Lost Freeway
Banned
I've always found it interesting how well their POW's were treated in WW1 compared to WW2.
Of course, that was before the loonies took over.
I've always found it interesting how well their POW's were treated in WW1 compared to WW2.
Probably the generational difference between those who thought better of it, and those who experienced the victories of First Sino-Japanese War and Russo-Japanese War, along with WWI, and let the thought of victory go to their heads.Of course, that was before the loonies took over.
The military always had a lot of power in Japan, but in particular during and after the Meiji Restoration. Japans initial primary model as far as European countries went was France because it was considered the premier military power in the world. After the Franco-Prussian War, they switched to Germany and specifically Prussia. One of the mottos of the new Japan was Fukoku Kyohei. It means enrich the state and build the military. It doesn't hurt that modern Japan had never lost a battle and as such they suffered from the victory disease that both Napoleonic France and Nazi Germany had. Both of them would have their delusions of invincibility shattered in Russia. Japans was shattered in the Pacific.Of course, that was before the loonies took over.
The military always had a lot of power in Japan, but in particular during and after the Meiji Restoration. Japans initial primary model as far as European countries went was France because it was considered the premier military power in the world. After the Franco-Prussian War, they switched to Germany and specifically Prussia. One of the mottos of the new Japan was Fukoku Kyohei. It means enrich the state and build the military. It doesn't hurt that modern Japan had never lost a battle and as such they suffered from the victory disease that both Napoleonic France and Nazi Germany had. Both of them would have their delusions of invincibility shattered in Russia. Japans was shattered in the Pacific.
I think that the reason they became so brutal was that the Japanese felt that they weren't being treated equally by the Western Powers at Versailles. They weren't. Their primary ally Britain tossed them aside in favor of America. Then there was the Naval limitations agreement that allowed Britain and the US to build larger Fleets than Japan. They didn't seem to notice that they were allowed to have a significantly larger Fleet than Italy or even France under the terms of the treaty.
Japanese soldiers were incredibly tough. I might even go as far as to say that they were the toughest on average. They went through endurance marches in both intense heat and intense cold wearing full packs and marching miles. If they couldn't complete their marches they were beaten. The officers beat their NCO's. The NCO's beat their enlisted men. The enlisted men took their anger out on occupied civilians. A pecking order developed.
It doesn't hurt that they developed a Hitleresque sense of racial superiority over the older Chinese civilization much like the Nazis feelings towards swarthy southern Europeans. The fact that their superiority over these people was very recent and that historically these people had been more advanced was quietly sidestepped.