Beyond the Atomic Bomb - Why Japan Lost WWII

Dr. Laura YostInterdisciplinary Studies

The Top Ten Reasons Why Japan Lost World War II

10. Not due to inferiority! 9. Meiji Restoration legacy 8. Obsessions over Mahan 7. Intra-service rivalry 6. Firebombing 5. Terrible historians! 4. Morass in China 3. Flawed military strategy 2. Poor peripheral planning 1. “Arsenal of Democracy”

Not Due to Inferiority

“The World’s Foremost People”Shido Minzoku

• Tokugawa Shogunate falls• (1868) Meiji Restoration• Unparalleled successes =1sts!• “Datsu-A Ron” = “Good-Bye”• Shaped by imperialism• (1890) Meiji Constitution

Obsessions over Mahan

• Influence of Sea Power Upon History • military & commercial gains• “Commerce, Command, Control” • justifies greater expenditures• ideas: concentration & decisive acts • eclipsed by carrier-based aircraft

Intra-service Rivalry: IJN vs. IJA

• Imperial Japanese Navy = Kyūjitai• 1869 established; 2 services 1872• “Rikushu kaitu” = “Army comes 1st, Navy comes 2nd”• Kaibō versus Kokubō battles on . . .• (1907) National Defense Policy• spies, weather forecasts, & intelligence• essentially fighting a “2-Front War”

Firebombing Japan = “Blankets of Fire”

March 1945 (Tokyo)• 80,000 - 135,000 deaths• 40-50% of surface area• 15.8 square miles = GONE!• 8% of entire city• 1,899° F (melts asphalt)• 2/66 B-29 loses due to Japan

Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)• decisive fleet engagement• attrition vs. # superior enemy• quality over quantity: weaponry• fighting “spirit”• end game = negotiate

Terrible Historians!

Second World War (1937-1945)• ‘Victory Disease” enticing! • “South Seas Fever”

Morass in China

• 170 million; 700,000 sq. miles = 70,000 casualties• 36 divisions in Manchuria/China• fighting Nationalist & Communists• holds key ports & coastal territory• “The Red Scare” & negotiations

Flawed Wartime Strategy

• wanted & needed a limited war• hard to remain on the defensive• exploit internal lines vs. staying put!• tentative “decisive battle”

Poor Peripheral Planning

• island nation at war = vulnerable• lacked skilled reserves• economy already at its limit• shipping allocation = spread thin• cannot replace losses• belated government oversight

USS Bowfin – Launched 7 December 1942

“Powerful American forces, supported by innumerable planes,

tanks, and ships, have already landed on your shores. Resistance

against such overwhelming  masses of men and equipment can only be

futile. We know your valor, but you can't do the impossible.”

OWI Leaflet 514

The Arsenal of Democracy

“While you may have your initial successes due to timing and surprise, the time will come when you too will have your losses, but there will be a great difference. You will not only be unable to make up for your losses but grow weaker as time goes on; while on the other hand we will grow stronger as time goes on. It is inevitable that we shall crush you before we are through with you,” Chief of Naval Operations Admiral

Stark to Ambassador Nomura

The “Arsenal of Democracy”

The “Arsenal of Democracy”

The “Arsenal of Democracy”