Defeat Of Japan In WWII
Japan
Invasion + Occupation in SEA
-allied forces in region = ill-equipped + unpreped for battle (chose to focus on war in euro against nazi ger → struggle for survival; USA pacific fleet = v damaged → need time to recover naval strength + buildup & shift eco + industries to war efforts) ≠ res effectively
made jpn think that victory = possible
wanted to seize resources necessary to feed industries + war machine & set up a perimeter def around zone to protect conquests
Ineffective Defence of Overextended Japanese Empire
1942, jpn = almost occupied whole of SEA (large territory for jpn forces to manage) → jpn empire = overstretched itself ∴ difficult to maintain + def SEA territories
military defeats to allies = decimated no. of experienced jpn pilots + aircraft carriers → jpn struggled to keep up with the war effort (had limited funds, resources + manpower)
Allies = combined resources + manpower → recover quickly from jpn attacks
Island Hopping
military forces attack strategically impt islands one by one, est stronghold there before moving onto the next island
v costly in manpower + resources
-inflicted heavy damage to strength of jpn military → weakened ability to continue effectively def empire
1942 Aug Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands
first major allied attack → aim = regain control to remove jpn threat against aus + southern pacific ocean
USA = outnumbered jpn (jpn lost alot of men + planes)
1944
Jun: The Marianas Islands
est air force capabilities → close enuf to jpn for us bomber planes to attack mainland jpn
Oct: The Philippines
retake phillippines → naval battle, Battle of the Leyte Gulf (jpn navy lost alot)
1945
Feb: Iwo Jima
build airfield to launch + supply large long range bombers that could reach jpn + return safely → devastate jpn industry + eco thru bombing
US battleships bombarded the island but jpn garrison stayed hidden → fight us landings
island captured but many men lost + wounded
Apr: Okinawa
ideal base for launching attacks on mainland → allowed loading transports for any invasion of jpn by us army
-was v well def by jpn (incl. kamikaze attacks) → many jpn soldiers + civilians died (committed suicide) & many Americans also died + wounded
USA
hoped that early + quick successes = convince allies →nego for peace (admiral warned jpn leaders → could not win long war; US industrial cap = larger than jpn) ∴ able to rebuild pacific fleet + strike back wif ↑ force, jpn gambled that us ≠ willing to fight long + total war (underestimated us determination + roosevelt persistence) + also relied on hitler's army's success in euro → distract us (roosevelt agreed wif churchill that they shd fight ger first)
Economic Strength
us = largest industrial producer
mostly produced BUT able to quickly switch over to military production → aft great depression, usa = ↑ unemployed people willing to work (btr than workers who were forced into labour coughcough)
jpn ≠ strong industrial foundation/cap to support war efforts
∴ ≠ protect merchant fleet from us submarine attacks
∴ us attacks = weakened jpn eco even further → jpn people = less food + factories = ↓ resources ( allies crippled jpn supplies of raw materials + production → worked hard to sink merchant vessels + bomb factories, while us factories = out of range + merchant ships = better protected by military convoys)
Women
using propaganda campaigns = actively encouraged women to contribute to war efforts (eg. Women Ordnance Workers, WOWs) → worked in factories = weapons, vehicles, military supplies for war efforts
-joined armed forces (nurses/soldiers)
BUT ger + jpn = emphasized role as mothers + child-bearers → stay at home
only later = encouraged women to enter workforce BUT industries/supply routes = alr crippled
Military and Naval Strength
USA = determined + militarily strong → fight back against jpn (pearl harbor DID NOT totally destroy USA's cap to retaliate) 3 aircraft carriers = not at Pearl Harbor during attack)
Doolittle Raid 1942 Apr
usa = launch long-range bombers frm 3 aircraft carriers even tho jpn leaders thought homeland = out of range cuz bombers = run out of fuel
BUT usa = planned to fly over jpn + land bombers in china (even tho they risked capture by jpn forces there)
bombed tokyo, nagoya, kobe → retaliatory surprise attack 4 months aft pearl harbor (simultaneous wif war in euro → war on 2 fronts; v fast + show jpn that they did not completely destroy us)
Battle of the Coral Sea 1942 May
off coasts of New Guinea + Solomon Islands
jpn forces = plan to land at Port Moresby + take control of New Guinea → launch attack on Australia BUT usa = prepared (decoded jpn coded msgs ordering attack) → first naval battle in hist where opposing fleets = nvr in sight of each other (used ships as platforms for launching aircraft attacks)
haltered jpn southwards advance to australia as jpn cancelled attack on port moresby (could not guarantee safety of troops) → no longer on the offensive
Battle of Midway 1942 Jun
TURNING POINT
(was supposed to be another surprise attack)
Midway Islands = impt cuz of airfields + location on route to pearl harbor
jpn aim = bomb island def + land troops → become base for naval + air forces
USA = still recovering frm pearl harbor + forces = v small (incl. 3 surviving carriers) + 1 carrier = still damaged BUT usa = hid carriers in open sea , attacked jpn fleet before jpn aircrafts could return∴ jpn = severly affected naval + air def cap + suffered alot of losses → put jpn on def
Atomic Bomb
even tho usa could hav jus continued fighting jpn to surrendering? (ref. military + naval strength)
Liberation of Allied POW
jpn turned to forced to labour (largest no. came frm kor)→ solve shortages of manpower + resources
↑ workers forced to work in factories/construction projects (eg. Thai-Burma Railway) in harsh conditions + malnourished & denied basic health facilities
POWs
used as forced laborers in jpn war efforts (+ kempeitai = tortured prisoners)
jpn hostility towars allied POWs = freq. highlighted in Allied propaganda → strengthened determination of Allied Powers to end war to liberate POws + jpn occupied territories
Thai-Burma Railway
support occupation of burma thru supply of resources + troops → forced asians frm occupied territories + POWs to work in extremely harsh conditions (jpn forced labourers to work w/o sufficient rest, food, water,not provided proper equip for construction)
forced labourers to complete construction within 18months (even tho it can take up to 5yrs)
those who attempted to escape = killed
Railway Of Death → ↑ asian labourers + POWs died of hunger, disease, mistreatment due to construction
Kempeitai
jpnese secret police → known for brutality + cruel methods of torture (carried out on POWs) → inclu. pulling out fingernails, burning, water torture, electric shocks, forced kneeling on sharp instruments + whipping
Kamikaze Attacks
suicide missions by jpnese air pilots against allied ships wif intention to inflict max damage → first used in def of Leyte in the philippines, aft that ↑ use as tactic to attack allies (during island hopping)
Allied Leaders = worried that attacks = ↑ no. of casualties ∴ wanted to quickly end the war (minimise losses)
Ketsugo Apr 1945
overall strategy to bleed americans to force nego peace (inclu lil kids) "ketsugo" = self def → as a national self def policy = prep civilians to fight us invasion
Allied Victory In Europe
Unconditional Surrender
allies = desire for complete victory + wanted to avoid situation similar to aft WWI in euro
feared that if jpn = humiliated by peace settlement but remained in control of militarist elite → rise again to seek revenge + threaten neighbours like ger
popular opinion also influenced desire for complete victory (enraged by stories of jpn atrocities, esp against their POWs) → resented jpnese, wanted to see em totally defeated + allies felt that jpn = determined to NVR SURRENDER
(honestly thought that they had a few screws loose + were downright crazy)
jpn leaders ≠ reveal weakness to allies
Dropping of Atomic Bomb
controversial but significant factor that led to jpn defeat (allied scientist = working on it since 1942 Manhattan Project) → considered using bomb instead of sending more ground troops to end increasing violent war (jpn showed that it would not accept unconditional surrender)
Soviet Union
wanted to also impress SU + defeat jpn w/o SU help (played major role in liberation of euro + was occupying half of euro when ger surrendered)
-joined forces wif bri + usa but were deeply divided by ideology → communist post-war order VS contain spread of communism
-wanted share in occupation of jpn (similar to ger; ↑ soviet sphere of influence → growing soviet power) + reports received of similar projects like manhattan in SU (wanted to gain an edge over SU by being first to use bomb successfully)
Hiroshima And Nagasaki Aug (6 & 9) 1945
atomic bomb (little boy) dropped on city in the morning when ↑ sleeping → 1/3 of population = killed instantly (inclu women + children) → evaporated by intense heat + blast wave of explosion; many more died soon aft, 2/3 of buildings = destroyed; 30mins later, radioactive rain fell over surrounding areas → poison ↑ land + people
then, US announced discovery of atomic bomb to world → repeated demand for unconditional surrender;
following day, stalin declared war on jpn, jpn did not surrender immediately, 2nd atomic bomb dropped on nagasaki (fat man) ↑ people killed and burnt
↑ affected by long lasting effects of the bomb, nuclear radiation = serve effects on human body (eg. nausea, vomiting, skin diseases, genetic mutation, hair loss, cancer)
15 Aug 1945 jpn emperor announced unconditional surrender to allies
ger = defeated 1945 May, jpn lost major partner in war + smt to distract allies (ref. had limited resources, overextended empire + US OP-ness)
obv that jpn ≠ win the war → emperor looked for new ministers that will secure a peace settlement but none = willing to accept unconditional surrender → preferred to continue fighting + hope to nego peace terms wif allies