Dear All

I've recenlty become interested in knowing more about an ongoing debate over Japan's interests in Australia during World War II. This is a subject I know very little about, as war isn't a topic I've ever found pleasant to think about. However, in case this could be of interest to others, I thought I'd share some links here for general reading or comments.

Dr David Day on "1942 - Australia's greatest peril"

The Battle for Australia - Overview

While most Australians are aware Darwin was bombed during the war, the extent of bombing was censored and so understated in the minds of post-war Australians.

Local sources estimated that between 900 and 1100 people were killed. For many years, government censorship limited coverage of the event to protect public morale in the southern states of Australia.

The Japanese bombing of Darwin and northern Australia - Australia's Culture Portal

Bombs Over Darwin


My own thoughts previously were that the Japanese were most likely in awe of the size and vastness of the Australian continent and that the Japanese felt psychologically 'inferior' towards 'the west' to seriously consider a full invasion of Australia. I was also under the impression the Japanese struggled to supply and feed its army, and so any plans to capture Australian resources, no matter how attractive that idea may have been, was likely to have been considered unrealistic.

Look forward to hearing any views.

It is my understanding that the Japanese were not trying to launch an all out attack on Australia in order to procure it. That is a misconception, the phrase Battle of Australia didn't come into print until the l990. However, the Japanese were planning on isolating Australia by taking New Guinnea and Fiji. I guess they figured if they could take all small islands it would be a major coup to eliminate British and American service bases. Apparently the only ones who thought there was a Battle of Australia were Australians themselves because other world powers new it wasn't entirely true. Sorry.

As far as your impression of Japanese struggling to feed their army. I don't think that is quite right. They were very organized and you have to believe a little rice goes a long way.

Ms tickle

Not arguing with you, Tickle, as your what you are saying is plausible. I'm still curious to hear different views on this debate that I only recently became aware of.

Here's an article that supports the Japanese had no intention of capturing Australia:

The Japanese archives clearly establish that they had no intention to invade Australia. Such an adventure was once tentatively proposed by the Japanese navy. It was given an instant cold bath by the imperial army, which pointed out that nothing like the required resources existed.
Distorting the truth of Kokoda | The Australian


On the subject of food, it's well documented the Japanese army failed miserably in Kokoda, Papua New Guinea, with many of its men having died through malnutrition during that campaign:

The Japanese largely failed to adequately supply rations for their troops. This was caused initially by false assumptions about the nature of the campaign. The Japanese had little knowledge of the interior of New Guinea where the decisive battles on the Kokoda trail were to be fought, and assumed wrongly that it would be possible for their troops to scavenge or forage for food along the way. Their invasion plan was for the South Seas Force to land at Buna, quickly advance overland to Kokoda and then capture Port Moresby. Ryuto Force was to land near Buna and establish a supply base for the South Seas Force. Major General HORII's force was only allocated two weeks of supplies....

The Japanese retreat back down the Kokoda Track was pitiful. They were famished, ill and weary. Unable to carry much, they left a trail of discarded equipment and comrades who were too badly wounded or sick to carry on. The Japanese were so short of rations that some had resorted to cannibalism. On the overland retreat from Sio to Wewak, tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers perished, mostly as a result of sickness and malnutrition. New Guinea was the place, "where soldiers are sent into the jungle without supplies." This seems to have proven the Japanese saying that, "Java is heaven, Burma is hell, but you never come back alive from New Guinea."[/I]
Remembering the war in New Guinea - What did the soldiers eat?

I'm not sure what is like for the Japanese elsewhere. I know many Australian prisoners of war died of malnutrition... tragically.

Hey, no problem. You heard my viewpoint. I think this is a good topic, frangy, anything to get people thinking and digging is good !

Ms happy tickle !

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tickle

It is my understanding that the Japanese were not trying to launch an all out attack on Australia in order to procure it. That is a misconception, the phrase Battle of Australia didnt come into print until the l990. However, the Japanese were planning on isolating Australia by taking New Guinnea and Fiji. I guess they figured if they could take all small islands it would be a major coup to eliminate British and American service bases. Apparently the only ones who thought there was a Battle of Australia were Australians themselves because other world powers new it wasnt entirely true. Sorry.
ms tickle

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I tend to think you're right about that, Tickle.

David Day's book would be worth a read. I imagine there's something in the attacks on Darwin and other towns in northern Australia that are central to this debate:

The air attacks on Darwin continued until November 1943, by which time the Japanese had bombed Darwin 64 times. During the war other towns in northern Australia were also the target of Japanese air attack, with bombs being dropped on Townsville, Katherine, Wyndham, Derby, Broome and Port Hedland.

Hmm.. interesting, hey. Maybe if someone's already read Day's book, they can offer their opinion on this..

Hope you have a lovely day, ms tickle :p

The Japanese certainly had no feeling of inferiority as to their capability. Quite the contrary, although many of them realised that their industrial resources put them at a disadvantage in the long run. Several months of highly successful warfare against the U.S. and the European colonial powers, had given them further confidence. But they had conquered a LOT of territory already before Australia was any kind of issue and had a major commitment in China for years prior to Pearl Harbor, so they really didn't have the men and equipment to attack and hold any significant part of Australia.

An interesting discussion of the Japanese debate over their next moves after their initial successes following Pearl Harbor is found in "Shattered Sword" by Parshal and Tulley - a very detailed anlysis of the Battle of Midway and why the Japanese lost that battle.

'Shattered Sword' sounds interesting. I'll see if can find a copy.

I'm trying to keep an open mind at this stage, so I'm still interested in hearing other views. Here's a quote from 'WWII: Battles of the Second World War' by Nigel Cawthorne:

In the months following Pearl Harbour, nothing could stop the Japanese advance. They overran the Philippines, the East Indies, Guam and Wake Island. By mid-April, they held most of the South Pacific. Their next objective was to take Tulagi to the north of Guadalcanal in the British Solomon Islands and Port Morseby on New Guinea. Then they could cut the supply route between America and Australia, in preparation for the invasion of Australia itself.'

The author here makes the assertion the Japanese did in fact plan to invade Australia, but their inability to win the Battle of the Coral Sea prevented them taking control of Port Morseby, and so Australia.

BTW, just realised David Day wrote a review (not authored) the book mentioned earlier:

1942 - Australia's Greatest Peril
1942 was the year of Australia's greatest peril as the nation awaited invasion from Japan. Darwin was devastated by bombing, Australian ships were torpedoed within sight of our coast, midget Japanese submarines attacked shipping in Sydney Harbour, and the Japanese forces on their inexorable march
south invaded New Guinea and islands to Australia's near north.

This is the true story of the genuine and imminent threat to Australia in early 1942 as passionate Imperial Navy staff officers and their illogical admirals debated with the Imperial Army over the invasion of an almost defenceless nation. Australia's fate hung in the balance.

Thought this might also be of interest:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Sydney_Harbour