Japan Takes All - The Allies Driven From S.E. Asia

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JAPAN TAKES ALL - THE ALLIES DRIVEN FROM S.E. ASIA


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WWII* Chapter 14

In the early stages of the Pacific and Far East war, between December 7th 1941 and June 1942, the great Japanese strategy was outstandingly and, for the Allies, ruinously successful in a purely military sense, although, as we have seen, the political effect of Pearl Harbour was in no way to the advantage of Japan or of her Axis partners. The Japanese inflicted an appalling series of defeats upon the USA and Britain, and seemed unstoppable. It was not until the reverse for Japan of the Battle of Midway, in June 1942, that it seemed possible for Nipponese might to be beaten, and not until the Battle of Guadalcanal in August that the USA showed signs of achieving the miracle. But the fight back across the Pacific was to prove long, arduous and bloody.
Japan brought to her war approximately 1,400,000 men as 51 divisions, one million of whom (40 divisions) were in China, Korea and Manchuria. She had 2,400 aircraft of which 1,540 were earmarked for the Pacific, 11 aircraft carriers, 41 cruisers, 129 destroyers and 67 submarines. At the same time, the USA was able to field 1,643,477 men as 34 divisions, of whom 31,000 were in the Philippines; about 2,846 aircraft; 17 battleships (of which 9 were in the Pacific, and six were put out by Pearl Harbour); 6 aircraft carriers (3 in the Pacific); 37 cruisers (24 in the Pacific); 171 destroyers (80 in the Pacific) and 114 submarines (56 of which were in the Pacific).
Hostilities were not long delayed following Pearl Harbour. Later the same day, the Japanese struck at British territory for the first time by bombing Singapore and landing at Kota Bharu in Malaya. Further landings took place at two points in Thailand, Sangora and Patani, and the next day, December 8th, the Battle for Hong Kong began, as the Japanese 38th Infantry Division attacked the 12,000 strong British, Canadian and Indian garrison. That same day, the Japanese landed on Bataan Island, South of Formosa, now Taiwan, and destroyed more than 100 American aircraft in raids on the Philippines.
Hearing the news of the Japanese landing at Singora, not far from the Malayan border, Britain's Admiral Sir Tom Phillips, recently appointed C.-in-C. of the Royal Navy's presence in Singapore, weighed anchor and sailed with Prince of Wales and Repulse , escorted by three destroyers, to try and surprise the enemy while the Japanese were landing men and supplies. Although he asked for fighters as air cover, he was told that none was available. On the 9th, the arrival of Japanese aircraft over his small force caused him (erroneously) to believe that the element of surprise was lost, and, learning that, in any event, no fighter cover could be provided for an attack at Singora, he turned to Kuantan to investigate reports of enemy landings. But, although the aircraft he had spotted had not blown his cover, a Japanese submarine had. Japan's Rear-Admiral Matsunaga despatched 11 reconnaissance planes, 52 torpedo planes and 34 bombers from Saigon to attack the squadron at sea.
The encounter came at 11am on December 10th, some 322 kilometres North-East of Singapore after Admiral Phillips had established that nothing was amiss at Kuantan and had turned back for Singapore. With no RAF aircraft to deter the aim of the Japanese pilots, the crossfire of torpedoes was unavoidable. First Repulse , then Prince of Wales was sunk, taking with them 840 officers and men, including Admiral Phillips and Captain Leach of the Prince of Wales . Ironically, even as the rescue operation was under way to pick up the 2,081 survivors, the RAF appeared to provide the cover that might have saved the ships.
The elimination of these two formidable battleships at a stroke was of tremendous benefit to the Japanese Navy, which had the task of protecting the Japanese armies that were about to conquer the Philippines, Malaya and Singapore. Their loss by the failure to provide air cover was a major blunder.
The Philippines Invaded
The Japanese landings in the Philippines on December 10th found the Americans considerably outnumbered and outgunned. General MacArthur's forces numbered some 31,000, of whom about 19,000 were American, whereas General Homma's 14th Army totalled two divisions. MacArthur's air power numbered 350 aircraft, rapidly reduced by the bombing of Clark Field, which eliminated almost half of the US B-17 Flying Fortress fleet of 36 aircraft based in the Philippines. The Japanese were able to put 750 aircraft in the air. In this, as in all the opening battles of the campaign, the many myths about the inferiority of Japanese aircraft and their pilots were swiftly shown to be false............................................. .