The Battle of West Hunan (湘西會戰), also known as the Zhijiang Campaign (芷江作戰) was the Japanese invasion of west Hunan and the subsequent Chinese counterattack that occurred between 6 April and 7 June 1945, during the last months of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Japanese strategic aims for this campaign were to seize Chinese airfields and secure railroads in West Hunan, and to achieve a decisive victory that their depleted land forces needed.

This campaign, if successful, would also allow Japan to attack Sichuan and eventually the Chinese war time capital Chongqing. Although they were able to make initial headways, Chinese forces were able to turn the tide and forced the Japanese into a rout, recovering a substantial amount of lost ground.

This was the last major Japanese offensive, and the last of 22 major battles during the war to involve more than 100,000 troops. Concurrently, the Chinese managed to repel a Japanese offensive in Henan and Hubei and launched a successful attack on Japanese forces in Guangxi, turning the course of the war sharply in China's favor even as they prepared to launch a full-scale counterattack across South China.

Coordinates: 27°24′N 111°48′E / 27.4°N 111.8°E / 27.4; 111.8

 Hunan (help·info) (Chinese: 湖南; pinyin: Húnán) is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting (hence the name Hunan, meaning "south of the lake"). Hunan is sometimes called and officially abbreviated as "湘" (pinyin: Xiāng) for short, after the Xiang River which runs through the province.

Hunan borders Hubei in the north, Jiangxi to the east, Guangdong to the south, Guangxi to the southwest, Guizhou to the west, and Chongqing to the northwest. The capital is Changsha.

Hunan's primeval forests were first occupied by the ancestors of the modern Miao, Tujia, Dong and Yao peoples. It entered the written history of China around 350 BC, when under the kings of the Zhou dynasty, it became part of the State of Chu. At this time, and for hundreds of years thereafter, it was a magnet for migration of Han Chinese from the north, who cleared most of the forests and began farming rice in the valleys and plains. To this day many of the small villages in Hunan are named after the Han families who settled there. Migration from the north was especially prevalent during the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties Periods, when nomadic invaders pushed these peoples south.

Raymond Frederick "Ray" Harryhausen (born June 29, 1920) is an American film producer and special effects creator. He created a brand of stop-motion model animation known as "Dynamation."

Among his most notable works are his animation on Mighty Joe Young (with pioneer Willis O'Brien, which won the Academy Award for special effects) (1949), The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (his first colour film) and Jason and the Argonauts, featuring a famous sword fight against seven skeleton warriors.

Before the advent of computers for camera motion control and CGI, movies used a variety of approaches to achieve animated special effects. One approach was stop-motion animation which used realistic miniature models (more accurately called model animation), used for the first time in a feature film in The Lost World (1925), and most famously in King Kong (1933).

The work of pioneer model animator Willis O'Brien in King Kong inspired Harryhausen to work in this unique field, almost single-handedly keeping the technique alive for three decades. While O'Brien's career floundered for most of his life – most of his cherished projects were never realized – Harryhausen achieved considerable success.

Robert "Mr. Fantastic" Muraine (born July 2, 1987 in North East Los Angeles, California) is a dancer in the popping style.

Muraine gained national attention when he gave a lengthy audition to the obscure tune of "It's Me Bitches" by Swizz Beats for Season 4 of the television program So You Think You Can Dance, during which executive producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe declared that Muraine was his favorite dancer of 2008 and then handed him the ticket in a mock slow motion fashion. Muraine quit during contestant selection due to the difficult choreography but appeared later in the season for a guest performance, after which Lythgoe suggested a dance-off with Phillip "PacMan" Chbeeb. The dance-off aired in August 2008 during the season finale and the judges selected Muraine as the winner.

Muraine also represented the USA in Superstars of Dance on NBC. Specifically winning the bronze medal in the solo category, which helped lead the USA to take the top prize for the season. He was referred to as the "popping soloist" of the team.