Strategies used by allied forces against Japan, 1942-1945 Flashcards
(5 cards)
Intro
Allied strategies were extremely significant in leading to Japanese defeat
factors such as Japan’s poor leadership and economic inadequacy must also be noted.
strategies employed by the US and Allied forces worked most effectively when used in tandem.
Allied naval blockade, ‘island-hopping’ and bombing campaigns, as well as the entry of the USSR in 1945, all collectively served to weaken the Japanese military effort and reverse the Allied losses of 1941–1942
. Despite the success of these strategies, incohesion within the Japanese High Command, coupled with an ineffective use of resources and industrial failures, similarly contributed to their defeat in August 1945.
Allied strategies were extremely significant in Japan’s defeat, they did not constitute the entirety of the contributing factors.
Naval Blockade
critical significance
Initiated in 1943, supported by Allied control of South Pacific sea lanes and bases like Australia. to restrict the Japanese from utilising critical war
materials and resources gained in their conquest of South-East
Pre-war: Japan imported 3 million tonnes of iron ore.
→ 1943: Only 100,000 tonnes.
Operation Starvation (1944) under General LeMay:
35 of 47 convoy routes abandoned by Japan
492 merchant ships sunk by US subs and mines in that year alone
US subs = 1.6% of navy, but caused 55% of Japan’s shipping losses. show effectiveness
1946 US Strategic Bombing Survey later said:
“The war against shipping was the most decisive single factor in the collapse of the Japanese economy…and support for military and naval power.”
Island hopping and firebombing campaigns
Aimed to avoid high casualties & gain strategic bases, advancing towards home islands.
involved the targeting of
strategically important islands whilst leaving others to effectively ‘wither on the vine’
‘Skipped strongholds like Rabaul (Cartwheel Strategy) althougjh generally used dual-pronged advance: Northern led by Admiral Nimitz and Southern by General Macarthur.
Allowed unimpeded and devastating air rads and Success at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Japanese air and naval forces largely neutralised by Feb 1945
Tokyo firebombing (9–10 Mar 1945):
89,000 civilians killed.
267,000 buildings destroyed.
Dupuy & Dupuy:
“ strategic bombing had brought Japan to the verge of economic and moral collapse.”
Culminated with Hiroshima (6 Aug) and Nagasaki (9 Aug) as final crushing blows to an already low spirited nation
USSR entry into Pacific War
9 August 1945: USSR invades on 5 fronts with:
1.5 million troops
3700 tanks & aircraft
Crushed Kwantung Army with minimal weaponry (800,000 troops) weakened by resource reallocation, showed futility of continued resistance.
Double-pincer offensives left Japan unable to mount a defence.
US War Dept- 1946:
“It is almost a certainty that the Japanese would have capitulated upon the entry of Russia into the war.” shown by swift surrender after USSRs entry.
Leadership ane economic production within Japan
Disunity between IJN and IJA:
IJN misled IJA after Midway: reported loss of only 1 carrier, instead of 4, misleading IJA into overestimating available naval support
in 1942, IJN pursued SE Asia while IJA fixated on China—no unified plan.
No strategic boundaries → opportunism over coordination.
Industrial collapse:
By 1945, Japan’s aircraft production was just 20% of the US.
Couldn’t replace losses in pilots, ships, or planes.
