Bombers over Tokyo: The Strategic Importance of Doolittle's Raid It led the papers from coast to coast. The Japanese armys mission was to prevent land-based bombings on the home islands by destroying airfields, but they also made a point to punish the Chinese. Bomb Japan! With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumphso help us God.President Franklin D. Roosevelt, December 8, 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his "Day of Infamy" speech to Congress on December 8, 1941. [10] Through intensive rearmament, mobilization, reorganization, and training which ran from 1940 to 1943, the Army made steady improvements, but it was not prepared for a Pacific offensive. Doolittle Raid, (April 18, 1942), during World War II, U.S. Army Air Forces bombing raid on Tokyo and other Japanese cities. You could stop German coal distribution "Heart Attack" to such a degree that the Reichbahn could not delver coal to it's own engines. p. 16. At the beginning of the 19th century only 10-15 % of persons killed in war were civilians but by the end of that century it was 50% . What was the Doolittle Raid and why was it so important? Zooming low over the imperial capital was a flight of twin-engined bombers. But to John's original question: As I see it, the Doolittle Raid was a legitimate gamble made solely for propaganda purposes, with risks manageably contained. Doolittle's Raid, whether deemed by law and its conclusions, legal or outlaw as a matter of history, does present what can happen Most of the Japanese carriers were expected to be returning from the Indian Ocean and would probably need a period of rest before the next big operation -- whatever that might be. Standing by for counterfire and don't worry, no women and children in the vicinity. The Doolittle Raid, with 16 planes targeting six different Japanese cities, allowed the United States to rebound after its devastating losses at Pearl Harbor. A: The Doolittle Raid was the first air raid by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo, 12. Regarding Walter McIntosh's concerns about war crimes. Is it, Social Studies (Check, Please!) Democracy struggles with these historical differences. Doolittle Raid was an air raid by bombers from an American carrier on Tokyo and other places in Japan on 18 April 1942 , four months after Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor. Unit 731 contaminated water supplies with paratyphoid and anthrax. This fact makes estimating the impact of the Doolittle Raid, which Nimitz believed a rash operation with little payoff, more problematic. *I will be going into this, and many other things, at a lecture at the Dole Center at the University of Kansas sometime at 1500 on 12 September 2019 in a lecture entitled "The Forgotten Admiral: Frank Jack Fletcher. I used this text in two courses I taught, one for a WW II course at Wolverhampton U. in the UK and another in war and morality for the advanced military studies program (AMSP), which is the junior course at Fort Leavenworth's School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS). My ethical baseline for this The Island allowed the U.S. to patrol the Pacific from Hawaii to the Japanese shores. A U.S. Army Air Forces North American B-25B Mitchell bomber takes off from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) during the Doolittle Raid. yes correct Advertisement But even in modern times I like to point out one clear statistic, and that is the number of blue-on-blue casualties which occur in wartime (forces wounding/killing their own people). The U.S. needed something to feel better, and this was it. Yamamotos plan was a gambit to intended to lure the US Pacific Fleet, which had also been raiding from New Guinea to the Gilbert Islands with its carriers, into an ambush as they came out to defend Midway. Enemies hate each other and it is "normal" in a combat situation to dehumanize your enemy. On December 8, 1941, the American battle fleet at Pearl Harbor was a smoldering ruin. The Kido Butai could put up to 412 planes in the air at a time, whereas an American carrier could manage only 90 or so. The overall naval commander for this stunt was Vice Admiral William F. Halsey, embarked on USS Enterprise of TF-16. in the age historically of modern warfare and its practice. Everything went well until the Japanese discovered the carriers about 150 miles from the planned launch site. Bluff, New Zealand. Bradley asserts that the French replica of the Statue of Liberty was standing on the other end of Ba Dinh square when Ho Chi Minh made his Independence speech . Scope of coverage: Although the book centers on air and naval power, O'Brien does not neglect land armies. Even leaving aside the unavoidable fact air forces are _NOT_ naval forces. Still, it is hard to say for certain how many Chinese perished in the raids aftermath. Washington, DC. asked by Victoria. Alfred C. Mierzejewski "The Collapse of the German War Economy, 1944-1945: Allied Air Power and the German National Railway" (Paperback) For years yours truly ascribed to the idea that this raid achieved not only its planned purposes, but was a critical causal element that led to the Midway operation by the IJNs premier striking force, Dai Ichi Kido Butai. Rather than surrender to Hitlers will, Britain proved willing to go to the point of national bankruptcy before being rescued by lend-lease. And we're not mentioning almost countless previous attacks, including those by German Gotha bombers on England in WW 1: https://www.historychannel.com.au/h100/gotha-bombers-struck-london/. The April 18, 1942, Doolittle Raid on Japan early in World War II bolstered American spirits just months after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and the loss of the U.S. territories of Guam. Strategic Bombing Matured Quickly During WWII On our side, Yorktown was temporarily alone in the South Pacific but would soon be joined by Lexington. ", Pearl Harbor was a military base, however Jimmy Doolittle's 30 seconds over Tokyo was an indiscriminate bombing on a civilian population . Training the Doolittle Raiders - NHHC The Doolittle Raid was conducted by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo and Honshu at the time of World War II. A number of industrial and military targets were hit, and surely no precedent was set. Inititated by the German bombing of London, it was soon followed by Bombing Command. Colonel Jimmy Doolittle commanded the air component. 1. The Doolittle Raiders | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans [13] Ibid, 25. When he died in 1993 a large delegation from the Air Staff (including one or two reservists like me) hiked on foot from the Pentagon over to the Arlington Cemetery chapel for his funeral service. "Area bombing" in Europe by the RAF was being conducted well before April of 1942, and I think the jury is still out about whether an industrial landscape that encompasses residential neighborhoods ought to be off-limits in warfare. For conventional bombing the bang delivered by the strategic bombing campaign in WW II does not measure up, it did not deliver the quick and ultimately "cheaper in lives" solution (based on being quick" that it promised, It failed miserably on that score and it only became more effective due to second and third order effects (such as destruction of Luftwaffe fighter force). By the time of the Doolittle Raid in 1942 bombing of civilian targets had become an accepted strategy of war on both sides. In addition, the British only built fourteen percent more merchant shipping than the Japanese (who built 3,392,814 tons worth of shipping) - which is closer than one might imagine because the latter's shipyards did come under increasing air attack in 1945, whereas British merchant shipyards were rarely attacked from the air. After Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, U.S Pres. Nazi Germany was on a strategic, oil driven, American mobilization economic clock. Since America declared war after a major attack without a declaration of War by Japan. Even so, this article recommends a working definition for this task: whether, and to what extent, a particular military operation contributed to the accomplishment of a strategys objectives determines its strategic importance. Walt, I don't think there would be general agreement to a "fact" of the Doolittle raid being a "massive war crime." The Japanese invested the equivalent of the Soviet Army in production assets allocated to their air and naval power. Furthermore, from late 1941 to early 1942 the U.S. faced daunting circumstances that constrained offensive options in the Pacific. Their withholding of information even prompted Japan to request that the U.S. detail the raid. Plan Orange, the blueprint for war against Japan, called for most of the U.S. naval forces. Pearl Harbor was but one of several Japanese military objectives in the Pacific. The '1000 mils' on both sides of the "approaching course" meant ~57 degrees out of 360.]. Their houses taken over by Chinese at 10 cents on the dollar. However, the fog surrounding the raid lingered as the U.S. would not release information that might jeopardize its airmen. James Doolittle led the famous Doolittle Raid against Japan on April 18, 1942. (Ms. Sue). The field of fire for antiaircraft guns was divided into a far zone, a central zone, and a near zone. The Chinese people ultimately paid a high price in blood for the strategic miscalculation of their leaders. Japans strategy assumed the U.S. and its Allies would accept the new status quo when costs in blood and treasure to reverse Japans conquests ran too high. Exploration of this military operation and the strategies at play, reveals that Doolittles Raid had virtually no impact on the realization of American or Japanese strategies. Was the Doolittle Raid successful? B-25 Mitchell launching from USS Hornet (CV-8). In the weeks and months after Pearl Harbor, Japan seized Thailand, Hong Kong, Manila, and Singapore. [11] In late 1941, Japan seized the initiative and retained momentum with subsequent attacks in the Philippines and the East Indies, acquiring indispensable seaports and potential airfields. Past, present and future by Karen Martin | May 9, 2022 at 4:00 a.m. Arkansas PBS will air a new documentary titled "Unsettled History: America, China and the Doolittle Tokyo . The level of innumeracy and factual variance with historical reality demonstrated with Mr McIntosh's "Doolittle Raid was War Crime" accusation are awesome in scope. But Erasmus is also in the mix as well as the Gospels. Really, how many prewar reserve officers accumulated as many stars as he did? The raiders bombed several Japanese cities including Kobe and Yokohama, but Tokyo was perhaps the most significant because it was the Emperors home and the nations capital. Doolittle Raid, Surprise attack on Tokyo by U.S. bombers in 1942 during World War II. @Walter McIntosh: What about the Japanese bombing of Chinese cities, and the German firebombing of Rotterdam, mentioned above and which occurred before the Doolittle raid? When did the Doolittle Raid take place? You'll get a detailed solution from a subject matter expert that helps you learn core concepts. We live in a time when most large-scale application of military force will inevitably involve collateral damage -- even when our own country tries, whenever possible, to wage war with precision-strike drones and special forces. Sources: His work is grounded to a great degree on the results of the US Strategic Bombing Survey. Why was the Doolittle raid so important to Americans? | Quizlet The Doolittle Raid: Inspired, Audacious, and Unexpected. The bombing of England by zeppelins/dirigibles/airships in WW I should also be noted. I am glad that I bought this book, which I liked so much that I also bought a second one for a friend. Was it an unwise gambit that violated Nimitzs own policy of calculated risk.? Acting on limited information, the focus of their efforts and fury naturally became the American airmen, their Chinese abettors, and any potential Chinese airfield within range. 2003-2023 Chegg Inc. All rights reserved. . Japan was a much more formidable industrial adversary than heretofore acknowledged. As a pilot, an aviation technology expert, and a combat leader he had few peers. WW II did differ from the generation of WW I in so far as total war practices were allowed; but one of the weapons employed and advanced was that superior Laws and legal systems were pursued by those who advocated for Democracy over Totalitarian and Fascist practices, governments, as legal outcomes. proved operational and technologic history. However, the Doolittle's raiders had to find their way on to China, and then hope to find allies on the ground in a country full of Japanese occupying forces.
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