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The Imperial Japanese Army: The Invincible Years 1941–42
Just as the German blitzkrieg stunned the world in 1939–40, so too did the Japanese offensive of 1941–42. In just eight weeks following 7 December 1941, the Imperial Japanese Army captured Manila, almost all of the Philippines, Hong Kong, the Malay Peninsula and the great British bastion at Singapore before forcing the capitulation of Siam and occupying Burma. A month later, they had added the Netherlands East Indies, with an area and depth of natural resources more than twice that of Japan, to their trophy case. Based on Japanese sources and first-hand reports, this book examines these astonishing Japanese successes, revealing how victory after victory was won despite the huge logistical and geographical challenges presented by waging war in the Pacific.
378 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
21 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
Bill Yenne
203 books52 followersBill Yenne is the author of several novels and over three dozen books on historical topics. He has also been a contributor to encyclopedias of both world wars.
The New Yorker wrote of Sitting Bull, his biography of the great Lakota leader, that it "excels as a study in leadership." This book was named to the number 14 spot among Amazon's 100 Best Books of the Year.
Library Journal observed that "enthusiastic World War II readers will be drawn to" his dual biography, Aces High: The Heroic Story of the Two Top Scoring American Aces of World War II.
Recently, his book Convair Deltas was named as Book of the Month by Air Classics, while his book Tommy Gun was named Pick of the Month by Shooting Illustrated.
His book Guinness: The 250 Year Quest for the Perfect Pint was listed among the top business books of the year by Cond Nast Portfolio Magazine, which rated Yenne's tome as its TOP pick for "Cocktail Conversation."
Yenne's Rising Sons: The Japanese American GIs Who Fought for the United States in World War II, was praised by Walter Boyne, former Director of the National Air & Space Museum, who called it "a fast moving... page turner," and the "best book yet written on the saga."
The Wall Street Journal wrote, when reviewing his Indian Wars: The Campaign for the American West, that Yenne writes with "cinematic vividness," and says of his work that it "has the rare quality of being both an excellent reference work and a pleasure to read."
The author lives in San Francisco, California, and on the web at www.BillYenne.com
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 24, 2015
I had originally thought that this book was a study of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) but it tunred out to be a book on the different campaigns that the IJA fought from 8 Dec 1941. The subtitle: The Invincible Years 1941-1942 is an accurate one, for the IJA seemed unstoppable throughout 1942 as they beat the allied forces in every South-East Asian territory including Malaya, the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies, and even Burma. But in trying to show the invincibility of the IJA, the author covered too much and was thus only able to say very little about every campaign. It is good if the reader is just trying to get an overall sense of the IJA's exploits in South-East Asia, but it comes across rather unsatisfying.
Adding to the problem is the author's apparent indecision about what he should give attention to in this spread. Take for example Bali, which was but a bit player in the Japanese's drive towards South-East Asia, but the author dedicated a chapter talking about the history of Bali and how the IJA landed on it, without really having to fight, because it was almost undefended. That doesn't really accentuate the invincibility of the IJA.
I also found the author quoting too much from other books giving one the impression that his sources are mainly other books and there was nothing original in this work, except that it is a summary of what others have said. On a matter that has more to do with personal taste, I find the author's style annoying sometimes. A few examples may help to illustrate:
Not knowing anything about what happened beyond the Malayan Campaign, I learned much about the campaigns in Borneo, Java and Sumatra fromt his book. But the parts where I have already known about, this book has added nothing. To be fair to the author he did not set out to write a detailed account about all the campaigns, he just wanted to show that the IJA was invincible in those years (at least that is my interpretation of his intentions from the title of the book). To that end, his results were mixed.
A more useful reflection for the reader would be to ask - why did the Japanese embark on the Southern expansion? The obvious answer would be for the resources, especially the oil in the Dutch East Indies. But why? Did they do all these to sustain their war in China? If we keep probing along this path, we might trace the roots of their military adventures. And it might just turn out to be an enlightening exercise.
Adding to the problem is the author's apparent indecision about what he should give attention to in this spread. Take for example Bali, which was but a bit player in the Japanese's drive towards South-East Asia, but the author dedicated a chapter talking about the history of Bali and how the IJA landed on it, without really having to fight, because it was almost undefended. That doesn't really accentuate the invincibility of the IJA.
I also found the author quoting too much from other books giving one the impression that his sources are mainly other books and there was nothing original in this work, except that it is a summary of what others have said. On a matter that has more to do with personal taste, I find the author's style annoying sometimes. A few examples may help to illustrate:
"...you might say that it was almost a rival army to the IJA itself, or you might even omit the use of the word "almost"." (pg 42)
"His transfer from China felt to Tsuji like an exile, and it was." (pg 20)
"The troops discovered that malaria was almost routine and maladies such as dysentery were actually routine." (pg 304)
Not knowing anything about what happened beyond the Malayan Campaign, I learned much about the campaigns in Borneo, Java and Sumatra fromt his book. But the parts where I have already known about, this book has added nothing. To be fair to the author he did not set out to write a detailed account about all the campaigns, he just wanted to show that the IJA was invincible in those years (at least that is my interpretation of his intentions from the title of the book). To that end, his results were mixed.
A more useful reflection for the reader would be to ask - why did the Japanese embark on the Southern expansion? The obvious answer would be for the resources, especially the oil in the Dutch East Indies. But why? Did they do all these to sustain their war in China? If we keep probing along this path, we might trace the roots of their military adventures. And it might just turn out to be an enlightening exercise.
September 26, 2015
This book is an excellent overview of a forgotten aspect of the Second World War: the Japanese conquests, ala Blitzkrieg, of Southeast Asia. Bill Yenne takes us from the formation of the Imperial Japanese Army following the Meiji Restoration in the 1860's all the way through the invasion of China in 1937, and the quest for expansion to seize precious resources for the war economy.
Several of the Japanese officers are closely monitored in this fine work: Yamashita (conqueror of Malaya and Singapore), Homma (doomed to have a difficult go on the Philippines and largely forgotten afterwards), Tsuji (a brilliant General Staff Officer who thought so much of the 'Southern Road' strategy that stunned the world), Tojo (ambition personified, the man who dreamed of running the Empire his way, and did, to its ruin). All of these men, and more, shine or fade in the light rays, and shadow cast by, the Rising Sun. And all of them are the main characters in this truly excellent book.
The IJA was truly one of the great formations in all of Military History. Outnumbered, sometimes outgunned, but only rarely truly outfought the IJA cut a swathe of destruction and conquest throughout Asia in a shockingly brief time span.
From December 8, 1941 till the end of May 1942 the Japanese blitzed into Hong Kong, Malaya, the Philippines, the Marshall's, the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), Burma and into New Guinea where the Blitzkrieg of the Rising Sun finally began to sputter out. So much of this success, however, and the IJA's true greatness, was its ability to closely cooperate with the Imperial Navy, and the air elements of both the IJA and the IJN. The Japanese Navy, and its devastatingly easy victory over the combined Dutch, American, British and Australian Fleets in the Battle of the Java Sea, ensured the fall of the Indies. The IJA fought brilliantly against the Americans, British, Australians, Dutch and Chinese. All of them suffered catastrophic defeats at the hands of the Japanese. Singapore's fall, in a single week no less, and by a severely outnumbered Japanese force, would go down in history as the greatest British defeat in history.
This was a phenomenal book, at times reading like a military thriller rather than an academically studied work of military history, and best of all it highlights a little discussed chapter of the Second World War.
Highly recommended.
Several of the Japanese officers are closely monitored in this fine work: Yamashita (conqueror of Malaya and Singapore), Homma (doomed to have a difficult go on the Philippines and largely forgotten afterwards), Tsuji (a brilliant General Staff Officer who thought so much of the 'Southern Road' strategy that stunned the world), Tojo (ambition personified, the man who dreamed of running the Empire his way, and did, to its ruin). All of these men, and more, shine or fade in the light rays, and shadow cast by, the Rising Sun. And all of them are the main characters in this truly excellent book.
The IJA was truly one of the great formations in all of Military History. Outnumbered, sometimes outgunned, but only rarely truly outfought the IJA cut a swathe of destruction and conquest throughout Asia in a shockingly brief time span.
From December 8, 1941 till the end of May 1942 the Japanese blitzed into Hong Kong, Malaya, the Philippines, the Marshall's, the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), Burma and into New Guinea where the Blitzkrieg of the Rising Sun finally began to sputter out. So much of this success, however, and the IJA's true greatness, was its ability to closely cooperate with the Imperial Navy, and the air elements of both the IJA and the IJN. The Japanese Navy, and its devastatingly easy victory over the combined Dutch, American, British and Australian Fleets in the Battle of the Java Sea, ensured the fall of the Indies. The IJA fought brilliantly against the Americans, British, Australians, Dutch and Chinese. All of them suffered catastrophic defeats at the hands of the Japanese. Singapore's fall, in a single week no less, and by a severely outnumbered Japanese force, would go down in history as the greatest British defeat in history.
This was a phenomenal book, at times reading like a military thriller rather than an academically studied work of military history, and best of all it highlights a little discussed chapter of the Second World War.
Highly recommended.
May 1, 2023
In the fall of 1967 as a sophomore at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota I was privileged to participate in the Term in Thailand with 25 other students. We studied at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok - Buddhism, Southeast Asian history, art, literature, and political science. On the way to Bangkok we visited Japan and Hong Kong. Coming home included stops in Penang, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Guam. We were the only undergraduate study group in Southeast Asia - the closest program was in Japan. I have been an avid reader of World War II history and literature for many years. My father and most of my uncles served in the war in many roles - as a tank driver in Patton's army, a tail gunner who was killed over Germany, and a medic in the Pacific Theatre. My reading, however, has largely been within the European Theatre of operations. About a year ago I had a "DUH" moment. Why was I not reading about the Pacific War when I had visited so many important sites in that history. I am trying to make up for my lack of knowledge........................ I fell in love with Japan. Not Tokyo where in the Ginza you could be in any large world city except for the signage. One morning we were awakened by the :Colonel Bogie March", the theme music from the 1957 movie "The Bridge on the River Kwai. Can we spell irony??
Kyoto and Nara were magical places. Beautiful gardens and temples, and a magical park where miniature deer prayed for you by bowing their heads to the ground. I visited the home of Tomikichirō Tokuriki, an artist known for his wood block prints. As a gift he did a brush painting of a bird on a branch. It took him about a minute. He signed my art and added his chop. I look at that little bird every day of my life. I later learned that Kyoto was at the top of the list for the use of the atomic bombs. Only the intervention of Secretary of War Henry Stimson. He had visited Kyoto several times in the 1920s when he was the governor of the Philippines and had fallen in love with the city. While walking in the evening two friends and I were invited by three young male college students to have drinks and allow them to practice their English. This was at the height of the Vietnam war. I was totally taken aback when one of the students asked why the U. S. did not simply use atomic bombs on North Vietnam. I could not believe that someone from the only country that experienced the devastation and lasting consequences of atomic bombs would believe this was a good idea. As I have read about WWII history of the Pacific Theatre I have found it difficult to resolve the difference between the beauty and the belief in honor with the Japanese atrocities. *********** The axiom of war is that the history is written by the victors. As I began reading about the Pacific war, most of the books were about American / British / Australian / Dutch victories. This amazing book shows how Japan in roughly 6 months captured more of the surface of the globe than was ever conquered by any power in history. They very quickly controlled 3,300,000 square miles. After a pre-war history of the path aggression, to Yenne follows the careers and interactions among 3 political / military leaders. On June 22nd Operation Barabarossa - the invasion of the Soviet Union began. Japan had signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviets which made their incursions in Manchukuo safe from their intervention. This completely removed any imminent threat from Stalin. In July, 1941 the Japanese government demanded full access to French Indo=China. The Vichy government consented. On July 26 FDR froze all Japanese assets in the U.S. Hideki Tojo was named as Prime Minister on October 18, 1941. Admiral Isuroku Yamamoto was charged with the plan for Pearl Harbor. Tomoyuki Yamashita ( the Tiger of Malaya ) was assugned to capture the Malay Peninsula and Singapore. On November 5 Kurusu ( signer of the Tripartite Pact in 1940 - Germany, Italy and Japan ) joined Nomura in Washington - main goal to distract the American government from Japanese activates. The invasion beaches for the Malay plan were actually in Thailand ( one was in Songkhla where I stayed for a weekend break ). December 8,1941 ( the author and I are using Asian dates. When you cross the International Date Line moving west you "lose" a day. December 7th in the United States was December 8th in Southeast Asia.) the Japanese simultaneously attacked: Pearl Harbor, Guam, Hong Kong, the Philippines, the Malay Peninsula and the independent nation of Thailand. Thai "resistance" lasted 24 hours. The country was allowed to remain "independent". On December 14 Prime Minister Phibun signed a secret agreement to provide troops to Japan for the Malay invasion. A week later Thailand and Japan agreed to a formal alliance. ************** Though the Thai government co-operated with the Japanese and used their power to attempt to reclaim land that had been taken from them, it is difficult to be too harsh on their choice of capitulation. It is not as though there was any real choice. Their participation on the Thai / Burma ( Death ) Railroad and providing soldiers for the invasion of Burma and the Malay Peninsula is difficult to defend. Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia that was never a colony. King Mongkut and his son Chulalongkorn played the Dutch, British, French and Portuguese against each other an managed to stay independent. The word Thai / tai means free. One of the most memorable days of my life was the visit to the Bridge over the River Kwai at Kanchanaburi. Site of a POW camp during WWII. We visited the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery which holds the remains of 6,982 soldiers that perished during the construction of the Death Railway. These graves are of the Dutch, British, and Australian POW's who died building the railroad. Among the Allied POWs were some 30,000 British, 13,000 Australians, 18,000 Dutch, and 668 Americans. Some of these U.S. military men came from the sinking of the USS Houston discussed in this book. The Lost Battalion was the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, 36th Infantry Division (Texas National Guard) of the U.S. Army. The men of the battalion, plus the survivors of the sunken cruiser USS Houston, were captured by the Japanese on the island of Java in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) in March 1942. It is called the lost battalion because the fate of the men was unknown to the United States until September 1944. They were prisoners of war for 42 months until the end of World War II. After a morning of confronting the tragedy of war we walked on the Kwai bridge. As we stood in contemplation 3 American fighter jets made a low pass over us on the way to bomb in Vietnam. We never learn. If you are interested in knowing more about the Thai/Burma railroad I recommend: Building the Death Railway: The Ordeal of American POWs in Burma, 1942-1945 Robert S. La Forte. ********* Two months after stepping ashore on the Malay Peninsula, the Japanese captured Singapore. On December 10, 1941, the battlecruiser HMS Repulse and battleship HMS Prince of Wales were sunk off the east coast of Malaya. Kuala Lumpur was taken with little resistance on January 11. Singapore fell on 15 February 1942. Yamashita's 30,000 front-line soldiers captured 80,000 British, Indian and Australian troops, the largest surrender of British-led personnel in history. He became known as the "Tiger of Malaya". Penang was evacuated by the largest British colonial presence north of Singapore on December 17 and fell to the Imperial Japanese Army on the 19th. The George Town's harbor facilities were put to use as a major Axis submarine base in Southeast Asia. The distance from Songkla, Thailand to Singapore is 933 kilometers or 580 miles. Two factors, in addition to the well developed planning, that aided the Japanese were the beautiful highway ( built by the British ) that led from Bangkok to Singapore and bicycles. Yes, bicycles. When bridges on the highway were destroyed by the Allies, the bicycles were carried through the water or troops held temporary bridging on their shoulders while the bicycles rode overhead. Tanks and heavy equipment moved on after the hasty reconstruction of bridges, delaying the Japanese by a matter of a few hours or days. I had read the myth that the heavy artillery in Singapore were all aimed at the sea and could not be swiveled to fire at an approaching army from the north. They were fired at the Japanese, but the only ammunition that Singapore had was designed to penetrate a ship, not to spread shrapnel on attacking troops. There is nothing like hubris to result in loss. ***************** My connections to the Malay campaign: I have visited Songkla, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Penang. While in Malaysia we visited a rubber plantation ( on of the main reasons the area was so desirable to the Japanese ) and an ancient Buddhist Temple high on a mountainside. (Roughly 65% of Malaysians are Muslims. ) In Singapore we walked along the harbor and had tea at the Raffles Hotel. My most significant encounter with WWII and Singapore occurred in Bangkok. In 1967 there were very few young, white women in Thailand. I was sitting in a hotel near my dorm when a very dapper gentleman approached me. Despite the heat he was dressed in a 3-piece suit and tie, wore a bowler hat, and carried an umbrella. He was the epitome of an upper class British gentleman from the 1940's. He approached my table and asked if he could sit down, noting that he rarely saw the likes of me. It turned out he had been stationed in Singapore before the capture, escaped to the Malay jungle and operated a radio for the duration of the war. To say that his stories were amazing is to understate the fact. As to Penang, we stayed in an old formerly British hotel and had tea and to-mah-to sandwiches on the beach at 10 and 4. **************** On December 8th, 1941, approximately 17 hours after Pearl Harbor, in the Philippines, an invasion force led by Japanese Lt. General Masaharu Homma, Japanese air forces began bombing Clark Field, the epicenter of American air force in the Western Pacific, on the island of Luzon. Fearing attack, two squadrons of B-17's were sent from the base without bombs to prevent them from being destroyed on the field. At 11:30, having returned for refueling, the planes were sitting ducks on the base when the Japanese attacked. Facilities were destroyed along with the fuel and half of the planes. Meanwhile Guam ( part of the Marianas ), Saipan and the Marshall and Caroline Archipelagos were part of the Japanese Mandate - former German territories which were placed under their control when Germany was divested of colonies in 1920. Guam and Wake Islands were attacked on December 8. Guam was occupied in 2 days; Wake held out until December 23. The Japanese kept 98 American POW's on the island for work details until all were murdered in 1943. On December 8 50,000 Japanese troops led by Takashi Sakai invaded Hong Kong. Defending the Island were roughly 14,000 soldiers - British troops, Local Colonial Forces, Indian Units, Auxiliary Defense Units, Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps and Canadian forces. Troops in Kowloon and the New Territories evacuated to the island on December 13. Hong Kong held out until Christmas day. There were well documented massacres of medical staff, POW's and civilians. **** Our stay on Guam due to the inability to fully fuel our 707 ( our group luggage was overweight by over 200 kilos ) involved a visit to the duty free. We stayed in Kowloon twice on the outgoing and return trips. We landed at Kai Tac airport which was bombed by the Japanese. Kowloon was China to me while Hong Kong was beautiful, rich and European. We traveled up through the New Territories to the border with China. At that time Americans were not allowed to travel to mainland China, but we could see armed vehicles at the border. The area had not developed the elaborate reservoir system that exists today, so the Kowloon / Hong Kong water supply came from China and was unpredictable. My best taste of China was a visit to an ancient walled city where the ladies refused to be photographed because the camera would steal their souls. ******* Homma led his main invasion of the Philippines at Lingyan Gulf on December 22. He also brought bicycles for the excellent highways built by the Americans. MacArthur had already begun a "strategic" withdrawal to the Bataan Peninsula believing his forces could hold out until reinforcements arrived from the U.S. President Quezon and other officials withdrew to the Island of Corregidor. Wainwright was forced to withdraw his North Luzon forces. Efforts were made to transfer military supplies, food and water to Bataan. MacArthur would have 47,00 troops, 32,00 other personnel and 25,000 civilians to defend and feed. On January 2 Major General Abe led his troops into Manila. The main battle of Bataan began on January 9. Meanwhile in the Dutch East Indies, Northern Borneo and its oil was taken in the last two weeks of December. Dutch Borneo, the 4th largest oil producing area in the world (Royal Dutch Shell) remained independent. When the main invasion fleet arrived on January 10, the Dutch had already torched the oil fields. Four American destroyers attacked - the first major surface action of WWII. Our navy sank transports, patrol and troop ships before withdrawing. Unfortunately the invasion force had already landed. Dutch Borneo was secured in 30 days. The next stepping stones were Java and Sumatra, also oil rich. February 19 saw the Japanese air attack on Darwin, Australia. February 27 saw the decisive Battle of the Java Sea. The joint ABDA taskforce ( American, British, Dutch and Australian ) was essentially obliterated. The Japanese overran the Dutch East Indies in less than 3 months. The
Dutch surrendered on March 8. It is estimated that 10 million Indonesians were conscripted as slave laborers and sex slaves. Many ended up working on the Death Railroad.
While in Manila I visited Fort Santiago. When you enter the main gate to the compound the stone is misshapen and obviously not as built. The guide explained that the enlargement was created by American soldiers so that a tank could enter the prison. During World War II POW's were tortured and killed. Until reading this book I had no idea of the extent of the murders. I do remember, however, that seeing the cells and dungeons had a profound effect. Places can have induce strong psychological reactions. Standing on Omaha Beach I felt sorrow, gratitude and amazement that the calm beach which you would never guess was an invasion beach where the sea ran red with blood. Looking out of a German gun emplacement on Pont du Hoc induced a feeling of contamination - I did not linger. Some environments are sacred; others are profane. Standing on the Bridge over the River Kwai and walking through Fort Santiago were experiences of the latter. The space is populated by too many souls who never received justice. One additional experience contributed to my interest in the war in the Philippines. I was privileged to get to know a man who was part of the Bataan Death march. His stories of the long walk and years as a POW were painful to hear , but fascinating. One of the things that has always remained in my memory is his description of always walking in three's. The weakest man was in the middle and supported on both sides.
Kyoto and Nara were magical places. Beautiful gardens and temples, and a magical park where miniature deer prayed for you by bowing their heads to the ground. I visited the home of Tomikichirō Tokuriki, an artist known for his wood block prints. As a gift he did a brush painting of a bird on a branch. It took him about a minute. He signed my art and added his chop. I look at that little bird every day of my life. I later learned that Kyoto was at the top of the list for the use of the atomic bombs. Only the intervention of Secretary of War Henry Stimson. He had visited Kyoto several times in the 1920s when he was the governor of the Philippines and had fallen in love with the city. While walking in the evening two friends and I were invited by three young male college students to have drinks and allow them to practice their English. This was at the height of the Vietnam war. I was totally taken aback when one of the students asked why the U. S. did not simply use atomic bombs on North Vietnam. I could not believe that someone from the only country that experienced the devastation and lasting consequences of atomic bombs would believe this was a good idea. As I have read about WWII history of the Pacific Theatre I have found it difficult to resolve the difference between the beauty and the belief in honor with the Japanese atrocities. *********** The axiom of war is that the history is written by the victors. As I began reading about the Pacific war, most of the books were about American / British / Australian / Dutch victories. This amazing book shows how Japan in roughly 6 months captured more of the surface of the globe than was ever conquered by any power in history. They very quickly controlled 3,300,000 square miles. After a pre-war history of the path aggression, to Yenne follows the careers and interactions among 3 political / military leaders. On June 22nd Operation Barabarossa - the invasion of the Soviet Union began. Japan had signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviets which made their incursions in Manchukuo safe from their intervention. This completely removed any imminent threat from Stalin. In July, 1941 the Japanese government demanded full access to French Indo=China. The Vichy government consented. On July 26 FDR froze all Japanese assets in the U.S. Hideki Tojo was named as Prime Minister on October 18, 1941. Admiral Isuroku Yamamoto was charged with the plan for Pearl Harbor. Tomoyuki Yamashita ( the Tiger of Malaya ) was assugned to capture the Malay Peninsula and Singapore. On November 5 Kurusu ( signer of the Tripartite Pact in 1940 - Germany, Italy and Japan ) joined Nomura in Washington - main goal to distract the American government from Japanese activates. The invasion beaches for the Malay plan were actually in Thailand ( one was in Songkhla where I stayed for a weekend break ). December 8,1941 ( the author and I are using Asian dates. When you cross the International Date Line moving west you "lose" a day. December 7th in the United States was December 8th in Southeast Asia.) the Japanese simultaneously attacked: Pearl Harbor, Guam, Hong Kong, the Philippines, the Malay Peninsula and the independent nation of Thailand. Thai "resistance" lasted 24 hours. The country was allowed to remain "independent". On December 14 Prime Minister Phibun signed a secret agreement to provide troops to Japan for the Malay invasion. A week later Thailand and Japan agreed to a formal alliance. ************** Though the Thai government co-operated with the Japanese and used their power to attempt to reclaim land that had been taken from them, it is difficult to be too harsh on their choice of capitulation. It is not as though there was any real choice. Their participation on the Thai / Burma ( Death ) Railroad and providing soldiers for the invasion of Burma and the Malay Peninsula is difficult to defend. Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia that was never a colony. King Mongkut and his son Chulalongkorn played the Dutch, British, French and Portuguese against each other an managed to stay independent. The word Thai / tai means free. One of the most memorable days of my life was the visit to the Bridge over the River Kwai at Kanchanaburi. Site of a POW camp during WWII. We visited the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery which holds the remains of 6,982 soldiers that perished during the construction of the Death Railway. These graves are of the Dutch, British, and Australian POW's who died building the railroad. Among the Allied POWs were some 30,000 British, 13,000 Australians, 18,000 Dutch, and 668 Americans. Some of these U.S. military men came from the sinking of the USS Houston discussed in this book. The Lost Battalion was the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, 36th Infantry Division (Texas National Guard) of the U.S. Army. The men of the battalion, plus the survivors of the sunken cruiser USS Houston, were captured by the Japanese on the island of Java in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) in March 1942. It is called the lost battalion because the fate of the men was unknown to the United States until September 1944. They were prisoners of war for 42 months until the end of World War II. After a morning of confronting the tragedy of war we walked on the Kwai bridge. As we stood in contemplation 3 American fighter jets made a low pass over us on the way to bomb in Vietnam. We never learn. If you are interested in knowing more about the Thai/Burma railroad I recommend: Building the Death Railway: The Ordeal of American POWs in Burma, 1942-1945 Robert S. La Forte. ********* Two months after stepping ashore on the Malay Peninsula, the Japanese captured Singapore. On December 10, 1941, the battlecruiser HMS Repulse and battleship HMS Prince of Wales were sunk off the east coast of Malaya. Kuala Lumpur was taken with little resistance on January 11. Singapore fell on 15 February 1942. Yamashita's 30,000 front-line soldiers captured 80,000 British, Indian and Australian troops, the largest surrender of British-led personnel in history. He became known as the "Tiger of Malaya". Penang was evacuated by the largest British colonial presence north of Singapore on December 17 and fell to the Imperial Japanese Army on the 19th. The George Town's harbor facilities were put to use as a major Axis submarine base in Southeast Asia. The distance from Songkla, Thailand to Singapore is 933 kilometers or 580 miles. Two factors, in addition to the well developed planning, that aided the Japanese were the beautiful highway ( built by the British ) that led from Bangkok to Singapore and bicycles. Yes, bicycles. When bridges on the highway were destroyed by the Allies, the bicycles were carried through the water or troops held temporary bridging on their shoulders while the bicycles rode overhead. Tanks and heavy equipment moved on after the hasty reconstruction of bridges, delaying the Japanese by a matter of a few hours or days. I had read the myth that the heavy artillery in Singapore were all aimed at the sea and could not be swiveled to fire at an approaching army from the north. They were fired at the Japanese, but the only ammunition that Singapore had was designed to penetrate a ship, not to spread shrapnel on attacking troops. There is nothing like hubris to result in loss. ***************** My connections to the Malay campaign: I have visited Songkla, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Penang. While in Malaysia we visited a rubber plantation ( on of the main reasons the area was so desirable to the Japanese ) and an ancient Buddhist Temple high on a mountainside. (Roughly 65% of Malaysians are Muslims. ) In Singapore we walked along the harbor and had tea at the Raffles Hotel. My most significant encounter with WWII and Singapore occurred in Bangkok. In 1967 there were very few young, white women in Thailand. I was sitting in a hotel near my dorm when a very dapper gentleman approached me. Despite the heat he was dressed in a 3-piece suit and tie, wore a bowler hat, and carried an umbrella. He was the epitome of an upper class British gentleman from the 1940's. He approached my table and asked if he could sit down, noting that he rarely saw the likes of me. It turned out he had been stationed in Singapore before the capture, escaped to the Malay jungle and operated a radio for the duration of the war. To say that his stories were amazing is to understate the fact. As to Penang, we stayed in an old formerly British hotel and had tea and to-mah-to sandwiches on the beach at 10 and 4. **************** On December 8th, 1941, approximately 17 hours after Pearl Harbor, in the Philippines, an invasion force led by Japanese Lt. General Masaharu Homma, Japanese air forces began bombing Clark Field, the epicenter of American air force in the Western Pacific, on the island of Luzon. Fearing attack, two squadrons of B-17's were sent from the base without bombs to prevent them from being destroyed on the field. At 11:30, having returned for refueling, the planes were sitting ducks on the base when the Japanese attacked. Facilities were destroyed along with the fuel and half of the planes. Meanwhile Guam ( part of the Marianas ), Saipan and the Marshall and Caroline Archipelagos were part of the Japanese Mandate - former German territories which were placed under their control when Germany was divested of colonies in 1920. Guam and Wake Islands were attacked on December 8. Guam was occupied in 2 days; Wake held out until December 23. The Japanese kept 98 American POW's on the island for work details until all were murdered in 1943. On December 8 50,000 Japanese troops led by Takashi Sakai invaded Hong Kong. Defending the Island were roughly 14,000 soldiers - British troops, Local Colonial Forces, Indian Units, Auxiliary Defense Units, Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps and Canadian forces. Troops in Kowloon and the New Territories evacuated to the island on December 13. Hong Kong held out until Christmas day. There were well documented massacres of medical staff, POW's and civilians. **** Our stay on Guam due to the inability to fully fuel our 707 ( our group luggage was overweight by over 200 kilos ) involved a visit to the duty free. We stayed in Kowloon twice on the outgoing and return trips. We landed at Kai Tac airport which was bombed by the Japanese. Kowloon was China to me while Hong Kong was beautiful, rich and European. We traveled up through the New Territories to the border with China. At that time Americans were not allowed to travel to mainland China, but we could see armed vehicles at the border. The area had not developed the elaborate reservoir system that exists today, so the Kowloon / Hong Kong water supply came from China and was unpredictable. My best taste of China was a visit to an ancient walled city where the ladies refused to be photographed because the camera would steal their souls. ******* Homma led his main invasion of the Philippines at Lingyan Gulf on December 22. He also brought bicycles for the excellent highways built by the Americans. MacArthur had already begun a "strategic" withdrawal to the Bataan Peninsula believing his forces could hold out until reinforcements arrived from the U.S. President Quezon and other officials withdrew to the Island of Corregidor. Wainwright was forced to withdraw his North Luzon forces. Efforts were made to transfer military supplies, food and water to Bataan. MacArthur would have 47,00 troops, 32,00 other personnel and 25,000 civilians to defend and feed. On January 2 Major General Abe led his troops into Manila. The main battle of Bataan began on January 9. Meanwhile in the Dutch East Indies, Northern Borneo and its oil was taken in the last two weeks of December. Dutch Borneo, the 4th largest oil producing area in the world (Royal Dutch Shell) remained independent. When the main invasion fleet arrived on January 10, the Dutch had already torched the oil fields. Four American destroyers attacked - the first major surface action of WWII. Our navy sank transports, patrol and troop ships before withdrawing. Unfortunately the invasion force had already landed. Dutch Borneo was secured in 30 days. The next stepping stones were Java and Sumatra, also oil rich. February 19 saw the Japanese air attack on Darwin, Australia. February 27 saw the decisive Battle of the Java Sea. The joint ABDA taskforce ( American, British, Dutch and Australian ) was essentially obliterated. The Japanese overran the Dutch East Indies in less than 3 months. The
Dutch surrendered on March 8. It is estimated that 10 million Indonesians were conscripted as slave laborers and sex slaves. Many ended up working on the Death Railroad.
While in Manila I visited Fort Santiago. When you enter the main gate to the compound the stone is misshapen and obviously not as built. The guide explained that the enlargement was created by American soldiers so that a tank could enter the prison. During World War II POW's were tortured and killed. Until reading this book I had no idea of the extent of the murders. I do remember, however, that seeing the cells and dungeons had a profound effect. Places can have induce strong psychological reactions. Standing on Omaha Beach I felt sorrow, gratitude and amazement that the calm beach which you would never guess was an invasion beach where the sea ran red with blood. Looking out of a German gun emplacement on Pont du Hoc induced a feeling of contamination - I did not linger. Some environments are sacred; others are profane. Standing on the Bridge over the River Kwai and walking through Fort Santiago were experiences of the latter. The space is populated by too many souls who never received justice. One additional experience contributed to my interest in the war in the Philippines. I was privileged to get to know a man who was part of the Bataan Death march. His stories of the long walk and years as a POW were painful to hear , but fascinating. One of the things that has always remained in my memory is his description of always walking in three's. The weakest man was in the middle and supported on both sides.
July 28, 2015
History is written by the victors, and in accounts of wars and military campaigns invariably the story of how the ultimate winners won dominates. This is very much the case for the Asia-Pacific theater of WW2, where details of Allied victories over forces of the Empire of Japan are more forthcoming and widespread compared to the initial years when the latter successfully invaded and conquered vast swathes of territories formerly held for centuries by Western colonial powers at the time.
This excellent book is a rare example of scholarship detailing the seemingly unstoppable advance of Japanese forces over Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific, describing in detail the order of battle, sequence of events and thought processes of the commanders as they blitzkrieged their armies and navy over this vast theater of operation. In a matter of months the Japs were able to expand their empire by millions of square miles and subjugate more than a hundred million civilians under the aegis of the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere". The audacious aggressors caught the paltry defenses of Britain, Dutch, American and Australian forces completely off guard and ruled over Malaya, Burma, Indonesia and the Philippines for almost three long years before being ordered to lay down their arms by their Emperor.
While the invasion of Malaya and downfall of Fortress Singapore have been retold countless times and studied in depth, lessor known are the campaigns of conquest over Burma and even less so that of the Dutch East Indies. So it was enlightening to learn how the latter territories were overcome by Japanese military manoeuvres. The author even covers the sporadic attacks on Australia and the West coast of America that many thought heralded their imminent invasion at the time. The turning point eventually came in New Guinea and the Pacific, where the Japs were unable to maintain their initial momentum and quite literally were stopped in their tracks by American forces. Similarly, having overstretched their supply lines in Burma, the IJA failed to press on with the attack into Eastern India and suffered heavy losses inflicted by much stronger Allied forces latter in the war.
Bill Yenne manages to cover these ground and sea battles with sufficient detail and excitement yet without boring the reader with too much minutiae, at least most of the time. The exceptions being when he listed the names of every warship that took part in a certain sea battle or land invasion! He also maintains an element of human interest in detailing the biographies of key Japanese commanders like Tojo and Yamashita, to name the two most well known. Their careers are covered from beginning to ignominious end at the courts of the Allies after Japan's defeat. It was interesting that the political conflict between these two had led to the latter's 'exile' to the Northern front in Manchuria after his brilliant success in Malaya. Had Yamashita been instead utilized in Burma or the Pacific perhaps the Japs could have further forestalled their inevitable strategic defeat..
Finally, it was also interesting to see how varied the reactions of the local populations were to the overthrow of a set of rulers for another over the course of WW2. This ranged from indifference in Malaya to covert and overt support for the invaders in the East Indies and Burma, where the fires of Independence were fanned and resentment for former imperialist overlords caused many to take up arms on the side of the Japs. The end of WW2 shaped the geopolitics of the region to this day. Never before and likely never again will one country so successfully conquer so many others through sheer force.
This excellent book is a rare example of scholarship detailing the seemingly unstoppable advance of Japanese forces over Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific, describing in detail the order of battle, sequence of events and thought processes of the commanders as they blitzkrieged their armies and navy over this vast theater of operation. In a matter of months the Japs were able to expand their empire by millions of square miles and subjugate more than a hundred million civilians under the aegis of the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere". The audacious aggressors caught the paltry defenses of Britain, Dutch, American and Australian forces completely off guard and ruled over Malaya, Burma, Indonesia and the Philippines for almost three long years before being ordered to lay down their arms by their Emperor.
While the invasion of Malaya and downfall of Fortress Singapore have been retold countless times and studied in depth, lessor known are the campaigns of conquest over Burma and even less so that of the Dutch East Indies. So it was enlightening to learn how the latter territories were overcome by Japanese military manoeuvres. The author even covers the sporadic attacks on Australia and the West coast of America that many thought heralded their imminent invasion at the time. The turning point eventually came in New Guinea and the Pacific, where the Japs were unable to maintain their initial momentum and quite literally were stopped in their tracks by American forces. Similarly, having overstretched their supply lines in Burma, the IJA failed to press on with the attack into Eastern India and suffered heavy losses inflicted by much stronger Allied forces latter in the war.
Bill Yenne manages to cover these ground and sea battles with sufficient detail and excitement yet without boring the reader with too much minutiae, at least most of the time. The exceptions being when he listed the names of every warship that took part in a certain sea battle or land invasion! He also maintains an element of human interest in detailing the biographies of key Japanese commanders like Tojo and Yamashita, to name the two most well known. Their careers are covered from beginning to ignominious end at the courts of the Allies after Japan's defeat. It was interesting that the political conflict between these two had led to the latter's 'exile' to the Northern front in Manchuria after his brilliant success in Malaya. Had Yamashita been instead utilized in Burma or the Pacific perhaps the Japs could have further forestalled their inevitable strategic defeat..
Finally, it was also interesting to see how varied the reactions of the local populations were to the overthrow of a set of rulers for another over the course of WW2. This ranged from indifference in Malaya to covert and overt support for the invaders in the East Indies and Burma, where the fires of Independence were fanned and resentment for former imperialist overlords caused many to take up arms on the side of the Japs. The end of WW2 shaped the geopolitics of the region to this day. Never before and likely never again will one country so successfully conquer so many others through sheer force.
November 25, 2015
A mostly very readable history of the sudden and violent growth of the East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere. While I was saddened by a rather severe gaffe involving the USS Arizona's location at a given time, which was off by an ocean and many thousands of miles, for the most part I really liked this work. The best aspect was that it covered the politics and national goals that drove what in turn became the strategic imperatives behind the whole thing. Military history without politics, when covering subjects as widely-ranging as this one, is a cold, empty and ultimately futile study. For example, this is the first book I've ever read on the Far East operations of the era that intelligently dealt with the aspirations of the Siamese and explained why they behaved as they did, rather than merely reporting troop movements in that part of the world.
Not a five star book, for there are better. But not all that many.
Not a five star book, for there are better. But not all that many.
March 28, 2016
This is a straightforward telling of Japan's expansion through South East Asia in 1941 & 1942. But I struggled throughout the book to find it's purpose. The author hangs the story from the life and careers of two generals - Yamashita and Tojo - but it obviously covers many others, and they come and go throughout the work. As a blow by blow account, it is a worthy work, giving a lot of detail about the various units used in invading the various countries and islands. I think in the end, it is the title that misleads. Although China is mentioned, this is far better seen as a work about how the European Empires lost their possessions in the Far East. Most of the territories conquered had belonged to either Britain, France or the Netherlands (and America in the case of the Philipines). These bits of empire fell like a pack of cards - they were mostly impossible to hold, militarily - and Japan gained a false overconfidence from their capture.
In the end, the book is unsatisfying. It contains much detailed information, some interesting passages about the culture within the Japanese Army (and the mutual hostility between it and the Navy), and is useful as a chronology of the Japanese expansion. But there is very little analysis or interpretation, which would have taken it to another level.
In the end, the book is unsatisfying. It contains much detailed information, some interesting passages about the culture within the Japanese Army (and the mutual hostility between it and the Navy), and is useful as a chronology of the Japanese expansion. But there is very little analysis or interpretation, which would have taken it to another level.
May 21, 2015
Good review of the dazzling operations of the Dai-nippon teikoku rikugun from Dec ’41 to June ’42 with japanese perspective. Insightful view of Yamashitas great victory in Singapour in which barely 30k japanese defeated 100k british troops commanded by the lethargic Percival. Also nice analysis of the less known campaings in Borneo and the Deucht East Indies. Well researched and documented. Well written and concise. Worth it
January 29, 2015
The author covers a lot of material but not too deeply. The background of commanders; historical development of the IJA (to include naval and air commands), history of conflicts, decision to strike south, operations, order of battle, tactics, political implications, etc. Probably as well organized as possible considering the scope of the work.
August 20, 2015
The True Story of Japan During WWII
Mr Yenne did a fantastic job of documenting the history of the Japanese military during WWII. He writes the facts. It is indeed ironic that the Japanese lost the war but obtained their main objective--ultimately riding Asia of its Western colonial rulers.
Mr Yenne did a fantastic job of documenting the history of the Japanese military during WWII. He writes the facts. It is indeed ironic that the Japanese lost the war but obtained their main objective--ultimately riding Asia of its Western colonial rulers.
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