This war didn’t just redraw a map. It rewired the balance of power in Asia and set the world on a path to Pearl Harbor, the invasion of Manchuria, and today’s tensions in the Taiwan Strait. You think 1894 is ancient history? Every move China and Japan make in the Pacific right now has an echo that starts here.
China was an empire bleeding out in slow motion, clinging to tradition while foreign powers carved it up like spoils. Japan was a nation in a sprint, ripping itself into the modern age with steel, steam, and a chip on its shoulder the size of an island chain. Korea lit the match. Manchuria took the blast. The Treaty of Shimonoseki was the moment Asia’s future changed course, and the West barely noticed.
And our guest this week, COL Andy Morgado. He has spent his life in the arena where history meets strategy. Thirty years in uniform. Three tours in Iraq. Four operational deployments to Korea. From battalion command to shaping the Army’s intellectual engine at the School of Advanced Military Studies, he’s been at the center of the conversations that decide wars before they start.
This isn’t a dry history lesson. It’s the backstory to the fight that could define the 21st century. And you’ll hear it from a man who’s commanded in combat, shaped doctrine, and trained the minds who will fight the next one.
If you think you understand the Pacific, listen to this episode. If you don’t, you’ll be blindsided when the past comes roaring back.
Links
Multidomain Operations: The Pursuit of Battlefield Dominance in the 21st Century
https://www.howgatepublishing.com/product-page/mdo
The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895: Perceptions, Power, and Primacy
https://www.amazon.com/Sino-Japanese-War-1894-1895-Perceptions-Primacy/dp/0521617456
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