Plans
American military planners realized that despite its military buildup, the United States was weak and overextended in the Pacific. In the event of war, the Philippines were expected to be lost, and the American fleet was to fall back to the Netherlands East Indies. After the United States entered the war, the general strategy adopted by the British, Dutch, and Americans was to fight a holding war against Japan and make their main effort against Germany. After Germany surrendered, the full strength of the Allies would be turned against Japan. The second part of the plan was never fully applied, because by the time Germany was defeated, Japan was also near collapse. In the meantime, the United States planned to concentrate its efforts in the Pacific on seizing island bases from which to attack and blockade the Japanese mainland.
Japan intended to extend its empire, which it called the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, over most of the Pacific, and made haste to seize islands to use as bases to protect its conquests. The Japanese expected to fight a limited war. Once they had won the territory they wanted, they intended to defend it until the Allies were worn out and willing to negotiate for peace.
Japan had a large, well-trained, experienced army of 120 divisions. Its troops were courageous, highly skilled in tactical operations, and ably led. The Japanese navy, immediately after Pearl Harbor, was much stronger than the United States Pacific Fleet. The quality of Japanese weapons was good.
Japan was not prepared to fight a prolonged war. It had accumulated stocks of vital raw materials, but once the war began, replenishing them became difficult. Japan's manufacturing output could not be increased greatly. The supply system was poorly organized, and supply problems sometimes became acute. Japan's occupation of eastern China became a great drain upon Japanese resources. Other serious shortcomings were lack of an adequate program to train pilots and lack of modern anti-submarine equipment. Japanese military effectiveness was also hindered by extreme rivalry between the army and the navy, which led to inefficiency in the planning and execution of operations.Important dates in the Pacific: 1941-1942.
