1 名前:名無し三等兵 2006/08/26(土) 10:45:11 ID:??? In dealing with the first of these three points, the memorandum applied the "strategic axiom" that the commander should first attack and defeat the weaker force of a divided enemy. Eisenhower reasoned that although Germany and its satellites were stronger in total combat power than Japan, Japan was still "relatively stronger" since it was not at war with the Soviet Union and much less accessible to attack by the main forces of the other Allied powers. Moreover, it took three to four times as many ships to transport and maintain a given American force in the Pacific as in the Atlantic. Therefore, Eisenhower concluded, "logistic reasons, as well as strategic axiom, substantiate the soundness of the decision to concentrate against the European Axis. http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/wwii/Sp1941-42/chapter7.htm
>Germany and its satellites were stronger in total combat power than Japan, >Japan was still "relatively stronger" since it was not at war with the Soviet Union
During the course of the war, the Twentieth Air Force flew 31,387 bomber sorties; 3,058 of which were flown by the XX Bomber Command, 28,329 by the XXI. The war had taken 414 B-29s, 80 from the XX Bomber Command and 334 from the XXI. Losses on combat missions averaged 1.3 percent of sorties airborne, with a total of 147 bombers lost. Of these combat losses: 50 percent were caused by enemy fighters. 36 percent were caused by enemy antiaircraft. 13 percent were caused by a combination of both. 1 percent were self-inflicted by accident. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/Hansell/Hansell-6.html
"GENERAL EAKER said that he agreed completely with the statements made by General Marshall in his digest of the memorandum prepared for the President. He had just received a cable in which General Arnold also <page 559> expressed complete agreement. He stated that any blockade of Honshu was completely dependent upon airdromes on Kyushu; that the air plan contemplated employment of 40 groups of heavy bombers against Japan and that these could not be deployed without the use of airfields on Kyushu. He said that those who advocated the use against Japan of air power alone overlooked the very impressive fact that air casualties are always much heavier when the air faces the enemy alone and that these casualties never fail to drop as soon as the ground forces come in. Present air casualties are averaging 2 percent per mission, about 30 percent per month. He wished to point out and to emphasize that delay favored only the enemy and he urged that there be no delay.
http://home.kc.rr.com/casualties/ CASUALTY PROJECTIONS FOR THE U.S. INVASIONS OF JAPAN, 1945-1946: PLANNING AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS by D. M. Giangreco in the Journal of Military History, 61 (July 1997): 521-82
Over 1,180,000 tons of supplies and equipment and 1,380,000 troops were transported by air. The air movement over the "hump" between India and China attained a peak rate of 71,000 tons in 1 month. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/USSBS-PTO-Summary.html
3. The U. S. Fourteenth Air Force actually possessed the following plane strength in June 1945: Fighters--483; medium bombers--127; heavy bombers--65; photo and night-fighter aircraft--48; total--723. USSBS, ibid., p. 67. http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/utm/kogun.txt
6. This is unfortunate. The world has gained much from the East Asian approach to development. Having accepted that the military route is not productive, Japan had turned its tremendous skills and energy to creating a world where the poor can live almost as comfortably as the rich. It is the Japanese who succeeded in lowering cost without sacri- ficing quality and so make available yesteryear's luxuries to more people. True it is not altruistic but the end re- sults are the same. Ladies and gentlemen, 7. It is difficult to imagine a world without Japan now but it is worthwhile to try and do so. Without Japan, Europe and America will dominate the industrial world. They will set the standards and the prices which they and the rest of the world will have to pay for the goods which only they can produce. http://www.pmo.gov.my/WebNotesApp/PastPM.nsf/acfe72124fbea2e148256e72001d223e/1cf7ae5a3ac5c7584825674a00187ec4?OpenDocument