Chapter 7: Defeat of Japan

Question 1

The ‘Defeat of a country’ in a war is a content concept. How do we know if a country will be defeated?

Answer 1

Negative outcomes in a war for the aggressor OR

positive outcomes in a war for the Allies

Question 2

Why is it important for countries to control the sea during a war? List 2 reasons.

Answer 2

(1) To protect merchant ships

(2) So that battleships can transport military equipment supplies, land and men, land troops to recapture territories

Question 3

Asia Pacific is made up of islands and battles are fought in the sea. Which military machine is important for aircrafts to land and refuel out in the sea?

Answer 3

Aircraft carriers

Question 4

Why is it important for countries to control the air during a war? List 3 reasons.

Answer 4

(1) Protect merchant ships from being attack
(2) provide cover for navy and army from air attack
(3) to carry out strategic bombing of enemy cities
(4) to secure air bases near enemy’s country to carry out bombing of the enemy’s country

Question 5

Why are resources (raw materials, war machine, armament, soldiers, people to work in industries) important for a country during a war? List 2 reasons.

Answer 5

(1) to be able to fight a long war or win
(2) to replace casualties
(3) raw materials necessary to produce armaments, especially oil to power war machines
(4) to have manpower to continue to work in armament industries

Question 6

Why is having better military strategies important in a war? List 2 reasons.

Answer 6

(1) Inflict more losses on the enemy so that you have numerical advantage
(2) prevent loss of troops and armaments OR prevent overstretching of your own resources

Question 7

What is the advantage of having strong allies during a war? List 2 reasons.

Answer 7

(1) strength in numbers!
(2) combined strategies make winning easier
(3) combined economic strength provide more resources for war and prevent overstretching of resources
(4) combined economic and military strength lead to overstretching of enemy’s resources

Question 8

Why is morale, the determination to fight important in a war?

Answer 8

(1) Allow the armed forces to continue fighting in a long war
(2) Allow civilians to continue to contribute to the economy to help in the production of war machinery so that the country can continue fighting

Question 9

Provide 2 reasons why Japan was able to conquer Southeast Asia so quickly from Dec 1941 to June 1942.

Answer 9

(1) Bombed Pearl Harbor in Dec 1941 - had 6 months before USA pour in troops and resources into the war to help the Allies
(2) War in Europe - many SEA colonies belonged to the West - these were left vulnerable & short of military resources to protect themselves

Question 10

What was damaged during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Dec 1941?

Answer 10

(1) 8 battleships
(2) 11 warships
(3) 170 aircrafts
(4) 3,500 Americans killed or wounded

Question 11

What did Japan fail to destroy at Pearl Harbor?

Answer 11

(1) 3 aircraft carriers as they were out in the sea

(2) shore installation, power plants and oil-storage facilities

Question 12

What was the Doolittle Raid in April 1942? (Hint: this was an operation by US Army-Navy to retaliate against Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor). This raid showed that the Japanese were vulnerable to American attacks.

Answer 12

An operation to bomb mainland Japan to damage their industries and morale of the people. Managed to hit 5 major areas - Tokyo, Yokosuka, Yokohama, Kobe and Nagoya.
7 raiders were killed in the mission.

Question 13

While bombing Pearl Harbor, Japan simultaneously attacked parts of Southeast Asia. It was a quick victory. By 1942, Japan had a huge empire. This over-extension of their empire made it difficult for them to defend. Which areas had Japan conquered by June 1942? List them all. (Note: Japan had started their aggression in Asia Pacific since 1931)

Answer 13

(1) China - Japan at war with China since 1937
(2) Conquered Southeast Asia after Pearl Harbor - including Singapore, Malaya, Philippines, Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), etc

Question 14

Why was it a struggle for Japan to defend its over-extended empire? Provide 3 reasons.

Answer 14

(1) Japan was industrialised but lacked resources
(2) USA had embargoed oil to Japan after Japan invaded French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia) in 1941.
(3) Attack on Pearl Harbor brought USA into the war - Japan cannot match USA’s ability to produce war machinery
(4) Japan had little support from its allies, Germany. Germany was fighting its war in Europe and was defeated April 1945 when Japan was still at war.

Question 15

One of US strategies was to keep China (as an ally) in the war. This will force Japan to deploy its forces to fight the Allies in China. Why was this important?

Answer 15

So that the Allies will face less Japanese forces in the Pacific.

Question 16

How did the West provide supplies to China who was fighting the Japanese? List 2 ways.

Answer 16

(1) USA’s Lend-Lease aid (supplies) to Burma went through the Burma Road - from Burma through French Indochina to China
(2) when Burma was defeated in 1942 - supplies from USA went to China from India, by air, over ‘the Hump’

Question 17

What kind of aid did USA provide China with in its war against Japan that allowed the Chinese to put up a fierce resistance against the Japanese?

Answer 17

US provided advice, military aid (both air and ground equipment) to Kuomintang (KMT) nationalist army

Question 18

Why was keeping China in the war an advantage for the Allies and subsequently helped in the defeat of Japan. Provide 2 reasons.

Answer 18

(1) The 2-front war (fighting Allied forces in pacific & China at the same time) diverted 40 Japanese divisions (almost 1 million soldiers) to China
(2) only 11 divisions fought Allies in the Pacific - on the islands and out in the sea
(3) Allied troops also fighting a war in Europe

Question 19

(USA strategies & military successes) The Island-hopping strategy from 1943 was an amphibious warfare in the Pacific. What does ‘amphibious’ warfare mean?

Answer 19

attacks launched from the sea by naval and landing forces and involves landing on hostile shores occupied by the enemy

Question 20

Define ‘Island-hopping’ strategy.

Answer 20

(1) Taking over an island and establishing a air base there. The base was in turn used as a launching point for the attack and takeover of another island.
(2) bypassed Japanese-held islands with strong defences such as Papua New Guinea, and attacked those with weak defences yet strategically important

Question 21

What were the advantages of the island-hopping strategy?

Answer 21

By not capturing every Japanese-held island, it conserved manpower and supplies.

Question 22

What is the main objective of the Island-hopping strategy that eventually lead to the defeat of Japan?

Answer 22

Capturing strategic islands and using them as bases to get nearer to mainland Japan allowed Allied forces to reach Japan quickly & bomb mainland Japan.

Question 23

The capture of Saipan, Iwo Jima and Okinawa gave Allied forces air bases close to Japan for their bombers to take off and bombed mainland Japan. How did Allied bombing of mainland Japan lead to the defeat of Japan?

Answer 23

destroying its industries and economy. Japan was unable to sustain their war efforts.

Question 24

As part of the Island-hopping strategy, the Allies strong navy and air force helped them isolate territories that were well-defended by the Japanese by stopping supplies and reinforcement from reach these stronger islands. Which battle cut off supply routes & lines of communication from Japan to their captured territories in SEA?

Answer 24

Battle of Leyte Gulf (Philippines Sea, Oct 1944)

Question 25

One of USA strategies was ‘Execute against Japan’ - an unrestricted submarine warfare that was highly effective after 1943. What did submarine warfare destroy?

Answer 25

(1) Destroyed more than 75% of Japanese
merchant ships (Japan’s lifeline!)
(2) Destroyed Japanese naval ships

Question 26

USA’s unrestricted submarine warfare led to massive loss of merchant ships for Japan. What was the impact of the loss of merchant ships on Japan? List 2.

Answer 26

(1) caused severe shortages of war materials & products, oil, supplies for the population and troops, (2) prevent movement of troops by sea.
Japan was not able to sustain a long war.

Question 27

USA’s unrestricted submarine warfare led to loss of naval battleships for Japan. What was the impact of the loss of naval battleships on Japan? List 2.

Answer 27

(1) Japan was unable to protect merchant ships
(2) Japan was unable to control the Pacific Ocean
(3) Japan was unable to protect the territories it had occupied.
With no industrial might & raw material to replace war and merchant ships, Japan was outnumbered in the Pacific.

Question 28

(US strategies & Military successes) The Battle of Midway was a turning point in the war in Asia Pacific. U.S. intelligence broke the Japanese naval code, and the Americans anticipated the surprise attack. Japan experienced massive losses in the Battle of Midway. What were these losses?

Answer 28

(1) Loss of ¾ experienced pilots, 290 aircraft, aircraft maintenance personnel
(2) Japan lost strategic initiative - no longer on the offensive (attacking & capturing more territories). Japan was now on the defensive (defending their occupied territories)

Question 29

How did the losses at the Battle of Midway lead to Japan’s defeat?. List 2.

Answer 29

(1) It destroyed Japan’s navy superiority at sea.
(2) it removed the threat to Hawaii and to the west coast of the United States.
(3) it stopped the Japanese expansion to the east; which it had been conquering for the first six months of war;
(4) it increased the morale of the American fighting forces

Question 30

Philippines (which Japan occupied) was strategically important in the war in Asia Pacific and the Allies fought the largest naval battle in WWII in the Philippines Sea, the Battle of Leyte Gulf. What were the objectives of this battle? List 2.

Answer 30

(1) to cut off Japan’s supply route from oil rich Dutch East Indies, depriving Japanese forces and industry of important oil supplies.
(2) to cut off Japan’s sources of rubber and other raw materials from Southeast Asia (British Malaya)
(3) to cut off lines of communication between Japan & their occupied territories
(4) to liberate Philippines from Japanese control.

The battle gave Allied forces control of the air and sea.

Question 31

Put in chronological order (time line) the attack on these islands (which was attacked first and last?)
Iwo Jima; Okinawa; Saipan

Answer 31

Saipan (June 1944)
Iwo Jima (Feb 1945)
Okinawa (April 1945)

Question 32

What was the objective of capturing Saipan, Iwo Jima and Okinawa (as part of the Island-hopping strategy)?

Answer 32

Secure airfields close to mainland Japan.

Allies needed airfields to bomb main islands of Japan

Question 33

What was Operation Meeting House, March 1945, which was carried out at low altitude and at night?

Answer 33

Allied strategic bombing against Japan - firebombing of Tokyo

Question 34

What was the damage on Tokyo, Japan as a result of Allied firebombing? Provide 2.

Answer 34

(1) Firebombing cut the whole city’s industrial output in half
(2) approximately 90,000 civilians dead, 1 million left homeless (because over 50% of Tokyo’s industry was spread out among residential and commercial neighborhoods)

Question 35

How did Allied Firebombing of Tokyo led to the defeat of Japan? Provide 2 reasons.

Answer 35

(1) Industries & economy were destroyed. Japan had no means to continue the war without supplies and war machinery.
(2) It damaged the morale of Japanese civilians.
(3) It also disrupted work in remaining industries as there were casualties and absenteeism by workers in Tokyo.

Question 36

Why was the main reason Allied forces had a larger industrial production capability than Japan?

Answer 36

Involvement of USA

Question 37

While American factories were out of range and not destroyed during the war, what happened to Japan’s industries and factories?

Answer 37

Allied bombings on mainland Japan destroyed factories and forced workers to flee the city, both of which were important to war effort.

Question 38

USA had willing workers and made efforts to involve women in the war effort to support production of war machinery. Provide 2 reasons for Japan’s lack of manpower during the war.

Answer 38

(1) Large numbers of experienced Japanese pilots and soldiers were decimated in the battles.
(2) Used forced labourers and prisoners-of-war (POWs). They worked under harsh conditions and many died of disease, hunger and mistreatment by the Kempeitai.
(3) no support from allies - Germany defeated in April 1945
(4) Japan emphasized the domestic role of women instead of encouraging them to join the workforce.

Question 39

What were the consequences of a weak industrial capability for Japan during the war which led to its defeat? Provide 2 consequences.

Answer 39

(1) Led to the shortage of essential materials, resources and manpower - meant Japan was unable to produce and replace essential weapons as quickly was the Allied Forces.
(2) It also meant that Japan was unable to continue fighting and defend its empire - cannot fight a long war.

Question 40

Morale of Allied troops increased especially after 1943. Provide 3 reasons for the increase morale.

Answer 40

(1) The Allied victory in the war in Europe in April 1945
(2) Allied military successes in battles (Midway, Saipan, Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima, Okinawa)
(3) Atomic bomb ‘Little Boy’ (Hiroshima) & ‘Fat Man’ (Nagasaki)

Question 41

What were the damages to Japan as a result of the dropping of Atomic bombs ‘Little Boy’ (Hiroshima) & ‘Fat Man’ (Nagasaki)? Provide 2.

Answer 41

(1) ‘Little Boy’ – 1/3 of the population was killed instantly and many thousands more injured. 2/3 of buildings destroyed. Radioactive rain which fell over the surrounding areas poisoned more land and people.
(2) ‘Fat Man’ - 40,000 people were killed instantly and thousands affected by long-lasting effects of the atomic bomb.
(3) The extreme destruction resulted in the loss of morale of Japanese troops - led to Japanese surrender