[VR-21]

I don’t disagree that Japanese forces lived off the land and captured foodstuffs and materials (some of them managed to well after the end of the war). Neither do I disagree that she had an inadequate merchant fleet. That was one of her fatal weaknesses which was aggravated by her failure to hit our sub pens when she attacked us. I guess where we differ is your assertion that she “ignored” the importance of logistical support. Nimitz’s strategy was largely designed to isolate Japans forces when possible and allow them to wither and starve.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Perhaps ignored is the wrong word. The Japanese army was routinely expected to provide for itself, according to some Japanese vets I met in the 1950s and early 60s. Even a decade after the war, when Japan was reestablishing itself as a manufacturing center, the government was extremely callous in its manner toward survivors of the war. When I was a kid, (Army Brat) Japanese veterans would congregate around the various shrines and beg for money. They were pitiful.