Osprey Men-at-Arms 362 : The Japanese Army (1) 1931-1945

During Japan's devastating Pacific offensive of 1941-42, the Allies paid a high price for their failure to take seriously an army which had already been fighting in Manchuria and China for ten years. That army was a unique blend of the ancient and the modern and its up-to-date equipment and resourceful tactics served an almost medieval code of unquestioning obedience and ruthless aggression. This first of two books covers the organisation, equipment, uniforms and character of Japanese ground forces in the Chinese and early Pacific campaigns, illustrated with insignia charts, many rare photographs, and eight meticulous uniform plates. The Imperial Japanese Army was one of the major combatants of World War II, and occupied a huge proportion of the US war effort in particular, from Pearl Harbor and the Philippines in 1941-42 to Okinawa in 1945. British forces faced it in Malaya in 1941-42, and in major campaigns in Burma in 1943-45. In general terms it is much discussed in the West, and certain of its battles are classic studies; but the specifics of uniforms and equipment are only very sparsely published. For many years past there has been, effectively, nothing in print. By covering the period 1931-42 in the first book, Philip Jowell deals with the basic and cold weather uniforms of the Chinese, Manchurian and Nomanhan (vs. Russia) campaigns of the 1930s, and their gradual modernisation. This first book includes the 'lightning war' against the Western Allies in Malaya, the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies in early 1942, eg. the battles for Singapore, Corregidor, Bataan, Wake Island, etc. Text by Philip Jowell with illustrations by Stephen Andrew.

Contents

• M1930 uniforms
• Invasion of Manchuria 1931
• Invasion of Jehol 1933
• Chinese Campaigns 1937-40
• Cold Weather Clothing
• Uniform Modernisation c1937-41
• The Nomanhan Campaign 1939
• Development of Tropical Uniforms
• The 'Lightning Campaign' in the Pacific and South East Asia 1941-42