Nearly a year before the close of the Second World War, the United States War Department issued a revised Handbook on Japanese Military Forces. The restricted manual was only for distribution to persons of “undoubted loyalty” to the U.S.
The handbook was intended for use by both American and British forces. It was just over 400 pages. The longest section included a myriad of details about the tactics used by the Japanese Army and Navy. Much of the material included came from combat experience.
The Japanese forces operated under the command that “enemy forces will be annihilated.” They were thought to be quick to copy and even improve upon the tactics of their enemies. According to the handbook, the Japanese “seem to feel there is some mystic virtue in the attack.” Envelopment of the enemy was the preferred offensive maneuver.
See the American Society of Overseas Research records at UW’s American Heritage Center to read the U.S. War Department’s 1944 Handbook on Japanese Military Forces.
