2.2 Japan during the Second World War
After Germany occupied France and Holland in 1940, Japan took advantage of the convenient situation and seized their colonies - Indonesia and Indochina.
On September 27, 1940, Japan entered into a military alliance (Tripartite Pact) with Germany and Italy, directed against the USSR. England and USA. At the same time, in April 1941, a neutrality agreement was concluded with the USSR.
After Germany's attack on the USSR in June 1941, the Japanese greatly strengthened their military potential on the border in this area - the Kwantung Army. However, the failure of the German blitzkrieg and defeat near Moscow, as well as the fact that Soviet Union constantly kept combat-ready divisions on the eastern borders - did not allow the Japanese leadership to begin military operations here. They were forced to direct their military efforts in other directions.
Having defeated the British troops, the Japanese in a short time captured many territories and countries of the South- East Asia and approached the borders of India. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese army suddenly attacked the US Navy base at Pearl Harbor without declaring war ( Hawaiian Islands).
A surprise attack on US naval installations located more than 6 thousand km from Japanese Islands, caused enormous damage to the American armed forces. At the same time, Japanese troops invaded Thailand and began military operations to capture Burma, Malaya and the Philippines. The first stage of the war unfolded successfully for the Japanese militarists. After five months of war, they captured Malaya, Singapore, the Philippines, the main islands of Indonesia, Burma, Hong Kong, New Britain, and the Solomon Islands. Behind a short time Japan captured an area of 7 million square meters. km with a population of about 500 million people.. The combination of surprise and numerical superiority ensured the Japanese armed forces success and initiative in the early stages of the war.
Playing on the desire of these peoples to free themselves from colonial dependence and presenting themselves as such a “liberator,” the Japanese leadership implanted puppet governments in the occupied countries. However, these maneuvers of Japan, which mercilessly plundered the occupied countries and established police regimes here, could not deceive the broad masses of these countries.
The main reasons that kept Japan from attacking the USSR were its military power - dozens of divisions on Far East, the plight of the Japanese troops, hopelessly stuck in a grueling war in China, whose people were waging a heroic struggle against the invaders; victory of the Red Army in the war with Nazi Germany.
However, the situation soon began to change. The Japanese command underestimated the importance of using submarines and large aircraft carriers, and soon American and British units began to inflict significant defeats on them. In 1944, after the loss of the Philippines, massive bombing of Japan itself by US aircraft began. Tokyo was almost completely destroyed. The same fate befell the majority major cities. However, even in 1945, Japan was not going to give up and the troops resisted very fiercely. Therefore, the United States and Great Britain were forced to abandon plans to land their troops directly on Japanese territory, and America carried out the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945.
The situation changed dramatically only after the USSR entered the war. Soviet Union August 9, 1945 Began military operations against the Kwantung Army. It was defeated in a short time and already on August 14, 1945, the Emperor was forced to announce surrender. The act was signed on September 2, 1945. On board the American battleship Missouri... / Recent history countries of Asia and Africa, part 1, 2003, p. 51-70/.
On August 14, 1945, the government and military command unconditionally accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration and capitulated to the allied states represented by China, the USA, England and the Soviet Union. It was a long and unfair war. It lasted 14 years from the beginning of the aggression in Manchuria, 8 years from the time of aggression in China, and four years from the beginning of hostilities against other nations. During this war, millions of people were killed in China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Siam, Burma, Malaya and Indonesia.
In preparation for war, ruling classes Japan gradually deprived its people of their rights and, in the end, took away all freedom from them. In the beginning, before the Manchuria incident, communists, advanced workers and peasants were subjected to illegal arrests, torture, imprisonment and execution. Then, after 1933, repression spread to liberals and democrats. Freedom of speech, assembly, and unions was destroyed. People who before 1936-1937 They thought that only the “reds” were being persecuted, that these repressions would not affect them, that the revival of the economy caused by the war was salutary, and during the war they realized their mistake. Many of them were forced to change their profession and were forcibly sent to work in the war industry.
All economic life was regulated by the military, officials and large capitalists. There really were no more unemployed. But this happened because several million people were doomed to Slave work at military enterprises. More than 3.5 million young people, including students and 12-year-old schoolchildren (boys and girls), were mobilized into the war industry and Agriculture. In short, 80 million Japanese were condemned to forced labor in a huge military prison / Inoue Kiyoshi et al., 1955, p. 257, 258/.
By the end of the war, the vast majority of Japanese territory was completely destroyed. Allied bombing practically destroyed the main urban centers, including many cities that did not have a military or strategic purpose. Even more tragic was the fate of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which were virtually wiped off the face of the earth. During the years of hostilities Japanese army lost more than 2 million people / ibid., p. 259, 260/.
This meant that the next sharp increase in oil prices in the late 1970s did not have a significant impact on the Japanese economy. The second half of the 70s and 80s is a transition to a moderate pace model economic development, the most important features of which were the creation of knowledge-intensive production. The main attention began to be paid to industries operating for export...
Contradictions. As a result of this, the Far Eastern outskirts of Russia become an arena of class struggle, a place of ripening driving forces bourgeois-democratic revolution. International situation in the Far East in the second half of the 19th century. Despite the high rates of economic development in the post-reform period, Russia continued to lag behind such capitalist states as England, France, ...
The capitalist development of Japan, and the seizure of Fr. Taiwan and the Penghuledao Islands marked the beginning of the creation of the Japanese colonial empire. 6. Foreign policy at the beginning of the 20th century. Japan's preparation for world war International influence Japan was increasing. Japan obtained from the European powers and the United States the abolition of unequal treaties. England was the first to refuse such a treaty - July 16, 1894. In the end...
Human. The process begun in Helsinki was continued at subsequent meetings of representatives of OSCE participating States. However further actions Soviet and American leadership led to the fact that in the second half of the 70s. the discharge process died down and resumed" Cold War". The USSR decided to replace the obsolete SS-4 and SS-4 missiles with new, more powerful missiles SS-20. There were new missiles...
Question 9.Japan in World War II
Japan on the eve of 2 m. Strategic plans. The military-political leadership of Japan considered their immediate goal to be the conquest of dominance in Asia and the Pacific by seizing China, the Asian and Pacific colonial possessions of Western European powers and the United States, and the Soviet Far East. It was assumed that dominion over many hundreds of millions of people, their enslavement and the transformation of occupied territories into military-economic springboards for further struggle for world domination would lead to the creation of a grandiose colonial empire. Japan's strategic plans included, first of all, the north (against the USSR), and also the southern (against France, Great Britain and the USA) directions of aggression, the choice of which depended on the presence of favorable conditions. Bound by the “anti-Comintern Pact” with Germany and Italy, Japan took into account the plans of these fascist states in its strategic plans.
Having waited for the defeat and surrender of France and Holland to Berlin, the Japanese began to occupy their colonies in Southeast Asia, then the same fate befell Malaya, Burma, Thailand, and the Philippines. The aggravation of Japanese-American rivalry in the Asia-Pacific region led to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 - this is how the Pacific War.
When unleashing the Pacific War, Japanese imperialism had a very modest military-economic potential compared to its opponents (steel production was at the level of Luxembourg), but hoped for surprise and disunity of interests of “the British lion, the American panther and the Russian bear.”
The Western Powers identified the main European theater of war against Germany, postponing the adoption of decisive measures against Japan for the period after the surrender of Berlin. Thus, the fate of Japan was decided on the fronts of Europe. On the other hand, this contributed to prolonging the war Pacific Ocean for four years.
On first stage of the war (December 1941 - 1942) Japan occupied and brought under its control vast continental and ocean territories with a total area of 10 million square meters. km with a population of 400 million people, practically without encountering serious resistance from the Americans and Europeans, with some support from the national-bourgeois wing of the National Liberation Movement against the “white colonialists.”
Having captured part of New Guinea, the Philippines, and many Pacific islands, by 1942 Japan occupied a territory of about 3.8 million square meters. km. (not counting China and Korea). However, the strategic miscalculations of the Japanese command soon began to tell. it underestimated the role of aircraft carriers and submarines in naval war, as a result of which in battles with the American fleet in the Coral Sea (May 1942), at Midway Island (June 1942), at the Solomon Islands (September 1943 - March 1944) Japanese fleet and aviation suffered heavy defeats.
On second stage (1943 - first half of 1944) Japan is trying to develop the enormous material and human resources of the occupied territories, but the small tonnage of the merchant fleet and its methodical destruction by American aircraft did not allow Tokyo to take advantage of the resources to a significant extent Asian countries. This led to difficulties in supplying the military-industrial complex with the necessary materials and a shortage of food in Japan itself. The national-bourgeois leaders of the NOD, disillusioned with the “liberators” from white colonialism, begin to switch to anti-Japanese positions. Granting Tokyo fictitious independence to the former colonies of Japan's military-strategic position can no longer improve.
In the third stage (second half 1944 - May 9, 1945) A turning point in the war in the Pacific begins with the transfer of initiative into the hands of the Americans. The United States had the opportunity, thanks to its military-technical superiority, to transfer military operations to the shores of Japan as early as 1944, cutting it off from the occupied territories. However, Washington proceeded primarily not from military-technical, but from political considerations: it was impossible to allow the NOD to take advantage of the situation to liberate itself from the Japanese with its own forces and subsequently declare independence. Therefore, American troops launched an offensive along the entire perimeter of the Japanese defense “from palm tree to palm tree.”
At this stage, Japan's foreign policy situation is deteriorating. The Soviet Union demonstrated its dissatisfaction with Tokyo's provocative actions (the "small border war" along the Soviet-Manchurian border, the sinking of 40 Soviet merchant ships, espionage for Germany and other actions that contradicted the 1941 Pact). Following the cancellation of the Japanese concession to develop the natural resources of Northern Sakhalin, I. Stalin, in a speech on the occasion of the 27th anniversary of the October Revolution, named Japan among the “aggressive nations” threatening civilized humanity. At the Yalta Conference, a fundamental decision was made by the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition to enter the USSR into the war against Japan two or three months after the surrender of Germany. In April 1945, Moscow announced its desire to withdraw from the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact, which expired in April 1946. However, Tokyo was accustomed to the fact that in the history of Russian-Japanese relations, Russia has always been a defending party, not an attacking party, and the necessary conclusions were not drawn from the demonstrative gestures of the USSR.
At the fourth stage of the war (May 9 - August 8, 1945). The Japanese determination to continue the war was proven during the battles for Okinawa, which began in the spring of 1945. During the battles, the Allies suffered so much heavy losses, that they were forced to abandon plans to land their troops directly in Japan, postponing their deadline to mid-1946. At this stage, the American air and sea offensive near the Japanese coast intensified. Turning the US into nuclear power in June 1945, the USSR’s entry into the war against Japan was undesirable for them, since it implied the restoration not only of Russia’s lost positions in the Treaty of Portsmouth of 1905, but also additional territorial acquisitions (Kuril Islands). In an effort to prevent the strengthening of the USSR's position in the Far East, the Western Powers and Chiang Kai-shek China presented an ultimatum to Tokyo in July 1905 - Potsdam Declaration: in exchange for the unconditional surrender of Japan to them, Japan was guaranteed the preservation of the 4 main islands of the Japanese archipelago (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu) and access to world sources of raw materials. The goal of the authors of the Declaration was to remove Japan from the war before the Soviet Union entered it. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 6 and 9, 1945) did not affect the Japanese people’s resolve to fight. The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the last means of persuading Tokyo to agree to the option for ending the war proposed in the Declaration. Extremists from among the Japanese military prevented the adoption of this document, which made the USSR's entry into the war against Japan inevitable on August 8, 1945. In March 1945, Sov. The Union denounced the non-aggression treaty with Japan and, fulfilling the allied obligations adopted at the Crimean Conference, after the transfer of troops to the east on August 9, 1945, began fighting against the Kwantung Army. It was defeated in a short time, and already on August 14 the emperor was forced to announce unconditional surrender Japan. The act of surrender was signed on September 2, 1945 on board the American battleship Missouri.
Modern Japanese diplomacy and propaganda claim that the “treacherous” action of the USSR against Japan 8 months before the end of the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact gave rise to an international legal conflict affecting not only the moral and political, but also the territorial aspect of post-war relations between our countries . It seems that the cause of the conflict was Tokyo’s foreign policy after the conclusion of the Pact, which gave rise to a logical contradiction of its main semantic article. 2 (spirit of the Agreement) and clarifying minor art. 3 (letter of the Agreement). In its spirit (Article 2), the Pact was defensive, not offensive in nature: in the event of aggression against Japan by a third Power (for example, the USA), Moscow was obliged to maintain neutrality towards the victim of aggression until April 1946. In practice, , after the signing of the Soviet-Japanese Pact, Japan itself committed aggression against the United States and thereby emasculated the defensive content of the Pact: the USSR was not bound by the obligation to maintain neutrality towards the aggressor and, moreover, Art. 3 about the terms of neutrality. Thus, the diplomatic and propaganda insinuations of post-war Japan regarding Moscow’s “treachery” are devoid of serious grounds and are in fact an attempt to whitewash the aggressive policy of militaristic Japan during the Second World War. Unfortunately, the diplomatic arsenal of the Japanese side on this issue is also supplemented by some domestic experts who believe that by starting a war with Japan, the USSR “to a certain extent violated its international obligations” (see: Punzhin S.M. USSR - Japan: is it possible using the law to solve the problem of the “northern territories?” - Soviet State and Law. 1991, No. 7).
Japan accepted the terms Potsdam Conference of unconditional surrender. Following this, it was occupied by American troops acting on behalf of the Allied powers. From this time until its entry into force in 1952. San Francisco Peace Treaty the supreme power in the country was in the hands of the United States (the United States appropriated to itself the most important government functions, finance, foreign trade, courts, police apparatus, limited the legislative power of parliament, all foreign policy functions were in the hands of the occupation authorities. In September 1945 they were dissolved army and punitive authorities, nationalist organizations. A number of democratic rights were also granted to the Japanese population. The Shinto religion was separated from the state. On November 3, 1946, a constitution was adopted).
The Second World War (1939 – 1945) is the largest armed conflict of the 20th century, affecting tens of millions of lives. Japan, at that time an influential power with powerful military potential, could not remain on the sidelines. Under the influence of increased militaristic sentiments in the ruling circles in the 1930s, Japan pursued an active expansionist policy. This subsequently determined the interests of the empire in the world conflict, in which it took the side of Nazi Germany.
Prerequisites for Japan's entry into the war
After long negotiations, on September 27, 1940 in Berlin, the member states of the Anti-Comintern Pact, namely Japan, Germany and Italy, signed new agreement, called the Tripartite Pact. It stipulated the spheres of influence of each side: Germany and Italy in Europe, Japan in the territory of “Greater East Asia”. Although the agreement did not contain any specific names, it was directed largely against Great Britain and the United States. In this regard, it was the signing of the Tripartite Pact that officially determined Japan's future relations with Western countries. Already on April 13, 1941, following the example of Germany, Japan signed a neutrality agreement with the Soviet Union, obliging both parties to “maintain peaceful and friendly relations among themselves and respect the territorial integrity and inviolability of the other Contracting Party,” as well as to maintain neutrality in the event that one countries will enter into a military conflict with a third party. This agreement was to be valid for five years from the date of its conclusion.
With the outbreak of World War II, the war between the Empire of Japan and Kuomintang China, which began in 1937, was still ongoing. In this regard, the Japanese government, in an attempt to interrupt Western support for China, forced Great Britain to close supplies along the Burma-China road in July 1940. In September of the same year, Japanese troops, by agreement with the French government, entered northern territory Indochina, and in July 1941 - to the south, which also blocked one of the communication lines. The United States first stopped exporting only strategic raw materials to Japan, and after the occupation of all of French Indochina, they introduced an embargo on almost all goods, including oil. The UK has also stopped its economic relations with Japan. This significantly aggravated the situation of the latter, because without fuel and energy supply it became impossible to maintain for a long time Navy and the army.
But war was inevitable. Japan conducted lengthy negotiations with the United States, meanwhile preparing for a large-scale offensive. On November 26, 1941 they were interrupted.
Progress of hostilities
On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, a US naval base in Hawaii. Only an hour after this, US war was officially declared. 8 American battleships, 6 cruisers, 1 destroyer and 272 aircraft were damaged or destroyed. “Losses in people amounted to 3,400 people, including 2,402 killed.” This attack marked the entry of Japan and the United States into the Second World War. world war.
At the same time, the Japanese army began to seize the Philippines and British Malaya. On January 2, 1942, the Japanese entered Manila, and Singapore was captured on February 15. These victories opened the way for them to further advance to Burma and Indonesia, where successes were also not long in coming: already in the spring of that year, Japanese troops captured the entire Dutch Indies and advanced into Chinese territory through the Burmese capital Rangoon.
Japan also dominated the sea. In March 1942, an attack was made on the British naval base in Ceylon, forcing the British to relocate to east Africa. “As a result of the actions of the Japanese, the Allies were thrown back to the borders of India and Australia, and Japan received at its disposal the richest raw material resources, which allowed it to significantly strengthen its economic base.”
Next major battle was the Battle of Midway Atoll (June 4–6, 1942). Despite their significant numerical superiority, the Japanese failed to win: the Americans, who revealed the enemy military code, knew in advance about the upcoming campaign. As a result of the battle, Japan lost 4 aircraft carriers and 332 aircraft. There was a turning point on the Pacific front. Simultaneously with the Midway attack, Japan carried out a diversionary operation in the Aleutian Islands. Due to their insignificance in tactical terms, these territories were finally conquered by the Americans only in the summer of 1943.
In August 1942, fierce fighting for Guadalcanal took place in the Solomon Islands. Despite the fact that the Japanese troops did not suffer defeat as such, the command decided to leave the island, since long-term retention of these territories did not give Japan any advantages over the enemy.
In 1943, there was virtually no military action in the Pacific. Perhaps the most notable event This period was the reconquest of the Gilbert Islands by American troops.
The outcome of the war for Japan was already a foregone conclusion. In early 1944, the Allies captured the Marshall and Caroline Islands, and by August, all of the Marianas. The Japanese also faced huge losses in the battles for the Philippines, in particular near the island of Leyte in October 1944. It was here that Japanese suicide pilots, called kamikazes, were first deployed. Military successes in this area opened the way for American troops to the shores of Japan itself. “Thus, by the end of 1944, the main forces of the Japanese army suffered huge losses, and control over strategically important territories was lost.”
By March 1945, the Americans finally conquered the Philippine Islands, capturing the main one, the island of Luzon. However, a full-fledged attack on Japanese territories began only after the capture of the island of Iwo Jima, which was located only 1200 km from Tokyo. Strong Japanese resistance extended the siege of the island to about a month. On March 26, Iwo Jima was already under the control of American troops. Active raids began on Japanese territory, as a result of which many cities were completely destroyed. On April 1, the siege of Okinawa began. It lasted until June 23, ending with the ritual suicide of the Japanese commander in chief.
On July 26, the Potsdam Declaration was issued, presenting Japan with an ultimatum for its urgent surrender. The declaration was officially ignored. This is what prompted the United States to use atomic bombs. American government intended not only to speed up Japan's exit from the war, but also to demonstrate to the world its military power. The first bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. However, contrary to US expectations, this was not followed by capitulation. On August 9, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Between these two attacks, on August 8, the USSR declared war on Japan. This was precisely the decisive factor for the latter - already on August 10, the Japanese leadership announced its readiness to accept the Potsdam Declaration. This was followed by an official imperial decree on August 14. However, the war did not end there. This happened only on September 2, 1945, with the signing of the Act of Surrender.
After Germany attacked the USSR in June 1941, the Japanese began to strengthen the Kwantung Army stationed near the Soviet borders in order to attack it from the East after the defeat of the Soviet Union in the West. However, the failure of the blitzkrieg of the German troops and their defeat near Moscow, as well as the preservation Soviet command combat-ready personnel divisions on the eastern borders prompted Tokyo to continue building up the main military operations in the southeastern direction.
Inflicting defeat on the colonial troops and the British fleet, the Japanese short time took over all countries South-East Asia, approached the borders of India. In October 1941, General Tojo, a representative of the most aggressive part of the military and large monopolies, became the head of the Japanese cabinet. Preparations began for an attack on the United States and, despite negotiations on the settlement of Japanese-American relations, on December 7, 1941, the Japanese fleet suddenly, without announcing the start of hostilities, attacked the US Navy base at Pearl Harbor (Hawaii Islands).
At the first stage of the war, the advantage was on Japan's side. Having captured part of New Guinea, the Philippines, and many islands of the Pacific Ocean, by 1942 Japan occupied a territory of about 3.8 million square meters. km (not counting the previously captured territory of China and Korea). At the same time, Japanese troops showed extreme cruelty towards prisoners and the population of the occupied territories, which predetermined for many decades after the end of World War II negative attitude to Japan from the peoples and governments of East Asian countries.
However, the strategic miscalculations of the Japanese command soon began to tell. It underestimated the role of aircraft carriers and submarines in the naval war, as a result of which in battles with the American fleet in the Coral Sea (May 1942), at Midway Island (June 1942), and at the Solomon Islands (September 1943 - March 1944), the Japanese fleet and aviation suffered heavy defeats. The industry turned out to be unable to meet military needs and make up for the loss of equipment due to the disruption of sea routes for the supply of raw materials by American submarines. air defense even large cities, and after the loss of the Philippines by the Japanese in 1944, massive bombing by US aircraft began of Taiwan, Okinawa and Japan itself. More than two-thirds of Tokyo was destroyed by the bombings and the fires they caused, and the same fate befell another 97 of the country's 206 major cities.
However, Japan was still far from defeated and was preparing to continue the fight. The USA and Great Britain became convinced of this during the battles for Okinawa, which began in the spring of 1945. During their course, the allies suffered such heavy losses that they were forced to abandon plans to land their troops directly in Japan, postponing their dates to mid-1946. On the determination of the Japanese they didn’t want to fight and atomic bombings cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 6 and 9, 1945).
The situation changed after the USSR entered the war. The Soviet Union denounced the non-aggression treaty with Japan in March 1945 and, fulfilling its obligations to the allies adopted at the Crimean meeting, after transferring troops to the east on August 9, 1945, began military operations against the Kwantung Army. It was defeated in a short time, and already on August 14, the emperor was forced to announce the unconditional surrender of Japan. The act of surrender was signed on September 2, 1945 on board the American battleship Missouri.
13. The role and place of Japan in World War II. From military victories to total defeat.
The Versailles-Washington system created many contradictions, the resolution of which resulted in the Second World War. Already in December 1934, Japan sent a note to the United States refusing to extend the Washington Treaty, as well as refusing to extend the Treaty on Limiting the Naval Arms Race. Japan becomes one of the countries of the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo axis (Treaty of September 27, 1940, Tripartite Pact on a political and military-economic alliance for 20 years). Intensifies activities in China. (Incident at the Marco Polo Bridge.) War with China from 37 to 45 38-39. – conflicts with the USSR (Lake Khasan, Khalkingol River, defeat of Japan, agreement to cease hostilities). 40 – puppet government in China. 41, April 13 – neutrality pact between the USSR and Japan.
At the beginning of the war, Japan was able to resolve some of its issues (about access to new resources). But it experienced pressure from the international community. Due to US influence, Shandong was torn away from Japan. Japan understood that international community will turn a blind eye to the development of the situation in China. I tried to take everything I could take while there was time.
On June 22, 1941, the Great War began Patriotic War. For Japan - new policy in relation to the USSR. The calculation is that with a threat from the West, the USSR will be forced to expose the Far East, which Japan will take advantage of.
Relations between Japan and the United States became tense, which led to the outbreak of war. The Japanese attacked an American base in Hawaii Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941 . The decision to attack was made on December 1, when a plan for waging war for the next 4-5 months was developed. The air raid was successful for Japan; the entire American fleet was damaged. On December 8, the United States declared war. They were joined by Great Britain, Holland, Canada, New Zealand And Latin America. December 9 – China (formally, although the war had been going on for 4 years). December 11 - Germany and Italy declared war on the United States, a new military pact of powers, additional. Wage the war against the United States together until the end. Even after the end of the war, cooperate in this spirit.
Changes are also taking place within Japan.
Konoe's cabinet resigns in 1941. General Tojo becomes prime minister. Supporter of active action, but Japan's overall work has not yet changed. But Japanese-Chinese contradictions worsened when the Japanese captured southern Indochina in the summer of 41. Negotiations continued. The Japanese handed over to the United States a draft on rights in China. The US demanded the withdrawal of troops. That is, the requirements are directly opposite. In response, the United States received a lengthy memorandum on December 7, which denied the possibility of reaching an agreement with the United States, and an hour before that, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.
A military conflict began.
Hostilities between Japan and the United States fit into the plan of the Tanaka memorandum. The capture of Manchuria and Northern China is also according to plan. The Japanese are counting on overcoming America one on one, without the support of the US allies.
The Japanese were counting on lightning strike, fully understanding the power of their opponents. Capture countries south seas, create bases there while the United States is rebuilding after Pearl Harbor. Simultaneously attack the US and UK bases and seize the initiative into your own hands. Advance into the Dutch Indies. All in 4-5 months. (Fleet - in 6-7 months.)
Japan did not have its own resources, although it launched enormous activities in China. Importance of Marine communications, problems of the fleet. The Japanese tried to ensure this security of communications. At the start of the war, Japan and the United States were on equal terms. The task is to solve strategic objectives before America begins to build up its fleet, when its allies can join it. The Japanese were well aware that they were taking a risk.
Thus, the 1st stage (from 41 to 42, from Pearl Harbor to the defeat of the Japanese at Midway Island) of the war in the Pacific Ocean was marked by major successes for Japan. The base was destroyed, Japan captured territories 10 times larger than the territory of the power itself (4.2 sq. million km). The reasons for success are the surprise of the attack, good information security, an excellent army with experience in military operations, internal readiness to war. Back in 1938, there was a law on general mobilization.
The success of Japanese diplomacy was the military agreement signed by the Triple Alliance on January 18, 1942. It was supposed to ensure cooperation between the powers and was of a strategic tactical nature and provided for the division of zones of operations between the parties to the agreement. Japan - waters of 70 degrees East longitude, America, Australia, Zealand, the Asian part of the USSR. West of 70 degrees – Germany and Italy took over. Japan pledged to destroy American and British forces in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Specific plans for joint military actions are visible. Building connections across the Indian Ocean.
Japan did not achieve any particular success, but successfully continued the policy of creating puppet governments.
The military advantage that Japan gained at the 1st stage was spent within six months. A unified allied command was created, headed by General MacArthur. By the summer of 1942, the United States had concentrated significant forces in the Pacific Ocean. The Japanese hoped for Germany's success. Kwantung Army - ground forces Japan - were concentrated against the USSR in the Far East. It was a reserve that could not be used against America. The Japanese did not want to pull the group away from the borders of the USSR. The USSR crushed it in 1 month. Thus, the Soviet Union had a tremendous influence on the war in the Pacific.
February-March 42 in Japan they discussed the military situation. Japan's Togolese Foreign Ministry expressed concerns. Everyone understood the danger. But military leaders set the course for a protracted war. This was a fatal decision for Japan.
Mid-42 - the pace of military operations changed. May 42. – the Japanese fleet received the first noticeable click on the nose O. Midway, first defeat.
The beginning of the 2nd stage of the war. Economic difficulties. There was not enough transport - the inability to use captured resources. Labor shortage. Hence the dissatisfaction with the work of the Cabinet of Ministers. But to the defeat of Fr. Midway was taken lightly. Tani, a personal friend of Prime Minister Tojo, became the Foreign Ministry instead of Togo.
The turning point is 43. It was then that the defeat German troops near Stalingrad. For Japan - a complete collapse of plans to invade the Far East of the USSR. The basis for the activation of Anglo-American forces. In the spring and summer of 1943 - successful US battles in New Guinea, near the islands. A number of Japanese measures, including the promotion of mutual prosperity (“friendship of Asian peoples”, etc.). The Japanese tried to play on the resistance of the people of the Far East to colonial pressure. They tried to present themselves as liberators. They installed a puppet government.
November 43 – Cairo Conference (USA, UK, China). December 1 – Cairo Declaration. The goals of the war against Japan are to deprive Japan of the territories it occupied and return its territories to China.
As a result of the victories of the Red Army, the situation developed in favor of the allies. Japan continued its military operations, so special meaning China and Korea purchased it for it. The new course towards China is a priority for the puppet government to establish ties with the Kuomintang government. The Japanese have prepared Declaration of Greater East Asia: liberation of Asia from all aggression and exploitation and returning it to the Asians. Commitment to cooperate in the war until its successful conclusion. Construction of Greater East Asia. Attempts to frame aggressiveness as legal actions in order to involve Asian peoples in the war on their side. But they could not contain the national liberation movement.
Diplomatic maneuvers to strengthen the position of the Axis. An attempt to obtain the consent of the USSR for a special mission from Tokyo to come to Moscow to mediate peace negotiations between the USSR and Germany. The USSR refused.
Tehran Conference November 27-30, 1943 England, USA, USSR. Stalin declared that the USSR would declare war on Japan after the defeat of Germany. The fate of the Kwantung Army was decided.
A radical turn in the war in the Pacific. The third period of the war is counted from Battle of Stalingrad. The Japanese cannot base their calculations on the successes of the German troops. The need to go on the defensive. The initiative passes to the allies.
The Japanese are trying to solve the Chinese problem, where so far the Japanese are doing well. A strong offensive to the South, a continuous front from Indochina to Northern China. Losses on the Pacific and Indian Ocean. The Americans also developed an offensive in 1944. Successful Operations to seize islands in the Pacific Ocean. Take possession of Fr. Saipan, from there they reach Japan. Japan's position is precarious.
Japan is seeking to end the war between the USSR and Germany. April 44 - unsuccessfully trying to come to Moscow. Premier Koiso began to test the waters regarding England through neutral Sweden. An attempt to improve relations with the government of Chiang Kai-shek. The offensive in China stopped - there was simply no strength.
Raids on Japan became more frequent. The Philippines and Burma are liberated.
1 April 45. - American landing. Koiso resigned. Denunciation of the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact. The Togo Foreign Ministry assessed the situation realistically. Carries out a number of measures: to achieve a favorable attitude of the USSR towards Japan, peace with England and the USA.
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