The year 2025 brings us the 80th Anniversary of the end of WWII.In this blog,we have explored the Battle of the Bulge and the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.In 1944 and 1945,many of Framingham’s brave soldiers, airmen, doctors, nurses,and sailors would continue to put themselves in danger in the Pacific, European and Mediterranean Theaters of Operation.
US Troops Fighting in Manila
Image: US National Archives
Marines on Peleliu
Image: Library of Congress
In the Pacific,the fighting in 1944 and 1945 remained savage and unforgiving.US soldiers and Marines engaged in brutal combat in the Mariana Islands (Saipan,Guam,Tinian),on Peleliu and in the Philippines and New Guinea. In spite of facing an adversary (the US) that was well provisioned with modern equipment and ample supplies,had control of the air and sea, and was becoming increasingly adept at both amphibious and combined warfare,the Japanese fought on.Additionally,US Navy submarine combat patrols were taking a devastating toll on Japanese merchant shipping operations in Asia.This led to both the isolation of Japanese military outposts and critical food and natural resources shortages in the homeland.The US Army Air Force Strategic Bombing campaign also began in mid-1944 and lasted until the end of the war in August of 1945.After the firebombing of Tokyo in March of 1945 (estimated 100,000 Japanese deaths),the 21st Bomber Command attacked 67 Japanese cities in a six month period.The question remains -- Why did the Japanese fight so hard in a losing cause? In order to fully comprehend this historical reality, it is first necessary to better understand the Japanese warrior and his “Way of War.”
The Japanese Warrior and His Way of War
During World War II,all Japanese males from 17-40 were eligible for military service.At age 17,they were required to register for service at the local police station.They could,however, volunteer between the ages of 17 and 20.The official military reporting age was 20.In 1943,the conscription age was lowered to 19.In June of 1944, it was again lowered to 18.
Japanese Infantrymen (Images: ww2db.com)
Recruits trained with other men from their home island geographical districts.Training was harsh and rigorous. Japanese troops were expected to be remarkably fit,and mentally prepared for constant challenges and frequent isolation.Here, officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) quickly began to instill the Japanese “fighting spirit” into their conscripts. Importantly,the new soldier was imbued with a combination of unquestioned obedience to the emperor and the moral necessity to strictly adhere to a superior’s orders and the warrior code, Bushido.Consistent with this code,he would refuse to disgrace himself and his family by surrendering to the enemy. Bushido significantly contributed to the military man’s willingness to make the supreme sacrifice for his country.This sacrifice clearly demonstrated the culturally valued qualities of honor, courage, and truthfulness.The ultimate manifestation of this philosophy was illustrated by the use of “kamikaze” (“divine wind”) Special Attack (suicide) aircraft.Operational use of kamikaze attacks was first noted during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October of 1944.They would become particularly problematic for the US Navy during the Battle of Okinawa.
A Kamikaze aircraft attacks the cruiser USS Columbia (1945)
Image: US Naval Institute Photo Archive
Unfortunately, this warrior code was also a contributing factor to many of the atrocities committed by and brutality of Japanese forces throughout the war.Additionally,as historian Eric Bergerud states:
“By breaking down the fragile restraint afforded by honorable surrender,the Japanese opened the floodgates of war without mercy.”
Japanese Soldiers Celebrating a Victory
Image: Public Domain
The Japanese “Way of War” leveraged its primary resource,the “spirit” of her soldiers.Soldiers of all ranks were thoroughly imbued with the spirit of the attack,in which they tended to see the solution to all military challenges.The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) knew its artillery and armor components were inferior to those of its enemies.Given this,it rarely conducted combined arms operations.The answer to most tactical problems was decisive,offensive victory facilitated by infantry closing with the enemy.The IJA thus devised methods of warfare that played to its strengths: speed,mobility and surprise. Infantrymen came in hard and fast.Their unique strengths were short range:hand to hand fighting,which was the most direct manifestation of spirit,and skill with the sword and bayonet (which frightened enemies out of all proportion to the damage the weapons actually caused).Whenever possible,the Japanese preferred flanking and rear attacks pushing through terrain that was deemed impenetrable or using small,amphibious assaults to outflank or surround opposing units.The night attack was one means of neutralizing superior enemy capabilities,such as artillery.From the beginning,the IJA made night attacks their specialty.Intensive night training was the norm.The Japanese were also particularly adept at the use of camouflage for both personal and weapons concealment. This skill would become increasingly important as the fortunes of war moved Japan into a more defensive posture as the Allies approached the homeland.
Japanese Soldiers on Patrol
Image: Public Domain
Consistent with this preferred approach to combat,the Japanese soldier normally “humped” between 65 and 75 pounds of equipment.His kit included a rifle,bayonet,ammunition, rations,water bottle,mess tin,water purifier,mosquito net, camouflage nets,pick and shovel,tent sheet,bandages and a compass.The Japanese were highly competent mortarmen.Their best model was the famous Model 89 50mm “knee mortar;” a squad grenade launcher that was extensively utilized.The appearance of its curved base plate yielded the “knee mortar” moniker.It could not;however,be fired from the thigh/knee and was not carried in a thigh bag.The two most common light machine guns (LMGs) were the Nambu 6.5mm Type 96 and 7.7mm Type 99.The standard heavy machine gun was the Nambu 7.7mm Type 92. Officers and NCOs carried swords (Shino Gunto).NCOs might carry the Type 95; officers the Type 94.They were of traditional design with a single edge,shallow curved blades with a small oval guard and long grip.Overall length averaged 39 inches and the blade 26.5 inches.
Japanese Troops on the March
Image: US National Archives
Japanese “Knee Mortar”
Image: WW2DB.COM
In the final analysis,the Japanese fighting man was brave and dedicated.He proved to be a formidable adversary.The Japanese "Way of War",however,frequently yielded unnecessary,self-induced bloodletting (the infamous “banzai” attacks) and rigid tactical inflexibility.Importantly,considerable weaknesses in leadership,logistics,inter-service cooperation,modern weaponry,and communications were insurmountable in what quickly became a human and natural resource-draining war of attrition against an increasingly maturing economic and military superpower and it allies.
Recommended Reading
Bergerud, Eric, Touched with Fire: The Land War in the South Pacific, Penguin Books, 1996
Gladwell, Malcom, The Bomber Mafia, Little & Brown, 2021
Harries, Meirion and Susie, Soldiers of the Sun, Random House, 1991
Heinrichs, Waldo and Gallicchio, Marc, Implacable Foes: War in the Pacific 1944-1945, Oxford University Press, 2017
Rottman, Gordon, Japanese Infantryman 1937-1945 Sword of the Empire, Osprey Publishing, 2005
Scott, James, Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb, W. W. Norton & Company, 2022
Scott, James, Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita, and the Battle of Manila,W. W. Norton & Company, 2018
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