The Siege of Tsingtao: Penguin Special (Penguin Specials)

If you are looking for a more detailed description of the seige of Tsingtao this is not the book. It mostly deals with what happen in the intrigue of Japan grabbing the territory of China and the political intrigue of the Allied powers concerning this former German colony. The first person experiences are very limited.

I like this book because it included quotes from various primary sources. It also gave me more information on The siege of Sing Tao then I have previously found.

Very good read. Chinese history is very complex indeed. Last year I went to China for a month. My wife is from Fushun and agrees to the accuracy

This is a concise account of the history of the German colony in China, and the efforts of Japan and Britain to take it in 1914, giving the Allies a morale boost in the beginning of WWI. There are a couple of glaring lapses in proofreading, though. Fenby tells us of the action of a German torpedo boat on page 45, and almost repeats it verbatim on the bottom of page 46. He also tells us later on of China sending laborers to France after declaring war on Germany in 1917 on page 57, then on page 59 again repeats much of what he'd just said. Otherwise, this is a good, quick account of the importance of this largely forgotten chapter of the "War to end all wars."Also, I read the paperback version I bought from Australia, not Kindle.

A most interesting tale of the German base and colony at Tsingtao (Qingdao) and its fall to the Japanese in 1914. Written in Fenby's usual excellent style and thus very legible. However, it would have benefited from better proof-reading, hence the four stars instead of five.

Interesting account of a forgotten event putting things in a political context- I bought it as I had read about the German pilot, Gunther Pluschow, who was involved in the siege but after a series of adventures escaped from a POW camp in England before ending up flying in Patagonia in the 1920's (The Only One Who Got Away- thoroughly recommended)

Comprehensive and well written