causes and effects of 20th century wars: world war II in the pacific Flashcards
us and japanese relationship since 1919
japan felt mistreated at paris peace conference
us passed immigration act of 1924 that ended japanese migration to the us.
- “the japanese exclusion act”
- national humiliation
japan’s need for resources made it look towards…
manchuria, china and southeast asia
view of japan’s interest in manchuria, china and southesast asia
seen as a threat to the open door policy
manchurian crisis increased international tensions, but the us did not launch economic sanctions against japan.
the 1937 sino japanese war led the us to aid china but did not restrict trade to japan
what was the panay incident
in december 1937, japanese bombers sunk the USS panay and three tankers from the standard oil co, killing 2 and wounding 30 americans
american response to the panay incident (12th dec 1937)
us demanded an apology, payment, and a guarantee of no future transgressions.
roosevelt criticized for us ships being in a war zone, though no war had been declared nor was there any support for war.
anti japanese sentiments rose.
japanese response to the panay incident
bombing of civilian targets in china began the moral embargo
the us would ‘not look favorably’ on companies that sold planes used in civilian attacks
greater east asia co prosperity sphere
in july 1940, a new more militaristic government in japan moved to create a block off nations free from western influenece and under japanese control and ot provide living space and resources for japans growing population
how did usa retaliate to the greater east asis co prosperitu sphere
export control act of july 1940
what was the export control act of july 1940
us could stop the export of war materials.
trade agreements with japan were cancelled
aim of the greater east asia
after the fall of france and the netherlands, japan hoped to capitalize on weakened western colonial powers
what was the tri partite pact
september 1940, germany, italy and japan.
each nation would aid their allies in the event of war with the usa
russo-japanese non-aggression pact april 1941
neutrality if the other party went to war
freed japan to push into southeast asia
us expanded phillippine forces
response to japan invading french ijndochina ijn july 1941
us cut all oil, rubber and iron to july 1941
japan froze us assets in japan and trade ceased.
the us closed the panama canal to japanese shipping
japanese plans during the move to war
general hideki tojo became japans premier in october 1941
needing oil, japan planned to attack british malaya and dutch indonesia.
fearing attacks by the american and british navies, plans were made ot attack the american naval base at pearl harbour, hawaii.
when did ww2 negotations fail
when japan refused to exit china and the us refused to stop aiding the chinese
when was pearl harbiur
december 7th 1941
where else did japan attack when they attacked pearl harbour
british hong kong, singapore, malaya, guam, midway and the phillippines
impact of pearl harbour
us pacific fleet badly damaged, but aircraft carries were out to sea and the narrow channel of the harbour was not blocked.
us and uk declared war on japan on december 1941
major events of the us and the pacific war
naval battles
battle of the coral sea, may 1942
battle of midway, julie 1942
naval battles of the pacific war
1942 saw two major naval batttles that damaged the japanese fleet and gave the us an advantage in the pacific
battle of the coral sea, may 1942
first battle where the two navies never actually saw eachother
japan lost two carriers to one us carrier
japanese advance towards australia was stopped.
battle of midway, julie 1942
japan lost four carriers and half of its fleet. us lost one.
japan could not afford such naval losses.
what was island hopping
us strategy of moving from island to isalnd using each one as a base of operations to capture the next, moving closer for bombing operations over japan.
describe the ‘success’ of island hopping
with the capture of iwo jima and okinawa in 1945, the us could increase air raids on japan.
operation meetinghouse
operation meetinghouse
march 9th, 1945, over 80,000 perople died in an incendiary raid on tokyo
japan defeated in air and sea but refused an unconditional surrender
factors of trumans decision following the operation meetinghouse
aware that the ussr would declare war on japan on the 9th of august
military advisors warned that the us needed to invade japan to gain a surrender at the cost of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians
what were trumans options following operation meetinghouse
invade japan (operation downfall) negotiate a surrender assume ussr's entry would lead to a surrender demonstrate the bomb over tokyo bay use the bomb to immediately end the war
what did the us issue in july 1945
the potsdam declaration,
japan to unconditionally surrender or face ‘prompt and utter destruction’
when was hiroshima bombed
august 6th, 1945
when was nagasaki bombed
august 9th 1945
when did japan surrender, ending the war in the pacific
august 14th 1945
who did japan support in ww1
allies
sino-japanese relations in ww1
japan turned its sights on china as other nations were engrossed in war
foreign minister takaaki exerted japanese influence over the shantung peninsula, and tsingtao, a former german base
he also forced china to accept most of the 21 deamnds in 1915, granting japan special priviliges
this japan made gains whilst europeans were distracted
league mandates for japan
gained some of germany’s pre war trading concessions in china
japan also recieved some german colonies as mandates from the league
japans efforts to get racial equality into the leagues covenant were quashed most vocally by australia
none of these concessions were near what japan wanted or expected
why was the washington naval conference held
to avoid a naval arms race in 1921
what did the nine power treaty gurantee
chinese sovereignty and equal trading access (neths, belg, port, china and 5 below)
what did the five power treaty see
limits on tonnage for
uk, us, japan, france and italy
describe japanese economy during ww1
trade significantly increased
imperalisim helped to boost access to raw materials and new markets
japanese economy following ww1
new competition when other nations demobolised
at the same time, china increased tariffs on japanese good to try and grow its economy
ultranationalism in japan in 1920s
growth in nationalism looking back to pre-meji japan and the era of the samurai
economic problems, particularly in countryside, fed the growth of extreme nationalism
linked in with this was a strong anti-western sentiment
after wall street crash, military leaders used this ultra nationalist ideology - urged renewed imperalism as the solution
felt japan was natural leader of far east
new emperor hirohito initally supported the westernized gov but nationlists generally supported the monarchy
deficit financing in japan
during great depression, japan moved to huge deficit spending on the military
created massive debt and huge armed forces
imperialism and failure of the league
invasion of manchuria in 1931
installation of puppet regime in 1932
lytton report condemned the occupation (partly) so japan withdrew from the league
amau doctrine stated china was in japans sphere of influence
america had significant asian empire via philippines and pacific outposts like guam and hawaii
america argued against imperialsim in china, advocating the open door policy
sino japanese war
with military in control, more concessions asked of china
in 1937, full scale war started and within two years, most of the key port cities were under japanese control
chinese nationalist leader chiang kai-shek formed an uneasy alliance with the communists to unite against the japanese
expensive and difficult war for japan, relied heavily on us for oil
also threatened western (us) interests in region
alliances in1940-41
tripartite pact of 1940 saw japan join non aggression pact with germany and italy
with defeat of france, the japanese looked to push south, following a south programme of strategic expansion
in april 1941, japan signed a non aggression pact witht he soviets
in a sense, japan had a free hand in south east asia
when was pearl harbor
7th december 1941
when did us declare war on japan
8th december 1941
what did FDR launch in july 1941
a trade embargo that decimated japanese oil supplies after learning that the japanese were planning further expansion
what did admiral yamamoto plan
a quick war was the only way to win
three pronged attack would take guam and wake, the phillippines, and then bomb the us fleet at pearl harbor
main combatatants in ww2 in the pacific
british empire
china
usa
allied forces in the pacific (british empire)
britain had numerous territories in the far east
in dec 1941, japan attacked hong kong, malaya, singapore and burma.
britain deployed hundreds of thousands of imperial forces in asia - from britain, australasia, india and east and west africa
always seems the british empire involvement ebbed away after the fall of singapore in feb 1942
allied forces in the pacific (australia)
australia had already been involved before pearl harbour esp in meditteranean
conscription in jan 1940, forming the citizen military forces to protect austalia.
the 2nd australian imperial force (volunteers) sent troops overseas
after pearl harbour, australian eyes turned back home, 15,000 australians becoem POW’s after the fall of singapore
in feb 1942, darwin bombed by japanese - curtin calls for national mobilisation
allied forces in the pacific (india)
indian armed forces the largest (2.5 million)
fought on all fronts
fought alongside british and australian forces in malaya, singapore and burma
80,000 captured after singapore surrendered
some argue churchill had a low opinion of indian army
indian servicemen often poorly equipped and trained
allied forces in the pacific (china)
unlikely combination of nationalists and communists
fighting the japanese since the invasion of 1937
allied forces in the pacific (usa)
started war poorly from pearl harbour
peacetime draft, had 2.2 million servicemen and women by dec 1941
axies forces in the pacific (japan
already engaged in an extensive war in hcchina and occupying rench indo china by 1941
stretched lines with conscription and indoctrination central to keeping forces extensive
by dec 1941, some 3 million men had been militarily trained
however japanese manufcturing was much smaller than us potential
influence of army on decision making saw the majority of japaanese troops committed ot china throughout ww2
japanese war plans
inital period of attack to extend defensive perimeter in the western pacific
then a move to a defensive posture against a mightier foe (us)
ultimately aim for a war of attrition and negotiated settlement
british war plans
main military presence in east indies in singapore
british prioritised north african ops and british isles
british underestimated the japanese and left limited forces in far east, esp airpower
dreadful tactics saw the best position (singapore) surrendered by general percival in feb 1942
japanese tactics in early ww2
close cooperation between army and navy
early adoption of aircraft carrieres, allowing for long range attacks (pearl harbour)
once pacific targets fell to japanese control, heavy defences erected. concrete pillboxes, tunnels, bunkers
yamamoto predicted a year of japanese ascendency
japanese defended to the death (part of the usas decision to use nuclear bombs)
us strategy in early ww2
philippines crucial to japanese stragtegy but were poorly garrisoned
japanese pushed the us out of the phillippines by may 1942
distrust and dispute between the army and navy
pacific split into two theatres: central and southwest
island hopping
central pacific theatre
under admiral chester nimitz (right, assumed overall control in 1943
southwest pacific theatre
under general macarthur (left)
island hopping
bypass heavily fortified islands and take smaller ones, build airstrips and then move on, cutting off the heavily fortified islands from the japanese home islands.
when was the bataan death march
april 1942 following the capture of the philipines
when was the capture of the phillippines
dec 1941 to may 1942
summary of the bataan death march
immediately after pearl harbour, japan started attacking the philippines. douglas macarthur said he intended to oppose the japanese invasion with 130,000 troops. these troops were ill equipped and ill trained. the japanese quickly overcame them and and macarthur was forced to withdraw. poor planning meant that he left lots of resources at manilla bay, so when they withdrew the troops were struck with starvation and sickness. the Japanese were not prepared for this many POW’s and as they were all spread out, started marching them towards a POW camp, after executing up to 400 filippino officers. there were horrible conditions of being beaten for sport and unnecessary killing. at the san fernando railhead, they were packed into tiny prewar boxcars, and those who survived the suffocation and exhaustion travelled to a POW camp where 1000s died.
who was douglas macarthur
supreme commander of allied forces in the pacific
aftermath of the bataan death march
kept a secret for 2 years before details were released in the FDR administration to increase war efforts of a weary usa
what happend to the japanese commander lieut. gen. homma masaharu
he was charged with responsibiliy for the bataan death mar ch and executed in april 1946
why did britian (with investment from australia and new zealand) set up a naval base in singapore in 1923
in case a pacific war occured (the singapore strategy)
why did japan want to capture this island city/naval base connected to malay
further access to the oil rich area of borneo and java in the dutch east indies, as well as the ability to create a defence border in the south to protect their growing empire up north around china.
how did the fall of singapore occur
the japanese imperial army attacked on the same day as the attack on pearl harbour,a nd with the british and austrlian supporting fleet busy in north africa fighting the european war, they lost the battle sorely and surrendered. poorly planned defence and japan broke the british code to find out the weakness of singapores defence army
consequences of the fall of singapore
imperial army outnumbered but won. Churchill called it the worst disaster and greatest capitulation in british history,
why did japan want midway
to extend their defence perimeter
summarise the battel of midway
the numerically inferior US force broke the japanse naval code and so the us prepared for an assult by moblizing about 115 land based aircraft and three aircraft carrier. one 3rd june started striking japans carrier force. japan was unable to match this air power and after heavy losses, abandoned efforts to land on midway. marked turning point of war
when and where was the battle of guadalcanal
august 1942-feb 1943
solomon islands
summarise the battle of guadalcanal FINISHHHHHHH
on july 6th 1942, japan moved a force unto guadalcanal and began constructing an airgield. the allies recognized that land based planes operating from this field would menace their bases nearby, and so immediate steps were taken to eject the japanese. on aug 7th, 6000 men of the us 1st marine division launched an amphibious assault on guadalcanal and florida island, surprising the 2000 defenders. strong attacks met with little resistance. airfield siezed. japan reacted tby striking at the allied naval forces supporting the operation. the japanese sunk many us cruisers.
gender roles in japan
womanhood domestically aligned
outside of the house, men in control
Confucianism emphasised hierarchy and patriarchy
female subservience was considered the natural order
japanese women in work before the war
60% employed in agriculture, mostly as housewives, and others in handicrafts and small scale commerce
of the 1.4 million in factories, around 400,000 were 12-20 year old indentured labourers.
work of japanese women in the early years of the war
seeing off soldiers comforting the wounded encouraging patriotic saving opposing subversive ideas with lectures running health programmes
work of japanese women in the later years of the war
labour conscription not introduced
40% 15-24 (traditional pre marriage jobs)
weaving, textile and silk factories.
encouraged part time work
experience in larger numbers of working outside of the domestic sphere
japan then deferred 2 million men from military service to work at home rather than have women
who were “comfort women”
like military brothels (existed since 1932)
poor women kidnapped and forced into these roles (then many became social outcasts and contracted STD’s)
japan did not offically acknowledge this unil 1993
traditional roles of women in the usa pre war
victorian womanhood
domestic sohere
flappers of the 20s :)
depression of 30s :(
give examples women in the armed forces in the usa
350,000 women in armed forces
WACs
WAVES
Womens airforce service pilots
women in the factories in the usa during the war
310,000 in aircraft industry in 1943
rosie the rivter (feminised version)
more childcare provision enabling more work
propoganda of working women usa
all white women (to appeal to doubtful white men in positions of power) playing tradiitonal female jobs anyway (like army teacher, x ray technician, secretary, testing walkie talkies, inspectors of army meat)
women in britain before the war
British army all male
women as housewives
some women worked in factories in the textiles industry
how many women were working in m utnitions factories by the time of armistice
950,000
why were women working in factories called canaries
because the explosive tnt made their skin turn yellow
how many bombs and shells were munition factories primarily employing women producing
80% of those used by the british army
how much did womens employments rate increase by from 1914 to 1918
around 19%
by 1918, 40% of women in the workforce were…
married. this differs to japan and usa where they preferred traditional unmarried single women to work
give examples of female war organisations in britain
womens army auxilary corp
womens royal navy service
womens royal air force
how many british women volunteered in various nursing services
80,000
gender pay gap in world war 2 britain
women: 11 shillings (+3 pence after national campaign)
men: 26 shillings
post war britian. men had anxiety about…
they thought employers would prefer to employ women who were cheaper, but employer were happy to employ returning soldiers
why did young women in france want to contirbute to the war effort
an opportunity to leave their family in a very conservative society
status of women in france in the early years of the war
women definitely second to men
women as domestic mothers/housewives or nurses/secretaries, in the male gaze their work is decided to be easier
when did the work of french women during ww2 become apparent
1980s
why drop the nuclear bomb on japan
war over in europe but not in japan
huge conventional bombing campaigns on japan and allied invasions had failed to dim japanese spirits
sense of honour and warrior code of japanese
end the war with a bomb rather than risk continued fighting over negotiations, unnecessary us deaths?
end the war quickly before ussr had a chance to invade japan
send a message of power from us to stalin
slaughter of POW’s by the japanese if invasion occurred
who developed the nuclear bomb in the usa
the manhattan project
trumans justification for dropping the bomb
“japan started it” mentality with pearl harbour
replaced 20,000 ordinary TNT bombs
claiming it wa japans fault for rejecting the potsdam ultimateum for unconditional surrender
centers it on scientific achievement
warning to rest of world
non justification for dropping the bomb
attacking non combatants
affects a massive area
point was to send a message of power more than to decrease a potential death toll in invasion
had never been done before, poteintial for total destruction too great.
when theres outcome of 50,000 deaths, it should not be a trial to see how it works.
main aims expressed by the usa in the potsdam declaration
demilitarise
deradicalise
surveillance
all through occupation and observance
stages of the usa threat in the potsdam declaration
strict control over japan
progressive relaxation of restrictions and surveillance
removing all controls relying on an independently peacerful japan
what did strict control over japan in the potsdam declaration entail
disarmament
no rights to land gained during ww1
what did progressive relaxation of restrictions and surveillance in the potsdam declaration entail
inspections to prevent rearmament
encouragement of more democratic throught
removing ideas of war glory
economic controls to derail ideas of war
rooting out ultra nationalist societies
share in the world economy with respect to reparations
who was douglas macarthur
supreme commander for the allied powers to oversee the occupation of japan
what were macarthurs relisations
impossiible for foreigners to dictate changes to 80 million resentful people.
do not rid the sacred symbol of the emperor
keep the japanese cabinet
what did macarthur promote in japan
democracy release of political prisoners free democratic elections the right of women to vote growth of labour unions large landholdings broken up and education system reformed
what did macarthur halt in japan
banned 200,000 military and civilian leaders from holding any public office, including the majority of existing diet members
the large industrial monopolies that had fueled the war effort were broken up
japanese religion shinto
wartime prime minister and other leaders were tried and hanged for war crimes
when was the original meiji constitution
1889
when was the revision of the meiji consitution
1947
main features of the macarthur consitiution
cabinet and prime minister to the elected diet
guarantee of equal rights
right for workers to organize and to bargain and act collectively
no war clause
removal of emperor as source of authority but still retaining the position
