B5B7 wrote:
A common myth - Japan made a decision that it didn't have the resources to invade Australia. One could as easily claim that Australia (& others) saved the US from Germany in both WWI & WWII by not allowing a German conquest of Europe.
Yeah the Japanese decided they couldn't invade without at least 300,000 men they didn't have. That doesn't mean they didn't intend to subdue Australia and force it surrender. The Japanese plan for doing this called for the occupation of the New Hebrides, Fiji and American Samoa, with the possibility of additional landings on several other island groups including New Zealand.
The first step of this operation was actually carried out, with the occupation of Tulagi and the construction of an airfield on Guadalcanal, the attack on Port Morsbery was turned back. The idea was to cut off communications from America to Australia with a string of new bases on these islands. Australia would then be blockaded and raided until it gave in or the Japanese could mobilized enough men to make the invasion.
The Japanese fully intended to implement these operations as soon as the Midway campaign had annihilated the American fleet, a timetable was sent and forces and supplies where amassed at Rabaul. In fact the Japanese even formed a whole new Fleet, the 8th, to defend the islands once they had been seized and also created a new ‘Area Army’, the Japanese esurient of an Army Group (I think it was the 17th but I’m not sure) which would have garrisoned the new territories besides the Solomon’s.
Now clearly this plan was going to hopelessly overextend the Japanese, and could never have worked, but that’s only because the USN was around. The RN had already faced the Japanese with the best strength it could muster in Apirl 1942, and had been so clearly inferior it simply declined battle. Had the US been completely out of the war, then the Japanese would have been in a much stronger position to take direct action against Australia rather then relying on an direct approach. But of course, as it was the Coral Sea and Midway put an end to all Japanese offensive operations.
The Japanese BTW, also didn’t consider an invasion of Oahu very practical, but they none the less made semi detailed plans for seizing American outposts beyond Midway, such as Palmyra atoll in ordered to neutralize the base. This was also hopelessly ambitious, but the so was the entire premise and strategy Japan went to war with.
"This cult of special forces is as sensible as to form a Royal Corps of Tree Climbers and say that no soldier who does not wear its green hat with a bunch of oak leaves stuck in it should be expected to climb a tree"
— Field Marshal William Slim 1956
