The level of global cooperation during WWII among the allies was nothing short of astounding. It was the only way that the war was won, really as no single nation was well equipped enough to take on either Japan or Germany mano a mano. Instead it required group effort and as Winston Churchill said, “The proper application of overwhelming force.” This included China which had suffered mightily at the hand of Japanese attackers throughout the war and who was more than willing to help the allies in their final push to stop the Japanese from doing any more harm to anyone during the war. Reaching the island nation was always a challenge but with bases in China to fly bombers out of, the Allies would have an effectively open door to real bring the thunder.
China allowed the bases and mobilized portions of their massive population to help. This video is a propaganda piece made by the USA and it shows how these Chinese bases were made, in less than a month, totally by human labor with with zero machinery. The hand shaping of stones that were then hand set in the ground, the human powered rollers that flattened and packed the air field surface, the movement and reshaping of the earth one wicker basket of dirt at a time. This is astounding on every level.
There’s some language in here that may make some cringe but we think it needs to be taken in the context of the time and not only that, in the context of still being at war with another country. The Japanese who are now are allies and the Chinese who are now basically our enemies are spoken about in differing tones than they would be today during this film. Interesting how stuff changes, right?
Anyway, watch this it rules.
