Japan's Military Weaknesses

• • Inter-Service Rivalry between Army and Navy
• Situation in 1930s:

  • both services had different strategic goals and ideas for how they wanted to seize territories
• One problem they had:

  • both couldn't agree on where Japan's defensive perimeter against Allies should be
• Relationship in WW1:

  • both did not share resources and exchange military intelligence
  • both did not coordinate attacks and defences against Allies
• Conflict in 1942:

  • army refused when navy asked for troop support for invasion of Australia
• Army remained unresponsive throughout Pacific war + late to recognize threat of US counter-offensive in late 1942
• Throughout 1943:

  • army also refused to commit major reinforcements to Pacific islands - no one to defend and fight there - easy for other countries to take over
• Impact of rivalry:

  • both were more focused on winning each other

  Significance:

  • easy for allies to attack
  • affects operational effectiveness (not attacking external enemies but getting weaker)
• • Overstretched empire
• Japanese empire very spread out (unable to effectively leverage empire they had expanded):

  • many areas had poor rail and road communications - difficult to deliver raw materials and workers efficiently - most materials and weapons delivered by sea (easy for accidents - delay)
• • Poor Planning
• Problem:

  • failed to understand war at sea had changed by 1941: air power (like aircraft carriers) far more important than traditional naval power (like battleships) - destroyed US battleships in PH but did not destroy aircraft carriers (US recovered quickly)
• • Lack of Local Support
• Japanese attitude towards conquered lands:

  1. brutally treated people they conquered - abused them + forced thousands into slave labour

  • Significance: millions of civilians died - conquered people began resisting in every way possible (locals hated Japanese)

  2. looted resources
• Large-scale resistance movements:

  1. China - communists under Mao Zedong carried out effective campaign of guerilla warfare against Japan (many N. Koreans joined and later fought Japanese in Korea)
  2. Vietnam - nationalist leader Ho Chi Minh led Viet Minh in guerilla campaign (eventually wore down Japanese)
  3. Malaya - MPAJA - mainly communist movement that fought an underground war against Japanese + fought bravely against overwhelming odds in terrible conditions + around 1/3 of fighters died in the war
• Impact of resistance movements:

  • Japan needed manpower to stop them - lesser soldiers fighting war