Japan+7

= Aurelie Muntzel, Ariana Betterton, Yasmin Pazos, Alison Komar __Japan__ = HY-The rise of the militarists -Invasion of Manchuria -Aggressive Expansion -War with China -Invasion of Pearl Harbor -War with U.S. all across the Pacific -Impact of the Atomic Bomb -Surrender

Ali: War with china: -The Japan-China War started in July 1937 when the Japanese claimed that they were fired on by Chinese troops at the Marco Polo Bridge near Beijing. Using this as an excuse, the Japanese launched a full-scale invasion of China using the conquered Manchuria as a launching base for their troops. -The Japanese came up against little organised resistance. The Guomintang put up little resistance though they were up against a formidable enemy. In November 1937, China’s most important port, Shanghai, fell and Nanjing (Nanking), Chiang Kai-shek’s capital, fell in December 1937. -The so-called "Rape of Nanking" has gone into the annals of history as one of the most shocking incidents in modern history. Its senior officers allowed the Japanese army to ransack Nanking murdering tens of thousands as they went. The final death toll for Nanjing has been put as high as 250,000. The Guomintang leader, Chiang, had to establish a new capital in Chongqing. -The onslaught of the Japanese was relentless. Within 5 months, 1 million Chinese people were under Japanese control. All of the major cities in China were captured by the Japanese by the end of 1937 – so were the major communication systems of the nation. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/china_war.htm

War was launched against China after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of July 7, 1937, in which an allegedly unplanned clash took place near Beiping (as Beijing was then called) between Chinese and Japanese troops and quickly escalated into full-scale warfare. The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-45) ensued, and relations with the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union deteriorated. The Chinese resistance stiffened after July 7, 1937, when a clash occurred between Chinese and Japanese troops outside Beijing (then renamed Beiping) near the Marco Polo Bridge. This skirmish not only marked the beginning of open, though undeclared, war between China and Japan but also hastened the formal announcement of the second Guomindang-CCP united front against Japan. The collaboration took place with salutary effects for the beleaguered CCP. The distrust between the two parties, however, was scarcely veiled. The uneasy alliance began to break down after late 1938, despite Japan's steady territorial gains in northern China, the coastal regions, and the rich Chang Jiang Valley in central China. After 1940, conflicts between the Nationalists and Communists became more frequent in the areas not under Japanese control. The Communists expanded their influence wherever opportunities presented themselves through mass organizations, administrative reforms, and the land- and tax-reform measures favoring the peasants--while the Nationalists attempted to neutralize the spread of Communist influence... In 1945 China emerged from the war nominally a great military power but actually a nation economically prostrate and on the verge of all-out civil war. The economy deteriorated, sapped by the military demands of foreign war and internal strife, by spiraling inflation, and by Nationalist profiteering, speculation, and hoarding. Starvation came in the wake of the war, and millions were rendered homeless by floods and the unsettled conditions in many parts of the country. The situation was further complicated by an Allied agreement at the Yalta Conference in February 1945 that brought Soviet troops into Manchuria to hasten the termination of war against Japan. Although the Chinese had not been present at Yalta, they had been consulted; they had agreed to have the Soviets enter the war in the belief that the Soviet Union would deal only with the Nationalist government. After the war, the Soviet Union, as part of the Yalta agreement's allowing a Soviet sphere of influence in Manchuria, dismantled and removed more than half the industrial equipment left there by the Japanese. The Soviet presence in northeast China enabled the Communists to move in long enough to arm themselves with the equipment surrendered by the withdrawing Japanese army. The problems of rehabilitating the formerly Japanese-occupied areas and of reconstructing the nation from the ravages of a protracted war were staggering, to say the least. []

The second Sino-Japanese War had begun. Sporadic fighting lasted on and off throughout the thirties, but large-scale fighting did not begin again until 1937, when Japanese units were attacked at the Marco Polo Bridge outside Peking. Fighting raged throughout Western China. Quickly Japan seized the major coastal cities, and much of the countryside. Nationalist Chinese units, plagued by lack of supplies, corruption, and poor training, fell back on a wide front. In December 1937 Japanese Army units were on the outskirts of the Nationalist capital, Nanjing. Nanjing is an ancient city, and for the Japanese Army, winning it represented both a tactical and a political victory. The Chinese Army put up a token defense, and its leaders fled. The city would be punished harshly when it surrendered. As many as 300,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians would be executed, and rape, theft, and abuse was rampant. The Foreign Quarter, a refuge for the Europeans and Americans living in the city, was jammed with refugees and many westerners braved Japanese bayonets to rescue Chinese women from rape and murder. || Japan’s initial victories were followed by a period of stagnation. The size of China, the sheer manpower she could field, and the lack of Chinese infrastructure, roads, bridges, and communications, made further advance difficult. By 1938, Chinese and Japanese troops were fighting in stalemate. This stalemate would continue until the Japanese would [|advance against the Allies in 1941.] The Chinese under Japanese rule would suffer greatly. China’s lack of stability since 1911 had meant that many warlords ruled individual fiefdoms, and they were only interested in their own power. This made effective resistance difficult. Food shortages were everywhere. In addition, Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek was more interested in fighting his communist counterpart, Mao Zedong, than repelling a Japanese invasion. While the Mukden incident was going on, Zedong was consolidating his forces. He was driven back in what his followers called "the Long March" into the northwest area of China. His highly motivated forces were able to render good service against the Japanese they encountered, but also wanted to fight the Nationalist Chinese for control of the country, The number of dead from the China War may never be known, but certainly it was the bloodiest theatre in the Pacific War. Estimates that include civilian starvation deaths run as high as twenty million. || [] [] -video link
 * Manchuria became Manchukuo. Chinese Emperor Pu-Yi was placed has a figurehead, but he had little power to influence the Japanese Army administrators. A series of old and new manufacturing companies, or Zaibatsu, were set up to systematically strip Manchuria of her natural resources. The Army controlled all of the industry setup in Manchuria.
 * Many Americans were being evacuated on the USS Panay, a Yangtze River gunboat. Other British and Dutch boats were also evacuating refugees. The Japanese High Command ordered that Japanese airmen attack, thinking that word of the rape of Nanjing would be leaked the world. The airmen protested, aware that such an action would be tantamount to war. They were overruled, and planes attacked Panay for two hours. Two seamen were killed, and the news shocked the American public. Japan quickly blamed the fliers, but film of Nanjing and the sinking of the Panay survived and were seen around the world. Unfortunately for the Nanjing civilians, this was not until the Americans entered the Pacific War, because Roosevelt did not want war with Japan. He quietly settled a monetary compensation with the Japanese, and tried to suppress the film.
 * Many Americans were being evacuated on the USS Panay, a Yangtze River gunboat. Other British and Dutch boats were also evacuating refugees. The Japanese High Command ordered that Japanese airmen attack, thinking that word of the rape of Nanjing would be leaked the world. The airmen protested, aware that such an action would be tantamount to war. They were overruled, and planes attacked Panay for two hours. Two seamen were killed, and the news shocked the American public. Japan quickly blamed the fliers, but film of Nanjing and the sinking of the Panay survived and were seen around the world. Unfortunately for the Nanjing civilians, this was not until the Americans entered the Pacific War, because Roosevelt did not want war with Japan. He quietly settled a monetary compensation with the Japanese, and tried to suppress the film.

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Surrender: - Clearly the time to surrender had come. Incredibly, many in the **military** wanted to fight on, preferring death to capitulation. The cabinet, made up of elder statesmen, tried to send out peace feelers through neutral Sweden, __**[|Soviet Union]**__, and Switzerland as early as June 1945. The only condition was the continued existence of the of Imperial Throne. Unwilling or unclear of the Japanese offer, the Allies refused and issued the__**[|Potsdam Declaration]**__ on July 26th. The __**[|Emperor]**__ was sympathetic to the peacemakers. The **Army** members of the cabinet were not willing to give up, and **Prime Minister** Suzuki had to move carefully. If there was a perceived weakness in the cabinet, even the Emperor might be assassinated. The idea that the Emperor would support surrender was inconceivable to many in both the Army and the **Navy**. Suzuki cautiously sought out others on the cabinet, finding all but two generals in support. On July 28, the government issued a carefully worded response to the Potsdam Declaration, which unfortunately used a word with a double meaning. English-language broadcasts used the word "ignore" and the Western press picked up that sentiment. Truman announced he had rejected the peace offer and dropped the atomic bombs. || http://www.worldwar2database.com/html/japansurrender.htm
 * In August 1945, the Japanese situation was desperate. The major cities were devastated by __**[|atomic]**__ or __**[|conventional]**__ attack, and the casualties numbered in the millions. Millions more were refugees, and the average consumption was below 1200 calories a day. The fleet was lost, and the merchant shipping could not leave home waters or sail from the few possessions still held without braving __**[|submarine]**__ or mine attack. Oil stocks were gone, rubber and steel were in short supply, and the Soviets were moving against the only sizable forces the Japanese had left, the Kwantung Army in Manchuria. They were a starving and undersupplied force. Many divisions had transferred to the Pacific, where they died in the island battles. ||

Upon the successful testing of the atomic bomb, the Americans believed Japan could be forced to quickly surrender and enlisted the allies at Potsdam on 26 July 1945 to prepare a proclamation defining the conditions for the surrender of Japan. Japan made no response, thereby rejecting the last chance to negotiate for peace. The war in Europe had ended in May 1945. Russia was obligated by agreements made at Yalta, 11 Feb 1945, to enter the war in the Pacific within three months of VE day. On 5 April, the Soviets announced their intention to not renew the Neutrality Pact with Japan, signed 13 April 1941, at a time before either had entered into a war. Word came from attaches in Europe that Allied troops were being sent to the Pacific. Russia massed troops on the Mongolian border. Oil was so short in Japan, they could no longer fight except on the home islands; she could not fuel planes to defend from the air raids that were destroying military production. All defenses were conserved for the final battle, even as B-29s proceeded unopposed. The atomic bomb was dropped on August 6. It was not until President Truman addressed his nation the next day that the leaders in Tokyo understood what had happened. They were assured there was not enough uranium in the world to allow a repeat an atomic attack and that wearing white clothing would defeat the bomb. On 9 August, the Japanese ambassador to Moscow was told of the repudiation of the existing treaty as a means to bring peace nearer and at the request of its allies, a state of war existed. Two hours later, Soviet troops attacked the hollow shell of the remaining Japanese troops in Manchuria. The cabinet meeting over the night of 9-10 August was deadlocked with six in favor of surrender under certain conditions, three to fight on until after the final battle had shown Japan's will, and with five neutral members. Issues discussed that night were: that the Emperor must remain; that Japan must disarm her own troops and not surrender arms to a foreign power; and that Japan must try her own war criminals. Word came during the meeting that a second city had been destroyed by atomic attack. The meeting was moved to an audience with the Emperor who listened to the arguments on both sides and concluded that the time had come to "bear the unbearable". The Emperor had no direct authority other than the loyalty of those who would listen to him. A diplomatic message was drafted to the Allies describing Japan's conditions of accepting the Potsdam proclamation. The army felt that the troops must be keep fighting until the terms were formally agreed and broadcast this announcement : "We shall fight on to the bitter end, ever firm in our faith that we shall find life in death . . . and surge forward to destroy the arrogant enemy." The peace side decided to counteract the martial effect of that news release with an announcement of their own. This was for several reasons. The government sponsored news agency was in Morse code only and not covered by military censorship; it would speed the receipt of the Japanese offer going through diplomatic channels and could possibly postpone destruction of another city; and it was hoped that rejoicing created among the allies by an end to the war would make them unable to reject Japan's counter offer. On the morning of the 11th, the army was furious, but did not resort to violence. That evening the Emperor agreed to broadcast to the nation on acceptance of the offer. The stern Allied response, written by the Americans and approved by the Allies, was also released by radio news to let Japan know under what terms the agreement was accepted. It was received about midnight August 11-12, eighteen hours before the diplomatic note. As word spread within the government, about midnight of the 13th, a plea was made to commit twenty million lives (kamikaze) to victory. On the morning of the 14th Allied leaflets erased the secrecy of the negotiations. Noon on the 14th saw another imperial conference in which the three military leaders in the cabinet spoke for rejection. The Emperor considered the Allied response to be acceptable. The cabinet met immediately after and endorsed the Emperor's wishes, thereby making the acceptance legal. By three in the afternoon, the government Morse code station announced that an "acceptance will be forthcoming soon." The Allies stopped attacks and went on alert status. A coup attempt was to be expected. Insurgents assassinated the commander of the Imperial Guards and issued orders under his name, but the insurrection was put down by morning. Separately, the War Minister committed suicide. Also overnight, the Emperor recorded his address to the nation which was broadcast at noon, 15 August. Wording was so carefully drafted, about saving innocent lives from a new and cruel bomb, that it was not immediately known that it meant full surrender. The cabinet resigned as a duty and an Imperial Prince was made premier. The imperial family, government and military leaders travel to remote military units to assure that acceptance was the will of the Emperor. Japanese concern about the willingness of their military to lay down their arms before death, plus the suddenness of acceptance on an Allied military preparing for invasion, both act to postpone the signing of the unconditional surrender by two weeks while members of the imperial family fan out to assure regional military leaders it was the emperor's wish for them to stop fighting.
 * The key points of the Potsdam demands and the Allied final acceptance:**
 * The Potsdam proclamation was silent on the Emperor. The agreement stated that the authority of the Emperor and the Japanese Government shall be subordinate to the Allied Supreme Commander.
 * Territory will be occupied until proof that war making power is destroyed.
 * Japan was limited to the four home islands and such minor islands as we determine. The Yalta agreement handed the Kuril islands to the Soviet union for entering the war against Japan.
 * Japanese military forces shall be disarmed and returned to peaceful and productive lives.
 * Stern justice to war criminals ; human rights shall be established.
 * Permission for industry and world trade, but not to re-arm.
 * Allies to withdraw when objectives are accomplished and a freely expressed, peacefully inclined government is in place.
 * Unconditional surrender or prompt and utter destruction.

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Aurelie: Agressive expansion: -the need for a larger economic base was closely linked with Japanese conceptions of coming wars, the effect of the great depression and a rise in anti-Japanese feeling in China. Japan, while making strides in Manchuria, never met its goal of economic self-sufficiency. -The global depression of the 1930s ushered in a period of protectionism that significantly affected the Japanese economy. During this period more than forty countries raised tariffs on Japanese goods. This was however unexceptional for the period as many other countries faced similar increases and Japan herself became highly protectionist. http://www.historyorb.com/asia/japan_economic_expansion.shtml -At the start of the 1930s Japan was an overcrowded nation heavily dependent on foreign imports of food and raw materials. In 1931 ultranationalists pushed the country to seize the Chinese province of Manchuria. As the decade progressed, the military increasingly dominated Japan's economy and government. The army grew enormously and the navy boasted aircraft carriers, powerful battleships, and strong air and submarine forces. In 1937 Japan entered a full-scale war with China. But American and British presence in the region hindered Japan's ambitions in Southeast Asia. War production accelerated in anticipation of future conflicts. http://www.nationalww2museum.org/education/for-students/world-war-ii-history.html#Japan -The attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 was the result of the long lasting rivalry between Japan and the United States. Over the previous decades, relations had worsened significantly as Japan set out on a course of aggressive expansion in Manchuria, China and Indo-China. As all this was going on [] [] -video link impact of the atomic bomb: - On August 6, 1945, a fifteen-kiloton atomic bomb ignited the center of Hiroshima, Japan, instantly killing more than 100,000 people, and injuring hundreds more. Three days later, a second atomic bomb exploded over Nagasaki, resulting in 70,000 additional deaths (Marston 13). Not only did the atomic bombs dropped by the United States kill thousands of Japanese and demolish two major cities, but they spawned serious medical implications on both the survivors and future generations. For months after the explosions, in addition to the severe burns covering most of the victims’ bodies, survivors developed symptoms that puzzled doctors, such as blood cell abnormalities, high fevers, chronic fatigue, diarrhea, vomiting, hair loss, and depression. “Radiation sickness” and “Acute Radiation Syndrome” were terms used by doctors to describe these various symptoms in survivors that surfaced a few months later, sometimes within hours, after the blasts. Moreover, years later doctors noticed an increase in the incidence of cancer among the survivors (“Acute…). Many stipulations circulated within the medical community regarding the etymology of this increase in cancer. Scientists finally alleged that long-term radiation exposure was to blame. Yet months later, radioactivity investigations, having began immediately following the blasts by the Japanese, showed that radioactivity was far below hazardous levels, and such levels “did not justify the fear of rumors of high radioactivity” http://artsci.wustl.edu/~copeland/atomicbomb.html - **Washington, D.C., August 5, 2005** //-// Sixty years ago this month, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, and the Japanese government surrendered to the United States and its allies. The nuclear age had truly begun with the first military use of atomic weapons. With the material that follows, the National Security Archive publishes the most comprehensive on-line collection to date of declassified U.S. government documents on the atomic bomb and the end of the war in the Pacific. Besides material from the files of the Manhattan Project, this collection includes formerly "Top Secret Ultra" summaries and translations of Japanese diplomatic cable traffic intercepted under the "Magic" program. Moreover, the collection includes for the first time translations from Japanese sources of high level meetings and discussions in Tokyo, including the conferences when Emperor Hirohito authorized the final decision to surrender.[|[1]] __ [] __ [] [] -video clip

Yasmin: The rise of the militarists: -The rise of militarism in Japan in the 1930s was the outgrowth of a long historical process. In simple terms, the roots of militarism laid with developments of the Meiji era, and the fruits blossomed with the failure of party politics by the end of the 1920s. -Legacies of the Meiji era - the rise of militarism in Japan can be traced back in the century-old military tradition of the samurai. Hundreds of years of rule by men-of-sword had made the people ready to accept the claims of militarists to national leadership. Fundamentally, Japan had a strong tradition of unquestioned obedience to authority. The spirit of Bushido had existed in the hearts of the Japanese and it permeated into all social strata through the nation-wide conscription army. -Furthermore, foreign threats emphasized the importance of militarism. Japan in the 1850s had been forced to sign unequal treaties, and her independence was threatened in an age of imperialism. These facts taught the Japanese the realities of power politics ó that ìMight is Right.î As such, the Meiji leaders, mostly ex-samurai, learnt the necessity of a strong military force. In time, they carried out important military reforms and created an army second only to Germany in the world. Inevitably, the military services were to have decisive influence in the nationís affairs. -Institutional loopholes helped to increase the influence of the militarists. The Meiji Constitution 1889 gave autonomy to the armed services. It stated that the services had the right of direct access to the emperor, and thus bypassing the government should it become necessary to do so. A second loophole was the 1900 decree. In that decree, it established the rule that only serving generals and admirals could become Ministers of War and of the Navy. As such, the army and navy could wreck a government which was against their interests by refusing to supply it with army or navy ministers. These institutional loopholes, no doubt, encouraged the growth of military influence and autonomy. -Another factor that strengthened the tradition of militarism was Japanís victories in the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars. These two victories brought great benefits to Japan - in terms of money and territorial gains as well as international status. These gave great prestige to the militarists and taught the Japanese a lesson that war was the best instrument to further national interest and it paid high dividends. In short, victories justified the advocates of militarism and expansion.-Japanís overseas expansion became necessary with the successful Meiji modernization. Significant economic advances were made, especially in industrialization and population growth. These developments pointed to the search for living space, raw materials, markets and the like from abroad. The Asian mainland, in particular, China and Korea, became Japanís primary target for expansion.Meiji leaders, for the sake of national unity, ardently cultivated an emperor-centered nationalism among Japanese minds. It placed the Emperor in an unchallenged position. Thus, whoever acted in the name of the emperor could control the destiny of Japan. In theory, the armed forces were the personal army and navy of the emperor, and therefore were qualified to speak for the emperor. By making use of this absolute obedience to the emperor and the nation, the army started to carry out aggression in the 1930s, believing that this served the will of the emperor and the nationís interest. A side-effect of this fanatical devotion to the emperor was the growth of ultra-nationalism. A number of extremist societies such as the Black Dragon Society fanned up the sentiment of Japanís superiority in the world by virtue of its divine origins. They strongly advocated militarism and imperialism.-All the above were underlying factors that enabled the rise of militarism in the 1930s. For the time being, the Meiji oligarchs as a group could hold the militarists at bay. With the fading out of the oligarchs, however, no political group was strong enough to play a similar role. As a matter of fact, party politicians failed disastrously to stop the rise of militarist influence by the early 1930s. Circumstances favourable to the rise of militarism - by the late 1920s., a number of developments accelerated the rise of militarism in Japan. In the first place, China by 1928 was on the verge of being unified by Chiang Kai-shek. A unified and strong China could threaten Japanís position in Manchuria where the Kwangtung Army was stationed. Apparently, the Nanking government was trying to bring Manchuria back into Chinaís control. The Manchurian warlord, Chang Hsueh-liang defied Japan by associating himself with the Nanking government. In the eye of the militarists, Japan had to act fast in order to safeguard her vested interests. Consequently, in September 1931, the Kwangtung Army took independent action and seized control of Manchuria.-Another significant factor was the effects of the Great Depression on Japanís economy. This world-wide depression led to a collapse of international trade because each country raised protective tariffs to protect her own interests. This development was fatal to Japanís economy which depended heavily on export trade. Thus, between 1929 and 1931, Japanís exports dropped 50%, unemployment reached 3 million, and peasantsí real income dropped one-third as a result of falling prices for silk. Then, there was a failure of rice crop in 1932. Such rural distresses intensified the discontents of the army officers, many of whom had connections with the rural population. They blamed the party governments in power and believed that parliamentary policies were ruining Japan. Consequently, there was a popular support for military adventures. Many Japanese believed that overseas expansion was an effective solution to economic problems. In short, the economic crisis made the nation desperate for military expansion. Thus took place the Manchurian Incident in 1931 . http://www.thecorner.org/hist/essays/japan/jap-militarism.htm [] -video clip

Invasion of Pearl Harbor:

The air attack was led by Commander Mitsuo Fuchida. The first wave of planes consisted of 183 fighters, bombers and torpedo bombers. It started its attack at 07.55 a.m. The second wave had 170 planes in it and attacked Pearl Harbour at 08.54 a.m. They took off from the aircraft carriers Akaga, Kaga, Hiryu, Soryu, Zuikaku and Shokaku. By the time the war ended, all six had been sunk by the Americans along with all the other Japanese capital ships involved in the attack. The pilots in the first attack used a radio station’s mast near Pearl Harbour to home in on. The first casualties were 35 American servicemen who were having breakfast at the Army Air Forces’ Hickam Field - a 550lb bomb hit their dining hall. The most serious casualty was the USS Arizona. One torpedo and eight bombs hit her, 1,760 lbs. of explosives, as she lay moored up at Ford Island Naval Station. One bomb is thought to have pierced the forward deck setting off over one million pounds of gunpowder. 1,177 men were killed on the Arizona alone. Those who survived on the USS Nevada – moored directly behind the Arizona and badly damaged in the attack - claimed that the Arizona was launched up to ten feet into the air as a result of the huge explosion that tore her apart and sunk within nine minutes. One witness on the Nevada said that the Arizona was broken in two before she sunk. Along with the Arizona, the Utah and the Oklahoma never sailed again but all the other ships damaged in the attack did sail again once repairs had been successfully carried out.

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/pearl_harbour.htm

Pearl Harbor, on the island of Oahu, had been used by the [|US Navy] since the early part of the twentieth century. In April, 1940, the US Fleet had been sent to Pearl Harbor to deter aggressive moves by Japan in the Pacific. Tensions increased when in September, 1940, Japan and Germany signed the [|German-Japanese Pact]. Allied secret services soon discovered that [|Joachim von Ribbentrop], the German foreign minister, had sent a telegram to [|Vyacheslav Molotov] , the Soviet foreign minister, where he pointed out that the alliance was to be directed towards the [|United States] and not the [|Soviet Union]. "Its exclusive purpose is to bring the elements pressing for America's entry into the war to their senses by conclusively demonstrating to them if they enter the present struggle they will automatically have to deal with the three great powers as adversaries." In January 1941, the Commander in Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Admiral [|Isoruku Yamamoto] began planning for a surprise attack on the [|US Navy] at Pearl Harbor. Yamamoto feared that he did not have the resources to win a long war against the [|United States]. He therefore advocated a surprise attack that would destroy the US Fleet in one crushing blow. Yamamoto's plan was eventually agreed by the Japanese Imperial Staff in the autumn and the strike force under the command of Vice Admiral [|Chuichi Nagumo] sailed from the Kurile Islands on 26th November, 1941.

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Ariana: Invasion of Manchuria:
 * http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_the_Invasion_of_Manchuria_all_about :

Japan and Russia were both expansionist powers in the last 1800's. Russia had occupied Siberia - and even gone across the Pacific into Alaska and California. Japan, a latecomer to expansionist aspirations, began moving onto mainland Asia a little later than Russia. At this time, through the entire 1800's and the early 1900's, China was a very weak country. Although strong in numbers and resources, the Chinese lacked a central government with enough authority to defend the country. Many nations took advantage of this weakness. The British organized to sell narcotics to the Chinese, and when the Chinese objected to this horrific trade, the British attacked and forced the issue. The American's, French, and Germans all took over certain coastal areas and set up colonial territories for themselves. However, due to geographical proximity, Japan and Russia were the most active in occupying Chinese territory. The Russian's took over vast areas of Chinese land in what is now southern Russia. The Japanese advanced into Korea and made inroads into Manchuria, technically part of China. Russia lusted for a warm water port on the Sea of Japan and had set up Port Arthur, in southern Manchuria, as their area base. They began building a railroad to connect it to the Trans-Siberian rail system already in place. The Japanese saw this correctly as a threat to their own Chinese aspirations. War ensued. Japan won, this being the first time in modern history that a European nation had lost a war to a non-European power. The Japanese victory gave them control of Manchuria in its entirity. They renamed the territory Manchuko and began developing its rich industrial and agricultural resources for themselves. To a large extent the later Japanese invasion of 'China proper' was financed by the resources of Manchuria. Thus the Japanese army in Asia became to some extent, independent of Japan itself. This created a political split in Japan that eventually became insurmountable. The army in China wanted to press that war all the way to a conclusion that entailed occupation of all China. The Japanese homeland politicians and military leaders were more naval oriented and to some extent, wished to reduce the Chinese war so as not to antagonize various western nations, such as the USA. In 1941 the Japanese decided to attack the USA, their main antagonist economically. This led to Pearl Harbor. It is interesting to note that the entire Japanese war effort in the Pacific which entailed the conquest of Wake, Philipines, Indochina, Singapore, Bornea, Java, Sumatra, Malaysia, Burma, the Solomon Islands, and other places, was done with only eleven divisions. That such a small force could accomplish so much is indeed remarkable. The reason Japan could only field eleven divisions for this vast territory ties back to the Japanese Army based in China/Manchuria. That Chinese based army had become semi-autonimous due to the industrial base in Manchuria. When the central government requested troops to fight the Pacific war, the Japanese Army would only release eleven divisions, this considered the barest minimum to accomplish the tasks required. Otherwise, all units, of which there were many, were held back to continue to Chinese war. Essentially the Japanese Army defied the request from the Japanese central government, and made only a token effort at compliance. At 1945 Yalta conference the allies (America, Britain etc) requested Russia enter the Pacific threatre and provide assistance with helping to defeat Japan, which Russia agreed to after the Red Army had finished the Germans in Berlin. In August 1945, Soviet forces attacked the overstretched Japanese army in Manchuria and quickly overran them. The Soviets captured huge amounts of Japanese army military equipment which they turned over to their Chinese communist allies. These 'Red' Chinese were then able to defeat the American supported 'Nationalist' Chinese. The Soviets/Russians thought they would then at last have full access to the resources and warm water ports of Manchuria. Unfortunately for them, the new Chinese leader, Mao, had other ideas. As soon as he had full control of China, he began separating the Chinese from their alliance with the Soviets. Ultimately this split became total and the two nations have gone their separate ways. Manchuria is now fully integrated into the Chinese political and economic system.

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War with U.S all across the Pacific

http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/worldwarii/a/wwiipacishop.htm :

In mid-1943, the Allied command in the Pacific began Operation Cartwheel which was designed to isolate the Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain. The key elements of Cartwheel involved Allied forces under General Douglas MacArthur pushing across northeastern New Guinea, while naval forces secured the Solomon Islands to the east. Rather than engage sizable Japanese garrisons, these operations were designed to cut them off and let them "whither on the vine." This approach of bypassing Japanese strong points, such as Truk, was applied on a large scale as the Allies devised their strategy for moving across the central Pacific. Known as "island hopping," US forces moved from island to island, using each as a base for capturing the next. As the island hopping campaign began, MacArthur continued his push in New Guinea while other Allied troops were engaged in clearing the Japanese from the Aleutians.

Tarawa The initial move of the island hopping campaign came in the Gilbert Islands when US forces struck Tarawa Atoll. The capture of the island was necessary as it would allow the Allies to move on to the Marshall Islands and then the Marianas. Understanding its importance, Admiral Keiji Shibazaki, Tarawa's commander, and his 4,800-men garrison heavily fortified the island. On November 20, 1943, Allied warships opened fire on Tarawa and carrier aircraft began striking targets across the atoll. Around 9:00 AM, the 2nd Marine Division began coming ashore. Their landings were hampered by a reef 500 yards offshore that prevented many landing craft from reaching the beach. After overcoming these difficulties, the Marines were able to push inland, though the advance was slow. Over the next three days, US forces succeeded in taking the island after brutal fighting and fanatical resistance from the Japanese. In the battle, US forces lost 1,001 killed and 2,296 wounded. Of the Japanese garrison, only seventeen Japanese soldiers remained alive at the end of the fighting along with 129 Korean laborers.

Kwajalein & Eniwetok Using the lessons learned at Tarawa, US forces advanced into the Marshall Islands. The first target in the chain was Kwajalein. Beginning on January 31, 1944, the islands of the atoll were pummeled by naval and aerial bombardments. These were followed by landings carried out by the 4th Marine Division and the 7th Infantry Division. These attacks easily overran the Japanese defenses and the atoll was secured by February 3. As at Tarawa, the Japanese garrison fought to nearly the last man, with only 105 of nearly 8,000 defenders surviving.

As US amphibious forces sailed northwest to attack Eniwetok, the American aircraft carriers were moving to strike the Japanese anchorage at Truk Atoll. A principal Japanese base, US planes struck the airfields and ships at Truk on February 17-18, sinking three light cruisers, six destroyers, over twenty-five merchantmen, and destroying 270 aircraft. As Truk was burning, Allied troops began landing at Eniwetok. The islands of the atoll were captured on February 23, after a brief, but sharp battle. With the Gilberts and Marshalls secure, US commanders began planning for the invasion of the Marianas.

Saipan & the Battle of the Philippine Sea Comprised primarily of the islands of Saipan, Guam, and Tinian, the Marianas were coveted by the Allies as airfields there would place the home islands of Japan within range of bombers such as the B-29 Superfortress. At 7:00 AM on June 15, 1944, US forces began landing on Saipan after a heavy naval bombardment. Fighting their way ashore, they met determined resistance from 31,000 defenders led by Lt. General Yoshitsugu Saito. Understanding the importance of the islands, Admiral Soemu Toyoda, commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, dispatched Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa to the area with five carriers to engage the US fleet.

The result of Ozawa's arrival was the Battle of the Philippine Sea which pitted his fleet against seven American carriers led by Admiral Raymond Spruance and Admiral Marc Mitscher. Fought June 19-20, American aircraft sank the carrier Hiyo, while the submarines USS Albacore and USS Cavalla sank the carriers Taiho and Shokaku. In the air, American aircraft downed over 600 Japanese aircraft while only losing 123 of their own. The aerial battle proved so one-sided that US pilots referred to it as "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot." With only two carriers and 35 aircraft remaining, Ozawa retreated west, leaving the Americans in firm control of the skies and waters around the Marianas.

On Saipan, the Japanese fought tenaciously and slowly retreated into the island's mountains and caves. As US troops gradually forced the Japanese out, the island's civilians, who had been convinced that the Americans were barbarians, began committing mass suicide by jumping from the island's cliffs. Lacking supplies, Saito organized a final banzai attack for July 7. Beginning at dawn, it overran two American battalions before it was contained and defeated. Two days later, Saipan was declared secure. The battle was the costliest to date for American forces with 14,111 casualties. Almost the entire Japanese garrison of 31,000 was killed, including Saito who committed suicide.

Guam & Tinian With Saipan taken, US forces moved down the chain, coming ashore on Guam on July 21. Landing with 36,000 men, the 3rd Marine Division and 77th Infantry Division drove the 18,500 Japanese defenders north until the island was secured on August 8. Only 485 prisoners were taken. As fighting was occurring on Guam, American troops landed on Tinian. Coming ashore on July 24, the 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions took the island after six days of combat. Though the island was declared secure, several hundred Japanese held out in the Tinian's jungles for months. With the Marianas taken, construction began on massive airbases from which raids against Japan would be launched.

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