Japan
Japanese Paratroop Operations in WW II
1) Celebes Island Menado-Kema area ; IJN 1 Yokosuka SNLF (Air) ; 334 men were dropped from G3M1-L transport aircraft on 11 Jan 1942 and 185 more paratroops on 12 Jan 1942. 2) Sumatra Island Palembang area ; IJA 2 Parachute Regiment of 1 Parachute Brigade ; 360 paratroops were dropped from Ki-56 and Ki-57 transport aircraft on 14 Jan…
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Hōjō Masako
1157–1225 The Nun Shogun Two centuries after early chapters of The Tale of Genji circulated at the Heian court, a brand new sort of literature was doing the rounds in Japan. Its delight in the intimate repartee that passes between a woman and a man would have been familiar to…
Oda Nobunaga 1534–1582
September 1571. Temples and towns around the lower reaches of Mount Hiei begin to empty out as their many thousands of inhabitants – Tendai monks alongside ordinary men, women and children – set out together on the hard climb towards the summit. They are desperately seeking refuge from what lurks…
IJN Battleship Pagoda Masts
The Imperial Japanese navy conducted a more thorough battleship reconstruction programme than any fleet except the Italian, extending ships’ hulls, adding considerable power, and modernising fire control (with added gun elevation to match). The two Fuso-class battleships (Yamashiro is shown) were the first, and their ‘pagoda’ foremasts were the most…
Japan at Bay
No one—and especially not the members of Japanese Imperial General Headquarters or the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff—expected Okinawa to be the last battle of World War II. Why the surprise? The Joint Chiefs, having woefully underestimated enemy striking power at the beginning of the Pacific War, had just…
“The Rise and Fall of Imperial Japan Depends on This One Battle” Part I
IJN Junyo IJN Shokaku Movement of opposing forces, 16—17 June 1944. Movement of opposing forces, 18 June 1944. On the morning of 11 June Admiral Ozawa received the first reports of TF 58’s strikes on the Marianas. At first he thought these raids were nothing more than diversionary attacks meant…
“The Rise and Fall of Imperial Japan Depends on This One Battle” Part II
In the meantime, after Admiral Mitscher told TF 58 that it appeared the Japanese were coming their way, Gus Widhelm had been having a hard time getting takers for his $1,000 wager that the Japanese would be heading out for a carrier duel. Far to the west of Saipan, Ozawa’s…