WILLIAMSTOWN - In his book "Japanese Military Strategy in the Pacific War: Was Defeat Inevitable?" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2007) historian James Wood challenges the conventional wisdom that Japan's defeat in the Pacific was historically inevitable.
Although the economics of the war in the Pacific were squarely in America's favor, even so, Wood argues, "the defeat of Japan took such a long, arduous, and uncertain road [raising] fundamental questions about the possibility of alternative outcomes and [suggesting] that the ... end date of the Pacific War may have been more malleable and changeable than usually thought.
"Most counterfactual military histories tend to focus on individual episodes and to rely on dramatic reversals of fortune."
In contrast, his book traces the active strategic imperatives that Japan focused on and contrasts them with those Japan could have chosen. Often, Wood argues, it was not so much a decision of one strategy over the other but of a poor allocation of attention.
The book argues that the Japanese army and navy had both the opportunity and the capability to have fought a different and more successful war and Wood outlines 10 key factors that might have led to any number of alternate outcomes for the Japanese-American showdown in the Pacific.
For example, avoiding the so-called "Victory Disease" - brought on by initial successes - might have encouraged a more cautious, defense-minded Japanese strategy. Protection of Japanese merchant shipping and industrial centers from Allied attacks would have seriously altered the late-stage Japanese war-fighting capability in the event of an Allied invasion of the Home Islands. And a more tactical mindset, forcing "more Okinawa-type battles on the enemy," would have seriously demoralized and slowed the U.S. war effort.
In contrast, Wood argues, "Midway, New Guinea and Guadalcanal were the wrong battles fought at the wrong places at the wrong times."
Though they never posed a mortal threat to the United States, Wood reminds the reader, the Japanese nonetheless could have fought a very different, and from their vantage point, much more successful campaign in the Pacific.
"This impressive counterfactual analysis demonstrates that the course of the Pacific War was not set in stone," writes Dennis Showalter of Colorado College. "Wood demonstrates, through careful analysis of alternatives actually discussed by Japan's leaders, that the decision to go to war was not an exercise in national suicide. Instead, specific choices closed a window of opportunity for Japan to have bought more time and might well have altered fundamentally the war's conclusion."
James Wood is the Charles R. Keller Professor of American History at Williams College. He received his bachelor's degree from Eckerd College in 1968 and his doctorate from Emory University in 1973.
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Companion Corner: Mattie at Second Chance Animal Shelter
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
ARLINGTON, Vt. — There's a dog at Second Chance Animal Shelter who is patiently waiting to play with her new family.
iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home.
Mattie is a 2-year-old chocolate Labrador mix who has been at the shelter since January.
Lead canine care technician Alaura Lasher introduced us to her.
"She came to us because her last home unfortunately, didn't have enough time for her," Lasher said. "She was living in a crate. A lot, spending a lot of her time in a crate. She has a lot of energy. She's a very sweet girl, but she can be pretty nervous meeting new people."
Mattie loves to play but does take time to warm up people, especially to men. But if you give her the time and energy, she will soon be sure to love you.
"She loves her time outside, like I said, she loves fetch, loves her toys. We're just looking for a home that is able to work with her nervousness. They need to understand that she might be a little nervous at first," Lasher said.
Mattie does well with other dogs and could live with a cat as well.
"She does well with dogs, so she can possibly live with another dog. We're looking for a home if they have cats that they're like dog savvy, that they're able to give a dog their space when they need it," she said. "And she has also lived with children before, so we believe that she'd do well with children who are used to very energetic, high energy dogs."
Lasher said she might have a bit of separation anxiety but is crate trained if need be.
"Her last home had said that she liked to chew on oven mitts, so we're looking for a home that doesn't have oven mitts out," she laughed. "I think she gets a little bit nervous, but she is crate trained, like I said, her last home, she was unfortunately spending most of her days in a crate. So she does do well if she has to be in a crate, she's a pretty clean girl."
Mattie is hoping to find a new family that will let her be her fun and adventurous self.
"She's just very, very energetic. She just needs a friend that she can go outside with and adventure. She'll probably do best in a single person home, or maybe a single couple home again, just because of her nervousness with new people," Lasher said. "And she can be kind of anxious at times. So if she can just have her special person, that would probably work for her."
If you think Mattie might be the girl for you, reach out to Second Chance Animal Shelter and learn more about her on the website.
The revised bylaw would simply limit retail establishments to providing a "recycled paper bag," a "reusable carryout bag" or a "reusable or recyclable paper product bag."
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