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Can you post a map, or series of maps prior to 1941 to help me understand how thus evolved?
Can anyone explain how Asian power evolved and expanded In the early 1900's?
I'm sorry but I just don't understand anything about Asia. When did outside influences enter Asia?
Quote:
Originally Posted by madison999
No, I've just never understood the pre WWII orient.
Maps aren't my thing. But Vietnam was controlled by France. Hawaii,Alaska and the Philippines were colonies of the United States. Britain had Hong Kong as an important outpost in China. Portugal had Macao. The USSR of course had the entire Pacific beachfront down to the border with China. I am not sure who had control over Korea.
Indonesia was the colony of the Netherlands. India, Ceylon, Malaysia and Singapore were British colonies. New Guinea was under Dutch control. Australia and New Zealand, while nominally independent were heavily influenced by Britain. Japan wanted to replace these powers as imperial masters. As you can see from the Rape of Nanking their occupation was merciless. Made British rule over the 13 colonies at its worst seem very enlightened, almost brotherly. Which is why Britain and the US quickly became allies, and Japan's and China's relationship, and Japan's and Singapore's relationship is extremely wary.
If Japan had stuck to their original plan it could have had the effect of the Americans trying to wage war with a naval base in California instead of Hawaii.
- or at the very least, it would have taken us an enormous amount of time to rebuilt Pearl Harbor.
Targets at Pearl Harbor were the oil depots / reserves, the submarine pen and the repair yards. Those were supposed to be a smoking ruins after the attack. There was talk among the Japanese military of occupying Hawaii but that discussion never got too far. Of course, they thought they'd find the carriers at PH too which wasn't the case.
It was a long shot but had they pulled it off could have greatly prolonged our ability to counter strike. Had they occupied Hawaii it would have been game, set, match - the end. We would never have been able to conduct the war from the West Coast and Australia would have been taken over by the Japanese so that base of operation would cease to exist.
When crazies are in charge, anything can happen. Pick a war and discover the crazies. They are always there and all too often are in safe spaces while the fighting and dying go on with other people's children. The bushido code nut bags decided to fight.
If Japan had stuck to their original plan it could have had the effect of the Americans trying to wage war with a naval base in California instead of Hawaii.
- or at the very least, it would have taken us an enormous amount of time to rebuilt Pearl Harbor.
Targets at Pearl Harbor were the oil depots / reserves, the submarine pen and the repair yards. Those were supposed to be a smoking ruins after the attack. There was talk among the Japanese military of occupying Hawaii but that discussion never got too far. Of course, they thought they'd find the carriers at PH too which wasn't the case.
It was a long shot but had they pulled it off could have greatly prolonged our ability to counter strike. Had they occupied Hawaii it would have been game, set, match - the end. We would never have been able to conduct the war from the West Coast and Australia would have been taken over by the Japanese so that base of operation would cease to exist.
Japan would never have won. They simply didn't have anything like the US with regards to production. If you read any of the books written by the Japanese about WWII the US war production simply overwhelmed them. The Zero fighter for example was an excellent plane in the hands of an experienced J-Naval flyer. The problem was within two years the US had Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Chance Vought F4U Corsair and the Grumman F6F Hellcat. All excellent planes but more than anything it was the sheer number of US planes over the skies of the Pacific which the Japanese couldn't combat.
One thing which might have changed the course of history could have been if Germany got the A-bomb early on. Had they dropped a few on Russia and say England the US might have cut a deal with Japan giving them what they wanted. The US government would have wanted out so it could turn all its military might toward Germany.
So...they wanted the US to stop meddling in the Far East and viewed war with us as inevitable. Ok fine. Then they decide to attack the US and try to cripple our Navy/scare us off.
Not to go all U-S-A here, but, were they on drugs?
I mean...wth?
Further, what would a successful attempt at their goals towards the US have looked like? If there even was such a thing?
Americans got real nutty about Japan, and the propaganda was over the moon. But, really, the Japanese were not intending to occupy Cedar Rapids, and so on.
They wanted us out of commission for awhile, and preoccupied with the Germans.
It's been a very long time since I took history classes in high school and college. Having said that, the first thing I think of when wondering why Japan bombed Pearl Harbor is the oil embargo that we (The US)
placed on Japan.
Off thread: One of the most brutal and savage eye-opening books I have ever read is the non-fiction The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of WWII by Iris Chang.
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