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Rather he presents a painful history that is, in places, excruciating to reckon, even at 50 years on. No one got much satisfaction from it. For example, take air force General Curtis Lemay's fire bombing campaign against Japan, that killed at least 310,000 innocent Japanese civilians, wounded another 412,000 and made 9,200,000 Japanese homeless. That's something I have never seen in serious books about the War, before. The Japs were truly awful. In many instances our soldiers were lazy, cowardly, they acted like gangs, they shot captives and civilians, boiled Japs skulls, feigned combat fatigue, prayed for a "million dollar" wound in their foot or hand to get them evacuated home.
Goes against everything I had ever thought about Australia. The 27th division on Okinawa "did not know if it wanted to fight or go home." Often the battle stories are sickening, such as the appalling battles for Manila, Saipan, Peleliu, Tarawa, Okinawa, Iwo Jima, names that mean nothing to kids today, but names that I know from firsthand accounts told to me by my own relatives. Frankly, I still like the sound of "Japs." It must be said that Hastings takes a fair, detached viewpoint in recounting individual stories from all sides, Japanese, Americans, British, Indians, etc. Anyone can sympathize with stories of Japanese families frantically trying to survive LeMay's napalm attacks. 10 THINGS I LEARNED FROM MAX HASTINGS.My dad, a navy captain, and my two uncles, fighter pilots, fought bravely in the Pacific War. Sometimes, now that the cruelty of the War is fading from living memories, one can feel empathy for the Japanese. Therefore, the hatred of the "Japs" as expressed by Americans (like my dad and my uncles) and the British was largely vindicated by Japanese cruelty and fanaticism, more than inherent racial hatred (contra Dower).
The two terms convey different connotations. Sometimes the stories are genuinely moving.I thought I knew all there was to know about the War. Japanese outlooks about warfare and honor, Bushido, proved incomprehensible for Americans and Brits. The Japs were truly fanatical. Max Hastings, though not a war monger, makes it clear why they were right to complain. 2.Australia virtually sat out the last year of the War, sidelining themselves. Hastings relentlessly probes the moral context of military decisions, showing just how ugly the Pacific War was, when viewed through clear eyes. But the invasion at Leyte Gulf was ill advised.
He deserved hanging. Yet, Max also makes harsh judgments, such as his character assassination of MacArthur (despite everything written, I still admire MacArthur) and his recounting of the LeMays inhumane terror-bombing of innocent Japanese civilians and the awful atomic weapons. Don't get me wrong. See Hastings' discussions about ".we are pinned."9.MacArthur's obsession over retrieving the Philippines was really motivated by his pride and his personal love of the islands. The invasion of Luzon cost tens of thousands of Philippinos their lives and destroyed Manila in an orgy of violence perpetrated by the defending Japs for little gain to the Allied side. But Hastings has consciously rewritten the End of the War from a perspective that could not have been published when I was a schoolboy. In the eyes of the Japs, prisoners had forfeited their honor and any legitimate claims to respect. 5.Roosevelt's determination to make Chang Kai Shek's Koumintang faction fit into a "democratic, capitalist, liberty loving" profile never made sense.6.Building the Burma Road and "flying over the Hump" was a waste of resources.
Sure to anger Australian readers.3.England's agonizingly slow offensives to force the Japanese out of Burma were largely pointless. For example, using the noun "Japanese" in 2005 versus the familiar, derogatory "Japs" from 1945. Prisoners possessed no rights. For instance, Japanese units never surrendered Everywhere they fought to the last man.
There's still heroism in Eastwood, but the heroism is mixed with graphic violence, selfishness, and mistakes that went unseen in "Sands." In the modern movie we are forced to see vicious combat among desperate men, with confusion, acts of sudden brutality, and unintended consequences that can't be explained. China and Chang were not worth it.7.America built far more Navy that it needed. There was simply no limit to Jap brutality. Far from it. Why not bypass the Philippines.10. Many commanders, such as MacArthur are far less inspiring from the distance of 50 years. They were stupid and reckless in starting the war.
When I was a kid, we did not see the Japanese side of the War at all, and we did not want to learn about it. Japans shocking treatment of captives, internees and occupied For instance, "When a cholera epidemic struck Tamil railway workers (forced labor) in June 1943, a barracks containing 250 men women and children was simply torched." Or, of 60,000 American and British prisoners forced to work on the Burma Railway, 15,000 died. I can't express how much I admired them growing up. In Hastings, close readers can see how the attitudes of 2005 clash head-on with those of 1945. Shameful. For instance, America produced over 100 carriers during the War, versus Japan's 9.8.Cowardice was more common among Allied troops that I ever had thought. Max Hastings is not a pacifist or an apologist for Japan. In 1945, no one would dare ask painful questions about American conduct of the War.
Japanese recognized no humanitarian limits to bad treatment. Then, the only Pacific War we cared to hear about was the "Sands of Iwo Jima," a John Wayne version of events, where righteous Americans were not only brave but they were driven by pure motives. Homicidal Kamikazi planes hit hundreds of American ships, driving sailors crazy. They fought to preserve, or better revive, England's pride and its vanity.4.Hastings portrays MacArthur in a most unfavorable light: "M rejected accountability to any earthly power," "expressed alarming right wing convictions," "loved the limelight" his fantasies, autocratic, egomania, megalomania, shameless manipulator, "attempted to deceive enlisted men that he was human" ".M hated Marshall, Eisenhower, Roosevelt," and so on. The Emperor should have been hanged.
Australians would not work or fight. There was only a vision of the "Good War." The War I learned about second hand as a kid had a moral clarity that is largely missing from Hastings. Perhaps the napalm bombing was inevitable, made so by a natural confluence between the technological wonder of the B29 bomber plus the known flammability of Jap housing. They really had no chance to win the Pacific War. After the War, when I was ten years old, I can remember them sitting at our kitchen table complaining bitterly about Hirohito, holding that he should have been dragged from his palace kicking and hanged publicly in 1945.
Even so, despite his tendency toward hand-wringing, when he renders his final summary of his weighing the evidence, he still reckons that Tarawa, Okinawa, Iwo Jima, and the atom bombs were necessary acts of war. 10. Even so it's nothing to be proud of, no matter how much you loved your father or grandfather.So, here are my ten points:1.Japan was "fighting far above its weight" right from the start. According to Max, burning Jap cities with napalm was not a military necessity, as portrayed at the time, and for long afterwards.
Although Hastings does not use the term, it's inescapable that our Air Force was plainly using terrorism to injure and cower the Japs. Throughout the book Hastings presents personal stories of Japanese sailors, soldiers and civilians, alongside American and British stories. Japanese often withheld Red Cross packages. To see the difference in changing attitudes, compare the movie "Sands of Iwo Jima," a film the Marine Corps loved, against Clint Eastwoods film from the Jap side of Iwo Jima.
He knows that the War had to be fought. Japan held the Geneva Conventions in contempt. No rose colored glasses here.
Hastings answered many of my questions regarding the later Pacific War years including the lesser known theatres of the Blockade and Russia's involvement whilst shedding light on the publicity addicted MacArthur. I have just finished reading Max Hastings' Retribution and found it an exciting read. I particularly enjoyed the political drama going on behind the scenes between nations jostling for position and leaders lusting for limelight. As always, Hastings draws on inexhaustible resources from every nation involved - this book is very well researched. I also found Hastings to be quite objective in dealing with respective armies and leaders, regardless of their nation of origin - I'm Australian and he gave them a right seeing to.and I enjoyed every word. Intriguing. If you would like a solid introduction to the Pacific War's latter years, read this book - I found it a real page-tuner.
it is certainly NOT the American press version. This is an excellent history book on how the Pacific War -WWII was conducted and why. You won't put it down. why did we get into the situations we did with China, Viet Nam, Korea and why doesn't Japan own up to their actions.read it and find out. then lets see if we can learn from it
Can one unspeakably horrific world conflagration be inherently more compelling than another. My impression is that Retribution may be to some degree more individually focused and Armageddon perhaps a bit more unit focused. It's only this -- it's even better than Armageddon.Why this should be, I cannot say with any degree of certainly. So what thought, or useful advice can I offer anyone contemplating purchasing "Retribution". Certainly, Max Hastings is one of the premier military historians of our times. When you sadly come to the end, Armageddon will be an easy next choice. But that is exactly why I was so completely surprised to find myself even more engrossed in Retribution, his counterpart tale of the closing phase of the Pacific War.I have purposefully made no attempt to make a side by side comparison of the two books. It was in every sense a fine and entirely enjoyable book.
If you enjoyed Armageddon you won't be able to keep your hands off Retribution. Was the Pacific Theater of World War II more "interesting" than the European Theater. So for anyone with even a slight interest in the subject, a Max Hastings book is going to be like catnip. But that is only an impression, and a vague one at that.What is clear to me is that as much as I enjoyed Armageddon, which was considerable, I enjoyed Retribution even more. I wouldn't think so. I wouldn't have thought so.This is in no way to detract from Armageddon, Hastings' masterful account of the closing months of the War in Europe. If you have been considering but haven't yet acquired either, start with Retribution.
Previous to dropping them, the Potsdam Ultimatum was issued by Truman and the Allies to the Japanese and it was firmly rejected by Emperor Hirohito. Removing a potential threat to him and his cabal of subordinates. Hastings gathered original sources from interviews of soldiers & sailors, comfort girls, and by researching memoirs, journals, diaries and letters, from these people on the ground. Having many negative defects, traits, and tendencies, he surrounded himself with sycophantic yes-man who pledged obedience and loyalty.
After the end of World War II and the arrival of the American occupiers and rebuilders, these same Japanese warriors were despised, ridiculed, and even assaulted by the Japanese citizens. ONCE AGAIN: OIL & MacARTHUR:In the beginning, it was about oil; In the end, it was about oil.DOUGLAS MacARTHUR:With historical analysis and eyewitness accounts, General Douglas MacArthur is again, the most overrated and over-hyped military man in 20th Century. After much sacrifice by the citizens of Japan with scarce resources, firebombing and 2 A-bombs, it looks like these enthusiastic war supporters had a change of heart.ONE CONCEPT SEEMS ALWAYS TO BE DISCUSSED & DEBATED.Dropping the A-bomb:It's already well known, but Hastings notes the reasons for dropping the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. More damning is that he was unaware of his own ignorance. Anyone who was smart, capable, and valuable was re-assigned to another part of the globe. Not only was he overrated, but he was a poor General and a bad military strategist.
Ego, image, lack of historical knowledge, and chest pounding by the upper echelons of military and political power, were often the root cause of unnecessary carnage during the latter stages of the conflict. There is a lot of detail about the battles and combat situations throughout the entire Asian theater during the last year of conflict in this book. The Soviets were also close and getting closer (Manchuria invasion). Making "Retribution" unique is the focus on the individuals involved, and not just on the political and military leaders. JAPAN AFTERMATH: During the 1930s huge crowds of Japanese citizens waved the rising-sun flag and cheered their troops as they departed for China and South East Asian conquests to expand Japanese imperialism.
Douglas MacArthur appears to be a prime example of the "Peter Principle." Promoted to his highest level of incompetence. Japan deserves no sympathy. MacArthur's facade in the Philippines and Japan set the stage for many of his mistakes that would take place 5 years later in Korea. "Retribution" by Max Hastings is superb work that primarily focuses on the last year of the WWII conflict in the Asian theater. The Japanese military controlled the government and refused to surrender. After years of fighting, go onto the mainland. It was imperative to force the Japanese to finally surrender to save lives, and to keep Stalin and the Soviet Union from usurping into Manchuria and other parts of Asia.
Again, it's worth noting that the firebombing campaigns in killed more Japanese civilians than dropping the two A-bombs. After defeat, Japan was propped up by the US to counter-balance the communist influence spreading in North-East Asia during the post WWII period. Author Max Hastings also notes what is so often known only behind the scenes but not disclosed very often to the public: the real reason for some of the brutal battles that caused many soldier and civilian casualties when not necessary. Very well-done historical account that focuses on the experiences and perspective of the people involved on the ground. MacArthur was an egomaniac who manipulated the American public and mass media for his own *personal* vanity and *personal* gain, and not the nation's welfare. He also seriously misunderstood Asia, and in particular, China. The Japanese atrocities inflicted upon innocents throughout Asia is beyond horrific.
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