The Pacific War, part 1

World War 2 ended in Europe in May 1945, however the war in the Pacific was just getting started.


Japan had been involved in the "China Incident" (as they referred to it) since the 1930s. After the great depression, which hit the country hard, Japan was on an expansionist mission. Its leaders had their sights set on gaining access to the Dutch East Indies (Indochina) for its petroleum.

By 1940 Japan's intended allies, Russia and Germany, had dissolved their alliance. Japan tried to persuade Russia to join the triple alliance (Germany, Italy and Japan) but only succeeded in achieving a neutrality pact with the Soviets.

During this time, Japan was having (as was to be expected) trouble with the United States of America. Their main issues included, Japan's alliance with Germany and Japan's involvement in China. In 1940 80% of Japan's oil (which kept its navy afloat, so to speak) came from the USA. "Without access to the major source of oil the Japanese navy's oil reserves were expected to last two years, and a year and a half if Japan were to engage in a full-scale war." ("Japan: A Short History", Mikiso Hane, p162). Once the US placed an oil embargo on Japan, the countdown began.

This was a key reason as to why the military leaders of Japan wanted to gain access to the oil reserves of Indochina. The USA, under President Roosevelt and Secretary Hull,  and Japan were unable to come to terms of agreement regarding the China Incident and Japan's involvement in South East Asia. The Japanese Emperor, Hirohito, wanted to continue diplomatic discussions, however the new Prime Minister (and former War Minister) Tojo was a militarist.

Japan decided that December 8 would be the date for war to be launched in an all out attack on Pearl Harbour, an American base. Remember that the Japanese could not possibly continue a long-scale war (do to the oil embargo) therefore they hoped to have the upper hand by planning the surprise attack on Pearl Harbour. This attack, from a Japanese standpoint, proved to be a success - 18 American naval vessels heavily damagesd, approx. 350 planes destroyed, 2403 Americans dead, 1178 wounded, in comparison to Japanese losses of 29 planes and about 100 casualties.

From a strategic point of view, it was a disaster as now the "beast had been woken" and the otherwise "isolationist" America found itself in a full-fledged war.

Sources:
"Japan: A Short History," Misiko Hane, Oneworld Publications, 2000