February 14, 2013

What Japan Could've Done to Win WWII

James Holmes, The Diplomat

AP Photo

How could Imperial Japan have defeated the United States during the Second World War?

 

I'm not much of one for alt-history; it's too much like writing fiction, a genre for which I have no gift. Prophesying about what would have happened had one of the antagonists done this or that quickly degenerates into a guessing game. Still, it is possible to identify some things Tokyo could have done to improve its chances of prevailing over an industrial giant that only needed time and resolve to build up overwhelming military power. Bottom line, the weaker side has to fight smart to win against the strong.

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