Japan
Civil War and the New Imperial Army III
The military academy aimed to educate officers in western military science and tactics, but Japan lacked schools that taught foreign languages, western pedagogy, or natural sciences. Educational reforms of 1872 established four years of primary schooling and three of middle school, but attendance was not compulsory and most students did not graduate from primary school. Until the military preparatory schools…
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The Air Defense of the Philippines 1941-42 Part I
In the Philippines, in the early hours of December 8, USMC Lieutenant Colonel William Clement was the duty officer at the Asiatic Fleet headquarters in the Marsman Building in Manila, when the radio operator rushed into his office. “Air Raid on Pearl Harbor. This is no drill.” Clement looked at…
The Air Defense of the Philippines 1941-42 Part II
The Japanese Navy, with Pacific Ocean distances in mind, had designed aircraft with much longer range. Avoiding the inter-service demarcation disputes and funding limitations that hobbled the armed forces of Britain and the United States, the Imperial Navy had developed its own long-range bomber force. Nearly 140 of these aircraft…
SSK Soryu Class Submarines
Soryu Class diesel-electric submarines are being built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). Soryu Class is an improved version of the Oyashio Class submarine. Keel for the first submarine in the class, Soryu (SS-501), was laid down in March 2005. It…
SUICIDE WEAPONS AND TACTICS IN THE FINAL DEFENCE OFÂ JAPAN
As early as January 1945, the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy reached agreement (although their cooperation was, as always, limited by inter-service rivalry) on Ketsu-Go (“Operation Decision”): the final defence of the Japanese home islands against Allied invasion. A single phrase from the Precepts Concerning the Decisive Battle issued on…
JAPANESE EXPLOSIVE MOTORBOATSÂ I
The Maru-in and Shinyo Explosive Motoboats Early Maru-re boats had the depth charges mounted alongside the pilot’s compartment. The depth charges could be released manually or by ramming the prow into the target ship. Division of Naval Intelligence, ONI 208-J Supplement No. 2, Far-Eastern Small Craft, March 1945, p. 31.…
JAPANESE EXPLOSIVE MOTORBOATSÂ II
â– Recruiting in the Homeland While the first hastily-recruited and partly-trained EMB units were preparing for action in the Philippines, an official programme of recruitment and training had begun in Japan. The formation of kamikaze aircraft units was officially announced on 27 October 1944 and, at the beginning of November,…