WW2 From the Japanese Perspective | Animated History

foreign Japan gained preeminence in the asia-pacific region winning support through their former antaunt allies yet during the second world war Japan found itself fighting many of these nations while this situation was often chalked down to Imperial aggression the subject of Japan's expansion is a complex and often overlooked Story one that we will explore today I'm Griffin Johnson the armchair historian and here we will explore the second world war from the Japanese perspective American crypto analysts were able to break Japanese Naval codes very early in the Pacific War giving the U.S Navy foreknowledge of Japan's plan to attack Midway in 1942 and allowing the Americans to prepare their forces accordingly thanks to our partner and the sponsor of today's video nordvpn you won't need to worry about a foreign power monitoring your online activities visit nordvpn.com historyvpn and find out how Nord protects you from fakenetworks DDOS attempts malicious malware and costly ransomware our production team makes extensive use of global networks and instant messaging services like Discord or slack daily to coordinate and Nord tools like threat protection and dark web monitor as well as products like nordpass and nordlocker keep us and our data safe from sketchy websites password attacks and phishing attempts support our Channel and try nordvpn to today with a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee and get a two-year plan and one extra bonus month simply sign up using our Link in the description below or visit nordvpn.com history VPN for Japan the inter-war period was fraught with the same anxieties felt by countries all over the world the Great Depression had effectively crippled the economy with the collapse of World Trade and ineffective countermeasures sparking criticism from those who opposed the liberal capitalist system this led to Rising influence within Japan's far right circles most importantly the military who by 1931 had instigated the mukden incident a false flag event that enabled Japan's quantong Army under General Shigeru Hangzhou to seize all of Manchuria establishing the puppet stay of manchukwo which provided resources for the home islands and acted as a bolt work against the Soviet Far East which loomed ominously on the northern border shot by the military's insubordination Japan's civilian government felt powerless to challenge the rapid victories gained from their Conquest which only empowered the military further by 1936 a series of assassinations and coup d'etat plots had been carried out by extremist elements known as the young officers their reign of terror helped embolden the influence of military staff within the Japanese cabinet and ultimately gained support for further military actions in China Japan's signing of the anti-common turn pact in November also secured the nation for their eventual conflict with the Soviet Union and notably The Pact changed Germany's Far East Asian policy which dropped support for China in favor of Japan while border skirmishes tested the medal of communist sovereignty in the north a new front was opened further south in July 1937 following the Marco Polo Bridge incident as ground forces from Japan's China Garrison Army poured into the Peking tiansin region of China this incursion would escalate full scale into the second sino-japanese war or in Japanese simply the China incident as Chinese cities were decimated and pillaged Japanese relations with the West worsened significantly the West broadly condemned the atrocities committed by the Japanese military on Chinese civilians in an occupation they had first deemed illegal since the invasion of Manchuria along with the rising embargoes from the West the Japanese Army also suffered a humiliating defeat at calcan goal in September 1939 when the invading Japanese sixth Army was defeated in a series of pitched Battles by the Soviet Red Army despite this loss Germany's invasion of Poland looked like an opportunity to establish a new order in East Asia for the Japanese a broadcast on June 29 1940 by foreign minister arita hachiro advocated for the inclusion of various South Seas areas later developing into the greater East Asia co-prosperity sphere as Germany conquered Europe Japan set about acquiring the territories necessary for their co-prosperity beyond their gains in China Japan Incorporated French Indochina with German consent on September 22nd 1940 occupying the former colonies until the Vichy French authorities bowed to the Japanese demands four days later the next day Japan signed The tripartite Pact concluding a defensive alliance with Germany and Italy against the United States who by this time had sought to Japan's war effort with harsh sanctions and embargoes on much-needed resources like Machine Tools aviation fuel and scrap metal the need for these resources coupled with fears of an eventual Oil Embargo drove Japan further toward establishing their co-prosperity sphere which was deemed vital for the ongoing War in China at home the Japanese public were galvanized into support of the Empire through intense repression and propaganda anti-subversion laws and controls over the Intelligentsia were implemented to discourage liberal Tendencies education on all levels was revoked to indoctrinate the youth shaping them as future assets for Japanese Supremacy over Asia and the Pacific Imperial propagandists Incorporated Shinto religious traditions in this effort forming a state-sanctioned cult which served the Empire's interest first and foremost above all this Hirohito reigned as the Divine figurehead Emperor showa it was under his name that Japanese Fighters dedicated their famous Banzai Battle Cry charging recklessly into the enemy with bayonets swords or in the cockpit of a diving aircraft militarily resources of the co-prosperity sphere would be secured under a national resource Zone which stretched from Burma to melanesia to protect this Zone the newly conquered territories would be defended by the Army while the Navy secured its ocean Lanes this daunting task of Naval superiority in the Pacific was made attainable thanks to Japan withdrawing from the Washington Naval limitation treaty in 1937 giving the Navy ample time to construct some of the largest battleships ever built like the Yamoto and the Musashi at the same time senior staff held doubts about these super battleships urging those in government to shift Focus toward air power and submarines needed for the National Defense Zone of those senior staff the most notable was its commander-in-chief Admiral isaroku Yamamoto who was a longtime believer in Naval Aviation something which played a key role in his plans for operation Z the attack on Pearl Harbor operation Z envisioned a preemptive strike on the U.S Pacific Fleet and her aircraft carriers taking advantage of a delayed American response to quickly invade and occupy all of the planned Southern resource zones with these natural resources secured and the Americans so suddenly brutalized it was believed that the Allies would leave Japan dominant over the Pacific however inter-service tensions brood over priorities of the war the Army remained adamant on the Chinese Theater and pushed to seize natural resources in the areas north of Manchuria the Navy instead advocated for the new South Sea areas and with the Army's loss of favor after calcane Gaul the Navy was given their opportunity want to keep up with community events and discussions check out our Discord server today on December 7th 1941 combined elements of Japan's first air fleet attacked without a declaration of war 350 aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor and military bases on Oahu with the U.S Navy losing four battleships 188 aircraft and 2400 Sailors over the next four hours the Japanese Navy only lost 29 aircraft and 55 Pilots soon after Japan invaded the Philippines Singapore and the rest of Southeast Asia with Little Resistance from the Allied Nations the surprise nature of these invasions succeeded thanks to the competence of Japanese commanders with examples like the Malay operation under General tomoyuki yamashta seeing the entire Peninsula captured by the 25th Army in a blitzkrieg assault that lasted only 70 days on the home front a mixture of excitement and anxiety lingered among the public no Lantern parades rang out like after the capture of Nan King instead the Japanese expressed resolve in the face of a waking Giant for Admiral Yamamoto there was a great concern for the U.S aircraft carriers which had avoided destruction at Pearl Harbor this fear proved to be well founded after the USS Hornet penetrated the Western Pacific without alerting Japanese patrols and successfully launched a carrier strike over Tokyo in what became known as the Doolittle Raid in response the Army launched operations Sego ravaging the jejung zhangji region in China in search of the American Airmen who had taken shelter there after the raid a month later the Port Moresby operation was foiled after a strategic withdrawal following the Battle of the Coral Sea which marked the first time Japan's Navy had been stopped in its tracks Yamamoto was well aware of America's potential for total retaliation and sought to turn the tide by establishing a new base of operations to renew their attacks on U.S bases in Hawaii for this the Admiral first wished to trap the U.S Navy's remaining Pacific Fleet carriers and battleships at Midway atoll then established bases in the Aleutian Islands to prevent the U.S from conducting strategic bombing raids across the Northern Pacific the resources required to capture the Illusions diverted assets away from the attack at Midway with the surprise element becoming undone by U.S intelligence who broke Japanese Naval codes and hatched their own plans in preparation for the confrontation over the fourth to the 7th of June the Battle of Midway saw Japan's four premier aircraft carriers and a Heavy Cruiser destroyed along with the loss of 248 aircraft and the deaths of 3057 personnel from his Flagship Admiral matone ugaki recorded the tables had turned entirely and we are now forced to do our utmost to cope with the worst case this should be kept in mind as a lesson showing that war is not predictable despite the defeat at Midway inter-service rivalries once again reared its ugly head as the Army was misled about the battle's aftermath due to this the Army continued to believe for a short while that the fleet was in good condition for the enemy however these recent victories had given them the confidence and momentum needed to begin their island-hopping campaign Japanese military leadership were aware that their forces were not adjusting quickly enough to fit the new demands of combat attempts to update their Arsenal in 1942 were unsuccessful as the majority of weapons remain unchanged due to a lack of resources the Army's Focus shifted to securing occupied territories and controlling a widely dispersed military with the rush to produce equipment there was little time for quality control integration of improvements or improved Packaging the Japanese faced many material shortages which forced them to prioritize production for aircraft and ships at the cost of other much-needed armaments but even this was not enough in late 1942 allied Landings in Guadalcanal left the Japanese isolated into pockets of resistance allowing the Allies to bypass them for bigger targets over 1943 the Japanese defense of the occupied Gilbert and Marshall Islands was marked by Fierce fighting on both land and sea with the Japanese suffering heavy losses due to the superior Firepower of the Allied Forces by 1944 the Japanese Navy had lost Naval superiority after a crushing defeat in June during the battle of the Philippine Sea characterized as the largest carrier to carrier battle in history the lack of Japanese fire support was detrimental to their defense of the Mariana and Palau islands where the Japanese suffered heavy losses because of the Americans Superior Firepower and the Strategic bombing campaigns while the North China area Army under General akamura yatsutsuga thundered across China amid operation Ichigo General yamashita's defense of the occupied Philippines was crippled by another Naval defeat at the Battle of Leyte golf where the first organized use of Kamikaze attacks did little to sway the tide Japan's fighting Spirit remained tenacious with the Americans forced to contend with displays like that of General yoshitsugu saitos 4 300 man Bonsai charge during the Battle of Saipan a ferocious assault which decimated the American 105th Infantry Regiment at the cost of nearly all of its attackers despite their losses both the Army and Navy made it clear that the Americans would have to fight both tooth and nail for every island occupied by Japanese forces the rising failures of late 1944 to 1945 highlighted the military's desperate situation island hopping campaigns ground away Japanese garrisons leaving many abandoned to an honorable death like that of General tadamishi kiribayashi at the Battle of Iwo Jima offensive campaigns such as operation Hugo petered out before they were even began due to the severe lack of resources 1945 marked the final Turning Point as March saw the U.S launch a firebombing campaign across Tokyo devastating the city's industrial capacity and leaving a death toll of 80 000 to nearly 100 000 people with the Allied Forces closing in Japan found itself using all means necessary to defend the home Islands during the U.S invasion of Okinawa in June over 100 000 troops were stationed to defend the island inflicting some of the heaviest American casualties of the entire War which also came at a huge cost to the Japanese and Okinawan conscripts some estimates claim that up to half of the Island's population was killed forced to commit suicide or otherwise disappeared during the battle meanwhile Japan's second fleet was thrown at the Allies in a suicidal attack known as operation Tango which promptly failed after having their Naval codes once again decrypted by U.S intelligence despite a barrage of Kamikaze attacks the U.S fifth Fleet had sunk the Yamoto and five of the other nine ships present at the battle the writing was on the wall Allied Forces called for the unconditional surrender of Japan at the Potsdam Conference on the 26th of July 1945 threatening refusal with prompt and utter disruption Japan's government ignored the Allies ultimatum leading to the decision by the United States with agreement from the United Kingdom to use the newly created atomic bombs against them the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki occurred on the 6th and 9th of August 1945 respectively leaving a collective death toll estimated to have killed hundreds of thousands both from the immediate detonation and radiation poisoning in the weeks and months after following the bombing of Hiroshima the Soviet Union declared war driving into Manchuria after the bombing of Nagasaki still Japan seemed poised to wager the lives of all of its people in the name of Empire only on August 15th after the unfamiliar voice of the emperor called out for peace did the War end

Channel: The Armchair Historian

Views: 9,392

Keywords: military history, war, battle, the second world war, historical

Id: XFTRZzyoe_E

Length: 17min 57sec (1077 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 30 2023