Reference no: EM132256752
In each case study "Points for Consideration" are included to help structure study. An attempt to come to grips with these questions should be made while completing reading assignments as such questions form the basis of understanding of Strategy and War concepts.
1. What conclusions of operational and strategic significance would you derive from a net assessment of the United States and Japan on the eve of the Pacific War?
2. Who had done the better job of prewar preparation for the Pacific War -- the United States or Japan?
3. Did it make operational and strategic sense for Japan to open, and for the United States to contest, a new theater in the Solomon Islands in the summer of 1942?
4. After successfully executing operations in Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific by the spring of 1942, what should Japan have done next?
5. Use your knowledge of Corbett to assess the operational character and strategic significance of the Guadalcanal/Solomons campaign.
6. Japan's attack in December, 1941 against the British Empire and the United States is considered a classic case of deterrence failure. Why did the foreign policy and strategic steps taken by Britain and the United States fail to deter Japan?
7. Both Yamamoto and Nimitz risked their fleets at Midway in June 1942. Compare and evaluate how each of these two naval commanders addressed the issue of operational and strategic risk.
8. What role did strategic bombing play in defeating Japan? Evaluate the importance of this role.
9. Was the Guadalcanal Campaign decisive with respect to the outcome of the Pacific War? Evaluate the Joint cooperation of and contributions of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps to "turning the tide" against the Japanese in the Pacific.
10. How did Japanese strategic culture influence her decision to launch a surprise attack against the United States in 1941? To what extent did Japanese strategic planning reflect the realities of her military and geo-strategic position from 1931 through 1941, and, during the first year of the war with the United States?
11. Some contend that the Joint cooperation between General Douglas MacArthur and Vice Admiral William F. Halsey set a standard by which all future Joint operations should be judged in the future during their Upper Solomons campaign. Do you agree or disagree, and why?
12. Why did the United States adopt a multi-pronged strategy for its advance across the Pacific? Was it the most effective strategy available? To what extent did it give the Japanese exploitable strategic opportunities?
13. Suppose the United States either had not developed atomic weapons by 1945 or had chosen not to use them against Japan. Assess the likely operational effectiveness, strategic effects, and moral implications of other American options for terminating the Pacific War.
14. Before the war, American and Japanese naval planners expected that the outcome of a war between the two countries would be decided by major battles fought by surface ships. To what extent were these pre-war expectations borne out by the experience of the Pacific War?
15. Which operations of the Pacific War are the most important for military planners to learn lessons from in the twenty-first century?
16. While some contend that the Battle of Midway marked the point in World War II where the tide turned irrevocably against Japan, others cite the fight to maintain control of Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands as decisive in the outcome of the Pacific War. Which argument is correct?
17. How did the capabilities and limitations of American and Japanese naval forces impact on their successful ability to conduct war?
18. Evaluate Admirals Frank Jack Fletcher, Mark A. Mitscher, Raymond A. Spruance, William F. Halsey, Richmond Kelly Turner, and ChiuchiNagumo as operational commanders. Consider their decisions during the major battles in which they held command.