The Panay Incident Prelude To Pearl Harbor

Recounts the events and effects of the Japanese sinking of an American gunboat in the Yangtze River in 1937.

It's a lazy Sunday afternoon on this twelfth of December, 1937. The American gunboat USS Panay plows the slow-moving waters of the Yangtze off Nanking. The Panay patrols China's rivers to protect American interests in the chaos that engulfs the Middle Kingdom. Today, the Japanese army has fought to the gates of Nanking. The Japanese bomb explodes dead center atop the Panay's wheelhouse. Fire, shrapnel, and wood splinters rip into the commanding officer and all others on watch. The second bomb smashes into the quarterdeck. The Japanese aircraft press their assault. Forty-five minutes later, the Panay's bow dips under the Yangtze's surface and slowly settles on the riverbed. Though seriously wounded, Chief Radioman Mathew Marne survives and earns the Navy Cross for his exceptional heroism under fire. As known only by a few, Chief Marne is a naval intelligence agent. Marne relays details of his now unclassified, special-intelligence assignments across the Far East in maw of Japanese aggression before and during World War II; his clandestine activities ashore, his actions in several Pacific sea-battles; his love for a Chinese woman and for a Navy nurse with an attitude.

Throughout US history, presidents have had vastly different reactions to naval incidents. Though some incidents have been resolved diplomatically, others have escalated to outright war. What factors influence the outcome of a naval incident, especially when calls for retribution mingle with recommendations for restraint? Given the rise of long range anti-ship and anti-air missile systems, coupled with tensions in East Asia, the Persian Gulf, and the Black and Baltic Seas, the question is more relevant than ever for US naval diplomacy. In Choosing War, Douglas Carl Peifer compares the ways in which different presidential administrations have responded when American lives were lost at sea. He examines in depth three cases: the Maine incident (1898), which led to war in the short term; the Lusitania crisis (1915), which set the trajectory for intervention; and the Panay incident (1937), which was settled diplomatically. While evaluating Presidents William McKinley, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt's responses to these incidents, Peifer lucidly reflects on the options they had available and the policies they ultimately selected. The case studies illuminate how leadership, memory, and shifting domestic policy shape presidential decisions, providing significant insights into the connections between naval incidents, war, and their historical contexts. Rich in dramatic narrative and historical perspective, Choosing War offers an essential tool for confronting future naval crises.

A fascinating encyclopedic survey of the Spanish-Cuban/American War, the Philippine War, and the small wars between 1899 and the end of the occupation of Haiti in 1934. The name changes themselves are instructive. The usage of "Spanish-American War" ignores the fact that the war in Cuba had been la

The Small Wars of the United States, 1899–2009 is the complete bibliography of works on US military intervention and irregular warfare around the world, as well as efforts to quell insurgencies on behalf of American allies. The text covers conflicts from 1898 to present, with detailed annotations of selected sources. In this second edition, Benjamin R. Beede revises his seminal work, bringing it completely up to date, including entries on the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. An invaluable research tool, The Small Wars of the United States, 1899–2009 is a critical resource for students and scholars studying US military history.

Framing China sheds new light on Western relations with and perceptions of China in the first half of the twentieth century. In this ground-breaking book, Ariane Knüsel examines how China was portrayed in political debates and the media in Britain, the USA and Switzerland between 1900 and 1950. By focusing on the political, economic, cultural and social context that led to the construction of the particular images of China in each country, the author demonstrates that national interests, anxieties and issues influenced the way China was framed and resulted in different portrayals of China in each country. The author’s meticulous analysis of a vast amount of newspaper and magazine articles, commentaries, editorials, cartoons and newsreels that have previously not been studied before also focuses on the transnational circulation of images of China. While previous publications have dealt with the occurrence of the Yellow Peril and Red Menace in particular countries, Framing China reveals that these images were interpreted differently in every nation because they both reflected and contributed to the discursive construction of nationhood in each country and were influenced by domestic issues, cultural values, pre-existing stereotypes, pressure groups and geopolitical aspirations.