Lesson 13 - Part 2

WW II -- Global War, Global StrategyJapan’s Road to War

Meanwhile ….In the Western Pacific

Japan had been at war with China since 1931

Japanese ExpansionEmpire of Japan - 1910

Conquest of Korea1910

Second Sino-Japanese War

Japan had been at war with China since 1931

1937 - 1945

Conquest of ManchuriaSeptember 1931

Second Sino-Japanese War

Japan had been t war with China since 1931

1937 - 1945

Japanese Conquest1937-1941

Nanking MassacreDecember 1937

“The Rape of Nanking”

Over 300,000 people butchered

Yangtze River PatrolBackground

US Navy had a presence on Yangtze River 1856-1941• Fallout from the “Unequal Treaties” negotiated by Western powers after the Opium Wars (1839-1842 & 1856-1860)

Yangtze Patrol began 1922 as part of US Asiatic Squadron• Protected US interests (shipping) along the river

Attack on USS PanayDecember 12, 1937

USS Panay sinking - 12 Dec 1937

Attack on USS PanayDecember 12, 1937

Attack on ShipPreliminary Events Sinking of Ship

2:15

Thesis

The grand scope of World War II was determined by a battle you never heard of fought before the war in Europe began.

Japan’s Next StepAfter China

Two factions in Japanese government

• “Northern” Faction (Northern Strike Group)

• Led by Army

• Favored move north into USSR

• “Southern” Faction (Southern Strike Group)

• Led by Navy

• Favored move south into Dutch East Indies

Events

July-August 1939 Battle of Khalkin Gol (Nomonhan)

The most significant battle you’ve never heard of!

A

Events

July-August 1939 Battle of Khalkin Gol (Nomonhan)

• Japan abandoned northern strategy

Reader’s Companion to Military History: Khalkin Gol

Soviet victory

Significance:

• Turned south • Set up confrontation with US

• USSR able to divert resources toward the west and Germany• Established Gen. Georgi Zhukov as armor commander

Japan’s Path to WarIncrease in Militarism in Japanese society

Japan’s Path to War

Increase in Militarism in Japanese society

US moves Pacific Fleet to Hawaii (May 1940)

US embargos iron & steel exports to Japan (Sep 1940)

Vichy government accedes to Japanese request for bases in southern Indochina (July 1941)

Great East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere declared (Aug 1940)

Move into northern French Indochina (Sep 1940)

Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis formed (Tripartite Pact, Sep 1940)

Japan’s Oil Lifeline1941

.Cam Ranh Bay

Japan Occupies Southern Indochina

Japan’s Path to War

Increase in Militarism in Japanese society

US moves Pacific Fleet to Hawaii (May 1940)

US embargos iron & steel exports to Japan (Sep 1940)

Vichy government accedes to Japanese request for bases in southern Indochina (July 1941)

US embargos shipments of oil to Japan (Aug 1941)

Great East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere declared (Aug 1940)

Move into northern French Indochina (Sep 1940)

Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis formed (Tripartite Pact, Sep 1940)

Events

December 7, 1941 US Pacific Fleet attacked at Pearl Harbor

Japanese Decision to War

Calculated risk?

Risky calculation?

or

Instruments of National Power

Diplomacy

Information

Military

Economic Power

Resolve

What did the Japanese miss?

Instruments of National Power

Allied and Axis GDPhttp://www.onwar.com/articles/f0302.htm

Economic Power

Economic Power

Wikipedia

Instruments of National Power

Diplomacy

Information

Military

Economic Power

Resolve

What else did the Japanese miss?

Instruments of National Power

Diplomacy

Information

Military

Economic Power

Resolve

What else did the Japanese miss?

Resolve

Japanese Decision to War

"One can search military history in vain for an operation more fatal to the aggressor."

Samuel Eliot Morison, History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol. III, The Rising Sun in the Pacific

To be continued …

Lesson 14

WW II -- Battle of Britain

Lesson Objectives

• Understand the implications of strategic air warfare in World War II.

• Be able to describe and analyze the German strategy in the Battle of Britain.

• Describe the impact of new technology on the Battle of Britain.

• Describe and analyze the strategic bombing campaign against Germany.

End