Review (PDF) Japanese Army 1931-45 (Volume 1, 1931-42)

                
              
Review (PDF) 
Japanese Army 1931-45 (Volume 1, 1931-42)
During Japan's devastating Pacific offensive of the 1941-42 period of World War II, 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 titles 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.
Series: Men-at-Arms (Book 362)
Paperback: 48 pages
Publisher: Osprey Publishing (January 25, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9781841763538
ISBN-13: 978-1841763538
ASIN: 1841763535
Product Dimensions:  7.2 x 0.1 x 9.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:  4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #808,825 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)   #98 in Books > History > Military > Uniforms   #262 in Books > History > Military > Life & Institutions   #1151 in Books > History > Military > Weapons & Warfare > Conventional
Volume 1 of Osprey's Men-at-Arms title on the Japanese Army in Second World War is the first of two thin volumes that will cover this often-neglected subject. While the color uniform plates are excellent as always, the rest of the volume is rather bland and without much unique detail. For readers interested in Japanese uniforms of the Second World War, this volume is quite good but for the military historian, it is a disappointment. The volume begins with a brief background on the Japanese strategic situation and the nature of Japanese soldiers. An excellent 4-page section covers the organization of Japanese army units from army-level down to platoon. Unfortunately, six pages are then wasted in a generalized chronology that astounds the reader with facts like Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941. Osprey seems not to grasp the fact that anyone having enough interest in the Japanese army in the Second World War to purchase this volume will probably be aware of the basic chronology of the war and prefer the limited space to concentrate on the subject. Another 11 excruciatingly dull pages are spent discussing the finer points of Japanese army uniforms and ancillary items, including minutiae like armbands and optional footwear. Only three quick pages cover all weaponry, from pistols to artillery; tanks are ignored. There is virtually no discussion of Japanese tactics or doctrine, except for one or two paragraphs intermixed in the chronology section, and this is an unpardonable error in this kind of volume. The fact that the author buries the reader under a mass of near-useless information about various types of Japanese field jackets and then neglects to mention how these troops were trained or fought is ludicrous.
Japanese Army 1931-45 (Volume 1, 1931-42) Bento Box Cookbook: Delicious Japanese Cooking Recipes For Lunch And Dinner (Bento Box Recipes, Japanese Cooking, Japanese Recipes, Japanese Bento, Sushi, Rice Cooker) Genki: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese II [Second Edition] (Japanese Edition) (English and Japanese Edition) Beyond Polite Japanese: A Dictionary of Japanese Slang and Colloquialisms (Power Japanese) Japanese Slanguage: A Fun Visual Guide to Japanese Terms and Phrases (English and Japanese Edition) Confessions of a Japanese Linguist - How to Master Japanese: (The Journey to Fluent, Functional, Marketable Japanese) The DCC Survival Guide: Succeeding at the Army's Direct Commission Course (Becoming an Army JAG Officer) (Volume 1) Rikugun. Volume 1: Tactical Organization Of Imperial Japanese Army & Navy Ground Forces Rikugun. Volume 2: Weapons of the Imperial Japanese Army & Navy Ground Forces Collected Fiction Volume 3 (1931-1936): A Variorum Edition US Army Technical Manual, ARMY AMMUNITION DATA SHEETS: MILITARY PYROTECHNICS, (FEDERAL SUPPLY CLASS 1370), TM 43-0001-37, 1994 US Army Technical Manual, ARMY AMMUNITION DATA SHEETS, SMALL CALIBER AMMUNITION, FSC 1305, TM 43-0001-27, 1994 US Army Technical Manual, ARMY AMMUNITION DATA SHEETS FOR ROCKETS, ROCKET SYSTEMS, ROCKET FUZES, ROCKET MOTORS, (FSC 1340), TM 43-0001-30, 1981 US Army Technical Manual, ARMY AMMUNITION DATA SHEETS FOR DEMOLITION MATERIALS, TM 43-0001-38, 1994 US Army Technical Manual, ARMY DATA SHEETS FOR CARTRIDGES, CARTRIDGE ACTUATED DEVICES AND PROPELLANT ACTUATED DEVICES, FSC 1377, TM 43-0001-39, 1991 US Army Technical Manual, ARMY AMMUNITION DATA SHEETS FOR GRENADES, TM 43-0001-29, 1994 US Army Technical Manual, ARMY AMMUNITION DATA SHEETS FOR LAND MINES, (FSC 1345), TM 43-0001-36, 1994 The Passing of the Armies: An Account of the Final Campaign of the Army of the Potomac, Based upon Personal Reminiscences of the Fifth Army Corps Battle of Stones River: The Forgotten Conflict between the Confederate Army of Tennessee and the Union Army of the Cumberland Mr. Lincoln's Army (Army of the Potomac Trilogy Book 1) 