The World at War - Part V - Pacific War (Myth20c - Ep298)

As the European powers emerged from World War I and the Great Depression, Japan faced its own challenges on the Pacific Rim. Aiming to build a power base independent of the imperial powers of Britain, France, Russia and the United States encroaching on China and the surrounding nations over the past century, Japan had embarked on an industrial and military modernization program that resulted in a series of victories in Korea and modern day northern China. Noticing the economic success and rapid military conquests of Nazi Germany in 1940, Tokyo also signed the Tripartite Pact with Berlin and Rome, and with permission from German-controlled Vichy France, occupied French Indochina. Observing Japan's territory expanding dangerously close to its concessions in the Philippines, the United States embargoed all oil shipments to Japan in July 1941, effectively crippling Tokyo's supply, particularly for its navy. Feeling cornered, Japan embarked on its 'Southern Expansion' strategy, aimed at seizing the oil fields in the Dutch East Indies and simultaneously striking the British and American fleets in Singapore and Pearl Harbor. Although Japan made rapid progress in early 1942, by missing the US aircraft carrier fleet and underestimating the determination of the Americans, in the words of Admiral Yamamoto, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." Over the next two and half years, as the US entered the war with full force, each of the members of Tripartite Pact met with their ultimate demise.

The World at War Episodes covered in this episode:

6 - "Banzai!: Japan (1931-1942)"

7 - "On Our Way: U.S.A. (1939-1942)"

14 - "It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow: Burma (1942-1944)"

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-- References --

- The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lean (1957)

- King Rat, Clavell (1962)

- The Strange Assignment of USS Lanikai, Tolley (1962) - https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1962/september/strange-assignment-uss-lanikai

- Tora! Tora! Tora!, Musuda, Fleischer and Fukasaku (1970)

- Groupthink: Psychological studies of policy decisions and fiascoes, Janis (1983)

- The Washington Conference, 1921-22, Goldstein and Maurer (1994)

- US vs The World: America’s Color Coded War Plans and the Evolution of Rainbow Five, Ressa (2010) - https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1133&context=masters

- The PNAC (1997-2006) and the Post-Cold War ‘Neoconservative Moment’, Bourgois (2020) - https://www.e-ir.info/2020/02/01/new-american-century-1997-2006-and-the-post-cold-war-neoconservative-moment/

- American Spirit - Charles Lindbergh and the America First Movement, Myth of the 20th Century (2024) - https://myth20c.wordpress.com/2024/08/18/american-spirit-charles-lindbergh-and-the-america-first-movement-myth20c-ep275/

- The World at War - Part IV - The Eastern Front, Myth of the 20th Century (2025) - https://myth20c.wordpress.com/2025/07/19/the-world-at-war-part-iv-the-eastern-front/

- Venona Documents - https://www.nsa.gov/Helpful-Links/NSA-FOIA/Declassification-Transparency-Initiatives/Historical-Releases/Venona/

- Charles Lindbergh’s America First Des Moines Speech - http://www.charleslindbergh.com/americanfirst/speech.asp

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