Japanese Field Fortifications & Defensive Organization
The Imperial Japanese Army was known for its tenacious defense and digging in. This video covers the various defensive fortifications used by the Japanese in the Second World War often using US Intelligence assessments as sources. Elements covered are platoon positions, fields of fire, the various stages of construction, fighting positions and much more.
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--Sources--
-Books & Articles-
War Department: Handbook on the Japanese Military Forces, 15 September 1944
War Department: Intelligence Bulletin Vol II, No. 7, March 1944
War Department: Intelligence Bulletin Vol II, No. 8, April 1944
War Department: Intelligence Bulletin Vol III, No. 4, December 1944
HQ Eight Army - Engineer Section: Intelligence Bulletin No. 3, May 1945
General Headquarters, India - Military Intelligence Directorate: Japanese in Battle - Second Edition, August 1944
War Department: Tactical and Technical Trends, No. 21, March 25, 1943
Field Manual 5-15, Field Fortifications, August 1968
Drea, Edward J.: In Service of the Emperor
--Song---
Ethan Meixsell - Demilitarized Zone (the Irony :D)
Damn, that jab at Lindy fired shots at 1200 rounds per minute.
The Bren joke ... just brilliant!
Lindybeige would be proud ;D
The Japanese are lucky they didn't use spandaus. Or back scabbards.
+Hippie McFake loooool
+Hippie McFake loooool
If they would've used swords it would be totally irrelevant anyhow which swords exactly would be used by both sides, because, as everyone knows, it doesnt matter which sword you use, because you loose anyway if you get hit by one.
I wonder Why the Japanese didn't use Katanas as their main battlefield weapon at this stage since it can cut through tanks, deflect bullets and doesn't require ammo. The only deficiency I can think of is the distinct lack of a detachable Pommel.
That political position tho
That would make it too easy for them duh.
Because russian steel is OP
Because they are mostly an offensive weapon and this video is about defensive tactics.
@@chairmanmeow5642 I know I'm late but the political compass uses the axes in a different way from the normal "left-right" scheme. Up is Autoritarianism, down is Libertarianism, left is personal freedom and right economic freedom. To be a Nazi/far right winger in the usual sense, you would have to be somewhere in the upper regions of the diagram. Hope this helps.
8:15 that shot at Lindy tough xD oh snap!
I think it was.... Or some shameless pro British plug
it's not a spandau though, is it?
How many spandaus did the japanese have in their MG positions?
+Alany Walany it's a Spandau
+Stephen Richards this is a "spandau" the MG of the german army in the great war en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MG_08 It was produced in the Town called Spandau, thus the name. Some (british) Veterans of that War came to call all german MGs spandau, irregardless of their actual type.
About the numbers not adding up in the platoon setup, maybe the rest of the platoon was placed in reserve somewhere and the platoon was on rotating cycle which states who was on duty in the individual dugouts and foxholes at the time
I was thinking that too, but usually only 1 third is on reserve, but my main problem is: if there is an attack going on, don't you want to have fortifications for all your units? Especially, since the Japanese were known - according from the military intelligence I read - that they deployed a lot of "stuff" right at the front. one third reserve, one third sleeping etc., one third in the positions. Also I checked a German position from an Osprey book and the numbers added up... so I am confused. still probably the most likely explanation.
Well someone at the office fucked up then
Could it be possible that the position they were referencing was not "finished"
@Orca was one of my initial assumptions too, but wouldn't add up with their usual practice, also nothing noted in the report. Furthermore, it was one of three.
Ah indeed. 1 Platoon being constantly re-tasked with "priority work" Would make sense for their position to be under developed but 3 positions speaks either to higher level disorganization or some sort of other anomaly.
Bren: Wins wars Type 96: Doesn't win wars It's funny because it's true!
Sad
Type 99: Nani?! Bakero konoyarou?! 😆 😆
that bren joke was amusing! I couldn't stop giggling. More Videos please i love these!
It almost makes up for no Bagets in the video. Almost.
My neighbor was a British army veteran who had fought in Burma. I always remember the story of how he was seen trying to get closer to a Japanese trench system and a single Japanese soldier saw him and casually flicked a lit cigarette at him before aiming his rifle from about 30 feet away.
The fortification in Burma could be for an under-strength platoon or a section of 12 men (which seems unlikely but in Burma the Japanese suffered from a chronic manpower shortage) and the machine gun bunker could be for the Type 92 heavy machine gun if they had one available.
I think there were 12 foxholes on the diagram plus the LMG position. If you figure that perhaps a 1/3 of your platoon is on sentry duty at any one time with the other 2/3 either sleeping or cooking or fetching water or whatever. If you figure a two-man crew for the LMG then you'd have a total of 42 other ranks. When attacked the three LMGs and 2/3 of the riflemen could take position, leaving 1/3 as a reserve to run ammunition, replace casualties or to counterattack to recover any positions lost.
yer, I was think shift system.
Hi, I hope this will help. 1. IJA didn't build defense on occupied islands seriously and effectively enough until Peliliu Campaign, where pro-defense tactics seemed to inflict greater damage to the Allies. The traditional pro-attack principle then moved toward pro-defense principle and trench defense lines were hastily built or added. 2. Orders of trench defense given by, say, Army level, to divisions and independent mixed brigades. Then, tunnels and positions were dug at the discretion at battalion level. Each battalion was able to make the best use of local terrain and whatever resources may be conveniently available. Therefore, even on one same island defended by unit larger than regiment, there tend to be a variety of improvised underground positions, and horizontal communication above battalion level became a big problem. 3. Japanese controlled islands were usually small and had different geological features, thus defense positions could not be established with economic of scale and knowledge passed from other islands didn't apply universally. 4. IJA front-line commanders were frequently ordered to change defense deployment plans. Sometimes troops trying to dig in were ordered to get out and give helping hands with building airstrips for both Army and Navy. Sometimes they were simply caught in dispute between Tokyo HQ and regional command about pro-attack and pro-defense. Therefore, development plans for defense positions frequently changed as well, so frequently that the only plan was not to plan at all and let the divisions do whatever they like. In conclusion, inconsistency in architecture, philosophy,and tactics about Japanese defense positions caused confusions not only among US intelligence, but also IJA themselves. That is why it is difficult to find sustainable clues about IJA ground defense system or pattern. There was hardly any system or pattern but battalion-level improvisations.
A great video as always, I also enjoy that you do your damn best to maintain a level of neutrality when it comes to covering the Axis as well as the Allies. It's sometimes hard to cover the Axis well and un-biased without accidentally going in Wehraboo land and kneeling at the alter of the Panzer to seem fair.
Agree, neutrality is a rare trait that makes this channel something greater then others. Keep in mind that there are just as much hateful anti-axis channels as Wehraboo channels.
+VigoDoria there are many more axis hating channels and people in general that 'wehraboos' - vomited a little bit just by writting this
At the same time, it's interesting to know how and why things happen. Historical fact can easily become skewed if proper documentation is left on the wayside. We know the Axis "lost"militarily, but a video such as this gives a good indicator of their exact capabilities and shortcomings, with decent accessibility. Which is always a good rebuff against "knowing what just ain't so," as Mark Twain would humor us to realize.
Yes great joke . We have been enslaved to the banking system , almost all of us are almost foreigners in our own countries because of the imported refugees , but cheering the Axis is wrong ? If the allies could see Europe and the world right now they wouldn't have joined the war or fought side by side with the Germans .
Fox Ace I mean, you wouldn't seem crazy if you decided to say that the Nazis were the bad guys of the war. Unlike World War 1 where it was just a clusterfuck of countries fighting each other, a waste of human lives, Germany, Italy, and Japan were the ones actively starting war, commiting atrocities, and making themselves a serious threat, pretty much forcing the Allies to fight them. This is probably one of the only wars where there is pretty much a good guys vs bad guys situation
Just recently discovered this channel in my recommended feed and I can safely say that this is one of the best informative channels about military history and science. I'm going to binge watch every video from the start. Keep up the good work!
I cannot believe I did not find this channel sooner. Great graphic visuals and extremely informative. Keep 'em coming, man!
Another well-made ,well researched and objective video. Thank you for all the great content!
Lol. I had great fun with your side cut towards Lindy regarding the Bren gun.
I know this is an old video, Bernhard, but I just want to say I enjoy your videos on field fortifications the most of all of your content. These videos help me when trying to come up with ways to strategize and deal with challenges tactically in FPSes like Enlisted. Thank you for being determined to provide us with reliably sourced and dutifully researched video subjects, and I hope the injury that kept you out of action uploading for a while has healed well.
as always, you seriously have the single most interesting, informational channel i have found on youtube. keep up the good work!
thank you!
This was way more interesting than I expected. Great video!
Hope you are feeling better by now. Your videos are the standard for good quality work. Thanks.
So glad I found this channel. As an American student of German and history in college, this has quickly become my favorite KZhead channel. Eure Videos sind ausgezeichnet! Schaffen Sie mehr, bitte!
Sending love from Australia. Great channel and videos. You can really feel the amount of research that goes into every video
Glad you like them!
Really cool video. I love your fortification videos, also would you be interested to do more videos about specific tactics etc.? That's where your animations really shine.
from what I've read about the underground tunnels in Japanese trenches it was used but it's design and use was varied between engagements and the Japanese commanders present.
yeah, that would be inline with the statement about the mines: discretion of each commander on "how" to do stuff.
These videos are excellent! Keep up the great work :D
Hope you feel better. You do great work
Love the channel man
Thank you for doing these videos!! There are things I had trouble understanding fully, till I started watching these! Also, the jokes here and there are a very nice, and awesome, touch :)
As always, good work. This channel is a real historical resource. As far as positions seeming insufficient for the forces at hand . . . The Japanese also believed in aggressive defense, so the bulk of a formation would be sited behind the FLOT, ready to counterattack on the commanding officer's order, or by previously formulated plan. Timetables were heavily stressed, though lack of effective radio communications at the tactical level often rendered otherwise useful counterattacks into sporadic charges conducted by individual officer initiative. The papers you're referring to are all collected into a single volume under the title "U.S. War Department Handbook on Japanese Military Forces" Louisiana State University Press 1991-1995. I have both this work and the similar, but much more complete, "Handbook on the German Armed Forces" by the same folks. Both were available in the APG Gift Shop back in the mid to late 1990s.
It's good you are feeling better. Great videos.
Good work ! Just don't stop, cover as much battles / concepts / time periods as you can. Tx
maker of these videos did an extremely spot of resourch I find these videos incredible good. very detailed.
+Bobby Hargett thank you
i liked the cheeky comment comparing the Bren to the type 96, it gave me a chuckle it did.
keep up the good work! I love your videos :)
Please do a video covering the Stalin Line during the first months of Operation Barbarossa! And the Maginot Line to please. Your channel is really great and informative, keep it up :)
great stuff. ur channel is very interesting n informative
Just discoverd your channel, you make realy interesting video's! Keep it up :)
Woohoo! A video about the Japanese, the japanese are rarely featured on your vids, so nice work! Excited to see more content!
Great video. Thank you!!
Your videos are excellent. A good resource/commentary on Japanese weapons that you might like, if you haven't read it, is "Shots Fired In Anger" by John B. George. He was a gun enthusiast and marksman before the war and does an in-depth analysis of the weapons that he encountered in the Pacific.
Great videos! I hope you keep it up.
Great video! And very educational!
Great job as always for us war nerds
Another great and informative video, really do appreciate what you do.
A Canadian torvarish (comrade)?
Meme's fam
So detailed, I should ask the history teachers at my school to use this!
Well done video.
Great job! I love your videos man. You have earned my subscribe sir.
thank you and welcome!
LOVE YOUR VIDOES, subed just recently
Great video :) Can you at some point do a video on the Zaporizhian Kozaks (or Cossacks)? Or a video on the Battle of Poltava? Thanks!
Great information, thanks.
Great video!
Excellent! Very interesting
love your maps
Excellent visuals in the second half of the video. Could you do a video like it for WW1 trench warfare?
wow!! J'aime beaucoups t'est videaux et la diversité de t'est sujet!!!!!! It make me see history in a way i always want to see THX! GREAT JOB
After having watched this and the Atlantikwall videos, there is a subject that I would like to see a video from you on: Regelbau bunkers. The development of the system, the layout and capabilities of some of the most common structures, and perhaps a "tour" of one of the individual instalations (since I'm a Dane I would recomend the istalation in Frederikshavn in northern Jutland, as it is relatively well dokumentet, but any of the many instalations would be fine, it could also be good if you took one of the non-coastal instalations, as it is relatively rare we hear about those) Hope you find this suggestion interesting and I look forward to see more of your great videos, be they on this subject or something else.
definitely planned, especially since there are way more sources on this. Real live footage I can't afford right now, but I guess in at least 6 months it should not be an issue.
Great I will be looking forward to it then :)
Have you considered a mic update?
subscribed and liked for the type 96 and bren comparison
really cool channel
Nice video and fascinating as usual. Can we sometime down the line se a video about the Winter war between Finland and USSR? like why the fins could suffer great defeat with there lack on manpower, resouces and so one. Keep it up!
I had already done some reading on the Winter War / Warfare in the North, but the source wasn't sufficient enough. It is mainly a source issue. There are some books in the Austrian State Library in Vienna, but I need a remote loan for them and also I don't know how well they are and reading 300 pages for a video is also not possible with making 2 videos / week. (Depends of course on the book, some books are clearly structured, whereas others are just a chronological stream of weakly structured raw soup of information.)
the type 96 lmg and the Bren gun are based (or ripped off depends on you point of view) of the Czech lmg ZB 26
It doesn't depend on your point of view, it was a version licensed for production in Enfield
Bren means Brno Enfield. Brno is in Slovakia, not Czech Republic.
bakters You do understand there was no "Slovakia" and "Czech Republic" back then?
bakters I see your point, people should be exact and use the precise term "Czechoslovakian" instead of just "Czech" but most prefer to use the latter because it's short.
The Type 96 was quite different to the Bren.
Good one Thanks
Keep up the great vids btw tho
thx :)
yes excellent!
cant wait to see stuff from farther back, could you do stuff from the 30 years war?
The Thirty Years' War will definitely get some attention, but probably not before 2017.
Military History Visualized [sad face] :(
please make more videos about pacific war theatre + china if you can, it would be marvelous. also great video
Ngl, this was actually pretty helpful for making maps feel authentic in men of war
I really like your podcasts. You are very knowledgeable but you aren't arrogant about it. You have a good sense of humor.
great channel
Will be great if you make a video of present field fortifications and Defensive measures.
Can you do a video on military coordinates? Like how artillery and air support is called in
(former rifle platoon leader) 9:14 Most foxholes are a two-man affair, with one resting and one on guard. That puts it in the neighborhood of a twenty-man platoon; which I think would be normal for a unit in combat. And not everyone is actually shooting at the enemy; half of the men in a WWII U.S. machine-gun squad were moving back and forth to bring up more ammo (same in "Blood Red Snow" about a German MMG gunner on the East Front). Add in platoon leader, runners, medic, etc., living in the large dug-out and you have about thirty men.
the battle of mount Song in China in 1944 is also a great study in Japanese defense tactics. I would like to see some videos about world war two in China as well
Love this video,could you make a similar one to the 109Th Imperial Army Division ( Iwo jima ) - battle plan,logic behind it and the fortifications of iwo jima?
Right !? I made the same comment, as i thought the Defense of Iwo Jima is the greatest example of Japanese Field Fortifications & Defensive Organization. I hope maybe he will do an entire video about it.
Amazing!
Excellent work, as usual. I find it interesting that the IJA neglected mine-laying, as the IJN also largely ignored sea mines. So much so that American intelligence reports from the interwar period noted the IJN had to force its officers to even enroll in mine-laying courses. The "sexy" stuff was always torpedo warfare, which shared the same schools.
very interesting, I need to check how the Japanese thought about mine warfare in general, because they used many ruses and tricks, thus I am a bit confused that they didn't like mines, maybe they saw it as "too defensive" too or something.
"so guys, what if we lay some-" "hell no, we don't do that here"
Could you do a video like this, but covering Germany, Italy, Britain, and so forth? Also, a video on the Maginot Line would be appreciated! AWESOME VIDS BY THE WAY! CAN'T SAY THAT ENOUGH!!!
Platoon consist of as you state 54-62 men as the officer were in few, and they hold on to traditional layout of men in the medieval era. However does not mean they hold all in one area, they were split to each area of the trenches and some ready to engage, all commanded by sub leaders, similar to sergeants(they are still privates or real ranking officer). 1 Bunker has 1 LMG the other two if they consisted of mg in working condition were stationed on the trenches, other foxholes, other dugouts, or top defensive layer(Some men will attack during the defensive situation and will consist of 10-30 such attack occur however the number of unit on the attack varied) . Also the bunker can hold 2 LMG due to the size of the bunker and the men, they can cramp inside while 1 or 2 carry back and forth ammo(LMG unit will and have to move to each fox holes that require suppression fire replacing the old position with standard riflemen or no one). Japanese army had to consist of a different division structure due to the low population, hence each division carry 2 to 3 platoon max(so you are right of the 3 platoon and they are located in the three defensive area). Some platoon will not receive replenishment as fast so can dwindle down to 10 men before redirection of a new platoon(or carry out with below number).
Talisay Beach, Tanke Talisay City Cebu. A lot of districys and places in Talisay City were named after Military installations such as Tanke for Tanks Wards 1-4 who happens to be a Military field Hospital in the City during the War.
Actually, many gun historians praises the Type 96 design. ONE of the best LMGs.
well, it is an inside joke on the "Bren Controversy": kzhead.info/sun/faelYaqpe2mkaaM/bejne.html
Tarzan They are high then because pretty much all Japanese guns were shit..
Tarzan they were indeed one of the best however they were employed improperly. They were being mostly used for defensive operations instead of their intended offensive(hence mag fed). They are wonderful offensive guns but a little less effective when hordes of soldiers are coming right at you.
Japanese guns are actually some of the best
except for handguns
@9:00 have you considered hot bunking? A siege or offensive can last for days and the defending force still needs to get adequate rest to continue fighting after X amount of time. It can also benefit the defending force to have multiple people to fill in each each role at a defensive position (the old military saying is one is none, two is one, three's for me) in case the defending force takes casualties. The secondary benefits are that this allows to defenders to be more efficient when building the fortifications and will dishearten the attacking force if they feel that their efforts aren't yielding any results.
probably the most likely.
Japanese also supplemented defenses with simple traps and stakes using local materials in some cases. These could help to impede infantry as supplies of barbed wire were always limited and natural vegetation was sometimes plentiful.
Lovely reference to Lindy Beige's Bren Gun video XD
SUCH TENACITY. IMPRESSIVE.
Helpful
I didn't even know you had a website!
I expected something about the Defense of Iwo Jima, as it is the most famous case of Japanese Field Fortifications. General Kuribayashi made a miracle, it was planned to take the island in 5 days, he delayed it for 36 day, and the last two defender only surrendered in 1949. Could you perhaps make an episode about Iwo Jima please ?
LMG KZhead's auto subtitiles: LM Cheese? LM Sheep? LM WTF!?
You're right. The Japanese at Buna were usually under strength, despite some reinforcements during the retreat from Kokoda. The most likely scenario is that they focused on moving to meet attacks, and used the network, in whatever condition, to meet new threats. The result was a truly hideous integrated type of fire, which decimated Australian and American units to the point that the official response was "No more Bunas". They also used improvised shells and munitions to try to block tanks in New Guinea, with some success. These improvisations were necessities, due to a chronic lack of dedicated anti-tank guns and unsuitability of mountain guns in that role. Their AA guns were effective against light tanks, but they didn't have many of them.
great video can you visualize the battle of chawinda the largest tank battle after world war 2
Your videos are most enjoyable, I've only just discovered them. Do you think that the twisting of the fortunes in the Axis armies might be because of their aversion to defence over outright assault? They seemed to lose ground when their assaults dried up and their lacklustre defence was exposed to a more conservative holding and attacking force, one that did not priorotise all out mechanised frontal movement thereby often wasting tough troop mashers, but also that did not waste elite units on holding unless required, saving a good spread of units for both operational actions? Anyone's responses welcome!
You should do one on the defence on Iwo Jima. Very interesting if you've read Letters from Iwo Jima.
Most excellent
I'd assumed that the defensive positions would fit entire rifle teams in the fighting holes, and the extras would remain within the ring as a quick reaction element. Otherwise i'd imagine that the over saturation of japanese troops might be utilized outside of the defensive works as listening/observation posts. I imagine you're input is far more educated than my own - but maybe some insight into thier defensive doctrines might give some idea as to the likely course of action procedures.
Storm troopers carry brens .. Excellent video
The Burma position was probably intended to have half the platoon on duty at a time, thus the 11 positions with a single man dugout. Each foxhole would have 2 men, for a total of 22 or 2 full squads (with each platoon having four squads of 11 men and a command element of 8 for a total of 52). Just a guess.
9:11 my guess is that the 3 mgs would all have been in the same bunker in order to keep the lanes of fire all going at the same time instead of having one mg switch between the 3 openings.
great, you should do a video on the battle of Savo islands
Thanks again for an informative and interesting video! However I must admit that I didn't get the 'Bren joke' ; was the Bren a particularly good machine gun for its time?
thank you, well that is an inside joke. Lindybeige made a video Bren vs. "Spandau" and I made a reply: kzhead.info/sun/faelYaqpe2mkaaM/bejne.html
Cheers for the vid, it's gonna help my Burma Build no end!
Glad it was helpful!
Awesome.
Any chance you could do a video about the Polish underground during WW2 or the Battle for Warsaw during the Polish Bolshevik war? Also your videos are amazing and supper entertaining to watch :).
About Burma Platoon Position: It also could be that someone mistakenly translated the Unit Size as Platoon .vs. the correct size!
I would like to see 3 episodes dedicated to Prussian army and each episode would cover one war: war of 1864, 1866. and 1870-1871. With accent on analysis of battles. I adore battles like Gravelotte Saint Privaat and Sedan. Same can go for French army: Crimean war, war in Italy 1859. and Franco-German war 1870-1871. Then Austrian army with wars from 1848. in Hungary and Italy (with accent on development of rifles, artillery and their tactics), war in Italy in 1859. and war of 1866. You can combine all that with American civil war and advancements in tactics, firearms and artillery.