The Imperial Japanese Army - The Invincible Years 1941-42

1-206080

The German offensives which crushed Poland in 1939 and swallowed most of Western Europe in less than two months in 1940 have been well documented and heavily studied, however, the overall picture of the remarkable Japanese offensive land campaign in 1941-42 has received less attention. In this fascinating new book, Bill Yenne documents the years when the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) was conducting its equally unstoppable ground campaign in the Far East, and unlike other books on this subject, he studies the campaign from the Japanese point of view. He reveals how the IJA were able to conquer huge swathes of Southeast Asia in a little over eight weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Using first-hand accounts from Japanese sources, Yenne reveals the tactics and mindset of the IJA during their offensive, detailing the capturing of Manila, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, Burma, and the Dutch East Indies. Exploring the infrastructure and technical challenges of waging war across such a huge area, Yenne delves into the hardships that faced individual Japanese soldiers in theatre and explains how the Japanese were able to remain undefeated and establish the aura of invincibility that marked their campaign between 1941-42.

Contents
Introduction
Prologue
Part I: One Foot on the Road
Part II: Banzai Blitzkrieg
Part III: Rising Sun Over Asia
Part IV: A Crown Jewel, From One Empire to Another
Part V: The Unstoppable Fire of the Rising Sun
Part VI: The Setting of the Sun
Epilogue
An Overview of the Japanese Order of Battle in Southeast Asia (1941-42)
Acronyms
Bibliography
Index