Japanese Invasion of Malaysia

Japanese Invasion of Malaysia the reasons for the rapid Japanesse invasion of Malaya In 1942 INTRODUCTION After the victory and glory on many significant wars such as during Sino (1894-1895), Russo (1904-1905), Manchuria (1931) and China (1937), the Japanese was become the great power in the northern regional of Asia and also had steadily rose as a world power with much advancement in its military and related aspects[1]. Japan also had become the leader in the revolution of economic through the great empowerments in the development of industrial after the successful of Industrial Power Plan during the Meiji Dynasty era in 1867-1912. Japan also look their self as Leader from the East and bring his motto Asian for Asian of becoming part of a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere [2] In 1939, German attack Poland from the West and Soviet Union (USSR) attack Poland from the East. Because of that, the Britishs Prime Minister, Nevile Chemberlain had declared war against the Germany on 3 September 1939. Meanwhile, France also had allied with the Great Britain to corporate and work together against Germany. As the newly colonial territories were getting larger, the British army were incapable to either control or defend it from outside attack. In view of this golden opportunity, the Japanese had intendedto take control oversome regions in South East Asia such as Malaya and Singapore. The sanction of resources supply by the United States to Japan after the invasion of China in Sino Japan War in 1937, forced the Japanese to look for alternative suppliers to fulfill its requirements. REASON TO ATTACK RAPIDLY The reason for the rapid of Japanese Invasion to Malaya can be shown from before invasion and after invasion started. In 1939, Malaya was the resource of 40% of the worlds rubber and 60% of the worlds tin; that fact alone interested Japanese expansionists, but others additional reasons sealed the approval on the invasion planning that started in early 1941. Before the war, rubber and tin were exported to United Statesby its main producers mostly in Southeast Asia region. With the war sanction upon Japan by the United States and as the internal stocks were depleting, Japanese were forced to take drastic action to conquer the resources as soon as possible. Malaya was a part of the target. The Japanese needed oil badly as every drop of oil consumed by Japans military and industrial capacities had to be imported. For example, its Navy required 400 tons of oil/ hour to maintain its war readiness. While Malaya only had a limited amount of oil production, the peninsula was a perfect staging point to launch and support further invasion for the oil rich islands of Borneo, Java, and Sumatra. This will strongly support the military requirement its further objectives as well as from the previous war i.e. Sino Japan War. Japan was looking for alternative resources as in Jun 1941, Japan was refused supplies of iron and oil from United States, Britain, and Netherlands, therefore further reinforced Japanese thought that Southeast Asia must be taken. This reason make a main part of the Japanese invasion to Southeast Asian. The British France had allied and against the Germany, this was the positive advantages as the loop holes significant in Malaya as well as other regions in Southeast Asia. Percival had decided to surrender at 1400hrs, Sunday, 15 February 1942 since his troops had limited supplies which enough only for two days. In the other hand, Yamashitas troops also had depleted ammunitions which was enough for couple days. In this point, it was obvious that Percival did not have sharp intelligence mind, weak and insufficient logistic supports. The reason for rapid invasion is because actually Japanese only have a little support from logistic. Yamashita pursue Percival to surrender immediately because he knows, the longer operation can make him lost. Yamashita also use weather as the advantage. The Monsoon weather through December and January become a good concealment and the Japanese had taken advantages over erratic weather. THE REASON FOR THE RAPIDLY INVASION The Failure British Strategies When the invasion started on 8 Dec 1941 in Kota Baharu, Kelantan, Japanese move from one place to another with smoothly. So many factor are contribute for this rapidly invasion. The important factor for victory from Sun Tzu was If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles [3]. This factor failed used by British to understand where the treat come from and the underestimating their enemy. Britishs defense concentrated on Singapore as well as Main Fleet to Singapore strategies adopted to safeguard its territory. The Repulse and Prince of Wales stayed in Singapore. This strategic plan focus on Singapore, but Japanese attack from the North. Matador Plan Eight month before the invasion, British Military strategists in Singapore prepare the secret pelan called Matador. This plan for defending forces to cross Malayan Siamese border 24 hours before any suspected by Japanese landing South of Siam[4]. British realize that Japanese most likely landing at Singora and Patani because both towns have airfield. But the Japanese employed effective operations security, deceptive routing, and speed to protect the movement and intended destination of their naval convoys. The result was that the Japanese were able to rapidly secure those ports, push their ground forces ashore, and begin their attacks down the Malayan peninsula against the British army before Operation Matador could be ordered into execution. The predictions, as its happen, are accurate but Matador is hung led by British top brass and ultimately failed[5]. Japan Strategies The Japanese army had obeyed the Thai non-aggression pact and also set up special unit named Doro Nawa which acted as Intelligence and sourcing for relevant information before launching its attack. Besides that, all of the troops were well condition with the tropical weather and picked Hainan Island as training ground, they also well trained and wide experience in war. They had landed during night time or while heavy monsoon rain by surprise. While on the land, they were moving follow through road or rail line to south. As addition, the troops were tough and able to lived off the lands, no reliance on re-supply lines. Another example of arranging operations was the Japanese decision to press their attack on Singapore rather than just shelling it. They had successfully occupied the entire Malayan peninsula, moving a large distance in constant contact with the enemy in a relatively short period of time, and they could have taken the opportunity to rest their forces and simply shell Singapore into submission. Instead, they decided to directly attack Singapore. The Japanese felt that the psychological impact of the rapid capitulation of the so-called impregnable fortress of Singapore on both their enemy and their own people would be significant. They also wanted to take possession of the British naval base as soon as possible, and thus ensure safe passage of their ships through the Singapore straits. In addition, the troops involved in the Malaya-Singapore operation were sorely needed for the ongoing campaigns in the Philippines and the Netherlands East Indies [6]. The Japanese forces still had moment um, whereas the British and their allies had been in retreat and on the defensive for most of the campaign. Pressing the assault on Singapore thus exploited the Japanese strengths and the weaknesses of their enemies. Japanese Strengths The strength of this troops were consisted of 36,000 military, 28 Infantry Battalions, 80 Tanks, Aircraft for Army were 459 and then 158 for Naval usage, Its ships contain 6 Cruisers and 7 Destroyers and also 4 submarines. However, British troops were only used the outdated equipments with limited supplies of ammunition and fuel for its operation. Meanwhile, the strength of its army consisted of 125,000 military with 38 Infantry Battalions, aircraft with 158 air forces, ships facility were 2 Cruisers and 4 Destroyers and without tank at all. This situation make a lot of different. British army always told their soldier that Japanese is very poor weapon and machinery, but when the invasion started most of the soldier especially British Indians Army, are run away because shocked looking for the tanks and aircraft. Well Training The Japanese make a good decision to train their soldier at Hainan Island. The similarity of weather and terrain make advantage for the rapid invasion in Malaya. The first exercise took place in March of 1941, and involved large-scale navy and army maneuvers. Simulating an attack on Singapore following an amphibious landing in Malaya, the 5th Division (Army), escorted by Combined Fleet elements and with cover from army air units, crossed the East China Sea while under simulated attack from air and naval units, made a landing on Kyushu, and simulated the capture of coastal defenses. That very successful exercise focused on development of antisubmarine and antiaircraft defense of convoys, the tactical challenges of amphibious landings, and rapid construction of airstrips in newly occupied areas. The commander of the exercise later became Yamashitas chief of staff in Malaya [7]. Japanese War Tactical Plans In order to invade the Malaya effectively and rapidly, the Japanese adopted various war tactical plans in the aspect of maritime, air as well as land which had proven successful with flying colors. In the Maritime Tactical Plan, they had made sudden amphibious assault at night by using local sampans and succeeded in the sinking of two Britishs major ships namely HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse. In other hand, Japanese Air Tactical Plan included having air superiority with greater number and modern aircraft which operated from south Thailand. They also had built secured aerodrome in the north Malaya which provided support for ground troops. Beside that, they also had provided air support from sea and would destroy British aircraft on the ground Land Tactical Plan covered the utilization of light tanks and 18,000ish bicycles which made them manoeuvre rapidly in jungle and jungle terrain faster with flanking tactics. As addition, the deployment of well trained 25th Army which had wide experiences in battle in China also advantages for Japan [8]. ANALYSIS Based on the discussion, we can differentiate the strategies, approaches as well as implementation by both parties either the Japanese or the British in this Malaya Singapore Campaign. This analysis can compare the reason for rapid Japanese invasion in Malaya. The Japanese The factor as per below : Innovative Tactic The troops had embraced innovative Flanking Tactics and utilization of traditional sampan as a medium of local maritime. Japanese air superiority They had advancements in term of modern aircraft which provided air support to ground troops and eventually succeeded in the sinking of British warships. Surprise They had planned their attack well by putting surprises elements such as good concealing intentions, attacked at night as well as unpredicted utilization of light tanks in their movements. Deception They were good in camouflage as local people since they were quite resemble the Chinese while advancing. Beside that, they had done diversionary attack on NE coast of Singapore Filtration The soldiers were penetrated into British line by using the jungle and had launched their operation in the small units. Continuity They were capable in fully exploiting their advancing momentum to the optimum and as a result they had successfully attacked on Singapore in within a week preparations. Rapid Manoeuvre They were able to move faster by using bicycles and each soldier also carry minimal payload beside no dependency on conventional supply delivery. British The factor as per below : Poor appreciation They were having lack of preparations for this war such as made an assumption that Malaya was not accessible by tanks beside no tanks to stop land advance. Plan Matador averted The late decision by London to launch Matador make a first mistake and effect badly for British. Lack of air support Their aircrafts were heavily attacked by the Japanese and as a result all of them had destroyed on the ground. Besides, these small number aircraft were older, outdated and deteriorating. Fleet to Singapore strategy collapsed This strategy was aborted with the sinking of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse Lacks of jungle training Although the strength of British army were outnumbered the Japanese soldiers, they were incompetent to have a battle in the tropical jungle compared to Japanese army which had intensive training in the tropical Hainan Jungle. Lack of resources Most of military or war equipments such as aircrafts belongs to British troops were outdated and insufficient. The worst part, important war machine such as tank was not provided. CONCLUSION The Japanese success during the Malaya campaign, like any success, can be attributed to a number of factors. It could be argued that political decisions on the part of the British with respect to theater priorities and force allocations prevented the British in Malaya from being better supported by their air and naval forces. It could be argued that there were issues of leadership and unity of command, issues of training and morale, and that elements of luck played a part. Certainly these were all factors, as no doubt were others. But it doesnt change the fact that the Japanese conducted a joint warfighting campaign as it would be defined in todays terms, and it was that aspect of their operations that was crucial to their success in Malaya, irrespective of other factors. Japanese victory on its instant invasion over Malaya and Singapore were significant and historical moments for Japan because it was shown to the world that Japanese army was superior compared to the British forces. Beside that it was important to note that the Japan succession was heavily rely on well planned mission by its brilliant commander, General Yamashita as well as his experienced troops. They had prepared accordingly in term of modern military and war equipments, effective and excellent tactics, strategy and coordination. The Japanese propaganda also important because it was accepted by people to release them from British. Meanwhile, from the wide perspectives, the British had badly defeated mainly due to unprepared nest of British army as well as the Malaya itself to fight in the battle. They were being complacency with the assumption that no other country could overpower their colonial territories in Malaya. They also concentrated to the updates on the newly declared war between their country and the Germany. Although their troops were outnumbered the Japanese, most of them were soldiers who have no battle experience in the jungle. The sufficient, appropriate military and war equipment such as the absence of tank and enough ammunition, naval and air defense for these young soldiers also had contributed to the loss. Japanese Invasion of Malaya December 8, 1941 January 31, 1942 [1] Malcolm Kennedy, A Short Story of Japan, Mentors Book, USA, 1963, p188. [2] Howard J Langer, The World War II The Ranking of the Most Influential Figures of the Second World War, Published by Bounty Books 2006, p 193. [3] Tzu, Sun. The Art of War. Edited by James Clavell. New York: Delacorte Press, 1983 p 8. [4] Ong Chit Chung, Operation Matador, Eastern Universities Press 2003, p 233. [5] The Fall of Malaya, Media Master Guides To Pacific War Battlefields (1941-1945) [6] Falk, Stanley L., Seventy Days to Singapore. New York: G.P. Putnams Sons,1975, p 44. [7] Falk, Stanley L., Seventy Days to Singapore. New York: G.P. Putnams Sons,1975, p 25 [8] Edward L Dreyer, China at War 1901-1949, Published by Longman, London 1995, p 206.

How does Orwell present Napoleon Essay

George Orwell’s Animal Farm is written in the fairy tale style of one of Aesop’s fables where it uses animals of an English farm to tell the history of Soviet communism. Napoleon’s character is based directly on the communist party leader Joseph Stalin Orwell’s physical description of Napoleon is a ‘large, rather fierce looking Berkshire Boar’ and his character is said to be not much of a talker, but had a reputation of getting his own way. From the way that this pig is portrayed in these lines means he is going to be a strong ruler because When Old Major dies a few nights after his famous Rebellion speech, Napoleon and Snowball, both boars, combine together and formulate his main principles into a philosophy called Animalism. A few nights later when they have defeated Mr Jones in battle and changed the farm name to Animal Farm they work together in running the farm. Snowball teaches the animals to read, whilst Napoleon educates a young group of puppies. It is here where Napoleon first begins to work on the beginning of the Rebellion when he tells Mollie and Bluebell that education was more important to the young than the old as he was preparing for the next generation. However what he was really doing was preparing for the uprising against Snowball, to take charge of the farm, when the dogs would play a pivotal role acting as body guards to him. Orwell contrasts Napoleon and Snowball in a way that forces them to have contradictory ideas. Snowball wants pure communism where everyone benefits equally, whereas on the other hand Napoleon prefers power. Snowball invents all of the ideas and arranging the animals into committees to help the farm in the best way possible. An example of this was the idea of building a windmill which would make ‘jobs around the farm a lot easier, as well as warming the animal’s stalls in the winter’, with the introduction of electricity. Throughout the committee meetings Napoleon was constantly disagreeing with anything Snowball said or did, even ‘urinating over the plans’. When Napoleon seizes power from Napoleon his character is shown by Orwell as jealous and cowardly. He realises that the animals are beginning to side with Snowball over the decision of the windmill so he has to act fast find a way to change this. He does this by arranging for Snowball to be chased away by ‘nine enormous dogs’, the ones which he had separated from Mollie at birth. This is also an act of a coward because Napoleon is too scared to pursue him as he is worried that the animals will protest and not follow him as a leader. By doing what he did it allowed him to rise above the other animals saying â€Å"Mess with me and the same treatment will happen to you.† Once Napoleon has seized power over the farm he really begins to strive as no other animal dares to stand up to him after what they witnessed with Snowball. This is where Napoleon begins to become a dictator by making numerous ‘announcements’ at the meetings making the farm run in the way he wants it. He does this by squashing any plans that Snowball had originally proposed and then he tells a bunch of lies to the animals about how Snowball was ‘secretly’ against them and was really working for Mr Jones in the rebellions. With Snowball gone, Napoleon is the big man on campus. He doesn’t need to talk, because he has the aptly named Squealer do his speaking for him. He doesn’t need to worry about protests, because he gets rid of public meetings. He doesn’t need to worry about sharing power, because he names himself head of every committee. Towards the end of the story Napoleon agrees into talks with the other farmers on neighbouring farms. This is where things begin to go wrong for napoleon as he begins to get follow their actions by dressing, walking and drinking like human beings. The other animals dislike the behaviour of the pigs but by now the animals are hooked and are now drunk on the alcohol. In conclusion George Orwell presents the character of Napoleon to us as a secretive liar and bully caring only about power. He goes back on a number of the farm commandments and alters them for the sake of himself, rather than the wealth fare of the animals.

Japanese Culture and Literature Essay

The Japanese technology is leading the world these days. Especially with the mobile phone market is Japan far ahead of Europe and the United States. Although these progressions and innovations, two cliches still rule the thinking about the country. One is the fact that Japan is a small country, with no ethnic diversity, and has a high income per head. The other one is that Japan ‘imitates’; the idea that Japan does not make its own products, but tries to improve other products. Japan has of course its own creativity and its own cultural achievements, known throughout the world, such as the ‘tea ceremony’, ‘sumo wrestling’ and ‘sushi’. Japan’s economy, culture and civilization changed rapidly when the cultivation of rice was introduced, from China, in the fourth century BC. The nomadic life they used to live was changed for an agricultural one. They started to settle in villages and a new sense of economy and cooperation was established. This new sense of economic thinking also brought forth an ideal that still holds in the Japanese culture: the need of the group is more important than the need of the individual. The Japanese civilization developed very late in comparison with the civilizations found in Egypt, Greece, India or China. Japan, as consisting completely of small islands, stayed a long time being isolated from the rest of the world and therefore stayed a long time being a hunters-gatherers society. China had a great impact on the development of Japan. In the seventh and eighth century, China represented the most developed country in the world in those days. Before this Chinese influence that changed the political system in Japan, the political system consisted mainly of powerful warlords. These warlords and wealthy families established many different centers and Japan was not a unity. Finally one family succeeded in taking the power over the southern and central islands. This clan and its ‘emperor’ started the imperial line. After this establishment, many Chinese political models were introduced in Japan. Taxation systems, new law codes and the whole political administrative system were copied. This Chinese model did not seem to be the best for Japan. Land was divided among the population equally and the taxes were also equal for all the people. The emperor was the ruler and had absolute power and the administrators were chosen through examination and ability. In Japan, the emperors ruled with the family and kinship ties. There were no examinations or ability tests in the old Japan. The nobility did not want to leave their positions and government and laws started changing constantly. The introduction of Buddhism had a big impact on the Japanese society. The original Shinto religion was completed with Chinese and Korean Buddhism. Apparently, these two religions can co-exist well together. Buddhism can be seen as a ‘nature’ religion and because the people of Japan lived close to nature, this worked out fine. Shinto gave the people no hope beyond death, Buddhism did. Nature is not consistent, it is impermanent, and it keeps on changing and so does live. This concept of impermanence is not only seen in the culture and religion of Japan, but also in literature. Literary themes like suffering, life struggles, awareness of the transient nature of earthly things, is represented everywhere. Japanese Culture and Literature The Manyoshu The Manyoshu is the oldest collection of Japanese poetry. The title means â€Å"collection of ten thousand leaves†. The translation of the Japanese symbol ‘leave’ can also be translated as ‘age’ or ‘generation’. Therefore the collection is sometimes said to be the â€Å"collection for ten thousand ages†, which can be interpreted as a collection for the generations to come. At the time of the last dated poem, 759 AD, Japan had just changed into a society with a governing emperor, a new national identity and government and a new religious system. All these new influences came from neighboring country China, which had a big impact of the development of Japan economically, politically, religious and socially. Contacts with China also brought roads, irrigations works, harbors, new fabrics and pagodas to Japan. Japan was not just coping the Chinese ways, they made their own. This also meant the introduction of a new writing style, coming from the Chinese characters, but with a Japanese twist. It is amazing to see that the quality of the poems of the Manyoshu is very high. The experience and finesse of the writers is special for this collection and hard to find again in the poetry written in later ages. The passion, sincerity and innocence are attracting many people to reading the poems. There are basically two principal written forms used in the poems. The first one is the ‘choka’. This is a long poem with an indeterminate number of lines of alternating five and seven-syllable lines, ending with two seven-syllable phrases. It then has the pattern: 5-7-5, 7-5, 7-5, 7-5, †¦ , 7-7. The second poem form is the ‘tanka’, a short poem, written with a total of 31 syllables in the pattern 5-7-5, 7-7. The Manyoshu is often said to offer everything to the reader because there is so much variety to be found. For some it is also proof of the Japanese identity with its great creativity and complexity. References Keene, Donald. (Ed. ). (1994). Anthology of Japanese Literature: From the Earliest Era to the Mid-Nineteenth Century. New York: Grove Press.

The Holocaust