Japanese Military Strategy in the Pacific War

Was Defeat Inevitable?

Nonfiction, History, Asian, Japan, Military, World War II
Cover of the book Japanese Military Strategy in the Pacific War by James B. Wood, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: James B. Wood ISBN: 9781461638087
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Publication: August 5, 2007
Imprint: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Language: English
Author: James B. Wood
ISBN: 9781461638087
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Publication: August 5, 2007
Imprint: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Language: English

In this provocative history, James B. Wood challenges the received wisdom that Japan's defeat in the Pacific was historically inevitable. He argues instead that it was only when the Japanese military prematurely abandoned its original sound strategic plan—to secure the resources Japan needed and establish a viable defensible perimeter for the Empire—that the Allies were able to regain the initiative and lock Japanese forces into a war of attrition they were not prepared to fight. The book persuasively shows how the Japanese army and navy had both the opportunity and the capability to have fought a different and more successful war in the Pacific that could have influenced the course and outcome of World War II. It is therefore a study both of Japanese defeat and of what was needed to achieve a potential Japanese victory, or at the very least, to avoid total ruin.

Wood's argument does not depend on signal individual historical events or dramatic accidents. Instead it examines how familiar events could have become more complicated or problematic under different, but nevertheless historically possible, conditions due to changes in the complex interaction of strategic and operational factors over time. Wood concludes that fighting a different war was well within the capacities of imperial Japan. He underscores the fact that the enormous task of achieving total military victory over Japan would have been even more difficult, perhaps too difficult, if the Japanese had waged a different war and the Allies had not fought as skillfully as they did. If Japan had traveled that alternate military road, the outcome of the Pacific War could have differed significantly from that we know so well—and, perhaps a little too complacently, accept.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In this provocative history, James B. Wood challenges the received wisdom that Japan's defeat in the Pacific was historically inevitable. He argues instead that it was only when the Japanese military prematurely abandoned its original sound strategic plan—to secure the resources Japan needed and establish a viable defensible perimeter for the Empire—that the Allies were able to regain the initiative and lock Japanese forces into a war of attrition they were not prepared to fight. The book persuasively shows how the Japanese army and navy had both the opportunity and the capability to have fought a different and more successful war in the Pacific that could have influenced the course and outcome of World War II. It is therefore a study both of Japanese defeat and of what was needed to achieve a potential Japanese victory, or at the very least, to avoid total ruin.

Wood's argument does not depend on signal individual historical events or dramatic accidents. Instead it examines how familiar events could have become more complicated or problematic under different, but nevertheless historically possible, conditions due to changes in the complex interaction of strategic and operational factors over time. Wood concludes that fighting a different war was well within the capacities of imperial Japan. He underscores the fact that the enormous task of achieving total military victory over Japan would have been even more difficult, perhaps too difficult, if the Japanese had waged a different war and the Allies had not fought as skillfully as they did. If Japan had traveled that alternate military road, the outcome of the Pacific War could have differed significantly from that we know so well—and, perhaps a little too complacently, accept.

More books from Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Cover of the book Historical Dictionary of Wittgenstein's Philosophy by James B. Wood
Cover of the book Museum Branding by James B. Wood
Cover of the book Earl Scruggs by James B. Wood
Cover of the book Transforming Undergraduate Education by James B. Wood
Cover of the book Hooked on Growth by James B. Wood
Cover of the book Unexplored Conditions of Charter School Principals by James B. Wood
Cover of the book Ethical Issues in Biotechnology by James B. Wood
Cover of the book The New Psychoanalysis by James B. Wood
Cover of the book Research Studies on Educating for Diversity and Social Justice by James B. Wood
Cover of the book Race and Revolution by James B. Wood
Cover of the book American Indian Politics and the American Political System by James B. Wood
Cover of the book A Concise History of Premodern Korea by James B. Wood
Cover of the book J.J. Abrams vs. Joss Whedon by James B. Wood
Cover of the book A Time for Change? by James B. Wood
Cover of the book Aristotle's Ethics by James B. Wood
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy