Peter Williams, Japan’s Pacific War (Pen & Sword, 2021)
As the World War II generation finally departs, it is a sobering thought that most of the available understanding of how that conflict was experienced remains Anglocentric. Military history in particular requires a more global perspective. Match that chasm to the still popular perception of the Japanese as mindless automatons charging recklessly into battle with no fear of death, and you can see the need to create a more complete picture. For Japan’s Pacific War, Peter Williams interviewed over forty Japanese veterans, allowing us, in a limited way, to see who was on the ‘other side’ and what they did.
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Across 25 chronologically arranged chapters, Williams allows the Japanese veterans to tell their stories with few interruptions other than for clarity and to check the historical record. The veterans fought on land, air, and sea, though the emphasis is on land combat. We join the veterans at the start of the war and follow along with their initial victories. Their high morale is evident, but the problems that plagued the Japanese war effort start to show. Even in the early campaigns, the soldiers were hungry, and as the war progressed, their logistics completely broke down, resulting in starvation – Williams notes some cases of cannibalism by the truly destitute. The Japanese relied on speed and manoeuvrability in their early gains, but when the tide turned, they found themselves outgunned and increasingly undermanned. They were not helped by tactical naivety that saw them attack relentlessly or dig in and refuse to retreat unless the circumstances were truly desperate, thus the creation of the popular myth of mindless Japanese soldiers. That attitude was aided by their fear of capture, though those who were captured expressed surprised at the humanity of their enemies. Most of Williams’ interviews were from Japanese who fought Australians, who were often described as tenacious but cautious. They had less respect for the Americans. Most of the experiences of the Japanese can be placed inside their cultural bracket, but when they were beaten and knew it, their distressing plight echoes across all military history. The Japanese martial culture reasserts itself, however, through the shame and guilt some survivors felt after the war.
Since John Keegan and other historians revolutionised military history to examine war from the ground up, the collected memories of soldiers have proved to be an invaluable resource. Translated Japanese accounts are still relatively rare, however, particularly those related to fighting Australians. Williams’ interviews are therefore a significant addition to the field. But memory is often faulty, either subconsciously or deliberately, and soldiers’ memoirs must be treated with caution. Williams mentions this in his introduction, but by presenting his material seemingly as lightly edited source material, he mostly skirts this issue. It is left to the reader to investigate the veracity of these narratives when set against the backdrop of what we know about the often appalling Japanese behaviour in World War II. Nevertheless, these are fascinating accounts that offer important insights into the combat experiences of Japanese warriors.
