Reddit Reddit reviews Japan's War: The Great Pacific Conflict

We found 4 Reddit comments about Japan's War: The Great Pacific Conflict. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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Japan's War: The Great Pacific Conflict
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4 Reddit comments about Japan's War: The Great Pacific Conflict:

u/kami232 · 3 pointsr/AskHistorians

> Perhaps being starved out and bombed constantly was enough to convince them though.

Unfortunately, that wasn't strictly speaking the case. The Japanese Empire captured the Wake Island atoll on December the 23, 1941 after a two week long struggle for the island. Wake is approximately 1000 miles from Hawaii; While not strategically significant to the island-hopping campaign, the US Navy and the USMC bypassed the island for the entirety of the war. The garrison did not surrender during the roughly four years of a naval blockade and periodic aircraft bombardment.

The Japanese military knew the occupations of any island were intended for the long haul, so the garrisons were stocked with supplies to last for months at a time, especially Wake with its six month stock of supplies (Spennemann). But, as the Japanese lost naval superiority, American naval actions would make resupplying the garrison at the distant, blockaded Wake Island into a very difficult task for the IJN: "The losses of the Japanese submarine fleet in the beginning of 1944 were so considerable, eight boats [83] between February and June 1944, that the attempts were eventually abandoned, save for the resupply of the garrison on Wake Atoll, which continued until June 1945. [84] Each of these 2000 ton submarines dropped sufficient rice to supply 5,000 men for a period of 7 to 10 days [85]" (Spennemann).

But for all of the difficulties at obtaining supplies, especially as the war grew desperate, Wake Island was finally transferred to American control on September 4, 1945 during a brief ceremony. This happened two days after the signing of the official surrender aboard the USS Missouri two days earlier. So, Wake was held by the Japanese during the entirety of the war despite the blockade and occasional bombings. They were not starved or bombed out.

Japan's War is a book I liked reading that chronicles the growth of the modern Japanese military and how the militarists particularly embodied bushido and other nationalist ideals to further their expansionist agenda to become the power in the Pacific. It's a fascinating insight on the mentality of the Japanese people and military.

A good documentary on the Battle of Wake in particular is featured on the History Channel is called "Wake Island: Alamo of the Pacific" that takes from both Japanese and American accounts of the island during the war, but particularly the battle. Note: I did not use this source in my post, but it is a good documentary all the same with an interesting take on the island.

Secondary Source used: Spennemann, Dirk H. R., To Hell and Back: Wake During and After World War II, Marshall.csu.edu.au, (2000), accessed 5 July 2013

u/CaesarBrennius · 3 pointsr/AskHistorians
u/Cutlasss · 2 pointsr/AskHistory

You could try Japan's War http://www.amazon.com/Japans-War-Great-Pacific-Conflict/dp/0815411189

I read that several years ago. Long enough unfortunately that I don't recall it in detail.

u/[deleted] · 1 pointr/funny

> The point is what you're talking about is unrelated!

No, it's not.

If you don't understand that the interests of the United States, in both economics and national security, align with taking a humble approach to the rest of the world, respecting the fact that our sinking dollar has bought us more of the world's goods and resources than it has any right to have, that the world has given this country far more than it has ever received, that immigrants are a huge boon to the economy, that American arrogance causes hatred throughout the world, that we operate in a world economy with people who do actually speak other languages and that by disrespecting them when they come here we foster enormous hatred, well then I guess I can't help you.

"YOU came to OUR country. YOU learn OUR language."

That might as well say, "fuck off, rest of the world," or "screw you dad, I'm not living by your rules any more - you're still going to pay for my rent and tuition, right?"