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Old 09-24-07, 10:08 AM   #6
Skyhawk
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If in fact the Japanese had managed to win the battle of Midway, the scenario presented in the show could very well have played out (Although I seriously doubt the U.S. administration and D.O.D. would have given in to such an attempt at "human leverage".).

It would have had dramatic consequences and definitely effected the war in the Pacific though, no doubt about that. I don't think that IF the Japanese won the Battle of Midway and gained control of Hawaii, it would be COMPLETELY beyond all reason, to wit "clueless", that they might try and use it as leverage against the U.S. on the offhand chance it might break the American spirit early. If you can accept the immediately preceeding statement, then who is to say that it was or was not the intention ("point") of the Japanese empire at the time? Certainly though, it remains a REASONABLE possibility.

At the beginning of WWII, both the U.S. people and the Japanese people were very ignorant of each other's way of thinking. A good example of this (also in the program) was when the U.S. forces surrendered in the Philipines and the commanding U.S. officer asked only one question of the Japanese, paraphrasing here - "Will my men be treated humanely and with respect if we surrender?". While the Japanese answered yes, it was in fact not true as the Japanese regarded those who surrender rather than die in battle as low-lifes not deserving of any respect whatsoever.

You must think of the "hostage" suggestion posed by this program in terms of the way Japanese leaders were thinking at the time. Not in terms of present day norms. They had plans to take over at least part of the world, same as Hitler planned to establish a world dominated by the "perfect" race and Mussolini wanted to re-establish the great Roman empire. It certainly would not have been "beyond" the Japanese Empire to employ such a tactic. Afterall, at least one of their allies would make an attempt at genocide before the war was over. Using the population of captured enemy territory as hostages pales in comparison by ANY standard of "radical" inclination.

Clueless? I don't think so friend.


. . . "The 'what-ifs' of history stand out when one considers the alternatives: what if Nimitz's intelligence appraisals had not been followed; what if superb navigation had not brought the American bombers over the Japanese task force simultaneously? What if, despite having sunk the enemy carriers, Spruance had pursued westward into the big guns of Yamamoto's Main Force battleships? What if we had lost our carriers and the Japanese and had occupied Midway? Would it have put the Hawaiian Islands in jeopardy and forced the American defense perimeter back to the West coast? How would this have affected Allied forces in Australia and Europe? To be sure, the war would have been lengthened, and America's will to win would have been put to the test." . . .

- From the Testimony on the Historical Significance of Midway Atoll and the Battle of Midway presented to the Committee on Resources, U.S. House of Representatives, 109th Congress, by William S. Dudley, Chief Historian, International Midway Memorial Foundation, on May 26, 2005 -


The entire article/testimony as it was originally posted can be found at this link.


Look before you leap . . . :hmm:
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