 1335, Ashikaga Tadayoshi, brother of Takauji, issued a call (in the name of his brother Takauji) asking the warriors throughout the country to "assemble your clansmen and hasten to join me."[41] Sony Vaio VGN-BZ21XN Battery Dissatisfaction with Go-Daigo was so strong that a majority of the warriors in Japan answered this call.[42] After initial defeats on the main island of Honshu, Ashikaga and his troops retreated to the southern island of Kyushu, where he immediately won over most of the regional warlords to his side and defeated the few who remained loyal to Go-Daigo. With all of the island of Kyushu in his hands, Ashikaga Takauji invaded the main island of Honshu again and, in 1336, at the decisive Battle of Minatogawa, or the Battle of Minato River, Sony Vaio VGN-BZ31VT Battery defeated the armed forces of Nitta Yoshisada and Kusunoki Masanori and the other loyalist forces of Go-Daigo. The victorious warrior-class forces gathered around the town of Kamakura became known as the "Northern Court." The Loyalist forces may have been defeated but they survived to fight on. They formed the "Southern Court" and upon the death of Go-Daigo in the late summer of 1339, Sony Vaio VGN-NS38E/S Battery they rallied around the person of Prince Kazuhito who was enthroned as Emperor K gon. Prince Kazuhito was from a younger line of descendents in the Imperial family and, thus, his supporters were supporters of the "junior line." On September 20, 1336, the Ashikaga coalition of samurai opposed to Go-Daigo enthroned Prince Yutahito as Emperor K myo.[43] Prince Yutahito was from the "senior line" of descendents in the Imperial family. Accordingly, Sony Vaio VGN-NS38M/W Battery the civil war between the warriors led by the Ashikaga clan the Northern Court on the one hand and the "Loyalist" Southern Court on the other hand, became a civil war of imperial succession between followers of the "senior" and "junior" lines of succession in the Imperial family. The warriors and the Ashikaga clan captured Sony Vaio VGN-AW21M/H Battery Kyoto and proceeded to move their forces from Kamakura to Kyoto. Meanwhile, the Southern Court deposed from their capital in Kyoto, now established themselves in Yoshino. The Ashikaga Shogunate was never able to control and centralize the government over the entire country. Rather they ruled because of a narrow and shifting majority of warlords who supported them. Sony Vaio VGN-AW21S/B Battery There were always some warlords that acted independently of either the Northern Court or the Southern Court. Later, during the war of succession, these independent warlords enthroned a third emperor Emperor Suko. So the civil war of succession became a three-cornered affair. The prestige of the throne declined as the civil war continued. Sony Vaio VGN-AW21Z/B Battery Sony Vaio VGN-AW31ZJ/B Battery This had the effect of bolstering the idea that the Imperial family should be removed from politics and strengthened the need for a shogun to be appointed to run the government on a day-to-day basis. In 1338, Ashikaga Takauji was officially appointed as Shogun by the new Emperor. He was the first of a line of Ashikaga shoguns. Sony Vaio VGN-AW31ZS/B Battery Sony Vaio VGN-AW11SR/B BatteryThe attempted restoration of independent power of the throne the Kemmu Restoration was at an end and the period of the Ashikaga Shogunate had begun. The civil war of succession to the throne was finally settled. As part of the settlement, all three "emperors" abdicated on April 6, 1352.[44] Ashikaga died in 1358 and Ashikaga Yoshiakira succeeded him as Shogun.[45] Sony Vaio VGN-AW41ZF/H Battery By 1368, however, the ascendancy of the Ashikaga Shogunate was so complete that Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was able to rule Japan without reference to the emperor.[46] In 1392, the Southern Court and the Northern Court were finally merged under an agreement that placed Emperor Kogon, of the Southern Court and the junior line, on the throne and pledged that the throne would, henceforth, alternate between candidates of the Northern Court and the Southern Court. This agreement was, however, never implemented. Sony Vaio VGN-AW41XH/Q Battery   Muromachi period     Kinkaku-ji, Kyoto. 1397, in Kitayama period Main articles: Muromachi period and Nanboku-ch period See also: Kitayama period and Higashiyama period During the Muromachi period, Sony Vaio VGN-AW41MF/H Battery the Ashikaga shogunate ruled for 237 years from 1336 to 1573. It was established by Ashikaga Takauji who seized political power from Emperor Go-Daigo. A majority of the warrior class supported the Ashikaga clan in the succession war. After taking Kyoto from Emperor Go-Daigo, the Ashikaga clan made Kyoto, Sony Vaio VGN-AW41JF/H Battery the capital of the Ashikaga Shogunate in late 1336.[47] This became the new capital of the Northern Court. Go-Daigo, then, moved to the town of Yoshino and established the new capital of the Southern Court there. This ended the attempted restoration of the powers of the throne the Kemmu restoration. The early years (1336 to 1392) of the Muromachi period are known as the Nanboku-ch (Northern and Southern court) period because the imperial court was split in two. In 1392Sony Vaio VGN-AW31M/H Battery , the Northern court and the southern Court were finally merged and Emperor Kogon was placed on the throne. There was an agreement that, heretofore, succession to the throne would alternate between candidates of the Northern court and candidates of the Southern Court. However, this agreement was never acted upon. Sony Vaio VGN-AW21S Battery   Rule of the Ashikaga Bakufu looked a lot like the rule of the Kamakura Bakufu, as the Ashikaga clan made few changes in the offices and councils of the prior government.[48] However, the Ashikaga Shogunate dominated the Imperial throne more than the Kamakura Shogunate ever did. Nonetheless, Sony Vaio VGN-AW21M Battery the Ashikaga Shogunate was never able to centralized its power over the regional warlords as much as the prior Kamakura government. The Ashikaga Shogunate was based on a coalition of a loose majority of the various regional warlords across the country. As a consequence, the Ashikaga Shogunate was unable to do anything about the problem of the pirates who were operating off their own shores, Sony Vaio VGN-AW11ZR/B Battery despite repeated requests to do so by both Korea[49] and Ming dynasty China.[50] Warlord clans, like the Kotsuna clan and the Kiyomori branch of the Taira clan, that lived along the coast of the Inland Sea, made money from the pirates and supported them.[51] Sony Vaio VGN-AW11Z/B Battery In 1368, the Ming Dynasty replaced the Yuan Dynasty of the Mongols in China. Japanese trade with China had been frozen since the second and final attempt by Mongol China to invade Japan in 1281. Now a new trade relationship began with the new Ming rulers in China. Part of the new trade with China was the coming to Japan of Zen Buddhist monks. Sony Vaio VGN-AW11XU/Q Battery During the Ashikaga Shogunate Zen Buddhism came to have a great influence with the ruling class in Japan.[52] The Muromachi period ended in 1573 when the 15th and last sh gun, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, was driven out of the capital in Kyoto by Oda Nobunaga. In the viewpoint of a cultural history, Kitayama period (14th end-15th first half[53]) and Higashiyama period (15th second half-16th first half[53]) exist in Muromachi period. Sony Vaio VGN-NS20EF/W Battery   Sengoku period     Osaka Castle     Hasekura Tsunenaga and San Juan Bautista Main article: Sengoku period See also: Nanban trade and Kirishitan The later years of the Muromachi period, 1467 to 1573, are also known as the Sengoku period (Period of Warring Kingdoms), Sony VGP-BPS13 Battery a time of intense internal warfare, and correspond with the period of the first contacts with the West the arrival of Portuguese "Nanban" traders. In 1543, a Portuguese ship, blown off its course to China, landed on Tanegashima Island. Firearms introduced by the Portuguese would bring the major innovation of the Sengoku period, culminating in the Battle of Nagashino where reportedly 3,000 arquebuses (the actual number is believed to be around 2,000) cut down charging ranks of samurai. Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13A/B Battery Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13B/B Battery Sony Vaio VGN-NW20EF/P Battery During the following years, traders from Portugal, the Netherlands, England, and Spain arrived, as did Jesuit, Dominican, and Franciscan missionaries. Azuchi-Momoyama period Main article: Azuchi-Momoyama period The Azuchi-Momoyama period runs from approximately 1568 to 1603. The period, regarded as the late Warring Kingdoms period, Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13/S Battery marks the military reunification and stabilization of the country under a single political ruler, first by the campaigns of Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) who almost united Japan. Nobunaga decided to reduce the power of the Buddhist priests, and gave protection to Christianity. He slaughtered many Buddhist priests and captured their fortified temples. Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13A/S Battery Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13B/S Battery He was killed in a revolt in 1582.[54] Unification was finally achieved by one of Nobunaga's generals, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. After having united Japan, Hideyoshi invaded Korea in an attempt to conquer Korea and points beyond. However, after two unsuccessful campaigns towards the allied forces of Korea and China and his death, his forces returned to Japan in 1598. Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13/Q Battery Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13A/Q Battery Following his death, Japan experienced a short period of succession conflict. Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of the regents for Hideyoshi's young heir, emerged victorious at the Battle of Sekigahara and seized political power. Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13B/Q Battery Christian missions Main article: History of Roman Catholicism in Japan Catholic Jesuit missionaries led by Francis Xavier (1506-1552) arrived in 1549 and were welcomed in Kyoto.[55] Their proselytizing was most successful in Kyushu, with about 100,000 to 200,000 converts, including many daimyo.[56] Sony VGP-BPS21 Battery   In 1587, Hideyoshi reversed course and decided the Christian presence was divisive and might present the Europeans with an opportunity to disrupt Japan. The Christians missionaries were seen as a threat; the Portuguese merchants were allowed to continue their operations. The edict was not immediately enforced but restrictions grew tighter in the next three decades until a full-scale government persecution destroyed the Christian community by the 1620s. The Jesuits were expelled, Sony VGP-BPS21A Battery churches and schools were torn down, and the daimyo were forbidden to become Christians. Converts who did not reject Christianity were killed. Many Christians went underground, becoming hidden Christians ( kakure kirishitan?), but their communities died out. Not until the 1870s was Christianity re-established in Japan.[57][58] Edo ("Tokugawa") period (1603-1868) Sony VGP-BPS21B Battery     Main article: Edo period     Map of Japan appears in the Cihannuma     Tokugawa Ieyasu, first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate The Edo or Tokugawa era saw power centralized in the hands of a hereditary shogunate that took control of religion, regulated the entire economy, subordinated the nobility, and set up uniform systems of taxation, government spending and bureaucracies. Sony VGP-BPS21/S Battery It avoided international involvement and wars, established a national judiciary and suppressed protest and criticism. The Tokugawa era brought peace, and that brought prosperity to a nation of 31 million. Sony VGP-BPS21A/b Battery   Economy About 80% of the people were rice farmers.[59] Rice production increased steadily, but population remained stable, so prosperity increased. Rice paddies grew from 1.6 million ch in 1600 to 3 million by 1720.[60] Improved technology helped farmers control the all-important flow of irrigation to their paddies. The daimyos operated several hundred castle towns, which became loci of domestic trade. Large-scale rice markets developed, centered on Edo and Osaka.[61] In the cities and towns, Sony Vaio VGN-NW21MF Battery Sony Vaio VGN-NW21EF Battery guilds of merchants and artisans met the growing demand for goods and services. The merchants, while low in status, prospered, especially those with official patronage. Merchants invented credit instruments to transfer money, currency came into common use, and the strengthening credit market encouraged entrepreneurship.[62] Sony Vaio VGN-NW21JF Battery   The samurai, forbidden to engage in farming or business but allowed to borrow money, borrowed too much. One scholar[who?] observed that the entire military class was living "as in an inn, that is, consuming now and paying later". The bakufu and daimyos raised taxes on farmers, but did not tax business, Sony Vaio VGN-NW21ZF Battery so they too fell into debt. By 1750 rising taxes incited peasant unrest and even revolt. The nation had to deal somehow with samurai impoverishment and treasury deficits. The financial troubles of the samurai undermined their loyalties to the system, and the empty treasury threatened the whole system of government. Sony Vaio VGN-NW31ZF/S Battery One solution was reactionary with prohibitions on spending for luxuries. Other solutions were modernizing, with the goal of increasing agrarian productivity. The eighth Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune (in office 1716-1745) had considerable success, though much of his work had to be done again between 1787 and 1793 by the shogun's chief councilor Matsudaira Sadanobu (1759-1829). Sony Vaio VGN-NW31JF Battery Others shoguns debased the coinage to pay debts, which caused inflation.[63] By 1800 the commercialization of the economy grew rapidly, bringing more and more remote villages into the national economy. Rich farmers appeared who switched from rice to high-profit commercial crops and engaged in local money-lending, trade, Sony Vaio VGN-NW31EF Battery and small-scale manufacturing. Some wealthy merchants sought higher social status by using money to marry into the samurai class. A few domains, notably Ch s and Satsuma, used innovative methods to restore their finances, but most sunk further into debt. The financial crisis provoked a reactionary solution near the end of the "Tenp Reforms" (1830-1843) promulgated by the chief counselor Mizuno Tadakuni. Sony Vaio VGN-NW11S/S Battery He raised taxes, denounced luxuries and tried to impede the growth of business; he failed and it appeared to many that the continued existence of the entire Tokugawa system was in jeopardy.[64] Social structure Japanese society had an elaborate social structure, in which everyone knew their place and level of prestige. At the top were the emperor and the court nobility, invincible in prestige but weak in power. Next came the "bushi" of shogun, daimyo and layers of feudal lords whose rank was indicated by their closeness to the Tokugawa. Sony Vaio VGN-NW31EF Battery They had power. The "daimyo" comprised about 250 local lords of local "han" with annual outputs of 50,000 or more bushels of rice. The upper strata was much given to elaborate and expensive rituals, including elegant architecture, landscaped gardens, n drama, patronage of the arts, and the tea ceremony.[65] Sony Vaio VGN-NW20ZF Battery   Samurai Then came the 400,000 warriors, called "samurai", in numerous grades and degrees. A few upper samurai were eligible for high office; most were foot soldiers (ashigaru) with minor duties. The samurai were affiliated with senior lords in a well-established chain of command. The shogun had 17,000 samurai retainers; Sony Vaio VGN-NW24S Battery the daimyo each had hundreds. Most lived in modest homes near their lord's headquarters, and lived off hereditary rights to collect rents and stipends. Together these high status groups comprised Japan's ruling class making up about 6% of the total population.[66] Sony Vaio VGN-NW26M Battery   Lower orders Lower orders divided into two main segments the peasants 80% of the population whose high prestige as producers was undercut by their burden as the chief source of taxes. They were illiterate and lived in villages controlled by appointed officials who kept the peace and collected taxes. Peasants and villagers frequently engaged in unlawful and disruptive protests, especially after 1780.[67] Sony Vaio VGN-NW20EF Battery Merchants and artisans Near the bottom of the prestige scale but much higher up in terms of income and life style were the merchants and artisans of the towns and cities. They had no political power, and even rich merchants found it difficult to rise in the world in a society in which place and standing were fixed at birth.[68] Sony Vaio VGN-NW20SF Battery Finally came the entertainers, prostitutes, day laborers and servants, and the thieves, beggars and hereditary outcasts. They were tightly controlled by local officials and were not allowed to mingle with higher status people.[69] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21E Battery   Literacy Literacy was highly prized, albeit made difficult by the writing system. Wood block printing had been standard for centuries; after 1500 Japanese printers experimented with movable type, but reverted to the wood blocks. By the 1780s Japan was publishing 3000 books a year (compared with 400 in Russia). Sony VAIO VGN-FW21I Battery By the 1850s the major new trend was the translation of western scientific and geographical books, which reached a wide audience. By 1860 about 40% of the men and 10% of the women were literate in rural areas, with much higher rates in the cities, such as 80% in Edo (Tokyo).[70] Universal compulsory education only began in 1871.[71] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21L Battery Sony VAIO VGN-FW21Z Battery   Government     Tokugawa Yoshimune the Shogun 1716-1745 During the Edo period, also called the Tokugawa period, the administration of the country was shared by over two hundred daimy in a federation governed by the Tokugawa shogunate. The Tokugawa clan, leader of the victorious eastern army in the Battle of Sekigahara, was the most powerful of them and for fifteen generations monopolized the title of Sei-i Taish gun (often shortened to sh gun). Sony VAIO VGN-FW21M Battery With their headquarters at Edo (present-day Tokyo), the Tokugawa commanded the allegiance of the other daimy , who in turn ruled their domains with a rather high degree of autonomy. The Tokugawa shogunate carried out a number of significant policies. They placed the samurai class above the commoners: the agriculturists, artisans, and merchants. They enacted sumptuary laws limiting hairstyle, dress, and accessories. Sony VAIO VGN-FW31M Battery They organized commoners into groups of five and held all responsible for the acts of each individual. To prevent daimy from rebelling, the sh guns required them to maintain lavish residences in Edo and live at these residences on a rotating schedule; carry out expensive processions to and from their domains; contribute to the upkeep of shrines, temples, and roads; and seek permission before repairing their castles. Sony VAIO VGN-FW11J Battery This 265-year span was called "A peaceful state". Cultural achievement was high during this period, and many artistic developments took place. Most significant among them were the ukiyo-e form of wood-block print and the kabuki and bunraku theaters. Also, many of the most famous works for the koto and shakuhachi date from this time period. Sakoku seclusion from the outside world Sony VAIO VGN-FW11Z Battery     The following text needs to be harmonized with text in Sakoku. Main article: Sakoku     Japan's first treatise on Western anatomy, published in 1774, an example of Rangaku. During the early part of the 17th century, the shogunate suspected that foreign traders and missionaries were actually forerunners of a military conquest by European powers. Christianity had spread in Japan, especially among peasants, Sony VAIO VGN-FW11ZRU Battery and the shogunate suspected the loyalty of Christian peasants towards their daimy , severely persecuting them. This led to a revolt by persecuted peasants and Christians in 1637 known as the Shimabara Rebellion which saw 30,000 Christians, r nin, and peasants facing a massive samurai army of more than 100,000 sent from Edo. The rebellion was crushed at a high cost to the sh gun's army. Sony VAIO VGN-FW11ZU Battery   After the eradication of the rebels at Shimabara, the shogunate placed foreigners under progressively tighter restrictions. It monopolized foreign policy and expelled traders, missionaries, and foreigners with the exception of the Dutch and Chinese merchants who were restricted to the man-made island of Dejima in Nagasaki Bay and several small trading outposts outside the country. However, during this period of isolation (Sakoku) that began in 1635, Sony VAIO VGN-FW21J Battery   Japan was much less cut off from the rest of the world than is commonly assumed, and some acquisition of western knowledge occurred under the Rangaku system. Russian encroachments from the north led the shogunate to extend direct rule to Hokkaid , Sakhalin and the Kuriles in 1807, but the policy of exclusion continued. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21ZR Battery   End of seclusion     Landing of Commodore Perry, officers & men of the squadron, to meet the Imperial commissioners at Yokohama July 14, 1853. Lithograph by Sarony & Co., 1855, after W. Heine Main article: Bakumatsu The policy of isolation lasted for more than 200 years. In 1844, William II of the Netherlands sent a message urging Japan to open its doors which was rejected by the Japanese.[72] On July 8, 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry of the United States Navy with four warships the Mississippi, Plymouth, Saratoga, Sony VAIO VGN-FW3ZJ Battery and Susquehanna steamed into the bay in Yokohama and displayed the threatening power of his ships' cannons during a Christian burial which the Japanese observed. He requested that Japan open to trade with the West. These ships became known as the kurofune, the Black Ships. The following year at the Convention of Kanagawa on March 31, Sony VAIO VGN-FW41E/H Battery Sony VAIO VGN-FW41J/H Battery 1854, Perry returned with seven ships and demanded that the sh gun sign the Treaty of Peace and Amity, establishing formal diplomatic relations between Japan and the United States. Within five years, Japan had signed similar treaties with other Western countries. The Harris Treaty was signed with the United States on July 29, 1858. Sony VAIO VGN-FW41M/H Battery These treaties were unequal, having been forced on Japan through gunboat diplomacy, and were interpreted by the Japanese as a sign of Western imperialism taking hold of the rest of the Asian continent. Among other measures, they gave the Western nations unequivocal control of tariffs on imports and the right of extraterritoriality to all of their visiting nationals. They would remain a sticking point in Japan's relations with the West up to the turn of the century. Sony VAIO VGN-FW41ZJ/H Battery   Empire of Japan (1868-1945)   Main article: Empire of Japan Beginning in 1868, Japan undertook political, economic, and cultural transformations emerging as a unified and centralized state, the Empire of Japan (also Imperial Japan or Prewar Japan). This 77-year period, which lasted until 1945, was a time of rapid economic growth. Japan became an imperial power, colonizing Korea and Taiwan. Sony VAIO VGN-FW46M Battery Starting in 1931 it began the takeover of Manchuria and China, in defiance of the League of Nations and the United States. Escalating tension with the U.S.--and western control of Japan's vital oil supplies led to World War II. Japan launched multiple successful attacks on the U.S. as well as British and Dutch territories in 1941-42. Sony VAIO VGN-FW4ZTJ/H Battery But after a series of great naval battles it was defeated by a much larger industrial power, as its cities were systematically demolished by strategic bombing. Japan surrendered in 1945, and was occupied and transformed by the U.S. Sony VAIO VGN-FW51 Battery Meiji Restoration     Samurai of the Satsuma clan, during the Boshin War period. Colored photograph by Felice Beato. Main articles: Meiji Restoration and Meiji period Renewed contact with the West precipitated a profound alteration of Japanese society. Importantly, within the context of Japan's subsequent aggressive militarism, the signing of the treaties was viewed as profoundly humiliating and a source of national shame. The Tokugawa sh gun was forced to resign, and soon after the Boshin War of 1868, Sony VAIO VGN-FW51ZF/H Battery the emperor was restored to power, beginning a period of fierce nationalism and intense socio-economic restructuring known as the Meiji Restoration. The Tokugawa system was abolished, the military was modernized, and numerous Western institutions were adopted-including a Western legal system and quasi-parliamentary constitutional government as outlined in the Meiji Constitution. Sony VAIO VGN-FW51MF/H Battery This constitution was modeled on the constitution of the German Empire. While many aspects of the Meiji Restoration were adopted directly from Western institutions, others, such as the dissolution of the feudal system and removal of the shogunate, were processes that had begun long before the arrival of Perry. Nonetheless, Perry's intervention is widely viewed as a pivotal moment in Japanese history. Sony Vaio VGN-SR49VN/H Battery   Emperor Meiji, the 122nd emperor of Japan. Economic modernization Main article: Economic history of Japan Japan's industrial revolution began about 1870 as national leaders decided to catch up with the West. The government built railroads, improved roads, and inaugurated a land reform program to prepare the country for further development. Sony Vaio VGN-FW56Z Battery It inaugurated a new Western-based education system for all young people, sent thousands of students to the United States and Europe, and hired more than 3,000 Westerners to teach modern science, mathematics, technology, and foreign languages in Japan (O-yatoi gaikokujin). Sony Vaio VGN-SR49VT/H Battery     In 1871 a group of Japanese politicians known as the Iwakura Mission toured Europe and the USA to learn western ways. The result was a deliberate state-led industrialisation policy to enable Japan to quickly catch up. The Bank of Japan, founded in 1877, used taxes to fund model steel and textile factories. Education was expanded and Japanese students were sent to study in the West. Sony Vaio VGN-SR57S Battery   Modern industry first appeared in textiles, including cotton and especially silk, which was based in home workshops in rural areas.[73] Wars with China and Russia Main article: Foreign relations of Meiji Japan Japanese intellectuals of the late-Meiji period espoused the concept of a "line of advantage", an idea that would help to justify Japanese foreign policy at the turn of the century. According to this principle, embodied in the slogan fukoku ky hei, Japan would be vulnerable to aggressive Western imperialism unless it extended a line of advantage beyond its borders which would help to repel foreign incursions and strengthen the Japanese economy. Emphasis was especially placed on Japan's "preeminent interests" in the Korean Peninsula, Sony Vaio VGN-SR57V Battery once famously described as a "dagger pointed at the heart of Japan". It was tensions over Korea and Manchuria, respectively, that led Japan to become involved in the first Sino-Japanese War with China in 1894-1895 and the Russo-Japanese War with Russia in 1904-1905. Sony Vaio VGN-SR57X Battery   The war with China made Japan the world's first Eastern, modern imperial power, and the war with Russia proved that a Western power could be defeated by an Eastern state. The aftermath of these two wars left Japan the dominant power in the Far East with a sphere of influence extending over southern Manchuria and Korea, Sony Vaio VGN-SR59TH/H Battery which was formally annexed as part of the Japanese Empire in 1910. Japan had also gained half of Sakhalin Island from Russia. The results of these wars established Japan's dominant interest in Korea, while giving it the Pescadores Islands, Formosa (now Taiwan), and the Liaodong Peninsula in Manchuria, which was eventually retroceded in the "humiliating" Triple Intervention. Sony Vaio VGN-SR59VG/H Battery   Over the next decade, Japan would flaunt its growing prowess, including a very significant contribution to the Eight-Nation Alliance formed to quell China's Boxer Rebellion. Many Japanese, however, believed their new empire was still regarded as inferior by the Western powers, and they sought a means of cementing their international standing. Sony Vaio VGN-SR59XG/H Battery This set the climate for growing tensions with Russia, which would continually intrude into Japan's "line of advantage" during this time. Russian pressure from the north appeared again after Muraviev had gained Outer Manchuria at Aigun (1858) and Peking (1860). This led to heavy Russian pressure on Sakhalin which the Japanese eventually yielded in exchange for the Kuril islands (1875). Sony Vaio VGN-FW56ZR Battery Sony Vaio VGN-FW56SR Battery The Ryukyu Islands were similarly secured in 1879, establishing the borders within which Japan would "enter the World". In 1898, the last of the unequal treaties with Western powers was removed, signaling Japan's new status among the nations of the world. In a few decades by reforming and modernizing social, educational, economic, Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31E Battery     military, political and industrial systems, the Emperor Meiji's "controlled revolution" had transformed a feudal and isolated state into a world power. Significantly, the impetus for this change was the belief that Japan had to compete with the West both industrially and militarily to achieve equality. Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31J Battery   Anglo-Japanese Alliance Main article: Anglo-Japanese Alliance The Anglo-Japanese Alliance treaty was signed between the United Kingdom and Japan on January 30, 1902, and announced on February 12, 1902. It was renewed in 1905 and 1911 before its demise in 1921 and its termination in 1923. It was a military alliance between the two countries that threatened Russia and Germany. Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31M Battery Due to this alliance, Japan entered World War I on the side of Great Britain. Japan attacked German bases in China and sent troops to the Mediterranean in 1917. Through this treaty, there was also great cultural exchange between the two countries. Sony VAIO VGN-FZ38M Battery World War I     Early Modern Japan, Marunouchi, Tokyo 1920 In a manner perhaps reminiscent of its participation in quelling the Boxer Rebellion at the turn of the century, Japan entered World War I and declared war on the Central Powers. Though Japan's role in World War I was limited largely to attacking German colonial outposts in East Asia, it took advantage of the opportunity to expand its influence in Asia and its territorial holdings in the Pacific. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31E/S Battery   Acting virtually independently of the civil government, the Japanese navy seized Germany's Micronesian colonies. It also attacked and occupied the German coaling port of Qingdao in the Chinese Shandong peninsula. Japan went to the peace conference at Versailles in 1919 as one of the great military and industrial powers of the world and received official recognition as one of the "Big Five" of the new international order. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31ER/S Battery It joined the League of Nations and received a mandate over Pacific islands north of the Equator formerly held by Germany. Japan was also involved in the post-war Allied intervention in Russia, occupying Russian (Outer) Manchuria and also north Sakhalin (which held Japan's limited oil reserves). It was the last Allied power to withdraw from the interventions against Soviet Russia (doing so in 1925). Sony Vaio VGN-NR31J/S Battery The post-World War I era brought Japan unprecedented prosperity. Fascism in Japan Main article: Statism in Sh wa Japan During the 1910s and 1920s, Japan progressed towards democracy movements known as 'Taish Democracy'. However, parliamentary government was not rooted deeply enough to withstand the economic and political pressures of the late 1920s and 1930s during the Depression period, and its state became increasingly militarized. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31MR/S Battery   This was due to the increasing powers of military leaders and was similar to the actions some European nations were taking leading up to World War II. These shifts in power were made possible by the ambiguity and imprecision of the Meiji Constitution, particularly its measure that the legislative body was answerable to the Emperor and not the people. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31S/S Battery The Kodoha, a militarist faction, even attempted a coup d' tat known as the February 26 Incident, which was crushed after three days by Hirohito, the Emperor Sh wa.[74] Party politics came under increasing fire because it was believed they were divisive to the nation and promoted self-interest where unity was needed. As a result, the major parties voted to dissolve themselves and were absorbed into a single party, the Imperial Rule Assistance Association (IRAA), which also absorbed many prefectural organizations such as women's clubs and neighborhood associations. However, Sony Vaio VGN-NR31SR/S Battery this umbrella organization did not have a cohesive political agenda and factional in-fighting persisted throughout its existence, meaning Japan did not devolve into a totalitarian state. The IRAA has been likened to a sponge, in that it could soak everything up, but there is little one could do with it afterwards. Its creation was precipitated by a series of domestic crises, including the advent of the Great Depression in the 1930s and the actions of extremists such as the members of the Cherry Blossom Society, who enacted the May 15 Incident.[75] Sony Vaio VGN-NR31Z/S Battery   Second Sino-Japanese War Main articles: Germany-Japan relations, Second Sino-Japanese war, Pacific War, Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, and Home front during World War II #Japan     The Imperial Japanese Navy's Yamato, the heaviest battleship in history, 1941 Under the pretext of the Manchurian Incident, Lieutenant Colonel Kanji Ishiwara invaded Inner (Chinese) Manchuria in 1931, an action the Japanese government ratified with the creation of the puppet state of Manchukuo under the last Chinese emperor, Sony Vaio VGN-NR31Z/T Battery Pu Yi. As a result of international condemnation of the incident, Japan resigned from the League of Nations in 1933. After several more similar incidents fueled by an expansionist military, the second Sino-Japanese War began in 1937 after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31ZR/S Battery Sony Vaio VGN-NR38E/S Battery   From 1937-45, Emperor Hirohito was supreme commander of the Imperial General Headquarters, by which the military decisions were made. This ad-hoc body consisted of the chief and vice chief of the Army, the minister of the Army, the chief and vice chief of the Navy, the minister of the Navy, the inspector general of military aviation, and the inspector general of military training. Sony Vaio VGN-NR38M/S Battery   Having joined the Anti-Comintern Pact in 1936, Japan formed the Axis Pact with Germany and Italy on September 27, 1940. Many Japanese politicians believed war with the Occident to be inevitable due to inherent cultural differences and Western imperialism. Japanese imperialism was then justified by the revival of the traditional concept of hakko ichiu, the divine right of the emperor to unite and rule the world. Sony Vaio VGN-NR38S/S Battery   Japan was defeated by Soviet Union in 1938 in large-scale but localized battles at Battle of Lake Khasan and in 1939 in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol. The Army no longer wanted to fight the Soviets, so the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact was signed in 1941.[76] The treaty held until August 1945 when the Soviets again attacked Japan. Sony Vaio VGN-NR38Z/S Battery   World War II Main article: Home front during World War II#Japan Tensions were mounting with the U.S. as a result of public outcry over Japanese aggression and reports of atrocities in China, such as the infamous Nanjing Massacre. The U.S. strongly supported China with money, airmen, supplies and threats against Japan. In retaliation to the invasion of French Indochina the U.S. began an embargo on such goods as petroleum products and scrap iron. Sony Vaio VGN-NR38Z/T Battery

Under the customs agreements which Turkey had already signed as a precondition to start EU membership negotiations in 2005, it is obliged to open its ports to Cypriot planes and vessels, but Turkey refuses to do this.[59] It refuses to do so until the 27-nation bloc fulfils its pledge to ease the international isolation of the breakaway and internationally unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.[60] Sony Vaio VGN-FW5ERF/H Battery Turkey's refusal to implement a trade pact between Turkey and the EU that requires the Turkish Government allow Greek Cypriot vessels to use its air and sea ports has prompted the EU to freeze eight chapters in Turkey's accession talks.[59] Sony Vaio VGN-FW5MJF/H Battery Sony Vaio VGN-FW5MTF/H Battery In November 2009, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek said that should Turkey be forced to choose between supporting either EU membership or Turkish Cypriots, "[then] Turkey's choice will forever be to stand next to the Turkish Cypriots. Everybody should understand this."[59] Sony Vaio VGN-FW5ZRF/H Battery     [edit]Greece Further information: Greece-Turkey relations The issue of Turkish membership, has been contentious in Greece, opinion polls suggest only 25% of Greeks believe Turkey has a place in the European Union.[61] The former Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis stated that Turkish membership of the EU could only be predicated upon, "full compliance, full accession" in December 2006.[62] Sony Vaio VGN-FW5ZTF/H Battery Sony Vaio VGN-SR49VT/H Battery   In 2005 the European Commission referred to relations between Turkey and Greece as "continuing to develop positively"[63] while also citing a key barrier to progress being Turkey's ongoing claim of casus belli over a dispute about territorial waters boundaries.[63] Sony Vaio VGN-SR4MR/P Battery Sony Vaio VGN-FW56SR Battery Further information: Religion in Turkey and Secularism in Turkey     Originally a church, later a mosque, and now a museum, the 6th century Hagia Sophia built by Justinian was the largest ever cathedral building in the world for a thousand years, until the completion of the Seville Cathedral in Spain. Sony Vaio VGN-SR4MR/S Battery   Turkey has a secular constitution, with no official state religion.[64] 99% of the Turkish population is Muslim[65][66] of whom over 70% belong to the Sunni branch of Islam. A sizeable minority, about over 25% of the Muslim population, is affiliated with the Shi'a Alevi branch.[67] Sony Vaio VGN-SR4MR/W Battery   The Christians (Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, Gregorian, Syriac, Protestant) and Jews (Sephardic, Ashkenazi) were formerly sizable religious minorities in the country. Turkey would be the first Muslim-majority country to join the European Union.[68] [69] Sony Vaio VGN-SR4VR/H Battery   Official population census polls in Turkey do not include information regarding a person's religious belief or ethnic background due to the regulations set by the Turkish constitution, which defines all citizens of the Republic of Turkey as Turkish in terms of nationality, regardless of faith or race.[70] Sony Vaio VGN-SR49VN/H Battery There is a strong tradition of secularism in Turkey. The state has no official religion nor promotes any, and actively monitors the area between the religions.[71] The constitution recognizes the freedom of religion for individuals, whereas religious communities are placed under the protection of the state; Sony Vaio VGN-FW56Z Battery   but the constitution explicitly states that they cannot become involved in the political process (by forming a religious party, for instance) or establish faith-based schools. No party can claim that it represents a form of religious belief; nevertheless, religious sensibilities are generally represented through conservative parties.[71] Sony Vaio VGN-SR57S Battery   Sony Vaio VGN-FW56ZR BatteryTurkey prohibits by law the wearing of religious headcover and theo-political symbolic garments for both sexes in government buildings, schools, and universities;[72] the law was upheld by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights as "legitimate" in the Leyla ahin v. Turkey case on 10 November 2005.[73] Sony Vaio VGN-SR57V Battery   [edit]Article 301 Main articles: Censorship in Turkey and Article 301 Article 301 states that "a person who publicly insults the Turkish nation, the State of the Republic of Turkey, or the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, shall be punishable by imprisonment of between six months and two years" and also that "expressions of thought intended to criticise shall not constitute a crime." Sony Vaio VGN-SR57X Battery   The EU was especially critical of this law during the September 2005 trial of novelist Orhan Pamuk over comments that recognized the deaths of thirty thousand Kurds and a half and a million Armenians. Enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn and members of the European Parliament called the case "regrettable", "most unfortunate", and "unacceptable".[74] Sony Vaio VGN-SR59TH/H Battery After the case was dropped three months later, Turkey's Foreign Minister Abdullah G l indicated that Turkey may abandon or modify Article 301, stating that "there may be need for a new law".[75] In September 2006, the European Parliament called for the abolition of laws, such as Article 301, "which threaten European free speech norms".[76] Sony Vaio VGN-SR59VG/H Battery Sony Vaio VGN-SR59XG/H Battery On 30 April 2008, the law was reformed.[77] According to the reform, it is now a crime to explicitly insult the "Turkish nation" rather than "Turkishness"; opening court cases based on Article 301 require the approval of the Justice Minister; and the maximum punishment has been reduced to two years in jail.[77] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21E Battery   Kemal Kerin siz, an ultra-nationalist lawyer, and other members of B y k Hukuk ular Birli i (Great Jurists Union) headed by Kerin siz, have been "behind nearly all of [Article 301] trials."[78] In January 2008, Kerin siz was arrested for participating in an ultra-nationalist underground organization, Ergenekon, allegedly behind the attacks on the Turkish Council of State and Cumhuriyet newspaper,[79] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21I Battery the assassination of several Christian missionaries and Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink,[80] as well as allegedly plotting the assassination of Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk.[81][82] [edit]Women's rights Sony VAIO VGN-FW21L Battery     Eighteen female MPs joined the Turkish Parliament with the 1935 general elections, at a time when women in a significant number of other European countries had voting rights for the local municipal elections, but not for the national parliamentary elections. In 1993 Tansu iller became the first female Prime Minister of Turkey. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21Z Battery   Turkey gave women the right to vote in 1930 for municipal elections. In 1934 this right was expanded for the national elections, while women were also given the right for becoming elected as MPs in the Turkish Parliament, or for being appointed as Ministers, Prime Minister, Speaker of the Parliament and President of the Republic. In 1993 Tansu iller became the first female Prime Minister of Turkey. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21M Battery   In its second report on women's role in social, economic and political life in Turkey, the European Parliament emphasized that respecting human rights, including women's rights, is a condition sine qua non for Turkey's membership of the EU. According to the report, Turkey's legal framework on women's rights "has in general been satisfactory, but its substantive implementation remains flawed."[83] Sony VAIO VGN-FW31M Battery     [edit]Conscientious objectors Turkey is one of two states (along with Azerbaijan) among the 47 members of the Council of Europe which refused to recognize the status of conscientious objectors or give them an alternative to military service.[84] Sony VAIO VGN-FW31J Battery [edit]Public reactions   [edit]In the EU Public opinion in EU countries generally opposes Turkish membership, though with varying degrees of intensity. The Eurobarometer September-October 2006 survey [85] shows that 59% of EU-27 citizens are against Turkey joining the EU, while only about 28% are in favour. Nearly all citizens (about 9 in 10) expressed concerns about human rights as the leading cause. In the earlier March-May 2006 Eurobarometer, Sony VAIO VGN-FW11ZRU Battery   citizens from the new member states were more in favour of Turkey joining (44% in favour) than the old EU-15 (38% in favour). At the time of the survey, the country whose population most strongly opposed Turkish membership was Austria (con: 81%), while Romania was most in favour of the accession (pro: 66%). On a wider political scope, Sony VAIO VGN-FW11ZU Battery he highest support comes from the Turkish Cypriot Community (pro: 67%) (which is not recognised as sovereign state and is de facto not EU territory and out of the European institutions). These communities are even more in favour of the accession than the Turkish populace itself (pro: 54%).[86] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21ER Battery t Opposition in Denmark to Turkish membership was polled at 60% in October 2007, despite the Danish government's support for Turkey's EU bid.[87] [edit]In Turkey Wikinews has related news: EU sets date for membership talks with Turkey The opening of membership talks with the EU in December 2004 was celebrated by Turkey with much fanfare,[88] but the Turkish populace has become increasingly sceptical as negotiations are delayed based on what it views as lukewarm support for its accession to the EU and alleged double standards in its negotiations particularly with regard to the French and Austrian referendums. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21J Battery A mid-2006 Eurobarometer survey revealed that 43% of Turkish citizens view the EU positively; just 35% trust the EU, 45% support enlargement and just 29% support an EU constitution.[89] Moreover, Turks are divided on whether to join at all. A 2007 poll put Turkish support for accession to the EU at 41.9% (up from 32% in 2006), with 27.7% opposed and 24.0% indifferent.[90] A 2009 poll showed that support for accession had risen to 48%, even as negative views of the EU had risen from 28% to 32%.[91] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21ZR   In 2010, despite the government accelerating its quest to join the bloc, public opinion changed with just 38 percent in favour, in contrast to 73 percent in 2004. This was read in line with Turkey's increasing economic prosperity and a growing role as a regional power-broker.[92] Twenty percent of Turks also favoured closer ties with other Muslim countries instead, a doubling in just one year. Sony VAIO VGN-FW3ZJ Battery   [edit]Official points of view   On 27 July 2010, David Cameron, during a visit to Turkey has promised to "fight" for Turkey's membership of the European Union, saying he is "angry" at the slow pace of negotiations. He added that "a European Union without Turkey at its heart is not stronger but weaker... not more secure but less... not richer but poorer."[93] Sony VAIO VGN-FW46M Battery   On 4 November 2009, David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, during a visit to Turkey underlined the UK government's support for Turkey's bid to join the European Union, saying: "I am very clear that Turkish accession to the EU is important and will be of huge benefit to both Turkey and the EU."[94] Sony VAIO VGN-FW4ZTJ/H   Current French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, unlike his predecessor, opposes the entrance of Turkey in the European Union, but wishes Turkey to remain a partner of Europe. He has also often mentioned geographical reasons to justify his position, thus saying "I do not believe that Turkey belongs to Europe, and for a simple reason: because it is in Asia Minor. Sony VAIO VGN-FW51 Battery What I wish to offer Turkey is a true partnership with Europe, but not integration into Europe".[95] German Chancellor Angela Merkel has repeatedly opposed full membership of Turkey to the EU Ankara is a very old city with various Hittite, Phrygian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman archaeological sites. Sony VAIO VGN-FW51MF/H Battery The hill which overlooks the city is crowned by the ruins of the old castle, which adds to the picturesqueness of the view, but only a few historic structures surrounding the old citadel have survived to the present day. There are, however, many finely preserved remains of Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine architecture, the most remarkable being the Temple of Augustus and Rome (20 BC) which is also known as the Monumentum Ancyranum.[4] Sony VAIO VGN-FW51ZF/H Battery Sony VAIO VGN-FW54M Battery As with many ancient cities, Ankara has gone by several names over the ages. It has been identified with the Hittite cult center Ankuwa ,[5][6] although this remains a matter of debate.[7] In classical antiquity and during the medieval period, the city was known as nkyra ( , "anchor") in Greek and Ancyra in Latin; the Galatian Celtic name was probably a similar variant. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21JF/S BatteryFollowing its annexation by the Seljuq Turks in 1073, the city became known in many European languages as Angora, a usage which continued until its official renaming to "Ankara" under the Turkish Postal Service Law of 1930.[8] Sony VGN-CS31Z/Q Battery   The region's history can be traced back to the Bronze Age Hatti civilization, which was succeeded in the 2nd millennium BC by the Hittites, in the 10th century BC by the Phrygians, and later by the Lydians, Persians, Greeks, Galatians, Romans, Byzantines, and Turks (the Seljuq Sultanate of R m, the Ottoman Empire and Turkey.) SONY VGN-FW41E/H BATTERY   [edit]Ancient history The oldest settlements in and around the city centre of Ankara belonged to the Hatti's civilization which existed during the Bronze Age. The city grew significantly in size and importance under the Phrygians starting around 1000 BC, and experienced a large expansion following the mass migration from Gordion, (the capital of Phrygia), SONY VGN-FW41J/H BATTERY after an earthquake which severely damaged that city around that time. In Phrygian tradition, King Midas was venerated as the founder of Ancyra, but Pausanias mentions that the city was actually far older, which accords with present archaeological knowledge.[9] SONY VGN-FW41M/H BATTERY   Phrygian rule was succeeded first by Lydian and later by Persian rule, though the strongly Phrygian character of the peasantry remained, as evidenced by the gravestones of the much later Roman period. Persian sovereignty lasted until the Persians' defeat at the hands of Alexander the Great who conquered the city in 333 BC. SONY VGN-FW41ZJ/H BATTERY Alexander came from Gordion to Ankara and stayed in the city for a short period. After his death at Babylon in 323 BC and the subsequent division of his empire among his generals, Ankara and its environs fell into the share of Antigonus. Sony VAIO VGN-NW31JF/S Battery   Another important expansion took place under the Greeks of Pontos who came there around 300 BC and developed the city as a trading centre for the commerce of goods between the Black Sea ports and Crimea to the north; Assyria, Cyprus, and Lebanon to the south; and Georgia, Armenia and Persia to the east. By that time the city also took its name ( nkyra, meaning Anchor in Greek) which in slightly modified form provides the modern name of Ankara. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF/T Battery   [edit]Celtic history     The Dying Gaul was a famous statue commissioned some time between 230 BC and 220 BC by King Attalos I of Pergamon to honor his victory over the Celtic Galatians in Anatolia. Roman marble copy of a Hellenistic work of the late third century BCE, displayed at the Capitoline Museums, Rome. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF/S Battery   In 278 BC, the city, along with the rest of central Anatolia, was occupied by a Celtic group, the Galatians, who were the first to make Ankara one of their main tribal centres, the headquarters of the Tectosages tribe. Other centres were Pessinos, today's Balhisar, for the Trocmi tribe, and Tavium, to the east of Ankara, for the Tolstibogii tribe. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF/W Battery The city was then known as Ancyra. The Celtic element was probably relatively small in numbers; a warrior aristocracy which ruled over Phrygian-speaking peasants. However, the Celtic language continued to be spoken in Galatia for many centuries. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF/P Battery At the end of the 4th century, St. Jerome, a native of Dalmatia, observed that the language spoken around Ankara was very similar to that being spoken in the northwest of the Roman world near Trier. Sony Vaio VGN-AW11M/H Battery   [edit]Roman history The city was subsequently conquered by Augustus in 25 BC and passed under the control of the Roman Empire. Now the capital city of the Roman province of Galatia, Ancyra continued to be a center of great commercial importance. Ankara is also famous for the Monumentum Ancyranum (Temple of Augustus and Rome) which contains the official record of the Acts of Augustus, Sony VAIO VGN-NW20EF/S Battery Sony Vaio VGN-AW11S/B Battery known as the Res Gestae Divi Augusti, an inscription cut in marble on the walls of this temple. The ruins of Ancyra still furnish today valuable bas-reliefs, inscriptions and other architectural fragments. Sony VAIO VGN-NW31EF Battery   Augustus decided to make Ancyra one of three main administrative centres in central Anatolia. The town was then populated by Phrygians and Celts the Galatians who spoke a language somewhat closely related to Welsh and Gaelic. Ancyra was the center of a tribe known as the Tectosages, and Augustus upgraded it into a major provincial capital for his empire. Sony VAIO VGN-NW31ZF/S Battery Two other Galatian tribal centres, Tavium near Yozgat, and Pessinus (Balhisar) to the west, near Sivrihisar, continued to be reasonably important settlements in the Roman period, but it was Ancyra that grew into a grand metropolis. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21JF/S Battery     Ancyra was the capital of the Celtic kingdom of Galatia, and later of the Roman province with the same name, after its conquest by Augustus in 25 BC. An estimated 200,000 people lived in Ancyra in good times during the Roman Empire, a far greater number than was to be the case from after the fall of the Roman Empire until the early 20th century. A small river, the Ankara ay , Sony Vaio VGN-AW41ZF/B Battery   ran through the centre of the Roman town. It has now been covered and diverted, but it formed the northern boundary of the old town during the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods. ankaya, the rim of the majestic hill to the south of the present city center, stood well outside the Roman city, but may have been a summer resort. In the 19th century, Sony Vaio VGN-AW41XH/Q Battery the remains of at least one Roman villa or large house were still standing not far from where the ankaya Presidential Residence stands today. To the west, the Roman city extended until the area of the Gen lik Park and Railway Station, while on the southern side of the hill, it may have extended downwards as far as the site presently occupied by Hacettepe University. Sony Vaio VGN-AW41MF/H Battery It was thus a sizeable city by any standards and much larger than the Roman towns of Gaul or Britannia. Ancyra's importance rested on the fact was that it was the junction point where the roads in northern Anatolia running north-south and east-west intersected. The great imperial road running east passed through Ankara and a succession of emperors and their armies came this way. They were not the only ones to use the Roman highway network, which was equally convenient for invaders. Sony Vaio VGN-AW41JF/H Battery In the second half of the 3rd century, Ancyra was invaded in rapid succession by the Goths coming from the west (who rode far into the heart of Cappadocia, taking slaves and pillaging) and later by the Arabs. For about a decade, Sony Vaio VGN-AW31ZJ/B Battery the town was one of the western outposts of one of the most brilliant queens of the ancient world, the Arab empress Zenobia from Palmyra in the Syrian desert, who took advantage of a period of weakness and disorder in the Roman Empire to set up a short-lived state of her own. Sony Vaio VGN-AW31S/B Battery   The Res Gestae is the self-laudatory autobiography completed in 13 AD, just before his death, by the first Roman emperor Augustus. Most of the text is preserved in the Monumentum Ancyranum. The town was reincorporated into the Roman Empire under Emperor Aurelian in 272. The tetrarchy, a system of multiple (up to four) emperors introduced by Diocletian (284-305), seems to have engaged in a substantial programme of rebuilding and of road construction from Ankara westwards to Germe and Dorylaeum (now Eski ehir). Sony Vaio VGN-AW31M/H Battery     In its heyday, Roman Ankara was a large market and trading center but it also functioned as a major administrative capital, where a high official ruled from the city's Praetorium, a large administrative palace or office. During the 3rd century, life in Ancyra, as in other Anatolian towns, Sony Vaio VGN-AW11SR/B Batteryseems to have become somewhat militarised in response to the invasions and instability of the town. In this period, like other cities of central Anatolia, Ankara was also undergoing Christianisation. Sony Vaio VGN-AW21XY/Q Battery   Early martyrs, about whom little is known, included Proklos and Hilarios who were natives of the otherwise unknown village of Kallippi, near Ancyra, and suffered repression under the emperor Trajan (98-117). In the 280s AD we hear of Philumenos, a Christian corn merchant from southern Anatolia, being captured and martyred in Ankara, and Eustathius. Sony Vaio VGN-AW31XY/Q Battery Sony Vaio VGN-AW21Z/B Battery   As in other Roman towns, the reign of Diocletian marked the culmination of the persecution of the Christians. In 303, Ancyra was one of the towns where the co-Emperors Diocletian and his deputy Galerius launched their anti-Christian persecution. In Ancyra, their first target was the 38-year-old Bishop of the town, whose name was Clement. Sony Vaio VGN-AW21S Battery Clement's life describes how he was taken to Rome, then sent back, and forced to undergo many interrogations and hardship before he, and his brother, and various companions were put to death. The remains of the church of St. Clement can be found today in a building just off I klar Caddesi in the Ulus district. Sony Vaio VGN-AW21M Battery Quite possibly this marks the site where Clement was originally buried. Four years later, a doctor of the town named Plato and his brother Antiochus also became celebrated martyrs under Galerius. Theodotus of Ancyra is also venerated as a saint.     The Column of Julianus, now in the Ulus district, was erected in honor of the Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate's visit to Ancyra in 362. Sony Vaio VGN-AW11RXU/Q Battery   However, the persecution proved unsuccessful and in 314 Ancyra was the center of an important council of the early church; which considered ecclesiastical policy for the reconstruction of the Christian church after the persecutions, and in particular the treatment of 'lapsi' Christians who had given in and conformed to paganism during these persecutions. Sony Vaio VGN-AW11ZR/B Battery   Three councils were held in the former capital of Galatia in Asia Minor, during the 4th century. The first, an orthodox plenary synod, was held in 314, and its 25 disciplinary canons constitute one of the most important documents in the early history of the administration of the Sacrament of Penance. Nine of them deal with conditions for the reconciliation of the lapsi; the others, with marriage, alienations of church property, etc. Sony Vaio VGN-AW11Z/B Battery Though paganism was probably tottering in Ancyra in Clement's day, it may still have been the majority religion. Twenty years later, Christianity and monotheism had taken its place. Ancyra quickly turned into a Christian city, Sony Vaio VGN-AW11XU/Q Battery with a life dominated by monks and priests and theological disputes. The town council or senate gave way to the bishop as the main local figurehead. During the middle of the 4th century, Ancyra was involved in the complex theological disputes over the nature of Christ, and a form of Arianism seems to have originated there. Sony VAIO VGN-NS31S/S Battery   The synod of 358 was a Semi-Arian conciliabulum, presided over by Basil of Ancyra. It condemned the grosser Arian blasphemies, but set forth an equally heretical doctrine in the proposition that the Son was in all things similar to the Father, but not identical in substance. In 362-363, the Emperor Julian the Apostate passed through Ancyra on his way to an ill-fated campaign against the Persians, Sony VAIO VGN-NS38M/P Battery Sony VAIO VGN-NW20SF Battery and according to Christian sources, engaged in a persecution of various holy men. The stone base for a statue, with an inscription describing Julian as "Lord of the whole world from the British Ocean to the barbarian nations", can still be seen, built into the eastern side of the inner circuit of the walls of Ankara Castle. The Column of Julian which was erected in honor of the emperor's visit to the city in 362 still stands today. In 375, Sony VAIO VGN-NS38M/W Battery Arian bishops met at Ancyra and deposed several bishops, among them St. Gregory of Nyssa. The modern Ankara, also known in some Western texts as Angora, remains a Roman Catholic titular see in the former Roman province of Galatia in Asia Minor, suffragan of Laodicea. Its episcopal list is given in Gams, "Series episc. Eccl. cath."; also that of another Ancyra in Phrygia Pacatiana. Sony VAIO VGN-SR11M Battery In the late 4th century AD, Ancyra became something of an imperial holiday resort. After Constantinople became the East Roman capital, emperors in the 4th and 5th centuries would retire from the humid summer weather on the Bosporus to the drier mountain atmosphere of Ancyra. Theodosius II (408-450) kept his court in Ancyra in the summers. Sony VAIO VGN-SR11MR Battery   Laws issued in Ancyra testify to the time they spent there. The city's military as well as logistical significance lasted well into the long Byzantine rule. Although Ancyra temporarily fell into the hands of several Arab Muslim armies numerous times after the 7th century, it remained an important crossroads polis within the Byzantine Empire until the late 11th century. It was also the capital of the powerful Opsician Theme, and after ca. 750 of the Bucellarian Theme. Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VN Battery [edit]Turkish history     The second Turkish Parliament Building (1923), which is now the Republic Museum. In 1071, the Turkish Seljuq Sultan Alp Arslan conquered much of eastern and central Anatolia after his victory at the Battle of Manzikert. He then annexed Ankara, an important location for military transportation and natural resources, to his territory in 1073. After the Battle of K se Da in 1243 in which the Mongols defeated the Seljuqs, Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN Battery most of Anatolia became part of the dominion of the Mongols. Taking advantage of Seljuq decline, a semi religious cast of craftsmen and trade people named Ahiler chose Ankara as their independent city state in 1290. Orhan I, the second Bey of the Ottoman Empire, captured the city in 1356. Timur defeated the Ottomans at the Battle of Ankara in 1402 and took the city, but in 1403 Ankara was again under Ottoman control. Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S Battery       The historic Ziraat Bank Building (1929). Following the Ottoman defeat at World War I, the Ottoman capital Istanbul and much of Anatolia were occupied by the Allies, who planned to share these lands between Armenia, France, Greece, Italy and the United Kingdom, leaving for the Turks the core piece of land in central Anatolia. In response, the leader of the Turkish nationalist movement, Sony VAIO VGN-SR21RM/H Battery   Mustafa Kemal Atat rk, established the headquarters of his resistance movement in Ankara in 1920 (see the Treaty of S vres and the Turkish War of Independence.) After the War of Independence was won and the Treaty of S vres was superseded by the Treaty of Lausanne, Sony VAIO VGN-NW24S Battery Sony VAIO VGN-NW26M Battery Sony VAIO VGN-NW20ZF Battery the Turkish nationalists replaced the Ottoman Empire with the Republic of Turkey on 29 October 1923. A few days earlier, Ankara had officially replaced Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) as the new Turkish capital city, on 13 October 1923.     The historic Ankara Palas Hotel (1927). After Ankara became the capital of the newly founded Republic of Turkey, new development divided the city into an old section, called Ulus, and a new section, called Yeni ehir. Ancient buildings reflecting Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman history and narrow winding streets mark the old section. The new section, Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S Battery now centered on K z lay, has the trappings of a more modern city: wide streets, hotels, theaters, shopping malls, and high-rises. Government offices and foreign embassies are also located in the new section. Ankara has experienced a phenomenal growth since it was made Turkey's capital. It was "a small town of no importance"[10] when it was made the capital of Turkey. In 1924, the year after the government had moved there, Ankara had about 35,000 residents. By 1927 there were 44,553 residents and by 1950 the population had grown to 286,781. Sony VAIO VGN-SR29VN Battery [edit]Economy       Atat rk Avenue in central Ankara.     S t z business district in Ankara, with the Armada Tower & Mall rising behind the Turkish flag. Historically, the production of Mohair from the Angora goat; and Angora wool from the Angora rabbit; have been an important part of the city's economy. These fabrics have been exported from Ankara to Europe and other parts of the globe for centuries. Sony VAIO VGN-SR31M Battery   The Central Anatolia Region is one of the primary locations of grape and wine production in Turkey, and Ankara is particularly famous for its Kalecik Karas and Muscat grapes; and its Kavakl dere wine, which is produced in the Kavakl dere neighbourhood within the ankaya district of the city. Ankara is also famous for its pears. Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/P Battery Another renowned natural product of Ankara is its indigenous type of honey (Ankara Bal ) which is known for its light colour and is mostly produced by the Atat rk Forest Farm and Zoo in the Gazi district, and by other facilities in the Elmada , ubuk and Beypazar districts. Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/S Battery     Ankara is famous for its local varieties of grapes and wine, such as Kalecik Karas and Kavakl dere. Ankara is the center of the state-owned and private Turkish defence and aerospace companies, where the industrial plants and headquarters of the Turkish Aerospace Industries, MKE, Aselsan, Havelsan, Roketsan, FNSS,[11] Nurol,[12] Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/P Battery     and numerous other firms are located. Exports to foreign countries from these defence and aerospace firms have steadily increased in the past decades. The IDEF in Ankara is one of the largest international expositions of the global arms industry. A number of the global automotive companies also have production facilities in Ankara, such as the German bus and truck manufacturer MAN SE.[13] Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/W Battery A large percentage of the employment in Ankara is provided by the state institutions; such as the ministries, undersecretariats, and other administrative bodies of the Turkish government. There are also many foreign citizens working as diplomats or clerks in the embassies of their respective countries. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MR Battery   [edit]Climate   Ankara has a continental climate, with cold, snowy winters due to its elevation and inland location, and hot, dry summers. Rainfall occurs mostly during the spring and autumn. Under K ppen's climate classification, Ankara features a semi-arid climate.[14] Because of Ankara's high altitude and its dry summers, nightly temperatures in the summer months are cool. Sony VGP-BPS13/B Battery   Ankara's annual average precipitation is fairly low at 415 millimetres (16 in), nevertheless precipitation can be observed throughout the year. Monthly mean temperatures range from 0.1 C (32.2 F) in January to 22.9 C (73.2 F) in July, with an annual mean of 11.7 C (53.1 F). K z lay Square in Ankara, during the early years of the Turkish Republic, with the later demolished Su Perileri (Water Fairies) monumental fountain, c. 1930.[16] Sony VGP-BPS13B/B Battery Completed in 1924 and originally erected on K z lay Square in 1925, the bronze statue of the demolished fountain was later re-erected at Tando an Square, but was removed during the construction works of the Tando an metro station in 1992.[16][17] Sony VGP-BPS13A/B Battery It was kept inside an Ankara Municipality depot for many years, until being re-discovered by journalists of the H rriyet daily newspaper in 2008.[17] It was restored by sculptor Metin Yurdanur and re-erected in front of Cer Modern on 20 December 2010.[17] Sony VGP-BPS13/S Battery   Central Ankara has a population of 3,763,591 (2007) of which 1,870,831 are men and 1,892,760 are women. The metropolitan municipality, containing the central part of the city and the surrounding 8 districts under its jurisdiction, had a total population of 3,901,201 the same year.[18] Sony VGP-BPS13 Batterty When Ankara became the capital of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, it was designated as a planned city for 500,000 future inhabitants. During the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, the city grew in a planned and orderly pace. However, from the 1950s onward, the city grew much faster than envisioned, because unemployment and poverty forced people to migrate from the countryside into the city in order to seek a better standard of living. Sony VGP-BPS13/Q Battery   As a result, many illegal houses called gecekondu were built around the city, causing the unplanned and uncontrolled urban landscape of Ankara, as not enough planned housing could be built fast enough. Although precariously built, the vast majority of them have electricity, running water and modern household amenities. Sony VGP-BPS13A/Q Battery   Nevertheless, many of these gecekondus have been replaced by huge public housing projects in the form of tower blocks such as Elvankent, Eryaman and G zelkent; and also as mass housing compounds for military and civil service accommodation. Although many gecekondus still remain, they too are gradually being replaced by mass housing compounds, as empty land plots in the city of Ankara for new construction projects are becoming impossible to find. Sony VGP-BPS13B/Q Battery   Population of Ankara is located on an imposing hill, An ttepe quarter of the city, where the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atat rk, founder of the Republic of Turkey, stands. Completed in 1953, it is an impressive fusion of ancient and modern architectural styles. An adjacent museum houses a wax statue of Atat rk, his writings, letters and personal items, Sony VGP-BPS21 Battery as well as an exhibition of photographs recording important moments in his life and during the establishment of the Republic. An tkabir is open every day, while the adjacent museum is open every day except Mondays. Sony VGP-BPS21A Battery   Ankara Ethnography Museum (Etno rafya M zesi) This museum is opposite the Opera House on Talat Pa a Boulevard, in the Ulus district. There is a fine collection of folkloric items, as well as artifacts from the Seljuk and Ottoman periods. Museum of Anatolian Civilizations (Anadolu Medeniyetleri M zesi) Situated at the entrance of Ankara Castle, it is an old bedesten (covered bazaar) that has been beautifully restored and now houses a unique collection of Paleolithic, Neolithic, Hatti, Hittite, Phrygian, Urartian, and Roman works as well as a major section dedicated to Lydian treasures. Sony VAIO VGN-NW20EF Battery State Art and Sculpture Museum (Resim-Heykel M zesi) This museum is close to the Ethnography Museum and houses a rich collection of Turkish art from the late 19th century to the present day. There are also galleries which host guest exhibitions. Sony VGP-BPS21B Battery   Cer Modern[19] Cer Modern is the modern-arts museum of Ankara, inaugurated on 1 April 2010. It is situated in the renovated building of the historic TCDD Cer At lyeleri, the workshop of the Turkish National Railways. The museum incorporates the largest exhibition hall in Turkey. The museum holds periodic exhibitions of modern and contemporary art as well as hosting other contemporary arts events. Sony VGP-BPS21A/B Battery War of Independence Museum (Kurtulu Sava M zesi) This building, located on Ulus Square, was originally the first Parliament building (TBMM) of the Republic of Turkey. The War of Independence was planned and directed here as recorded in various photographs and items presently on exhibition. In another display, wax figures of former presidents of the Republic of Turkey are on exhibit. Sony VGP-BPS21/S Battery   TCDD Open Air Steam Locomotive Museum - An open-air museum which traces the history of steam locomotives. engelhan Rahmi Ko Museum

• is a museum of industrial technology situated in engelhan, an Ottoman Era caravanserai. The exhibits include industrial/technological artifacts from 1850s onwards. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31E/S Battery

  Ankara Aviation Museum (Hava Kuvvetleri M zesi Komutanl )

• The museum is near the Istanbul Road in Etimesgut. It is home to various missiles, avionics, aviation materials and aircraft that have served in the Turkish Air Force (e.g. combat aircraft such as the F-86 Sabre, F-100 Super Sabre, F-102 Delta Dagger, F-104 Starfighter, F-5 Freedom Fighter, F-4 Phantom; and cargo planes such as the Transall C-160.) Also, a Hungarian MiG-21, a Pakistani MiG-19, and a Bulgarian MiG-17 are on display in the museum. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31ER/S Battery

METU Science and Technology Museum (ODT Bilim ve Teknoloji M zesi) is based in the Middle East Technical University campus.

• In the Temple of Augustus and Rome (commonly known as the Monumentum Ancyranum) in Ulus, the primary intact copy of Res Gestae written by the first Roman Emperor Augustus survives. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31J/S Battery

   

• The foundations of the citadel or castle were laid by the Galatians on a prominent lava outcrop (39.941 N 32.864 E), and the rest was completed by the Romans. The Byzantines and Seljuqs further made restorations and additions. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31MR/S Battery
• Sony VAIO VGN-NR21S/T Battery The area around and inside the citadel, being the oldest part of Ankara, contains many fine examples of traditional architecture. There are also recreational areas to relax. Many restored traditional Turkish houses inside the citadel area have found new life as restaurants, serving local cuisine. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31S/S Battery

  The citadel was depicted in various Turkish banknotes during 1927-1952 and 1983-1989.[20] [edit]Roman Theatre

• The remains, the stage, and the backstage can be seen outside the castle. Roman statues that were found here are exhibited in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations (see above). The seating area is still under excavation. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31SR/S Battery

  [edit]Temple of Augustus and Rome

• The temple, also known as the Monumentum Ancyranum, was built between 25 BC - 20 BC following the conquest of Central Anatolia by the Roman Empire and the formation of the Roman province of Galatia, with Ancyra (modern Ankara) as its administrative capital. After the death of Augustus in 14 AD, Sony Vaio VGN-NR31Z/S Battery
• • a copy of the text of Res Gestae Divi Augusti was inscribed on the interior of the pronaos in Latin, whereas a Greek translation is also present on an exterior wall of the cella. The temple, on the ancient Acropolis of Ancyra, was enlarged by the Romans in the 2nd century. In the 5th century it was converted into a church by the Byzantines. It is located in the Ulus quarter of the city. Sony VAIO VGN-NR21S/S Battery

[edit]Roman Bath

• This bath has all the typical features of a classical Roman bath: a frigidarium (cold room), tepidarium (warm room) and caldarium (hot room). The bath was built during the reign of Emperor Caracalla in the 3rd century AD to honour Asclepios, the God of Medicine. Today, only the basement and first floors remain. It is situated in the Ulus quarter. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31Z/T Battery

[edit]Column of Julian The Column of Julian or Julianus, now in the Ulus district, was erected in honor of the Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate's visit to Ancyra in 362. [edit]Mosques     Kocatepe Mosque (1989).

• The Alaaddin Mosque. It has a carved walnut mimber, the inscription on which records that the mosque was built in the 12th century by the Seljuq ruler, Mesut. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31ZR/S Battery

   

• Ahi Elvan Mosque, founded in the Ulus quarter near the Ankara Citadel and was constructed during the late 14th and early 15th centuries. The finely carved walnut mimber (pulpit) is of particular interest. Sony Vaio VGN-NR38E/S Battery

 

• Hac Bayram Mosque.[21] This mosque, in the Ulus quarter next to the Temple of Augustus, was built in the early 15th century in Seljuq style by an unknown architect. It was subsequently restored by architect Mimar Sinan in the 16th century, with K tahya tiles being added in the 18th century. The mosque was built in honor of Hac Bayram Veli, whose tomb is next to the mosque, Sony Vaio VGN-NR38M/S Battery

two years before his death (1427-28). The usable space inside this mosque is 437 m2 (4,704 sq ft) on the first floor and 263 m2 (2,831 sq ft) on the second floor.

• Yeni (Cenab Ahmet) Mosque. It is the largest Ottoman mosque in Ankara and was built by the famous architect Sinan in the 16th century. The mimber (pulpit) and mihrap (prayer niche) are of white marble, and the mosque itself is of Ankara stone (red porphyry), an example of very fine workmanship. Yeni Cami is on Ulucanlar Avenue. Sony Vaio VGN-NR38S/S Battery

 

• Kocatepe Mosque, the largest mosque in the city. Located in the Kocatepe quarter, it was constructed between 1967 and 1987 in classical Ottoman style with four minarets. Its size and prominent location have made it a landmark for the city. Sony Vaio VGN-NR38Z/S Battery

Hatti Monument (1970) on S hhiye Square. It was the city's official logo.

• Built in the 1970s on S hhiye Square, this impressive monument symbolizes the Hatti gods and commemorates Anatolia's earliest known civilization. The symbol derived from this monument has been used as the logo of the city for a long time. Sony Vaio VGN-NR38Z/T Battery

  [edit]Parks Ankara has many parks and open spaces mainly established in the early years of the Republic and well maintained and expanded thereafter. The most important of these parks are: Gen lik Park (houses an amusement park with a large pond for rowing), the Botanical Garden, Se menler Park, Anayasa Park, Ku ulu Park (famous for the swans received as a gift from the Chinese government), Sony VAIO VGN-NR11M/S Battery

  Abdi pek i Park, G ven Park (see above for the monument), Kurtulu Park (has an ice-skating rink), Alt npark (also a prominent exposition/fair area), Harikalar Diyar (claimed to be Biggest Park of Europe inside city borders) and G ksu Park. Sony VAIO VGN-NR11S/S Battery Sony VAIO VGN-NR11Z/S Battery   Gen lik Park was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 100 lira banknotes of 1952-1976.[24] Atat rk Forest Farm and Zoo (Atat rk Orman iftli i) is an expansive recreational farming area which houses a zoo, several small agricultural farms, greenhouses, restaurants, a dairy farm and a brewery. It is a pleasant place to spend a day with family, be it for having picnics, hiking, biking or simply enjoying good food and nature. Sony VAIO VGN-NR11Z/T Battery

• Sony VAIO VGN-NR21E/S Battery

Sony VAIO VGN-NR21J/S Battery There is also an exact replica of the house where Atat rk was born in 1881, in Thessaloniki, Greece. Visitors to the " iftlik" (farm) as it is affectionately called by Ankarans, can sample such famous products of the farm such as old-fashioned beer and ice cream, fresh dairy products and meat rolls/kebaps made on charcoal, at a traditional restaurant (Merkez Lokantas , Central Restaurant), caf s and other establishments scattered around the farm. Sony VGN-CR42Z Battery   [edit]Shopping     Sheraton Ankara rising behind Karum shopping mall in the Kavakl dere quarter of the ankaya business and leisure district. Foreign visitors to Ankara usually like to visit the old shops in kr k lar Yoku u (Weavers' Road) near Ulus, where myriad things ranging from traditional fabrics, hand-woven carpets and leather products can be found at bargain prices. Bak rc lar ar s (Bazaar of Coppersmiths) is particularly popular, and many interesting items, not just of copper, Sony VGP-BPS9 Battery can be found here like jewelry, carpets, costumes, antiques and embroidery. Up the hill to the castle gate, there are many shops selling a huge and fresh collection of spices, dried fruits, nuts, and other produce. Sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery   Modern shopping areas are mostly found in K z lay, or on Tunal Hilmi Avenue, including the modern mall of Karum (named after the ancient Assyrian merchant colonies (Karum) that were established in central Anatolia at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC) which is located towards the end of the Avenue; Sony VGP-BPS9/S Battery and in the Atakule Tower at ankaya, the quarter with the highest elevation in the city, which commands a magnificent view over the whole city and also has a revolving restaurant at the top where the complete panorama can be enjoyed in a more leisurely fashion. The symbol of the Armada Shopping Mall is an anchor, Sony VGP-BPS9A/B Battery and there's a large anchor monument at its entrance, as a reference to the ancient Greek name of the city, ( nkyra), which means anchor. Likewise, the anchor monument is also related with the Spanish name of the mall, Armada, which means naval fleet. Sony VGP-BPS9A Battery Sony VGP-BPL9 Battery As Ankara started expanding westward in the 1970s, several modern, suburbia-style developments and mini-cities began to rise along the western highway, also known as the Eski ehir Road. The Armada and CEPA malls on the highway, the Galleria in mitk y, and a huge mall, Real in Bilkent Center, Sony VAIO FW Battery   Sony VGP-BPS21/S Batteryoffer North American and European style shopping opportunities (these places can be reached through the Eski ehir Highway.) There is also the newly expanded Ankamall at the outskirts, on the Istanbul Highway, which houses most of the well-known international brands. This mall is the largest throughout the Ankara region. Turkish State Opera and Ballet, the national directorate of opera and ballet companies of Turkey, has its headquarters in Ankara, and serves the city with three venues: Ankara Opera House (Opera Sahnesi, also known as B y k Tiyatro) Leyla Gencer Sahnesi (named after world-famous soprano Leyla Gencer) Operet Sahnesi (also known as the T rkoca Binas ) Esenbo a International Airport, located in the north-east of the city, is Ankara's main airport. Ankara Intercity Bus Terminal (Turkish: Ankara ehirleraras Terminal letmesi, A T ) is an important part of the bus network which covers every neighbourhood in the city. Sony VAIO VGN-FW11 Battery   The Ankara Central Station is a major rail hub in Turkey. The Turkish State Railways operates passenger train service from Ankara to other major cities, such as: stanbul, Eski ehir, Bal kesir, K tahya, zmir, Kayseri, Adana, Kars, Malatya, Diyarbak r, Karab k, Zonguldak and Sivas. Commuter rail also runs between the stations of Sincan and Kaya . In 2009, the new Y ksek H zl Tren high-speed rail service began operation between Ankara and Eski ehir. Sony VAIO VGN-FW11M Battery   The Electricity, Gas, Bus General Directorate (EGO)[26] operates the Ankara Metro and other forms of public transportation. Ankara is currently served by suburban rail and two subway lines with about 300,000 total daily commuters, and three additional subway lines are under construction. Sony VGP-BPS21A/B Battery     Esenbo a International Airport in Ankara. [edit]Sports       Ankara Arena (2010). As with all other cities of Turkey, football is the most popular sport in Ankara. The city has two football clubs currently competing in the Turkcell Super League: Ankarag c founded in 1910 is the oldest club in Ankara and associated with Ankara's military arsenal manufacturing company MKE. They were the Turkish Cup winners in 1972 and 1981. Sony VAIO VGN-FW11S Battery   Sony VGP-BPS21B Battery Their rival is Gen lerbirli i founded in 1923 known as Ankara Gale or the Poppies because of their colours: red and black. They were the Turkish Cup winners in 1987 and 2001. All these three teams have their home at the Ankara 19 May s Stadium in Ulus, which has a capacity of 21,250 (all-seater).[27] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21E Battery   Sony VGP-BPS21A BatteryGen ler's B team, Hacettepe SK (formerly known as Gen lerbirli i OFTA ) played in the Super League for a while until being relegated. A fourth team, B y k ehir Belediye Ankaraspor, played in the Super League until 2010 when they were expelled, and currently are not a member of the Turkish league system. Their home is the Yenikent Asa Stadium in the Sincan district of Yenikent, outside the city center. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21I Battery   Ankara has a large number of minor teams, playing at regional levels: Bugsa spor in Sincan; Etimesgut ekerspor in Etimesgut; T rk Telekomspor owned by the phone company in Yenimahalle; Ankara Demirspor in ankaya; Ke i reng c , Sony VAIO VGN-FW21L Battery Ke i renspor, Pursaklarspor, Ba lumspor in Ke i ren; and Petrol Ofisi Spor owned by the oil company in Alt nda . Most of them, including Hacettepespor, play their matches at Cebeci n n Stadium in the Cebeci district. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21Z Battery   Sony VGP-BPS21 Battery In the Turkish Basketball League, Ankara is represented by T rk Telekom, whose home is the Ankara Arena, and CASA TED Kolejliler, whose home is the TOBB Sports Hall. Ankara Buz Pateni Saray is where the ice skating and ice hockey competitions take place in the city. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21M Battery   There are many popular spots for skateboarding which is active in the city since the 1980s. Skaters in Ankara usually meet in the park near the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Ankara is home to a world famous cat breed the Turkish Angora, called Ankara kedisi (Ankara cat) in Turkish. It is a breed of domestic cat. Turkish Angoras are one of the ancient, naturally-occurring cat breeds, having originated in Ankara and its surrounding region in central Anatolia. Sony VAIO VGN-FW31M Battery   They mostly have a white, silky, medium to long length coat, no undercoat and a fine bone structure. There seems to be a connection between the Angora Cats and Persians, and the Turkish Angora is also a distant cousin of the Turkish Van. Although they are known for their shimmery white coat, currently there are more than twenty varieties including black,   Sony VGP-BPS13B/S Battery blue and reddish fur. They come in tabby and tabby-white, along with smoke varieties, and are in every color other than pointed, lavender, and cinnamon (all of which would indicate breeding to an outcross.) Sony VGN-FW31ZJ battery   Eyes may be blue, green, or amber, or even one blue and one amber or green. The W gene which is responsible for the white coat and blue eye is closely related to the hearing ability, and the presence of a blue eye can indicate that the cat is deaf to the side the blue eye is located. However, a great many blue and odd-eyed white cats have normal hearing, and even deaf cats lead a very normal life if kept indoors. Sony VGN-FW32J battery   Ears are pointed and large, eyes are almond shaped and the head is massive with a two plane profile. Another characteristic is the tail, which is often kept parallel to the back. [edit]Angora rabbit Main article: Angora rabbit     Angora rabbit The Angora rabbit (Turkish: Ankara tav an ) is a variety of domestic rabbit bred for its long, soft hair. The Angora is one of the oldest types of domestic rabbit, originating in Ankara and its surrounding region in central Anatolia, Sony VGP-BPS13 Battery along with the Angora cat and Angora goat. The rabbits were popular pets with French royalty in the mid 18th century, and spread to other parts of Europe by the end of the century. They first appeared in the United States in the early 20th century. They are bred largely for their long Angora wool, which may be removed by shearing, combing, or plucking (gently pulling loose wool.) Sony VGP-BPS13A/B Battery   Angoras are bred mainly for their wool because it is silky and soft. They have a humorous appearance, as they oddly resemble a fur ball. Most are calm and docile but should be handled carefully. Grooming is necessary to prevent the fiber from matting and felting on the rabbit. A condition called "wool block" is common in Angora rabbits and should be treated quickly.[28] Sony VGP-BPS13B/B Battery Sometimes they are shorn in the summer as the long fur can cause the rabbits to overheat. [edit]Angora goat Main article: Angora goat     Angora goat The Angora goat (Turkish: Ankara ke isi) is a breed of domestic goat that originated in Ankara and its surrounding region in central Anatolia. Sony VGP-BPS13/S Battery   This breed was first mentioned in the time of Moses, roughly in 1500 BC.[29] The first Angora goats were brought to Europe by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, about 1554, but, like later imports, were not very successful. Angora goats were first introduced in the United States in 1849 by Dr. James P. Davis. Seven adult goats were a gift from Sultan Abd lmecid I in appreciation for his services and advice on the raising of cotton. Sony VGP-BPS13A/S Battery   The fleece taken from an Angora goat is called mohair. A single goat produces between five and eight kilograms of hair per year. Angoras are shorn twice a year, unlike sheep, which are shorn only once. Angoras have high nutritional requirements due to their rapid hair growth. A poor quality diet will curtail mohair development. The United States, Turkey, and South Africa are the top producers of mohair. Sony VGP-BPS13/Q Battery   For a long period of time, Angora goats were bred for their white coat. In 1998, the Colored Angora Goat Breeders Association was set up to promote breeding of colored Angoras. Today, Angora goats produce white, black (deep black to greys and silver), red (the color fades significantly as the goat gets older), and brownish fiber. Sony VGP-BPS13A/Q Battery Sony VGP-BPS13B/Q Battery Sony VGP-BPS13B/G Battery Angora goats were depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 50 lira banknotes of 1938-1952.[30]  

Turkey and Ankara is the capital of Turkey

Turkey, known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( T rkiye Cumhuriyeti (help info)), is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia (mostly in the Anatolian peninsula) and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21E Battery Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea is to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21J Battery the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between East Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.[12] Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21M Battery   Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. The vast majority of the population are Muslims.[13] The country's official language is Turkish, whereas Kurdish and Zazaki languages are spoken by Kurds and Zazas, who constitute 18% of the population.[14] Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21S Battery Oghuz Turks began migrating into the area now called Turkey (derived from the Medieval Latin Turchia, i.e. "Land of the Turks") in the 11th century. The process was greatly accelerated by the Seljuk victory over the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert.[15] Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21Z Battery Several small beyliks and the Seljuk Sultanate of R m ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion. Starting from the 13th century, the Ottoman beylik united Anatolia and created an empire encompassing much of Southeastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31E Battery After the Ottoman Empire collapsed following its defeat in World War I, parts of it were occupied by the victorious Allies. A cadre of young military officers, led by Mustafa Kemal Atat rk and his colleagues, organized a successful resistance to the Allies; in 1923, they would establish the modern Republic of Turkey with Atat rk as its first president. Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31J Battery     Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic with an ancient cultural heritage. Turkey has become increasingly integrated with the West through membership in organisations such as the Council of Europe, NATO, OECD, OSCE and the G-20 major economies. Turkey began full membership negotiations with the European Union in 2005, Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31M Battery Sony Vaio VGN-NR31E/S Batteryhaving been an associate member of the European Economic Community since 1963 and having reached a customs union agreement in 1995. Turkey has also fostered close cultural, political, economic and industrial relations with the Middle East, the Turkic states of Central Asia and the African countries through membership in organisations such as the Turkic Council, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ19VN Battery   Joint Administration of Turkic Arts and Culture, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Economic Cooperation Organisation. Turkey's location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia makes it a country of significant geostrategic importance.[16][17][18] Given its strategic location, large economy and military strength, Turkey is a major regional power.[18][19] Sony Vaio VGN-FZ39VN Battery Sony Vaio VGN-FZ39VN Battery The name of Turkey, T rkiye in the Turkish language, can be divided into two components: the ethnonym T rk and the abstract suffix -iye meaning "owner", "land of" or "related to" (derived from the Arabic suffix -iyya, which is similar to the Greek and Latin suffixes -ia). The first recorded use of the term "T rk" or "T r k" as an autonym is contained in the Orkhon inscriptions of the G kt rks (Celestial Turks) of Central Asia (c. 8th century). Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31ZR Battery   The English word "Turkey" is derived from the Medieval Latin Turchia (c. 1369).[20] The Greek cognate of this name, Tourkia (Greek: ) was originally used by the Byzantines to describe medieval Hungary[dn 1][21][page needed][22] (since pre-Magyar Hungary was occupied by proto-Turkic and Turkic tribes, such as the Huns, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31SR Battery Avars, Bulgars, Kabars, Pechenegs and Cumans.) Similarly, the medieval Khazar Empire, a Turkic state on the northern shores of the Black and Caspian seas, was referred to as Tourkia (Land of the Turks) in Byzantine sources. However, the Byzantines later began using this name to define the Seljuk-controlled parts of Anatolia in the centuries that followed the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31ER Battery History   Main article: History of Turkey Antiquity Main articles: History of Anatolia and Thrace#History The Anatolian peninsula, comprising most of modern Turkey, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited regions in the world. The earliest Neolithic settlements such as atalh y k (Pottery Neolithic), ay n (Pre-Pottery Neolithic A to Pottery Neolithic), Sony Vaio VGN-NR31E/S Battery Neval ori (Pre-Pottery Neolithic B), Hac lar (Pottery Neolithic), G bekli Tepe (Pre-Pottery Neolithic A) and Mersin (Yumuktepe) are considered to be among the earliest human settlements in the world.[23] Sony Vaio VGN-NR31ER/S Battery   Portion of the legendary walls of Troy (VII), identified as the site of the Trojan War (ca. 1200 BCE.) The settlement of Troy started in the Neolithic and continued into the Iron Age. Through recorded history, Anatolians have spoken Indo-European, Semitic and Kartvelian languages, as well as many languages of uncertain affiliation. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31J/S Battery In fact, given the antiquity of the Indo-European Hittite and Luwian languages, some scholars have proposed Anatolia as the hypothetical center from which the Indo-European languages radiated.[24] The Hattians were an ancient people who inhabited the Central Anatolia, noted at least as early as ca. 2300. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31MR/S Battery Indo-European Hittites came to Anatolia and gradually absorbed Hattians ca. 2000-1700 BC. The first major empire in the area was founded by the Hittites, from the eighteenth through the 13th century BC. The Assyrians colonized parts of southeastern Turkey as far back as 1950 BC until the year 612 BC, Sony Vaio VGN-NR31S/S Battery     when the Assyrian Empire was conquered by the Chaldean dynasty in Babylon.[25][26] Following the Hittite collapse, the Phrygians, an Indo-European people, achieved ascendancy until their kingdom was destroyed by the Cimmerians in the 7th century BC.[27] Sony Vaio VGN-NR31SR/S Battery The most powerful of Phrygia's successor states were Lydia, Caria and Lycia. The Lydians and Lycians spoke languages that were fundamentally Indo-European, but both languages had acquired non-Indo-European elements prior to the Hittite and Hellenistic periods. Sony Vaio VGN-NR38Z/T Battery     The Celsus Library in Ephesus, dating from 135 AD. Starting around 1200 BC, the coast of Anatolia was heavily settled by Aeolian and Ionian Greeks. Numerous important cities were founded by these colonists, such as Miletus, Ephesus, Smyrna (modern zmir), and Byzantium (later Constantinople and Istanbul). Sony Vaio VGN-NR31Z/S Battery   The first state established in Anatolia that was called Armenia by neighboring peoples (Hecataeus of Miletus and Behistun Inscription) was the state of the Armenian Orontid dynasty. Anatolia was conquered by the Persian Achaemenid Empire during the 6th and 5th centuries BC and later fell to Alexander the Great in 334 BC.[28] Sony Vaio VGN-NR31Z/T Battery Anatolia was subsequently divided into a number of small Hellenistic kingdoms (including Bithynia, Cappadocia, Pergamum, and Pontus), all of which had succumbed to the Roman Republic by the mid-1st century BC.[29] Sony Vaio VGN-NR31ZR/S Battery   In 324, the Roman emperor Constantine I chose Byzantium to be the new capital of the Roman Empire, renaming it New Rome (later Constantinople and Istanbul). After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it became the capital of the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire).[30] Sony Vaio VGN-NR38E/S Battery   Turks and the Ottoman Empire Main articles: Turkic migration, Great Seljuq Empire, and Ottoman Empire     Ottoman territories acquired between 1481 and 1683. The House of Seljuk was a branch of the K n k O uz Turks who resided on the periphery of the Muslim world, in the Yabghu Khaganate of the O uz confederacy, to the north of the Caspian and Aral Seas, in the 9th century.[31] Sony Vaio VGN-NR38M/S Battery [page needed] In the 10th century the Seljuks started migrating from their ancestral homeland into Persia, which became the administrative core of the Great Seljuk Empire. In the latter half of the 11th century the Seljuks began penetrating into the eastern regions of Anatolia. Sony Vaio VGN-NR38S/S Battery The victory of the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan against the Byzantine emperor Romanos IV Diogenes at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 gave rise to the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate, which developed as a separate branch of the Great Seljuk Empire that covered parts of Central Asia, Persia, Anatolia, the Levant and southeast Arabia.[32][page needed] Sony Vaio VGN-NR38Z/S Battery In 1243, the Seljuk armies were defeated by the Mongols, causing the Seljuk Empire's power to slowly disintegrate. In its wake, one of the Turkish principalities governed by Osman I would, over the next 200 years, evolve into the Ottoman Empire, expanding throughout Anatolia, Sony VAIO VGN-AR31S Battery the Balkans and the Levant.[33][page needed] In 1453, the Ottomans completed their conquest of the Byzantine Empire by capturing its capital, Constantinople.     The Selimiye Mosque in Edirne is one of the most famous architectural legacies of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire's power and prestige peaked in the 16th and 17th centuries, particularly during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. The empire was often at odds with the Holy Roman Empire in its steady advance towards Central Europe through the Balkans and the southern part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.[17] Sony VAIO VGN-AR31M Battery [page needed] At sea, the Ottoman Navy contended with several Holy Leagues (composed primarily of Habsburg Spain, the Republic of Genoa, the Republic of Venice, the Knights of St. John, the Papal States, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Duchy of Savoy) for control of the Mediterranean Sea. In the Indian Ocean, Sony VAIO VGN-AR31E Battery the Ottoman Navy frequently confronted Portuguese fleets in order to defend the empire's monopoly over the historic maritime trade routes between East Asia and Western Europe; these routes faced new competition with the Portuguese discovery of the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, which had a considerable impact on the Ottoman economy. In addition, Sony VAIO VGN-AR41E Battery the Ottomans were occasionally at war with Safavid Persia over territorial disputes or caused by religious differences between 16th and 18th centuries.[34] During nearly two centuries of decline, the Ottoman Empire gradually shrank in size, military power, and wealth. It entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers and was ultimately defeated. During the war, an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were deported and exterminated in the Armenian Genocide.[35][36] Sony VAIO VGN-AR41L Battery Sony VAIO VGN-AR41M Battery The Turkish government denies that there was an Armenian genocide and claims that Armenians were only relocated from the eastern war zone.[37] Large scale massacres were also committed against the empire's other minority groups such as the Greeks and Assyrians.[38][39][40] Sony VAIO VGN-AR41S Battery Following the Armistice of Mudros on October 30, 1918, the victorious Allied Powers sought to partition the Ottoman state through the 1920 Treaty of S vres.[33] Republic era Main articles: History of the Republic of Turkey and Atat rk's Reforms     Mustafa Kemal Atat rk, founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey. The occupation of Constantinople and Smyrna by the Allies in the aftermath of World War I prompted the establishment of the Turkish national movement.[17] Sony VAIO VGN-AR51E Battery Under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Pasha, a military commander who had distinguished himself during the Battle of Gallipoli, the Turkish War of Independence was waged with the aim of revoking the terms of the Treaty of S vres.[16] Sony VAIO VGN-AR51S Battery   By September 18, 1922, the occupying armies were expelled, and the new Turkish state was established. On November 1, the newly founded parliament formally abolished the Sultanate, thus ending 623 years of Ottoman rule. The Treaty of Lausanne of July 24, 1923, Sony VAIO VGN-AR51M Battery led to the international recognition of the sovereignty of the newly formed "Republic of Turkey" as the successor state of the Ottoman Empire, and the republic was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923, in the new capital of Ankara.[17] Sony VAIO VGN-AR61M Battery   Mustafa Kemal became the republic's first President and subsequently introduced many radical reforms with the aim of founding a new secular republic from the remnants of its Ottoman past.[17] With the Surname Law of 1934, the Turkish Parliament bestowed upon Mustafa Kemal the honorific surname "Atat rk" (Father of the Turks.)[16] Sony VAIO VGN-AR61S Battery Sony VAIO VGN-AR11S Battery       Roosevelt, n n and Churchill at the Second Cairo Conference which was held between December 4-6, 1943. Turkey remained neutral during most of World War II, but entered the war on the side of the Allies on February 23, 1945, as a ceremonial gesture; and on June 26, 1945, became a charter member of the United Nations.[41] Sony VAIO VGN-AR61E Battery Difficulties faced by Greece after the war in quelling a communist rebellion, along with demands by the Soviet Union for military bases in the Turkish Straits, prompted the United States to declare the Truman Doctrine in 1947. The doctrine enunciated American intentions to guarantee the security of Turkey and Greece, Sony VAIO VGN-NR21E/S Battery and resulted in large-scale U.S. military and economic support.[42][page needed] Both countries were included in the Marshall Plan and OEEC for rebuilding European economies in 1948, and subsequently became founding members of the OECD in 1961. Sony VAIO VGN-NR21J/S Battery After participating with the United Nations forces in the Korean War, Turkey joined NATO in 1952, becoming a bulwark against Soviet expansion into the Mediterranean. Following a decade of Cypriot intercommunal violence and the Greek military junta backed coup in Cyprus on 15 July 1974 staged by the EOKA B paramilitary organization, Sony VAIO VGN-NR21S/S Battery   which overthrew President Makarios (who fled to the United Kingdom) and installed the pro-Enosis (union with Greece) Nikos Sampson as dictator, Turkey invaded Cyprus on 20 July 1974 upon the request for guarantorship intervention by the Turkish Cypriot leader and Vice President of the Republic of Cyprus Rauf Denkta .[43] Sony VAIO VGN-NR21S/T Battery   Nine years later the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is recognised only by Turkey, was established.[44] The single-party period ended in 1945. It was followed by a tumultuous transition to multiparty democracy over the next few decades, which was interrupted by military coups d' tat in 1960, 1971, 1980 and 1997.[45][page needed] In 1984,   Sony VAIO VGN-NR11M/S Battery the PKK began an insurgency against the Turkish government; the conflict, which has claimed over 40,000 lives, continues today.[46] Since the liberalisation of the Turkish economy during the 1980s, the country has enjoyed stronger economic growth and greater political stability.[47]   Sony VAIO VGN-NR11S/S Battery Politics   Main articles: Politics of Turkey, Constitution of Turkey, and Elections in Turkey     Recep Tayyip Erdo an has been elected three times as Prime Minister: In 2002 (with 34% of the popular vote), in 2007 (with 47%) and in 2011 (with 49%). Sony VAIO VGN-NR11Z/S Battery Turkey is a parliamentary representative democracy. Since its foundation as a republic in 1923, Turkey has developed a strong tradition of secularism.[48] Turkey's constitution governs the legal framework of the country. It sets out the main principles of government and establishes Turkey as a unitary centralized state. Sony Vaio VGN-CR31E/L Battery The President of the Republic is the head of state and has a largely ceremonial role. The president is elected for a five-year term by direct elections. Abdullah G l was elected as president on August 28, 2007, by a popular parliament round of votes, succeeding Ahmet Necdet Sezer.[49] Sony Vaio VGN-CR31Z/R Battery   Executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers which make up the government, while the legislative power is vested in the unicameral parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Sony VGP-BPS9 Battery The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, and the Constitutional Court is charged with ruling on the conformity of laws and decrees with the constitution. The Council of State is the tribunal of last resort for administrative cases, and the High Court of Appeals for all others.[50] Sony VGP-BPS9A Battery Sony VGP-BPS9B Battery   The prime minister is elected by the parliament through a vote of confidence in the government and is most often the head of the party having the most seats in parliament. The current prime minister is the former mayor of stanbul, Recep Tayyip Erdo an, Sony VAIO VGN-SR11M Battery whose conservative Justice and Development Party won an absolute majority of parliamentary seats in the 2002 general elections, organized in the aftermath of the economic crisis of 2001, with 34% of the suffrage.[51] Sony VAIO VGN-SR11MR Battery   In the 2007 general elections, the AKP received 46.6% of the votes and could defend its majority in parliament.[52] Although the ministers do not have to be members of the parliament, ministers with parliament membership are common in Turkish politics. In 2007, Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VN Battery a series of events regarding state secularism and the role of the judiciary in the legislature has occurred. These included the controversial presidential election of Abdullah G l, who in the past had been involved with Islamist parties;[53] Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN Battery and the government's proposal to lift the headscarf ban in universities, which was annulled by the Constitutional Court, leading to a fine and a near ban of the ruling party.[54]     The Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara during a speech of U.S. President Barack Obama on April 6, 2009. Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S Battery   Universal suffrage for both sexes has been applied throughout Turkey since 1933, and every Turkish citizen who has turned 18 years of age has the right to vote. As of 2004, there were 50 registered political parties in the country.[55] Sony VAIO VGN-SR21RM/H Battery The Constitutional Court can strip the public financing of political parties that it deems anti-secular or separatist, or ban their existence altogether.[56][57] There are 550 members of parliament who are elected for a four-year term by a party-list proportional representation system from 85 electoral districts which represent the 81 administrative provinces of Turkey ( stanbul is divided into three electoral districts, Sony VAIO VGN-SR29VN Battery whereas Ankara and zmir are divided into two each because of their large populations). To avoid a hung parliament and its excessive political fragmentation, only parties winning at least 10% of the votes cast in a national parliamentary election gain the right to representation in the parliament.[55] Sony VAIO VGN-SR31M Battery Because of this threshold, in the 2007 elections only three parties formally entered the parliament (compared to two in 2002).[58][59] Human rights in Turkey have been the subject of much controversy and international condemnation. Between 1998 and 2008 the European Court of Human Rights made more than 1,600 judgements against Turkey for human rights violations, particularly the right to life and freedom from torture. Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/P Battery Other issues such as Kurdish rights, women's rights and press freedom have also attracted controversy. Turkey's human rights record continues to be a significant obstacle to future membership of the EU.[60] Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/S Battery The Turkish Journalists Association says that 58 of the country's journalists have been imprisoned. A former U.S. State Department spokesman, Philip J. Crowley, said that the United States had "broad concerns about trends involving intimidation of journalists in Turkey."[61] Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/W Battery   Foreign relations Turkey is a founding member of the United Nations (1945), the OECD (1961), the OIC (1969), the OSCE (1973), the ECO (1985), the BSEC (1992) and the G-20 major economies (1999). On October 17, 2008, Turkey was elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.[62] Turkey's membership of the council effectively began on January 1, 2009.[62] Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/P Battery Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/W Battery Turkey had previously been a member of the U.N. Security Council in 1951-1952, 1954-1955 and 1961.[62] In line with its traditional Western orientation, relations with Europe have always been a central part of Turkish foreign policy. Turkey became a founding member of the Council of Europe in 1949, applied for associate membership of the EEC (predecessor of the European Union) in 1959 and became an associate member in 1963. Sony Vaio VGN-AW21M/H Battery After decades of political negotiations, Turkey applied for full membership of the EEC in 1987, became an associate member of the Western European Union in 1992, reached a Customs Union agreement with the EU in 1995 and has been in formal accession negotiations with the EU since 2005.[63] Sony Vaio VGN-AW21S/B Battery   Since 1974, Turkey has not recognized the (essentially Greek Cypriot) Republic of Cyprus as the sole authority on the island, but instead supports the Turkish Cypriot community in the form of the de facto Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which was established in 1983 and is recognized only by Turkey.[64] Sony Vaio VGN-AW21Z/B Battery   The other defining aspect of Turkey's foreign relations has been its ties with the United States. Based on the common threat posed by the Soviet Union, Turkey joined NATO in 1952, ensuring close bilateral relations with Washington throughout the Cold War. In the post-Cold War environment, Turkey's geostrategic importance shifted towards its proximity to the Middle East, Sony Vaio VGN-NW31EF Batterythe Caucasus and the Balkans. In return, Turkey has benefited from the United States' political, economic and diplomatic support, including in key issues such as the country's bid to join the European Union. Sony Vaio VGN-AW31ZS/B Battery   The independence of the Turkic states of the Soviet Union in 1991, with which Turkey shares a common cultural and linguistic heritage, allowed Turkey to extend its economic and political relations deep into Central Asia,[65] Sony Vaio VGN-AW31ZJ/B Battery thus enabling the completion of a multi-billion-dollar oil and natural gas pipeline from Baku in Azerbaijan to the port of Ceyhan in Turkey. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline forms part of Turkey's foreign policy strategy to become an energy conduit to the West. Sony Vaio VGN-CS31S/W Battery Sony Vaio VGN-CS31S/T Battery However, Turkey's border with Armenia, a state in the Caucasus, remains closed following its occupation of Azerbaijani territory during the Nagorno-Karabakh War.[66] Military Main article: Turkish Armed Forces     Turkey joined NATO in 1952. The Turkish Armed Forces consists of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. The Gendarmerie and the Coast Guard operate as parts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in peacetime, although they are subordinated to the Army and Navy Commands respectively in wartime, during which they have both internal law enforcement and military functions.[67] Sony Vaio VGN-CS31S/P Battery Sony Vaio VGN-NW21ZF Battery The Turkish Armed Forces is the second largest standing armed force in NATO, after the U.S. Armed Forces, with a combined strength of just over a million uniformed personnel serving in its five branches.[68] Since 2003, Turkey contributes military personnel to Eurocorps and takes part in the EU Battlegroups.[69] Sony Vaio VGN-CS31S/V Battery Turkey is also considered to be the strongest military power of the Middle East region besides Israel.[19] Every fit male Turkish citizen otherwise not barred is required to serve in the military for a period ranging from three weeks to fifteen months, dependent on education and job location.[70] Turkey does not recognise conscientious objection and does not offer a civilian alternative to military service.[71] Sony Vaio VGN-CS31Z/Q Battery   Turkey is one of five NATO member states which are part of the nuclear sharing policy of the alliance, together with Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands.[72] A total of 90 B61 nuclear bombs are hosted at the Incirlik Air Base, 40 of which are allocated for use by the Turkish Air Force.[73] Sony Vaio VGN-CS21S/W Battery   In 1998, Turkey announced a programme of modernisation worth US$160 billion over a twenty year period in various projects including tanks, fighter jets, helicopters, submarines, warships and assault rifles.[74] Turkey is a Level 3 contributor to the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme.[75] Sony Vaio VGN-CS21S/T Battery   Turkey has maintained forces in international missions under the United Nations and NATO since 1950, including peacekeeping missions in Somalia and former Yugoslavia, and support to coalition forces in the First Gulf War. Sony Vaio VGN-NW21MF Battery Turkey maintains 36,000 troops in northern Cyprus; their presence is supported and approved by the de facto local government, but the Republic of Cyprus and the international community regard it as an illegal occupation force, and its presence has also been denounced in several United Nations Security Council resolutions.[76] Sony Vaio VGN-NW21EF Battery Sony Vaio VGN-NW21JF Battery Turkey has had troops deployed in Afghanistan as part of the United States stabilisation force and the UN-authorized, NATO-commanded International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) since 2001.[68][77] In 2006, the Turkish parliament deployed a peacekeeping force of Navy patrol vessels and around 700 ground troops as part of an expanded United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the wake of the Israeli-Lebanon conflict.[78] Sony Vaio VGN-BZ11EN Battery   The Chief of the General Staff is appointed by the president and is responsible to the prime minister. The Council of Ministers is responsible to parliament for matters of national security and the adequate preparation of the armed forces to defend the country. However, the authority to declare war and to deploy the Turkish Armed Forces to foreign countries or to Sony Vaio VGN-BZ11XN Battery allow foreign armed forces to be stationed in Turkey rests solely with the parliament.[67] The actual commander of the armed forces is the Chief of the General Staff General Necdet zel since August 4, 2011.[79] Sony Vaio VGN-BZ12EN Battery   The capital city of Turkey is Ankara. The territory of Turkey is subdivided into 81 provinces for administrative purposes. The provinces are organized into 7 regions for census purposes; however, they do not represent an administrative structure. Each province is divided into districts, for a total of 923 districts. Sony Vaio VGN-BZ12XN Battery   Provinces usually bear the same name as their provincial capitals, also called the central district; exceptions to this custom are the provinces of Hatay (capital: Antakya), Kocaeli (capital: zmit) and Sakarya (capital: Adapazar ). Provinces with the largest populations are Istanbul (13 million), Ankara (5 million), zmir (4 million), Bursa (3 million) and Adana (2 million). Sony Vaio VGN-BZ12XN Battery   The biggest city and the pre-Republican capital Istanbul is the financial, economic and cultural heart of the country.[80] An estimated 75.5% of Turkey's population live in urban centers.[81] In all, 19 provinces have populations that exceed 1 million inhabitants, and 20 provinces have populations between 1 million and 500,000 inhabitants. Only two provinces have populations less than 100,000. Sony Vaio VGN-BZ21VN Battery   Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, connecting Europe and Asia. Turkey is a transcontinental[82] Eurasian country. Asian Turkey (made up largely of Anatolia), which includes 97% of the country, is separated from European Turkey by the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles (which together form a water link between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean). Sony Vaio VGN-BZ21XN Battery European Turkey (eastern Thrace or Rumelia in the Balkan peninsula) comprises 3% of the country.[83] The territory of Turkey is more than 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi) long and 800 km (500 mi) wide, with a roughly rectangular shape.[80] It lies between latitudes 35 and 43 N, and longitudes 25 and 45 E. Turkey's area, including lakes, occupies 783,562[84] Sony Vaio VGN-BZ31VT Battery square kilometres (300,948 sq mi), of which 755,688 square kilometres (291,773 sq mi) are in Southwest Asia and 23,764 square kilometres (9,174 sq mi) in Europe.[80] Turkey is the world's 37th-largest country in terms of area. Sony Vaio VGN-BZ31XT Battery The country is encircled by seas on three sides: the Aegean Sea to the west, the Black Sea to the north and the Mediterranean to the south. Turkey also contains the Sea of Marmara in the northwest.[85] Sony Vaio VGN-NS38E/S Battery     The European section of Turkey, East Thrace, forms the borders of Turkey with Greece and Bulgaria. The Asian part of the country, Anatolia, consists of a high central plateau with narrow coastal plains, between the K ro lu and Pontic mountain ranges to the north and the Taurus Mountains to the south. Eastern Turkey has a more mountainous landscape and is home to the sources of rivers such as the Euphrates, Sony Vaio VGN-NS38M/W Battery Tigris and Aras, and contains Lake Van and Mount Ararat, Turkey's highest point at 5,165 metres (16,946 ft).[85][86] Lake Tuz, Turkey's third-largest lake, is a macroscopically visible feature in the middle of the country. Sony Vaio VGN-AW21M/H Battery   Turkey is divided into seven census regions: Marmara, Aegean, Black Sea, Central Anatolia, Eastern Anatolia, Southeastern Anatolia and the Mediterranean. The uneven north Anatolian terrain running along the Black Sea resembles a long, narrow belt. This region comprises approximately one-sixth of Turkey's total land area. As a general trend, the inland Anatolian plateau becomes increasingly rugged as it progresses eastward.[85] Sony Vaio VGN-AW21S/B Battery       Mount Ararat (A r Da ) is the highest peak in Turkey at 5,165 m (16,946 ft.) Turkey's varied landscapes are the product of complex earth movements that have shaped the region over thousands of years and still manifest themselves in fairly frequent earthquakes and occasional volcanic eruptions. Sony Vaio VGN-AW21Z/B Battery The Bosphorus and the Dardanelles owe their existence to the fault lines running through Turkey that led to the creation of the Black Sea. There is an earthquake fault line across the north of the country from west to east, which caused a major earthquake in 1999.[87] Sony Vaio VGN-AW31ZS/B Battery   Climate See also: Climate of Turkey and Environmental issues in Turkey The coastal areas of Turkey bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea have a temperate Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and mild to cool, wet winters. The coastal areas of Turkey bordering the Black Sea have a temperate Oceanic climate with warm, wet summers and cool to cold, wet winters. Sony Vaio VGN-AW41ZF/H Battery The Turkish Black Sea coast receives the greatest amount of precipitation and is the only region of Turkey that receives high precipitation throughout the year. The eastern part of that coast averages 2,500 millimetres annually which is the highest precipitation in the country. Sony Vaio VGN-AW41XH/Q Battery   The coastal areas of Turkey bordering the Sea of Marmara (including Istanbul), which connects the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea, have a transitional climate between a temperate Mediterranean climate and a temperate Oceanic climate with warm to hot, moderately dry summers and cool to cold, wet winters. Sony Vaio VGN-AW41MF/H Battery Snow does occur on the coastal areas of the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea almost every winter, but it usually lies no more than a few days. Snow on the other hand is rare in the coastal areas of the Aegean Sea and very rare in the coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea. Sony Vaio VGN-AW41JF/H Battery   Conditions can be much harsher in the more arid interior. Mountains close to the coast prevent Mediterranean influences from extending inland, giving the central Anatolian plateau of the interior of Turkey a continental climate with sharply contrasting seasons. Sony Vaio VGN-AW31M/H Battery   Winters on the plateau are especially severe. Temperatures of 30 C to 40 C ( 22 F to 40 F) can occur in eastern Anatolia, and snow may lie on the ground at least 120 days of the year. In the west, winter temperatures average below 1 C (34 F). Sony Vaio VGN-AW21S Battery Summers are hot and dry, with temperatures generally above 30 C (86 F) in the day. Annual precipitation averages about 400 millimetres (15 in), with actual amounts determined by elevation. The driest regions are the Konya plain and the Malatya plain, where annual rainfall frequently is less than 300 millimetres (12 in). May is generally the wettest month, whereas July and August are the driest.[88] Sony Vaio VGN-AW21M Battery   Economy   Main articles: Economy of Turkey and Economic history of Turkey     A cruise ship (left) and Seabus (right) navigating through the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul. Turkish port cities and coastal towns like Istanbul, Izmir and Ku adas are among the popular destinations of cruise ship holiday tours in the Mediterranean Sea. Sony Vaio VGN-AW11ZR/B Battery   Turkey has the world's 15th largest GDP-PPP[3] and 17th largest Nominal GDP.[6] The country is a founding member of the OECD and the G-20 major economies. During the first six decades of the republic, between 1923 and 1983, Turkey has mostly adhered to a quasi-statist approach with strict government planning of the budget and government-imposed limitations over private sector participation, foreign trade, Sony Vaio VGN-AW11Z/B Battery flow of foreign currency, and foreign direct investment. However, in 1983 Prime Minister Turgut zal initiated a series of reforms designed to shift the economy from a statist, insulated system to a more private-sector, market-based model.[47] Sony Vaio VGN-NS30E/S Battery   The reforms, combined with unprecedented amounts of foreign loans, spurred rapid economic growth; but this growth was punctuated by sharp recessions and financial crises in 1994, 1999 (following the earthquake of that year),[89] and 2001;[90] resulting in an average of 4% GDP growth per annum between 1981 and 2003.[91] Sony Vaio VGN-NS30Z/S Battery Lack of additional fiscal reforms, combined with large and growing public sector deficits and widespread corruption, resulted in high inflation, a weak banking sector and increased macroeconomic volatility.[92] Sony Vaio VGN-NS20EF/P Battery Sony Vaio VGN-NW31EF BatterySince the economic crisis of 2001 and the reforms initiated by the finance minister of the time, Kemal Dervi , inflation has fallen to single-digit numbers, investor confidence and foreign investment have soared, and unemployment has fallen. Sony Vaio VGN-NW31JF Battery   Entrance to the i li station of the Istanbul Metro in front of Istanbul Cevahir, Europe's largest shopping mall. Turkey has gradually opened up its markets through economic reforms by reducing government controls on foreign trade and investment and the privatisation of publicly owned industries, and the liberalisation of many sectors to private and foreign participation has continued amid political debate.[93] The public debt to GDP ratio, Sony Vaio VGN-NS20EF/S Battery while well below its levels during the recession of 2001, reached 46% in 2010 Q3. The GDP growth rate from 2002 to 2007 averaged 7%,[94] which made Turkey one of the fastest growing economies in the world during that period. However, growth slowed to 1% in 2008, Sony Vaio VGN-NS20EF/W Battery and in 2009 the Turkish economy was affected by the global financial crisis, with a recession of 5%. The economy was estimated to have returned to 8% growth in 2010.[95] In the early years of this century the chronically high inflation was brought under control and this led to the launch of a new currency, the Turkish new lira, on January 1, 2005, to cement the acquisition of the economic reforms and erase the vestiges of an unstable economy.[96] Sony VGP-BPS13 Battery On January 1, 2009, the new Turkish lira was renamed once again as the Turkish lira, with the introduction of new banknotes and coins. As a result of continuing economic reforms, inflation dropped to 8% in 2005, and the unemployment rate to 10%.[97] Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13A/B Battery     One of the fastest growing airline companies in the world, Turkish Airlines won Europe's Best Airline and Southern Europe's Best Airline awards by Skytrax.[98] Turkish Airlines was chosen as the official carrier by Europe's leading football clubs like FC Barcelona[99] and Manchester United.[100] The company is also the primary sponsor of Euroleague Basketball.[101] Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13B/B Battery     Tourism in Turkey has experienced rapid growth in the last twenty years, and constitutes an important part of the economy. In 2008 there were 31 million visitors to the country, who contributed $22 billion to Turkey's revenues.[102] Other key sectors of the Turkish economy are banking, construction, home appliances, electronics, Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13/S Battery textiles, oil refining, petrochemical products, food, mining, iron and steel, machine industry and automotive. Turkey has a large and growing automotive industry, which produced 1,147,110 motor vehicles in 2008, ranking as the 6th largest producer in Europe (behind the United Kingdom and above Italy) and the 15th largest producer in the world.[103][104] Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13A/S Battery Turkey is also one of the leading shipbuilding nations; in 2007 the country ranked 4th in the world (behind China, South Korea and Japan) in terms of the number of ordered ships, and also 4th in the world (behind Italy, USA and Canada) in terms of the number of ordered mega yachts.[105] Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13B/S Battery     Esenbo a International Airport in Ankara. Turkey's economy is becoming more dependent on industry in major cities, mostly concentrated in the western provinces of the country, and less on agriculture. However, traditional agriculture is still a major pillar of the Turkish economy. In 2010, the agricultural sector accounted for 9% of GDP, while the industrial sector accounted for 26% and the services sector 65%.[95] Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13/Q Battery However, agriculture still accounted for 24.7% of employment.[106] In 2004, it was estimated that 46% of total disposable income was received by the top of 20% income earners, while the lowest 20% received 6%.[107] According to Eurostat data, Turkish PPS GDP per capita stood at 49% of the EU average in 2010.[108] Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13A/Q Battery       Turkish brands like Beko and Vestel are among the largest producers of consumer electronics and home appliances in Europe. Turkey has taken advantage of the European Union - Turkey Customs Union, signed in 1995, to increase its industrial production destined for exports, while at the same time benefiting from EU-origin foreign investment into the country. Sony VAIO VGP-BPS13B/Q Battery Turkey now has also opportunity of a free trade agreement with the European Union (EU) - without full membership - that allows it to manufacture for tarif-free sale throughout the EU market.[109][110] Sony VGP-BPS21 Battery   By 2009 exports were $110 bn and in 2010 it was $117 bn (main export partners in 2009: Germany 10%, France 6%, UK 6%, Italy 6%, Iraq 5%). However larger imports, which amounted to $166 billion in 2010, threatened the balance of trade (main import partners in 2009: Russia 14%, Germany 10%, China 9%, US 6%, Italy 5%, France 5%).[95] Sony VGP-BPS21A Battery   After years of low levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), Turkey succeeded in attracting $22 billion in FDI in 2007 and is expected to attract a higher figure in following years.[111] A series of large privatisations, the stability fostered by the start of Turkey's EU accession negotiations, Sony VGP-BPS21B Battery strong and stable growth, and structural changes in the banking, retail, and telecommunications sectors have all contributed to a rise in foreign investment.[93] Demographics The historic stiklal Avenue in Istanbul's cosmopolitan Beyo lu district. The last official census was in 2000 and recorded a total country population of 67,803,927 inhabitants.[2] According to the Address-Based Birth Recording System of Turkey, the country's population was 74.7 million people in 2011,[1Sony VGP-BPS21/S Battery nearly three-quarters of whom lived in towns and cities. According to the 2011 estimate, the population is increasing by 1.35% each year. Turkey has an average population density of 97 people per km . People within the 15-64 age group constitute 67,4% of the total population; Sony VGP-BPS21A/b Battery the 0-14 age group corresponds to 25.3%; while senior citizens aged 65 years or older make up 7.3%.[113] In 1927, when the first official census was recorded in the Republic of Turkey, the population was 13.6 million.[114] Life expectancy stands at 71.1 years for men and 75.3 years for women, with an overall average of 73.2 years for the populace as a whole.[115Sony Vaio VGN-NW21MF Battery Sony Vaio VGN-NW21EF Battery Education is compulsory and free from ages 6 to 15. The literacy rate is 96% for men and 80.4% for women, with an overall average of 88.1%.[116] The low figures for women are mainly due to the traditional customs of the Arabs and Kurds who live in the southeastern provinces of the country.[117] Sony Vaio VGN-NW21JF Battery   Article 66 of the Turkish Constitution defines a "Turk" as "anyone who is bound to the Turkish state through the bond of citizenship"; therefore, the legal use of the term "Turkish" as a citizen of Turkey is different from the ethnic definition. However, the majority of the Turkish population are of Turkish ethnicity. They are estimated at 70-75% by the CIA[118] Sony Vaio VGN-NW21ZF Battery Sony Vaio VGN-NW31ZF/S Battery and at 76.0% by a survey of Milliyet in 2007.[112] The Kurds, a distinct ethnic group concentrated mainly in the southeastern provinces of the country, are the largest non-Turkic ethnicity, estimated at about 18% of the population according to the CIA[118] and at 15.7% according to a survey by the Milliyet daily newspaper.[112] Minorities other than the three officially recognized ones do not have any special group privileges, Sony Vaio VGN-NW31EF Battery while the term "minority" itself remains a sensitive issue in Turkey. Reliable data on the ethnic mix of the population is not available, because Turkish census figures do not include statistics on ethnicity.[119] Sony Vaio VGN-NW20ZF Battery   The three officially recognized major minorities ethnic groups (per the Treaty of Lausanne), i.e. are: Armenians, Greeks and Jews. Signed on January 30, 1923, a bilateral accord of population exchange between Greece and Turkey took effect in the 1920s, with close to 1.5 million Greeks moving from Turkey and some 500,000 Turks coming from Greece.[120] Sony Vaio VGN-NW24S Battery Other ethnic groups include Abkhazians, Albanians, Arabs, Assyrians, Bosniaks, Circassians, Georgians, Hamshenis, Laz, Pomaks (Bulgarians), Roma. Minorities of West European origin include the Levantines (or Levanter, mostly of French, Genoese and Venetian descent) who have been present in the country (particularly in Istanbul[121] and zmir[122]) since the medieval period. Sony Vaio VGN-NW26M Battery An estimated 71% of the population live in urban centers.[123] In all, 18 provinces have populations that exceed 1 million inhabitants, and 21 provinces have populations between 1 million and 500,000 inhabitants. Only two provinces have populations less than 100,000. Sony Vaio VGN-NW20EF Battery     view talk edit view talk edit Largest cities of Turkey Main article: Languages of Turkey Turkish is the sole official language throughout Turkey. Reliable figures for the linguistic breakdown of the populace are not available for reasons similar to those cited above.[119] According to the CIA World Factbook, Sony Vaio VGN-NW20SF Battery the Turkish language is spoken by about 70-75% of Turkey's population, while Kurdish is spoken by approximately 18%.[95] The public broadcaster TRT broadcasts programmes in the local languages and dialects of Arabic, Bosnian, Circassian and Kurdish a few hours a week.[125] A Kurdish language public television channel, Sony VAIO VGN-FW21E Battery TRT 6, was opened on January 1, 2009.[126] It was followed by TRT Avaz which was launched on March 21, 2009 and broadcasts in the Azeri, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek and Turkmen languages; while the TRT Arabic television channel started broadcasting on April 4, 2010.[127] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21I Battery Religion Turkey is a secular state with no official state religion; the Turkish Constitution provides for freedom of religion and conscience.[128][129] Islam is the dominant religion of Turkey, it exceeds 99% if secular people of Muslim background are included.[95][130][131] Research firms suggest the actual Muslim figure is around 98%,[132] or 97%.[13] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21L Battery     There are about 120,000 people of different Christian denominations, including an estimated 80,000 Oriental Orthodox,[133] 35,000 Roman Catholics,[134] 5,000 Orthodox (of them 3,000-4,000 being Greeks)[133] and smaller numbers of Protestants. Today there are 236 churches open for worship in Turkey.[135] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21Z Battery The Orthodox Church has been headquartered in Istanbul since the 4th century. Christians represent less than 0.2% of Turkey's population, according to the CIA World Factbook.[136] There are about 26,000 people who are Jewish, the vast majority of whom are Sephardi.[137] Sony VAIO VGN-FW51MF/H Battery The Bah ' Faith in Turkey has roots in Bah 'u'll h's, the founder of the Bah ' Faith, being exiled to Constantinople, current-day Istanbul, by the Ottoman authorities. Bah ' s cannot register with the government officially[138] but there are probably 10[139] to 20[140] thousand Bah ' s, and around a hundred Bah ' Local Spiritual Assemblies in Turkey.[141] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21M Battery Sony VAIO VGN-FW31M Battery Though academics suggest the Alevi population may be from 15 to 20 million.[142][143] According to Aksiyon magazine, the number of Shiite Twelvers (excluding Alevis) is 3 million (4.2%), and they live in Istanbul, I d r, Kars, Ankara, zmir, Manisa, orum, Mu la, A r and Ayd n.[144] There are also some Sufi practitioners.[145] Sony VAIO VGN-FW11J Battery   The highest Islamic religious authority is the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Turkish: Diyanet leri Ba kanl ), it interprets the Hanafi school of law, and is responsible for regulating the operation of the country's 80,000 registered mosques and employing local and provincial imams.[146] The role of religion has been controversial debate over the years since the formation of Islamist parties.[147] Sony VAIO VGN-FW11Z Battery Sony VAIO VGN-FW11ZRU Battery Turkey was founded upon a strict secular constitution which forbids the influence of any religion, including Islam. There are sensitive issues, such as the fact that the wearing of the Hijab is banned in universities and public or government buildings as some view it as a symbol of Islam - though there have been efforts to lift the ban.[148][149][150][151] Sony VAIO VGN-FW11ZU Battery The vast majority of the present-day Turkish people are Muslim and the most popular sect is the Hanafite school of Sunni Islam, which was officially espoused by the Ottoman Empire; according to the KONDA Research and Consultancy survey carried out throughout Turkey on 2007:[13] 52.8% defined themselves as "a religious person who strives to fulfill religious obligations" (religious); Sony VAIO VGN-FW51ZF/H Battery34.3 % defined themselves as "a believer who does not fulfill religious obligations" (believer); 9.7% defined themselves as "a fully devout person fulfilling all religious obligations" (fully devout); 2.3% defined themselves as "someone who does not believe in religious obligations" (non-believer/agnostic); and 0.9% defined themselves as "someone with no religious conviction" (atheist).[13] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21J Battery   Culture   Main article: Culture of Turkey     Orhan Pamuk is one of the leading contemporary Turkish novelists and the winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. Turkey has a very diverse culture that is a blend of various elements of the O uz Turkic, Anatolian, Ottoman (which was itself a continuation of both Greco-Roman and Islamic cultures) and Western culture and traditions, Sony VAIO VGN-FW21ZR Battery which started with the Westernisation of the Ottoman Empire and still continues today. This mix originally began as a result of the encounter of Turks and their culture with those of the peoples who were in their path during their migration from Central Asia to the West.[152][153] Sony VAIO VGN-FW3ZJ Battery   As Turkey successfully transformed from the religion-based former Ottoman Empire into a modern nation-state with a very strong separation of state and religion, an increase in the modes of artistic expression followed. During the first years of the republic, the government invested a large amount of resources into fine arts; Sony VAIO VGN-FW41E/H Battery such as museums, theatres, opera houses and architecture. Diverse historical factors play important roles in defining the modern Turkish identity. Turkish culture is a product of efforts to be a "modern" Western state, while maintaining traditional religious and historical values.[152] Sony VAIO VGN-FW41J/H Battery       One of the main entrance gates of the Dolmabah e Palace in Istanbul. Turkish music and literature form great examples of such a mix of cultural influences, which were a result of the interaction between the Ottoman Empire and the Islamic world along with Europe, thus contributing to a blend of Turkic, Sony VAIO VGN-FW41M/H Battery Islamic and European traditions in modern-day Turkish music and literary arts.[154] Turkish literature was heavily influenced by Persian and Arabic literature during most of the Ottoman era, though towards the end of the Ottoman Empire, Sony VAIO VGN-FW41ZJ/H Battery particularly after the Tanzimat period, the effect of both Turkish folk and European literary traditions became increasingly felt. The mix of cultural influences is dramatized, for example, in the form of the "new symbols [of] the clash and interlacing of cultures" enacted in the works of Orhan Pamuk, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature.[155] According to Konda public opinion researchers, 70% of Turkish citizens never read books.[156] Sony VAIO VGN-FW46M Battery   Architectural elements found in Turkey are also testaments to the unique mix of traditions that have influenced the region over the centuries. In addition to the traditional Byzantine elements present in numerous parts of Turkey, many artifacts of the later Ottoman architecture, with its exquisite blend of local and Islamic traditions, are to be found throughout the country, as well as in many former territories of the Ottoman Empire Sony VAIO VGN-FW4ZTJ/H Battery Mimar Sinan is widely regarded as the greatest architect of the classical period in Ottoman architecture. Since the 18th century, Turkish architecture has been increasingly influenced by Western styles, and this can be particularly seen in Istanbul where buildings like Dolmabah e and ra an Palaces are juxtaposed next to numerous modern skyscrapers, Sony VAIO VGN-FW51 Battery all of them representing different traditions.[157] Sports Main article: Sports in Turkey     Atat rk Olympic Stadium hosted the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final. The most popular sport in Turkey is soccer.[158] Turkey's top teams include Galatasaray, Fenerbah e, Trabzonspor and Be ikta . In 2000, Galatasaray cemented its role as a major European club by winning the UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup. Two years later the Turkish national team finished third in the 2002 World Cup Finals in Japan and South Korea, Sony Vaio VGN-FW5ZTF/H Battery while in 2008 the national team reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Euro 2008 competition. The Atat rk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul hosted the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final, while the kr Saraco lu Stadium in Istanbul hosted the 2009 UEFA Cup Final. Sony Vaio VGN-SR4MR/P Battery   Other mainstream sports such as basketball and volleyball are also popular. Turkey hosted the finals of EuroBasket 2001 and the finals of the 2010 FIBA World Championship, winning second place on both occasions; while Efes Pilsen S.K. won the Kora Cup in 1996, Sony Vaio VGN-SR4MR/S Battery finished second in the Saporta Cup of 1993, and made it to the Final Four of Euroleague and Suproleague in 2000 and 2001.[159] Turkish basketball players such as Mehmet Okur and Hedo Turkoglu have also been successful in the NBA. Women's volleyball teams, namely Eczac ba , Vak fbank G ne Sigorta and Fenerbah e Ac badem, have won numerous European championship titles and medals. Sony Vaio VGN-SR4MR/W Battery   The traditional Turkish national sport has been ya l g re (oiled wrestling) since Ottoman times.[160] Edirne has hosted the annual K rkp nar oiled wrestling tournament since 1361.[161] International wrestling styles governed by FILA such as Freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling are also popular, with many European, World and Olympic championship titles won by Turkish wrestlers both individually and as a national team.[162] Sony Vaio VGN-SR4VR/H Battery   Weightlifting has been a successful Turkish sport. Turkish weightlifters, both male and female, have broken numerous world records and won several European,[163] World and Olympic[164] championship titles. Naim S leymano lu and Halil Mutlu have achieved legendary status as one of the few weightlifters to have won three gold medals in three Olympics. Sony Vaio VGN-SR49VN/H Battery       Istanbul Park racing circuit a few hours before the F1 Turkish Grand Prix. Motorsports are also popular in Turkey. The Rally of Turkey was included in the FIA World Rally Championship calendar in 2003,[165] while Formula One race weekends held at the Istanbul Park racing circuit occurred annually between the 2005 and 2011 Formula One seasons. Sony Vaio VGN-SR49VT/H Battery The Turkish Grand Prix was, however, not included in the 2012 Formula One season's calendar.[166][167][168] Other important annual motorsports events which are held at the Istanbul Park racing circuit include the MotoGP Grand Prix of Turkey, the FIA World Touring Car Championship, the GP2 Series and the Le Mans Series. Sony Vaio VGN-FW56Z Battery From time to time Istanbul and Antalya also host the Turkish leg of the F1 Powerboat Racing championship; while the Turkish leg of the Red Bull Air Race World Series, an air racing competition, takes place above the Golden Horn in Istanbul. Surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, paragliding and other extreme sports are becoming more popular every year. Sony Vaio VGN-SR57S Battery   Effect upon the EU Proponents of Turkey's membership argue that it is a key regional power[35][36] with a large economy and the second largest military force of NATO[37][38] that will enhance the EU's position as a global geostrategic player; given Turkey's geographic location and economic, Sony Vaio VGN-SR57V Battery Sony Vaio VGN-SR57X Battery political, cultural and historic ties in regions with large natural resources that are at the immediate vicinity of the EU's geopolitical sphere of influence; such as the East Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts, the Middle East, the Caspian Sea basin and Central Asia.[39][40] Sony Vaio VGN-SR59TH/H Battery       The Turkish high-speed railway network and the Marmaray tunnel can play an important role in improving trade and commerce between the EU and Turkey. Sony Vaio VGN-SR59XG/H Battery   According to the Swedish foreign minister, Carl Bildt, "the accession of Turkey would give the EU a decisive role for stability in the eastern part of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, which is clearly in the strategic interest of Europe."[41] One of Turkey's key supporters for its bid to join the EU is the United Kingdom.[42] Sony Vaio VGN-SR59VG/H Battery   Upon joining the EU, Turkey's 73 million inhabitants would bestow the second largest number of MEPs in the European Parliament.[15] Demographic projections indicate that Turkey would surpass Germany in the number of seats by 2020.[15] Sony Vaio VGN-FW56ZR Battery Turkey's membership would also affect future enlargement plans, especially the number of nations seeking EU membership,[15] grounds on which Val ry Giscard d'Estaing has opposed Turkey's admission. Sony Vaio VGN-FW56SR Battery Giscard has suggested that it would lead to demands for accession by Morocco. Morocco's application is already rejected on geographic grounds; while Turkey, unlike Morocco, has territory in Europe. French President Nicolas Sarkozy stated in January 2007 that "enlarging Europe with no limit risks destroying European political union, Sony Vaio VPCEA1S1E/L Battery and that I do not accept...I want to say that Europe must give itself borders, that not all countries have a vocation to become members of Europe, beginning with Turkey which has no place inside the European Union."[43] Sony Vaio VPCEA1S1E/G Battery   EU member states must unanimously agree on Turkey's membership for the Turkish accession to be successful. In December 2011, a poll showed that as much as 71% of the participants surveyed in Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Sony Vaio VPCEA2S1E/B Battery Poland, Spain and the UK were opposed to Turkey's membership in the European Union.[44] A number of nations may oppose it; notably Austria, which historically served as a bulwark for Christian Europe against the Ottoman Empire whose armies twice laid siege to Vienna in 1529 and 1683; Sony Vaio VPCEA2S1E/L Battery German chancelor Angela Merkel has long rejected Turkey's accession bid, and has proposed a "privileged partnership" instead[45]; France, where some are anxious at the prospect of a new wave of Muslim immigrants, given the country's already large, and poorly integrated, Muslim community.[46] Sony Vaio VPCEA181 Battery   Negotiations to remove the French constitutional requirement for a compulsory referendum on all EU accessions after Croatia resulted in a new proposal to require a compulsory referendum on the accession of any country with a population of more than 5% of the EU's total population; this clause would mainly apply to Turkey and Ukraine.[47] Sony Vaio VGP-BPS22 Battery The French Senate, however, blocked the change in the French constitution, in order to maintain good relations with Turkey.[48] Current constitution situation is as follows : if 3/5 of the delegates (from the Senate+the Parliament) agree to the Turkey accession, there would be no referendum. Sony Vaio VGP-BPS22A Battery   Bosphorus Bridge connecting Europe and Asia, with the skyline of Levent financial district in Istanbul, as seen from aml ca Hill. [edit]Benefits to Turkey Upon accession to the EU, Turkey expects to receive economic development aid similar to what Ireland, Greece, Spain and Portugal received. This will accelerate Turkey's rate of economic development. Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21E Battery There is also an expectation that there will be an increase in European foreign investment in the Turkish economy, further driving economic growth. Additionally, in times of economic crisis, Turkey could expect economic assistance from the EU, similar to what Ireland and Greece received after the 2008 financial crisis. Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21J Battery Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21M Battery   Free movement of people across the EU will give many Turkish people the opportunity to easily migrate to other parts of Europe in search of work, or a higher standard of living. The option of migration out of Turkey will inevitably ease tensions in the east of the country, as the prospect of a better standard of living will tend to cool separatist tendencies. Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21S Battery Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21Z Battery Some secularists in Turkey envisage that the accession of Turkey will contribute to the spread of secular western values in Turkey. Conversely, some non-secularists in Turkey envisage that accession will contribute to the further growth and acceptance of Islam in Europe. Sony VAIO VGN-FZ Battery   Given Turkey's large and growing population, Turkey will have a correspondingly large representation in the European Parliament. This will give Turkey strong direct influence over EU policies. Membership in the EU will also increase Turkey's prestige regionally and internationally. [edit]Economy Sony VAIO VGN-FZ38M Battery   Main article: Economy of Turkey See also: European Union - Turkey Customs Union     Levent financial district in Istanbul, the largest city and economic capital of Turkey, and the former capital of the Roman (330-395), Byzantine (395-1204 and 1261-1453), Latin (1204-1261) and Ottoman (1453-1922) Empires. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31E/S Battery   Sony Vaio VGN-NR31E/S Battery   Turkey has the world's 15th largest GDP-PPP[1] and 17th largest Nominal GDP.[49] The country is a founding member of the OECD and the G-20 major economies.   Sony Vaio VGN-NR31ER/S Battery Turkish exports in 2006: 56.5% of Turkey's exports are to the European Union member states. Turkey has taken advantage of a customs union with the European Union, signed in 1995, to increase its industrial production destined for exports, while at the same time benefiting from EU-origin foreign investment into the country.[50] In 2008, Turkey's exports reached 141.8 billion USD[51] (main export partners: Germany 11.2%, UK 8%,Sony Vaio VGN-NR31J/S Battery   Italy 6.95%, France 5.6%, Spain 4.3%, USA 3.88%; total EU exports 56.5%.) However, larger imports amounting to about 204.8 billion USD[51] threaten the balance of trade (main import partners: Russia 13.8%, Germany 10.3%, China 7.8%, Italy 6%, USA 4.8%, France 4.6%, Iran 3.9%, UK 3.2%; total EU imports 40.4%; total Asia imports 27%).[52][53] Sony Vaio VGN-NR31MR/S Battery Sony Vaio VGN-NR38Z/T Battery The opening of talks regarding the Economic and Monetary Policy acquis chapter of Turkey's accession bid was expected to begin in June 2007, but were stalled by France.[54] [edit]Population Further information: Demographics of Turkey     stiklal Avenue in Istanbul's cosmopolitan Beyo lu district is visited by an average of 3 million people on weekend days. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31S/S Battery     As of 2005, the population of Turkey stood at 71.5 million with a yearly growth rate of 1.5%.[55][56] The Turkish population is relatively young, with 25.5% falling within the 0-15 age bracket.[57] Sony Vaio VGN-NR31SR/S Battery   Turkey's large population would alter the balance of power in the representative European institutions. Upon joining the EU, Turkey's 78 million inhabitants would bestow it the second largest number of MEPs in the European Parliament.[58] Demographic projections indicate that Turkey would surpass Germany in the number of seats by 2020.[58] Sony Vaio VGN-NR31Z/S Battery   [edit]Foreign relations with EU member states Main article: Foreign relations of Turkey [edit]Cyprus Further information: Cyprus dispute The island of Cyprus was divided when, on 20 July 1974, Turkey occupied a third of the island in response to an Athens-engineered coup aimed at annexing Cyprus to Greece. Since then, Turkey has refused to acknowledge the Republic of Cyprus (an EU member since 2004) as the sole authority on the island, and recognizes the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus since its establishment in 1983. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31Z/T Battery The Turkish invasion in 1974 and the resulting movement of refugees along both sides of the Green Line; and the establishment of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983 form the core issues which surround the ongoing Cyprus dispute. Sony Vaio VGN-NR31ZR/S Battery     The self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognized only by Turkey since its establishment in 1983. Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots backed the 2004 Annan Plan for Cyprus aimed at the reunification of the island, but the plan was subsequently rejected by Greek Cypriots on the grounds that it did not meet their needs. According to Greek Cypriots, Sony Vaio VGN-NR38E/S Battery   Sony Vaio VGN-NR38Z/S Battery the latest proposal included maintained residence rights for the many Anatolian Turks who moved to Cyprus after the invasion (and their descendants who were born on the island after 1974), while the Greek Cypriots who lost their property after the Turkish invasion would be granted only a restricted right of return to the north following the island's proposed reunification.[citation needed] Although the outcome received much criticism in the EU as well, the Republic of Cyprus was admitted into the EU a week after the referendum. Sony Vaio VGN-NR38M/S Battery The Turkish government has refused to officially recognise the Republic of Cyprus until the removal of the political and economic blockade on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.[citation needed] Turkey's non-recognition of the Republic of Cyprus has led to complications within the Customs Union. Sony Vaio VGN-NR38S/S Battery

  The ARVN launched Operation Lam Son 719 in February 1971, aimed at cutting the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos.[112] The ostensibly neutral Laos had long been the scene of a secret war. After meeting resistance, ARVN forces retreated in a confused rout. Sony Vaio VGN-SR57X Battery   Sony Vaio VGN-SR49VT/H Battery They fled along roads littered with their own dead. When they ran out of fuel, soldiers abandoned their vehicles and attempted to barge their way on to American helicopters sent to evacuate the wounded. Many ARVN soldiers clung to helicopter skids in a desperate attempt to save themselves. U.S. aircraft had to destroy abandoned equipment, including tanks, Sony Vaio VGN-SR59TH/H Battery to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. Half of the invading ARVN troops were either captured or killed. The operation was a fiasco and represented a clear failure of Vietnamization. As Karnow noted "the blunders were monumental.. Sony Vaio VGN-SR59VG/H Battery . The (South Vietnamese) government's top officers had been tutored by the Americans for ten or fifteen years, many at training schools in the United States, yet they had learned little."[187] Sony Vaio VGN-SR59XG/H Battery   In 1971 Australia and New Zealand withdrew their soldiers. The U.S. troop count was further reduced to 196,700, with a deadline to remove another 45,000 troops by February 1972. As peace protests spread across the United States, disillusionment and ill-discipline grew in the ranks.[188] Sony Vaio VGN-FW56ZR Battery Vietnamization was again tested by the Easter Offensive of 1972, a massive conventional invasion of South Vietnam. The VPA and NLF quickly overran the northern provinces and in coordination with other forces attacked from Cambodia, Sony Vaio VGN-FW56SR Battery threatening to cut the country in half. U.S. troop withdrawals continued. But American airpower came to the rescue with Operation Linebacker, and the offensive was halted. However, it became clear that without American airpower South Vietnam could not survive. The last remaining American ground troops were withdrawn in August. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21E Battery Sony VAIO VGN-FW21I Battery   1972 election and Paris Peace Accords     Phan Th Kim Ph c, center, running down a road near Tr ng B ng, Vietnam, on 8 June 1972, after a napalm bomb was dropped on the village of Tr ng B ng by a plane of the Vietnam Air Force Photo: Nick Ut / The Associated Press Sony VAIO VGN-FW21L Battery . The war was the central issue of the 1972 presidential election. Nixon's opponent, George McGovern, campaigned on a platform of withdrawal from Vietnam. Nixon's National Security Adviser, Henry Kissinger, continued secret negotiations with North Vietnam's L c Th . In October 1972, Sony VAIO VGN-FW21Z Battery   they reached an agreement. However, South Vietnamese President Thieu demanded massive changes to the peace accord. When North Vietnam went public with the agreement's details, the Nixon administration claimed that the North was attempting to embarrass the President. The negotiations became deadlocked. Hanoi demanded new changes. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21M Battery       Operation Linebacker II, December 1972 To show his support for South Vietnam and force Hanoi back to the negotiating table, Nixon ordered Operation Linebacker II, a massive bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong 18-29 December 1972. The offensive destroyed much of the remaining economic and industrial capacity of North Vietnam. Simultaneously Nixon pressured Thieu to accept the terms of the agreement, threatening to conclude a bilateral peace deal and cut off American aid. Sony VAIO VGN-FW31M Battery   On 15 January 1973, Nixon announced the suspension of offensive action against North Vietnam. The Paris Peace Accords on "Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam" were signed on 27 January 1973, officially ending direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. A cease-fire was declared across North and South Vietnam. U.S. POWs were released. Sony VAIO VGN-FW31J Battery The agreement guaranteed the territorial integrity of Vietnam and, like the Geneva Conference of 1954, called for national elections in the North and South. The Paris Peace Accords stipulated a sixty-day period for the total withdrawal of U.S. forces. "This article",Sony VAIO VGN-FW11ZRU Battery noted Peter Church, "proved... to be the only one of the Paris Agreements which was fully carried out."[189] Opposition to the Vietnam War: 1962-1975     The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (April 2010) Sony VAIO VGN-FW11ZU Battery   U.S. Navy riverboat deploying napalm during the Vietnam War Main article: Opposition to the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War Some advocates within the peace movement advocated a unilateral withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam. One reason given for the withdrawal is that it would contribute to a lessening of tensions in the region and thus less human bloodshed. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21ER Battery     Early opposition to U.S. involvement in Vietnam was centered around the Geneva conference of 1954. American support of Diem in refusing elections was thought to be thwarting the very democracy that America claimed to be supporting. John Kennedy, while Senator, opposed involvement in Vietnam.[140] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21J Battery   Opposition to the Vietnam War tended to unite groups opposed to U.S. anti-communism, imperialism and colonialism and, for those involved with the New Left such as the Catholic Worker Movement, capitalism itself. Others, Sony VAIO VGN-FW21ZR such as Stephen Spiro opposed the war based on the theory of Just War. Some wanted to show solidarity with the people of Vietnam, such as Norman Morrison emulating the actions of Th ch Qu ng c. Some critics of U.S. withdrawal predicted that it would not contribute to peace but rather vastly increase bloodshed. These critics advocated U.S. forces remain until all threats from the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army had been eliminated. Sony VAIO VGN-FW3ZJ Battery Advocates of U.S. withdrawal were generally known as "doves", and they called their opponents "hawks", following nomenclature dating back to the War of 1812. Sony VAIO VGN-FW46M Battery Sony VAIO VGN-FW4ZTJ/H   High-profile opposition to the Vietnam War turned to street protests in an effort to turn U.S. political opinion. On 15 October 1969, the Vietnam Moratorium attracted millions of Americans.[190] The fatal shooting of four students at Kent State University led to nation-wide university protests.[191] Sony VAIO VGN-FW51 Battery Riots broke out at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.[192] After explosive news reports of American military abuses, such as the 1968 My Lai Massacre, brought new attention and support to the anti-war movement, some veterans joined Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Sony VAIO VGN-FW51MF/H Battery Anti-war protests ended with the final withdrawal of troops after the Paris Peace Accords were signed in 1973. South Vietnam was left to defend itself alone when the fighting resumed. Many South Vietnamese subsequently fled to the United States.[193] Sony VAIO VGN-FW51ZF/H Battery   The United States began drastically reducing their troop support in South Vietnam during the final years of "Vietnamization". Many U.S. troops were removed from the region, and on 5 March 1971, the United States returned the 5th Special Forces Group, which was the first American unit deployed to South Vietnam, to its former base in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.[194] [A 5] Sony VAIO VGN-FW54M Battery Under the Paris Peace Accords, between North Vietnamese Foreign Minister L c Th and U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and reluctantly signed by South Vietnamese President Thi u, U.S. military forces withdrew from South Vietnam and prisoners were exchanged. North Vietnam was allowed to continue supplying communist troops in the South, SONY VGN-FW41E/H BATTERY SONY VGN-FW41J/H BATTERY but only to the extent of replacing materials that were consumed. Later that year the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Kissinger and Th , but the Vietnamese negotiator declined it saying that a true peace did not yet exist. SONY VGN-FW41M/H BATTERY Sony VAIO VGN-NW21JF/S Battery The communist leaders had expected that the ceasefire terms would favor their side. But Saigon, bolstered by a surge of U.S. aid received just before the ceasefire went into effect, began to roll back the Vietcong. The communists responded with a new strategy hammered out in a series of meetings in Hanoi in March 1973, according to the memoirs of Tr n V n Tr .[197] SONY VGN-FW41ZJ/H BATTERY Sony VAIO VGN-NW31ZF/S Battery As the Vietcong's top commander, Tr participated in several of these meetings. With U.S. bombings suspended, work on the Ho Chi Minh Trail and other logistical structures could proceed unimpeded. Logistics would be upgraded until the North was in a position to launch a massive invasion of the South, projected for the 1975-76 dry season. Sony VAIO VGN-NW31JF/S Battery Sony VAIO VGN-NW31EF BatteryTr calculated that this date would be Hanoi's last opportunity to strike before Saigon's army could be fully trained.[197]     Calling for immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam, George McGovern's 1972 Presidential Campaign lost 49 of 50 states to Richard Nixon. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF/T Battery Sony VAIO VGN-NW20EF/S Battery In the November 1972 Election, McGovern lost 49 of 50 states to Richard Nixon, who was re-elected U.S. president. Despite supporting Nixon over McGovern, many American voters split their tickets, returning a Democratic majority to both houses of Congress. Sony VAIO VGN-NW20EF/w Battery On 15 March 1973, U.S. President Richard Nixon implied that the United States would intervene militarily if the communist side violated the ceasefire. Public and congressional reaction to Nixon's trial balloon was unfavorable and in April Nixon appointed Graham Martin as U.S. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF/P Battery Sony VAIO VGN-NW20EF/P Batteryambassador to Vietnam. Martin was a second stringer compared to previous U.S. ambassadors and his appointment was an early signal that Washington had given up on Vietnam. During his confirmation hearings in June 1973, Secretary of Defense James R. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF/W Battery Schlesinger stated that he would recommend resumption of U.S. bombing in North Vietnam if North Vietnam launched a major offensive against South Vietnam. On 4 June 1973, the U.S. Senate passed the Case-Church Amendment to prohibit such intervention.[198] Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF/S Battery       In the 1972 Congressional Election, the majority of Americans voted for Democratic Congressmen. This map shows the House seats by party holding plurality in state The oil price shock of October 1973 caused significant damage to the South Vietnamese economy. The Vietcong resumed offensive operations when dry season began and by January 1974 it had recaptured the territory it lost during the previous dry season. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF/W Battery After two clashes that left 55 South Vietnamese soldiers dead, President Thi u announced on 4 January that the war had restarted and that the Paris Peace Accord was no longer in effect. There had been over 25,000 South Vietnamese casualties during the ceasefire period.[199] Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF/S Battery Gerald Ford took over as U.S. president on 9 August 1974 after President Nixon resigned due to the Watergate scandal. At this time, Congress cut financial aid to South Vietnam from $1 billion a year to $700 million. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF/P Battery The U.S. midterm elections in 1974 brought in a new Congress dominated by Democrats who were even more determined to confront the president on the war. Congress immediately voted in restrictions on funding and military activities to be phased in through 1975 and to culminate in a total cutoff of funding in 1976. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21JF/S Battery   The success of the 1973-74 dry season offensive inspired Tr to return to Hanoi in October 1974 and plead for a larger offensive in the next dry season. This time, Tr could travel on a drivable highway with regular fueling stops, Sony VAIO VGN-NW11S/S Battery a vast change from the days when the Ho Chi Minh Trail was a dangerous mountain trek.[200] Gi p, the North Vietnamese defense minister, was reluctant to approve Tr 's plan. A larger offensive might provoke a U.S. reaction and interfere with the big push planned for 1976. Tr appealed over Gi p's head to first secretary L Du n, who approved of the operation. Sony VAIO VGN-NW11S/T Battery   Tr 's plan called for a limited offensive from Cambodia into Phuoc Long Province. The strike was designed to solve local logistical problems, gauge the reaction of South Vietnamese forces, and determine whether U.S. would return to the fray. Sony VAIO VGN-NW11Z/T Battery   On 13 December 1974, North Vietnamese forces attacked Route 14 in Phuoc Long Province. Phuoc Binh, the provincial capital, fell on 6 January 1975. Ford desperately asked Congress for funds to assist and re-supply the South before it was overrun. Congress refused. The fall of Phuoc Binh and the lack of an American response left the South Vietnamese elite demoralized. Sony VAIO VGN-NW11Z/S Battery   The speed of this success led the Politburo to reassess its strategy. It was decided that operations in the Central Highlands would be turned over to General V n Ti n D ng and that Pleiku should be seized, if possible. Before he left for the South, D ng was addressed by L Du n: Sony VAIO VGN-NW31JF/S Battery "Never have we had military and political conditions so perfect or a strategic advantage as great as we have now."[201] At the start of 1975, the South Vietnamese had three times as much artillery and twice the number of tanks and armoured cars as the opposition. They also had 1,400 aircraft and a two-to-one numerical superiority in combat troops over their Communist enemies.[202] Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF/T Battery However, the rising oil prices meant that much of this could not be used. They faced a well-organized, highly determined and well-funded North Vietnam. Much of the North's material and financial support came from the communist bloc. Within South Vietnam, Sony Vaio VGN-AW41ZF/B Battery there was increasing chaos. Their abandonment by the American military had compromised an economy dependent on U.S. financial support and the presence of a large number of U.S. troops. South Vietnam suffered from the global recession that followed the Arab oil embargo. Sony Vaio VGN-AW41XH/Q Battery Campaign 275   This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008) On 10 March 1975, General Dung launched Campaign 275, Sony Vaio VGN-AW41MF/H Battery Sony Vaio VGN-AW11M/H Battery a limited offensive into the Central Highlands, supported by tanks and heavy artillery. The target was Bu n Ma Thu t, in k L k Province. If the town could be taken, the provincial capital of Pleiku and the road to the coast would be exposed for a planned campaign in 1976. The ARVN proved incapable of resisting the onslaught, Sony Vaio VGN-AW41JF/H Battery Sony Vaio VGN-AW11S/B Battery and its forces collapsed on 11 March. Once again, Hanoi was surprised by the speed of their success. Dung now urged the Politburo to allow him to seize Pleiku immediately and then turn his attention to Kon Tum. He argued that with two months of good weather remaining until the onset of the monsoon, it would be irresponsible to not take advantage of the situation. Sony Vaio VGN-AW31ZJ/B Battery   President Nguy n V n Thi u, a former general, was fearful that his forces would be cut off in the north by the attacking communists; Thieu ordered a retreat. The president declared this to be a "lighten the top and keep the bottom" strategy. But in what appeared to be a repeat of Operation Lam Son 719, the withdrawal soon turned into a bloody rout. Sony Vaio VGN-AW31S/B Battery While the bulk of ARVN forces attempted to flee, isolated units fought desperately. ARVN General Phu abandoned Pleiku and Kon Tum and retreated toward the coast, in what became known as the "column of tears".Sony Vaio VGN-AW31M/H Battery As the ARVN tried to disengage from the enemy, refugees mixed in with the line of retreat. The poor condition of roads and bridges, damaged by years of conflict and neglect, slowed Phu's column. As the North Vietnamese forces approached, panic set in. Often abandoned by the officers, the soldiers and civilians were shelled incessantly. Sony Vaio VGN-AW31XY/Q Battery   The retreat degenerated into a desperate scramble for the coast. By 1 April the "column of tears" was all but annihilated. On 20 March, Thieu reversed himself and ordered Hu , Vietnam's third-largest city, be held at all costs, and then changed his policy several times. Thieu's contradictory orders confused and demoralized his officer corps. Sony Vaio VGN-AW21Z/B Battery As the North Vietnamese launched their attack, panic set in, and ARVN resistance withered. On 22 March, the VPA opened the siege of Hu . Civilians flooded the airport and the docks hoping for any mode of escape. Some even swam out to sea to reach boats and barges anchored offshore. In the confusion, routed ARVN soldiers fired on civilians to make way for their retreat. Sony Vaio VGN-AW11SR/B Battery On 25 March, after a three-day battle, Hu fell. As resistance in Hu collapsed, North Vietnamese rockets rained down on Da Nang and its airport. By 28 March, 35,000 VPA troops were poised to attack the suburbs. By 30 March 100,000 leaderless ARVN troops surrendered as the VPA marched victoriously through Da Nang. With the fall of the city, the defense of the Central Highlands and Northern provinces came to an end. Sony Vaio VGN-AW21XY/Q Battery   Final North Vietnamese offensive For more details on the final North Vietnamese offensive, see Ho Chi Minh Campaign. With the northern half of the country under their control, the Politburo ordered General Dung to launch the final offensive against Saigon. The operational plan for the Ho Chi Minh Campaign called for the capture of Saigon before 1 May. Sony Vaio VGN-AW21S Battery Hanoi wished to avoid the coming monsoon and prevent any redeployment of ARVN forces defending the capital. Northern forces, their morale boosted by their recent victories, rolled on, taking Nha Trang, Cam Ranh, and Da Lat. Sony Vaio VGN-AW21M Battery   On 7 April, three North Vietnamese divisions attacked Xuan Loc, 40 miles (64 km) east of Saigon. The North Vietnamese met fierce resistance at Xuan Loc from the ARVN 18th Division, who were outnumbered six to one. Sony Vaio VGN-AW11RXU/Q Battery For two bloody weeks, severe fighting raged as the ARVN defenders made a last stand to try to block the North Vietnamese advance. By 21 April, however, the exhausted garrison were ordered to withdraw towards Saigon. Sony Vaio VGN-AW11ZR/B Battery   An embittered and tearful President Thieu resigned on the same day, declaring that the United States had betrayed South Vietnam. In a scathing attack, he suggested U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had tricked him into signing the Paris peace agreement two years ago, Sony Vaio VGN-AW11Z/B Battery promising military aid that failed to materialise. Having transferred power to Tran Van Huong, he left for Taiwan on 25 April. At the same time, North Vietnamese tanks had reached Bien Hoa and turned toward Saigon, brushing aside isolated ARVN units along the way. Sony Vaio VGN-AW11XU/Q Battery By the end of April, the ARVN had collapsed on all fronts except in the Mekong Delta. Thousand of refugees streamed southward, ahead of the main communist onslaught. On 27 April 100,000 North Vietnamese troops encircled Saigon. The city was defended by about 30,000 ARVN troops. Sony VAIO VGN-NS38M/W Battery To hasten a collapse and foment panic, the VPA shelled the airport and forced its closure. With the air exit closed, large numbers of civilians found that they had no way out. Fall of Saigon     Evacuation of CIA station personnel by Air America on April 29, 1975. Photo: Hubert van Es / UPI Main articles: Fall of Saigon and Operation Frequent Wind Sony VAIO VGN-NS21M/P Battery Sony VAIO VGN-NS38M/P Battery Chaos, unrest, and panic broke out as hysterical South Vietnamese officials and civilians scrambled to leave Saigon. Martial law was declared. American helicopters began evacuating South Vietnamese, U.S., and foreign nationals from various parts of the city and from the U.S. Sony VAIO VGN-NS31S/S Battery embassy compound. Operation Frequent Wind had been delayed until the last possible moment, because of U.S. Ambassador Graham Martin's belief that Saigon could be held and that a political settlement could be reached. Sony VAIO VGN-NS21M/W Battery Sony VAIO VGN-NS31M/W Battery Schlesinger announced early in the morning of 29 April 1975 the evacuation from Saigon by helicopter of the last U.S. diplomatic, military, and civilian personnel. Frequent Wind was arguably the largest helicopter evacuation in history. It began on 29 April, in an atmosphere of desperation, as hysterical crowds of Vietnamese vied for limited space. Sony VAIO VGN-NS21S/S Battery Martin pleaded with Washington to dispatch $700 million in emergency aid to bolster the regime and help it mobilize fresh military reserves. But American public opinion had soured on this conflict. Sony VAIO VGN-NS21S/W Battery   In the United States, South Vietnam was perceived as doomed. President Gerald Ford had given a televised speech on 23 April, declaring an end to the Vietnam War and all U.S. aid. Frequent Wind continued around the clock, as North Vietnamese tanks breached defenses on the outskirts of Saigon. Sony VAIO VGN-NS21Z/S Battery In the early morning hours of 30 April, the last U.S. Marines evacuated the embassy by helicopter, as civilians swamped the perimeter and poured into the grounds. Many of them had been employed by the Americans and were left to their fate. Sony VAIO VGN-NS31M/P Battery     Victorious NVA troops at the Presidential Palace, Saigon. On 30 April 1975, VPA troops overcame all resistance, quickly capturing key buildings and installations. A tank crashed through the gates of the Independence Palace, and at 11:30 a.m. local time the NLF flag was raised above it. President Duong Van Minh, Sony VAIO VGN-NS31M/S Battery who had succeeded Huong two days earlier, surrendered. His surrender marked the end of 116 years of Vietnamese involvement in conflict either alongside or against various countries, primarily France, China, Japan, Britain, and America.[203] Sony VAIO VGN-SR11M Battery Sony VAIO VGN-SR11MR Battery   Other countries' involvement   Pro-Hanoi People's Republic of China In 1950, the People's Republic of China extended diplomatic recognition to the Viet Minh's Democratic Republic of Vietnam and sent weapons, as well as military advisors led by Luo Guibo to assist the Viet Minh in its war with the French. The first draft of the 1954 Geneva Accords was negotiated by French Prime Minister Pierre Mend s France and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai who, fearing U.S. intervention, urged the Viet Minh to accept a partition at the 17th parallel.[204] Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VN Battery   China's ability to aid the Viet Minh declined when Soviet aid to China was reduced following the end of the Korean War in 1953. Moreover, a divided Vietnam posed less of a threat to China. China provided material and technical support to the Vietnamese communists worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN Battery Chinese-supplied rice allowed North Vietnam to pull military-age men from the paddies and to impose a universal draft beginning in 1960. In the summer of 1962, Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S Battery Mao Zedong agreed to supply Hanoi with 90,000 rifles and guns free of charge. Starting in 1965, China sent anti-aircraft units and engineering battalions to North Vietnam to repair the damage caused by American bombing, Sony VAIO VGN-SR21RM/H Battery rebuild roads and railroads, and to perform other engineering works. This freed North Vietnamese army units for combat in the South. Sino-Soviet relations soured after the Soviets invaded Czechoslovakia in August 1968. In October, the Chinese demanded North Vietnam cut relations with Moscow, but Hanoi refused.[205] The Chinese began to withdraw in November 1968 in preparation for a clash with the Soviets, Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S Battery Sony VAIO VGN-NW20SF Battery which occurred at Zhenbao Island in March 1969. The Chinese also began financing the Khmer Rouge as a counterweight to the Vietnamese communists at this time. China's withdrawal from Vietnam was completed in July 1970.[206] The Khmer Rouge launched ferocious raids into Vietnam in 1975-1978. Vietnam responded with an invasion that toppled the Khmer Rouge. In response, China launched a brief, punitive invasion of Vietnam in 1979. Sony VAIO VGN-SR29VN Battery   Soviet Union     Leonid Brezhnev was the leader of the Soviet Union during the second half of the Vietnam War Soviet ships in the South China Sea gave vital early warnings to NLF forces in South Vietnam. The Soviet intelligence ships would pick up American B-52 bombers flying from Okinawa and Guam. Sony VAIO VGN-SR31M Battery Their airspeed and direction would be noted and then relayed to COSVN headquarters. COSVN using airspeed and direction would calculate the bombing target and tell any assets to move "perpendicularly to the attack trajectory." Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/P Battery Sony VAIO VGN-NW20ZF Battery These advance warning gave them time to move out of the way of the bombers and while the bombing runs caused extensive damage, because of the early warnings from 1968-1970 they did not kill a single military or civilian leader in the headquarter complexes.[207] Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/S Battery   The Soviet Union supplied North Vietnam with medical supplies, arms, tanks, planes, helicopters, artillery, anti-aircraft missiles and other military equipment. Soviet crews fired USSR-made surface-to-air missiles at the B-52 bombers, Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/P Battery which were the first raiders shot down over Hanoi. Fewer than a dozen Soviet citizens lost their lives in this conflict. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russian officials acknowledged that the Soviet Union had stationed up to 3,000 troops in Vietnam during the war.[208] Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/W Battery   Some Russian sources give more specific numbers: the hardware donated by the USSR included 2,000 tanks, 7,000 artillery guns, over 5,000 anti-aircraft guns, 158 surface-to-air rocket launchers. Over the course of the war the Soviet money donated to the Vietnamese cause was equal to 2 million dollars a day. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MR Battery From July 1965 to the end of 1974, fighting in Vietnam was attended by some 6,500 officers and generals, as well as more than 4,500 soldiers and sergeants of the Soviet Armed Forces. In addition, military schools and academies of the USSR began training Vietnamese soldiers more than 10 thousand people.[209] Sony VGP-BPS13/B Battery   North Korea As a result of a decision of the Korean Workers' Party in October 1966, in early 1967 North Korea sent a fighter squadron to North Vietnam to back up the North Vietnamese 921st and 923rd fighter squadrons defending Hanoi. They stayed through 1968, and 200 pilots were reported to have served.[210] Sony VGP-BPS13B/B Battery   In addition, at least two anti-aircraft artillery regiments were sent as well. North Korea also sent weapons, ammunition and two million sets of uniforms to their comrades in North Vietnam.[211] Kim Il-sung is reported to have told his pilots to "fight in the war as if the Vietnamese sky were their own".[212] Sony VGP-BPS13A/B Battery   Cuba The extent of manpower contributions to North Vietnam by the communist Republic of Cuba, under Fidel Castro, is still a matter of debate. Then and since, the communist Vietnamese and Cuban governments have not divulged any information on this matter. There are numerous reports by former U.S. prisoners of war that Cuban military personnel were present at North Vietnamese prison facilities during the war, and that they participated in torture activities, in what is known as the "Cuba Program".[Sony VGP-BPS13/S Battery Witnesses to this include Senator John McCain, 2008 U.S. Presidential candidate and former Vietnam prisoner of war, according to his 1999 book Faith of My Fathers.[218] That there was at least a small contingent of Cuban military advisors present in North Vietnam during the war is without question. Some, notably Vietnam War POW/MIA issue advocates, claim evidence that Cuba's military and non-military involvement may have run into the "thousands" of personnel.[219] Sony VGP-BPS13 Batterty   Pro-Saigon South Korea Further information: Republic of Korea Marine Corps#Vietnam War, Tiger Division, Blue Dragon (military unit), and White Horse (military) On the anti-communist side, South Korea had the second-largest contingent of foreign troops in South Vietnam after the United States. In November 1961, Park Chung Hee proposed South Korean participation in the war to John F. Kennedy, but Kennedy disagreed.[220] On May 1, 1964 Lyndon Johnson requested South Korean participation.[220] Sony VGP-BPS13/Q Battery The first South Korean troops began arriving in 1964 and large combat battalions began arriving a year later, with the South Koreans soon developing a reputation for effectiveness. Indeed arguably, they conducted counterinsurgency operations so well that American commanders felt that Korean area of responsibility was the safest.[221] Sony VGP-BPS13A/Q Battery   Approximately 320,000 South Korean soldiers were sent to Vietnam,[222] each serving a one year tour of duty. Maximum troop levels peaked at 50,000 in 1968, however all were withdrawn by 1973.[223] About 5,000 South Koreans were killed and 11,000 were injured during the war. South Korea killed 41,000 Viet Congs.[222] Sony VGP-BPS13B/Q Battery United States paid South Korean soldiers 235,560,000 dollars for their service in Vietnam,[222] and South Korean GNP increased five times during the war.[222] Australia and New Zealand     An Australian soldier in Vietnam Main articles: Military history of Australia during the Vietnam War and New Zealand in the Vietnam War Sony VGP-BPS21 Battery   Australia and New Zealand, close allies of the United States and members of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) and the ANZUS military co-operation treaty, sent ground troops to Vietnam. Both nations had gained experience in counterinsurgency and jungle warfare during the Malayan Emergency and World War II. Sony VGP-BPS21A Battery Their governments subscribed to the Domino theory. Australia began by sending advisors to Vietnam in 1962, and combat troops were committed in 1965.[224] New Zealand began by sending a detachment of engineers and an artillery battery, and then started sending special forces and regular infantry which were attached to Australian formations.[225] Sony VGP-BPS21B Battery Australia's peak commitment was 7,672 combat troops and New Zealand's 552. More than 60,000 Australian personnel were involved during the course of the war, of which 521 were killed and more than 3,000 wounded.[226] Approximately 3,000 New Zealanders served in Vietnam, losing 37 killed and 187 wounded.[227] Most Australians and New Zealanders served in the 1st Australian Task Force in Ph c Tuy province.[224] Sony VGP-BPS21A/B Battery   Philippines Some 10,450 Filipino troops were dispatched to South Vietnam. They were primarily engaged in medical and other civilian pacification projects. These forces operated under the designation PHLCAG-V or Philippine Civic Action Group-Vietnam. Sony VGP-BPS21/S Battery   Thailand Thai Army formations, including the "Queen's Cobra" battalion, saw action in South Vietnam between 1965 and 1971. Thai forces saw much more action in the covert war in Laos between 1964 and 1972, Sony VAIO VGN-NW20EF Battery though Thai regular formations there were heavily outnumbered by the irregular "volunteers" of the CIA-sponsored Police Aerial Reconnaissance Units or PARU, who carried out reconnaissance activities on the western side of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Sony VAIO VGN-NW24S Battery Nationalist China Main article: Republic of China in the Vietnam War Since November 1967, the Chinese Nationalists on Taiwan secretly operated a cargo transport detachment to assist the United States and the ROV. Taiwan also provided military training units for the South Vietnamese diving units, later known as the Lien Doi Nguoi Nhai (LDMN) or Frogman unit in English.[228] Sony VAIO VGN-NW26M Battery In addition to the diving trainers there were several hundred military personnel.[228] Military commandos from Taiwan were captured by communist forces three times trying to infiltrate North Vietnam.[228] Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VN Battery   Canada and the ICC Main article: Canada and the Vietnam War Canada, India and Poland constituted the International Control Commission, which was supposed to monitor the 1954 ceasefire agreement.[229] Officially, Canada did not have partisan involvement in the Vietnam War and diplomatically it was "non-belligerent". Victor Levant suggested otherwise in his book "Quiet Complicity: Canadian Involvement in the Vietnam War" (1986).[230][231] Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN Battery Women in Vietnam   American nurses     Da Nang, South Vietnam, 1968 During the Vietnam War, women served on active duty doing a variety of jobs. Early in 1963, the Army Nurse Corps (ANC) launched Operation Nightingale, an intensive effort to recruit nurses to serve in Vietnam. Sony VAIO VGN-SR21RM/H Battery   Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/W Battery Most nurses who volunteered to serve in Vietnam came from predominantly working or middle class families with histories of military service. The majority of these women were white Catholics and Protestants.[232] Sony VAIO VGN-SR29VN Battery Because the need for medical aid was great, many nurses underwent a concentrated four-month training program before being deployed to Vietnam in the ANC [233] Due to the shortage of staff, nurses usually worked twelve-hour shifts, six days per week and often suffered from exhaustion. First Lieutenant Sharon Lane was the only female military nurse to be killed by enemy gunfire during the war on June 8, 1969.[234] Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/P Battery   At the start of the Vietnam War, it was commonly thought that American women had no place in the military. Their traditional place had been in the domestic sphere, but with the war came opportunity for the expansion of gender roles. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/W Battery In Vietnam, women held a variety of jobs which included operating complex data processing equipment and serving as stenographers.[235] Although a small number of women were assigned to combat zones, they were never allowed directly in the field of battle. The women who served in the military were solely volunteers. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MR Battery They faced a plethora of challenges, one of which was the relatively small number of female soldiers. Living in a male-dominated environment created tensions between the sexes. While this high male to female ratio was often uncomfortable for women, many men reported that having women in the field with them boosted their morale.[236] Sony VAIO VGN-SR11M Battery Although this was not the women's purpose, it was one positive result of the their service. By 1973, approximately 7,500 women had served in Vietnam in the Southeast Asian theater.[237] In that same year, the military lifted the prohibition on women entering the armed forces. Sony VAIO VGN-SR11MR Battery   Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/S Battery American women serving in Vietnam were subject to societal stereotypes. Many Americans either considered female in Vietnam mannish for living under the army discipline, or judged them to be women of questionable moral character who enlisted for the sole purpose of seducing men.[238] To address this problem, the ANC released advertisements portraying women in the ANC as "proper, professional and well protected." (26) Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S Battery This effort to highlight the positive aspects of a nursing career reflected the ideas of second-wave feminism that occurred during the 1960s-1970s in the United States. Although female military nurses lived in a heavily male environment, very few cases of sexual harassment were ever reported.[239] In 2008, by contrast, approximately one-third of women in the military felt that they had been sexually harassed compared with one-third of men. Sony VAIO VGN-SR31M/S Battery Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/P Battery Vietnamese women Unlike the American women who went to Vietnam, Vietnamese women fought in the combat zone as well as provided manual labor to keep the Ho Chi Minh Trail open; they also worked in the rice fields to provide food for their families and the war effort. Women were enlisted in both the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and the VietCong guerrilla force in South Vietnam. Sony VAIO FW Battery Nguyen Thi Dinh was an example of a woman who had fought most of her adult life against foreign forces in her country. She was a member of the Vietminh fighting against the French and was imprisoned in the 1940s but on her release continued to fight and led a revolt in 1945 in Ben Tre and also in 1960 against Diems government. In the mid 1960s, she became a deputy commander of the Viet Cong, the highest ranking combat position held by a woman during the war.[240] Sony VAIO VGN-FW11 Battery       Nguyen Thi Duc Hoan, who would later go on to be an actress-director, also joined the fight at a young age and would later become a guerrilla fighter against the Americans, at the time her own daughter was training in the militia.[241] Sony VAIO VGN-FW11M Battery Weapons       U.S. soldier carries a M67 recoilless rifle past a burning Viet Cong base camp in My Tho, South Vietnam, 1968 Communist forces were principally armed with Chinese[242] and Soviet weaponry[243] though some Viet Cong guerrilla units were equipped with Western infantry weapons either captured from French stocks during the first Indochina war or from ARVN units or requisitioned through illicit purchase.[244] Sony VAIO VGN-FW11S Battery   The ubiquitous Soviet AK-47 was widely regarded as the best assault rifle of the war and it was not uncommon to see U.S. special forces with captured AK-47s. The American M16, which replaced the M14, was considered more accurate and was lighter than the AK-47 but was prone to jamming. Sony VAIO VGN-FW21E Battery Oftentimes the gun suffered from a jamming flaw known as "failure to extract," which meant that a spent cartridge case remained lodged in the chamber after a bullet flew out the muzzle.[245] According to a congressional report, Sony VAIO VGN-FW21I Battery the jamming was caused primarily by a change in gunpowder which was done without adequate testing and reflected a decision for which the safety of soldiers was a secondary consideration.[246] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21L Battery The heavily armored, 90 mm M48A3 Patton tank saw extensive action during the Vietnam War and over 600 were deployed with US Forces. They played an important role in infantry support though there were few actual tank versus tank battles. The M67A1 flamethrower tank (nicknamed the Zippo) was an M48 variant used in Vietnam. Artillery was used extensively by both sides but the Americans were able to ferry the lightweight 105 mm M102 howitzer by helicopter to remote locations on quick notice.[247][248] Sony VAIO VGN-FW21Z Battery   Sony VGP-BPS21/S Battery With its 17-mile (27 km) range, the Soviet 130 mm M-46 towed field gun was a highly regarded weapon and used to good effect by the NVA. It was countered by the long-range, American 175 mm M107 Self-Propelled Gun.[249] The United States had air superiority though many aircraft were lost to surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft artillery. U.S. air power was credited with breaking the siege of Khe Sanh and blunting the 1972 Communist offensive against South Vietnam. At sea, Sony VAIO VGN-FW21M Battery the U.S. Navy had the run of the coastline, using aircraft carriers as platforms for offshore strikes and other naval vessels for offshore artillery support. Offshore naval fire played a pivotal role in the Battle for the city of Hue, providing accurate fire in support of the U.S. counter-offensive to retake the city.[250] Sony VAIO VGN-FW31M Battery The Vietnam War was the first conflict that saw wide scale tactical deployment of helicopters.[251] The Bell UH-1 Iroquois was used extensively in counter-guerilla operations both as a troop carrier and a gunship.[248] In the latter role, the "Huey" as it became affectionately known, was outfitted with a variety of armaments including M60 machineguns, multi-barreled 7.62 mm Gatling guns and unguided air-to-surface rockets.[248] Sony VGN-FW31ZJ battery The Hueys were also successfully used in MEDEVAC and search and rescue roles.[248] Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, fell to followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, commonly known as the Khmer Rouge, on 17 April 1975. Over the next four years, the Khmer Rouge enacted a genocidal policy that killed over one-fifth of all Cambodians, Sony VGN-FW32J battery or more than a million people.[254] After repeated border clashes in 1978, Vietnam invaded Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia) and ousted the Khmer Rouge in the Cambodian-Vietnamese War. Sony VGP-BPS13 Battery   In response, China invaded Vietnam in 1979. The two countries fought a brief border war, known as the Third Indochina War or the Sino-Vietnamese War. From 1978 to 1979, some 450,000 ethnic Chinese left Vietnam by boat as refugees or were expelled across the land border with China.[255] Sony VGP-BPS13A/B Battery   The Pathet Lao overthrew the royalist government of Laos in December 1975. They established the Lao People's Democratic Republic.[256] From 1975 to 1996, the United States resettled some 250,000 Lao refugees from Thailand, including 130,000 Hmong.[257] Sony VGP-BPS13B/B Battery   More than 3 million people fled from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, many as "boat people". Most Asian countries were unwilling to accept refugees.[258] Since 1975, an estimated 1.4 million refugees from Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries have been resettled to the United States,[259] while Canada, Australia, and France resettled over 500,000.[260] Sony VGP-BPS13/S Battery Effect on the United States     Vietnam War protests at the Pentagon, October 1967 In the post-war era, Americans struggled to absorb the lessons of the military intervention.[261] As General Maxwell Taylor, one of the principal architects of the war, noted "first, we didn't know ourselves. We thought that we were going into another Korean War, but this was a different country. Secondly, Sony VGP-BPS13A/S Battery   we didn't know our South Vietnamese allies... And we knew less about North Vietnam. Who was Ho Chi Minh? Nobody really knew. So, until we know the enemy and know our allies and know ourselves, we'd better keep out of this kind of dirty business. It's very dangerous."[262][263] Sony VGP-BPS13/Q Battery   Some have suggested that "the responsibility for the ultimate failure of this policy [America's withdrawal from Vietnam] lies not with the men who fought, but with those in Congress..."[264] Alternatively, the official history of the United States Army noted that "tactics have often seemed to exist apart from larger issues, strategies, Sony VGP-BPS13A/Q Battery and objectives. Yet in Vietnam the Army experienced tactical success and strategic failure... The...Vietnam War...legacy may be the lesson that unique historical, political, cultural, and social factors always impinge on the military.. Sony VGP-BPS13B/Q Battery .Success rests not only on military progress but on correctly analyzing the nature of the particular conflict, understanding the enemy's strategy, and assessing the strengths and weaknesses of allies. A new humility and a new sophistication may form the best parts of a complex heritage left to the Army by the long, bitter war in Vietnam."[265] Sony VGP-BPS13B/G Battery   A young Marine private waits on the beach during the Marine landing, Da Nang August 3, 1965. U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger wrote in a secret memo to President Gerald Ford that "in terms of military tactics, we cannot help draw the conclusion that our armed forces are not suited to this kind of war. Even the Special Forces who had been designed for it could not prevail."[266] Sony VGP-BPS13B/S Battery     Even Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara concluded that "the achievement of a military victory by U.S. forces in Vietnam was indeed a dangerous illusion."[267] Sony VGP-BPS21 Battery   Doubts surfaced as to the effectiveness of large-scale, sustained bombing. As Army Chief of Staff Harold Keith Johnson noted, "if anything came out of Vietnam, it was that air power couldn't do the job."[268] Even General William Westmoreland admitted that the bombing had been ineffective. As he remarked, "I still doubt that the North Vietnamese would have relented."[268] Sony VGP-BPS21A Battery   The inability to bomb Hanoi to the bargaining table also illustrated another U.S. miscalculation. The North's leadership was composed of hardened communists who had been fighting for independence for thirty years. They had defeated the French, and their tenacity as both nationalists and communists was formidable. Sony VGP-BPS21B Battery Sony VGP-BPS21A/B Battery Ho Chi Minh is quoted as saying, "You can kill ten of my men for every one I kill of yours...But even at these odds you will lose and I will win."[269]     2/5 Marine gets his wounds treated during operations in Hue City, 1968 The Vietnam War called into question the U.S. Army doctrine. Marine Corps General Victor H. Krulak heavily criticised Westmoreland's attrition strategy, calling it "wasteful of American lives... with small likelihood of a successful outcome."[268] As well, doubts surfaced about the ability of the military to train foreign forces. Sony VGN-FW41J/H battery Sony VGN-FW41E/H battery   Between 1965 and 1975, the United States spent $111 billion on the war ($686 billion in FY2008 dollars).[270] This resulted in a large federal budget deficit.

• More than 3 million Americans served in the Vietnam War, some 1.5 million of whom actually saw combat in Vietnam.[271] Sony VGN-FW41ZJ/H battery
• James E. Westheider wrote that "At the height of American involvement in 1968, for example, there were 543,000 American military personnel in Vietnam, but only 80,000 were considered combat troops."[272] Conscription in the United States had been controlled by the President since World War II, but ended in 1973." Sony VAIO VGN-FW11 Battery

 

• By war's end, 58,220 soldiers were killed,[A 2] more than 150,000 were wounded, and at least 21,000 were permanently disabled.[273] According to Dale Kueter, "Sixty-one percent of those killed were age 21 or younger. Of those killed in combat, 86.3 percent were white, 12.5 percent were black and the remainder from other races."[13] Sony VAIO VGN-FW11ER Battery
• The youngest American KIA in the war was PFC Dan Bullock, who had falsified his birth certificate and enlisted in the US Marines at age 14 and who was killed in combat at age 15.[274] Approximately 830,000 Vietnam veterans suffered symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder.
• Sony VAIO VGN-FW411ZRU Battery An estimated 125,000 Americans fled to Canada to avoid the Vietnam draft,[275] and approximately 50,000 American servicemen deserted.[276] In 1977, United States President Jimmy Carter granted a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all Vietnam-era Draft dodgers.[277] The Vietnam War POW/MIA issue, concerning the fate of U.S.

Sony VAIO VGN-FW21J Battery service personnel listed as missing in action, persisted for many years after the war's conclusion. Chemical defoliation

• One of the most controversial aspects of the U.S. military effort in Southeast Asia was the widespread use of chemical defoliants between 1961 and 1971. They were used to defoliate large parts of the countryside. These chemicals continue to change the landscape, cause diseases and birth defects, and poison the food chain.[278] Sony VAIO VGN-FW11SR Battery

Sony VAIO VGN-FW56M Battery

• Early in the American military effort it was decided that since the enemy were hiding their activities under triple-canopy jungle, a useful first step might be to defoliate certain areas. This was especially true of growth surrounding bases (both large and small) in what became known as Operation Ranch Hand. Corporations like Dow Chemical Company and Monsanto were given the task of developing herbicides for this purpose. Sony VAIO VGN-FW11ZU Battery

 

• The defoliants, which were distributed in drums marked with color-coded bands, included the "Rainbow Herbicides" Agent Pink, Agent Green, Agent Purple, Agent Blue, Agent White, and, most famously, Agent Orange, which included dioxin as a by-product of its manufacture.
• Sony VAIO VGN-FW51MF/H Battery About 12 million gallons (45,000,000 L) of Agent Orange were sprayed over Southeast Asia during the American involvement. A prime area of Ranch Hand operations was in the Mekong Delta, where the U.S. Navy patrol boats were vulnerable to attack from the undergrowth at the water's edge. Sony VAIO VGN-FW41E/H Battery

      U.S. helicopter spraying chemical defoliants in the Mekong Delta, South Vietnam

• In 1961 and 1962, the Kennedy administration authorized the use of chemicals to destroy rice crops. Between 1961 and 1967, the U.S. Air Force sprayed 20 million U.S. gallons (75,700,000 L) of concentrated herbicides over 6 million acres (24,000 km2) of crops and trees, affecting an estimated 13% of South Vietnam's land. In 1965, Sony VAIO VGN-FW41M Battery

42% of all herbicide was sprayed over food crops. Another purpose of herbicide use was to drive civilian populations into RVN-controlled areas.[279]

• As of 2006, the Vietnamese government estimates that there are over 4,000,000 victims of dioxin poisoning in Vietnam, although the United States government denies any conclusive Sony VAIO VGN-FW41ZJ/H Battery
• scientific links between Agent Orange and the Vietnamese victims of dioxin poisoning. In some areas of southern Vietnam dioxin levels remain at over 100 times the accepted international standard.[280] Sony VAIO VGN-FW48M/H Battery

 

• The U.S. Veterans Administration has listed prostate cancer, respiratory cancers, multiple myeloma, Diabetes mellitus type 2, B-cell lymphomas, soft-tissue sarcoma, chloracne, porphyria cutanea tarda, peripheral neuropathy, and spina bifida in children of veterans exposed to Agent Orange. Sony VAIO VGN-FW46M Battery

Sony VAIO VGN-FW51ZF/H Battery Although there has been much discussion over whether the use of these defoliants constituted a violation of the laws of war, the defoliants were not considered weapons, since exposure to them did not lead to immediate death or incapacitation. Sony VAIO VGN-AW11M/H Battery   Casualties Main article: Vietnam War casualties       Selection from a U.S. Army footage from 'Operation Baker' action by the 3rd BDE, 25th Infantry Division, selection shows U.S. soldiers putting 'ace of spades' playing cards into mouths of dead Viet Cong The number of military and civilian deaths from 1955 to 1975 is debated. Some reports fail to include the members of South Vietnamese forces killed in the final campaign, or the Royal Lao Armed Forces, Sony VAIO VGN-AW11S/B Battery thousands of Laotian and Thai irregulars, or Laotian civilians who all perished in the conflict. They do not include the tens of thousands of Cambodians killed during the civil war or the estimated one and one-half to two million that perished in the genocide that followed Khmer Rouge victory,   Sony VAIO VGN-AW31ZJ/B Battery or the fate of Laotian Royals and civilians after the Pathet Lao assumed complete power in Laos. In 1995, the Vietnamese government reported that its military forces, including the NLF, suffered 1.1 million dead and 600,000 wounded during Hanoi's conflict with the United States. Civilian deaths were put at two million in the North and South, Sony VAIO VGN-AW11XU/Q Battery Sony VAIO VGN-AW21S/B Battery and economic reparations were demanded.[citation needed] Hanoi concealed the figures during the war to avoid demoralizing the population.[281] Estimates of civilian deaths caused by American bombing in Operation Rolling Thunder range from 52,000[282] to 182,000.[283] The U.S. military has estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died in the war.[284] Sony VAIO VGN-AW21S/B Battery   Popular culture   See also: Vietnam War in film, Vietnam War in games, and War in popular culture The Vietnam War has been featured heavily in television, film, video games, and literature in the participant countries. The war also influenced a generation of musicians and songwriters in Vietnam and the United States, both anti-war and pro/anti-communist. Sony VAIO VGN-AW21XY/Q Battery The band Country Joe and the Fish recorded "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag" / The "Fish" Cheer in 1965, and it became one of the most influential anti-Vietnam protest anthems. Trinh Cong Son was a South Vietnamese songwriter famous for his anti-war songs. Sony VAIO VGN-AW21Z/B Battery Sony VAIO VGN-AW31S/B Battery Sony VAIO VGN-AW31XY/Q Battery