In the Service of the Emperor

The Rise and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1931–1945

N.S. Nash

• Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
• Year: 2023
• eBook ISBN: 9781399090100
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Japanese History
• Index: History

The expansion of the Japanese Empire between 1931 until its defeat in 1945 is one of the most extraordinary yet shocking episodes in human history. Extraordinary in that a relatively non-industrialised island nation was prepared to go to war, concurrently, with China, the most populous country, Great Britain with its world-wide empire and the USA, the wealthiest and most powerful country on earth. Shocking, as those 'in the service of the Emperor' practiced persistent and unrestrained brutality as they conquered and occupied swathes of South East Asia. But, as this superbly researched work reveals, there is no denying their fighting and logistical expertise. The author examines the political, economic and strategic effects of the rapid Japanese expansion and explores the cult of deity that surrounded the Emperor. The contribution of the Allied forces and their leadership is given due attention. When retribution duly came, it was focussed on the military leadership responsible for unspeakable atrocities on their military and civilian victims. The physical perpetrators remaining largely unpunished. Japan, today, has still not acknowledged its wartime guilt. The result is an authoritative, balanced and highly readable account of a chapter of world history that must never be forgotten.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Book Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Maps
• Acknowledgements
• Glossary
• Chapter One Preamble
• Chapter Two 1926–39 The Emperor
• Chapter Three 1904–37 Aspirations for Empire
• Chapter Four 1937–45 The Second Sino-Japanese War
• Chapter Five 1938–45 The Russian Threat, the Chinese War and the Burma Road
• Chapter Six 1938–41 The Path to World War
• Chapter Seven August–December 1941 Manipulation and Misunderstanding
• Chapter Eight December 1941–February 1942 Pearl Harbor, Thailand, Guam, Malaya and Singapore
• Chapter Nine December 1941 The Philippines, Wake Island, Hong Kong and Bataan
• Chapter Ten 1931–45 Comfort Woman
• Chapter Eleven 15 December 1941–8 May 1942 Burma, Battles of Ceylon and the Coral Sea
• Chapter Twelve June–July 1942 The Ebb of the Tide – The Battleof Midway
• Chapter Thirteen 1415–1945 Inconvenient Guests and their Treatment
• Chapter Fourteen August 1942–February 1943 The Kokoda Trail, Guadalcanal, the Battle of Savo Island andthe Battle of the Bismarck Sea
• Chapter Fifteen November 1942–3 Food, the Bengal Famine andthe First Chindit Operation
• Chapter Sixteen January–December 1943 Yamamoto, Attu, Casablanca, Cairo, Quebec and Teheran
• Chapter Seventeen April–December 1943 Operation CARTWHEEL, Bougainville and Rabaul
• Chapter Eighteen November 1942–August 1943 Co-prosperity, Tarawa, Makinand Mountbatten
• Chapter Nineteen January 1944 Kwajalein, Roi-Namur, Truk, Foodand Eniwetok
• Chapter Twenty February 1944–August 1945 Kohima, Imphal, the Second Chindit Operation, Marauders and the Recapture of Burma
• Chapter Twenty-One 22 April–19 June 1944 Hollandia, Aitape, Biak Island, Mopping-up, Saipan and the Marianas ‘Turkey Shoot’
• Chapter Twenty-Two 19 July–27 November 1944 Trophies, Logistics, Guam, Tinian,Morotai and Peleliu
• Chapter Twenty-Three October–December 1944 Leyte
• Chapter Twenty-Four October 1944–August 1945 Kamikaze
• Chapter Twenty-Five December 1944–March 1945 Mindoro, Luzon and Massacre
• Chapter Twenty-Six February–June 1945 Iwo Jima
• Chapter Twenty-Seven April–June 1945 Okinawa
• Chapter Twenty-Eight 1945
• Epilogue
• Bibliography
• Index
• Back cover