https://ww2db.com/country/Dutch_East_Indies
https://dutcheastindies.webs.com/
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Japan's Invasion of the Dutch East Indies
With the United States pursuing complete isolation from the world in order to avoid getting dragged into yet another world war, Japan took advantage of their free reign in Asia. Japan rapidly militarized and became the strongest country in the region after humiliating the Russians in the Russo-Japanese War. However, the Japanese faced a problem, they lacked an abundant source of natural resources which prevented them from mounting large scale operations. This problem became quite evident when America cut off its oil exports to Japan. Since Japan relied on America for nearly ninety percent of its oil it crushed their ambitions to take over Asia. As a result, Japan had to turn to another country that could provide them with the necessary resources to support a powerful army.
At the time Japan had, perhaps, the strongest navy in the world. It definitely had the most dominant navy in Asia. However, without oil to fuel their warships, their military superiority could soon collapse. While the Nazis and the Japanese were "allied' they had poor coordination. When the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union that caused the Soviets to move troops to defend the advancing Nazis. While the Soviets were distracted the Japanese decided to move into Southeast Asia and invade an area called the Dutch East Indies(present-day Indonesia). This colony owned by the Dutch contained a surplus amount of oil amongst other raw materials. On December 8, 1941, the Japanese began their invasion of the Dutch East Indies. It occurred just a day after Pearl Harbor. The joint force of Americans-Australians-Dutch-British Command attempted to repel the Japanese but was crushed within a year. They disposed of the Allies quickly due to their elite battle strategies. After capturing the Dutch East Indies, Japan was able to continue their conquest of Asia. In a matter of years, the Japanese went from an unindustrialized nation to one of the strongest countries in the world. Unfortunately for them, after bombing Pearl Harbor the Americans would strike back and defeat the Japanese in multiple battles before causing their ultimate surrender.
https://ww2db.com/country/Dutch_East_Indies
https://dutcheastindies.webs.com/
https://ww2db.com/country/Dutch_East_Indies
https://dutcheastindies.webs.com/
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I liked the introduction of your post and how you made it clear what exactly was initially holding Japan back from taking over Asia. I found it interesting how you pointed out, yes, Japan had more leg room in terms of other parts of Asia being up for grabs, but on the other hand no longer having the US to supply them with natural materials. I noticed how you talked about how powerful their navy was, but did not have the resources to maintain it. Apparently, Japan's navy was only 60 years old as of 1941. To further build on your post, Japan continued to capture islands off the Western Pacific Coast, eventually making their way to Northern Australia.
ReplyDeleteSource:
https://www.naval-encyclopedia.com/ww2/imperial-japanese-navy-ww2
I think that you described the reasoning for why Japan invaded the Dutch East Indies very well. Since they relied on America for many resources such as fuel, it made them seek other outlets for obtaining fuel when America cut off trade with Japan. One of the main reasons that America even began cutting off trade with Japan was because Japan was trying to invade China. This went against the "Open Door" policy towards China in which the United States wanted to keep China's natural resources and markets free from control by another nation. Because American forces were concerned by Japanese aggression, the relationship deteriorated and eventually lead to America cutting off trade with Japan.
ReplyDeleteSource:
https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/america-history-relations-between-us-japan-worsen--122622634/116119.html