Review by Martin Koenigsberg
Peter Harmsen is an “Old China Hand” with Degrees from Asian Universities and a long respected career as an East Asia correspondent, so his First book of a trilogy on the Roots and Prosecution of the Pacific War is a really good read. He starts in Chins, and its tortured relationship with the Japanese occupiers of Manchuria, and their desire for domination of the much larger polity. Then, as other powers like The British Empire, the Dutch (who used to own Indonesia and its oil), Soviet Russia, The French Empire and the United states looked on- the Japanese invaded larger and larger parts of China- using pretext after pretext. It might seem like a more recent action on another continent. The Japanese get into a bit of a quagmire in China- owning large swathes of territory but still facing opposition and resistance. Maps and two b/w photo sections support the narrative that will be compelling for military history buffs and more general readers. The Japanese test the Soviets in Siberia- and get a total bloody nose at Nomonhan where Stalin’s General Zhukov shows somewhat surprising command of Armoured and Combined Arms Warfare. And so they end up looking South- thinking the West was showing weakness with first Appeasement and then Blitzkrieg in Europe. A quick smash and grab with enough violence would surely wrest those Imperial possessions from all the Euros- especially since, Hitler, their new ally seemed poised to take all the Imperial centers for himself? The Japanese really did think they could cow the Allies into stunned acceptance- if only the shock was strong enough. Seems a really poor concept to start a war with two powers whose combined Industrial might was almost 200 times that of Japan- but then Harmsen shows that Japan’s leadership was not thinking clearly at all- blinded by their focus on China. Most of the Adult themes are political, but this book is about the Japanese Empire, so atrocities, rape and murder are always part of the story and there are some photos of bodies and skulls, so a Junior Reader over 14/15 years will find this a useful book. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast, its a mixed bag. The Gamer may find the China -Japan interesting to game (I have one friend who does)- or use the book as an extended intro to the Japanese way of war. For the Modeler- not that much build/diorama material, although the photos may be instructive. The Military Enthusiast gets a complex scene of a developimng massive war explained in some detail – always useful. The General reader who had really thought that Pearl Harbor was the start of the war will be richly rewarded for taking the plunge.
