Images of Kursk: History's Greatest Tank Battle, July 1943 (Photographic Histories)

Contains more than 300 photographs, many from Russian archives and previously unpublished Features firsthand accounts from Russian and German soldiers and presents details on the air action Includes biographical information about the main German and Soviet commanders Images of Kursk is an illustrated account of a pivotal battle on the Eastern Front during World War II. At Kursk, the Germans threw 900,000 men and 2,500 tanks against 1,300,000 soldiers and 3,000 tanks of the Red Army in a savage battle of attrition. Unlike many pictorial accounts of the war on the Eastern Front, Images of Kursk draws upon both German and Russian archive material. All the photographs of the Red Army at Kursk, moreover, are previously unpublished images. The book begins with the build-up of forces before the battle and then illustrates the offensive by two German army groups against the Kursk salient. The images convey the true scale, intensity, and horror of the fighting as the Germans tried in vain to batter their way through the Soviet defensive systems. A chapter is devoted to the climactic battle at the village of Prokhorovka, in which 1,000 tanks engaged each other furiously at point-blank range. With authoritative text and extended captions, Images of Kursk is an enthralling pictorial record of the battle that shifted the strategic initiative on the Eastern Front to the Red Army for good. Written in an informative yet exciting style, it will appeal to military specialists and laymen alike. Topical Chapters......Page 6 I......Page 14 II......Page 16 Part I. The Challenges of Governance......Page 18 Responding to Challenges and Problems of Governance WANG Zhengxu & LYE Liang Fook China’s leadership is grappling with mounting socio-economic problems and rising expectations. Besides various policy measures to cope with these challenges, the Party and government have attempted to re-invent themselves ideologically and organisationally.......Page 20 China Under Jiang and Zhu......Page 21 Hu Jintao: Searching for a New Development Model......Page 23 Building the Party: Educative Campaign and Fighting Corruption......Page 24 Coping with Social Discontent......Page 25 Looking to the Future......Page 26 Political Institutionalisation......Page 28 Factional Dynamics......Page 29 Institutionalisation and Factional Dynamics......Page 32 How Did the Hu-Wen Leadership Consolidate Its Power? LAI Hongyi Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao have surprised many with their rapid consolidation of power. Their success results from the ongoing institutionalisation of leadership succession, as well as Hu’s effective political skills in building a political coalition to establish his authority.......Page 33 The Chinese Communist Party in Rapid Transformation ZHENG Yongnian & TOK Sow Keat The CCP has introduced organisational and ideological reforms, allowed limited elections at grass-roots levels and more space for selected social groups to maintain its dominant hold on politics.......Page 37 China’s Propaganda Machinery......Page 42 Media Channels: Diversity and Proliferation......Page 43 Vocalness Versus Control......Page 44 Reform or Obsolescence......Page 45 One-Party “Democracy”......Page 47 The Increasingly Assertive Society......Page 49 In Search of Good Governance......Page 50 Towards Rule of Law......Page 52 Growing Democracy under a One-Party Regime?......Page 54 Institutional Reforms for Anti-Corruption......Page 55 Public Sector Management Reforms......Page 56 Greater Political Accountability......Page 57 Stricter Institutional Restraints......Page 58 Reforms and Results......Page 59 Managing China’s Civil Servants Kjeld Erik BRODSGAARD Contrary to popular belief, the number of civil servants in China is actually quite small. Improving the quality of personnel and governing capacity are important to preserve one-Party rule.......Page 61 Can Beijing Still Dictate Local Politics? TAN Qingshan Beijing is facing a big challenge in reining in local governments without jeopardising economic growth. The key issue is whether they can deliver the outcome that Beijing wants.......Page 65 Towards the Rule of Law ZOU Keyuan The Party appears determined to promote rule of law to meet the demands of a market-oriented economy, the obligations of being a WTO member and the need to improve the administration and management of a more complex Chinese society.......Page 70 Implementing Law-Based Administration......Page 71 Judicial Remedies......Page 72 An Unfinished Task......Page 73 The Party and the Gun: Civil-Military Relations LI Nan The relationship between the civilian leadership and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has undergone a fundamental change over the years. The political leadership has focussed more on governance issue while the PLA has concentrated on military-technical tasks.......Page 74 The PLA’s New Path to Modernisation......Page 79 The Generation Leap Strategy......Page 80 Informatisation and War Preparation......Page 81 A Crucial Decade......Page 83 Hong Kong and Macau under One Country, Two Systems CHOU Kwok Ping A decade of “One Country Two Systems” has produced different outcomes in terms of Hong Kong’s and Macau’s respective political relations with Beijing. These can be attributed to the different legacies of colonial rule and influences of democratic forces in these two localities.......Page 84 Chen Shui-bian: Taiwan’s Lame Duck President John F. COPPER The corruption and embezzlement charges involving Chen Shui-bian’s close aides, son-in-law and wife have dented his image and credibility. However, Chen has cleverly exploited the local identity movement to bolster public support for his party.......Page 89 Harmonious Society: The Party’s New Focus......Page 94 Personnel: Mid-Term Adjustments......Page 96 Political Reform: Beyond the Congress......Page 97 Part II. Growth and Structural Changes......Page 98 Topical Chapters......Page 8 China’s Major Economic Challenge: Sustaining High Growth Whilst Fixing Its Growth Problems John WONG The Chinese economy has become a significant force in the global economy. It has been argued that the current global economic boom is basically the combined effects of US consumption and Chinese production.......Page 100 Significant International Impact......Page 102 Is High Growth Sustainable?......Page 107 Fixing Many Growth Problems......Page 108 Not Just High Growth, But Better Growth and Its Sustainability......Page 112 China’s Twin Surpluses YU Yongding China is the only country in history which has run the twin surpluses for 15 years since 1990. The underdevelopment of China’s financial market is one of the most important contributing factors to China’s persistent twin surpluses.......Page 114 Causes of Twin Surpluses......Page 115 Why Are China’s Twin Surpluses Unsustainable......Page 116 Policy Remedies for China......Page 118 Explaining High Productivity Growth WU Yanrui Whether productivity growth has played a role in China’s recent growth can be investigated by examining the source of growth. Economists conventionally attribute the rate of GDP growth to the combined growth in labour and capital inputs.......Page 120 Factors Affecting Productivity Growth......Page 121 Productivity Growth at the Industry Level......Page 122 Productivity in China’s Economic Growth......Page 123 The 11th Five-Year Programme Sarah Y. TONG The 11th Five-Year Programme outlines Hu and Wen’s vision for the country’s economic development and tackles growing economic and social problems following China’s recent rapid economic expansion.......Page 125 China’s Drive to Become a Technological Power QUAN Xiaohong When China embarked on market-oriented economic reforms, its science and technology system was subjected to far-reaching challenges for its lack of efficiency, R&D weaknesses, poor technical skills and outdated focus on defence and other heavy technologies.......Page 130 Banking Reforms to Meet WTO Obligations Sarah Y. TONG & ZHENG Yi China’s banking reform has lessened the vulnerability of China’s banks to external shocks. However, this does not mean that most of China’s banks are now sufficiently robust to stand up to major international challenges.......Page 135 Reforming State-Owned Enterprises Sarah Y. TONG China's reform of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) has been quite successful in reorienting firms to be more responsive to market competition.......Page 140 Chinese Domestic Brands (Private and State-Owned)......Page 145 Foreign Brands......Page 146 Government Industrial Policies......Page 147 Dramatic and Unbalanced Urbanisation......Page 151 Local Innovations with Territorial Competition......Page 152 Let Southeastern Regions Get Rich First......Page 153 Shanghai’s Mega Port in Yangshan YANG Mu & Lionel HO Shanghai, the centre of the Yangtze River Delta manufacturing hub, has been earmarked by the Chinese government to regain its previous global shipping hub status.......Page 156 Historical Background......Page 157 Yangshan Deep Water Port in Shanghai’s Development Strategy......Page 158 Regional Implications......Page 159 Constraints and Challenges......Page 160 China’s Energy Outlook Elspeth THOMSON Over the next ten years, rapid urbanisation and industrialisation and the dominance of the manufacturing sector in China together clearly presage China’s continual requirement for large quantities of energy.......Page 162 Oil......Page 163 Coal......Page 164 Electricity......Page 165 Energy Consumption Efficiency......Page 166 Global Implications......Page 167 Part III. Coping with Rising Social Problems......Page 168 Topical Chapters......Page 10 Social Dilemmas of High Economic Growth ZHAO Litao Three decades of sustained economic growth have not only failed to boost social confidence, but also given rise to persistent social problems such as social injustice, corruption, income inequality and environment degradation.......Page 170 Growing Income Inequality......Page 171 Persisting Disparities in Education and Healthcare......Page 172 Declining Acceptance of Social Inequality......Page 174 Moving Towards More Balanced Development......Page 175 What is China’s San-Nong (Rural) Problem? John WONG The rural problem, often dubbed “san-nong wenti”, is one of the burning issues the Chinese government must come to grip with. The rural problem, if remain unresolved, could become a potential time-bomb for the Chinese leadership.......Page 177 The Confused Notion of Nongmin......Page 178 The Diminishing Role of Nongye (Agriculture)......Page 179 Lessons of Experience for China......Page 182 A Happy Ending for the San-Nong Issue?......Page 183 Rising Inequalities and China’s Remedies......Page 185 China’s Remedies......Page 187 Achievements and Challenges......Page 189 Migration Control as a Focus of Earlier Reform......Page 191 Labour Protection as a New Focus......Page 193 “De-link” as a Dominant Reform Approach......Page 194 Building a New Social Safety Net GU Xin China has established social insurance and public assistance systems to replace the workplace-based social security system to reduce the vulnerabilities of the “new poor”. However, compliance still remains a problem and current systems provide merely a low level of social protection.......Page 196 Social Insurance for Working People in Formal Sectors......Page 197 Public Assistance to Protect People in Vulnerable Groups......Page 198 Social Safety Net as Social Infrastructure......Page 199 China Facing an Environmental Crisis CHIEN Shiuh-shen & YANG Mu China’s rapid economic growth has left a trail of environmental problems in its wake. It has to act fast to reverse the situation before some of its wonderful natural resources are permanently lost.......Page 201 Made-in-China Pollutants Around the Globe......Page 202 Dirty Dragon Trying Hard to Clean Itself......Page 203 Challenges Ahead......Page 205 A Differentiated View of Culture......Page 206 China’s First Five-Year Programme for Cultural Development......Page 207 Social Participation in Cultural Development......Page 209 China’s Booming Higher Education QUAN Xiaohong & ZHAO Litao The Chinese government’s decision to achieve “mass higher education” saw a substantial boom in the higher education sector. However, unemployment quickly becomes prevalent when the job market fails to expand as quickly.......Page 211 The Issue of Financing......Page 212 Looking Ahead......Page 213 China’s Emerging Middle-Class YAN Hao Though China’s middle class is unlikely to challenge the autocratic power of the Party and the government, its rise will certainly bring about profound implications for China’s future economic and social development.......Page 215 Haigui in China's Modernisation YANG Mu & TAN Soon Heng Overseas returnees or Haigui have already become China’s “movers and shakers” in the political, economic and social domains. Especially prominent is the Haigui-pai’s leading role in a new “technopreneurship wave” that is rapidly changing China’s modern economic sectors.......Page 219 Part IV. China’s Relations with Major Powers and its Neighbours......Page 224 Topical Chapters......Page 12 Featuring “Harmonious World” for “Peaceful Rise” LAI Hongyi & LYE Liang Fook To secure a peaceful external environment for its domestic development, China has pledged to be a responsible power and follow a course of peaceful rise. It also advocates a "harmonious world” of diversity. So far China’s actions have generally been in line with its words.......Page 226 Objectives of Harmonious and Peaceful Orientation......Page 227 From Confrontation to Cooperation......Page 228 Good Neighbour and Partner......Page 229 Mutual Cooperation and Mutual Benefit......Page 230 Expanding Common Grounds and Managing Differences......Page 231 Peaceful or Aggressive Power......Page 232 China and US: A Pivotal but Uncertain Relationship WANG Fei-ling Despite sharing many economic interests, China and the United States are often at odds on numerous issues ranging from ideology differences to the Taiwan problem. However, both sides are determined to accommodate to each other as much as possible and for as long as possible.......Page 235 Matching Interests......Page 236 Issues and Problems......Page 237 Prospects......Page 238 Managing Difficult Relations with Japan ZHENG Yongnian & TOK Sow Keat Managing China-Japan relations is a challenging task especially when it involves numerous issues ranging from geo-strategic to historical factors. As the reconciliation process between China and Japan remains slow, their relations are becoming increasingly complicated.......Page 240 Facing a More Assertive and Nationalistic Japan LAM Peng Er Shinzo Abe’s aspiration for Japan is that of a “beautiful country” in which the Japanese people can rightly take pride in its tradition, achievements and autonomy. This could be a potential problem for Japan’s diplomatic relations with the region.......Page 244 Abe’s Domestic Agenda......Page 246 Abe’s Diplomatic Agenda......Page 247 Challenges Ahead for Abe......Page 248 China and South Korea in Their Dealings with North Korea CHOO Jaewoo China’s balancing act in the Korean peninsula is a delicate task. Under the notion of a “good-neighbour policy”, Beijing is involved in achieving a balance between an unpredictable Pyongyang and a democratic Seoul.......Page 250 Seeking Closer Cooperation with Post-Suharto Indonesia LIM Tin Seng China’s relations with post-Suharto Indonesia is improving rapidly. Although there are still many challenges, cooperation between Beijing and Jakarta will become even closer and deeper in the future especially when this renewed relation is mutually beneficial.......Page 254 Beijing’s Initiatives to Better Relations......Page 255 Problems Still Persist......Page 256 Recalibration of Malaysia’s “Look East” Policy......Page 258 Factors to Better China-Malaysia Relations......Page 259 Not a Zero Sum Game......Page 260 Trade Relations with China......Page 262 Political Relations with China......Page 265 Continuing Good Relations......Page 266 The Emergence of EU-China Relations: Towards a “Strategic Partnership”?......Page 268 EU-China: A Not So Easy “Working Relationship”......Page 269 Human Rights......Page 270 Other Issues: The Impact of China’s Rise on World Affairs......Page 271 Uncertainties Ahead......Page 272 Burgeoning Relation......Page 273 African Reactions......Page 274 Not Without Challenges......Page 275 Index......Page 278 - Contains more than 300 photographs, many from Russian archives and previously unpublished - Features firsthand accounts from Russian and German soldiers and presents details on the air action- Includes biographical information about the main German and Soviet commandersImages of Kursk is an illustrated account of a pivotal battle on the Eastern Front during World War II. At Kursk, the Germans threw 900,000 men and 2,500 tanks against 1,300,000 soldiers and 3,000 tanks of the Red Army in a savage battle of attrition.Unlike many pictorial accounts of the war on the Eastern Front, Images of Kursk draws upon both German and Russian archive material. All the photographs of the Red Army at Kursk, moreover, are previously unpublished images. The book begins with the build-up of forces before the battle and then illustrates the offensive by two German army groups against the Kursk salient. The images convey the true scale, intensity, and horror of the fighting as the Germans tried in vain to batter their way through the Soviet defensive systems. A chapter is devoted to the climactic battle at the village of Prokhorovka, in which 1,000 tanks engaged each other furiously at point-blank range.With authoritative text and extended captions, Images of Kursk is an enthralling pictorial record of the battle that shifted the strategic initiative on the Eastern Front to the Red Army for good. Written in an informative yet exciting style, it will appeal to military specialists and laymen alike.