The Battle That Doomed Japan - Assignment Example

Japan Order No. 267350 No. of pages: 7 1st 6530 The years of fighting in the Pacific theater has resulted in a massive literary output,which includes memoirs, battle stories, books dealing with the strategies employed in the war and other related forms of literature. Each work looks at the battle from its own unique standpoint and gives an insight into the various elements which go to make up the battle and its interesting outcomes. In this essay we shall try to look at the battles fought in the Pacific Theater through the accounts of the various people involved directly and indirectly with the war effort. Mac Arthur’s campaign of capturing the small islands, or the “Island Hopping Campaign”1 of 1994, as it is most famously known, where small islands of strategic importance would be captured to set up air and naval bases helped in the defeat of the Japanese army. The capture of these islands was essential since they would serve as the base from which the B-29 bombers would be launched to strike at mainland Japanese targets. The importance of capturing the islands and destroying the carriers was necessary to cripple the Japanese military machine, as had been seen in the Coral Sea battle and later in the Japanese defeat at the Battle of Midway. The “Island Hopping Campaign” was also ratified when the document "Specific Operations for the Defeat of Japan, 1944," approved by the Combined Chiefs of Staff on December 3rd, 1943 stated that “a strategic bombing force will be established in Guam, Tinian, and Saipan for strategic bombing of Japan proper” and strengthened the need to capture these small islands. (2) In the middle of 1943, this campaign began with Operation Cartwheel, with the objective of isolating the Japanese base at Rabaul. Mac Arthur’s troops pushed forward from northeastern New Guinea, and the navy secured the Solomon Islands. The aim of this mission was to cut off the Japanese Garrison stationed there and let it “wither on the vine.” Admiral Nimitz2, launched a parallel campaign in the Central Pacific, during January and February1944 and captured the central and western islands in the Marshalls. The important islands captured during the period included Kwajalein, Roi, Namur as well as a Japanese airbase on Engebi, lying in the Eniwetok Atoll. The central Carolines were a strategic Japanese post in the Central Pacific, which Nimitz wanted to capture. A carrier attack on this island revealed that Truk, the island under consideration had been abandoned by the Japanese, so Nimitz instead turned his sights upon the Marianas and the western Carolines. Admiral Nimitz used amphibious teams to lead the assault on Saipan, Guam and Tinian, where the Japanese put up a strong resistance, eventually succumbing to the might of American forces. The Japanese moved into the caves and mountains and when defeat seemed imminent Lt. General Saito led a “banzai” attack, where the largest American casualties of the war were recorded. With the defeat at Saipan, political compulsions led to a breakdown of the political machinery, due to the fall of the Tojo cabinet, but the Japanese army regrouped and led an assault to defend the Marianas. Another reason for the defeat was the lack of air support because their air fleet had been reduced considerably. The Americans had bombed more than 400 Japanese airplanes as well as several ships and three aircraft carriers, in this battle, known as the Battle of the Philippine Sea. This battle brought home the point that success in the Southwest and Central Pacific had been orchestrated due to the combined effort of the regiments in the two parts. Gradually, the Allied forces captured Iwo Jima, Okinawa and other islands, which are now part of military lexicon and attest to the tactical brilliance of the American commanders. The role of military intelligence in the victory over the Japanese army is a fact, which throws light on the importance of Communication Intelligence (C. A. Lockwood)3 The endless expanse of the Pacific Ocean would have been impossible to secure, if not for the intelligence inputs supplied by the submarines. A Japanese prisoner-of-war went so far as to say that in Singapore, the people joked that anyone could walk to Japan from Singapore on the periscopes of the American submarines. The presence of submarines did not attest to their great numbers, but rather to the fact that intelligence inputs made it possible to station the submarines at the same spot as the Japanese ships. Upon reading C. A. Lockwood’s report to the Chief of Naval Communications in 1947, it becomes clear that many of the ships and aircraft carriers which were brought down were the result of intelligence inputs received in time. The report notes that a large convoy bound for Saipan was brought down by Pintado and Shark II, just before American troops landed. This helped the U S forces to gain a relatively easy victory. Many of the submarines and carriers that were brought down were the result of information gathered by the intelligence units operating in the area. C. A. Lockwood’s report reiterated once again the invaluable assistance provided by encrypters and decoders and also testified to the fact that although the war was being led by two personalities, it was the inputs from the ground staff and the valor of the soldiers, which gave shape to the tactical brilliance of the war leaders. Mitsuo Fuchida and Masatake Okumiya4 the authors of the book “Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan” (1) concur with Lockwood’s reports and applaud the role of American intelligence. The fall of Okinawa led to the creation of an American base there which shortened the aerial distance to Japan and from then on Japan was pulverized by the B-29 bombers which laid waste to the bustling Japanese cities. The operation was led by Admiral Raymond A. Spruances 5th fleet and it has been called the greatest naval assemblage in history and as befitting the large number of troops involved, the casualty too was heavy, with both sides suffering severe losses. Nimitz supported invasion of the Japanese Home Islands and MacArthur oversaw the command and planning. The island of Kyushu was the first target and soon bombs were rained on the nation, which defied the bombings by enlisting even civilians into the war effort by appealing to their nationalist feelings. Looking at it from a war angle it might have been a strategic move on the part of Nimitz in lending support and MacArthur being in charge of the planning and command, but according to me the end result that ensued was one of destruction and a major loss to both life and property which involved innocent civilians. In his best seller that won the Pulitzer Prize, titled “The Rising Sun”. The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, (1936 – 1945) the author John Toland narrates that “Japan had left much of its feudal past behind to become by far the most progressive, westernized nation of Asia.” Toland gives us his insightful account of the dramatic rise and fall f the empire of the Japanese which includes the China and Manchuria invasions and the devastating bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the author’s own words, “The Rising Sun”5 was “a factual saga of people caught up in the flood of the most overwhelming war of mankind, told as it happened – muddled, ennobling, disgraceful, frustrating, full of paradox.” I quite agree with Toland’s view of this being a paradox because taking into consideration the human drama involved as against the historical facts, it is certain that history does not contain simple lessons and even then it keeps repeating time and again. According to the author, “it is human nature that repeats itself, not history.” Dan Van der Vat, in his “Pacific Campaign: The U.S – Japanese Naval War6 (1941 – 1945) focuses mostly on the naval aspects of the war and according to me quite neglecting other important aspects such as the power of the air force and also the ground power. Nevertheless, Dan Van der Vat did a very good job in providing us with insightful and important knowledge of the war by taking into account both the allied and Japanese perspectives of the war. One such example is the victory gained by the Japanese naval force during the Guadalcanal campaign where he argues that despite the Americans being defeated and suffering huge losses of their naval fleets, they continued with their mission of making the enemy retreat. In my opinion, this was not a very good move because the Americans had already suffered defeat and so what was the point in continuing and incurring greater losses? Another shortfall I see in Dan Von der Vat’s book -“Pacific Campaign: The U.S – Japanese Naval War” is that has given a lot of priority when depicting the naval commanders and officers of high rank and neglecting the officers of the lower ranks, even though they too had done a great job all through the war. The depiction of the different wars and their outcomes by different authors helped to give its readers great insight of the devastation and losses suffered on all sides. Each of the above authors had done their best in portraying the bigger picture as it took place. In coming to understand the various aspects of the war, I had come to agree with some and disagree with some of them. The struggle between the Americans and the Japanese had led to untold misery and heavy losses in terms of life and property suffered n both sides. Such wars give us an insight in the human behavior of individuals- but as the saying goes –“History repeats itself” no one can stop such wars happening. But maybe by reading about them, it may someday create an impact on us and such wars may come to an end. Roosevelt’s strategy is categorized by Historians as “relief, recovery and reform.” Millions of people who became unemployed, needed relief urgently. By recovery they meant jolting the economy back to normal which meant again strategies which were long term. In his series of radio talks called the fireside chats, Roosevelt “presented his proposals directly to the American public.” Leuchtenburg, (1963) ch 1, 2. The Allies were coming close to victory and through the Yalta conference Roosevelt played a very crucial role involving the post war period by creating the United Nations. The Allies later on, defeated Japan, Germany and Italy by joining with the Untied States. References Fuchida, Mitsuo, and Masatake Okumiya. Midway, The Battle That Doomed Japan. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1955. Hansell, Haywood S. Jr. The Strategic Air War Against Germany and Japan: A Memoir. Washington: Office of Air Force History, 1986. Online at http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/Hansell/index.html Lockwood, Charles A. “Communication Intelligence against the Japanese in World War II,” Department of the Navy Special Research History 235 (17 June 1947). Naval Historical Center – online at http://www.history.navy.mil/library/special/comint.htm The Battle of Midway, From A Japanese Aviator Who Was There http://www.epinions.com/content_403829853828 Toland, John. The Rising Sum: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945. New York: The Modern Library, 2003. war and social upheaval: World War II Japan http://histclo.com/essay/war/ww2/cou/jap/ww2-jap.html Comint: Communications Intelligence http://www.history.navy.mil/library/special/comint.htm Van der Vat, Daniel. Pacific Campaign: Naval Strategy of World War II. Read More