The Marco Polo Bridge Incident and the Battle of Shanghai - Episode 503

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War

Captain William Toti, USN

Halsey, Station Hypo, World War Ii, Macarthur, Seth Paridon, Pacific War, History, Stavridis, Cactus Air Force, Fargo, William Toti, Aircraft Carriers, Nimitz, Mush Morton, Wahoo, Imperial Japan, Cruisers, Wake Island, Battleships, Spruance, Courses, Submarines, Midway, Cincpac, Guadalcanal, Documentary, Naval History And Heritage Command, Society & Culture, Admiral King, Imperial Japanese Navy, New Guinea, Cincpoa, Cryptology, Navy, Sam Cox, Pearl Harbor, Education, Bill Toti, December 7, Us Navy, Bombers, Fighters

4.8 • 654 Ratings

🗓️ 20 May 2025

⏱️ 113 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week Seth and co-host Jon Parshall take a look at...yes you read that correctly. More on that later. Seth and Jon take a look at what some historians say is the beginning of World War II, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. The team dives into the lead-up to the shots being fired and then what happens next. Both Japan and China, especially Chiang Kai Shek, push for war against one another and by the end of the summer of 1937, both nations HAVE to fight, springing what was already a touchy situation in China after the invasion of Manchuria in 1931 to an all-out war in 1937. The guys go into the political situation and then get into the weeds in the Battle of Shanghai. The fight for the famous city, Shanghai, would be the largest and deadliest urban combat fight in history until Stalingrad and would set the stage for the barbarity that would follow. Bill had to reluctantly step away from the show, for how long--no one knows-- and delivers a touching farewell message to all of us in the beginning of this episode. We will miss Bill, but Jon and I will keep the ship sailing and will always have a warm seat ready for our brother when he is able to return. Speaking of Jon, I am very grateful that he stepped in and is going to be with me for the future (read permanently) and both excited and honored that he will be with me as we go through this exciting season together. #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #worldwar2 #usnavy #usnavyseals #usmc #usmarines #saipan #usa #usarmy #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #battleship #battleships #ussenterprise #aircraftcarriers #museum #essex #halsey #taskforce38 #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #worldwar2 #usnavy #usnavyseals #usmc #usmarines #saipan #usa #usarmy #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #battleship #battleships #ussenterprise #aircraftcarriers #museum #hollywood #movie #movies #books #mastersoftheair #8thairforce #mightyeighth #100thbombgroup #bloodyhundredth #b17 #boeing #airforce wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #worldwar2 #usnavy #usnavyseals #usmc #usmarines #saipan #usa #usarmy #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #battleship #battleships #ussenterprise #aircraftcarriers #museum #hollywood #movie #movies #books #oldbreed #1stMarineDivision #thepacific #Peleliu #army #marines #marinecorps #worldwar2 #worldwar #worldwarii #leytegulf #battleofleytegulf #rodserling #twilightzone #liberation #blacksheep #power #prisoner #prisonerofwar #typhoon #hurricane #weather #iwojima#bullhalsey #ace #p47 #p38 #fighter #fighterpilot #b29 #strategicstudying #tokyo #boeing #incendiary #usa #franklin #okinawa #yamato #kamikaze #Q&A #questions #questionsandanswers #history #jaws #atomicbomb #nuclear

Transcript

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0:00.0	The
0:07.0	The Hello. Hello and welcome to episode 503 of the Unauthorized History of the Pacific War podcast.
0:45.7	My name is Seth Parrott and historian and deputy director of the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum.
0:49.7	And with me, as always from now on, is my co-host John Partial historian extraordinaire how are you this fine
0:57.2	week John oh just peachy man just peachy delighted to be here as always and I'm sure people who
1:04.7	are listening and or watching just went what what so here we go all right so there's been some
1:10.5	developments positive but before we get to the What? So here we go. All right. So there's been some developments.
1:12.1	Positive.
1:13.1	But before we get to the actual point of what I'm going to say,
1:17.3	John, Bill, and I got an email, what, two weeks ago, I guess it was.
1:21.9	Yeah, something like that.
1:22.9	Two weeks ago from a mutual friend of ours historian in Canada named Michael Whitby.
1:29.3	Mike is a good dude. He's a great dude. And he sent us an email as our last episode of season four aired and it's awesome.
1:36.3	So with that I wanted to read it. I thought you guys would get a kick out of it. It goes like this.
1:40.3	So one Tuesday evening about 18 months ago, I came across a pub called the
1:44.8	wistful warrior. Being a perpetual barfly, I have trouble walking past any pub, but this one
1:51.7	looked particularly intriguing, so I ducked in and grabbed a seat at the bar. The pub's walls were
1:57.2	covered with pictures of cool ships and submarines and lined with bookcases loaded with neat volumes of naval history.
2:02.6	Strangely, one small area of the place had some really grotesque wallpaper.
2:06.6	Anyways, wallpaper aside, such was the decor that a nautical junkie could not help but feel at home.
2:13.6	So I settled in with a glass of red.
2:16.6	It soon became apparent that two gents holding court at the bar were the center of attention.
	...

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