THE ENEMY JAPAN

[Music] [Applause] [Music] this is the third of a series of pictures designed to make the offices and men of the united states navy aware of the strength of japan in this picture the japanese army will be seen in action over a period of ten years the japanese in my opinion will never crack they will never surrender they have got to be beaten until they know they are beaten they believe they are going to win this war and they are ready to keep on fighting for a hundred years if necessary because we americans are trained to think for ourselves we can study our enemy disinterestedly and fight him passionately [Music] though in the past 11 years the war machine of imperial japan has swept victoriously over vast areas of the earth's surface there are still americans who underestimate the formidable strength of this enemy to defeat him we must first understand him a fanatical fighter resourceful treacherous and murderous who despises all other peoples and through decades has known but one purpose that of imposing his ruthless will upon the world by force of arms since 1931 the japanese empire has been run by its militarists japan's few liberal statesmen were persuaded long ago to back the aggressive war plans of the armed forces in 1941 the japanese war party came to power headed by general hideki tojo today the undisputed master of japan in 1931 the militarists took the first steps necessary to bring about world conquest in manchuria they threw mechanized troops against an inadequately armed neighbor within a year they had overrun the rich chinese provinces of manchuria and consolidated their gains they then proceeded to give the world a foretaste of what it means to be conquered by japanese to maintain an atmosphere of legality they placed on the age-old dragon throne of the manchu dynasty the puppet emperor puyi but even he knew how empty an honor was his to carry on the business of government native officials were appointed whose sole duties were to rubber stamped the decrees of the japanese army [Music] thus all mines railroads and other resources came under the control of those japanese financed corporations which were acceptable to the empire's militarists army engineers planning to make of manchuria a base for further conquests pressed thousands of chinese into labor gangs to work on hydroelectric projects military roads and mines though japan was not successful in persuading its own farmers to migrate to manchuria it found ways of inducing the chinese farmers in manchuria to raise what the japanese needed crops were collected for shipment to japan and paid for with worthless occupation money from the army's printing presses the japanese made opium easy for the manchurians to get at the same time it passed laws designed on the surface to forbid its use thus profiting both from selling opium and from finding those who used it by 1937 japan was ready for the next step in its plan of world conquest to bring the rest of china under japanese rule [Music] japanese fighter planes were designed by engineers who had taken the most effective engine propeller and fuselage designs in existence and blended them into the zero pursuit [Music] plane at shanghai their pilots were not flying over strange territory many of them had been flying over the area for months in commercial airliners their aim was deadly and unrestricted bombing of civilians became a japanese trademark casualties were enormous among them a sailor aboard the united states cruiser augusta on which a japanese bomb killed the first of countless thousands of american fighting men destined to become victims of japan's drive for conquest masses of pitiable frightened chinese their homes destroyed their lives shattered gathered together what few possessions were left them and fled the city the chinese who stayed behind were reduced to the level of cattle by their arrogant conquerors american missionaries who tried to help and comfort china's refugees were deliberately bombed out of existence by the infuriated japanese [Applause] with shanghai eliminated as a center of resistance the forces of japan were ready to move up the yangtze river to conquer the interior of china where the tacticians of other nations had regarded rivers as military obstacles the japanese used them as avenues of conquest along which their armies were transported by boat and the cover of their protection when reconnaissance planes showed signs of an enemy ambush ahead their forces would disembark downstream to move up along the shore this plan of water envelopment was the first actual application of modern aero amphibious warfare attacked by combined land sea and air forces holding its best troops for the bigger war yet to come japan used the china war as a means of hardening and seasoning its second line forces by priceless experience in actual battle they solve complicated problems of supply and transportation they learn to overcome difficulties by improvised methods and to steal their bodies to meet hardships beyond the endurance of untrained men when they were held up by a river assault boats were brought up to ferry the troops across under the cover of a chemical smokescreen by such means the japanese became experts at stealthy infiltration and the technique of surprise attacks and readied themselves for the real tests that were to come later on but the japanese who had expected to overrun all of china within a few months with little opposition from the disunited and unprepared chinese found themselves involved in a long and bitter war [Music] [Applause] [Music] after four years of hard fighting and severe losses japan had succeeded in occupying north china and a fringe of land along the coast but in this territory the soldiers of the rising sun had won most of the objectives for which japan had launched its invasion as the japanese advanced they began immediately to convert the conquered territory to their own needs to keep their own men free for fighting they made the fullest use of slave labor organizing the chinese into gangs under relentless overseers the conquered chinese were not docile they had to be guarded constantly but rebellious coolies who were reluctant to work or deliberately slowed down were given the alternative of working or starving the japanese believe in making an invasion pay for itself thus day by day the japanese were building up their strategic stockpiles at home in preparation for the day when they would be ready to strike out for the immense riches of the south pacific years ago japan's militarists had realized that the philippines were the strategic key to this whole area also they contained resources japan needed in order to extend its conquests in the islands were millions of board feet of hardwood enough first-rate lumber for all japan's needs in the making of hemp a useful war material japanese colonists in davao had managed to gain a strong monopoly but what japan most desired was chromite produced in the philippines at the rate of a hundred and thirty thousand tons a year in british malaya japan saw within its grasp a land rich in resources and poorly defended their lay of rubber plantations produce more rubber than the japanese could use and in addition they had great strategic value for the united states and britain had long relied on malayan rubber to keep their economies functioning [Music] from the 10 mines of malaya had come 37 of the world's 10 production 85 000 tons a year to get exclusive command of this immense supply was a primary purpose of the japanese for generations they had seen in singapore a symbol of the hated white supremacy in the far east goods from all parts of asia went through singapore the british had spent millions of pounds on dry docks and fortifications to protect the trade and create a naval base that was impregnable by sea but the japanese planned to attack by land to conquer the netherlands east indies they were prepared to pay a heavy price for its resources included much that japan needed in java and sumatra were some of the world's most productive oil fields eighty-five percent of the world's synchronous bark from which quinine is made comes from those islands since quinine is the preventive for malaria which is capable of destroying whole armies its military importance to japan was obvious scarcely less important to japan with the dutch naval bases which would be useful to them in further aggression to the south into australia to the japanese australia has always meant room to live in and it has long been eyed with malicious envy by japanese jingoists in australia just beyond their reach were many of the strategic minerals of warfare wealth which could make japan one of the world's most powerful nations coal and iron were piled up in mountains easy to reach and easy to mine ready at hand was the milling equipment needed to process the oil on australia's plains were millions of sheep which in japanese hands would supply the island kingdom with ample meat and wool for their own use and for export once they had australia they thought and it's 7 million people to work for them as slaves their position would be impregnable by march of 1941 japan founded expedient to send its foreign minister to berlin to verify the reports of its military attaches [Music] germany had conquered half of europe japan controlled a large part of china japan was accepted as an equal by germany and many of their political and military ideas were identical germany had already studied japan's method of handling subject peoples similar methods were applied in poland and other countries between japan's leaders and adolf hitler there was a perfect meeting of minds and a complete understanding out of this meeting between two unscrupulous warrior nations bent on destruction of the existing world came an agreement that germany would not interfere with japan's designs on indochina and thailand in these countries were bases closer to singapore than any yet in japan's hands bases from which the japanese planned to launch their conquest of the south pacific the french turned over their ports and bases in indochina to the japanese without a struggle the whole operation was an uneventful dress rehearsal of what japan planned to do in 1942 in the malayan archipelago in the philippines and in the netherlands east indies shark troops were lightered ashore with their equipment in the type of amphibious operation japan had been practicing for years in china by the time advanced troops had begun moving into the interior they were assured of ample equipment and replacement here and there scattered resistance was easily dealt with but there was no organized opposition within a few days at the cost of hardly a man the japanese were in possession of all of indochina up to the border of thailand which they well knew would offer no difficulties to their armies then japan was ready for its next move a move destined to be remembered in history in tokyo a cabinet crisis was arranged and the one man who could satisfy japan's powerful war party general hideki tojo became prime minister into office with him in october 1941 general tojo brought faithful admirals and generals who had served the war party [Music] the removal of premier conoye in favor of tojo meant that the great decision had been made japan was setting out irrevocably upon its path of conquest in the pacific within a few weeks the imperial japanese navy was standing out to sea to the united states and to the british commonwealth of nations the warriors of japan had thrown down the challenge [Music] and it is that challenge that we the people and the fighting forces of the united states in our own blood our unremitting effort and our stern sacrifice must forever answer you